June 28th, 2010 by Jeff

Preparation

1) Air ticket
2) VISA application
3) Travel insurance
4) Hotel/Motel
5) Car rental/GPS map

Air Ticket

Qantas Airlines
Remember book for Multi-City flight to return from Adelaide instead of Melbourne and get a cheaper fare. Meal included during our flight with Qantas. Yumyum~!
www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/home/sg/en

Online tickets booking: Add a trip break between Melbourne and Adelaide – a break where we make arrangements by land and sea only.

Emergency exit row: Seating in an emergency row giving you more legroom and more comfortable, Qantas safety policy requires that passangers seated in an emergency row must be willing to assist in an emergency, at least 15 year old and above, have good sight to check outside conditions and hearing to react to crew commands and etc.


Qantas airline emergency exit row

Want to save more from your Air ticket? Click Here for the secrets of cheap airfare that the Airlines don’t want you to know, and that’s how to get more spare cash for car rental, foods and accomodation!!

VISA application

Electronic Travel Authority
If you are planning a holiday visit or a short business trip to Australia, you will need to apply for either a visa or an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority). An ETA will let you spend up to three months in Australia. For Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and US passport holder only eligible to apply for an ETA while you are outside of Australia.
www.eta.immi.gov.au

Travel insurance

To protect ourself in case of an emergency, we always make sure we have at least a basic travel insurance coverage. Online application/approval available 24/7 for most of the insurance companies, save out the trouble from going down personally. Remember to print out a copy of insurance certificate to carry with you along the trip.

AXA Smart Traveller
SmartTraveller has been enhanced to give travellers
even greater peace of mind with their comprehensive benefits.
http://www.axa.com.sg/

NTUC income Travel Insurance
For our Australia trip, we purchased NTUC travel
insurance at a discount price of SGD46 per person.
www.income.com.sg

Hotel/Motel

May consider mid season to visit Victoria and South Australia. Most of the time we just wake-in to the hotel/motel without any advance booking (except in Melbourne City). But still, it is recommended to book your accommodation in advance to avoid any disappointment, especially during the peak season.

Fortunately, I have booked my room in Melbourne for first two nights through Internet a week before, the “no vacancy” sign was never removed from the hotel main door since my first step into there!

Hotel Booking
One of the website that we always used for booking and
price comparation.
www.booking.com

Asia Room
Instant Confirmation – ideal for booking last minute hotels
www.asiarooms.com

Cheap Accommodation Tips
Pay just a fraction of the regular prices on Hotel Rooms,
airline tickets, vacation packages, cruises and more!
How To Save $$ On Your Next Vacation

Car Rental/GPS Maps

I have picked up my rented car in Melbourne Downtown Franklin Street, located about 10 minutes walking distance away from my accommodation in CBD area. I paid about AUD420 in total for a week of rental inclusive of pre-purchased of fuel which cost around AUD70 ++.

Please ensure all the terms before booking, some of the rental company will charge you extra if you have exceeded the “usable” mileage! Some of the comapny giving you with unlimited mileage, just like the one I have rented.

Bargain Wheels
Compare the price with different car groups/type. You can find
all the major car rental in Australia from this website.
bargainwheels.com.au

GPS/Maps

GPS can be rented from car hire/rental company with an extra cost (about AUD10 per day). I felt it is not worth to rent, nowaday you can easily get a good GPS at less than SGD200, a week of GPS rental will cost me AUD70, better to top up a little bit more and I can own one too.

Normally GPS sold in Singapore is pre-loaded with Singapore & Malaysia map only, I have found a good and nice map seller who selling me the Australia maps at cheap price, if you are in Singapore now and looking for Australia Maps for Garmin GPS unit, you can drop me a message, tested and proven the maps work perfectly, thumbs up!

You may also interested this:

Melbourne to Adelaide – Australia Free and Easy (PART 1)
My Australia trip detail itinerary and summary of the trip
http://uncleblogger.com/…/melbourne…part-1/

June 26th, 2010 by Jeff

My first road trip in Australia, the driving route stretches about 1,500 km from Melbourne to Adelaide accross the Great Ocean Road, is known as one of the most scenic ocean view of Australia.

