Feeling quite hungry we decided to share a sushi and sashimi platter for entree, followed by Patagonian tooth-fish for Travis and a hitori sukiyaki for me.  The tooth-fish was accompanied with enoki mushrooms, bok choy, kayaku gohan (mixed rice and vegetables) and leek.  My sukiyaki was made of wagu beef, vegetables, tofu and udon noodles. We also shared a pot of green tea between us.

The platter was delicious, beautifully presented and satisfied my fishy cravings.  We also enjoyed the mains, although Travis noted that the tooth-fish was somewhat oily (however he did acknowledge the health benefits of oily such fish).  All in all the food was enjoyable, service was friendly and the outing pleasant.  We were quite full and decided not to have dessert.   We finished the night at our friends’ house, playing poker and eating mango pudding.

Whilst, the course was crammed into 20 hours, with homework and presentation preparation during after hours, the course was still a lot of fun. Generally, the course was centered around teaching children, with some brief mention of adult students. One of the memorable techniques taught is the Rassias method, invented by Professor John Rassias, which teaches students a foreign language through a form of theoretical learning.

The highlights were group presentations, where we had to create and execute a 15 minute lesson for children. These lessons were in a non-English language, which gave both the student teachers and students an idea of how teaching and learning a foreign language felt.

Sonya’s group taught the class five words in Mandarin, and my group taught the class four words in Spanish. The teaching predominantly consisted of Flash-cards and various children’s games, all which the adult students seemed to enjoy immensely.

More photos from the group presentations can be found here.

We all didn’t know what to expect, and judging by their website; which needs immense improvement, we thought we would all be for an interesting experience, to say the least.

On arrival we were greeted by Helga (the restaurant owner) and shown to our table which was situated next to the fireplace. The interior was cosy with German flavoured decorations, and an obligatory painting of Beethoven above the fireplace.

The night started with customary very tall glasses of German bear made by the Weihenstephan brewery. For the entrée, we shared a Munich platter of meats and sausages which were all very nice. I ordered the Wiener schnitzel, and Sonya the chicken breast. Our friends ordered various other dishes.

After placing our orders was when things got a little weird. A few minutes later, the waitress informed us that they had run out of rib eye steak which forced a few of our friends to reorder. About an hour or so later, the waitress informed one of our friends that his pork shank had been overcooked, and if he would still like it served.

At around two hours from ordering, our meals finally arrived. The chef somehow managed to leave out the gravy, and included diced mushrooms only in a gravy jug accompanying my schnitzel. Our friend, who decided he would still like his pork shank, found it to be severely burnt on one side, but continued eating from the other. Finally, when we had all finished our meals, they brought out the bowl of fries we ordered, apologising and offering to remove them from the bill.

Overall, it was an interesting experience, and was fun to try something different for a change. The waitress was friendly, the interior nice, but the food a little too dear for the quality.

In total we spent a little under $10,000 Australian, for two people, 21 nights. Most of this consisted of airfares, $3000 return to Macau from Perth, and all domestic fares between China’s cities totalling about $2000. The hotels averaged about $100 a night due to being 4 to 5 star.

If we do plan to do it again (and we do), we would prefer to stay at inexpensive accommodation, as we both think expensive hotels are a waste. Time permitting; savings can be made on trains between cities.

The holiday served to give us a broad view of China most famous tourist sites, next time we will skip the big cities and immerse ourselves in more of China’s unfamiliar history and culture.

We have finally finished updating posts with our travel adventures.

Day One

We left Perth early for our long drive up northern WA. Kalbarri, in the mid-west, was our destination. While we had both previously traveled south many times, drives up north have been rare. Generally because everything north of Perth is so far away. For instance, Kalbarri is about 590km away from Perth.

During our first day we took the drive slowly, stopping at a number of small towns along the way. Our first stop was Lancelin. By some lucky chance, we managed to find ourselves in the massive sand dunes of Lancelin where plenty of dirt bike riding and sand-boarding was taking place. Took plenty of photos and walked around the dunes.

On our drive we tracked geocache locations (or waypoints) and stopped to stretch our legs and search for a geocache. Many of them were a lot harder than first anticipated, but we had a few laughs looking for them.

We stopped for lunch at a place called Green Head..I’ve never heard of it either (and I’ve lived in WA for most of my life). Travis brought along the trusty picnic bag which contained all necessary utensils and kitchen items and we made sandwiches.

As evening approached, and we found ourselves slightly north of Geraldton, we decided to search for a campsite for the night. After the continual spotting of “no unauthorised camping” signs we accepted that our fate was to that night camp on a proper camping site. We found a little hippy-esque site close by the beach, where over a dozen baby boomer retirees had setup camp. Impressive were their mobile homes, extravagant five sleeper tents, portable gas stoves and TVs. Whilst we were setting up our cosy little tent, we noticed one of the other campers had spotted, and was trying to pick up (the brave man), an echidna. We went over and had a look. Cutest spikiest thing ever! The sun set about 7pm. Not much night life at the camp site so we settled down and watched a film on Travis’ laptop.

