Scotschick

Hi Guys

Since a few of you have asked here are our thoughts/experiences on our recent trip to Oz. Will probably have to do it in a few instalments as have to get to work soon. Poor hubby has been up since 3.30am (obviously jet lag kicking in).

Friday 9 February
Got up early as previous day it had been snowing quite a bit and a few of the airports were closed. Obviously panicking at this point hoping our flight wouldn't be cancelled. Travelled to Edinburgh airport without incident and flew with BA to Heathrow. As usual the flight was good.

Arrived at Heathrow and had a nightmare trying to find the bus to take us to the Crowne Plaza and ended up on a 45 minute journey of approximately 4 miles. Checked into the hotel and as we are in the priority club were given a room on the executive floor which was really nice.

Saturday 10 February

Met my brother, sister in law and nieces for lunch. They took us to Windsor which was really nice and we had a good old wander around the town. Flight wasn't till 6pm so this was a nice diversion for us. My brother dropped us off at terminal 3 at 2.30pm and so the fun begins.

Couldn't believe how mobbed Heathrow was - our check-in for Malaysian was already open with a lengthy queue. Got checked in and had a wander around the airport until the flight was called. Actually passed quite quickly and as it was a 747 we were called about 45 minutes before departure. Got on to the plane ready for the long journey ahead. Our 5 year old was asleep before take off and slept the whole flight (all long 12 hours of it). If you fly Malaysian avoid row 47 like the plague. It is very noisy as it is next to the galley and there are cupboards right next to the seats so the crew are in and out of them the whole journey. Anytime I just about got to sleep was disturbed by them going into the cupboards or by someone pressing their call button which is obviously connected to the galley area. Also found that the service wasn't that great eg when they came round with water, drinks etc they always seemed to run out before they got to our row. When they went back to where they last served drinks they ended up giving some people seconds before they had even got to us the first time which I thought was really bad. Anyway enough of that.

Sunday 11 February
Arrived in Kuala Lumpur absolutely exhausted. We had a 9 hour wait in Kuala Lumpur but I had already reserved a room at the airside transit hotel which I would definitely recommend to anyone with a few hours spare there. It was great to have a little kip and we all were able to have a shower and change of clothes which was great. We had the room for 7 hours and it only cost about £20. Definitely, definitely worth it. Kuala Lumpur airport is very busy but after we checked out we managed to find a really nice quiet seating area just above the gate we were flying from with seats that were reclined so really relaxing and still able to keep an eye on when our flight was about to be called. Restaurants were okay and nice bar called Cheers. Boarded flight and departed on time. Much nicer aircraft this time with more legroom and much better service. 8 hours passed really quickly. Again our son was asleep before take off and slept for the whole flight.

Monday 12 February
Arrived in Brisbane. Passed through immigration - officer was really nice not the usual surly one that we always seem to get when we go to Florida. We were validating our visas and got our passports stamped and that was it!!!!! Now officially able to reside in Australia - woo hoo. Went through customs and I had ticked on the form that we were carrying foodstuffs as had some chocolate and crisps and nuts. Silly me forgot to tick the box about nuts but customs were great about it and actually wished us a nice day. If that had happened in the States I would probably have been frogmarched off to a room to be strip searched or sent straight back home on the plane. They were totally laid back about it and sent us on our way.

Had prebooked a car with Red Spot Rentals (think that's what they are called) which was sitting waiting for us a few minutes walk from the terminal. Can't believe how quickly everything happens at Brisbane Airport. We were through immigration, collected luggage, through customs and sitting in our car within half an hour of arriving. How quick is that?

Headed down the Gateway Motorway as we were staying at Surfers for our first week. Quickly had to learn how to read a map to make sure we were going to the right place when we got to Surfers. Well what can I say about drivers in the Brisbane area. Flippin mental. They just pull out into the lane in front of you without really looking and obviously expect you to make room for them all. Hubby is a courteous driver and always lets people in anyway but the drivers were just pulling out whether it was clear or not. No wonder there are so many crashes - you definitely need all your wits about you.

