So finally after 18 months of being with and knowing Matt, I finally got to see the place where he grew up in.
It was really sweet to have the boy picked me up at the airport in the wee hours. And did I say how much I love sitting next to him when he’s driving? Ah well, I know I did but gawd, I get so STOKED every time.

The boy was whistling.
So the first conversation we had in his “oldies’” (that’s what Matt calls them) car went like this…
Me: Is this an automatic?
Matt: Yes.
Me: Oh!
Matt: And no, you can’t drive it.
Me: Oh.
Charming.
So anyhow, everyone’s been asking me how was the trip and I really have nothing but good memories of it.
However, the truth was, as some close friends knew, I was pretty hesitant to go. Firstly, it wasn’t cheap to fly to Brissy from Hong Kong. Secondly, I wasn’t sure if I had enough leave. Third, I knew Matt would be pretty busy catching up with friends, family, the stag night, wedding, clearing up his room and a two-day first-aid refresher course!
Both Matt and I were afraid I would either be demanding on his time or disappointed that he couldn’t spend much time with me and at that point of our relationship, I really didn’t want anything unhappy happening again. So I was extremely uncertain.
Then the usual grab-all-opportunities mentality in me set in and I decided on a whim to just go for it. No regrets. Just go for it but keep your expectations low. It helps there was an Emirates promo to fly for SG but still, it all came up to around S$1,000. And… 24 hours of flying all in all. CAN DIE. Can I just say again how much I hate flying?!
I managed to spend a night with Matt before he left for Brissy a day after I arrived in SG for the stag night while I played major catch-up in Singapore. And after 12 hours and 5 groups of pals, I took a long train ride from Bukit Batok back to the far east to see Molely for a bit. After not talking to him for the entire day, I called Matt on the train ride to see how was the stag night (or rather ‘day’ as the bunch of Tim’s friends hired a bus and drove along Sunshine Coast) and he replied to all my questions in Mandarin.
Me: How are you?
Matt: Wo hen hao! (“I’m good!”)
Me: Did you have fun?
Matt: Wo you. (“I did.”)
Me: Did you drink a lot?
Matt: Yi dian dian. (“A little bit.”)
Then it got too noisy and I told him I talked to him again, which I didn’t get to until the next morning.
Me: You had a lot to drink last night huh.
Matt: No lah, not much!
Me: Yes, you did. You spoke to me in Mandarin during last night’s conversation!
Matt: Huh, we spoke?!
Me: … (I rest my case)
OK. I digressed too much. Should just show some random shots taken in Brissy before I fall asleep…

View from the garage in Matt's house
When we got into Matt’s house from the airport, I, of course, couldn’t see the view cos it was pitch dark. All I could see was that they had an unobstructed view of the scenery but I didn’t know how beautiful it was until I woke up the next morning. I was seriously taken aback when I saw the view in daylight. Yes, like seriously.
Matt’s mum was really sweet to drop me off at the city so I could explore a little while waiting for Matt to finish his first-aid course. I went to Sportsgirl and was next in line to pay for stuff until I decided to be good and think about them. (What did you know! I ended up spending all of only A$70 for the entire week ok!!!)
Then I continued walking and walking and ended up at the museum across from Queens Street Mall.


It was spring but gosh, was it almost scorching hot when I was walking across the bridge! Since it was free and I was bored, I went through the museum to find out about Queensland’s history. Hmmm, pretty interesting stuff… Then I walked back across the bridge and stood in the middle for several minutes with great tunes playing on my iPod. It was such a lovely few minutes that I forgot that I haven’t felt that way for a long time. I stood there on my own, smiling to myself. I miss that.
Matt met me soon after and we walked to his second bro’s, Steve, snazzy office to hitch a ride home. The two brothers look so alike! On the walk there, Matt went a little raving mad and started to yap some Hokkien vulgarities at random Caucasian passer-bys. I dared him to do it at the Asians and that managed to shut him up a bit. O_o
The next day, Matt’s parents and us drove out to Sunshine Coast and I fell right asleep on the way there and back and Matt was convinced it was his dad’s country tunes that put me to sleep. We had BBQ beef burgers by the beach for lunch. Sighhh. Seriously, life was so simple and blissful this time last week. :/

