Surfing in Paradise...

Hai semua,

Alhamdulillah...kami berdua selamat pulang ke tanahair petang Isnin. Dari airport terus ke klinik..buat check-up. Sah! Doktor kata kitaorang sihat... So far demam..batuk2... tak da la.. Harap2 takde la..kan...

Terima kasih semua kerana sudi doakan kami. Okay nak dengar cerita kan?!

Day 1

We've landed at Coolangatta Airport around 7.30am in the morning. It was sunny but quite windy. After the immigration, we took the Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle Bus to the hostel (AUD17per person). Not bad! Cheaper than taking a cab. Just let the driver knows where you're going they will take you there! Catch them outside the airport terminal. Sampai je kat hostel, maklumlah awal lagi untuk check in, so we left our bags and ronda-ronda dulu. Actually, Surfers Paradise is not the only beach area around, there are other beach areas such as Broadbeach, Main Beach, Southport etc... I guess we chose Surfers due to its popularity and close to places we wanted to go..Along the Surfers Paradise Blvd, there are a lot of surf shops, souvenir, restaurant, malls but the main area is Cavill Avenue., where Hard Rock Surfers Paradise is located..

After had our breakfast (AUD12) at Gloria Jeans (kalau kat Malaysia, tak masuk ni..), we explored some of the places along the Surfers Paradise Boulevard. Bought our tickets for Movieworld (AUD66.95 per person), kalau kat entrance lebih kurang AUD70. Kat Gold Coast ni banyak theme park, selain Movieworld, ada Dreamworld, Seaworld, White Water World, Australia Outback dan macam-macam la.. Kitaorang pilih satu je sebab nak venture tempat lain pulak this time. Ramai betul orang Asia kat sini, tak rasa sangat kat Australia. After we've check-in, sambung balik jalan-jalan kat tepi beach pulak... Oh! lupa pulak..nama hostelnya Surf n Sun Beachside Backpackers, since we've booked private room, we got our own flat complete with living hall, dining and kitchen. Each flat has two rooms, AUD60 per night per room. Besides that, close to bus stop, convience store and the beach. Had yogurt before dinner time, it was sooooooo delicious sampaikan Faizal yang tak makan yogurt pun bedal la...

Since, there're a lot of Asian, finding halal food is not a problem. Maharani Restaurant and Legend Seafood are a few Malaysian restaurants around. Do check them out. For us, we had kebab for our first night dinner....(AUD7 per person). For us, food can be quite pricey here, but the portion is big, so if you guys are not big eater, then can share..But to have a big meal once a day,why not...

Day 2

Woke up to catch early bus to Movieworld. Took TX2 bus (AUD4 per person one way), bus stop just walking distance from our hostel. Sampai je kat sana, rupa-rupanya Theme Park buka pukul 10.00am-5.30pm, tapi agaknya ramai jugak dah menunggu, so they let us in half an hour early..Wohuuuuu! Survey dulu..and planned which ride to go first and the rest is history... Although Movieworld is not as big as Disneyworld or Universal but it still kept us moving and grooving... Check those photos! 

Berbekalkan snickers and ice lemon tea.. we spent the whole day there and the best part was we met a couple from Malaysia, Azri and Lin. Apalagi borak punya borak rupa-rupanya diaorang pun stay kat hostel yang sama... 

We spent the rest of the evening together with dinner at the same place but different menu..(Ozi Kebab sedap lagi dari Theo's kebab..he..he..) and The Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets, is a must! The market is actually art and craft market but amazing,exploring up to 100 market stalls stretching over half a kilometre of beachfront promenade along Surfers Paradise beach. It has a selection of locally made gift ideas ranging from accessories, crafts, artworks, beauty products, homewares, jewellery and music. The Beachfront Markets are located along The Esplanade between Hanlan Street and Elkhorn Avenue, every Wednesday and Friday from 5.30pm-10.30pm.

Day 3

Another market place that we've been to.. This one was better and bigger! Carrara Market, if you think Beachfront market is a must, this one is compulsory. Tempat ni besar, macam-macam benda ada jual, from fresh food to secondhand goods, even entertainment pun ada. I wish one day Bazaar@Maeps will become like this. Tambang nak ke sana pun murah, AUD1 return per person. Just wait at the pickup points. Click here for more info. 

Tagline "Something new around every corner" really suits this market. We couldn't get our eyes off every stall around the place. Kalau boleh semua nak masuk. One more thing, kebab@Uncle Beny (kebab lagi) sedap giler especially Vege Falafel kebab...Yummy!!! 

After spent almost 5 hours (5hours???!), we headed back to our hostel, and went out again to QDeck, to check out top of the World’s Tallest Residential Tower in one of the world’s fastest elevators. Less than 43seconds to 77th floor..Laju tu.. From here, we've experienced the 360 degree Gold Coast views from the surf to the hinterland and beyond. Kalau kat Malaysia ala-ala KL Tower. Admission AUD19 per person. After 8pm, admission is AUD10 tapi the place turn to be a night club.

