Australia - Done and Dusted :)

Day 1 :

Attractions Covered : Bell Towers, Swan River, Wheel Of Perth, Aqwa, Scarborough Beach

8:30 am >> Wake up Wake up! Its half past 8 and we need to take the bus at 9 30..

9:15 am >> We leave home and walk towards the bus stop (Bus number 19 to Perth City)

9:33 am >> Boarded the bus and were seated :)

10:00 am >> Dropped off at Wellington Bus Stop (Bus terminus at Perth City)

We were then confused as to which exit we had to take to get to Bell Towers..We thought we would ask a co-passenger (She was talking in hindi when in the bus)..She puts up an accent(fake!) and not sure of the exit herself tells us we had to take "Cats" (Now how the hell would we know what thats was!!) We enquire at a shop and they guide us thorugh..We were walking down and spotted the same "Caattsss Girl" :P Looking at her Anu goes : "Come le,we'll only take her to Bell Towers ;)" On our way we stop at an eat out - Hungry Jacks..Unlike Spore we get Veg Burgers here :)) You gotta see the size of it,man its BIG! No wonder the Aussies are Huge :P After finishing our Burger Breakfast we walk down past the Perth Central Business District to Bell Towers :)

BELL TOWER : This towering glass spire,located where Perth meets the Swan River is a hallmark attraction as one of the most unique and iconic attractions in the world.It overlooks the Swan River and the entire city skyline..There are six floors and at the top is the observation deck..We heard the ringing of the bells and also went through the bell handling demonstations which was great :)

WHEEL OF PERTH : This is the similar wheel(Giantwheel) which is at Singaope(Flyer)..Its a smaller one though ;)

SWAN RIVER : The one thing that makes Perth special is the Swan River. This sparkling ribbon of blue meanders through Perth’s very heart providing people with somewhere to sail, swim, picnic, walk, cycle, jog or simply laze while watching the river waters reflect the city’s sparkling night lights.The river’s beauty is intensified by the backdrop of skyscrapers in the city, shining bright against a brilliant blue Perth sky, and the sweeping parkland which lines much of its banks.

After having covered these we enquired about getting to an island called "Rottnest"..We booked our ferry to Rottnest for the next day!We then left for Aqwa..To reach Aqwa, we had to take a train to Warwick and then change to a bus..We boarded the train from Esplanade to reach Warwick!(After having learnt how the ticketing machine works! ;)) On reaching Warwick Station,we took the right exit(with no help!:P) to get to the bus stop :)Reached Aqwa on boarding the right bus :)

AQWA : The Aquarium Of Western Australia Its an underwater journey to discover the incredible and unique marine life of Western Australia..Its divided into five distinct regions :Great Southern Coast, Perth Coast, Marmion Marine Park, Shipwreck Coast and Far North. Yup for those who have been to Underwater World in Singapore its a smaller replica of it ;) The difference with Aqwa was that they have a small pool called "Aqwa's Touch Pool" where you can put in your hand and touch the different kind of beings :)

Our next stop was Scarborough Beach :) After licking onto delicious ice-creams,we took a bus to reach the beach..It was past 5 in the evening and the number of people on the roads were minimum..All shops and malls are closed after 6 :( It was also getting colder :( So all those jackets which we had tied around our waists were now worn :)

SCARBOROUGH BEACH : White sand and blue sea an amazing combination :) The beach was the backdrop at Aqwa..We spent sometime at the beach,wetting our legs (ice-cold water) and building castles on the sand :)