On Currimundi beach at Sunshine Coast



Matt and I lied on the sands for just 20 minutes and it was unbearingly hot I had to jump into the freezing waters twice. Well, not exactly ‘jump’ but more like waddled until hip level and cool myself down by patting the cold water onto my body. The weather was crazy hot for spring but the water was freezing!
And the sun in Oz is really scary. Just 20 minutes and I got quite a tan on my body! And Matt, erm, burnt, of course.
That night, the boy also drove me out to fulfill my Cold Rock cravings (they’re everywhere in Brissy!!!) and took me to check out the night view at Mt. Cook. It was rather spectacular but the boy forgot his jumper so we couldn’t stay out of the car for long cos the winds were crazyyyyy. Anyhow, I didn’t know it was a cheesy thing to do (to go to Mt. Cook at night) until I told Matt’s friends about it during the wedding night cos they couldn’t stop chuckling and I was wondering what was the deal about. Hahaha! It’s like the Mt. Faber of Singapore where young couples go there to make out and stuff. But well, I’m a tourist after all!
For the few times that Matt had to meet up with his pals, I was happy to stay in. I tried to orchestrate a meet-up with Jeremy in the city but oh gawd, it’s just impossible, given the timings, locations and the lack of efficient public transport. We gave up and was like, “Aiya see you back in SG!”
Most times, I just sat by the patio with the doggie at my feet (I didn’t know you get such bliss from a doggie resting itself at your feet!) while chatting with pals on Matt’s new MacBook Pro.
I also finally met Matt’s little sis, Gemma and it was lovely that we could hit it off. I guess the interests girls share are always the same, no matter where you come from! And it’s pretty cute seeing Matt and his sis tog. He bitches about his sis (like my bro does!) but aww, the affection he has for his sis is so obvious! It was sweet to watch.

Gemma and I.
Matt and I always have this habit of checking other mixed-race kids to see which parent they look like more and we were doing that when Gemma, he and I were waiting for our Thai takeout one evening when Gem teased: “Eh eh, what are you guys doing huh??” Hahaha, oops. I forgot brothers have to keep that macho side of them in front of their sisters.
Another thing that I love watching was Matt with doggies. He loves Akira so much that he could sit there for ages just patting and scratching her. I know it’s so cheesy but I swear I melted a little inside me.
(Akira’s on the left. On the right is Steve’s doggie. Matt was spinning him around…)


The vacation ended with a very yummy dinner at Steve’s place by the fire place. Steve made some pork roast stew by covering it with hot charcoal?? I had so much that I almost passed out but oh gawd, then there was the sticky pudding Matt’s sis-in-law made. Passed out some more. Soooo goooood.

Just missing the big brother, Rob.
So, I finally got to meet all of Matt’s family members and some of his pals and I didn’t realise how much that meant to him. It’s such a new feeling for me but it does feel damn good when your partner wants everyone in his life to meet you, doesn’t it?
We were sulking like hell last Sunday night when we were packing to leave. Matt went a little crazy at Woolies buying loads of meat to bring back to SG. But that poor boy forgot to pack in a tub of honey and peanut butter and had to throw them out when we went to the gate.
But ah well, he managed to bring his bag of golf clubs AND a 10-ft surfboard back to SG. I packed light and Emirates had very generous luggage allowance. But my poor mum’s reaction when she saw the surfboard. I asked the boy to bring his 5-ft or even 7-ft instead but he just insisted on his 10-ft. -_- Poor mummy.
It was such a simple but yet so memorable trip.
The parts I miss the most? Me on my own with Akira at my feet looking out at the spectacular view outside Matt’s house and just being able to cuddle with my boy to sleep.
