Melbourne - Conclusion

At last, familiarity, security......my second trip to Melbourne and meeting of a good old friend there. I was extremely grateful to her for putting me up at her place and bearing with my "unusual" habit ( she is shaking her head now, I know). I've never felt so safe since my trip began, having had to sleep alone at night for the past 1 week and checking repeatedly to ensure my doors were locked firmly. It was scary travelling alone sometimes. I have to be alert always, at times suspicious. I never expected this before I embarked on this journey. I thought I could tolerate solitude with ease. This had proved to be a challenge for me.

I learned to take the tram this time. Quite fun. I went to Yarra Valley and had wine tasting there. A terribly disappointing day marred by the rain. Fortunately the weather was gracious the next day when I scaled the Grampians and visited MacKenzie Falls, Victoria's largest waterfall. I was expectantly looking forward to another day of trekking and it was well worth it. I achieved what I wanted to achieve with the end of this expedition.

My "first" experiences from this tour:
1. Travelling alone - Before I left, I had a conversation with a medical colleague who just did his PACES ( Internal Medicine examinations) in England during winter. He went travelling alone to London and Holland after that but returned much earlier than he had planned because he felt that he had to share his joy with someone rather than experience it alone. I couldn't help but agree with him after my trip.
2. Trekking on a rugged mountain - MEMORABLE, exhilarating, but need badly to train up physically
3. Visiting mountains after mountains - Cradle, Wellington, Nelson, Grampians....all in a span of 10 days...of course they were not like Himalayas but I did feel a sense of triumphance at every summit
4. Walking - I probably covered more walking distance in the last 10 days than I had walked in 1 month in Singapore. Expect some hypertrophy of my gastronemius after this stint

Failed missions:
1. Ended up staying in cosy lodges instead of backpackers inns as planned earlier. I felt terribly pampered. Can't imagine myself alone at Turkey or Nepal where my friends had ventured by themselves right now
2. Exceeded my budget of $1500 for this tour due to my extravagant accomodations and chalked up phone bills
3. Dealing with solitude - don't think I'll attempt travelling alone again because I was literally bursting to share my elation and fears with my loved ones throughout the journey

Valuable quote from my friend in Melbourne: "Life never always turns out the way we want it to, but it's how we make the best out of it that matters."

Hobart - The Blooming Tasmania

I made my way to Hobart the next day, Tasmania's south and capital city, about 2 hours' coach ride away. I had planned to explore the Freycinet National Park in the east originally but changed my mind after the rigorous trekking at Cradle Mountain. The picture of two persons hanging free from the cliffs in the brochure obviously did not make it more appealing to me, at least not that point. I concluded that I would make my trip back there once I have built up my stamina and ready for the 6-day trek at Cradle.

Hobart was cool! I loved the place instantly when I reached there. It was cosmopolitan, bustling and lively. For once I saw more Asians since the beginning of my trip, probably due to the presence of the University of Tasmania at Sandy Bay, another happening location with rows of stylish boutiques and gift shops. The gracious homes and colonial buildings, like Launceston, were erected on slopes ( think of San Francisco). I guess I am a city girl afterall.

Like Launceston, every destination here was within a hop and a skip with a self-guided walking map. I strolled to Battery Point, Hobart's trendiest residential address, flavoured with cottages of Georgian architecture and some of Hobart's most popular restaurants. The colourful autumn leaves formed palatable garnish to the backdrop. I was eventually led to the Princes Park and the Salamanca Place made up of mellow sandstone facades of historic warehouses. I would have missed the famous Salamanca Market which took place only on Saturdays and promised exciting sounds, sights, actions and colours of Australia's best outdoor market. Nevertheless I was contented with the downtown shopping at the Elizabeth Mall which was also the business heart of Hobart.

