Event: Qantas Socceroos vs Argentina Location: Melbourne Cricket Ground Date: September 11th 2007 Time: 7.30pm
This was my first live football match in Australia. Been to the MCG before for AFL matches but not soccer and definitely my first time seeing a star studded international side with the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Javier Saviola and Gabriel Heinze. The Aussie side had a few big names in their ranks with captain Lucas Neill leading EPL players such as Mark Schwarzer, Josip Skoko and Melbourne Victory's very own Archie Thompson.
70,171 strong crowd packed the MCG for this epic match
WyKeith and myself + cup of Cascade Premium Light
Craig came all the way from his comfy MCC seat to meet up. Close prediction mate.
May, Marcus and Chow Vi
The gang
As for the match, it was nothing really spectacular but nonetheless a close encounter between two teams who made it to the 2006 World Cup. Brilliant saves from both keepers coupled with a combined 3 shots to the crossbar/post by both teams. The highlight of the match has to be Messi's surging runs and a brilliant one touch passing play by Argentina that led to Messi being brought down in the box minus a given penalty. All in all, it was still an entertaining match and being there soaking up the atmosphere sure beats watching a match on the telly.
Random dinner adventures brought to you by Marc and Sumbo again. This time, Hard Rock Cafe Melbourne.
The Hard Rock Cafe on Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Sumbo
Marc Fong Kong Tau
Aik Sin
Ian Soo and Ching Yi
Ching Yi and Chow Vi
Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Ribs A full rack of West Tennessee-style ribs rubbed and then basted with our authentic Hickory Bar-B-Que sauce and cooked to perfection – so the meat falls right off the bone. Served with seasoned fries, ranch beans and fresh coleslaw.
Good food + Live Rock Music + Great Company = Absolutely Awesome Experience.
Ah yes... the well known Box Hill, just off the outskirts of Melbourne and 14 train stations away from the city. Why did we make this journey? We don't know.
Scouted around the city of Box Hill before deciding on going to this restaurant called Hills BBQ, only because it was the only restaurant that was packed.
Our order for the night (L-R): Roasted crispy skin pork, spicy chicken ribs, deep fried pig intestine and sweet and sour pork. Yes, a fine selection of meat and innards.
Overall, the food was not too bad but it was nothing to shout about either. Was it worth it making the trip all the way for this? Nope.
Yes, the title says it all.. The Verve on Swanston was really on fire.
Situation:
11.45pm: Smoke started to build up through the corridors of the building on each floor.
11.47pm: Wykeith called and asked why we aren't outside with everyone else.
11.50pm: After much contemplating, we decided to evacuate the building. Each of us took what we thought would be most important to us.
My evacuation items: Mobile phone, passport and wallet.
Marcus' evacuation items: Mobile phone, Canon Digital IXUS 75.
Ben's evacuation item: Mobile phone.
Aik Sin's evacuation items: Mobile phone, passport, air ticket back to KL (Based on the theory should our building blow up, he can get home right away)
Fortunately, that didn't happen and we were back in our apartment by 1am. Apparently someone threw a burning cigarette down the garbage chute which caused stuff in there to burn and smoke to shoot up the entire building. Nonetheless, nothing serious occurred and everything was back to normal.
Driving in the middle of the night along the roads of KL can be quite interesting especially with empty roads that are non-existent during the day.
The latest addition to the infrastructure of KL, the 4km Storm, water Management and Road Tunnel (SMART).
The Amazing Race...
The Amazing Race team Frueza 2 (from left: May Yeng, Kur Win, Marcus, Chow Vi). Frueza 2 @ Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya
Happy Birthday Ian Soo!...
Ian Soo turns 20! Birthday bash @ Telawi Street Bistro
Late into the night with Aik Sin and Yao Jii
Malaysia Boleh!...
AFC Asian Cup 2007: Malaysia vs China PR (Hardcore supporter Dayton [far right])
Final Score? Malaysian Football is hopelessly hopeless...
Going beyond expectations...
The flight back... This is a whole chapter by itself with problems mounting up and down with MAS.. Lets just say, I got lucky.
Selamat Datang ke Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Melbourne, Tullamarine. Semoga anda menikmati masa anda di Melbourne dan terima kasih kerana memilih Penerbangan Malaysia.
Welcome to the Tullamarine International Airport, Melbourne. We hope you enjoy your stay in Melbourne and thank you for choosing Malaysia Airlines.
