Visit Canberra - Part 1

Canberra, the capital city of Australia is about a 2 hour drive (longer according to Hajar) from Sydney. While it is not surprising for some tourists to give Canberra a miss as it is deemed "boring", we covered quite a number of places during our visits there (we did it in 2 weekends - once in autumn and the other in summer).

So where did we go? Read on to find out.

Malaysia House
Not exactly a tourist attraction unless you are Malaysian. Mr H’s early years were spent here. He does not have any recollection of it except for second hand information he gets from his parents and relatives.

Driveway up to Malaysia House.

Mr H's early years were spent here. Those days, the area was not fenced.

The National Arboretum Canberra

One of the largest tree conservation projects in the world, I did expect to see and walk through lots of trees. What I did not expect to see was the Bonsai collection on display. Located within the Village Centre, there were about 20 bonsais on display (if not more). Some were prettily done, with different colour leaves on one tree.

Pretty bonsais on display.

We then took a slow walk towards Dairy Farmers Hill. Here, there is a lookout that gives you a 360 degree view of Canberra (and beyond) as well as a outdoor sculpture, Nest III.

We walked down a green "oval". Perfect spot for a picnic or just to roll yourselves downhill.

Our approximately 40 minute walk brought us through replanted vegetation and uphill. It was only later we found out we could have actually driven up to the lookout point. Hahaha

Nest III. Sculpture was created by Richard Moffatt in 2007 from abandoned farm machinery.

Parliament House (New)
A visit to Parliament house is a must if you are in Canberra, since it is the capital city of Australia. You are welcomed to wander around public areas on your own or you may opt for a guided tour. Depending on your interest, you may view the proceedings from the public galleries when the Houses are in session. You may also book yourself a ticket for Question Time (booking required only for House of Representatives). 

Mandatory pose on Parliament rooftop

Senate Chamber

House of Representatives Chamber

Not keen on politics? Spend time viewing the art collection instead. Parliament House Art Collection, a significant heritage value is divided to sub-collections which include Rotational Collection, Gifts Collection, Historic Memorial Collections and Outdoor Sculptures among others. 

One of the arts on display

Open to the public every day except on Christmas day, visitors are able to wander around the public areas on your own or take the guided tour. For more information, go to Visit Parliament.

Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
Until 1988, this building was Parliament House. Today, it is the Museum of Australian Democracy. It is open to public daily except on Christmas Day. There is a small entry fee - 
$2 adults, $1 children and concessions, and $5 family.

Similar to the present Parliament House, visitors are able to visit both chambers and take photos. You may also browse through the permanent exhibitions (I believe there are 4, my favourite is Designing Democracy) as well other non permanent exhibitions.

Part of Designing Democracy - The Illuminations by Wendy Fairclough (2011)

For more information and to plan your visit, go to Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House.

Australian War Memorial
Another must visit attraction when in Canberra. Again, you can opt to join in the various guided tours available or wander at your own leisure. There is so much to see and absorb here if you are interested in history. I am not very into history but I did admire the pretty architectural designs and exhibits available.

When I was there, it was during Anzac Day weekend. Bouquets of flowers were left behind with messages of gratitude, hope and peace at strategic locations within the memorial. 

The Roll of Honour

Lovely stain glass feature inside the Hall of Memory

Lovely stain glass feature inside the Hall of Memory

I think this is called the Commemorative Courtyard which leads up to Hall of Memory. Inside is the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.

Go to Australian War Memorial's website to plan your visit better.

Other than Malaysia House, I would recommend spending at least 2 hours at each location as there are really lots to see, read and experience. You will not be able to see much in an hour unless you limit yourself to the main attractions.

Moving Back

Five weeks ago, we made our move back to Malaysia for good. The move was not as simple as when we moved to Sydney in 2014. Then, all we had to do was pack our bags - two large suitcases weighing 30 kg each with our clothes and some books. We need not worry about our unit since we were "renting" it from my parents. All we had to do was lock it up and we were on our way.

Things work differently in Sydney. Once we notified the agent that we were moving out, a checklist of things to do would arrive in the mail. To get back your security bond in full, our rented unit has to be exactly as to how we received it (basically checking off everything on the list). 

Our unit before the moving process. Since we rented an unfurnished apartment, everything had to go.

It did not make sense to bring back all our stuff to Malaysia as we already have a furnished unit in PJ. Fortunately for us, we managed to dispose our stuff within our last 2 months by:

1. selling most of our furniture and appliances (made about $800). We advertised on eBay, Gumtree and also Facebook.
2. identifying the items we want to bring back to Malaysia. We ended up shipping back 4 boxes plus 140kg of stuff came with us on the plane.
   

   

   4 hours before returning the keys, we still had this much of stuff! We then spent 40min loading everything into our rented van followed by another 40min unloading them at Maryam's (who was probably shocked when she walked into her home upon seeing this).