My abode in Hobart would be another lodge situated up on a hill, next to the Royal Botanical Gardens and overlooking the University Rose Garden. It was a Victorian house built in 1880 and owned by a middle-aged couple who had been residing in Kuala Lumpur and Victoria in their working days, before eventually settling down in Tasmania for its serenity and unhurried lifestyle. Mr and Mrs Jones were hospitable and cooked the best continental breakfast I've ever tasted. It was also in the lodge that I met a humble couple from Perth during breakfast. They had never visited Singapore but had heard of our "fines" policy and "over-controlling" government. I had to be politically correct, being an automatic ambassador of my country in a foreign land, and was rather amused when they excitedly informed me that their daily weather presenter was now in Singapore introducing our very own Merlion and Raffles Hotel. Mr Jones appeared fascinated by our night Safari, which I vaguely remembered having brought my foreign friends there many years ago for a visit. I was glad that there were more pleasant issues about Singapore to be recalled.

The following day at Hobart was well-spent at Port Arthur Historic Site which boasts of Australia's premier convict past. This journey allowed us to cross the Tasman Bridge which the locals held in high esteem, and scrape through the Eaglehawk Neck and the Blow Hole. I decided to give Richmond town a miss, since it was similarly an old convict site, albeit the captivating Georgian village set.

My days in Hobart were completed with a short tour to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory in the morning, followed by a drive up to Mount Wellington and Mount Nelson. This was perhaps the first tour in my life that I had scaled so many mountains, not to mention the Grampians later on at Melbourne. It was the perfect weather: cool with the glowing sun. The views from above were spectacular, with almost the whole of Hobart in presentation.

The most memorable part of the day had to be that of the city and suburb sights that we went through. The guide was extremely professional and knowledgeable, driving us diligently around most of the destinations and more valuably, the outskirts and residential areas which we would have conveniently missed if we had travelled by ourselves. It was PARADISE! The beautiful cottages mounted on the slopes with vivid autumnal colourings preceding leaf drop......MESMERISING......I simply gave up clicking away on my camera as I savoured every moment and detail of it. It was a sight worth reliving for.

It was a pity that I could not catch every word that the guide had mouthed. In fact it was tad embarrassing when I had problems adjusting to his strong Ozzie accent and needed him to slow down or repeat things he said. I never really had this problem with other Australians and I certainly hope that this would not leave him with any doubts about Singaporeans' standard of the English language.

I had to forego the Tasmanian Royal Botanical Gardens and the Cenotaph before I flew back to Melbourne due to time constraints. Mrs Jones was raving about them and I personally love basking in the company of floras and fauna, more so in the delight of autumn. I missed visiting the museums and galleries too in town, and wished I had stayed longer. Most of the travellers spent months touring the whole of Tasmania, driving in a loop from the north to the south and back to the north. I would never have been able to achieve that unless I retire or am jobless, which in this case, I'll be confined to backpacking.

I truly enjoy my experience and treasure the memories of the Blooming Tasmania.

Launceston - The Walking City

I shifted to the lodge at the end of my Cradle Mountain tour. It was a small brick-walled building owned by a middle-aged couple, situated 5 minutes from the city, with a hydro-powered windmill adjacent to it. I had a decent room to myself, complete with an attached bathroom, a springy bed, coloured TV and cooked English breakfast in the morning. From the window, I would have a full glimpse of the garden and the windmill. It was lovely. I had a good sleep that night. My friend was not wrong when he called me a spoilt brattess. But then again, Richie was right too: "You are a doctor; you don't need to stay in a backpackers".

I set off to the Cataract Gorge the next day. It was supposed to be a 15 minutes' walk away from where I stayed, but I obviously took more than half an hour to reach the entrance. The houses in Launceston were located on the mountains, stagging up in rows up along the slopes. I had to scale the steep angles amidst these abodes to reach my destination. I was lucky to be blessed with an excellent weather that day with a cooling temperature of 16 degrees and an inviting sunshine. It was another long "trek" for me but I did it at my own pace. Along the way, I managed to snap a few pictures of the beautiful houses with breathtaking autumn colours around them. I was greeted by rosy-cheeked joggers and cheery birds chirping away.

