Nicholas Cage in Melbourne

I thought that once I had planted myself in Melbourne, I would no longer be the celebrity-crazy fanatic who screamed at almost every celebrity who was coming to town, who spent hours researching on which celebrity was coming to town, who wasted precious moments of her life chasing celebrities when they came to town. No, I would immerse myself thoroughly in my studies, and not waste time on such superfluous activities.

Boy, how wrong could I get.

Got to know from a friend that Nicholas Cage would be in Melbourne to film his new movie, Knowing, just a block away from where my friend was staying.

Freaked out!

Don't misunderstand me. For one, I have not a single clue as to who Nicholas Cage is. What I do know for a fact is that the man is famous. And, that's all that matters, really.

Googled him and saw pictures of a middle-aged man staring back at me. Call me ageist, but second thoughts about whether the half-an-hour walking distance was worth it surfaced immediately.

Filming was to be held along Drummond Street on the 20 June from 7am to 7pm. Apparently, the filming was to be held at Melbourne University Hostel. Imagine the students living there!

I went down around late afternoon, and the entire stretch of road had been closed to vehicles. Pedestrains strolled along pathways that were lined with gargantuan white lorries and trucks. The behemoths are presumably props for the movie. I continue walking until halfway, I see a group of people huddled behind a big white truck. I stop.

There is a car crash scene. Smoke emanating from a black car that had 'crashed' into the sidewalk. Huge cameras on tripods casting blinding beams set up indoors. The entire street was littered with white and yellow papers, presumably from the 'explosion'. Even the naked trees whose leaves have been streaked bare by the winter season now had a whole new embellishment, streaks of paper dangling loosely from twigs, branches and a once less-than-balding crown. And the director shouting, 'Action!'

I see a middle-aged man coming out of the building. He is wearing a bright green vest and dull-coloured trousers. OMG! Nicholas Cage?! My heart skipped a beat. The man does bear some sort of resemblence to the Oscar-winning actor I had googled the night before. He is yawning now. In fact, he looks so unglamorous yawning, that I could almost positively be sure that he wasn't Nicholas Cage. Actors don't yawn like that in public. And, I was right. He turned out to be a staff from the filming crew.

I notice now that the girl standing in front of me has shreds of white paper all over her hair. I wonder how big an 'explosion' it must have been until I realized she was an extra. The girl and another guy standing in front of her were both extras for the movie. The guy holding onto a luggage. Casting my eyes to the street opposite, I see more of them. Extras huddled up behind big white lorries, their hands firmly fastened on to huge, colourful luggages.

A Chinese girl walks by. She is carrying two handfuls of groceries.

'Marc! Will you please stop the passer-by, please!' the director is yelling. The security guard in a bright green jacket halts the poor girl, who goes on to stand by the sidewalk. And, then, 'Action!'

I continue surveying my surroundings. It was so cool seeing the scene from a movie acted by Hollywood star Nicholas Cage real-life. Seeing it up-close was so un-reel-like and non-cinematic. I can't believe they can transform something that looks so 'normal' in real-life to something so glamorous on celluloid film.

In fact, I was so busy scanning my surroundings, that I didn't notice that a man had sidled up the walkway and was shaking everyone's hands now. The extras' hands, to be precise. I turn and look. The man was coming closer now, shaking everyone's hands. 'Who is this man?' I thought. 'He's really very friendly. He must be a really friendly staff member to come shaking the extra's hands and thanking them personally.' And, then the man's face loomed closer and I got to see his face much clearer.

OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!

THE MAN IS NICHOLAS CAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am stunned now. My legs can't move, and I know I am standing them stonily. Thankfully, I am still breathing. Nicholas Cage is moving closer now, shaking all the extras' hands, thanking them for their help today. I can only look. Until I realize, that I was about to be next. My heart thumping a million beats, and my throat dry, I begin rubbing my sweaty palms against my jeans. Cage is looking at me now. He is approaching me. OMG!! What am I supposed to do?!!!

Then a man stopped him. 'Excuse me, can I take a picture with you, please?' And then without waiting for a reply, sidled up next to Cage, and thrust his camera to the next nearest person in front of him. ME. 'Could you please help me take a picture?' he asked. I did. And soon Cage is resuming his shake-hands-and-thank-you routine again. I was so stunned when he shook my hands, and then still stunned when he went on to shake other's hands, that I totally forgot something very important. MY CAMERA!! I hadn't bloody carried it all the way for nothing!

