Bali Trip (24OCT - 31OCT14)

***This took me ridiculously long to post :( Been so caught up at work!!*** 

This is my second trip to Bali, whilst a first for my partner! He wondered why I wanted to go back - my reason is because things are relatively cheap, and it is definitely cheaper to fly to somewhere like Bali than it is to travel domestically in Australia. 

I started planning this trip around June/July this year, and finding a time to suit. I had initially planned for us to go beginning/mid October as it would be like a birthday trip for the both of us (our birthdays is exactly two weeks apart). However, due to annual leave reasons and the airfares, turns out that we had to go at the end of October :(

On top of that, I was initially excited about the fact that Garuda Indonesia had really good agent rates, but was told last minute that of September 10th, it was no longer offered. FML.

Regardless, I was determined to make this trip happen since my annual leave was already locked in. Flights were still reasonably priced at $650AUD per person with Garuda, so I locked that in. The trouble was actually finding out where to stay at! Bali is such a hit with tourists all-over and with so many options to choose from in different parts of Bali, it took a while for James and I to narrow it down - location, convenience, accommodation type, and of course: price.

This trip was meant to be almost a budget trip, finding the best deals out there. However, after many discussions, we decided that we wanted more of a private villa, rather than a resort. I decided to look at Seminyak, since it was a popular area to be in, plus located conveniently close to Legian and Kuta. Maca Villas & Spa Bali showed up on our booking system and I managed to secure a relatively good agent rate. 

I mentioned in my last post about Maca Villas & Spa, which I recommend looking at as I absolutely adore it.

Anyways, without further ado, here's my latest experience on Bali!

Day 1 [24OCT14]

A day flight from Brisbane direct to Denpasar with Garuda. I must state that I found the legroom in their economy seats somewhat spacious. I am of average height for an Asian woman, around 5ft 4".

We also did the most touristy-cheap-ass thing of ordering a lot of alcoholic drinks. We both stuck to Screwdriver, but for some reason they ended up giving us orange juice and gin. Yuck.

Arrived into Bali around 2:20PM-ish, due to a slight delay. I hold a Malaysian Passport, so I did not need to pay the visa fee and also, a way shorter queue for ASEAN passport holders. Unfortunately for me, and for James, the queue for the visa ($35USD per person) on-arrival was long, and the customs line was even longer.

We ended up waiting like an additional 1 1/2 hours after arrival.

I noticed that the airport looked very different from my first trip - new airport. They also had a licensed money changer, right after customs, which offered a decent rate (around Rp. 10,200 to $1AUD), so I exchanged $100AUD for the time being. Not located too far away, was a taxi stand, where you tell the man at the counter where you were going and he gives you a rate on a piece of paper receipt/ticket, to which you will present to a taxi driver and pay him later.

Past that, is the duty-free section where I bought a carton of Sampoerna Avolution Menthol (one of my favourite cigs brand & type) for around $26AUD (16 x in one pack - 10packs in a carton). Noticed this one guy bought like 3 or 4 cartons lol.

Upon exiting the airport, we were swarmed with taxi drivers, and drivers holding up name cards. A man approached us and we handed over the ticket.

About 40 minutes later, we arrived at our location (by this point, it was like around 4:40pm).

We paid, hopped out of the cab and we were greeted with friendly smiles and I received a mini frangipani bouquet and welcome drinks for the both of us.

Click on the link above to read my review on Maca Villas & Spa!

Nothing much happened after that - we decided to unpack and lounge around the private pool, drinking Bintang beer and Heineken.

We decided to take it easy after a gruelling day of being on a plane for 6-plus hours, and stuck waiting in queues and decided to check out the in-villa restaurant & bar after finishing the beers from the stocked mini-bar.

The waiter who served us was lovely: genuinely friendly, and provided a great service whilst he brought us our large bottles of Bintang each. He later disappeared as we progressed to the other side of the restaurant to order some dinner. The other waiter was equally as lovely, and we had a Negroni each whilst waiting for our food. Although I am not a fan of gin, I occasionally enjoy a strong drink.

James had a craving for a club sandwich, whilst I went straight for the traditional Indonesian fare of Ayam Panggang (direct translation: Chicken grilled). I loved the marinade/spices they used on the chicken. It was well-cooked: moist and well-flavoured.

Not the best photo (the new camera James bought for my birthday, doesn't seem to like night shots), but a damn good dinner!

After the Negroni, we were recommended by our waiter to try the Godfather, which I enjoyed more as it was a sweeter, but just as strong drink. Post dinner, we had a Mai-Tai. Yummy!

We decided to bill this to the room as we did not want to deplete any cash we had on the first day. By this point, we were tipsy but surprisingly not drunk and I ended up skinny dipping in the private pool. You know, just cause I can and why the hell not?

