The Chinese are taking over!

Watch out - if you haven't heard already - the People's Republic of China is surely taking over the world!!

Everyday I see more concrete evidence of this. They have overtaken the food courts in Singapore, the spas in Malaysia, the shopping malls in Hong Kong, and the hotels in Paris.

I flew 10,000 km to Paris today, bracing myself for the usual language barrier and readied the few paltry French words I know when I arrived at the hotel to check-in. Lo and behold, I'm greeted by a young pleasant Chinese lady behind the reception counter, who enquired immediately if I spoke Mandarin. So I checked into my room in La Defense, the heart of the Paris business district, in Mandarin.

Minutes later, when I stepped out of the lift on the floor where my room is, I was assailed by sounds of Mandarin wafting through the corridors. A group of Chinese businessmen and businesswomen appeared soon after, discussing their negotiations strategy at a meeting that will take place later.

Be prepared. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Random Shots from Perth

We were so lucky to bump into these 2 gorgeous models during our visit to Mammoth Cave near Margaret River.

Perth skyline at night

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse - Baba & Ju

Kangaroo feeding - Mamma & Sophie

Wierd and Wonderful

Australia boasts some very weird and wonderful animals not found elsewhere outside of its shores.

No, thankfully, we did not see the bottom 3 animals...

Everyone is familiar with the koala, of course. These were very lazy and sleepy when we visited them at the Caversham Park.

Wild whales off the shores of Dunsborough, half an hour north of the Margaret River region. We took a 2-hour boat ride to see them.

I was seasick for the most part, but managed to hold it in. The rest, including Popo, Sophie and Ju, were surprisingly sea-hardy, jumping about like nobody's business.


The peacock (not native to Australia, but equally weird and wonderful, nevertheless). This one treated us to an eye-opening experience when it suddenly fanned out its feathers, and struted about to hundreds of clicking cameras.


No introductions necessary

Newly discovered species of a tribe of weird animals...

Food in Perth

We ended up cooking most of our meals in Perth. And when I say "we", I mean "YL" and his able assistants.

One of the best breakfasts I've had - hot, thin pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup, accompanied by sour strawberries and hot BBQ-ed sweet potatoes. By Guest Chef Keon. Yum!

Also as good - good ole' fashioned bacon, sausages and eggs with mushrooms and toast. By Executive Chef YL.

BBQ! By Executive Chef YL and Guest Chef Keon.


I will not allow us to leave Margaret River, the region known for its vineyards, without tasting at least ONE glass of wine. Even if it makes me delirious, light-headed and sleepy. At least I was deliriously light-headed and sleepy.

In fact it was a veiled ploy to knock out the organiser of the trip, so that the rest of the lazy unorganised participants of the tour could do ... well, nothing.

Sausage pizza in a frightfully cramped and popular Italian eatery in Perth. It was filled almost exclusively with Malaysians. Can you see the pizza cracking under pressure from that heap of sausages?


The famous apple strudels that Sis raves about each time she comes home. We finally had a chance to taste it fresh, when we packed it for our picnic lunch at Whiteman Park. The pastry was crispy while the fillings were moist and creamy. The FLIES enjoyed it, too.

Family shots in Perth

Behold...the pure, unadulterated blue sky

We spent 4 days in Margaret River, 3 hours southwest of Perth, as a getaway within a getaway (does it sound like a line from Inception?). One of the places we visited is the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, erected at the spot where the Indian and Southern oceans meet. The sun and those pesky FLIES were out in full force.

And if you follow the movement of the stars adjusted by 4 degrees, we should find the exit...

We made it out of the maze!

We had underestimated this little maze in Margaret River, mumbling under our breath that it's going to be a piece of cake and a waste of our time, but we ended up quite stumped by the dead-ends and way it always brought us back to where we were just minutes ago.

One of many strange and wonderful animals that Australia boasts of - a wombat. He was sleeping so his carer has to hug him while visitors queued for photos.

A Week in Perth

We have been spending time with Yiyi and Yi Cheong (mother's younger sister and brother-in-law in Cantonese) in Perth in the past week or so. Weather was fine on most days, except for a couple of nights where it was necessary for the socks-and-fleece-jackets-under-thick-comforters-in-bed routine. What was certain was the positively blinding sun, and the FLIES.

Flies who are on a suicide mission at every opportunity, aiming directly for every orifice in the face, with the highest honours going to the ones who made it into any open gaps in the mouth. So you end up with a party of 7 otherwise-happy tourists who are desperately trying not to talk to each other, wearing perpetual annoyed frowns, and violently slapping each other to get rid of those pests.

Perth is a mini Malaysia 'round every corner. Malaysian faces, Malaysian food, Malaysian accents, Malaysian names. In my past experience of living overseas, I am stopped in my tracks when I hear these familiar accents, or see a Malaysian restaurant. Here, I have slowly become immune because they are simply everywhere. I guess it's the best of both worlds, being far and yet near home.

A group shot in Kings' Park
Against Swan River

A rare family photo

Taking a break from searching for treasures

The ice princess finally smiles...

A boy with his stick