I reached quickly for my camera in my bag. TOO LATE! Cage's back was turned now. Oh, but wait, there is a man running after him now! And them to my horror, the man tapped Cage on his back with what seemed a less-than-gentle tap. Oh, the horror! The presumptuous! That faintly reminded me of myself. He wants a picture. And Cage politely obliges. Then, just as Cage was again navigating his way around to the car's front seat, a lady rushes up to him with lightning speed. It is smile, pose, and then off he went! His car zooming off so quickly that I don't realize until long after the tires have screeched away, leaving behind a pile of swirling leaves dancing on the gravel pathway .

Drummond Street - Filming scene of Knowing

Car crash - Taken after smoke has been removed

Fan of Nicholas Cage happily pose for a picture with him

Sydney - Day 4! Blue Mountains! Wildlife Park!

This picture above is of the Blue Mountains. It is, apparently, the No. 1 most famous tourist attraction in Sydney. But, I feel cheated. I feel cheated travelling all the way just to see three unedifying pieces of rock, otherwise known as the famous Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters, are really, just three pieces of ROCKS, which by some intervention of nature, are sitting side by side next to each other. No big deal, really. Apart from that, the Blue Mountains are just acres and acres of grass patches, mountains, valleys and tree stumps.

Close-up of the Three Pieces of Rocks

Took a cable car ride down to the other side of the mountain.

Inside the cable car, there is this elevated platform that you can step on. And, once the cable car starts moving, the platform will become transparent, so you can see what's underneath!

The cable car brought us to the other side of the Blue Mountains, where we embarked upon a mini-trekking session to get to the various pit-stops.

The next destination was Featherdale Wildlife Park.

A rare sight of mother kangaroo with baby kangaroo in her pouch.

Remember my entry on the little penguins at Philip Island, and, that photos were strictly banned to prevent spoiling the peace and serenity that the penguins enjoy? Well, imagine my excitement when I discovered the Philip Island penguins at the wildlife park!!!! I became a trigger-happy tourist (:

Sydney - Day 3! City Tour!

Half day city tour, passed by the business district, populated with human robots with humorless expressions on their faces, all decked out in the same grim black outfit on their way to work. Some yawning, none had a smile on their faces.

Uninterrupted view of Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.






















Luna Park, an amusement theme park right next to the Harbour Bridge, was a gift from the English people to Sydney for putting up with all the noise pollution during the construction of the bridge. This was ironic because the roller coaster ended up with the fate of being removed as residents had complained of the noise pollution.

Seafront Lookout over Middle Head and Pearl Bay Marinas.

I have to say I am terribly disappointed at the landscape of Sydney, expecting a city much more glamorous, but instead got a KL-lookalike. There were times where I thought I was strolling the streets of KL, what with the run-down shopping centres in the major shopping districts and dodgy signboards fronting the stores. I can finally understand why people would liken Melbourne to a ‘Little London’ because it really is so much more beautiful.

It was difficult spotting a single Aussie, as the majority of the throngs of crowds were made up from people from all over Asia, especially those of Hong Kong, Japan and Korea citizenry. Everywhere you turned, there was sure to be someone speaking a foreign tongue. In fact, that was the only kind of language I heard 99% of the time. We were the only rare ones who communicated in English.

Was crossing the road late at night when this dude with his head sticking out of a taxi driving past yelled, “Sayonara! Konnichiwa!” at me, mistaking me for Japanese, because of the way I dressed. It was weird because he committed a linguistic faux pas, saying bye first, before saying hello. Not at all surprised and quietly flattered, because most people assume I’m from China. In fact, I’ve been mistaken from everything from Malaysian to Indonesian. And, being mistaken for a Japanese was something novel to me.

Got mistaken for a Korean too. Entering a storefront, the store employee greeted me with a cheerful "Annyonghaseyo".

This reminds me of a time I was buying coffee at Starbucks. When it came to my turn, the guy behind the counter asked me, “So, where are you from?”

And, before I could answer, he rushed to guess. “You are from China right?”

“Er, no. I’m from Singapore.”

A wave of disbelief flashed across his features, before he exclaimed, “You have got to be kidding!”