Again boarded a bus to get Warwick Station and from there we had to get to Perth City..A day spent with no confusions? Not possible with us! ;) We get to Warwick station and we get a call from the friend asking us to meet him at Wellington Station so that we could all go out for dinner..Confusion Begins :We were unable to find Wellington Station on the ticketing machine when we tried to buy tickets..Needed Help! Anu spots a guy sitting at the far end and goes to find out..He helps us out and tells us we need to buy tickets and get to Perth City..We try telling him that we need to get to Wellington Station,but the guy juss was'nt ready to listen..He went on and on! We gave up and just bought the tickets to Perth City..The confusion here was we had come to Warwick in the morning boarding the train and we had to get back to the same place..But it slipped out from all our minds that we had boarded the train at Esplanade Station and Wellington was the Bus Station where we had alighted..Next we see two ladies and ask them on which end should we board to get to Wellington Station..Thanks to those Ladies! They doubled our confusion :P ;) They were not sure but they said there was the station Wellington where the train would stop. Admist all this a train arrives and we thought we would get into it and go along(ask people in the train,if not get off at the next station)..Anu enters and I followed her..Just a step into the train and I hear Prerna shout : "Nooo..Come Out Come Out" I just turned back and jumped out..Madam Anu beign sooper fast has entered the train walked past looking for vacant seats ;) She's almost to get out and the doors go "taktaktaktaktaktaktak"..Prerna yells : "Annnnuuuuuuuuuuuu" and Anu manages to squeeze herself and get out! Phew!! A sigh of relief! We just boarded the next train from the same platform..We again asked a guy in the train if he knew where Wellington was? He dint know either :( We finally thought we would get off at Perth City and when the friend would call we would ask him to come there! We got off and Perth Station and guess what he was there..Thats when we got to know that Wellington Station was the bus terminus above Perth Station :-)
We get out from there and go to a restraunt called "Maya Masala" for dinner..We were extreeemeeely hungry! :) The food there was yummy :D Done with dinner again had to get back to Wellington Station and take Bus 19 to Yokine :) On our walk back to the bus station the prey in hand was : The Friend :P Whom to talk to and tell all that happened and all that we did the entire day! So we butchered him thoroughly..We took turns in telling all that we did and each of us repeating what the other had said..The poor guy had to listen to it all not once but four times ;) Lolz :D He dint complain! ;) Boarded the bus,got back and off we went to bed! :)

Day 2 :

Entire Day : Rottnest Island Evening : King's Park

6 30 am >> Siri wakes up first to take a shower..

6 45 am >> Gals wake up,we need to take the 7 30 bus..

7 00 am >> Joyce gets up to see the time and calls out : Its 7 man! Instantly Prerna and Anu just get up! ;)

7 25 am >> We leave home to get to the bus stop

We walk a few steps and Joyce realizes she'd forgotten her jacket (Apparently,my sexy jacket :P ;))..She goes back to get it while we continue walking..Alomost to reach the road turn and Prerna says : "Mujhe bus ki awaaz sunaayi de rahi hain" Me : "Oyeee..Bus is here" Before I could even finish my sentence Anu had sped off ;) I though we would not make it coz Joyce was yet to reach..The driver saw us run and had the bus stopped only for us..The three of us were in and Joyce was still to reach the turn..He waited as we had to buy tickets :) We hold out a note and he nods his head..I was wondering whats with him,don't we have to buy tickets? A pause and he says : "Need smaller change" We dint have any so he asked us to get it from the co-passengers..Now not only had we made the bus halt,we dint have smaller change either..With no courage to look anyone into the eye,Prerna asks a few people and thankfully a lady gives us change :) Now a start to our day goes this way you can imagine what's in store ;)
We had to take the ferry from Swan River and as we had to pass through Hungry Jacks again,we pick up a burger each and rush :) The ferry leaves as scheduled..We munch on our burgers while enjoying the ferry ride :) It was an hour and a half's ride to Rottnest and the beauty of the ride was when we gotta see a whole lotta dolphins along :) A spectacular sight indeed :) On arriving at Rottnest we thought of kicking off with a cuppa coffee :) Dome(CCD kinda place!) was where we ordered for coffee and ginger tea..Ginger tea was all thanks to Prerna who got super excited reading the description of it on the menucard ;) But what we go to drink was not even close to what was written ;) It was steaming hot water in a small pot with no essence of ginger in it ;) I had a bad cold,so drank it all :) The coffee was'nt good too,was just froth and froth! Having paid for it had to gulp them down ;)

Hiring bikes was the best way to get around and find those secluded beaches and secret surf spots on the other side of the island :)It took us more than 3 hours to cover the entire island..The various places of interest covered within the island included :Little Simon Bay, Parker Point, Kingston,Dyer Point and Light House..

Pure white sand beaches at Rottnest are protected by from sun and wind by limestone rock outcrops. Along your ride you'll spot quokkas,the cute marsupials which were the inspiration for the island's name :) The activity for which we went to Rottnest was - Snorkeling!

