Tasmania, Australia

Zac and I headed right down under and started our visit off in Tasmania. This was Zac's idea, and I went with it. So glad we did. 

LAUNCESTON

Tasmania was awesome! We started in Launceston, and enjoyed the tiny, cute town quite a bit. The surprising part (or maybe not, for such a small town) that startled us at first was the loud fast cars racing around the streets at night.

Tasmanian Devil statues in the main square

We grabbed some water and walked outside to find this truck :P 

The cute buildings of Launceston

We spent a day wandering around the 
town and had fun checking out unique stores
and book shops, sipping drinks and stopping
in bakeries for delicious treats - there are
bakeries EVERYWHERE in Australia with
extremely delicious food. Yum.

Book stores were a HUGE part of this trip

We spent some time exploring the Town Park, climbing trees, appreciating flowers and just hanging out in general

In the park

I found my inner Yoda and we had our share of Star Wars battles

Hanging at the park

Fish and Chips along the waterfront - so good!

Houses along the river

One thing we discovered quickly on the trip was that you have to pay extra for EVERYTHING. I'm talking tartar sauce, napkins, and ketchup, etc. I thought it was a little silly, and found it true for Singapore, New Zealand, and Fiji as well. Canadians - enjoy your freebies.

At the Marina

We also decided to walk to the Gorge nearby. It turns out we took the really long 

"hikers only" way that wasn't great for flip flops. Who knew. 

The view as we "hiked"

After an unplanned 40 minute hike, we arrived.
Zac was hyped about the pool

It did NOT take 20 minutes!

 HOBART

     Then we headed over to the capital of little Tasmania, Hobart. We loved it here too! 

 

Near the market - people relaxing and enjoying the sunshine

Alpacas Everywhere!

Alpaca Stuff

The market! I loved it. I love all markets. 

This guy was cool

And these guys were amazing!!!

Museum of Tasmania

Spontaneous decision - we walked by and 

decided to spend some time inside. We saw 

dinosaur bones found in Tasmania, learned

about the extinct Tasmanian Tiger and the 

endangered Tasmanian Devil, and about 

some social issues in Australia.  

With an extinct Tasmanian Tiger

My little advocate

Just having some fun :) 

BONORONG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

We LOVED this place! Highlight for sure. We played, hugged, and fed kangaroos, saw some mommy kangaroos with little joeys in their pouches, played tug-of-war with a Tasmanian Devil (using a wombats leg. Disgusting), and saw some amazing other animals!

Please be prepared for many adorable picture of kangaroos. 

Tug-of-War with the Tasmanian Devil - super strong jaws!

The wombat - my absolute favourite. 

Holding hands with a kangaroo

 

I'm so glad Zac advocated that we go here or we would have missed it! Tasmania's towns are adorable, and their wildlife is beautiful. It was a great way to start off our time in Australia!

Singapore

What an amazing Country-City! We loved it here. 

The multiculturalism was amazing. The mix of foods, sounds, people, accents, smells, and languages was an incredible experience! More than this, the people were incredibly friendly. Every time I asked for directions, and the person didn't know where to direct me, they whipped out their phone despite my protests and insisted on looking up exactly how I could find where I wanted to go. The smiles and friendly attitudes were lovely.

THE FOOD

Singapore is amazing for delicious flavours, and the variety is incredible. The food was a mix of Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian, and the Middle East. It is SO YUMMY here!!

Little India

Zac in the market

Zac's first mango lassi

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS 

When we found out there was a Universal here, Zac freaked out. I warned him that with his broken arm he wouldn't be able to do all the intense rides, but we really enjoyed our time here. We spent more time than we usually would with characters (Zac was really excited about meeting the Transformers) and I realized I was a much bigger fan of Universal than Disney - the lack of marketing princesses to little girls and super strong heroes to boys was a breath of fresh air (there were still examples of limiting and sexist roles to a degree but it was significantly less overwhelming). We had more fun with the light hearted fun of minions, the Madagascar crew, and Shrek. 

We were requested to please not eat. 

Getting eaten in Jurassic Park 

 

  

This carousel was fun - we went on it multiple times!

 

                                    

LITTLE INDIA 

This was our favourite area, which was a good thing since we stayed here! We ate a ton of delicious Indian curries that inspired me to start learning to cook Indian food, and also indulged in our fair share of yummy Indian desserts. 

Buying sugar cane - it was EVERYWHERE

Trying to eat it was harder than we were lead to believe ;)

So we went to the market and bought the
freshly squeezed juice instead

This is our roti being cooked on the side

Bangles!

RAFFLES HOTEL

Before this trip we looked at my Grandad's pictures of his time in Singapore and since he had visited the hotel we wanted to be sure to do the same. It was a beautiful day, and after a nice walk we checked out the hotel and splurged on some High Tea. It was delicious. 

High Tea

Zac being "proper" ;)

I got an art book! And I love it


ARAB STREET




We spent some time exploring Arab Street and loved it. It was this tiny little alley way filled with clothes, food, drinks, and culture.

Walking down Arab Street

Having a Singapore Sling ;)

 CHINA TOWN

Typically the suggestion of going to China Town in a different country when we travel is met with groans (from both of us). While we love China, we travel to experience different cultures and typically don't see much point in exploring the China Town of other cities. However, we made an exception this time because it was Chinese New Year and it was a bustling, energetic place to be, with many people, many decorations, and a lot of noise. 

WANDERING AROUND

One of my favourite ways to explore a city is by foot. As we walked through Singapore, we found we loved the architecture, the people, and the huge variety of cultures we encountered. 

Beautiful buildings were everywhere

We played Hide and Seek in the park

The longest curved bridge in the world, I think? It was pretty.

SINGAPORE FLYER 

This is one of the biggest observation wheels I've ever been on. Right before we went on, Zac wondered if he would get scared, and as I reassured him he would be fine I remembered that I'M always the one that gets scared - but I never seem to remember that until I'm already on. I was relieved to discover that there was nothing to be afraid of - the wheel rotates steadily and feels very secure. As we were on, the lights came on at dusk and we had some beautiful views of the city.

Zac sees a massive racetrack

Zac and I really enjoyed our time here. It was an incredible and delicious cultural experience and one of our favourite countries yet.