“No, why?”

“You serious?! Are you really from Singapore?”

“Yes, why? Is it so surprising that I’m not from China?” I asked, but didn’t get a reply, as the guy couldn’t stop smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.

Back in Melbourne, strolling the streets once again, a young Caucasian dude greeted me and my sister with, "Oh, konichiwa, konichiwa!” which was a first since I’ve been here and very very strange.

It is so immensely frustrating that all the shops in Sydney close early, similar to Melbourne. And, we ended up strolling before dark and empty storefronts. The only places that opened till late at night, besides the rare local major franchises, were Asian groceries supermarkets and eateries.

Sydney - Day 2! Nelson Bay! Dolphins!

We got to see dolphins!

They are terribly shy creatures by nature, only allowing the curious and anticipating throngs of tourists a sneak peep of their majestic bodies. Riding atop a cruise at Nelson Bay, we saw grey fins sticking out from the great blue ocean. Once in a while, the dolphins would swim really close to our boat, but yet most of the time, they remained instinctively under the water. It seems like dolphins don’t really fancy loneliness that much, as we spotted many swimming in pairs.

You know how postcards and advertorials often feature dolphins jumping out of the water in a full-bodied perfect arc? Oh no! In reality, that is a rare sight to behold, and all my camera lenses managed to capture were fins, fins and more fins. As each time the dolphins allowed us a sneak peek of its full body in its entire glory, it would disappear swiftly into the bosom of the great ocean within the next second before I could snap a shot of it!

Sydney – Checking In

Woke up at bloody 3am in the morning to catch a flight down to Sydney to join Mum and Sis.

My flight was at 7.45am, and I had to reach there an hour or so earlier, so left the house at 5.30am. Walking to the train station was a circus balancing act, as I had to juggle a total of three luggages. So, I anticipated the usual 20-minute walk to Melbourne Central Station to take a free train ride to Southern Cross Station (train rides before 7am are free-of-charge) to board the Skybus to Melbourne Airport.

After walking 20 minutes, I reached it, only to find the gates shut. This man approached me, and asked me what time the station was going to open. When I told him this was my first time taking the train so early in the morning, the man told me that this was the first time he encountered this, and usually every day at this time he would catch a train around this time, but he had been waiting for half an hour and the station still had not opened.

Raising my eyes to heaven in praise of my 'good' luck, I waited and waited and even resorted to flinging my arms wildly before the security camera and banging loudly against the metal gates out of desperation. I suggested the guy to do the same, which he did.

After waiting for what seemed to be the longest time ever, in which I spent trying to dial my friend for SOS and whiled the time away talking to the guy, I checked my watch for the 50^th time and discovered I still had an hour and a half more to go before my flight take-off! Panicking like crazy, I decided to walk to the next nearest train station, which was a good 20 minutes away.

“Are you coming along?” I asked the man, with a hidden agenda that he would help me carry one of my three luggages.

“No, you go ahead. I’ll wait here,” the man insisted, to my aching shoulders’ disappointment.

And, so with my 3 luggages, I headed in the direction of Flinders St Station. On the way, this fucker tried to make conversation, which I would usually be glad to entertain, but couldn’t he see that I was having great difficulty walking around town with three luggages and looking like a demented idiot?

When I finally reached Flinders, I was very very confused, and choose a platform by default. Seeing no trains coming, I approached this homeless guy to ask him for directions.

Very kindly, he tried his best to help me but was of no practical help. In the end, I found the right platform and waited for the train to come, but soon lost patience and as time was running out, I decided to hail a cab instead.

Seeing virtually no cabs in existence along the dark and gloomy lane, I turned towards the train platform once again in utter desperation. And, then I saw that the next train was due at 8.20am!

Spewing a line of vulgarities, I was panicking while my eyes scanned the empty streets desperately. Finally, a line of cabs came approaching my direction. I waved and boarded one.

“How much does it cost to go to Southern Cross?” I asked.

“Around AUD$9,” he replied.

After boarding the cab, the taxi driver was on his way when suddenly he whipped his head around and asked, “Are you going to the airport?”

“Yes.”

“How are you getting that?”

“By bus.”

“And how much would that cost you?”

Thinking that he was merely making casual conversation, I just replied, “”$25”, not entirely sure of the cost myself.