Cataract Gorge Reserve was special, in the sense that it was a piece of wilderness smacked right in the heart of the city. Between the towering granite facades, there were more walking and hiking tracks, lookouts, a suspension bridge, Victorian gardens, free-roaming peacocks, and the longest single span chairlift in the world. The suspension bridge was closed for renovations which was a pity. I took another long walk along the Cataract trail, which offerred excellent views of the dolerite columns along the cliffs. The trail ended at King's Bridge overlying the Tamar River, where I headed back to the city.

Launceston is known as a walking city, as you would have known why by now. It is the third oldest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne, but without all the bustling and modernisations that we see in the two latter cities. In fact, I thought it reminded me a lot more of Virginia in US. Early colonial and Victorian buildings amidst the numerous parks were common and all within comfortable walking distance. It was a pleasurable stroll for me without the heat and humidity that we experience in my hometown. In fact I acquired a mild tan on my face without realising it. Majority of the shops were closed on Sunday (reminded me of the "ghost towns" in New Zealand during Christmas) and the streets were otherwise relatively deserted with most of the population congregated in their churches. I chose to chill out inside a bookstore in the city before retiring in the lodge to rest my tired legs.

Cradle Mountain

This was definitely the highlight of the whole trip. There were 5 of us: Me, Bonnie from Hong Kong ( graduate in Property Analysis), Richie from Sydney ( who was doing law at Uni of Sydney), Tareq from Lebanon (undergrad in chemical engineering) and Yusuke from Japan (specialised in IT). The guide was Lee, a very experienced local who had scaled numerous mountains in Sabah and Sarawak when he was in his twenties.

We embarked on our tour early in the morning, praying hard that the rain would stop for the day. Well, it did. We drove along Deloraine Town with wonderful views of the Meander River as well as a glimpse of the historic township from the coach. This was followed by a morning tea, specially prepared by Lee's wife, complete with coffee and tea, homemade cakes and cookies. This was something new to me which I thought was really personal and cosy. We took a guided tour into the Marakoopa Cave which featured underground streams,as well as stalactites and stalagmites with pool reflections. This would have appeared similar to most of the caverns that I had visited in China and US. The specialty of this tour had to be the stunningly beautiful display of blue-green glow-worms, decorating the ceilings of the caves like the starry-starry night ( Tareq and Richie can stop debating about the colours of the glow-worms: IT IS BLUE-GREEN). "Marakoopa" in Tasmanian Aboriginal word means "handsome". Now we know why.

We took a walk into the Marakoopa cool rainforest where we were introduced to the rich giant trees, ferns, moss, lichen, etc, all of which were feasts to our sight, olfactory and hearing systems. One of the coolest walk I had ever had.

We made stops at Echo Valley which as the name suggested, was echoic. After our shouting match, we headed up to the cradle mountain where I would face one of the most physically challenging tasks ever in my entire life.

I was not prepared mentally and physically for this. We were actually trekking up the rugged slopes of the mountain! I started huffing and puffing halfway through and my legs began to ache and cramp. It was the most embarrassing moment in my life. I wanted to give up but was prompted by Lee to continue: "I am not letting you stop here; if my 70-year-old folks can do it, you can". Along the way, the slopes turned treacherous as they became steeper and edgier. I started having palpitations ( wondered if they were exertional or fear). The sun touched on my face and the air got thinner. Eventually after about 1 hour, we reached a summit. YEAH......I DID IT! The feeling of triumphance was undescribable. Afterall, my effort tolerance in Singapore had always been 2 to 3 flights of stairs only, with the guilt of being a couch potato most of the time when I was not working and indulging in gluttony at other times. We savoured every minute up there, taking pictures with the backdrops of Lake St Clair and Walls of Jerusalem.

The challenge was not over. We only completed <1% of the whole Cradle, wich amounted to 2 km of journey. It would require 6 days to finish the whole of it. Alright, I need to start exercising and training up. As we proceed down the slopes, I had a mini-lecture by Lee on "How to lead a Healthy Lifestyle": take up a sports, no hamburgers or couch potatoes, eat more veggies.......truly ironical, considering that I should be telling my patients that. The Cradle tour ended with a walk to Dove Lake at the foot of the mountains where we had more group pictures of our conquer taken.