Day 2 [25OCT14]
Had a great sleep, although James woke up with several mosquito bites throughout the night. We had also pre-ordered breakfast the night before and at 08:30AM sharp, the doorbell rang and we were delivered breakfast. *sigh* I wish I had this kind of service everyday of my life! Definitely spoiled whilst we were there.

The perfect start to the day: Nasi Goreng, served with Kicap Manis (dark sweet soy sauce), Acar (pickles), and Sambal. Also comes with eggs and uh.. keropok <-- don't know how to explain this in English.. savoury fried crackers?

Being the most typical Asian, I had to have rice for breakfast. James still laughs at me 'til this day, wondering how I can stomach rice, noodles and sometimes, spicy foods for breakfast. I always shrug and say that was how I grew up and always mention that I prefer savoury foods as oppose to having something like cereal, which only keeps me full for like an hour. 

After breakfast, James wanted to walk to the nearest beach, which didn't sound too far of a walk (estimated 15 minutes?). However, it seemed closer to 20-25 minutes due to the fact that there was no proper sidewalks and access to the beach seems further as the view was blocked by many buildings.

On top of that, it was an exceptionally hot day, scorching sun blazing down on us. If ever find me in this scenario, I get super-cranky and complain-y as I do not like such intense heat. Oh, the irony of being born in a South-East Asian country. Laugh all you want.

We managed to find a back-road lane access to the beach, to which we were greeted with extremely hot sands which felt like Satan had set on fire - yes, our soles were scorched (no pun intended). I tried to speed-walk to the water as fast as I could! After enduring my whining, James finally gave in to me, and we ended up at this restaurant/cafe near the beach, as I was dying for a cool/icy cold drink.

Thankfully, they had granita on the menu - Strawberry & Guava for me, whilst James went for a Lime & Lychee option. I was glad that the granitas we ordered tasted like they were made from fresh fruit, and more importantly, that it cooled me down to a point, where I stopped being cranky. 

 James seems happier after I stopped having my cranky-pants on

Me in a much better mood :P

After cooling down, we decided to head into Seminyak Square, where the shops, cafes, bars, happening things are at. 

Oh, I forgot to mention, that we've experienced a first-ever: locals stopping us to promote a new property. It must have been a gimmick, as James' raffle had a small prize of 2x free t-shirts whilst I gained the first prize. The only catch was to head down to the said property. Additionally, we noticed it was targeted towards foreigners who have to be at least 27 years of age. Unfortunately, we did not qualify, but I was tempted to check it out as the first man (Martin?) was really nice, and if we had popped down he would have earned $50USD for his work. The poor man :( We decided not to at the end of the day. 

Anyways, whilst heading towards Seminyak Square, one of my earrings decided to drop and I lost it forever in Bali as it rolled into one of the bridge's crevice into the water. I was quite upset as I had only just bought it before this trip. 

Oh well. 

Seminyak Square was definitely a happening place! I ended up purchasing a lovely sarong in a teal-blue with cream designs <3 To make up for my lost earring, I had also purchased a cool, silver ring :)

Just an excuse, you know!

After walking for a bit, we decided to stop at a funky little bar, by the name of Red Carpet Champagne Bar. Here, the waitstaff are dressed in cute outfits which resembled old-school bellboys (think the outfit from the Grand Budapest movie). We ordered a couple rounds of Heineken and a Spanish Tapas to soothe our munchies. 

Man, they serve their beers in a mini-ice bucket. A brilliant concept which should be utilised at all bars on a hot, sunny day! 

 The ring I bought at Kapal Laut (Seminyak Branch), which means Sea/Ocean Boat in Bahasa. 

Spanish Tapas: Meatballs (pretty good meatballs), cheese, marinated squid, & olives

After that, we continued our drinking spree at Single Malt Bali, which is attached to/part of Ize Hotel. One thing that caught our attention was the funky cocktails they offered: 

I ordered the Canadian cocktail, which had like Canadian Club, Maple Syrup, lime juice? and candied beef bacon. James ordered a Jalepeno infused cocktail, which had a slight throat after-burn effect. We stuck to something more normal, like a beer, after that.

By this point, we were slightly tipsy and we headed back to the villa. Had another pool session before James decided to have a night out. I advised heading down to Legian, and finding the place I had a fun time at: Vi Ai Pi. 

From my first experience in Bali, I remember having a great night out. My friend, who I went with, had retired back to the hotel as he had low alcohol tolerance, whilst I carried on with rum & coke. Back then, the band which was playing pulled customers up on stage to sing popular covers, like Rihanna, Adele, etc., I had the pleasure of having a party with the male-lead singer before I ended up too drunk, ditching them without saying good-bye and crashed when I returned at the hotel. Good times.

