adrianism...

Travels in Sydney

i developed a liking for travel after i visited Kota Kinabalu (KK) with my family in November 2004. i was blessed to be given another chance to go to KK in November 2005 to attend my cousin's wedding in Ranau and Bundu Tuhan (which is near to the mountain area). From there, i discovered that i enjoyed travel (not to mention food!). In July 2006, i was given an opportuniy to go to Kuching to attend a meeting, and a month later, i found myself travelling to Kuching again - this time to participate in the march-pass for the national-level national day do. And what a great time i had in each of these travel!

And this time, i was going to Sydney! Never in my entire life (so far) i imagined stepping on Australian soil. Although i study in an Austalian university which is based in Malaysia, i thought that was the closest i can get to Australia....hehe. When i told a friend that i was going to Sydney for holiday,he told me that "Australia is an expensive place". It's true, bearing in mind that Australian $ is 3 times our Ringgit Malaysia. Thank God we didn't have to worry about accomodation and food as we would be putting up at my aunt's place in Camden, about an hours drive from the city. I'm very thankful for my aunt, uncle and cousin's hospitality and generosity!

"How come going to Sydney?" My aunt (my mom's younger sis) stays there with her family. And for a long time, they have been asking us to pay them a visit. Rumors where circulating in my home that we might (the keyword is "might") be going to Sydney end of 2006. That was in June or July '06. Only about a month and a half before our planned travel, we started to look for airline ticket. Boy! End-of-the-year sure bring smiles to airline companies! So many people go for vacation. When we booked our ticket via Royal Brunei Airlines, we were told that we will be put on waiting list, and subjected to screening. We passed the first screening and got a seat to Sydney. But there was still problem, because there was no seat for us to come back between Dec-end and early-Jan. We prayed about it, and when all hope of going to Ausralia seemed to be gone, we got a call just 3 weeks before our planned travel saying that our seats have been confirmed! So we were to leave Brunei for Sydney on November 26th and come back on Dec 22nd (too bad, we couldn't experience Christmas in Aussie....what to do?) By the way, i thought Sydney is 2 hrs ahead of Miri (which is correct) but wrong when i arrived. I didn't know it was daylight savings, and so we had to add another hour in advance - which means Sydney is 3 hrs ahead now.

Lesson learnt here: BOOK SEATS EARLY! PLAN VACATION IN ADVANCE! Travel tip: Brunei Air offers lower travel rates as compared with Malaysian Airline Systems (MAS).

We drove from Miri to Bandar Seri Begawan on 26th November morning, left our car with my friend David's parents. Then we boarded the 840pm flight for Sydney. The journey took 7 hours. We arrived Sydney at 640am Sydney time on 27th Nov. Here's a summary of the time spent in Sydney:

27/11 - arrived Sydney International aiport. weather was cool, about 19*C. Aunt fetched us and drove home to Camden. Used highway, and also went thru a tunnel. 1st experince of going thru a tunnel :) Had pizza-hut for dinner. taste the same like home :) realised that it only got dark by 830pm.

29/11 - Took train to city. Visited St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. Cool gothic design, both exterior and interior. Went for confession and also attended Mass. From there, went to walked to Sydney Opera House and also to the Botanic gardens. Walked around city. When to a shopping mall, and realised one stall sold Malaysian food. Funny thing the proprieter is from China!

30/11 - Went to MacArthur's square, Campbelltown. Lunch and some shopping.

1/12 - Summer officially begins today. My goodness! i thought that the weather change would not have been so drastic! It was super hot today! Funny thing i don't sweat much even though it is hot! The weather is not humid like back in Miri. (However, the next few days were pretty cold, and of course some days were hot. My uncle said the weather is unusual to be cold in summer, because it was rather a bit like winter - blame it on global warming. And Australia has been experiencing severe drought, till the point some farmers are committing suicide. Even the churches start to pray for rain now.)

2/12 - Botany Bay National Park. uncle brought us for 'Yum-Cha' at Regal Chinese restaurant in the city. The waiter literally threw our plates across our table when serving us wonder if he was in a hurry or was he showing off some kung-fu. Also went to the Sydney Paddy's market (place for souvenir, clothings etc. at a lower lower price).

