Australia08
Sunday, February 10, 2008
First of, I would like to express my own disappointment that I could not have done this earlier. An ambitious post thrown in with the lousy timing of the stress and packedness of JC. Well here it is anyway, I'll be doing others later on Valentine'd, perhaps Chinese New Year, too, but please be patient ok?
The Blue Mountains, with a meandering maze of plateaus in the backdrop.
The pristine blue mountains, aptly named for the chemical substance released by the dense eucalyptus trees of the temperature rainforest.
A wonderful candy we picked up in the Leura Mall. Mind you their mall is not a large shopping centre, but due to the abundance of space, it's a long broadwalk of shophouses, selling the rang eof goods and services a typical mall would offer. A refreshing view compared to the typical claustrophobic constraints of a multi storeyed complex. Back to the candy, Simpkins, a hard candy sweet in a metallic canister that Zheng Wen would be reminded of Ricola. Simple, yet tasty and long lasting, this S$6 candy was sure worth the buy.
Fairmont Resort
I mar the beautiful picture with my image... heheh...
One of the steepest railway lines in the world, the track can at its peak, incline at 52 degrees from the normal.
Many people say this looks like Bukit Timah reserve. I say they should be shot.
I also don't know why Joel took a picture of this. Utterly randomness.
Click Five.
The Mist.
Flight of the ducklings.
The Fish Market, a seafood haven for those lovers. I am not much of a fan except for prawns. Don't know why, but I simply cant get enough of those crunchy critters of the sea. King prawns, mega lobsters and eye opening crabs of proportions you'd raise an eyebrow at, in this market of fishy whiffs. They don't come cheap either, but sure beats the miniscule shrips you get in Spain. A gamut of sea critters and fishes, and it's all laid out colourfully for you as you tour the premises.
Every major country has a Chinatown, and Sydney is no exception. The extent of their grasp and influence knows little bounds. This Chinatown, however, had a slight sleazy feel, disgusting me. The lanterns and festivities, however, for the Lunar New Year there, was a homely feel from what I missed in Singapore. A home away from home, with the warmth from good ol' chinese food.
We tried the ang moh palate there, to little effect of awe, but to much of bore. Plenty of tastless meats and preserved goods, with the exception of seafood. It seems their imagination knows many bounds, and sauces mean little to them. Thai and Chinese remain the top for my spicy loving palate, and I won't mind if you beg to differ. For those of you who haven't travelled or tasted much, trust me you're not miising out on much, and there's nothing quite like homely ol' Asian fare. :)
A candid shot of my dad, the image of a carefree holiday back where we were several years back. The choopy sea rocks the ferries bobbing, looking at it can easily get the faint hearted seasick. The promenade was lined with palm trees, a scene of
People come to see the Opera House, but Joel wants a seagull in the picture. Talk about missing the forest for the trees. -.-
The many urban scapes of the not-to-be-missed Sydney Harbour, some with the famous Opera House and it's vast plaza before it, some of the twisted metal forming the heavily plied Sydney Harbour Bridge. One of the attractions are the Bridge walk, a titillating walk metres above sea level, precariously on the curved top of the bridge. Not for the faint hearted, seeing toursists scale it from even metres away, you can feel the fear they must have thumping in their hearts. The wind so relentlessly threatening their step. Dammit we didn't go for it. D:
The final few pictures fall under the urban sprawling city, littered strategically with skyscrapers and an efficient metro.
On our way past the many lanes, to the Queen Victoria Building. For some breakfast, as the service apartments don't provide meals with their rates.
Queen Victoria Building, an upper class shopping centre in all its Victorian splendor, a grand retail building that saw us to Saturday's breakfast in a quiet Asian eatery, tucked snugly away in one corner. A strong prawn whiff of my decision of their Ipoh hor fun sent me quickly regretting the choice. Their Roti Chennai, Malaysia's version of our Roti Prata, was not too bad, price aside. If I recall correctly, it was a whooping S$7.50 for ONE plain prata and curry. Deathly.
A art photpgraphy gallery on the upper floor featured brilliant works of a local self-trained photographer. Stunning panoramic images that struck nostalgia and desire, inspiration and warmth. Purchasing any of his works was a mere dream, with his pieces at exorbitant prices. A shame it was, but I'd like to do something of a similar calibre in future, for leisure.
The flea market at The Rocks, the first settlement down under where hordes of convicts were sent to, to create a population and grow a new world for crowded ol' Britain. A novel idea, whereby convicts were later released after serving terms for their petty crimes, and then sent off with land to prosper in this new world.
En route to Sydney International Airport, what looks ike a Boeing 777 touches down. A slighly warmer day, it was, and this was taken in the wee 7am, when we had to wake up at 5.30 for the airport shuttle. My gosh even holidays don't escape from the early morning commute dawhn undah. :D
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A memorable vacation, albeit a simple and short one, but a memorable one nonetheless. I arrived jetlagged and in fatigue, back in sunny home sweet home, owing to the short sleep the last night. It felt good, however, to be back home. I badly missed some people while I was gone, despite it being only 5 wet days.
I bet Zheng Wen woulda loved the Blue Mountains, though I've been there before, age was a barrier to unlocking the few recollections I had to this area when I was a wee little lad. Geography struck me in many locations of this mountain range, chunked with valleys, plateaus and countless layered Sandstones that stretched as far as the eye could see. Temperate rainforests caked the dense valleys, and there were plentiful houseflies that daringly hung on tight while you swatted them irritably away.
Not a perfect locale for a geography field trip, untouched landscapes of New Zealand would trump it hands down, but it no doubt got me wishing I had one overseas before. It's the trip away from home when I think it's really when you get to know your friends. Their personal lifestyles are
penned by joel at 4:35 PM
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