Surrounded by coral reefs and shipwrecks, snorkelling was out-of-this-world!! :))It was at Parker Point where we got to experience this amazing activity! We were taken in a small boat to a distance of about 50 meters and then given the equipments needed..We were then accompanied by a guide and taken below the water :) Getting to see life underwater was spectacular! :) After this we go to Dyer point.. At Dyer point we got to see a shark,which some locals had got hold off when they were fishing..Covering all the places with no heed given to time,we were into trouble again! Busy with photography and posing we realize it was 3 30pm and we had to take the ferry back at 4pm..We still had about an hour's cycling to do!! All of us got onto our bikes and started off towards the shop from where we had rented the bikes..Anu as always leading the troop,me behind her and then was Prerna and last was Joyce..Scorching heat and soo much distance to cover with absolutely no energy left! :( The amount of cycling we did,guess we had not done so much in our entire life! :P So many uphills to ride :( Any uphill and I would get off the bike and push it all the way! The same was with the others too..A stretch of cycling and then I could not spot Anu nor could I see Prerna..Prerna had taken a lead over Joyce while Joyce had almost given up! Each of us went through varied emotions :

Anu : Hope I can make it on time and stop the ferry for a few minutes and by then these gals will join me..

Siri : Tough chance to make it! If its anyone then its only Anu who can stop the ferry!

Prerna : (She was laughin like crazy!) and to control her laughter this is what she told herself :" Am laughing here? It's recession time....Anything can happen, get serious!!" Lolzzz :D

Joyce : I can't make it! I don't see anyone around :( Sheesh!! What am I gonna do??? I don't have a penny,guess I'll just reach the shop and ask them for help! That's the only way out! Lolzzz :D

With all these varied thoughts running in our minds we managed to reach the cycle shop..Guess what!! All of reached,including Joyce and Miss Anu was still to get there ;) She had missed a turn and gone straight instead..She gets to the shop and without even noticing tells the person at the counter : My friends are on their way.. Lolzzz :D We covered the distance for which we had taken an hour in the morning in just 20 minutes..When getting back we just could not manage riding our way uphill and I would get off and push the bike..Looking at me Prerna would do the same at the same spot without even trying ;) Hilarious! :D All done but we missed the ferry!! Lucky us there was another ferry at 4 30 and we were way before time for it ;) :P Had we missed this one then we had to stay back at Rottnest that night ;)

Since we took the last fery back,we were dropped off at "Shed C" which is a different place from where we took the ferry in the morning..Took the train and got to Perth City.. Next on agenda was to go to King's Park :) Problem was how to get there? Like always stopped every second person to find out how we could get to King's Park..Some said we could take the Red Cats (Free bus shuttle,which Anu even renamed to Red Dogs :P Lolz :D) and few said we could walk up even..Now after all that cycling we had no energy to cover the distance by walk..So decided to take the bus..We walked towards the bus stop and...We get a ride to King's Park in a SUV ;) Limit your thoughts :P Joyce's relative came down to meet her and he took us to the place in his SUV :)

KING'S PARK : The night views of the lights of the city of Perth reflected from the Swan River is indeed a special sight. As like nearby the Western Australian Parliament building, trees in Kings Park are lit to show off their unique Australian trunk, branch and leaf features.The Western Australian Botanic Garden extends south of the State War Memorial.
We then got a free ride back home ;) As expected all of us just crashed on the bed :)

Day 3 :

Attractions Covered : Perth Zoo, Fremantle and the only Australian Shop we got to pick up stuffs from

We took the 9 30 bus to get to the city..Wanting a change from the burger at Jacksons(Prerna coming up with that instaed of Hungry Jacks ;)) we tried some puffs from a different place..Was disastrous! Had nothing but spinach filling..Cursing the damn thing we walked towards the now familiar Swan River :) It was a 15 minute boat ride to get to the other end..We were on our way to the Perth Zoo :) (Keep the comment you came up with to yourself! :P)After covering some distance by walk again we reached the zoo..