Arrived in Surfers after driving round the centre a few times (thanks to my wonderful map reading skills - NOT) and stayed at the Breakfree Centre apartments which are right in the centre of Surfers - few metres from the beach. Checked in and went up to the 24th floor to a 2 bed apartment with fantastic views of the Coral Sea. The views were quickly overshadowed however by the state of the apartment. The place had obviously not been cleaned (chewing gum on the kitchen floor, carpet filthy with stains, bedrooms not hoovered - you get the picture). It was also a bit run down and in need of refurbishment. I went down to complain and was told there was no other apartment but they would send cleaners up - give them their due the cleaners were up within 5 minutes. Cleaners were also disgusted with the place and found things I hadn't even noticed (they apparently weren't the people who were supposed to have cleaned the room). By this time hubby and I were getting mighty peed off and he went down to talk to the manager. Lo and behold they found another apartment for us on a different floor - it still needed cleaned though but we were allowed to go and have a look at it first. This apartment was much nicer and had obviously been recently refurbished so agreed to move into it once it had been cleaned. This apartment also had a really nice ocean view and a lovely balcony so would definitely recommend.

Oops better get to work - to be continued ...........

curly

Enjoyed that, hurry up back was just getting into it

travelbug

I like it when people do it in diary format........look forward to the next instalment!

Scotschick

Right folks I'm back.

Monday 12 February (continued)
After the cleaners left we were finally able to chill. I can't believe how jet lagged we felt so had a little kip so we could go and do stuff later on in the afternoon. Our apartment was directly above the Centro shopping centre so there were plenty of restaurants within a few minutes walk which was great. Later on in the afternoon we went out to the beach which was great - lovely sand and incredibly warm sea. Couldn't believe how warm it was certainly beats freezing your backside off in the North Sea. Was a bit apprehensive of our 5 year old being in the water though as there was quite a rip tide and it was amazing how much pull there was on him from quite a shallow depth. Definitely felt more comfortable with all the rescue guys around and very impressed with how they dealt with the swimmers each time they were out of their depth or drifted outwith the flags. It was great just chilling on the beach watching the world go by and our son absolutely loved making sandcastles and burying his dad in the sand. Although the beach was quite busy we had a lovely relaxing afternoon.

Surfers itself is very busy. Wouldn't compare it to Blackpool with sun as it is very different but it is certainly very touristy. We happen to like that kind of thing though and thought it was great having arcades and ten pin bowling to keep our son amused at night. Definitely plenty of things to do.

Tuesday 13 February
Couldn't believe it when we got up and it was pouring rain. Never mind it was still very warm so we decided not to waste the day and headed for Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Was a really easy drive to get there and not too far from Surfers. First thing we did was head for the koalas to get our photo taken with one. Really cute but didn't realise how smelly they were. As our son was too young to hold the koala I took him and ended up with koala crap on my lovely white top which I had to wear for the rest of the day - thanks Boomer (mental note to take clean top next time I meet a koala). Was really good fun though and got a good photo of us. Next we went to feed the kangaroos. A really feisty little one took a shine to our son which made him a bit nervous. Have to say I was a bit apprehensive myself - had visions of being boxed in the ears or kicked in the butt but all they were interested in was the food and as soon as it was finished they were off to the next punters. Walked round the sanctuary which was really nice but was disappointed I wasn't able to cuddle a wombat. Our son really enjoyed the day but as soon as he saw the playpark that was him - he was no longer interested in all the wonderful flora and fauna all he wanted to do was play. It's right next to the restaurant though so hubby and I were able to chill with a coffee while our son played to his hearts content. There was a lovely little train that went partway around the sanctuary so we caught this back to the entrance. We probably would have spent more time there if the weather had been better but it was still a really nice day out.

