One of the days we took a day trip to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat.  The drive up from Brisbane to the retreat was about 2 hours long, but took much longer because the GPS took us via Duck Creed Road.  I don't think I'll ever forget that name.  It's a long, winding, unmarked lane off the main roads, through private farmlands (read: gates where you have to exit the vehicle to manually un-hinge and hinge), steep, sandy and gravelly terrains, but also, the most breath-taking scenery ever. It was an experience, but not something I would advise travellers to do as even our 4-wheel-drive had quite a lot of difficulty navigating the route and an especially steep slope.  So take the main roads, and ignore it when your GPS tells you that Duck Creed Road is the fastest way up.  When you're crawling at maybe 10km/hr, it really isn't.

Gorgeous blue skies

The cow wonders what the hell we're doing driving in their pastures

Heyyy Luke, do you know how much we had to go through just so we could see your farm?

The kind of place that makes me want to just lie down on the grass, look at the sky and not give a flying rat's ass about time or work.

While the ride up to O'Reilly's was eventful, I couldn't say the same about our destination.  It's probably more suitable if you have kids, as there were some activities for the younger 'uns available, like a bird show? Or something like that. The food was good though, but I'm not sure if it was worth the harrowing ride up the mountain.  I believe they also had lodging available so it may be more worth your while if you stayed there a couple of nights.  You know, to calm your nerves after risking your lives on Duck Creed Road.  It was really cold and windy up the mountain too, so wrap up!
.

Whenever I have fries (or chips) in Australia, I think of my Sinsin Garlic Chilli (also known as McDonald's Chilli) or my Maggi tomato ketchup. Nothing else comes close, man.

My attempts at artistic nature shots

Finally at the end of the trail! Now we can go down the mountain.

Awww...these are so me

These! The freshest oysters I've ever had, bought off a man (probably a fisherman) who sold it from a truck. It was AUD$16 for a dozen and has left me with such a strong hankering for oysters that I was looking all over for fresh oysters after I came back.

Twin layout configuration Aww the web addy is adorable! I love little touches of quirk like that

Signs at the Lobby which get rotated every couple of days

It was to escape the heat in Singapore, to finally take a well-deserved break after I left my job, to spend time with a friend. Whatever the reason, we were off on a trip to Australia! The plane ride to Brisbane took slightly less than 8 hours, which I guess isn't too difficult to pass if you watch a couple of movies, browse through a couple of magazines, drift into uneasy sleep and wake up to the smells of hot meals. Twice.

But first up, my skincare essentials on a flight. I was on the red-eye this time around so I didn't bother with make-up. Actually I don't really bother with make-up on flights, maybe just a dab of concealer or rouge when we land if absolutely necessary, so I try to maintain good skin at all times. Of course that's no mean feat but that's a whole other story. Bottom line is, if my skin condition is fine, I wouldn't bother with make-up but if I do have an angry zit or something that's attracting all the wrong attention, then I'll dab on some concealer or something. This time around my skin was behaving pretty well so I didn't bother with any make-up in my carry-on.

Before we go on, we'll just establish a few characteristics of air travel (skin-related of course):

Air plane air is dry. Fact. So be sure to hydrate your skin while you're in the plane.  For people with oily skin, like me, the dryness can actually make your face produce even more oil. I'm not sure of the science behind this but it did happen to me previously and left me feeling like a grimy puddle.  Totally glamourous.

All the containers you carry onto the plane need to have a capacity of less than 100 ml.  So even if you fill up a 150 ml container with just 10 ml of liquid, it's a no-go. Everything has to fit into a 1 L clear, resealable bag as well, though I'm not sure how airport security can tell that by sight.  Still, better to be safe and have all your items with you than risk having them dumped before you get on the flight.

The one exception I can think of where you can carry on a bottle larger than 100 ml is if it's a water bottle. You know, for drinking water from.  You do have to empty it before you go through security but once you're in and waiting to board your flight, you can fill it up at the many water coolers you'll find outside the boarding gates.  If you're intent on keeping hydrated throughout your flight, or if you think that the water served on planes tastes funny, or if you're just too polite to keep bothering the flight attendants, a water bottle is absolutely essential.  (By the way air pressure up in the cabins is DA BOMB. My water bottle literally spit at me when I twisted it open. You've been warned.)

Pull out your bag of liquids when checking in and place them outside your bag when going through the security monitors.  There are signs asking you to do that placed in the waiting area before you check in but I know sometimes these aren't that strictly enforced. In any case, have your bag ready so that you don't fumble and hold up the queue when it's your turn, or better, empty your whole carry-on looking for the accursed bag, in the process showing the world where you throw your used tissues, ticket stubs, old receipts. mouldy sweets etc.  Not sexy, I repeat, NOT SEXY.  And it kinda throws off people's appetites too so...just don't.


So these were what I brought with my this time around:

 The Saem Healing Mist in Clear Control:  I know the bottle looks larger than 100 ml but it's actually only 80 ml! As someone with oily skin, my skin sometimes gets even oilier on flights.  This spray helps to control the oil on my face while still keeping it hydrated.  I use this whenever I feel any dryness, or if I just need something to wake myself up.  This smells a bit herbal and...green?  It's not my favourite scent but it's ok.