Day Two

We woke early on the second day and headed straight towards Kalbarri, stopping by Northampton for fuel and food. We bought some natural yoghurt, multigrain bread, ham and cheese and ate breakfast along the way. We visited a geocache site but unfortunately, after spending half an hour looking for it, could not find the site.

We arrived to the spectacular scenery of Kalbarri (ocean on the left and national park on the right) mid-morning. The ocean was blue and the air was warm. At the visitors centre, we decided to head straight to the national park which is approximately 35 km from the town. Most of the road to the park was non-sealed, so it felt like quite a long drive. We went to the look out firstly and took some photos.

We then continued on to The Loop, a famous walking track which features the “Nature’s Window” rock formation. Due to the extremely sweltering weather we decided that it was not a bush walking time of the day. We walked to the Nature’s Window (did not do the full Loop) and continued to the Z-Bend which presented us with a 1.3 km walk before reaching any kind of oasis (or swimming area). Hesitant to walk such a distant during midday, we decided to go to the beach.

We left the park and went to a nice beachside park. Here, we had a picnic and lazed under a tree for a while.

Our next stop was Red Bluff, beach surrounded by amazing rock formations. We intended to search for a geocache here but upon arrival noticed someone was already looking for it! We walked around the area, dipping our feet into the ocean before heading to the cache site. After a bit of rock climbing and looking around, we found it (it was an easy one). We signed the log and then decided on a dip. The waves were huge and I got dumped every single time.

We decided to setup camp early after the previous days experience. We had found a nice caravan park / camping site right next to the beach. It was more than double the camping fee of the previous site ($23 as opposed to $10), but the facilities (e.g. bathroom, shower, swimming pool, kitchen, barbeques, etc) made it worth the money. Gone were the thoughts of living in the wild, we both longed for a shower and hot food.

After setting up our campsite we headed to the local supermarket to pick up food for our picnic. A barbeque chicken, a Caesar salad and some Shiraz. Watched the sunset as we relaxed and ate our food next to our tent. After the sunset we watched another movie.

Day Three

This was the drive 600+km home day. I commend Travis on his driving skills – he managed to drive the whole way back without requiring my assistance. Before leaving Kalbarri we visited a few scenic ocean sites – The Natural Bridge and Castle Cove.

The drive home was pleasant and took approximately 6 hours. We even stopped for a geocache (and fortunately found it) before arriving back to Perth mid afternoon.

The official Wikipedia definition of geocaching:

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world.

So far we have searched for five caches, with three successful finds. The first three caches we selected were relatively close to our houses, and required a 2-3km walk to the location. Our most recent cache was slightly further (about 7km) from Travis’ house, so we drove and then walked (I know, we could have walked the whole way, but it was getting dark!).

At this stage, we seem to be sufficiently skilled in locating the general vicinity of the cache, however we have spent some amount of time within the 5m radius from the cache (according to the GPS) searching high and low for the cache. Perhaps this is commonly the most difficult part of geocaching, or maybe we have a bit more learning to do!

After a few searches, we have so far encountered large eight-legged insects, climbed rocks and suffered minor injuries. The injury was inflicted on Travis whilst exploring a cliff face marked “Cliff Risk Area”. Despite all this, our efforts have rewarded us with beautiful views around places we’ve never explored. It’s also fascinating to see what’s inside a cache, who has been there and where in the world particular items have travelled.

My personal tips for geocaching would be: bring insect repellent, a camera and wear comfy, closed shoes.

Cache 1

Cache 2

Travis and I arrived at the Showgrounds late afternoon, hoping to secure a good spot to watch Björk’s set. We lined up for 40 minutes to get into the up-close-and-personal D-barricade section. Arcade Fire were playing which made the wait more bearable. It would have been nice to see them live properly, rather than being squished amongst smelly teenagers – but the line proved to be worth the wait.

It was dusk when Björk’s Brass Band entered the stage, playing their instruments in their brightly coloured outfits. Björk started the set with the upbeat, carnival sounding Earth Intruders.

This was then followed by the sensual Unravel. I’d never seen a crowd so in awe before, watching so very quietly as she belted out the beautiful lyrics. Her voice is so powerful and distinct. Björk then played Hunter. It must be said Björk is such a unique and kooky dancer. The visual display of the animal flags combined with her dancing was amazing.

Björk introduced the next song, noting in her tiny voice that it was a special request. I was so happy when it was All is Full of Love. While I love Joga, I had a feeling it was one or the other. And I was ecstatic that ‘Peerrrrrrth’, as Björk playfully called us, was lucky enough to have my most favourite song played. The song was so so beautiful and emotional. It was amazing to finally listen to it live.

