East to West, North to South!

Ahh...what a relaxing third week of annual leave!

Spent Monday and Tuesday sleeping in and seriously catching up on my tv watching! Finally up to date with Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Prison Break and 24! Still behind on Grey's Anatomy and haven't started watching the current season of Lost. So much tv, so little time...*sigh*

On Wednesday, Di and I spent the day over at her brother's place out west. We enjoyed Janani's Indian for lunch at their Wentworthville shop and then went back to her bro's place to play Settlers of Catan! Di's sister in law is quite into board games! That night we had a combined bible study social at Jimmy's place! The guys cooked up a storm on the barbie and it was great just hanging out!

On Thursday, Di and I headed south for a daytrip to the southern highlands! We arrived in Mittagong around 11:30am and checked out some nice lookouts. Then we enjoyed a hearty meal at the Bowral RSL club before heading to Fitzroy Falls. Unfortunately heavy rain and even hail stopped us from doing the walk to the falls but we enjoyed vivid rainbows on the scenic drive. We reached the small charming country town of Berrima late arvo and checked out the Little Hand stirred Jam shop there! We bought a couple of nice sauces and then found a cafe nearby for some coffee! As night fell, we decided to head back towards Sydney, taking advantage of late night shopping at Liverpool Westfield! Fully sick day mate! =P

On Friday we were going to visit Sydney aquarium but Di's free tickets to Taronga Zoo arrived in the mail so we decided to go there instead. We had lunch at Ginger and Spice, a Malaysian/Singaporean place in Neutral Bay before heading on down to the zoo to talk and walk with the animals! We really enjoyed the seal and bird shows with Sydney Harbour as a picture postcard backdrop! Then we had a chat with all manner of creatures including lazy kodiak bears, playful chimpanzees, sleepy lions, towering giraffes, and my favourite - lumbering giant tortoises! That evening I saw Fantastic 4 with some med friends - definitely better than the first one! Spent Friday night over at Di's parents' place in Mt Kuringgai and yum cha at Hornsby the following day to celebrate Di's sister in law's birthday.

And there ended a wonderful week off!

Hong Kong 2007!!!

Wow - this is my 100th post!!!

Just came back from 5 nights, 6 days in HK with Jimbo and Carmen, two med friends! Here's what we got up to!

Monday 11th June: Arrived in HK at 5:30am local time after an ok overnight flight on Cathay Pacific CX138. Watched Bridge to Terabithia and Music and Lyrics on the plane and was still humming "Pop goes my heart" and "Way back into love" when we had landed! Carmen called a taxi and we drove to our hotel, The Charterhouse, on Wan Chai Rd in Wan Chai, HK Island. First impressions of HK: hot and humid like Malaysia, dense urban environment with a forest of apartment blocks and skyscrapers! After reaching the hotel, we checked in and were pleasantly surprised to find it clean and with all the amenities we needed! Far better than the crumby 2.5 star hotel rating some ppl had given it! We decided to have a 3 hour nap before heading out onto the streets for some sightseeing and food! Around 11am, we went headed to Times Square, and then Lee Theatre Building to have Yum Cha at The Graces Restaurant! Not bad not bad. After lunch, we did some window shopping at Times Square before having some Tofu Fa dessert nearby! Next we caught a tram to central and visited the Exchange and took the Mid levels escalators to Lan Kwai Fong and Soho areas! These are the trendy cosmopolitan areas of HK! We had dinner at a fusion Thai/Viet place in Soho and one of Carmen's friends May joined us! Then we headed back to Happy Valley for Sai Mai Lo dessert at Lotus Restaurant! Yum!