This time round, they had a different cover band, which only pulled up one customer, and was filled with tourists. Nontheless, it was a great atmosphere, with the band playing hit songs.

We continued on to one of the biggest nightclubs in Bali, Sky Garden, which is part of like 8 clubs & pubs in one building! (Also, it's located right next to Vi Ai Pi). It was insane and one can easily get lost on its grounds. We had to pay a cover fee which included a free drink, so it worked out to be alright. 

Some intense laser-display was going on!

After some intense dancing session, we returned pretty drunk - a.k.a we turn nasty whilst drunk as in a huge disagreement over a completely irrelevant, small topic. That was the last thing I remembered before passing out.

Did I mention that we had a 12-hour day tour the next day?

Day 3 [26OCT14]

Thankfully, in a Mesha-drunk-state, I still and will always remember setting my alarm, so I woke up in time to somehow get out of bed and answering the door when breakfast arrived. I had quite a hangover, feeling nauseous and puke-y, so ended throwing up most of my Mie Goreng before the tour. I had to also force James out of bed, despite the fact he was still superbly mad at me. *sigh*

Otherwise, we were about 20 minutes late, and the poor tour guide had to wait for us. I apologised, but he was still friendly and introduced himself, Gede and the driver (which didn't speak much or at all) Putu. 

The night prior, before heading out, we had received a phone call from the company (I had also forgot to mention that I pre-booked a 12 hour tour, prior to leaving for Bali), asking what we wanted to do. I had always wanted to go back to visit Tanah Lot as I felt that no trip to Bali is complete without seeing one of it's famous landmarks. 

Fortunately, Gede had been around a while to advice what we should do to fit it into our schedule, so our itinerary ended up like this: Visit a Silversmith, Woodcarving, local Balinese community compound village, Holy Spring Temple, Kopi Luwak (Civet cat dropping coffee), lunch near the Rice Terraces at Tegalalang (we wanted a traditional lunch, although our tour did include some bread, pastries and refreshments), Monkey Forest, and Tanah Lot. 

The first stop was a silversmith shop, Dewi Sitha. I asked Gede why he chose this place as there was about a dozen, if not more, silversmiths in Ubud. He said that he had to bring us a to recommended places, which is good enough for clients. 

One thing which stood out, in the silver products was this necklace, which I had not seen anywhere else, and decided to splurge a bit.

Handmade silver, and carved cow bone. Got 40% off the selling price. Still pricey, but I adored it too much to not purchase it.

Next, was to visit a local compound. First of all, I forgot to mention that Gede was a very informative guide, to the best of his ability in English. These compounds are like the traditional living spaces for locals. Gede explained how and why the layout was built the way it was. We had to also tip like $1AUD ($0.50AUD each), as a sign of respect for allowing us to explore, what essentially is, someone's home.

It was a pretty cool experience, as we tend to forget how lucky we are with first world facilities.

 The stove: Gede explained that the meals were cooked in the morning once a day, for 3 meals and family members would help themselves.

 Gede mucking about the kitchen, whilst we were still gobsmacked

One of the residents making rice-cakes. Gede explained that it was going to be sun-dried and later fried to make a local dish during celebrations.

Porcupines kept as pets. Gede explained that porcupines are pests to local farmers. I asked if they ate porcupines, and he said yes. O_O  

There's a dedicated room/hut for the elders in the compound village. After looking at this, I cannot complain about modern cooling-facilities, even a fan. They had none in the tropical weather throughout the year. Respect

Gede also explained how the compound layout was built, representing a human body - the head (north) was the family's private temple, whilst next was the elder's hut, leading down to an open-air hut which the family uses it for ceremonies (and also death rituals for the deceased), to the kitchen and later to the "leg area" where the unclean things, such as the toilet and washing area, pigsty, is located.

 James & I at the entrance of the family's temple

Next we visited a local woodcarving place. We didn't buy anything from here, as I already had 2 small wood carvings for James from my previous trip. It was still pretty cool to see how they turn a block of wood into detailed carved statues.

 Hard at work: From men who are carving from scratch, to women polishing off the end product.

 Insane detail

Next, we visited Tampak Siring - Holy Spring Temple. Gede explained the history, myth & legend (which is explained in the link).

Gede said that we were also lucky to visit at the time when an actual ceremony was taking place, allowing us to fully encounter and learn about their culture.

We also had to don a sarong each as a sign of respect.

Straight after the temple, I was dying for some food (as I threw up most, if not all, of my breakfast) and my nausea had subsided). What was better, was that Gede said we were going to visit a place where they serve Kopi Luwak. Surprise, surprise, we went back to one of my favourite place in the world - Satria Agrowisata. This place blossomed since my first visit, and seems to have doubled in size as well. Nonetheless, it is amazing place where they served samples of various teas and coffees. 

