3 Christmas Day Pictures

3 pictures from Christmas Day in Melbourne.

It was wet...
Photo: Melbourne, by the river. Models: Jules, Gaz Man, da_tonester



















If you look closely, you can see the steam coming off Matt's steak

Photo: Melbourne, by the river Model: Matt, BBQ steak from Queen Victoria Market















But at least the evening was nicer and we had a good view. Very cold though. No pictures of traditional Aussie Christmas fare though (shrimp on the Barbie - though agree with others, it's more an 'outdoor cooker' than a BBQ, especially given the lack of charcoal). Maybe the next blog will be '3 things I've prepared on the outdoor cooker'

Photo: Melbourne

Merry Christmas from the Moochers in Melbourne

Well, it's Christmas eve, 10 degrees C and drizzling. So, not looking promising for a hot sunny Christmas Down Under. Never mind. Seasons greetings on this blog with three cheesy pictures taken from Singapore, Melbourne and um, the Vodafone store in Perth.

1. Singapore (Photo: Tanglin Mall)
2. Melbourne (Photo: Flinders St)
3. Voddo store (just to show the spirt of mammon is still alive. And in case you're wondering - at least if you're British - what a strange lot the Aussies are, you'll have to understand it's a cultural slang language type thing).

Photo: Vodafone xmas offer in Perth branch

Happy Christmas to everyone reading this blog (so, that'll be about 4 people then... Well, in that case, I hope you all have an extra special Christmas).

Cricket - laugh at it or leave it!

First up, if you want an alternative, and significantly more detailed take on KL and Singapore, have a look at http://caillieevans.blogspot.com/ . Huge thanks to PaulandCaillie for being great hosts and making Gazman and me feel really welcome.

And of course, part-time model on the extreme gurning blog, Gazman’s big tour of the world blog http://garysbigtouroftheworld.blogspot.com/

Caillie’s department store misquote from the bible is this
Photo: Tang's Department store, Singapore

In case you’re wondering, Tang’s has set up a ‘Christmas Treasures store’ – hence the really bad bible misquotation. It made me laugh. Ah, I can feel the greed in the air…

Secondly, I'm now in Perth and watched the first day of the 3rd Ashes test - probably the finest day of cricket I've seen in my life. Shame about the subsequent days where we've been getting hammered by the Aussies. Still, you gotta laugh. The second day, we went to Rottnest Island. Memorable for great beaches and blue seas, a bus driver who turns up 20 minutes behind schedule because he's pointing out all the tourist attractions on the bus route and random things like Osprey nests. Also memorable for Gazman and da_tonester's recreation of that bit in Casino Royale where Bond steps out of the ocean;
Photo: Little Salmon Bay. Models: da_tonester and Gazman.









Third thing which caught my eye was the native inhabitants of Rottnest island - the quokkas! This vicious breed of animal are unique and (I think) can only be found on Rottnest island. Some say that they've survived so long only because they have no natural predators. However, I think that actually, they've survived for so long because they've eaten all the competition. Sure they may look cute and they hop around on their two rear legs in an endearing yet slightly clumsy fashion, but I've seen that killer look in their eyes. Turn your back on them and they'll rip your spine out. You may laugh now, but when I train up my army of ruthless ninja quokkas and take over the world, it will be I who has the last laugh. Mwa hah ha haaaa!!! (evil laugh :-)
Photo: Wadjemup Lighthouse. Models: Gazman and bloodthirsty quokka

Comedy Comments on the Cameron Highlands

Went to the Kuala Lumpur and the Cameron Highlands for an extended weekend. A couple of noticeable things:

1. Driving in Malaysia - especially on the winding roads up to the Cameron Highlands caused much excitement. One truck was racing down the hill and took the 'racing line' on one of the blind bends (well, maybe it was one of the 'partially sighted' corners). Thankfully, the brakes on our Hyundae prevented a collision. On the way back down, we then had to deal with a car randomly pulling out into oncoming traffic for no apparent reason...Photo: Boh tea plantation drive. Model: Caillie and random other drivers

2. Visited 2 tea plantations - we had the mad tourist trap of the Cameron Valley Tea shop on the main road and the slightly more reasonably priced alternative tourist trap (scones were cheaper) of the Boh tea planatation (http://boh.com.my). Tea at Boh was the highlight - pick up some Bukit Cheeding No. 53 if you like strong dark tea or the delightful Gunung Chantik - not too strong, but a nice flavour. Came up with a new term - the great 'un-poshed'. I don't think Caillie falls into the 'un-poshed' category - after all, two people are taking pictures of her! :-)
Photo: Boh tea plantation. Models: Gazman Paul&Caillie
















3. Having been a week into our exotic Asian holiday, what do we decide to have for dinner? A proper English meal at Ye Olde Smokehouse. The roast beef was excellent, as was the leg of lamb and chicken and mushroom pie. The veg was grown in the Highlands and therefore pretty fresh. If you want to see Malaysians do 'English' better than the English, then have a look at the Cameron Highlands!

Photo: Ye Olde Smokehouse. Models: Paul, Gaz, Smokehouse waiters

Singaporean specifics

1. You'd have thought that this picture would be the scene leaving Heathrow. Wet tarmac indicating that it had recently been raining.

Actually, it was this rather overcast and damp day that greeted us in Singapore on arrival and Changi airport.

We'd actually left bright sunshine behind in London (well, when the flight actually left, although it was torrential downpours when we first showed up to check in at Heathrow).

2. Don't ever walk in the Singapore Botanical Gardens without having applied some insect repellent beforehand. Went for a walk there in shorts and legs ended up covered in insect bites. They're still pretty itchy 2 days later!

3. This is what you can get for lunch in Singapore for about £2.00. A round of Tuna and cucumber sandwiches and a diet coke really just doesn't compare.



Credits - Model: Gazman

Missing the UK

So, things I'll miss about the UK...

1. Seeing all my friends (some of whom are generally best viewed in low light conditions ;-)

2. Geraldine. And she'll be spending the next 3 and a half months in the arms of another man. If you're getting worried, Geraldine's my guitar. Unfortunately, this man's a much better guitar player than me. Which means having spent some time in the arms of a jazz guitarist, it's unlikely Geraldine will put up with me trying to thrash out the chords to American Pie or Sixpence None the Richer songs while singing slightly off key. Actually, I've only just named the guitar Geraldine to try to make this blog vaguely amusing.

3. The view from my flat in Putney. It is a very nice view as I'm sure you might agree. Just goes to show that you don't need to go to the other side of the World to appreciate a good view.

3 things

3 things to say;

1. Well, this is me. Pol. I'm be off visiting various parts of the world and will be meeting up with Matt and Jules (see http://wanderingwednesday.blogspot.com/) in Melbourne.

2. No doubt you're sick and tired of reading holiday blogs which describe what a good time the blogger is having and are written to make you want to quit your jobs and head off round the world for several months / years / decades.

3. If I do make you wish you were somewhere other than your office cleaning the gunk from the insides of your mouse, sorry. But I promise to keep each blog to 3 things. So at the very worst, you'll only have to read about 3 things which have happened to me. I'll try and keep your schadenfreude levels high and report the unfortunate things that happen to me first!