Tuesday 12th June: Woke up at 9:30am and headed to Wan Chai MTR station, grabbing Chee Cheong Fan on the way! Caught the MTR to Central and walked to the Central Piers to catch a First Ferry to Mui Wo on Lantau Island! The ferry trip took about 1hour and we reached Lantau around 11:30am. we took a bus to Ngong Ping and visited the big Buddha there and the exhibition hall inside it. Then we headed back down for a Vegetarian lunch at the Monastery. After lunch we had a look around the monastery before walking along the Wisdom Path! This walk afforded nice views of the mountains and took us to this man made lot of wooden pillars in the shape of an infinity or 8 sign! Very cool! After this we took the bus to Tung Chung and then the MTR back to Central. (The Skyrail was closed cos the day before one of the cable cars fell off!) From central we walked to the Peak Tram lower terminal and took the tram up to Victoria peak! It reminded me of the tram at Penang Hill! At the peak we headed to the observation terrace for views of HK but the rain came down hard so we decided to visit Madame Tussards while we waited for the rain to abate. Madame Tussards was cool! We took photos with Hugh Grant, Eddie Murphy, Johnny Howard and Asian pop stars just to name a few! After this we had dinner at one of the restaurants up there. I had chicken Laksa...all I'll say is that it couldn't compare to Malaysia or even Sydney! After dinner we returned to the Observation terrace for night views this time of HK! Rain soon resumed so we headed back to our hotel to play Bohnanza!!!

Wednesday 13th June: Woke up late at 10am. Thomas came over to our hotel to meet Jimbo and I whilst Carmen sorted some stuff out. Went out with Thomas for breaky at a honky cafe. We had Wonton Mein and Congee - not bad. We then checked out Times Square shopping centre for a bit before Carmen met up with us. Then we went for lunch at a noodle place Carmen knew, famous for its soup noodles and cuttlefish balls! After lunch we headed for the pier to catch the star ferry across the harbour to Kowloon. The trip was short but scenic! At Kowloon, we visited the Hong Kong Space Museum and then the Hong Kong Museum of History, Wednesday being free museum day in HK! Afterwards, Carmen went off to meet her friends for dinner whilst Thomas, Jimbo and I did some shoe shopping. We then grabbed a quick dinner (I'm ashamed to say) at Maccas before watching Symphony of Lights laser show at the Avenue of the Stars. Very cool! Afterwards, some fireworks drew our attention to a Star Carnival show at the Museum of Art nearby. I think it was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of HK under Chinese rule. Pouring rain soon halted the show though so we met up with Carmen again and visited the Mong kok Ladies Market! It was kinda late and pouring rain so the only thing we bought was 3 umbrellas before heading back to our hotel to play more Bohnanza, this time 4 players!

Thursday 14th June: Got up at 10:30am and had breaky at a fusion HK cafe! We had the Honky equivalent of Teh Tarik, eggs, bacon, sausages, and this weird macaroni in abalone soup thing! After breaky, we returned to the hotel to wait for Thomas whilst Carmen was spending the day with family and friends. Thomas came over about midday and we caught the MTR to Sheung Wan before boarding a ferry to Macau! Only thing being, Thomas didn't make it onto the ferry! He had some problems with his temporary IC and had to go back home to get his passport! So Jimbo and I set off for Macau first. The trip took just over an hour and soon we pulled into Macau harbour, its many casinos quickly evident! After passing through immigration, we were desperate for food and so walked to a nearby shopping centre and its food court. We were disappointed not to find Oportos or a Nandos or even Ogalos there and had to settle for some Jap fast food. After lunch, we headed for Macau's most famous attraction, the ruins of St Pauls, once a Catholic cathedral. We also visited St Anthony's church and a protestant chapel and cemetary before waiting for Thomas to arrive! He finally arrived around 4:30pm and met us outside St Paul's Ruins. After checking out the ruins (in the pouring rain I might add!), we headed next door to an old Portugese Fort. After that we grabbed some Portugese Tarts and then wandered the streets of Macau looking for portugese food for dinner. Unfortunately, we had no idea where the portugese food was so we ended up at Grand Lisboa Casino and a chinese restaurant there called "The 8". Now this place was FANCY! We passed through 2 sets of double doors and an atrium with water flowing down both walls to reach the restaurant! Since it was still early, we were but one of three tables and had 3 waitresses, one for each of us! Their names were Pink, Sandy and Yumiko! We splurged on suckling pig, fried chicken and fried rice with crab roe, as well as a bottle of the second least expensive wine on their fat wine list! All up cost us about 600 HK! We caught the 8:30pm ferry back to HK and met up with Carmen and her friends Eric, Lorraine, and May (whose birthday it was) for drinks in Causeway Bay. Then returned to hotel to play more Bohnanza into the early hours of the morning!