3. leaving items by the road side for neighbours and passers-by to adopt should they require something similar. Items left are in good and workable condition.
   

   

   It is common to leave unwanted items that are still in good condition by the roadside. There will be takers. For items that did not make the cut, we would take them in for the night and bring them out again tomorrow.

4. offering to family/friends.
5. donating to charitable organisations (e.g. Vinnies).

After completing steps 1 - 5, whatever left ended in the bin. 

Tadaa!! Everything gone.. We also had the carpet professionally cleaned the day before. If cleaning the apartment is not your thing, you can outsource this task to cleaning companies. Ask for their "end-of-lease" package.

I hope to not relive this moving out experience soon. Hopefully we will stay in our current place for at least another 5 more years before thinking about moving.. hahaha.

p.s. I still think about Sydney - I miss my friends, the lifestyle, the public transport and even the walking :p

Goals & KPIs - Final Review

2014 has come and gone. Let's see how I fared in my personal goals that were set last year.

Goal #1: Read the Quran daily (or almost daily and "khatam" at least once)

Truthfully, I have not started this yet. After several attempts to purchase one here (silly me for not bringing a copy over), I resorted to asking my mom/brother to send a copy over. Although I know copies are available online, I do like reading the hardcopy - even for normal books. More on this later.

Final review: Did not meet.

Goal #2: Sew clothes (e.g. blouse)

Before arriving in Sydney, I successfully completed a blouse in 13 hours. Since this goal was achieved very early in the year (my empress cut turned peplum blouse was completed on 28/1/2014), I decided to expand this goal further. I am now working on a scrub cap (the kind you see on Grey's Anatomy & Scrubs) and hopefully a baju kurung Kedah.

Final review: Met.

Goal #3: Be comfortable in the kitchen

Initially, I was going to name this goal "Learn how to cook decent meals" when I realized I can cook especially when I have recipes at hand to follow. Whether it tastes nice or not, that's a different story altogether :p 

I am just not COMFORTABLE in the kitchen. After 2 weeks of constant cooking, I can say I am more comfortable in the kitchen and I can further improve on this. I am just not sure how I will measure this goal. Any suggestions?

Final review: Exceeded.

Goal #4: Sort & Print my wedding pictures

Hahaha.. it's been nearly a year since I got married and my pictures are still not sorted nor printed. I am not referring to the wedding highlights - those were ready 6 months after the wedding. I am referring to the other pictures that would generate more interest among the relatives & family members - the ones where they appear in it (nope, they are not interested in the storybook version).

I am just too lazy to go through the 3000+ pictures (with digital, everyone's trigger happy these days).

Final review: Met.

Goal #5: Sort, Print & Arrange pictures from my Scandinavian trip (include write up)

This trip took place way before the wedding. In fact it probably led to the wedding as they say, absense makes the heart grow fonder.. heh heh. This goal is much easier to achieve as opposed to Goal #4 as I would be happy reliving the memories of the trip (not that I am not happy to relive the wedding moments, just that no one is trigger happy here).

Final review: Did not meet.

Goal #6: Maintain a blog

m-e-o-w has been around for many years. It started off with Multiply and now it's on blogspot.

A few years back, m-e-o-w went into hibernation. With many changes and firsts taking place in 2014, now is the best time for m-e-o-w to wake up and get going again.

The target is to have a minimum of 12 entries. I seem to be on track to achieving this goal. Today's entry is already the third one. Yay!

Update 28/3/2014: I have since re-branded my blog to Lyn, Life Explorer and will focus more on life's (experiences, observations and self-realisations).

Final review: Exceeded.

Goal #7: Health & Fitness

They take their sports seriously here and why not? The weather here is good (too cold for me) and their facilities are excellent. I am lucky too as I reside within the vicinity of University of Sydney. Their sports program (open to local residents) are impressive too.

Taking advantage of this, I have decided to:

1. run a total of 100km in 3 months
   
2. learn how to swim the butterfly stroke
3. sign up for gym membership and attend the group fitness sessions or swimming at least 3 times a week.

Final review: Met.

Goal #8: The learning never stops

I also discovered that University of Sydney offer short courses that are open to residents too. The courses offered are interesting enough and this could be a sneak peak to another new category of knowledge.

First review: I have attended several short courses offered by University of Sydney. Most recently a financial planning course. This was a good introduction to the Australian tax system too (that relates to helping you create your wealth). Previous courses attended were Creative Travel Writing & a 6 week Indoor Wall Climbing course.

In order to expand my arts and crafts side, I recently did a 3 hour course on knitting. I am happy to say I can successfully cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, rib stitch and stocking stitch. Cannot really cast off but will refer to youtube when the time comes.

Final review: Met.