The next few songs were from her more recent albums, Vespertine and Medúlla. These songs displayed her beautiful voice, poetic lyrics and eclectic melodies. Björk then warned us that Desired Constellation would be “the last slow one before it gets dark”. The sun had just set, and the crowd was all but prepared for the booming that is Army of Me. With an incredible laser light show combined with the stormy beats, this song so appropriately demonstrated the diversity in her music.

The set continued with I Miss You, the song about a perfect lover, whom she hasn’t yet met. Then, it was the theatrical and dramatic Bachelorette followed by an Icelandic folk song, Vökuró. Wanderlust, my favourite from the latest album, was then played.

Björk announced “it’s going to get a little crazy”.

The spectacular Hyperballad mixed with LFO’s dance track Freak got the crowd dancing followed by Pluto. It was fantastic! Hands were flying everywhere. Finally, Björk dedicated what seems to be the Volta tour signature song, Declare Independence, to the people of Australia.

Thank you Björk for the most amazing show, now I want to see you again!

Possibly, Maybe… I will.

Travis’ comments:
I really didn’t know what to expect from a Björk performance, I had previously watched Björk’s MTV live DVD, but in the end this turned out not to be a good indicator. Her performance at the BDO was simply amazing and above all expectations.

She started with her more familiar songs, and I was happy I got to hear Hunter, but as her performance progressed and as it became night, her songs got louder, faster and noisier. The change from her more emotive songs like All Is Full of Love, to the harder Army of Me and techno sounding Hyperballed, all with lazers was much unexpected.

It was the best live performance I have witnessed. Thanks Björk for coming to Perth and thanks Sonya for getting me into her music.

It is quite a bit of fun, and gives us good exercise. We will update our blog with interesting finds and photos as we look for more treasure.

Restaurante Platão

Restaurante Platão was a cozy restaurant located off a side street from Largo do Senado.

We started with an entrée of traditional sardinhas assadas (grilled sardines), and a large bottle of Mateus wine. For the mains, again, two traditional foods were ordered; Potato and Bacalhau (codfish) pie and bife com um ovo a cavalo (literally meaning steak with an egg on horseback). The food was nice and a good change from noodles and rice. The bill ended up costing 500HKD, which we thought was quite acceptable.

Historic Centre of Macau

As previously mentioned, Macau has immense Portuguese influenced heritage. The Historic Centre of Macau consists of a number of historic Portuguese buildings and landmarks; with the most famous being Ruins of St. Paul’s and Largo do Senado (Senado Square). It was a bit of a shame that we had to view these at night, the bright building colours were not as evident as hoped and any photography was quite difficult. The lighting did make the Ruins of St. Paul’s look even spookier and Fortaleza do Monte (on a hill next to the ruines) which had minimal lighting was even scarier walking around at night.

The Venetian

Finally, how can you not venture into a casino when in Macau? With the name Eastern Las Vegas and actually having a higher gambling revenue than Las Vegas itself, you really can’t. From stepping out of the airport and being presented with the luxurious casino hotel’s courtesy buses, to not being able to turn anywhere without seeing in your face flashing lights and over the top buildings, the casinos in Macau are very evident. Sonya convinced me to check out the Venetian stating it as a must see. She was right, and it was quite enjoyable walking through the lavish interiors and manmade canals.

The following morning we flew back to Singapore and then finally Perth, all sad that our great China trip was all over.

Muslim Quarters (Beiyuan men Islamic Street)

Xi’an has a large number of Muslim Hui people, so we thought it was a good idea to sample the Islamic influenced cuisine. After watching Chuanr of lamb and beef cooking on the street, we stepped inside, took a seat, and waited for the sticks of meat to be served. We tried numerous, various dishes, mostly trying to pick the more traditional food as recommended by the Lonely Planet.

Bell Tower

Situated within walking distance from the Muslim Quarters is the Bell Tower. We took a few quick photos before calling it a night.

Terracotta Warriors

The number one reason for visiting Xi’an was to see the Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Warriors is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as the most ‘significant archaeological excavation of the 20th century’, and over 2000 years old.
Unfortunately, due to our flight being delayed from Hangzhou we had only 4 hours to see the Terracotta Warriors and Qin Tomb. We arrived early in the morning to the museum and were one of the first there. Upon entrance of the first pit, we were left awestruck by the expanse of warriors all gazing at us. As we further read the history, walked between pits and then finally the museum of weapons well preserved warriors, the privilege of being able to see it all set in.

Emperor Qin’s Tomb Mound

With a little time to spare before needing to catch our flight back to Hong Kong, we quickly visited Emperor Qin’s Tomb Mound. At this time it was snowing which made it all the more enjoyable and a nice way to end our trip.