Civet cat - I nearly died of cuteness overload. I read some where that they do suffer in captivity, so I felt quite sad for the 3 in cages. I actually almost had the opportunity to eat a civet cat whilst in Malaysia. WTF O_O 

Washed and dried coffee beans

Roasting of the beans. 

I think that old lady is the same grandma I took a photo of on my first trip in 2012. Seriously! I remember Satria being much smaller, but still provided the same old good service. The young guy in the photo below claimed to be the owner's son (?) or helping to run the family's business. I was glad to see that this time round, their farm had grown larger.

That's what you get! Happy people in Bali :) Photo taken from my 2012 Bali trip.

The number of drinks provided had also grown in numbers, with different coffee & tea flavours. All of them were soooo goood! I wanted to buy them all but was on a tight-ish budget, so we narrowed it down to the Lemongrass Tea (my absolute favourite of all time), Rosella Tea, and James decided to get the Ginseng Coffee.

A new addition Satria provided (good news for smokers like us), is that they provided the shredded tobacco (like the ones you buy in those rollies' pack). The reason, is purely so you can taste the tobacco leaves they harvest from their own farm! 

I had no idea how to roll a cigarette without a filter, so had the girl (photo below) roll us one. Admittedly, one of the smoothest cigarettes I've ever smoked. I mentioned this to the guide and Gede said it's purely because there's no other shit in there, other than the tobacco and rolling paper.  

Yummy! This place is one of the reasons I love Bali!

Next on the list, is Tegalalang: Rice Terraces. I grew up in Malaysia, where I've seen rice fields, but not as impressive as these, here in Bali. For James, it was definitely a first and I think he enjoyed this whole  tropical experience.

We hurried through the photo-taking sessions (bless his soul, Gede just didn't take one photo but offered to take several at a time, from different angles. Cannot ask for a better guide!) as I was starving by then. He led us to this restaurant which had great views, overlooking the rice fields.

Just chillin' with my lemongrass tea :)

Lunch! Fried duck with rice, satay and cheese samosas

After an hour, Gede was back and we were whisked off to the next place on the list! The Monkey Forest in Ubud. Now, there are quite a few places where you're able to find monkeys, temples and lush vegetation in Bali. More often than not, it's in Ubud. In the past, I visited this cool temple in Uluwatu filled with monkeys too. 

This part of the temple was pretty picturesque, with some of the sunlight filtered through the trees and thick vines.

After the visiting the temple filled with monkeys, we headed down to the last stop of our tour - Tanah Lot to make it in time for sunset!

I can finally check Tanah Lot off the touristy Bali check-list!

I just realised how ridiculously long this post turned out to be, so I'm going to summarize the rest of my trip - just to point out the highlights!

Barbacoa:
We went to this restaurant as I saw this in one of the brochures in the villa, and realised that it was not far from where we were. James and I decided to check it out for lunch. It features "southern"American food, including Mexican influences. Initially, I was a bit skeptical - come on, I mean, if I feel like I can't find a good Mexican restaurant in Australia, what are the chances Bali was going to do it better?

Boy, was I wrong.

THE. BEST. TACO. EVER. 

 Pulled pork, pickled red onion,  sweet pineapple on corn tortilla *mind blown*

 Barbacoa's own style spicy snapper cerviche with aji amarillo dressing

 Grilled squid, jalepeno, guacamole & Barbacoa salsa

Definitely one of the place worth checking out if you're ever in Bali. My colleague went a week after I did, and she, as an American, too can vouch for how great the food is!


Jimbaran Bay:
Littered with restaurants to accommodate tourists wanting the on-the-beach dining experience. James and I winged it and took a cab down and the cab driver apparently just chose one for us (literally drove up right into the restaurant!?). The one we went to was called Ganesha Cafe.

The one thing I highly recommend (especially for any Southeast Asians like myself) is the Butter fried squid. Sounds disgusting, but holy fucking hell! I drool every time I think of it!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last but not least James and I did go river rafting! A first ever for me and boy was it fun! It was in Ubud, and the best part about the whole thing was there was pit stops where you can buy beer (expensive for Bali standards, but hey, still bloody cheap) and have a smoke, on the river whilst resting.

A reason as to why Bali is ever so popular amongst tourists - and trust me, I've sold a shit load of Australians to Bali!

Tasmania Specialist Conference 2014 (Plus a Free 4-days Educational Trip!)

