as it turns out, i actually do have a lot of pictures because it's taken a full 20 minutes and still counting to upload all of them. i thought i would upload them while unpacking - i can't just sit down and unpack; i have to occupy myself with some small thing and await sharp bursts of energy whereupon i move at frightening speeds but for stunted periods of time. unpacking is quite a task, y'know - but that's taking a while too so i then thought i'd blog while uploading while unpacking.

oh y'know what, i reckon i'll omit too much if i should update now, so Mac and i will go to sleep and finish this post tmr. i absolutely have got to go to kl, but what the heck.

cont'd]

unsw campus- the long walk from the main entrance and the hangout places

visited the opera house on the second day. apart from reading those helpful little notices printed with information about the architecture, which incidentally can also be found in all forms of the media, there isn't really a point in visiting the SOH if you aren't going to watch a show. and we didn't, for the lack of time. so we just got some SOH merchandise and left. clockwise from top left: outside the SOH itself, the loo, from circular quay, the bridge and sea view.

the harbour bridge from circular quay, the water and the hyatt, which at plan view looked like something out of Hotel, if you remember (i was master of that game and also, monopoly). the bridge climb is spectacular, or so i've heard, but you have to have lots of time on your hands as it involves changing out of your clothes and a whole lot of waiting for your turn. we'll do that next year, probably. but here is their wall of fame.

next- the blue mountains

i had no idea what the big deal about the 3 sisters (5th picture) was, but everyone else was in such awe that i took a shot anyway. they're just rocks with a fairytale, aren't they? we learnt that there used to be 7 sisters really long ago and there is a dreamtime story (aesop's fables for the aboriginal people) to that too but it is only for those who are initiated.

the last picture of mom and i is such a postcard picture it looks like it was taken with a green backdrop at a studio on beach road and photoshopped onto scenery. i assure you though, none of the pictures have been doctored with since i don't even have photoshop. although not for the lack of trying; there were two separate attempts at installing the programme but nick's diagnosis was some technical jargon i did not comprehend and interpreted it simply as: pok computer, no space.

the kangaroos we saw were gray and there were no koalas in the area because according to the guide, the british went up into the mountains in the 70s and shot all of them for sport. not much of a challenge, considering koalas are relatively still a lot of the time. you had to get really close to the creatures 3 feet for a good shot or the pictures turn out fuzzy and be really quiet and surreptitious about it too because otherwise-

damned chingchong girls.

but anyway, everyone was after a shot of the kangaroo with a joey in her pouch so we ran after them and away from the chattering chongs.

and if you're wondering what this looks like on a plate-



it tasted like old boots. the tour guide asked if any of us had had eaten kangaroo while on the way to the park and we were suddenly very silent. this was dinner the night before and we were quite alarmed by the prospect that kangaroos may be smarter than cows/lambs/chickens and can smell if you've eaten one of them and would steer clear of us. no such intelligence :D australia is probably the only country in the world which makes a meal out of both her national emblems.



anyway, this is a really cute picture because i'd never thought of it but joeys have to bend over too when their mothers feed, but they never quite do reach the food themselves.

shopping on george street, paddy's market and chinatown. mom got a pair of booties i was thrilled to find but they were down to their last pair and they were in her size. i had to do some convincing before she bought it because she didn't think they were practical; and besides, the right one was looser than the left. she thought that it was some manufacturing glitch but that was just me: i tried to squeeze my huge man-feet in there. oh, how i covet my mom's shoes.

aussieland does have signs that are quite cute. here's another from scenic world.

while in chinatown, a really long queue for what appeared to be cream puffs became a topic for discussion.

subsequent passers-by were joining the queue although they didn't know what they were queuing for and from snippets of conversation we overheard, they thought it best to line up before finding out, and this is from people of assorted races although more ostensibly from the whites. so really, this sort of behavior is either (i) human nature and not exclusive to singaporeans, ergo, not qualified as kiasuism or (ii) this is where the discussion ended and we joined the queue too because who really cares about (ii) when there are piping hot cream puffs for consumption in the middle of winter(!)

following that we tripped down to darling harbour and their spectacular aquarium which puts bloody sentosa to shame. i've never liked sentosa and damned if i'm signing up for a school camp that would put me there for an entire day.

dad loves to play. he doesn't just pose, y'know. while walking past this effigy of Bruce he ducked to the side and pretended to be under attack.

the last picture is of a turtle wedged under some toy. they do that to keep from drifting in their sleep. oh and i've got all these trivia about the animals and especially the kangaroos to tell so ask me damn it, ASK ME ! because i'll forget them all in a matter of days and if i tell someone then she can tell them to me later on. cheryl spent a long while in front of the coral reef trying to get a nice picture of the only clown fish in the tank but it kept dodging her lens. i got impatient waiting for her because it just seems to me that if you want a nice picture of a clown fish and you can't get one within the first 5 minutes, you should just find one on the internet and print it out. she kept trying anyway.

for a few days, it was furnishing and moving cheryl's stuff to her apartment. there were still some furniture missing and the ones there were later rearranged but this was how it looked like when we left that day.

and then it was to the fishmarket, indisputably my favourite place. it is where everyone goes to get the freshest seafood. no pictures though, from there as well as star city casino, because my camera's battery died and i don't have the ones from cheryl's camera.

so we're back after 8 days of great weather and fine food, one shy of our initial party of 4.

keep safe, sis.

[edit] isn't there some sort of standard of pretty for sia stewardesses?

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