Melbbourne to Adelaide – by google maps

 There were a lot of fun and suprises along the way, we really relax ourself and enjoyed every single moment! The trip will never be fruitful without a proper plan, check this out what we planned and what we have found to complete this precious, unforgettable holiday moments.

You can find out more useful tips for traveling in Australia from Graeme Lanham, an Australian travel expert who have live in Australia all his life (a volunteer tour guide), he travel regularly in his country to keep up to date with the best experiences, sights and special travel deals that you should not missed!

Australia Itinerary (10D11N)

DAY 1
2220hrs: Singapore Changi Airport –> Australia Melbourne Tullamarine Airport (Transfer flight from Darwin)

DAY 2 (Airport –> Flinder street 26.7km about 34 mins)
1155hrs: Arrival Melbourne Tullamarine
1230hrs: Skybus to Melbourne CBD area – Formula 1 Motel
1500hrs: Explore Melbourne city

DAY 3
Melbourne city free & easy
- Flinder Station (Main station in Melbourne)
- Federation Square
- Chinatown (about 10 minutes walking from Federation Square)
- Free tourist bus ride
- Queen Victoria Market

DAY 4 (approximately 250km on the road drive)
0800hrs: Herts Melbourne Downtown – car collection
0930hrs: Werribe open zoo (34.6km about 33mins)
1330hrs: Geelong Visitor Information Centre (47.4km about 51 mins)
1400hrs: Jirrahlinga Sanctuary – Koala
1500hrs: Split Point Lighthouse Tours Aireys Inlet (49km about 59mins from Geelong Visitor Centre)
1730hrs: Apollo Bay Motel Marengo (63.3km about 1 hour 4 mins)

DAY 5 (approximately 150km on the road drive)
0600hrs: Marengo beach sunrise
0900hrs: Cape Otway Lighthouse
1130hrs: Princetown Lunch
1230hrs: The Great Ocean Road – 12 Apostles, Loch Ard, Gorge
1400hrs: Port Campbell Visitor Centre
1500hrs: Parkview Motel & Apartment

DAY 6 (approximately 354km on the road drive)
0800hrs: The Great Ocean Road – 12 Apostles, London Bridge
1100hrs: Logans beach – Warrnambool
1230hrs: The Crags Coastal Reserve
1430hrs: Codrington wind farm
1500hrs: The Lady Nelson visitor & discovery centre – Mt Gambier
1530hrs: The Blue Lake
1600hrs: Grand Central Motel – Mt Gambier

DAY 7 (approximately 350km on the road drive)
0930hrs: Engelbrecht Cave
1030hrs: The Cave Garden
1100hrs: Umpherston Sinkhole
1230hrs: Lunch at Beachport
1400hrs: Robe visitor centre & beach
1530hrs: The big lobster – Kingston SE
1630hrs: Waterfront Motel – Meningie
1730hrs: Meningie beach sunset

DAY 8 (approximately 300km on the road drive)
Morning: Yankalilla Bay visitor centre
Early noon: Booking for Sealink highlights tour for next day
Late noon: Starfish Hill wind farm & Morgan’s Beach
Check-in: Cape Jervis Holidays Unit

DAY 9 (Kangaroo Island Highlights Tour by Sealink)
0830hrs: Ferry terminal
0900hrs: Departs to Kangaroo Island
1130hrs: Seal Bay
1230hrs: Lunch at Vivonne Bay Bistro
1300hrs: Australian Birds of Prey
1430hrs: Remarkable Rocks
1530hrs: Cape du Couedic Lighthouse & Admirals Arch
1630hrs: Flinders Chase visitor centre
1700hrs: Kangaroo photo shooting

DAY 10 (approximately 100km on the road drive)
0930hrs: Adelaide UTE show – Adelaide Event & Exhibition Centre
1100hrs: Flinder Street Baptist Church & Bethlehem Lutheran Church
1230hrs: Adelaide Chinatown – Lunch
Afternoon: Lockley Hotel
Late noon: Harbour Town Brand Direct Outlet

DAY 11
0900hrs: Car return (Adelaide Airport)
1100hrs: Home sweet home

You may also interested this:

Melbourne to Adelaide – Australia Free and Easy (PART 2)
How I prepare and information for Air ticket, VISA application,
Travel insurance, Hotel/Motel, Car rental/GPS map…
http://uncleblogger.com/…/melbourne…part-2/

May 8th, 2010 by Jeff

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is located at the heart of Chinatown, a popular attraction being a prominent landmark and place of worship.