Wednesday 14 February
Decided we better start looking at accommodation today and sussing out a few areas around Brisbane. Headed up to Carina/Carindale to try to get a feel for the place as that was where we have thought about moving to. My wonderful map reading skills came into their own again - ha ha but we did manage to navigate our way around without too much problem. Went to have a look at Carina Links as that was one of the places we quite fancied staying initially when we move over. Did seem quite nice but unfortunately they didn't have an empty house that we could look at and were obviously not aware of what availability they might have in May when we are looking to go over. Is quite difficult though as we won't have a definite date until we sell our house. When we left Carina Links we passed the Stellar resort which I had seen before on the AV Jennings website. Decided to stop and have a look at a couple of show homes. The homes were lovely but there was absolutely no distance between you and your neighbours and barely any garden ground to the rear. For approximately $500,000 I thought this was a little pricey. Was also made aware that they were subject to Body Corporate and that there were certain restrictions imposed on buyers. Decided these weren't really what we were looking for.

Headed back to Surfers and played the obligatory game of ten pin bowling at night and watched hubby and son play on the dodgems a few times.




Have to get my son to bed now so will be back in a wee while.

Mrs JFW

oooh hurry back.... i was just getting into that!

Jackie x

curly

me too

thewoodz

oooh i've just found this and now i'm waiting too!

melbaby

please write more i am gripped!!!!

we were due to fly out tonight but house fell through last week 3 days before completion eek!!!!

but on positive note have sold again and are due out mid april so perhaps it is meant to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thepomandozzy

oooooooh i am now waiting toooooooooo

hurry back

Kapri

More More!

Scotschick

Here we go again.

Thursday 15 February
Beautiful day today so we decided to make a trip to Wet n Wild. Had a great time on the slides. Son was a wee bit disappointed though as there were a couple of rides he couldn't go on due to being too short. Loved floating around the park on the rings - very relaxing. Son also loved the wave pool. The park wasn't too busy but it was obviously mid week outwith school holidays. Longest we had to queue was 5 minutes which was great. Would definitely recommend going if you are into that sort of thing as it is a good day out - definitely plenty of things to keep kids amused especially if they are water babies like my son.

On the way back to Surfers hubby decided to check out a few car dealers. As he is a carpenter he was looking for some sort of ute. Really liked the Toyota Hilux Workmate which sells for around $24k with accessories which is a really good price. Think he will probably go ahead and order it when we go back. Still have no idea what type of car I want though but I guess the priority at the moment is for hubby to have his wheels so he can earn the cash.

Headed back to the apartment and out for tea. Found a really nice restaurant (think it was called the Surf Club) right on the seafront. I had barramundi and chips, hubby had surf and turf and our son had nuggets and chips. The surf and turf was a massive steak with prawns, scallops and a moreton bay bug. We also had a couple of drinks each plus 2 OJs for our son for a grand total of $57. Wow - how cheap is that they were enormous platefuls and really tasty.

On the food front hubby was especially fond of the roast pork noodles from the Vietnamese shop in the mall and the kebabs from the Turkish shop in the mall. Definitely a good choice of food and especially loved sitting having breakfast at Billy Baxters - also totally loved the Gloria Jeans coffee (flat whites all the way). Our son loved the ice cream shops which seemed to be plentiful in Surfers.

Friday 16 February
Decided to chill at the pool at the apartment for a while. Had a lovely kids wading pool and swimming pool. Water was really warm which was great. Apart from our earlier problem with the dirty apartment have to say the Breakfree was really good with excellent facilities. Location is fantastic if you like to be in the centre of the action. Only downside was it was a bit noisy sometimes at night as there were some kind of bar tours going on with 50 noisy drunken people roaming around the streets but I guess you should expect that somewhere like Surfers where a lot of the younger kids go.

In the afternoon we decided to go out for a drive and ended up going to the Pacific Fair shopping mall. Still can't get over the fact that parking is free. Any malls here cost an arm and a leg to park in. Some really nice shops in the mall and quite a nice food court.

At night did the usual - ten pin bowling and spent a fortune in the arcade but was worth it to have one happy 5 year old with no tantrums for a change.