Friday 15th June: Woke up late and headed to Stanley Markets after having breaky at Congee Wonderland. We caught a green public bus there and enjoyed scenic views along the way! At the markets I got a pair of jeans and Jimbo got this stampy thing of his name in Chinese. We had lunch at a honky cafe there and had noodles. After lunch we checked out some more markets before heading back to Causeway Bay. Carmen had to meet up with some friends so Thomas became our supplementary tour guide once more and we went to Times Square to shop for electronic goods! I bought a camera and Jimbo got a video camera cheap cheap! After this we headed up Times Square to a restaurant there called Hakka Hut and enjoyed some traditional but not entirely authentic hakka food. Still quite nice! Then we headed to the KFC nearby for dessert cause Jimbo was dying to try some KFC! It was ok, but not as good as KFC back home! Then we headed back to our hotel for, you guessed it, more Bohnanza!

Saturday 16th June: Last day in HK! We got up around 9:30am and checked out at 10am, leaving our bags at the hotel. Then we head out to sort out Jimbo's international warranty for his video camera whilst waiting for Carmen to wake up and pack. I then went on a shopping spree buying 14 work type shirts at Sogo and G2000! Then met up with Carmen and her mum for lunch at a nice yum cha place at Times Square. Carmen's aunty Grace also joined us. After lunch we checked in our luggage at Hong Kong MTR station before doing some last minute shopping! I got some sandals and a present for Di whilst Jimbo picked up some much wanted asian pop CDs at HMV! And finally it was time to catch the airport express to the airport and say bye to HK!

Ben's Final Impressions: Great holiday! Really enjoyed the sightseeing! Shopping was much like Malaysia and food was alright but no where near as good as Malaysia. Desserts were nice though! Weather was lousy all week except for the final two days when the sun finally came out! Will definitely return! Thanks heaps to Carmen and Thomas for showing us around!!!

G'day from the Gold Coast!

Hi everyone!

First time I've been on the net since being up here in Surfers Paradise for the last 5 days!

Here's what I've been up to!

Saturday: Arrived at 1:30pm or so. Caught taxi from airport to Surfers and checked in at our hostel right in the heart of the action and only 2 mins walk to the beach! After checking in, went for a walk around the mall and grabbed a snack. Then it was time to hit the beach baby! Enjoyed the warm sunshine and the powdery white sand! In the arvo went for a walk up north towards Seaworld - we must've walked about 8km return! Later that night it was time for some Shrek on tv!

Sunday: Woke up nice and late, had a hearty all you can eat breakky before heading for the beach again! Ah how nice to just sleep on the soft sand, and read, and sleep some more! Soon it was time for our afternoon walk again. We took the same route but this time made it all the way to Seaworld where we enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the mountains to the west! After dinner it was time to tune in for Shrek 2!

Monday: Finally some clear blue sky and plenty of sunshine!!! Couldn't miss going to the beach so spent the morning hanging out there again! Went for another walk in the arvo, this time south towards Broadbeach. Made it as far as Pacific Fair, the largest shopping centre on the Gold Coast, and Jupiters Casino. Then headed back for dinner and some ten pin bowling afterwards!

Tuesday: Gave the beach a miss due to threatening weather and headed to Pacific Fair shopping centre instead! Boy this place was large! Bought a backpack finally, a game from EB and a couple of cheap books from Dymocks. Then we watched a movie - Breach - a spy type thriller. Came back to Surfers for some dinner at Hogs Breath!

Wednesday: That's today! Woke up to pouring rain at midday but that didn't stop us from going out! After our brunch, the rain had lightened and we went for a walk up north, this time past Seaworld. We sought refuge from the constant drizzle in another shopping centre called Australia Fair, and you guessed it, we watched another movie called Because I said so - a chick flick starring Mandy Moore although we didn't really know it was so when we decided to watch it! Oh well, it was alright! Walked back in the dark and had a nice Thai dinner and here we are!

