One Week Later

It's been slightly more than a week since our big move to Australia and we FINALLY got our internet modem this afternoon. So much to update...where do I start?

Well, the flight to Melbourne went rather smoothly. XX settled down to sleep (with the help of Ou De Yang on MP3) shortly after take-off and awoke only near to landing. The 3 of us also took a quick meal and decided to call it a night. It's gonna be a long day for us when we arrive, so better get all the rest I can. Unfortunately, this time round, the seats in Business Class are not lie-flat and the Inflight Entertainment is not AVOD. End up, I didn't even touch my headsets for the whole flight.

Our 200kg of cargo

The Melbourne airport segment was chaotic. The ground staff of SIA were supposed to "Meet and Assist" us, but we got a rude reply of "we don't carry luggage" and more than 5 repetitions of "we don't have porter service" from the ground staff meeting us on arrival. In the end, we picked up our 14 pieces of checked-in luggage ourselves and wheeled all of them, including the hand-luggage to clear customs. There were alot of flights landing there in the morning, so the queue for the customs was like 500 metres long. Thank God, half way through, a customs staff assisted us to a fast lane and we cleared through soon after. XX and KK were extremely good boys and behaved patiently throughout.




Thanks to Hubby making all the prior arrangements, by the time we collected the keys from the landlord and moved into the house, there was already electricity, water, gas and our mattresses were there waiting for us! The first hiccup was the Queen size bedsheet and quilt cover that I've bought in Singapore was too small for my Australian made Queen mattress and quilt! I used our old king sized bedsheet instead.

XX trying out our new Corolla Ascent

Since then, we've managed to unpack almost 90% of the boxes we've brought. We've also collected our car and bought our microwave oven, fridge and washing machine. We've also managed to buy a dinning table with 6 chairs and even a plasma TV. Now all that's missing would be a couch and a TV console....plus a few minor things, like a shoe rack, coat hooks etc. Hopefully we can make the house more comfortable before KK starts school next week.

Having fun in the carton for the TV

The cold and dry weather here demanded the greatest adjustment to our lifestyle. Bathing or having a shower was such a simple act in S'pore. Now, we can't just walk the kids into the bathroom for a bath. Before that, we have to turn on the heater in the bathroom to warm up the room. Then we've to make sure that the towels and clothes are all ready when they come out of the bath. I tried to shower KK and XX together for the first 2 days and it was crazy. XX has this phobia of water splashing on his head and face, so imagine a screaming baby in a slippery, cold and wet environment with a mummy who's wet and cold and a brother who's wet, cold and having fun.... It's a war zone. Anyway, we found a peaceful solution for the time being. Now the kids play in the bathtub filled with warm water in the heated bathroom. While watching over them, I or Hubby will take our shower in the shower cubicle next to it. After we're done, we'll slowly drain the water out so that XX will willingly come out. KK goes for a shower and we dry XX.

Bath time = Play time

After the bath, another thing that we have to do that we don't in S'pore is putting on moisturiser. For me, my skin will remind me that I have not yet moisturised. I try to apply for the children too, especially for XX whose face has developed some cold rash. Other minor adjustments includes always walking around the house with slippers and washing dishes/clothes with gloves.

Other than that, everything else is great. Shopping for groceries and cooking here is easier than I expected. I just pop into the car (parked right outside the door in our garage) and zip 1 minute away to the nearby Coles supermarket which is opened till mid-night everyday. I can park (for free) near the entrance and push out the trolley later all the way to the car when I'm done. In fact, I find it so much more convenient than shopping at NTUC in Eastpoint. Variety wise, of course you can't find stuff like 'tau kua' or xiao bai cai, but in general, there're enough choices for you to make a delicious meal.

XX having breakfast of chocolate milk and weetbix.

Ok, enough said for now. Will write more about my experience here next time.