PERTH ZOO : Theres an Australia Walkabout, that features all of Australia's most famous animals and wildlife. Theres the Asian Rainforest, where you can find Elephants, Orangutans, and Tigers to just name a few. The African Safari is filled with Giraffes, Rhinos, Lions, Cheetas, and Baboons, plus much more. Theres giant crocs , big snakes, ugly lizards, tropical birds, and I have only named 11 of the 1800 animals and 230 species that are housed within the zoo walls.

Once done with the zoo we took the ferry back to Swan river and from there got to Fremantle by taking a train..

FREMANTLE : Fremantle is the port city of Perth. The main places of interest at Fremantle are : Fremantle Maritime Museum, Fremantle Prison and Fremantle Markets.

MARITIME MUSEUM : It contains a collection of shipwreck relics and artifacts from the many ships that have met their doom on the West Australian coast.

PRISON : This was fascinating; Having gotten to tour the jail cells and museum and getting to know of the harrowing tales from days gone by.

MARKETS : A cluster of many shops (tiny little one's) seeling everything varying from clothes to vegetables under one roof.

We could not shop anything as everything closed down by 5 30 :( A ring of the bell and all the shutters came down :(Disappointed we left back for Perth by taking the train..Had dinner at the subway outlet at Carlion Mall.. We had hopes of shopping atleast at Perth,but then that dint happen too as all the shops were closed by the time we got back :( We found an Australian Souvenir shop accidently when we were on the lookout for a calling card..Each of us picked up stuffs that we liked from there and also got the calling card :) After winding up all the international calls we had to make we rushed to board the last bus to Yokine :) Got back and rested coz next day was a tight scheduled trip :)

Day 4 :

Attractions Covered : White Men Park, Wacca Stadium, Caversham Park,Bullscrook,Badningara National Park,Nambung National Park,Lancelin

After an early bath,we hired a cab to get to the point where we had to board the bus for the trip..It was an entire day's trip which would cover most places close to Perth and the main attraction for the day being "Pinnacle's Dessert"..It was a 30 seater bus,extremely comfortable seats :) The driver(Steve) along was also our guide for the day..He dint miss out on anything,drive was excellent and he made sure he covered all the places and explained about each of them :)

Our first stop was : White Men Park..On the way to White Men Park we were shown Wacca Stadium and Burswood Casino..

WHITE MEN PARK : A recreational park..We were taken to Caversham Wildlife Park which is located within White Men Park.

CAVERSHAM WILDLIFE PARK : A habitat for many of Australia's unique native animals including koalas, wallabies, possums, Tasmanian devils and wombats.

We handfed the kangaroo's and went up close to the koala's :) The moment the instructor said : "Get out your camera's shoot wid the animals" I could hear "Siri..Siri" (more like an echo ;)) from all sides :P If one goes : "Siri,here take a pic" Other yells : "Siri,one closeup" Why would the third one be laid back,she goes : "Siri,here fast..The koala is posing" Lolz :D I was like "Hold on, I just have two hands and one cam ;)" To be upclose with the koala's and the kangaroo's was a lovely experience! :)

Our next stop was at Badningara National Park. The special specie at Badningara was the Emu :) After going around the place we were served lunch..The lunch was horrible! (More of ghaasphoos :P) Next destination was Pinnacles Dessert..On the way we were shown the Bullscrrok training center for pilots and fini olive farms..

PINNACLES DESERT : Right in the heart of Nambung National Park,thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of a stark landscape of yellow sand.Massive sand dune fields characterise the area near the coast where the Pinnacles Desert lies.The limestone formations of the Pinnacles vary in size and shape.It is not uncommon to see western grey kangaroos, emus and many sorts of reptiles and birds like black-shouldered kites hanging around the strange stones..

After the long tiring walk through the desert we were dropped off at Lancelin where we enjoyed Sandboarding and 4 wheel driving over the sand dunes.

LANCELIN : Lancelin is a small fishing town nestled between the ocean and sand dunes.The town is bordered by endless snow-white sand dunes, which are heaven for sand boarders :) The peaks of these sand dunes give a spectacular panoramic lookout over the township, surrounding sand hills, farmlands, coastline, islands and ocean. Sandboarding was fun although the climb over the sand dunes was a tough task when compared to the ride down ;) 4 wheel driving doubled the fun :D This was our last place for the day :( From there we were brought back to Perth City..