Goal #9: Less thinking, more action

This is a new goal. I realised I spend a lot of time thinking and rethinking to the point most things do not get executed. Hence this goal is meant for me to proceed with the next phase of the plan after the thinking/planning is done.

I already have one achievement in this area - a Tupperware party. Haha. You might be wondering "Huh? Hosting a Tupperware party is an achievement?" Well let's just say I spent two months toying with the idea to host one as I was concerned of the outcome. Long story short, I organised one in 5 days and it went well. Even if it did not go well (well is subjective here), at least I tried.

Final review: Met.

Goal #10: Seven Bridges Walk 2014 & Raise $500 for Cancer Council NSW

My biggest and challenging one off goal for this year. I have committed myself to walk a total of 27km to raise cancer awareness and raise funds for Cancer Counsil NSW on 26 October 2014. 

With support from friends I raised $664.50, exceeding my my fundraising target by $164.50. Read all about it at 44,000 Steps for Charity.

Final review: Exceeded.

8 out of 10 formalised goals achieved. There are many other things I have achieved as well throughout the year that was not documented. All in all, it has been a fruitful 2014. Looking forward to this year.

p.s. To read my goals progress, go to Goals & KPIs: Mid-Year Review

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

It was 4:30pm on Thursday and Mr H was in a mood for a long walk. Lucky for him, Sydney is home to many long walk routes. All within an hour's radius from where we live too. After short listing some routes, we chose the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. This walk is a combination of several shorter walks: Bondi to Tamarama, Tamarama to Bronte, Bronte to Clovelly and Clovelly to Coogee. You could start and end at any of these points. Not interested to walk? You can jog/run. In fact a friend of mine shared that this route was her training spot when she was training for running events held in Sydney.

We decided to start our walk from Coogee and end at Bondi instead. Only a 45 minute bus ride away from Newtown, it was 6:00pm when we arrived at Coogee Beach.

Start point: Coogee Beach. Even though it was 6:00pm, some were just arriving to get some sun. Quite a number of surfers were seen in the waters. With waves are not as big as Bondi, perhaps this is where students come to practice.

Just before this, we were walking on grass. A few steps later, it was all sandstone. Such a different landscape.

A bit tricky to walk along the rocks. Proper shoes are recommended. At the edge of this cliff is a steep drop into the sea. Make sure you stay inside the fence.

Thompsons Bay aka Gordon's Bay. Many years ago, this was a nude beach.  Do not know if it is now. Did not see any nudies that day.

This beach somehow reminded us of Parsley Bay, except this beach was longer and not as wide. There's also a salt water pool nearby. It did not look very clean tho. Besides, why swim in a pool when there's the open sea?

It was very windy and sand particles were getting into my eyes. Quite difficult to take a selfie with the strong winds.

Mr H trying to keep his eyes open long enough for the picture. Not easy with winds & sand. 

Waverly Cemetery - this location was used during the filming of Mel Gibson's 1979 movie, Tim.

I wonder what's the story behind this sculpture. Definitely not left behind from Sculptures by the Sea 2014.

Approaching Bondi - rough waves all the way.

End point: Bondi on a summer day: bright and sunny. It's 8:00pm

Interested to walk here?

• Proper walking shoes are recommended as it could be painful to walk the distance in slippers. 
• Do not forget your sunscreen, sunnies and a cap as there is hardly any shade available.
• Bring your own water bottle. You can refill them along the way.
• Public toilets are also available along the way. Closing times differ according to time of year.
• Bring a camera (real or phone). Too many gorgeous moments to give it a miss.
• Bring your swimsuit. The waters can be really inviting.
• Allocate 2 hours (walk only) or more if you intend to stop and swim.
• Paths are wide enough for strollers and pram but could be a pain as there are many steps along the way.
• For more information on this walk, check out: The Bondi to Coogee Walk

Return Visit to Blue Mountains

It was a non-working Saturday for Mr H and he was itching to get out of the city. With several possible destinations, we found our way back to Blue Mountains. Our first stop was Mount Blackheath Lookout. 

The drive here brought us through small farms and orchards. Some parts of the road were dirt roads - making us wonder if it this would be a problem for our car. We made it to the lookout without much issues. It was just us there and makes you wonder how popular is this site.

From the car park, it is about a 5 minute walk to the lookout itself. The view, well truthfully did not take my breath away. It seemed "normal" compared to the views you get from Govetts Leap or Three Sisters. A quick tour of the area would bring you to a "take off ramp" and a quick check on Google revealed that it is a popular take off site for hang gliding and para-sailing.

Keen on a picnic? Picnic tables provided. The area opposite the rubbish bin will lead you to the take off ramp for hang gliders/para-sailors.

It was a cold morning (for me at least).

View from Mt Blackheath Lookout. Reminded me of a golf course.