How this picture was shot
• Handheld
• Camera Nikon D80
• One explosure in RAW
• Lens Sigma 18-50

Process
• Pre-process in photomatic (detail enhancer)
• Post-process in photoshop (high pass, sharpen and etc)

More about this temple
In accordance with The Great Compassionate Vows of The Maitreya Buddha, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (BTRTM) seeks to be the best Buddhist cultural complex in the region.

ADDRESS: 288 SOUTH BRIDGE ROAD SINGAPORE 058840
TEL: 6220 0220
FAX: 62201261
WEBSITE: http://www.btrts.org.sg/

Learning Photoshop in A Quick and Easy Way
This is a complete photoshop guide for people who hate normal manuals, aimed at beginners and moves on to advanced level. A clearly written and illustrated E-book with a new method of learning –> Check this out!

April 26th, 2010 by Jeff

Marina Bay Sands is due to open its doors on Tuesday, located at Bayfront Avenue in Marina South in central Singapore. It will house Singapore’s second casino after Resorts World Sentosa.

Picture details:
Nikon D80 + Sigma 18-50@20mm
ISO100, f/22, 30.00s

RAW file processed in Camare Raw 4.0 and Adope Photoshop CS3

Completion of the Marina Bay Sands is expected for 2010. The casino and one of the hotel towers was expected to open in December 2009. However, on July 8, 2009, it was announced that the initial phase of the Marina Bay Sands will open early 2010. On February 23, 2010, Las Vegas Sands announced that the first phase of Marina Bay Sands will open on April 27, 2010.

 
Marina Bay Sands official website > http://www.marinabaysands.com/

April 2nd, 2010 by Jeff

First time to have my passport renewed at The High Commission of Malaysia, Singapore (301 Jervois Road, Singapore 249077). Sharing my experience here and hope I can help who are going to renewing their passport soon… Please feel free to make correction at the comments box below if there is any new rules to be updated and also in case I have miss out any important information…

High Commission of Malaysia, Singapore location map – by google maps

I went down to the place 3 times within a week in order to get the things settled… 

22 March 2010 (Monday) - arrived Malaysia High Commission at around 715am, there was already more than 100 people awaiting in the queue. About 45 minutes later we was told by the guard that system is in the process of upgrading, only 100 queue number will be issued. Unfortunately, some of us (I would said around 100 of us) don’t even have a chance to enter the main gate due to insufficient queue number ~ MISSION FAILED for my first try…

NOTE: New rules for passport renewal in High Commission of Malaysia
With effect from 15 March 2010
Submission of application:
Monday – Thursday 0800am – 12pm & 0200pm to 0400pm.
Collection of passport:
Friday only (time as indicated on collection slip)

220 queue number will be issued per day
160 submission in morning 8am-12am
60 submission in afternoon 230pm-430pm

25 March 2010 (Thursday) - with my first experience, I decided to wake up slight early and reached the place at around 640am. Not too bad,  there were only less than 50 people waiting to get their number. I told myself: “this time should be no problem for me to at least enter into the main gate”. As time passed by about an hour later, the queue was getting longer until I couldn’t see the end point. The same ‘Pakcik’ (the guard) come and tell us the same thing: “Today only 100 queue number will be issued, please don’t waste your time if you are not in the first 100″, this time the reason was because another 60 queue number already issued a day before, oh gosh! Obviously I am within the 100 even though, but still my heart starts jumping fast… I don’t want another try!! Shouting from my jumping heart… Finally my turns, happily ex-changed my entry pass (with my driving licence), look at those who have no chance to have their pass changed, seriously I know how they felt!