Our last burger from Hungry Jacks for dinner and got back home on taking the cab..We were done with packing,so we all chaged to our "I Love Perth" tee's and left for the airport :( Reached the airport way before time,checked in all our luggages (This time no goof up's nor racists to torture :P) and strolled around..Flight on time and back to Singapore as scheduled!

All those months of preperations and weeks of excitement was over! We were done and dusted with "PERTH - AUSTRALIA" and has been one helluva experience!! Every moment of laughter,confusion,chaos..Every comment passed, rib tickling one liner's -- Impossible without the wonderful "GUBES" (Copyright!) :D

Australia - Its Happening !!

Pre-Vacation Excitement :
A week before the scheduled trip began our shopping extravaganza's :P There's no mall we left untouched :P Any hint of a sale coming up and we would squeeze in time ;) We planned it all from the footwear to the clothes and also the bags we would carry :D Two days to go and we were alomost done with our packing too ;) Anu and Prerna would be getting back from home just a day before,infact Prerna on the morning when we were to fly! (Covering 3 countries in 24 hrs!) :)

Journey Begins :
Hiring a cab had never taken so much time! It was 5pm when we reached Changi Airport,Singapore and we had to board the flight at 5 45pm..The luggages went through,but we were still to get a hold on our boarding passes..Reason : One of our visa stampings had an extra digit of passport number :( We had checked on the visa stamping but not matched the digits and scrutinized it! :P Mistake Mistake! So the lady at the counter makes calls to the embassy and agent to find out if we are the specified one's to travel..Clearance given and we get our boarding passes! :)
Seated at our respective seats,anxiously waiting for the flight to take off..All those regulatory seat belt checks,safety precautions and an addition to filling up health forms(Swine Flu Check!) were done and the flight takes off :-) Prerna and me plugged to ipods,Anu dozed off and Joyce tried a lot to sleep but being the gube she is alas! :P The first crisp note of AUD paid for the snack that we munched on ;) After 6 hrs of journey and we heard "Minimum temperature 10 degrees" ;) Whoa :-O We're there - PERTH!!

All forms filled and passports in hand we stand at the immigration counter waiting for our turns..Prerna n Anu at a different counter,Joyce n me at another one..Joyce and me were done and we just go beyond the counter to see if Anu n Pre were done too..An officer comes upto us and says : "CanIhavealookatyourformplease?" (I have'nt missed on the spaces,thats how the Aussies talk wid no pause :P ;) ) Took us a minute to understand what he was asking for ;) We then give him our forms and he starts questioning us like we're mischevious brats and he is the principal! Helluva questioning,scribbled something on the form and said "Thisway" pointing his fingers towards another officer..The man standing there looks at our form,asks us to pick up our baggege and says "Go through customs"..Joyce and me look at each other and go : "What??Why this way man?Anu and Prerna have gone there.." Before we could realize what was happening - A lady (she looked more like a wrestler! ;) ) snatches the form from us,takes us to a desk and starts off :

Wrestler : So how many days in Perth?
Innocent us : 5 days
Wrestler : Just 5 days? Why?
Both of us : Thats the maximum leave we could get
Wrestler : Your tickets..
Me : Here..Thats only mine,her's is a different copy
Joyce : Actually there are 2 more girls with us and they have the other copy
Wrestler : Where are they?
Joyce (Pointing to Prerna and Anu) : Those two Indian girls standing there at that counter..Can I go there and get my ticket?
Wrestler : Nevermind
Wrestler : So what do you do?
Joyce (Loud and clear) : We are Software Engineers
Wrestler : Where do you work?
Joyce : We work at Singapore for UBS
Wrestler : UBS?
Joyce (Loud) : Its a swiz bank!
Me (Interuupting) : We work for UBS through Perot Systems
Wrestler : Show me your Singapore Visa
Joyce (Pissed and Furious) : Here you go!! Thats our EP - Employment Pass
Wrestler : okay..so where are you gonna stay?
Me : At our friends place
Wrestler : Name and Address?
Me : Vinod,he's put up at Yokine!
Wrestler : How is he your friend?
Me : We know him since college days!
Wrestler : Which college?
Joyce : Engineering College
Wrestler (Blunt tone!) : Which college?
Me : College in India
Wrestler : Which college in Inida?
Me (Totally Pissed!) : New Horizon College Of Engineering,Bangalore
Wrestler : Okay,so is he a PR(Permanent Resident) here?
Both of us : No he's studying
Wrestler : Studying what?
Me : MS
Wrestler : MS?
Me : Yes - MS
Wrestler : MS?
Joyce (Almost lost her cool) : Master of Science, He's doing his further studies
Wrestler : Where?
Me : ECU
Wrestler : Okay, here take your stuffs and put your luggage through that scanner
Both of us : Alright!