These couple of days have gone by quick but have been soooo relaxing! Nice to just get out of Sydney and not have to worry about anything! Seeya all soon!

Blue Mountain, Grand Canyon!

Haven't blogged for a while...guess I've just been busy with day to day stuff - work, church, going out with friends etc...

Yesterday I went with Yoke, Di, and Teng to the Blue Mountains! It was the 2nd time in 2 months for me and the 2nd time in 2 weeks for Teng visiting the Blue Mountains!

We left Sydney around 9am and grabbed Maccas for breaky at Greenacre before stopping 30 mins later at Eastern Creek Maccas to grab Deli Choice rolls to eat on our walk for lunch!

We reached Blackheath and the Govett's Leap Information Centre around midday and after a quick toilet break, began our journey along the Grand Canyon - Neates Glen walk! After a short walk, we reached Evan's Lookout which had amazing views of the valley! Then we headed into the canyon itself! After some fairly steep decents we found ourselves in an almost rainforest type environment! Man it was cold! We walked along cliff faces and enjoyed discovering secluded waterfalls and waterholes!

All in all the walk took around 3 hours! We headed to Wentworth Falls township and visited the same cafe Teng and I visited last time. We got our mochas as well as some scones and chips - yum! Just the thing to warm us up on a chilly day!

We headed back to Sydney and after showers, met up again for dinner at the Regent! Yummy cheap steaks there! Then we went to Di's place to play Settlers into the early hours of the morning - what an awesome day!!!

Sean & Eva's Wedding!

Yesterday was Sean and Eva's wedding! Picked up Jen jeje (cos Tim had to be there early as official videographer) and found a nice park at CCC! Luckily we got there early cos there were so many people!!! Met Fi fi outside and we went in together. We ended up sitting in the choir pews! Di caught the train over the bridge after parking at work and met us not long after. She forgot to bring the cute card she had bought ages ago so she had to buy another one. That made me wonder whether I had remembered to bring the present or not in the rush out the door...!

It was good seeing some of the old SOTE gang! Brought back a lot of fond memories about my time there! I also realised how many new ppl there are at CCC too though!

Eva arrived late but looked radiant! Sean was absolutely beaming, as were his parents whom I hadn't seen in a while.

The pastor gave a great evangelistic talk before the wedding vows. Then there was the signing of the registry before we were introduced to Mr and Mrs Sean Lee! (Always sounds funny introducing a new couple and only using the guy's Christian name!).

Turns out I forgot to bring the present so we had to head home to get it! Funny how Di forgot the card and I forgot the present!

The reception was at Watersedge at the Rocks, funnily enough right by the water! We missed the intro of the wedding couple but more importantly, were just in time for the entree! Hehehe!

Food was great and between the courses there were speeches from the fathers of the couple and best man and maid of honour, as well as slide shows and videos!

All in all a really nice wedding that was a real testament to God's love for us in giving us human relationships but more importantly, giving up his son Jesus for our sins so that we might be able to enter a relationship with Him again!

Sean and Eva, we await and invitation to your new place! =P

Anzac Day Away!

Headed up to Port Stephens with some church friends on Tuesday night to get away for Anzac Day! We left Sydney around 8pm and after dinner at Maccas, reached our YHA accommodation around 11pm! It was pouring rain all the way which is probably why it took so long. Man it was heavy!

After sitting in the hostel carpark waiting for the rain to die down, we realised that it wasn't going to and made a run for it!

Our accommodation was small but cosy and comfortable and we were all quite tired after driving seemingly so far in difficult conditions. That didn't stop us from playing Big 2/Emperor's scum however into the early hours of the morning!

On Anzac Day the rain kept on coming! We soon realised that we wouldn't be able to go sandboarding as originally planned and resigned ourselves to thinking of fun indoor activities we could do! After initially entertaining the thought of a movie marathon at the local cinema, we decided instead to go to the nearby Hunter Valley to go wine tasting!

We grabbed a quick brunch at a local cafe and said farewell to Port Stephens which we didn't even see and drove 45 mins to Cessnock and the Hunter Valley. We visited 4 or 5 vineyards and each bought a couple of bottles of wine, mainly desserts and reds. Tempus Two had a fantastic Moscato which I regret not buying!