***EXTREMELY LONG POST! BUT YOU GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY TASMANIA EXPERIENCE!***

So, I have been a busy, busy little bee (hence the delay in submitting a post, let alone such a long one)! The rewarding aspect of being a travel agent, is that occasionally I score a free trip (aka also known as a famil)!

Everyday, we get a "Hotline" (which is a Word Document, containing various important travel-related updates), and several months ago, the Hotline contained a first ever Tassie Specialist Conference, to be held in Hobart. The only thing I needed to do to qualify as a Tassie Specialist was to do several online modules and pass the quiz! After completion, I received a pretty nifty little pack containing my certificate of completion (officially a Tassie Specialist!), some maps and further information regarding Tasmania. 

For those wanting to know more, in-depth about Tasmania: 

http://www.tassietrade.com.au/ 

or

http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/travel-information

These links contains almost all the handy information needed to plan your next trip to Tasmania. Even though the first link relates more towards travel agents, it is definitely a resourceful website :)

Not long after that, I received an email for an Expression of Interest to register for the conference and also the choice of a famil (I chose the post-conference North-East famil initially, but got the North famil in the end) and pretty much forgot about my registration, so you can imagine how surprised I was when they have accepted my registration! I FINALLY GOT MY FREE EDUCATIONAL TRIP!! I was completely over-the-moon, and could not believe what I was reading (I had to re-read that email 3 times). THANK YOU TOURISM TASMANIA! <3

P.S: I had almost wet myself from excitement when they sent my flight details & itineraries. 

Without further ado, here is my Tasmanian experience:

DAY 1 [19SEP14]

Woke up nice and early and ducked down to Brisbane domestic airport to catch my 8:00AM Qantas flight to Hobart. Now, I have to focus on this fact that it was my 1st time flying with Qantas! 

Okay, it is ironic that I sell Qantas but had never flown with them before. I was pretty damn excited about it. The Qantas section of the domestic airport had the self-check-in option but I still enjoyed queuing to drop off my checked-luggage.

Qantas, however, does not have a direct flight to/from Tasmania (Launceston/Hobart) and both ways   goes via Melbourne.  

I had about an hour plus transit time there and did some shopping (Victoria's Secret had a 40%, so I bought myself a brand new handbag and make-up case :P ). 

Onwards from Melbourne into Hobart. My, oh, my, what a beautiful way to fly into a city! The flight from Melbourne to Hobart was operated by Qantas Link, so it was a smaller aircraft (2 x 3 seats configuration) and the plane flew pretty low over the water to land.

AAANDD, Qantas actually provided each passenger with an iPad mini for entertainment! The only downfall is that I did not take a set of earphones with me :( so I had to twiddle my thumbs for entertainment.

Another thing I have to mention, is that Qantas does not hold back on feeding their passengers:

 Flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, I either had a choice of Muesli & Yoghurt (which came with a mini muesli bar), or the Cereal with a Mini-Muffin. I chose the latter.

For even a short hour-plus flight, Qantas served a damn good Shepherd's Pie (Aussie style, with Tomato Sauce). It is good based on other airplane food.

Upon arrival into Hobart Airport, Kate from Tourism Tasmania was there to greet and welcome those who were on the same flight/arrival date. Hopped onto a coach bus and onwards to Hobart city!

View from the coach 

There were several stops, as some of the other consultants stayed at other hotels nearby. In my itinerary, I was staying at Hotel Collins. 

It is a pretty cute, small 4-star property, which is conveniently walking distance to Woolworths, the ferry terminal (to Peppermint Bay & Mona), and the Salamanca Markets. 

I shared a room with another Flight Centre consultant for most of my trip.

Lovely touch! They had provided us with a customised welcome letter and also a little gift - 3 pack of preserves. I <3 sauce.

One thing I have to rave about the room is... THE PILLOWS! OMG OMG, SUPER DUPER COMFY PILLOWS!! I slept like a baby for the short 2 nights I was there. I was also very tempted on stealing bringing home one of them. 

Upon check-in, they had also given us vouchers for breakfast and 1 x Standard Drink (tea, coffee or a Tasmanian beer/wine). A girl I met along this famil, Victoria, agreed that an alcoholic beverage right after check-in would be awesome. 

Moo Brew Pilsner is awesome!

Then, we decided to check out Hobart's waterfront area and for some lunch.

Victoria and I decided to try Mures for some seafood!

Nothing better than a small basket of prawns, half a dozen oysters and a beer :)

After lunch, we decided to check out the Salamanca Market area, where we had a couple more drinks.

Once we had our alcohol fix, we ducked back to the hotel to refresh ourselves before heading to the Welcome Reception, which was held at the Henry Jones Art Hotel. 

Yes, I got lazy and did not attempt taking any photos and was busy picking at the canapes - which were super delicious.

BUT...

Guess who gate-crashed our little function?

