Thank God for family

My parents came last weekend. Arrived on Friday & left for home the following Tuesday. A short 5 days stay but there are just so much to show them... Managed to plan an itinenary, covering north (newcastle, sand dunes); south (kiama); east (city) & west (blue mountain) and i'm so glad they enjoyed their vacation. Above all, i've enjoyed the quality time spent with them throughout the 5 days. Was really good to see them!

Took lots of photos - i've posted some for your viewing...

Now that i'm alone again in Sydney, it's back to work! Some major exhibitions coming up in Sydney that spread through May & June. Though not as huge as compared with the Airshow, but i can be sure that some of my weekends will be spent at work...

Stay tune for more updates... it's back to work for now!

Wish you were here...

I've just posted up more photos taken recently in Sydney - for your viewing!

Work is catching on & from where i'm staying? there is no internet cafe within walking distance, which means i can't blog over the weekend like i used to in Melbourne... So bear with me & i might come up with an alternative solution to satisfy your thirst for bedtime stories... oops! i mean blog updates! Hahaha!

Ok! Have time only for a quick one... I've settled down quite well in Sydney by now. Accommodation is not quite the same as the one in Melbounre (which is 5-stars compared to Sydney one of probably 4-stars) but i'm thankful it's a 1-bedroom apartment - everything else is secondary!

With my parents coming to visit me in Sydney this week (22-26 Apr), i've been spending my last weekend listing out an itinerary (where to go? what to see?) & driving around to explore & get myself familiarized with the streets, etc... Quite an adventure actually to just drive around! =)

Found out there are quite a lot of interesting things/activities to do in Sydney, the downside however, is not having friends around to join me...

Living in Sydney

The lifestyle in Sydney is pretty much the same as Singapore - everything is a rush rush... lots of shopping... plenty of good food... except for the weather & wide range of attractions.

With a friend visiting me in Australia - it's about sumptuous food (almost everyday), sightseeing & exploring Sydney together, at the same time, starting work in another new environment & settling down.

Work...
...is not as busy as compared to the Airshow time but enough to keep me busy each day – which is good because time pass faster that way. The department I now work in comprises of mainly guys which is completely the opposite of the all-girls team in Melbourne. The office may be much bigger than Melbourne but some how, the people here seem less friendly...

Autumn season...
...means it gets dark by 5.30pm with average temperature at a high of 25 degrees & some occasional showers. I suppose Melbourne has trained me to have higher tolerance for cold weather because I find Sydney pretty hot for me.

Transportation...
...is a problem even though my apartment is quite near to office, it takes about 15min drive to get to work compared to the 40min drive in Melbourne. However, having a car is still a necessity for me mainly because of safety reason. To take public transport from apartment to work means a 10min walk to Redfern Station to catch a bus, followed by another 15min walk to the office.

Redfern is known as a notorious suburb where the Aborigines reside & there were numerous cases of robbery, gang fights, etc. Going public would take approximately an hour to get from point to point & would run risk of being rob when I've to bring my laptop home after work, walking along very badly lit streets at 6pm when it gets dark already.

The safest solution is to get a rented car but not necessary a cheap one. Rented car in Sydney is more expensive then Melbourne because they offer newer models like the one I have now is a white Toyota Corolla (Hatch) 1.8l, about 1-year old vs. my previous 1980s lao po ka chia in Melbourne. Naturally, the price is also twice as much as Melbourne's! Guess I'll have to tighten my belt to save up for the increase in expenses... =)

Melbourne - Sydney

My slightly over 3 months stay in Melbourne pass so quickly i almost couldn't bear to leave... Hahaha! Perhaps i'm comfortable with my colleagues, friends, the apartment & getting around in Melbourne, that the thought of starting over again in Sydney seems less appealing.

On the last day of my work in Melbourne, my department organized a farewell tea party for me & we met up for drinks in the night at a Belgium Beer Cafe. There were a lot of mixed feelings then -- sad (to leave them), anxious (about what the colleagues in Sydney would be like), happy (that i've another 3 months left to my return to Singapore), disappointed (that i'll be down-graded to a studio apartment in Sydney), excited (to explore more of Sydney), worried (that i might have excess luggage), etc...

At the Melbourne domestic terminal when i check-in at the counter, my luggages exceeded by 26kgs & i have to pay AUD80/= for excess baggage! The truth is, i've arranged, in addition, a carton box of my personal stuff via road freight from Melbourne to Sydney... Imagine the amount of things i've accumulated over the 3 months! Actually, i could have avoided paying for the excess baggage by having more of my stuff move via road (which is free of course, since i'm working for a transport company!)... So silly of me not to think of that earlier!