We put our baggages through the scanner and its all fine..The lady goes to the checker and crosschecks if its all fine..The guys nods and says : "All good" Joyce and me loook at her and say : "Bloody Shit!! Whats her problem Man!" The lady then comes to us and says - "yup you may go that way".. I look at her and ask : "Can you tell us why we had to go through all this?" Lady Rambo says : "Its a part of Risk Management" Joyce and me walk a few steps and I start off : "What the $^&* man,risk management my foot!" Joyce continues : "Bloody racists,what the hell man?why us?..That dog who spoke to us initailly only made us go through all this shit!!" We were busy cussing and cursing the damn people who made us go through all that and by then Anu and Prerna come out..Look at the scene at their end ;)..This happens after the baggage has been scanned and an officer (who looks Indian) stops Prerna to ask her the following :

Officer to Prerna : Did you fill this form yourself?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Did you read what you have filled?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Is this your signature?
Prerna : Yes
Officer : Are there any food items in the bag?
Prerna (Thinking - If I say "No" it will definitely get scanned and I'll get into shit,I'll tell him the truth) : Yes, there are sweets from India
Officer : Why did you not declare it in the form? You should have marked "yes" right?
Prerna : Oh am sorry! (Being a typical software engineer,she copied what others had marked ;) Lolz :D)
Officer : That would be a fine of 220 AUD
Prerna and Anu (she was there all the while witnessing all that was happening ;)) with thoughts - Damn we dint spend a penny yet and he's fining us man..Shit! What do we do now :(
Prerna and Anu (trying to be as sweet as possible :P) : We're really sorry,you could check they are just sweets from India..

The officer clears them off without the fine and did not ask them to throw the food either :)) After the clearance the officer says to Prerna sarcastically "And u r a software enginneer"!! All these updations we give each other while in the Airport Lounge ;) After cursing the lady wrestler and thanking the Indian officer we move towards the taxi stand :) We see hugely built,masculine taxi drivers standing and chatting..All of us were like : "Man they are so hefty" :D Anyways we then hire a cab..Seating as follows : Driver and me in front..Seated at the back(from LtoR) are Prerna Anu and Joyce..
He drives about 500 meters and then asks :

Driver : Where do you want to go?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue, Yokine
Driver : Yokine? (Pronounciation goes : Yokeen ;))
Me : Yes
Driver : Where in Yokine?House Number?
Me : 7/56 Wandarrie Avenue
Driver : Wand what?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue
Driver (Switches on the GPS,and tries for the place) : I don't see it,whats it?
Me : Wandarrie Avenue
Driver : Unable to find it
Me : W A N D A R R I E
Driver : W
Me : A...N...D... (Spelling it our for him!)
Driver : Then?
Me : A
Driver : What??
Me : A
Driver (Staring at me!) : Juss continues to stare at me which was shit damn scary!!
Me : Looked at him from the corner of my eye and thought - How else can I pronounce "A"? (Aaa,Aee..)
Joyce (All pepped up,interrupts from behind) : W for Wellington, A for Apple
Driver : I got WAND!
Joyce and Me try telling him A again,and holy god..We spot letter A on the GPS and just point that to him Driver : Aaah A!!

Then we converse in the language which the driver is not aware off saying : "Yedaaa..Itna bhi samaj nahin saktha..Nimajjiii..Naaven appa helidhu" :D And he finally finds out the route to Wandarrie Avenue using the GPS..What follows next got me on my nerves! If not for his physical structure I would have lost my cool for sure :P ;)

Driver : So where have you come from?
Us : Singapore
Driver : You know English?
All of us (Angrily!) : Yes - Ofcourse
Driver : Oh okay,so here to study?
Me : No we work at Singapore,here on a vacation!
Driver : Thought you came down to study English here
Joyce : Nooo!! We know English,We're Engineers working for a bank!