Loading

Omfg with Heston Blumenthal #tsc14 #mycookingidol #bucketlist

View on Instagram

 *MESHA CAN DIE HAPPY NOW*

Didn't make it for drinks at the Observatory as I was too drunk off the generous free-flow of alcohol that night and wanted to have a good night's rest for the next day - the Salamanca Market Challenge & the Conference.

DAY 2 [20SEP14]

Woke up, got ready, had a very healthy breakfast whilst reading through the Salamanca Market Challenge.

Still can't believe that they gave us $10 each! :D Thank you!

I wanted to buy like most of the things the market had to offer, but guess I can't have everything :( One stall vendor did catch my attention though:

Jewellery made from antique silverware! 

Unfortunately, I have misplaced the business card, so I cannot place further information. I did purchase a ring which was made from a cocktail fork though!

After the challenge, we ducked down to attend the conference which gave us a goodie filled with many good random things - a slab of Cadbury Chocolate Bar, a bottle of the Cape Grim water: "purest water on earth", and etc. The day consisted of speeches about the different areas of Tasmania, morning tea, lunch and the best part: speed-dating suppliers! We've received further promotional goodies and information. Some of the best items I gathered from that day was a little seal stuffed-toy, a computer-mouse and some other random toys.

Our evening itinerary was a cruise, courtesy of Peppermint Bay Cruises, to.. well, Peppermint Bay where the gala dinner was held.

 They gathered most of the photos that was posted on Instagram and projected it on the wall. Yes, my photo of Heston did pop up too!

Unfortunately, I did not win the Salamanca Challenge: the reward was a scenic flight of Tasmania. 6 lucky consultants had a chance to do so!

By the time dinner finished and the cruise back to Hobart, the majority of us went back to our designated hotel and crashed. I slept like a baby that night, but rest was well-needed for what was in store for me!

DAY 3 [21SEP14]

Woke up really early to pack and ducked down for breakfast. I was really excited as it was the first day of the actual famil! Checked out and first stop: a ferry ride to MONA (Museum of Old & New Art). Even the ferry was funky! They had a caged parrot on the ferry, no joke!

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we only ended up having 45 minutes to run around the place. Rather than appreciating too much of it, I was running around the place with my camera to grab as many photos as I could. Yes! Photography is allowed in MONA, however, there are some areas that flash is not appreciated.

MONA was definitely one of the strangest art gallery I have ever been to: there are many weird and fantastic pieces which shocked, insulted my senses and intrigued me. Definitely a place worth visiting, even if you are not that interested in art.

 This... really bugged me. From afar, I couldn't make out what it was meant to be, until closer inspection.

Yes. Yes, they are plaster casts of 150 female genitalia - ranging from young to old. Holy Jesus, some disturbed me.

My favourite one so far: the ash Buddha!

Smelly, pooping contraption 

Okay, remember when I said that some of the works here will insult your senses. Well, this is one of them. One of the girls on the trip told me to check out a machine which is meant to mimic and show how food is processed into faeces by our body. Supposedly, they do feed the damn thing. This is the only photo of it - as I approached it for more up-close photos, the strong smell of poop raped my nostrils and I ran away gagging.

Me in front of this wired-truck-thingamajig!

After MONA, the 2-hour plus drive begun, to Launceston, with scenic fields along the way. We stopped to grab some lunch at Zeps Cafe, in Campbell Town. Again, due to time constraints, we had to order food that could be made relatively quickly (this was a shame as I would have loved to try the pork belly on the menu!!). Once our bellies were filled, our next and last stop for the day was in Hadspen, at The Red Feather Inn. 

Since there was a larger ratio of women to men, the women shared the 'Murphetts Cottage'(I finally had a room to myself! First & last night of no co-sharing!!), whilst one lucky dude had 'The Loft' to himself!

Living room - Murphetts Cottage

Super-duper happy to have had a large bed to myself for a night!

Who knew red onions could be used as home decorations? I didn't :/

We had an hour plus or so to just chill/unpack/etc., before the 'Perfect Pasta Class' begun. I was super-duper excited because I had no clue how to make pasta from scratch! Plus what we made was our dinner for the night - Minestrone Soup for entrees, Ricotta & Spinach Stuffed Ravioli (pan-fried with pine nuts and broccoli) and Tiramisu for dessert.

Had a few others starting the tiramisu 

After prepping the pasta dough, he split us up by assigning certain groups with different tasks. Some stayed on to prep a different sort of pasta dough, made from semolina flour, whilst a few of us went out to the veggie patch to gather some fresh vegetables.

 Fresh, as fresh can get!

