This is e only non-tour day trip that we took on our own. Mayb thats why I decided to start on this blog first. hehe…
We arranged to meet a newfound friend (NFF) at Flinders Street Station at 0830hr to take the 0906hr train.
I think i told her the wrong station but we still end up at the correct station which is quite cool la. hahaha… Flinders Street Station is like the station closest to CBD area.
Mum insisted we take pics while waiting for the train haha…
Anyway, the train was punctual so we board the train. NFF and mum are happily chatting away and there is this old lady from Hainan, who joined in their conversation. This old lady came to help her daughter look after her kids and she barely know English yet still can navigate around. She told my mum Queensland can catch abalone. -.- My mum ask me where is Queensland. I also dunno hahah
Then we met this 大爷 frm Shanghai who talk very loudly and totally dunno English and yet refused to learn. He is quite funny. He proclaimed that everything is good in Melbourne; ppl r frenly. In his words, “什么都好”。He said the only bad part is no drinking buddies. Then we teased him say he so rich, shld invite his frenz come mah.
So NFF, Hainan lady, 大爷, my parents and I are happily chatting away and never pay much attention to the train announcements until my dad said it sounds like this is the final stop. Then I checked the map. The announcement was at Boxhill but our destination is Lilydale. So we checked with some train conductor and they told us to get off and there will be ppl to direct us.
大爷 said that its Sunday and Sunday usually have disruptions and the train staff will all be v polite cuz they feel its an inconvenience to the passengers.
As we alight the train, there are really staff wearing luminous orange to telling u where to go take the replacement bus. The replacement bus goes through all e missing stops and at every stop, the driver will announce the station’s name. Totally idiot proof.
And i like taking the bus, cuz its like really winding through the towns. I saw this whole town full of Chinese words and hardly any English words haha…. I tink thats like THE chinatown instead of the one in CBD.
大爷 was quite funny here. He went to talk to the bus driver in Chinese! And the bus driver actually replied him politely and in English. 1 chicken,1 duck also can communicate.
Anyway, 大爷, Hainan lady and us soon parted ways cuz they not going to see tulips. Our replacement bus took us to Ringwood train station where we continued on train. Hehe quite a pleasant train disruption experience.
When we reached Lilydale at around 10+am, the signs for bus to Tesselaar was quite big so we didnt miss it. Anyway, I chose to come on a Sunday for the free shuttle bus but in e end when we buy tix at Tesselaar, we still need to buy bus tix otherwise cannot take the return journey. -.-
Shuttle bus timing is placed at where we alight.
The entrance fee is AUD$26. But for elderlies above 60, it is AUD$22. Best part is they dont need to check passport or anything for the age haha My mum was very happy at getting the concession.
The weekend we went was the Turkish weekend so there were quite a few stalls selling kebabs. I wonder what happen when it changes to the Dutch weekend hehe…
So cute right? still got say how far to amsterdam.
After entering, this is half the field we will see.
Behind me is another smaller garden with a few more variety of flowers.
Us with NFF.
Then all 3 of us! rare pic cuz dad walked a while then tired liao so he went to take a seat near the entrance to wait for us.
Cuz it rained the night before, the grounds were all muddy. Our shoes all caked w a thick coat of mud haha… There are those stands for u to wipe the mud off but…. some stands r totally full of mud liao i tink also not much use hahah…
Somehow all my pics r all of flowers. I really didnt take much of anything else lol…. There is this tractor ride going round the garden at an additional AUD$5. But we didnt take cuz… this area so smallll….. haha
As we walked, I took random closeup of the flowers.
I told my mum that lunch there will not b nice and will be quite exp so we just eat abit there. In the end, she scared my dad hungry so she brought along alot of the muffins n cookies that we bought in supermarket. ohoh and even hard boiled eggs haha….
But anyways, I still went to take a look at the food options. 2-3 kebab stalls but no one buying. There is this holland stall selling some potato cakes and another one selling those potato chips on a stick wan. So the potato chips on a stick is made of read potato! They have this machine that sliced the potatoes and stick it onto a stick. Like those Korean style wan sold in SG.
1 stick costs like AUD$7 and there’s a variety of flavours u can choose from. Flavours like chili lime, bacon cheese etc etc. The bacon is just a flavouring not real bacon.
I also bought the potato cakes but those v oily. not nice wan. Heng mum brought oranges so can wash off the oil. :p
After lunch, we went to the back of the garden, the one at the back of the first pic. There was a stage with some belly dancers and loud music. I was wondering…. the belly dancers not cold ma? hahah
Its a smaller, more enclosed area with flowers other than tulips. They decorated this smaller area quite nicely. For a moment, I really tot I in Holland haha
Mum was very excited to see oranges on the trees. Haha She said she wanna go back Melbourne and pick fruits next time.
Hahah I like this pink tree a lot.
After I took this pic, NFF and my mum also wanna take similar pic hehe… I think i really like to see flowers a lot. After finishing the whole garden, I still abit 不舍得 leave so I went back to the main area at 2+pm. Mum didnt come along this time cuz … she cleaned her shoes le hahaha….
But it was a gd move for me cuz less ppl le! See! I can get a gd shot w minimum ppl walking in.
I walked to the back of the garden to take these 2 shots hehe so happy less ppl le.
After these shots, I finally went back to look for my parents. Haha My dad was very cold liao so he was hiding in some shelter. Oops. We then hurry walked to board the shuttle bus at 3.35pm.
Back at Lilydale, we took the train and when we reached Ringwood, the train is still undergoing maintenance so we need to take replacement bus. Mum asked the train staff how long the bus will run till. They will run all the way till train end. 😀 Mum asked cuz she saw a mall near Ringwood station hehe… Ringwood Eastland!
Mum say this is their local mall so shld hav cheaper stuff hehe… i did bought a pair of boots here w a wee bit of heels. My sneakers by then is very muddy but the salesperson still want to help me pick up my sneakers n keep them cuz I wanna wear my new boots immediately. My mum stopped the salesperson and I hurriedly keep my own muddy sneakers haha
My mum went abit crazy over shopping at the supermarket here. I think cuz its bigger and more spacious and less ppl. Supermarkets close at 9,10pm but the retail shops close at 6pm. sad 😦
Anyway, so we shopped then we go eat. Hehe my mum keep saying wanting to eat seafood but closest we can find is this fish n chips place: Hunky Dory.
As it is still spring, the restaurant still have heater on. We dun really like heater so we sat outdoor. The good thing abt dining in Melbourne is they always provide u with water. ok #random
I think we went abit overboard ordering food for 3 pax. This seafood platter is for…. 2 pax.
At least this is a salad!
This is v random but my mum say OZ mutton v nice n I feel like having something meaty too so just nice.
Think I liked the grilled seafood best cuz still retain the freshness of the seafood.
When all the food are served, my mum joked to the waiter and said alot of food. The waiter said “I’m sure u all can do it.” When he came back to clear the plates, he teased us and said “See! I knew u all can do it” haha…
When we finished dinner, skies v dark le and my parents are freezing! haha I think my jacket is v thick so I tot it was still ok. So we hurriedly go take the replacement bus for our journey home lo!
And so end our beautiful day 😀
Yan's Wood, Rice, Oil, Salt 