Day 4

After check-out, we left our bags at the Surfers Paradise Bus Station@Beach Road before headed to Sydney. Yes,..we supposed to travel by train, due to some suggestions made by local, we decided to take a bus to Sydney. Seksanya sama je..16 hours!!!! Actually, travel by train pun boleh cuma we have to take bus from Surfers to Casino, and from Casino to Sydney by train. Kalau nak lagi senang, naik flight tapi kena book lagi awal kalau tak harganya mahal cuma less hassle... Anyway, we had fun too.. and back pain...

Sementara tunggu bas pukul 5.30pm, sempat lagi ke Carrara Market, sebab Faizal happy sangat dapat browse his things.. Jenuh pikul vinyl dalam backpack.. Had our lunch+dinner at Fishnet@Circle on Cavill. Price ok, portion besar, AUD20 for two. Last minute shopping kat Surfers Paradise Blvd.. Around 5.00pm, headed back to bus station for our next stop, Sydney.

As for us, Surfers Paradise is more for fun, relaxing and family oriented kind of place. But then, we still had a great time and what else can you ask more than sunny beaches in winter! 

Salam dari Melbourne

Assalamualaikum... and Good Day Mate!

Alhamdulillah..we're both fine and healthy(so far...) Both of us really wanna thank all of you,our blog readers and our groupies who have been supportive till we have finally reached more than 10,000 loads. Thank you again ...


By the way, it's been almost 10 days kat sini. Yes, it is a very fascinating and beautiful country to go to. As for those who're keen to become backpacker, Australia is the best country to start with. Everywhere you can see backpacker hostels.. and even they do recognise backpackers.

Tak apa, nanti kitaorang cerita lagi...Lagipun this Monday kitaorang dah nak balik pun...Stay tuned..

*Gambar2 akan di upload bila balik nanti...Sabar ye! He..he...

Wish us luck...

Finally, the day has come.... InsyaAllah tonite we'll be leaving for Gold Coast as starting point for our East Coast Australia backpack adventure. Excited pun ada..suspen pun ada.. maklumlah H1N1 ni.. Tapi apa-apa pun niat mesti betul...

This time, we plan to keep you guys updated on every city that we've been to (short and brief note). Later, when we come back, we'll give a full report on our backpack. Our stall at Bazaar@Maeps also will be closing for two weeks. Anyway, wish us luck and may Allah bless our journey... InsyaAllah.

Ikhlas Tapi Jauh...

Even we’re counting days on our next backpack trip, our regularly Saturday car boot sales@Maeps activities is always on top of our "not to be missed" list. For us, it’s a fun activity especially when we get a chance to meet new friends and sharing ideas. Wonder what we sell?... Mostly 2nd hand goods, collectibles and also new stuff. We also buy stuff from customer who wanna get rid of their unwanted goods too.

While looking for some collectibles, Faizal found a few stack of his old cassette and vinyl collections at his parents house. Apalagi, mulalah aktiviti browsing dia. Belek sana belek sini (once started it will go on for more than hours). Here he found his precious Zainal Abidin “solo years” collections… (why it’s precious? Cause now, you couldn’t find his full album on sale in any music store in KL).

Little story about Zainal Abidin, after he left the rock band “Headwind”, he released the album “Hijau” in 1991. The album marked his music transition, image & concept (traditional, fusion & percussion) with a more conveying lyrics and message (issue on environmental). The album was slowly making an impact to the music industry especially in the 90’s where rock music conquering Malaysian music scene.

By almost a year, the man and his music started to get notice and reckon by the mass. Songs like “Hijau”, “Inayah”, “Manis” and “Ikhlas tapi Jauh” becomes phenomenal hits. His success spread not only in Malaysia but went as far as Japan. On 25th December 1992, together with his other R.A.P or Roslan Aziz Productions labelmate (Sheila Majid, Azman Warren, Amir Yussof, Afdlin Shauki & the late Zubir Ali) put up a memorable and a historic Ikhlas The Concert at Stadium Merdeka. More than 40,000 people turn up at the concert, enjoying the spirit of love, peace and 1Malaysia.. and till now there is no local concert has been as successful as this.

His sophomore album, Gamal is also an essential album (great production, sound and musician) but is overshadowed by his controversial Sarawakian image, which spotted at his hairdo and body tattoo. The song may not be as ear friendly like “Hijau” but after a few listen on “Tua”, “Garam”, “Bongkar” and “Pantun?”, you’ll be amazed that this was made by Malaysian.

His last “world music trademark” album “Terang…Sang” was released in 1995 at the peak era of grunge music. Even it’s was a good production, the album missed the midas touch of Roslan Aziz, the man behind “Hijau”, “Gamal” and “Orak Arek”. To see them reunite is impossible at this time but I hope things will get better for both of them. Malaysian music scene needs colour and variety, it’s a sad thing to see their credibility to be wasted.

*Currently uploading songs to our Ipod (including Zainal Abidin songs) for our in-flight entertainment.

What is your 10 “Must Have” song while traveling in-flight?