That got him to shut his mouth!! The remaining of our ride was spent in total silence coz the route that he took was totally deserted..Not a single car on the road nor a single soul seen..Just trees on either side of the road! Don't think we have ever been so silent when together,was the first instance :P ;) He finally got us to the right house and we saw the familiar face of our friend :)) Caught up with him on all that we had missed,enquired about the places we could visit,how to get there..Hogged on some sweets,pulled out all the warm clothing and bedding we had carried..Set up our beds with the heater beside us and dozed off :)

Australia - Dream On!

The Austrlaian fever caught four petite girls when they thought they should do some travelling..The destination was decided based on a small poll which went : "Which country would you want to visit atleast once in your life?" The unanimous reply was : "Australia" Its was our dream destination :) So thats how we hit on visiting "Australia"..Now next comes where in Australia - All of us went "Sydneeyyy" ;) That shout "Sydneeeyyy" and all of us enter all own worlds of imagination..

Dame 1 : "Man..All of us by ourselves at an unkown place..Wow have goose bumps now ;)"

Dame 2 : "Heyy..We'll go to that place where they shot "Jaane kyun log pyaar karte hain" Lolz :D"

Dame 3 : "Oyee..Why not make a lil loong trip and try to cover Melbourne too? ;)"

Dame 4 : "Gals..Lotsa snaps,so much to shop..Lets start saving okay :D"

Come on who would not wanna see the Opera House or The Harbour Bridge ;) Then we thought - Why not visit a place which is not so commonly heard of,which not many people have visited? Sounded great coz then we would be venturing out to a place where we had to do everything from scratch..Like find out all about the place,the places we could go around,the transport service there and what not!! That would be an adventure cum fun trip :) So thats how we decided on "Perth" ;)

Oh come on! Who would decide on a place like that? ;) Lolz :D We did some reality checks before closing in on the place ;) The major reality check being - Bank Balance :P Main reason for settling on Perth was : Free Accomodation ;) :P Lolz :D

Months of preperation..Starting with - Contacting the friend at Perth to know if we could stay over at his place? It was more of a demand to allow us stay than a request :P ;) With no choice left he had to agree :) Not a bad start we thought and proceeded to book tickets (Assuming Mustaffa would help us get the Visas) :) Jet Star was the vaahan we booked, thanks to the friend who introduced us to this else we were juss stuck with Tiger Calling (Tiger Airways!) :D

With the calendar application (on our phones) being opened and closed numerous times we decided on the dates - 6th May to 11th May :) As they say "Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear" a month passed and we were still to get the visa's processed..Lotsa shit we had to go through to get the damn stamping on our passports..Scenarios as follows :

Stage 1 - Mustaffa did not work :( They said since we hold Indian passports we had to contact the Austarlian Embassy for our visa's..We tried few other travel agents and got the same response from all :( So we got the details as to where the Australian Embassy was located..We called up the place before we went and they said we needed to fill in 2 forms each about 20 pages,one photograph,bank statements,letter from employer,EP and Passport with photocopies of all..Now the problem here was I had to get my EP renewed as it would expire in April and we were leaving in May..Thats an obstacle! :(

Stage 2 - Getting leave approvals..Problem for all of us :( There were instances where one of us was even asked to cancel our tickets :( Phew after a lot of pleading and literal begging we got all our leave's sorted!

Stage 3 - Now we needed to get a letter from our company stating we work for them with our income also mentioned..We call up the HR and she goes - "No we can't issue any such statements..Just get in touch with travel agents..What are they for they should be able to do it.." But the travel agent also needed the letter at any cost..The HR says - "Need a mail from your respective managers saying your leaves have been approved" Problem Again!!