Wasting no time, I  headed for my next boring queuing project — photo taking… 4 pcs of blue back ground photos cost me SGD7 (which different from the info I got online), the automatic photo machine accepting notes SGD10, 5, 2 and also coins if I am not wrong, do prepare some small notes in advance. I spent about 20 minutes to have my photo taken and it was not the end… Another queue were waiting for me, the most important queue – to obtain my passport submission queue number, you have to get your form filled and make sure you have all necessary documents ready before you are “Qualified” for a queue number! By the time I got my number already around 930am.

Phew! finally I can sit down and wait for my number to be called, after submitted my passport/necessary documents and paid, I left High Commission of Malaysia at around 1015am. The receipt clearly written the collection times and date (which is the next day, 26 March 2010 Friday, 230-430pm).

26 March 2010 (Friday) – Reported to the guardhouse to have my pass ex-changed at around 225pm and I left the place at around 300pm. I spent about 35 minutes to get my passport… I would said it’s fast and efficient! The only trouble was I got to go down all the way from my house and my another half-day leave has gone!!

Passport renewal preparation and “Queue” flow

Step 1: Forms Filling
Advise you to print out IM-42 form and filled up in advance (A4 paper print on both side), this is to avoid last minute rushing and may cause unnecessary error, however, for whatever reason if you can’t do so, the form still can be purchase at the guardhouse at 50 cents per copy.
IM.42 form can be downloaded here >>http://www.imi.gov.my/images/Forms/Form_IM.42.pdf

Step 2: Documents
** Please ensure all documents front and back photocopies on the same page A4 size paper **
Adult
- Original & photocopy of Malaysia Identity Card (‘My Kad’).
- Original & photocopy of Singapore PR IC/Employment Pass/Dependent Pass/S Pass/Work permit/Student Pass/Long Term Pass.
- Expiring/Current Passports
** NOTE: Applicants need to submit the application and collect the passport personally.

Children
- Original & photocopy of Birth Certificate
- Original & photocopy of parents Identity Card
- Expiring/Current Passports
** NOTE: Applicants need to be present for submission of application, collection can be done by parents for baby age 6 months and below. Please confirm with the officer during submission of your application.

Step 3: Entry to the High Comm (First Queue)
Join the queue to the guardhouse to exchange for a security pass. Use any ID other than your Malaysia IC or Singapore PR IC as you need it later. Queue will be started at around 7AM in the morning. The guard issuing passes around 730AM to 8AM. IM-42 can be purchased here at 50 cents per copy.

Step 4: Take Photographs (Second Queue)
Blue background and total two photos are required for passport application. Recommended to have your photo taken at High Comm to ensure 100% usable. Cost $S7 for 4 photos (taken by instant photo machine).
** Note: do prepare  some small notes, the machine accepted notes $10, 5, 2 and also coins.

 Step 5: Obtaining Submission Number (Third Queue)
Before joining the queue, please make sure you have your form filled and all necessary documents ready (Original & photocopy). Proceed to queue up at counter 11, your documents will be checked by an officer before they issuing you with a queue number.

Step 6: Submit Application (Forth Queue)
Sit down and relax, your number will be called (display on the LED panel). Your documents will be checked once again and thumb print will be taken. After all verification done you will be asking to pay at another counter.  

Step 7: Payment (Fifth Queue)
Only Singapore Dollars are accepted, SGD$124 for 32 pages passport (some says it depends on currency exchange rate). After the payment you will be issued a receipt with your collection time and date.

Step 8: Return Security Pass
Don’t forget to return/exchange back your pass at the guardhouse before leaving High Comm.

Passport Collection
Recommended to go slightly earlier than the appointed time. Exchange your security pass at the guardhouse and remember to bring along your receipt.

 Transfer of Returning Permit (for PR)
Process can be done online, go to http://www.ica.gov.sg, under Permanent Resident section look for ”Renewal of Re-entry Permit” and then look for ”Electronic Re-Entry Permit System (e-REP)”, sign in with you Singpass and follow the step.

Malaysia High Commission, Singapore
Contact number: 62350111
Address: 301 Jervois Road, Singapore 249077

I have done my best to provide the information as details and accurate as possible, please care to share your experience or provide more information for others too, and of course if you have any question please feel free to comments. Thanks for reading~!