These were further followed by short walks to the cold Gondwana forest which was supposed to resemble one of those shots from LOTR. We spotted a wombat but I was too exhausted to chase for a picture. We strolled through Sheffield, a township famous for its historic murals, and ended the day back in Launceston.

Well, I hope I have not given the locals the impression that all Singaporean doctors were unfit. Dr Ben Tan ( Singapore's national sailor-cum-sports physician) would have to salvage our reputation soon. Bonnie was surprised to learn that this was my first trip overseas alone. Despite both of us hailing from Asian countries, we realised how different our life perspectives and attitudes were. I could not forsee myself backpacking and job-searching for 1 year all by myself in a foreign land. I would have missed my comfort zone too much. Wish you all the best in your endeavours, Bonnie!

Tasmania - My First Day

Home sweet home! After a good 10 days well-spent in Tasmania and Melbourne, I am glad to be back to my safe comfort zone in Singapore. I've added on some new characters in my addresses - wonderful people whom I've met during this trip as well as old friends whom I bumped into at the airports in Australia. Small world indeed. I normally write after every trip that I made, so be prepared for an avalanche of ramblings and babblings.

This was perhaps my hastiest and most unplanned trip that I've ever made, having decided on it and booked the tickets just one week before I flew off. My superior had been generous in granting me this long leave, which I sincerely appreciated. I suppose she reckoned I needed this break badly, after watching me suffer from the most excruciating headaches ever during my rotation, driving me to see a neurologist and having an extensive MRI done to exclude a subarachnoid haemorrhage or a centenial bleed. It was God's blessing that everything turned out normal and I was able to make my presence felt in the Oz.

When I told one of my friends that I would be backpacking in Tasmania, there was a momentary dead silence......and followed by a comment: "We are too old for this". When some learnt that I'll be heading there alone, exclamations followed: "What, ALONE? Are you sure?" Now, I know my non-Singaporeans friends out there are going to laugh their heads off or shake their heads in disbelief when reading this, but yes, I have to spend most of my time explaining why I'm going solo on this trip for once. Gosh.....I really don't want to launch into a long story here, which I can sense some of you are probably tired by now while reading this.

Ok, this is my first trip ever alone. For the countless trips which I've made since my graduation, there had always been a friend or family travelling with me. I've flown out of the country alone at times, but would usually be greeted by family members or friends at my destinations. But this time, I'm all alone in Tasmania: no friends, no family. And it was going to be a budget tour for me....or supposed to be .

Launceston
After a decent 7 hours on the plane, during which I caught the "inspiring" movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Diane Lane ( synopsis: a newly divorced American lady who found a new life and man in Italy, the land of romance), I made a transit at Melbourne to Launceston, Australia's third oldest city. My first impression of the city: serene, towny, sparsely populated. With anticipation, I arrived at Launceston Backpackers, a very small old building that didn't quite live up to my expectation. Before I had left for the trip, a friend who had backpacked in Tasmania warned me: " I don't think you can survive the backpackers inn. Choose a single room with your own toilet." Well, I did get a single room, with a shared toilet though, and no sheets or blanket. I had to pay extra to obtain the latter. The worse part: the room had no windows! Only a small opening at the ceiling that communicated with God knows what. The shared toilet had no soap, no locks, which meant anyone could've had access to it anytime of the day. It didn't help when the rain descended on the same day. I had to make a trip to the city to book for my day tours, and thankfully found a subsequent alternative accomodation at a nice decent lodge nearer to the city. I decided that I had to have a taste of what it was like staying in the backpackers after all, since it had been my first intention. That was perhaps the longest night I've ever had, saved by the numerous textings and talking on the phone with my friends to keep me alive. Thank you, my friends who had responded, from the bottom of my heart.

I am glad the fruitful subsequent trips to the Cradle Mountain, Cataract Gorge and the city itself made up for all the misery that I had over the first day at Launceston.