“And how much will you pay me if I take you to the airport?”

“$20.”

The taxi driver laughed, a cold, sinister and mocking laughter. “It costs you $25 to get there by bus, and you are offering to pay me only $20. Quote me a price.”

“$20.”

“It will cost you $25 and an additional $9 in total if you go by bus,” he reminded me now.

“Okay, $25 then.”

“$35.”

“No, $25.”

“$35,” he was saying now, his voice raising a notch higher.

“No, $25,” I repeated again. And, then finally, “It’s okay, just take me to Southern Cross.”

In the end, I went to check the prices and discovered that the actual cost for a single trip was only $16 and a return trip $26. That stupid fucker tried to cheat my money!

The flight to Sydney was just over an hour. Virgin Blue had limited leg space in exchange for cheap domestic air-flights, in which I slept all the way. Had to take a bus from the Domestic Airport (Terminal 1) to the International Airport (Terminal 2) which was a good 5 to 10 minutes away. Finally understood why I should learn to appreciate Singapore's Changi Airport even more.

retail therapy

Exams over. Been shopping like crazy, and spending money like water. The things here are so attractive, but come with exorbitant price tags. This has resulted in something I term 'selective shopping'. It doesn't help when your friends are shopping addicts as well. My friend cum shopping khaki from Malaysia Yung frequently claims that she can get the same items for less than half the price back home. After which, she would unhook the items off the racks and make her way to the cash register.

Kangaroos, Emus, A Urinating Duck, and The Penguin Parade

We visited an animal farm, typical native creatures like kangaroos, and we got to feed the kangaroos. I love the setting of the animal farm, the long winding path leading to the a cottage house made from pine woods, and the kangaroos of different sizes and colours hopping around with carefree abandon. One even tried to escape.

the tourist attraction: the animal farm didn't house any real koalas, so this big furry toy animal sitting outside the toilet was the next best thing.

A HUNGRY KANGAROO IS A PERSISTENT ONE.

Picture 1: Kangaroo wants food, and it wants it now

Picture 2: Other kangaroos join in the fat-sharing session

Picture 3: Kangaroo decides to self-service

This picture above was taken on our way to see the Penguin Parade, after visiting the animal farm. The Penguin Parade @ Philip Island Nature Park is a famous attraction where numerous tourists congregate daily to watch the penguins come home. These are the world's smallest penguins.

Because photos were strictly disallowed, I can only describe the experience to readers. The location where everyone sat and took in the scenery was one word - breathtaking - the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It was as though the distance between the immense sky and corrugating sea were only inches apart.

We listened to the sound of the rippling waves as the sky darkened, waiting impatiently for the penguins to appear. It finally did, the first three penguins of many more to come, waddling across the ocean, their tiny figures cutting only numerous black figures in the inky darkness. And then more, and more. One by one, masses of black figures surfaced from the depths of the sea, the peacefulness of their returning home disrupted only by the occasional noisy spectator.

After 10 mins of the first bunch of penguins appearing, we headed up. This was the time when we followed the penguins home. Making our way up the slopes, we spotted numerous penguins waddling among the grass patches on the mountain slopes. They were so tiny and cute. Some marched in clusters, and obediently in neat rows. Sometimes, they halt, waiting for the slow ones or those who were left behind. Some were alone, some in pairs, and a mother and her child. There were just so many of them, all over the place, waddling home.

It was the most amazing penguin experience ever.

Xiaxue and the portrayal of Orientalism

Sometime back, we had a lecture on Internet and Sex, where we looked at (in)famous Singaporean blogger, Xiaxue. The lecturer showed us a video clip of Xiaxue's Guide to Life, the episode where she patronizes Oohtique, a sex shop. In her blog, the only thing Xiaxue talks about is herself, she talks about getting an orgasm and getting a boob job. So the question raised to us was this: Does that make her a feminist or is it an Orientalism portrayal of her?

Two other controversial Singaporean bloggers that were discussed during lecture were Celeste and Nicole Chen. For those who don't yet know, Celeste posts up video clips of herself performing some kind of dancing deemed 'provocative'. Some has criticized her for promoting herself as some form of sexual symbol. Again, we revisit the topic of Orientalism.

Something interesting to think about: Does these blogs reinforce pre-existing stereotypes and ideology of women, or does it liberate them?