3/12 - Sunday Mass at St. Pauls Cathlic Church, Camden.

5/12 - Took a ferry across to visit Taronga Zoo. Saw many animals! After that walked to "The Rocks" australia's first and oldest English Settlement.

6/12 - Visited some show houses in Mt. Annan area. The design of houses in Aussie is so much nicer than the one back home. So get some idea from the showhouses :)

7/12 - Uncle brough us to Harvey Norman (something equivalent to our 'Courts Mammoth'). Gosh! So many goods to see!

8/12 - Visited Anglican Cathedral. Then Met Valerie and friend in the City outside Townhall train station. Valerie belanja lunch! (Oporto Grilled chicken, yum!) Went to Queen Victoria Building - beautiful! Walked to darling harbor. Got the opportunity to visit Macquarie University, about an hours bus ride from city. If not mistaken it is in Ryde. The uni looks kind of old because of the bare cement walls...but i guess it's done on purpose. Had a bad experience on the way home. i reached the Campbelltown train station at 855pm, just in time to catch a bus home, and guess what, i met a drunken man on board. thank God the bus driver was kind enough to warn me about the man and asked me to sit away from the man. the whole way the drunkie was cursing and swearing........and at that point i prayed all the prayers i could :)

9/12 - Visited University of New South Wales (UNSW). Visited Coojee Beach. Uncle brought us 'Yum-cha' at another Chinese Restaurant - delicious food!

10/12 - Sunday Mass. Then visited IKEA at Homebush Bay. WOW! I like IKEA's concept of allowing customers to sit and test their furnitures. Btw, IKEA is a Swedish based company specializing in home furnishing. Their design are cool and also comfortable.

13/12 - Went to Sydney Aquarium. Got to see sharks :) Exam results out. Yahoo!!! Passed all!!!!

15/12 - Lunch in Hungry Jacks in Liverpool. Then, uncle brought us to another suburb, Cabbramatta. Lots and lots of Asians in this suburb!

16/12 - When to visit dad's old friend, Mr. Riley. He drove us to Sydney University. Dad studied here before. Being the first and oldest uni in Aussie, the set up of this uni follows that of Cambridge in England. Beautiful buildings!

17/12 - Sunday Mass

19/12 - Uncle drove us to Canberra, the capital of Australis. 3 hours drive from Camden. Had breakfast at McD along the highway. Got to visit the parliament house and joined a guided tour :) It was a great opportunity to walk and have a close glimpse of the house of representatives and the senate. Visited a lake with a high fountain. Lunch at KFC Canberra. To me, KFC back home taste better :P

20/12 - Went to Mt. Annan area to see houses decorated with beautiful Christmas lights! wow! reminded me of Hari Raya back home. But the some people here really decorate their homes with so many lightings!]

21/12 - Meet Mr. Riley again. He brought us to St. Lukes Anglican Church because 30 years ago, dad left some belongings there. but too bad, his belonging is no more there. Anyway, got to visit the place where dad lived when he studied in Sydney - St. John's college. Wew were honored to be allowed inside and to visit the chapel, dining hall and reading area. Dad had lot's of memories there. Bid goodbye to Mr. Riley. Went to town and visited Jewish Synagogue. A dream come true to visit a Synagogue. Weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and we had to use the skull cap when we entered.

22/12 - Journey back to Miri. Home sweet home (but i do miss Aussie...I DON'T SWEAT THERE!!!!). As the plane ouched down at Brunei airport, tropical weather immediately took it's toll on me - I WAS SWEATING AGAIN! ARGGGHHH!!!!

Btw, whilst in Sydney, my aunt really fed us well! I was 78kg when i left Miri, and i brought home some 6kg extra of weight! (That makes me 84kg. So i HAVE to go on a diet now :P) Blame the ice-cream, chicken, double and triple-servings, huge servings! As far food is concerned, there's plenty to eat in Aussie! All the supermarkets are well-stocked! Anyway, my aunt ket on reminding us that "you should not go on a diet in Australia"! I was pretty surprised that Australia is a country which produces a lot of their own things. For example - they plant their own mangoes, bananas and even lychees! i wonder if they plant their own durian?  hehe! Had a good time eating juicy kiwi fruits, strawberries, mangoes, peaches, nectarines.......slrpppp!