The serviced apartment which my company has arranged for me is located in Sydney's inner west, close to Sydney University, the CBD & city. When i arrived & was given the key to the room, i was surprised to see a 1-bedroom apartment instead of a studio unit! In fact, i was so sure i will get a Studio unit when i spoke with the person who made the apartment booking for me before i left for Melbourne. I was even considering to pay the difference to upgrade to a 1-bedroom apartment (at my own cost) so that when my parents visit me end of Apr, there is enough room to accommodate 3 of us - otherwise, i might have to sleep in the bathroom of the studio unit! hee hee! Praise God, He provides! Somehow, the serviced apartment has kindly upgraded me to the 1-bedroom without charging my company the extra! YEAH!

Updates!

I've arrived at SYDNEY!

Sorry for the long 'silence', i know you have been faithful in checking my blog for updates & i hope today's update is something worthwhile waiting for... hee! Lots of updates for the past 3 weeks & i hope to keep them short & sweet...

THE REUNION, 25 Mar (Fri)
My friend came to visit me in Melbourne! Her flight arrived on Good Friday morning at wee hours of 0525am! She had planned a 19days long vacation - first week in Melbourne then the remaining days with me in Sydney. We had planned to go on a campervan trip around Philip Island & the Gippsland region whilst in Melbourne during the Easter holidays.

HOLI-HOLIDAY, 25-30 Mar (Fri-Wed)
Our planned itinerary:
Melbourne City - Yarra Valley (Winery) - Philip Island (Penguins & Nobbies) - Sale (beginning of the 90 Miles Beach) - Raymond's Island - Bairnsdale - Lakes Entrance (end of 90 Miles Beach) - Buchan - Melbourne City

Our Campervan:
We had booked for a campervan with Maui (Spirit 2) which has the basic features of bed, kitchen, microwave oven, gas stove, sink & fridge. The vehicle is a Toyota about the size of a mini van, 5m length / 1.69m width / 2.5m height. However, when we arrived to collect, Maui has kindly upgraded us to another model which comes with toilet! When we were shown to the vehicle, it was huge! It's a Mercedes, 6.8m length / 1.97m width / 3m height. Naturally, it looks & feels weird for a small size girl like me to be seen driving this... After some 5-10min of driving around, it wasn't that difficult afterall. In fact, it's almost like driving a car despite it's long wheel based.

Our 1st night in Philip Island:
After some hours of driving from Yarra Valley, we arrived in Philip Island around 8pm, had our dinner & started our search for a Caravan Park to spend the night. With a campervan, one would need to book a powered site with a Caravan Park provider. Powered site is an area like a parking lot where you could park your campervan, where you could plug power cable from the main electrical point to the campervan so you can operate the mircowave oven, toaster, etc. A Caravan Park also has a common kitchen, toilet & bathroom facilities & because it's an enclosed park, there is some form of security...
It didn't occur to us that we have to pre-book a powered site in advance - especially when it was during peak holiday period, all the Caravan Parks were fully booked! Wonder why we didn't think of this... perhaps we had thought we have our 'home' with us when we booked for a campervan. Hahaha!
In the end, we had no choice but to park the campervan along the road near the beach & some motels for the night & prayed for safety. Thank God, in Him we find security! Thank God for His provision for He knew we would end up sleeping "by the street" that He provided us with the upgraded campervan that comes with toilet!

2nd night in Philip Island:
We didn't think we would get a powered site for our 2nd night in Philip Island cos all the Caravan Parks we have called were fully booked that weekend & we were prepared to stay by the street again as we did the night before. Then my friend saw this brochure at the Visitor Information Center which caught her eyes, we called & they have just 1 powered site left available for us that night. Praise God!

Got stuck!:
The rest of the trip was really nice. Enjoying the drive, scenic views, the cooling weather, etc. Took some photos & they are ready for your viewing at the usual place - "My Photos!". Check them out!
There is however, 1 quite interesting incident which happened on the 2nd last day of our vacation. We went for a tour of the Buchan Caves, then drove about 1.5hours to Little River Fall for picnic lunch & wanted to drive further to Little River Gorge but there was a sign that reads "No semi trailers or caravans beyond this point". So i decided we should head back to Buchan instead. Shortly after on our way, my friend was whining about coming all the way there but didn't get to see the famous Gorge & at that moment of frustration, i reversed the campervan & wanted to head back to the Little River Gorge so she would complain no more. While during the 3-point turn, the rear wheel of the campervan got stuck to the soft ground. Imagine this: a 2-way narrow traffic road with both sides green farm pastures (just like the ones in Malaysia) & the long campervan was there right across the road - blocking any traffic that could have come on! Fortunately, this is a quiet road, no cars at all which is also unfortunate cos there is no one to help... only cows looking at us as we tried to get the wheels back on track! I took the plank (which forms part of our bed on the campervan) & placed it beneath the wheel, hoping it could help to get it off the soft ground but it kept spinning cos the plank was too thick. About 15-20min later, a car came by & had to stop - the family we have met that the Buchan caves earlier. They had planned to visit the Gorge but thank God they changed their mind when they saw the warning sign & head back our way. The father & son drove to get help from the nearby farm while the mother & 2 daughters were with us waiting. Help came! The farmer came with his jeep, tied a rope to the campervan & pull it out from the soft ground & we are on the road again!