Saturday 17 February
Drove up to New Farm to pick up hubby's mate and went out for breakfast. Went to a really nice restaurant further up the river. For $79 we had eggs benedict, a ham and cheese omelette, 2 big breakfasts, cereal and toast, coffees and OJs which I thought was a really good price. Hubby's mate had bought the Courier Mail and knew the areas of housing we wanted to look at so highlighted the open houses within our budget. We then headed off to Carina/Carina Heights/Carindale areas to have a looksee. First property was brand new but on quite a small lot. Wasn't bad for $520k but still couldn't see myself living there. The next property was a total dive. We had to remove our shoes at the door and I am sure my feet were dirtier coming out than they were going in. I am sure someone must have been having a laugh when they put the property on the market as it was little more than a shack which reminded me of the Clampets yet they were asking for $480k. The third home we visited had a fantastic pool but the inside was badly in need of renovation and to be honest was quite dirty. The owners were also moving out as people were looking around which I thought was quite strange. Can't believe they were wanting $540k for it - it was in a nice area though. Even worse it was being rented out and the people were moving in on the Monday. I'm afraid if that had been me moving in I would have been extremely disappointed and would have tried to cancel my lease. Presumably they knew what it was like before they were moving in though.

The final property we went to out of nosiness. It had a very grand opening and was very open plan downstairs with 3 staircases leading up to a guest bedroom, 2 kids rooms and a bathroom and the master suite. I say suite as it was much more than just a bedroom - it had settees, a massive dressing room, massive water bed and fantastic bathroom. Downstairs was a shower room, snooker room, massive utility, further room that could be used for anything, a bar, tv area, kitchen and in a separate room a massive home theatre. Outside was a lovely pool and a jacuzzi with a tv on the wall. The property was going for auction and was expected to reach $900k. Although it was well out of our reach I still thought it was really good value. Anything like that here would cost the equivalent in pounds.

Left the property search quite disheartened as most of the accommodation we visited wasn't quite up to scratch and was at the top end of our budget. Never mind not to be beaten decided to get back online and research some other areas.

Sunday 18 February
Decided as this was our last day at Surfers we would just chill at the beach. Had a fantastic time. News channels turned up later in the afternoon as there was a really bad rip tide and they were obviously expecting something to happen. The surf rescue were being extra vigilent and had obviously drafted in reinforcements as there were loads of them swarming around on the beach, on surf boards and in a rescue raft. A helicopter was also flying up and down the beach. Although thankfully we weren't aware of anyone getting into difficulty one kid was totally screaming on the beach and was taken to the rescue tent. He was holding his arm and we were wondering what was going on. Next minute a sign was put up saying to watch out as there were stingers in the area. Quite a few people were stung and we obviously decided to stay out of the water.

Monday 19 February
Checked out of the apartment and headed up to the Mercure Hotel which is right on the riverfront in Brisbane CBD. Had booked an executive king room so we had extra sleeping space for our son. Was really nice with sofa bed, couple of easy chairs, table and chairs, desk, kitchen, minibar, separate bedroom and bathroom. Really disappointed to find out that the pool was out of operation due to refurbishment though as that was one of the main reasons we chose that hotel. It was out of operation for the whole of our 5 day stay.

Dumped the car in the underground garage and headed out to the river. Jumped on the City Cat and headed right up the river as far as the City Cat went then got off at Southbank on the way back. For the 3 of us the ticket cost $13 and allowed us unlimited trips which I thought was very reasonable. Southbank was great. The beach area and lagoon was really nice and there were a number of nice cafes/restaurants in the vicinity and of course ice cream shops for the little un (and me of course). We headed back to the hotel later on in the evening and had a nice buffet meal in the restaurant. The view from our room (14th floor) was great. Lots of boats heading up and down the river and at night they were all lit up.

Sorry folks that's me for tonight as jet lag is kicking in a bit and I want to read some of the forum.

To be continued tomorrow.

curly

Nooooooooo you can't go yet oh go on then! let you off this time tell us more tomorrow
It's like reading a book, love it

Simba

Sounds like you had a great time, look forward to reading tomorrow's instalment.

BertieB

looking forward to the next installment Jacqui - bet you're glad to be back home (NOT!)

Ann

Mrs JFW

oooh this brings back some lovely memories of our reccie! I love the southbank, and my kids loved the lagoon! Can't wait to hear the rest of your adventure!

jackie x