Well, this trip was a real eye-opener for me. i learnt so many things. was exposed to a different culture and environment. don't mind living and working in aussie one day.....maybe yes? maybe not? Anyway, i do i hope to travel the world some day :)

the waiting continues....but meantime,

Exam was over on the 22nd of Nov, the last paper being Signal & Systems. My goodness - it was HARD! i just hope i can pass - it's my 2nd attempt at this paper.

Mean time, while waiting for the results which will be out sometime in mid December '06, i hope to enjoy my trip to Sydney with my family :D

Sabah Trip

Just came back from Sabah on Wednesday. Our flight supposed to be at 8pm but it was delayed - at first to 9pm, but later it was further delayed. So we only took off at 1010pm and arrived Miri 57 minutes later on board a Fokker 50 aircraft (initially we expected a boeing 737 plane). When we arrived Miri, it was already 1115pm after we collected our baggages. Then, we waited for taxi - but because it was late and there were so many passengers who just got to Miri, there was not enough taxi. So we had to wait quite long before the taxi came. And because there are 5 of us in the family, the taxi driver only allowed 4 in the taxi in accordance to the traffic regulation which only allows 4 passengers per sedan taxi. So we had to take 2 taxis. We left for KK on the 18th evening (after my last paper for the semester), a 7pm flight on-board a boeing 737. We arrived around 745pm and when straight to Promenade appartment, in 2 taxis, and spent the night there. The room pricing here is quite cheap. Talking about quality, i'll give this apartment a 2 star rating. It will be ideal for those who want to just spend the night or those on a budget. Being an apartment, the room has a small kitchen. Why are we in Sabah? To attend my cousin's wedding. His fiancee is a Sabahan girl. I guess they met in University :) Their wedding will take place in Ranau, about a 2 1/2 hours drive from KK. The next day, on the 19th, we went to Ranau. That's the first time for me to actually travel on Sabah's road. My, my. What a journey. Basically, it's all about driving uphill :) And the scenery is beautiful! We were blessed that it wasn't too foggy (even though there was s short stretch that was). And along the way, there are so many Catholic churches! What i like is the signs for these churches are all standardised. Good work KK diocese! So we drove and drove - stopped once since the taxi driver wanted to ease himself. So we all got out for a while, since the place where we stopped had mount Kinabalu as the background. At that point, i realised that the air was so cool and fresh! we also took a few photos :) Our destination was to go to Perkasa Hotel (near Kundasang), then proceed to St. Peter Calver's church in Ranau for my cousin's wedding. Perkasa hotel is on top a hill - so you imagine the air there (hill on a highland). Sooo cool! we checked in, got changed, then went to Ranau. Ranau is a litlle less cool. St Peter's is beside tha main road, opposite the Shell petrol station. I guess that's the main church for the people near Kundasang and Ranau. The church is simple - no pews, but rather plastic chairs. And instead of a crucifix, there's a big painting of the resurrected Jesus (which i found quite odd for a Catholic church). It didn't even have a tarbenacle (i later found out that the tabernacle was recerved in the daily chapel next to the church's entrance). Thank God the altar was there, and when Mass began, the altar server carried the processional cross which resembles the cross-staff usually used by the Pope. Mass went well, the Priest was Fr. Frederick, a Kadazan fellow. He gave a good sermon in a loud voice :) Before the Mass, my cousin introduced us to the relatives of his fiancee. i felt so happy to have relatives in Sabah :) After Mass, we went for lunch in the parish hall. ok, time for me to give names to the people. My cousin is Hillary, his wife is Wilhemin or Wil for short. Then Wil's nephew, Andy brought us back to Perkasa in his red Wira Aeroback, where we spent the afternoon. By 4pm, andy picked us up to go to Wil's kampung in Bundu Tuhan. WOW! I didn't know i'd have the chance to go to Bundu Tuhan - a place i always wanted to visit. Bundu Tuhan is known among the Catholic comunity for its' retreat center. Anyway, we were here to attend the dinner reception at the Bundu Tuhan's