We ended up with a massive bowl of spinach and other vegetables such as kale, celery, broccolini and etc., to be used in the entree and the main course. We then had other prep work before the actual fun begun - turning rested dough into pasta (ravioli)!

 Some funky Stained Glass Pasta!

My babies :) 

This was made from the semolina flour batch. I have no clue what type of pasta this is, but I am assuming it is Radiatori. This was used in the Minestrone soup.

Left over pasta hung to dry 

Then the even more enjoyable part = eating our results!

By golly, this Minestrone, served with the little semolina pasta and pesto was THE BEST I've ever had. Not just cause we had made it, but I hate the soup in general as I find it either too bland or watery at times. This one was perfect! 

The Tiramisu team may have been over-generous with the alcohol - there was literally a shot of liquor left at the bottom of the glass! Still yummy though :)

After dinner, some opted to head to bed early whilst a few of us decided to gather around an outdoor fire-thingamajig and have a couple more drinks. Needless to say, I was super-drunk that night. Worst decision ever as we had another big itinerary the following day. Other than that, I think most of us from the group can agree that The Red Feather Inn experience was the highlight of the trip.

DAY 4 [22SEP14]

After the usual shit of packing up and checking out, the first stop was at the Queen Victoria Museum - started off with the normal stuff you see at a museum: stuffed local animals, some historical artefacts, etc. One funky part was a stuffed Tasmanian tiger (now extinct) and a rail-related portion of the museum.

 Taxidermy of a Tasmanian Tiger

Straight after the museum tour, we had the Boags Beer Lovers Tour (which sounded awesome when I had a look at the itinerary, but not so great when I was hungover.. Boo..). It was a quick tour about James Boags Brewery and how beer is produced. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside, but got a few photos at the tastings, which was outside the factory. It was definitely a first beer tasting I've had that was paired with cheese! Also, got to munch on some actual roasted malt. That was a first.

 Yummy beers, though I personally enjoy the Boag's XXX Ale the best. Please note that you can only drink Boag's XXX Ale and Wizard Smith's Ale in Tasmania. They aren't exported inter-state. 

Mini-museum upstairs: Can designs over the years (plus an accidental selfie included)

Couldn't believe that I had a beer (as opposed to a full 3 glasses) and cheese for morning tea, before we headed into the Tamar Valley region, stopping at Velo Wines for lunch, where we all received a pizza each. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you whether I liked any of their wines or not, as I was still not feeling well enough for the consumption of alcohol.

A filling lunch also meant sleepy time: whilst we drove onwards to the next destination, I fell asleep on the coach (I am assuming there was a few of us who dozed off!) and woke up when we arrived at Seahorse World, where we had a quick tour about the place. Highlights of this place: I got to touch and hold a live seahorse! *squeals*

 There's something very disturbing about seeing this many seahorses in one area. I don't know why this freaks me out a bit :/

 This sea-dragron is my favourite! Look at the bright colours on it! 

Okay. This photo does NOT do this crab justice. Let's just say that the big claw was like half a metre long, if not bigger. 

Our tour guide holding up one of the biggest hermit crab I've seen in person

No photos of me holding the little seahorse though :( *regret*

Located right next door to Seahorse World, is the Platypus House, where we had our second tour about these cute little fuzzy semi-aquatic egg-laying mammals. I only learned several years ago that platypuses are actually venomous (males only). You know what they say! There are plenty of things that can kill (or attempt to kill you) in Australia!

No photos of a platypus as it was pretty dark and all my photos turned out blurry *cries* But, I'll make it up with an up-close photo of an echidna! First ever time where an echidna is literally walking around right next to you.

It's so cute! It's little long pink tongue goes around slurping the feed in!

After our little tours, we drove to George Town, where we checked-in at Peppers York Cove. We had a little site inspection after checking-in.

 Our room for the night. Every deco at Peppers is pretty modern. Love the red, white and black decor.

Missed out a photo of the showers - the room I was in had those shower-heads which is was as big as a side-plate and was installed from the ceiling, which gave a rain-like experience <3

Since we were pushed for time again, we pre-ordered what we wanted for dinner before our last tour for the day: Low Head Penguin Tours

I've seen many penguins before in the wild, so this tour didn't appeal to me too much, BUT I did get to see a couple of penguins in the act of mating, and that was the highlight. Seriously, it's not everyday you get to see them doing it, like doggy-style.

By the time the tour ended, I was starving and could not wait to hide from the cold. Dinner was waiting for us when we returned.

Prawn & Scallop Slider for my entree: Wasn't too impressed as there wasn't much prawn nor scallop and a whole lot of bread. Slightly disappointing.  

Main course: Wallaby with beetroot quinoa. First time having wallaby and goddamn it was good. Tasted like a cross between kangaroo & beef. Ommnommnomm

As per usual, after dinner meant bed-time for me, as we had an early morning start again.