We left the Hunter Valley around 4pm and headed back to Sydney in still more rain to Bevo Hills to drop Col home. Then we grabbed dinner at a local noodle place run by this old Aussie lady. It was edible but not quite authentic! Oh well!

And so ended our Anzac Day away...it felt more like a day trip than an overnight trip but I guess the company made it fun and it was a welcome day off in the middle of a busy week at work!

First week of leave!

Monday - Shaun's 21st Paintball Party! Headed out nice and early to Heartbreak Ridge in Blacktown! Having played paintball once before, I knew what to expect...I just couldn't remember exactly how much it hurt to get hit! 6 games, 400 paintballs and a couple of bruises later, I remembered! All in all a fun day. The final score: St Mark's 3, Optom 3!

Tuesday - Spent the day with Teng. Headed up to Thornleigh to try the Malaysian place there called Makan @ Alices! I tried the laksa and Teng had the Wat Ton Hor Fun noodles. Both were not bad. The piece de resistance however was their awesome Cendol!!! Teng even said it was comparable to that found in Malaysia! After lunch we spent the arvo at Featherdale Wildlife Park where Teng enjoyed patting koalas and kangaroos. In the evening we headed back to the eastern suburbs to watch TMNT at the Ritz!

Wednesday - Woke up late and went with Teng and Jon to the Royal National Park for a bit of canoeing! Since there were 3 of us, we got one 2 person canoe and a 1 person kayak. The day was nice and warm and the river at Audley had more water than last time I was there. We enjoyed a nice water fight with me in the kayak and Teng and Jon in the canoe! At one point they were chasing me down the river trying to splash me and I swear I had never paddled so hard in my life!

Thursday - Headed out to the Royal Easter Show at Olympic Park with Jon and Teng. We met up with 2 of Jon's friends there and enjoyed the Aqua dive show, the food hall and bazaar halls and a sheepdog rounding exhibit. In the arvo we headed over to the carnival area where Jon's friends went on some super psycho ride! Teng was also excited by the prospect of an adrenaline rush and dragged Jon first onto a Tower type ride and then myself onto a Pirate ship type ride! Sucker for punishment man! The whole time I had my eyes closed and I felt nauseous all the way home!

Friday - Had lunch with Jimbo at Sinma Laksa house and then headed back to his place to watch some Chasers.

Saturday - Joe koko and Isabel + Teng came over for a nice family dinner.

Sunday - dropped Jon off at his friend's place whom he would be heading down to Albury with.. Then Teng and I headed to Bondi Junction to enjoy an easy way tea and some window shopping. Then it was off to church in the arvo!

And so ended my first week of leave this year - man it was hard waking up today!!!

To Whoop Whoop and back...!

Spent the easter long weekend going down to Albury to rescue Jonny boy from the evil clutches of the rural clinical training scheme!

Left early on Friday morning and with just one major stopover at Maccas, we reached Albury around 1pm. Jon had the townhouse to himself as his flatmate had gone home for the weekend. We made ourselves at home, we being Teng, the folks, and some Taiwanese family friends who came down with us.

After resting a bit, we visited the nearby Hume Dam, at 2% capacity apparently! We walked along the top of the dam to the other side and enjoyed jumping across state boundaries from NSW to Vic back and forth! Afterwards headed to a nice park near the Murray to enjoy a stroll and the autumn scenery.

Spent Saturday visiting Corowa, a small town 45 mins from Albury and supposedly the birthplace of federation. That day the Australian National Billy Cart Championships were being held there so that was something different!

The afternoon was spent visiting some wineries across the border in Victoria. We bought some dessert wines and even strawberry wine! Enjoyed some gourmet pies in the small town of Rutherglen before heading back to Albury! Dinner was at the local pub followed by a round of poker back at Jon's townhouse (no money involved!).

On Sunday we slept in and left Albury around midday. On the way home we made a slight detour via Batlow to buy some fresh apples from the orchards there! Got home around 10pm rather buggered. Jon was sure glad to be home!