community Hall. There were speeches from the from the boy's side as well as from he girl's side. Then was makan time. It seems that food just kept pouring in. according to my auntie, food will be offered from 4pm till about 9pm, themn more food will follow till midnite and in the mean time, the people will drink the 'tapai' or locally rice wine. Anyway, we left the hall by 8pm. Andy sent us again to Perkasa. By now, it was drizzling. Why we wnated to leave early was because the next day we wanted to go to Mass (and had no idea how to go) so we had to sleep early, since what we had in mind was t walk down from Perkasa hotel; to the main road, then catch a bus to Ranau using for the 8am Mass. Next day, we all woe up by 6am and prepared. By God's grace, after cheking with the hotel, dad manage to get someone to send us to church in Ranau. So while waiting for the transport which will come at 730am, we went for beakfast. Then went to church (Mass wa in KadazanDusun), then Kundasang to buy some fruits and also to arrange for us to go fairy Garden hotel. Meanwhile before lunch, we wlaked around the hotel - they had a nice short jungle trail so we walke dthrough the trail. By 2pm, the driver arrived and brought us to Fairy Garden hotel. Oh before o forget. there's no air-con or fan in Kundasang area, because THE AIOR IS SO COOL ALREADY, especially at night. Hot water is a must! Since we were quite near the Kinabalu National park, we decided to try to got there. we wanted to walk there from Fairy Garden, but it started to rain. So we took a bus. When we arrived the at the national park, we decided to stay there instead so that it will be easier for us to walk around the national park. So we cheked out from Fairy Garden, and then chekd in into the national park chalet. WOW! I never knew the national park here is so well maintained! The chalet we lived in has 2 rooms, a fire place, it even has ASTRO - i'll give this place a 5 star rating. The staff there are very courteuos. So if you ever are near the national park, make sure you stay there. Food wise, no proble, 1st class food served. If looking for cheper food, just walk across the road from the national park. good food at reasonable price sold there! It was a wonderful 2 nights stay at the chalet. In the morning, we wlaked around the national park and n the afternoon, we took a short jungle trail. what i love most is the cool and fresh air. it was time to go back to KK. we took a bus and left for KK at 1030am on Tuesday. We reached KK at about 1215pm and cheked into Promenade hotel. We walked to CentrePoint for lunch and ate at Mode Cafe. food there is good! Then we wlaked around CentrePoint. Later at night, again we wnet to CenterPoint and had dinner there, this time in a different shop. We also bought stuffs for breakfast. Next day, our flight back to Miri was 8pm. So in the morning, we had breakfast. By 11, we wlaked to Wawasan Plaza to have lunch. By 2pm, we cheked out of Promenade hotel (i'll give a 3 star rating). Thank God i have another cousin living in KK (her name is Molly) because she is married to a Sabahan. She lend us her car and so we first went to check in our things at the airport (we got to know that our flight was delayed to 9pm), then drove around KK, but too bad it was raining heavily, so we decided to go to KK plaza. Doesn't look that nice from outside, but there's plenty of shops there. The gift shop os one of the best i've seen and the music shop had lot's of things! b then, we to makan some thing again. We were suppose to meet Molly and her husband Jefri by 5pm for dinner. Finally met them at 6 instead. They brought us to Ocena Seafood, one of the most popular seafood restaurant in KK town. We ate until about 8 o'clock. Then went to the airport. By 9pm, there was still no sign of us to board the airplane. Then the announcer announced over the PA system that our flight will be delayed till 930pm. So the airport gave us complementary meal from KFC. So went to KFC and collected our complimentary meal. Then boarded theplane, but only left by 1010pm. I must say that Sabah has fascinated me - i actually fall in love with sabah. A nice place to holiday :) Don't mind going there again. This trip is my 3rd to Sabah. The first was when i was a young boy, then the 2nd was november last year, when dad had a course in Sutera Harbour Resort (i love this resort too! A 5-star rating also). ok, enough for now.