Stage 4 - Again back to manager to get the letter..Hook or Crook we needed them..After a lot of pleasing again we finally get the letter needed..Next, the gals had to get their EP's renewed and this time they had to get it done themselves..There you go, two days gone for that again :( They get their EP's after two days..We then go to the agent with all our docs :) Agent assures she would get our visa's stamped as early as possible,coz should she have delayed then we would be screwed again coz two of the gals had to fly back home and then join us back for the trip! After we give her all the docs and the filled forms,we were about to leave and she interrupts saying - "Hope it does not get rejected and also you might have to attend a personal interview"..Jacked again..After all this no assurance given..Man you should have seen us then..All sulked and neither of us knew what to say :"(

Stage 5 - We were in the bus getting back home and the agent calls me..She says..Your bank statements are not okay,it does not have your name mentioned..Thats coz I had submitted internet copies..She needed statements which we get every month to our residential addresses..In my case that used to go to my old house :( Now I had no choice but get the statement..Latest month..Old House - Not a clue if they have the statements..Not in talking terms with anyone there! (Don't even get me started on this!) Like they say "Beggars are no choosers" Cursing my damn fate I went to that place to try my luck! As expected the reply was - "No idea if there are any such statement here" Dejected I leave the place and get out of the apartment..I take a look at the postbox and exclaim : "Wait a minute" ;) I open the flap of the postbox to see if something was visible..Thanks to almighty and I could see my statement..Not sure which month,assumed it would be the latest as it was on top..I managed to put my hand through it (Adv of having bony hands ;)) And pull out the statement which was the latest..My happiness knew no bounds!! :))

Stage 6 - Get a call from the agent again saying "She need the bank statement for 3 months totally"..Boy I was $%^&*#..I had no chance of getting them..But then could not give up hope! I went to the bank..See the poblem was if I go to the bank and ask them to give me a statement they would ask me either for my EP or my Passport and I dint have either of them..For any identification here I need to show either of it atleast..Optionelss I went and asked if I could get the statements..The lady said "ya we do issue but we charge 20$ per statement" I was like damn for a prinout soo much! Again prepared for it said okay with a heavy heart :( Then shez like "passport plz" I dint know how to react and juss smiled at her..Then I told her dint have it as had submitted for visa..Shez like okay can you tell me the number atleast..Now how would I remember that? ;) I said No I don't know,but could you plz check for it using my atm card (they could have it coz once they have my account number they would get all my details) Thanks to technology that worked..Next she says :"photo identification plz" What would I give her man?? Guess what I gave her..My Indian DL ;) I am hardly visible in that :)) She dint say anything and then asked me why I needed the statements..I told her everything and she was like where are the prev ones and how did you get the latest one?? I again told everything from moving out of that house to putting my hand in the letter box :)) I don't know if she pitied my state or what but she was such a sweetheart she levied off that 40$ and gave me the statements :-))

Stage 7 - All done and ready went over and gave the agent all the statements..Finally we got our stamped passports :)) There were times when we had lost hopes and almost given up!! But naah we dint and fought for it :)) So eventually we will be leaving on 6th and getting back on 11th :) Yuhooooo :D

Required for futher reading :: Dames disclosed ;) - Anu Prerna Joyce and Siri :)

Happy Birthday To Me! :)

Life is so beautiful and mysterious and what better way to celebrate life than to celebrate your own b'day.

I Love Birthdays. They are so festive and joyous, especially my own :P I love surprises and hoping for a few this year too ;) I love the buzz of my phone when the messages pour in, calls from loved one's at midnight,gifts from frenz and wishes from all :) Therez so much positivity to all of it ;) I don't understand when people say that 'It's no big deal' when it comes to their birthdays..Of course it's a big deal! This is the day YOU were born.. This is the day your friends and parents were blessed with a special person who would change their life :) I always argue wid my frenz saying : "I am a Kid" ;) (That's coz am born a year later than most of them ;)) Now that another year has passed the "Kid" has grown a year older :P And like any Birthday Baby I have my Birthday wish too ;)

In my next life I want to live backwards,You start out dead and get that out of the way.
Then you wake up in an old person's home feeling better everyday.
You get kicked out for being too healthy,

Go collect your pension,and then when you start work,

You get a gold watch and a party on your first day..
You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement
You party,have fun and are generally promiscuous,then you are ready for high school.
You then go to primary school,you become a kid,you play.You have no responsibilities,

You become a baby until you are born.And then you spend your last nine months floating in luxurious spa like conditions with central heating and room service on tap,larger quarters everyday and then, Voila!

You finish off as an orgasm!!

(Courtesy : Woody Allen )

Happy Birthday To Me !! :)