It was a pretty slow moving Saturday but as the evening approached, things started getting pumped up and interesting. This was it... the thought of witnessing Axl live was beckoning.
6pm - Grabbed a quick dinner from KFC Melbourne Central with fellow concert goer Wykeith. We then caught a tram from Flinders St. to Melbourne Park, the location of the Rod Laver Arena and the venue of the concert.
7pm - Arrived at Rod Laver to see this huge sign saying "STRICTLY NO CAMERAS ALLOWED". Great. That meant Wykeith had to deposit his camera at the cloaking booth and no quality pictures of the concert. Security was pretty tight, with quite a number of guards and metal detectors and all that...
After going through all the security and the barcode turnstalls, we then went to our seats and the sight inside the stadium at that time was rather empty...
Well, we were rather early so there it was.. waiting time!
9pm - The first opening act came onstage, this band called Rose Tattoo.. The lead singer had a powerful voice but was really random at times with his speeches but overall the band was more of a classical rock genre similar to Deep Purple.
10.30pm - The second opening act, Sebastian Bach came onstage to a rousing welcome. This dude was a real entertainer and had been touring with Gn'R for some time. Great band.
11.30 ish - After Sebastian Bach, the lights came back on and the crowd had grew to full capacity.
A bunch of people from the right sides of the stands initiated a Mexican wave and it was quite cool.. It went on for a few rounds until everyone got tired of it. As I was looking around scanning the crowd, a group of people in the row in the front-right of me moved into their seats. I caught a glance and was like "wait.. isn't that.. IT IS!" Toby Rand and Juke Kartel were a few seats away from me!
Thats Toby right there, for those of you who can recognise him...
11.30pm - The lights went off and everyone started screaming.. Then spotlights started shining randomly...
The opening song was expected. The intro to Welcome to the Jungle rang out a few times before coming to a pause, to build up anxiety.. And then Robin played the entire intro and lights came on stage and the crowd was greeted with an Axl trademark
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU AREEEEEEEEEEEEE?!!!
YOU'RE IN THE JUNGLE BABY
TIME TO DIEEEEEEE
*Pyrotechnics display to the beat of the song.. BOOM*
The band played most of their classics including Mr Brownstone, Its So Easy, Live and Let Die, Knocking on Heaven's Door, Patience, an instrumental version of Don't Cry which was awesome and their most famous hit, Sweet Child of Mine...
A grand piano was then brought out and the crowd already knew which song was coming...
Ah.. the sounds of November Rain with a shower of sparks..
The band also played some of their new stuff including Chinese Democracy and Madagascar.
Nightrain was the "last song" of the night which I think Axl nailed. His vocals were still strong and powerful and believe me, those who think he sucks cause he's old, you guys are wrong.. He still has it!
The band went off stage for awhile before coming back to perform the traditional encore Paradise City which ended superbly with fireworks and raining confetti all over the arena.
And that was it! An absolutely spectacular concert! Arguably the best concert I've been to! It was a magnificent night but I can't help but wonder... G n' R are this good out of their prime, which leaves me thinking.. how much better would they be with Slash, Duff and Sorum.. Unfortunately thats not going to happen so I'll just leave my thoughts and enjoy the moment..
And to cap off the already breathtaking night, I took a picture...
...with Toby Rand and Juke Kartel! Watching Axl was already good enough.. This was an absolute bonus!
Its been awhile since I last drove a car. To be precise, since I arrived in Melbourne. I have to admit... I miss my beloved TC-08... I miss those Team City gatherings that used to happen weekly... And most of all, I miss the adrenaline and exhilaration of driving overall. This post is dedicated to TC-08...
Vehicle: Honda City (Fit-Aria) Engine: Honda L15A 1.5L VTEC Bodykit: Airmaster 3G City Wheels: Work Emotion CR 17" Tires: BF Goodrich g-Force 205/40/R17
TC-08 @ Genting
TC-08 @ Genting
And the soundtrack of this machine is sorely missed as well...
Not to mention the good times with Team City...
Official Launching
Cameron Highlands Cool Cruise
TC First Anniversary
First Anniversary (highest turnout of members with 80 cars)
Ah.. good times...
JE Automart Damansara Perdana Opening
Cheras Official Gathering 2006
And the bad times...
Reminiscences... But not for long! For I will be back soon!
70,171 strong crowd packed the MCG for this epic match
WyKeith and myself + cup of Cascade Premium Light
Craig came all the way from his comfy MCC seat to meet up. Close prediction mate.
May, Marcus and Chow Vi
The gang