DAY 5 [23SEP14]
I'm not a huge breakfast fan, but I decided to have something warm and savoury. The staff at Peppers were courteous enough to accommodate my simple request, which I am thankful for.

 Poached egg with fried haloumi - Told the staff to give me one egg as opposed to two and not to serve me toast. Perfect portion right here :)

View from dining area

After breakfast and having my caffeine hit for the day, we were off to Hollybank Treetops, where I was lucky enough to do the 3-hours Zipline tour (this is was on my bucket-list). The other group did the Segway Tour (2 hours duration) instead.

No photos just of yet as we weren't allowed any mobile phones or loose items. But, I did receive a DVD copy after my famil, so look out for a post with further updates :)

Did I mention I had fear of heights?

Post-adrenaline rush, it was time for lunch at Pipers Brook Vineyard, where we had a tasting as well. Though we only received small portions of wine, all of us started acting silly. I personally did not enjoy any of the wines there enough to purchase a bottle (since we were to visit Jansz after that; decided to keep my options open for bubblies instead).

Best platter ever! The quiche served on this plate was the fluffiest, most decadent quiche! T_T I don't know when I'll be able to find a quiche this good ever again (note the quiche portions are on the middle right).

Bellies full and we were to do a quick tour of the winery: From the machinery to the cellar where we tasted wine in the process of ageing in the barrels. Not tasty I tell you!

Next stop: Jansz 

My manager was like going-on about Janz, and I was a clueless child. Supposedly, it's one of the well known brands for sparking wines.

Tasting time!

Out of the entire lot, I liked the taste of the Jansz Vintage Rose 2010, so I bought a bottle (off memory, I paid like $45AUD for the bottle).

By then, I was relatively tipsy and was ready to check-out our next stop in Launceston: The Cataract Gorge.

Yes, I realise that I've been saying "First Time" a lot, but it's true! There's many things I haven't experienced before :( First time on a chair-lift too.

 There was a lot of plants before reaching the end. Had to hold my legs up to avoid contact

 Quite a few peacocks flaunting their tail feathers

Next stop: Hotel Charles

No photos here as it reminds me of Hotel Collins, which wasn't a surprise when I learned from the conference, that it was run by the same group of hotels. We had like an hour and a half to relax before we had a progressive-dinner (courtesy of Tourism Northern Tasmania).

Another first, with progressive-dining. Had entree at Hotel Charles before moving on to Saint John Craft Beer Bar for mains - had one of the yummiest pork belly burger and fries, prepared by a food van Eats with Beats.

Entree: Salmon, Scallop, Quail & Pork Belly <3

Cannot remember where dessert was held, but they had some great Creme Brulee (I had two small portions despite being over-stuffed with food).

Being that full, falling asleep was not an issue when we finished our progressive dinner.

DAY 6 [23SEP14]
Our last day in Tasmania! Woke up really early to have some breakfast before my final packing :(
The last stops in Launceston was at the Design Tasmania Centre (which didn't really appeal to me too much), other than the fine woodwork displayed.

However, close by was a park where they had a Japanese monkey enclosure. Thought that was pretty nifty!

The last place we visited before heading back to our respective cities, was the Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Company, where we had lunch and a chance to purchase sauce (and if you don't know me by now, I am addicted to sauce. All food must have some sort of sauce/gravy/relish!!). Purchased like 4 different ones!

Not only did they serve lunch, and sell sauces, they also have a garden and some scenic view going on.

Straight after lunch, we headed down to Launceston Airport to check-in for our flights back. At the check-in counter, my checked-bag actually weighed 24kg ++!! I arrived in Tasmania with only 16kg!! I blame all the brochures and stuff I received from the conference lol.

Thankfully the lady at the counter wasn't particular about that 1 extra kilo.

Was pretty sad to leave Tasmania after spending such a short but intense time there.

 Leaving Launceston :( Photo courtesy of Skye (taken from her Facebook)

First and foremost, I must apologise for the long wait in posts as I either procrastinate or get too busy to finish a post, especially one as long as this! I have truly enjoyed my stay in Tasmania, and can definitely understand how and why they are able to say that 70% will come back to visit this beautiful Australian state.

The local produce is fresh, and so is the air, which means better tasting food and a better lifestyle (definitely won't see hustle & bustle anywhere!). Wildlife and scenic views are abundant and there's definitely plenty of activities to suit all sorts of budget.

I haven't been able to share all of the photos from this trip as I'm afraid it'll make this post way too long, but have posted the nicer ones!

Other than that, I want to personally thank all of those responsible for my trip and making it such an enjoyable & memorable one.

I can only hope to have the chance to visit Tasmania once again!