Not wasting much time at the lookout, we made our way to Tea Rooms at Megalong Valley. Having first brought here by our tour guide many months ago, we thought it would be nice to go back for scones and blueberry jam. Their savoury options were not bad either. The place was busy being the long holiday weekend AND school holidays. It was a pleasant wait tho, enjoying the crisp cool air in the garden, watching the birds fly in and out of trees. I was hoping for a glimpse of a kangaroo or two. No such luck.

We found our way back to Megalong Valley Tea Rooms.

After filling up our tummies, it was off to Govetts Leap for another spectacular view of Bridal Falls. We took two different bush walk trails this time, leading us to another lookout point of the falls. We did not venture far, walking about 15 minutes each way.

Bridal Falls from Govetts Leap.

This lookout point is a 15 minute walk from the car park.

Our final stop was Three Sisters. Even though this was our third time at this attraction, we were still awed. After spending some time reliving our previous two trips here, we said our goodbyes to the sisters and headed back to Sydney.

Farewell Three Sisters, until we meet again.

Two hours later, we were back in Sydney. It was only then we realised that Blue Mountains is not that far from Sydney after all. If you do not have much time to spare, a day trip would suffice to explore the must-sees.

Read more about our previous Blue Mountains trip here - Touring the Blue Mountains.

Welcoming 2015

Planning to welcome 2015 began at least 2 months before the day itself. Wanting to get the best view of the fireworks show, multiple visits to 2014 Sydney New Year's Eve - Vantage Points were made. After evaluating all the vantage points - accessibility, ticketed or non-ticketed, food available for sale etc, 4 locations were shortlisted. Eventually we settled for Bradleys Head - The Mast Precinct as the perfect location to watch the fireworks. It was not too expensive ($60 per person), we could get there via public transport and most importantly, the crowd is limited to 2,500 people. This sure beats fighting for space among 30,000 people at the Opera House.

The morning was spent preparing picnic fare enough for our group members (7 of us in total) to last until midnight. Not forgetting our Malaysian roots, I made nasi impit & kuah kacang and my late grandmother's style of fried meehon. Besides that, I had packed along two packets of chips, 12 packets of drinks and a bar of chocolate that we did not eat because it melted. I was in no mood to clean up any potential chocolate mess.

If you can fold your chocolate, expect a mess.

Wanting to book secure a good spot, Mr H and I made an early start to Bradleys Head via train to Circular Quay > ferry to Taronga Zoo. The crowd was already building up even though it was only 1:30pm. There was a mad rush to board the first available ferry out from Circular Quay as if the fireworks were going to start in 10 minutes (we had another 10 hours to go). We patiently waited for the next available ferry that was due to come in 5 minutes. This ferry could also carry 400 people so there was ample room for everyone.

2:00pm at Circular Quay

We alighted at Taronga Zoo wharf and made our way to Bradleys Head - The Mast Precinct's entrance. Special signage were supposedly made available to direct us to the location. Perhaps we were too early as we did not see any signs and followed the crowd instead. Thankfully we were in the right direction. It would be a bummer to find out we were heading the wrong way after 20 minutes of walking up hill, lugging our picnic gear! 

Since we had chosen a family friendly area, our bags were checked to ensure no one brought in any prohibited items (e.g. alcoholic beverages, glass, sharp objects, tents etc) at the entrance. We then walked another 10 minutes before reaching the event location. 

It was only 2:30pm and yet the best spots were taken! And to think we were early. Finally we settled ourselves on the road as all the grassy spots were not available. We lost the final good grassy spot by a few seconds.

 

Our spot by the round-about.

If you duck and angle yourself at a position, you get a nice view of Harbour Bridge.

We laid our picnic mats and took a nap while waiting for the others to arrive. The place was getting crowded by the hour. Maryam and Cindy arrived about 5:00pm followed by Shana and Belle. It was only 6:00pm. 

We made the best of our wait time by entertaining ourselves with several rounds of Uno, listening to the live performances and walked around to scout for the best possible spots for us to run to when the fireworks are on. Looking at the other visitors, it was quite obvious they are experienced "party-goers". They came prepared with beach chairs, beach towels, umbrellas and even ice boxes to ensure they have cold drinks the whole time!

One of the identified nice spots to go to for the show. The boats are all parked for the perfect view as well. You could see the people partying inside.

Keeping ourselves occupied with several rounds of Uno.

"Movie director" waiting for the show to commence.

Possibly our last couple picture for 2014

Shana & Belle came all the way from Malaysia to catch the fireworks show.

By 9:30pm, the skies went bright with colourful sparkles. The family fireworks had gone off. We made a dash to the top of the steps for a better view. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea. Lesson learnt, we choose another location for the 10:30pm fireworks. Alas, despite standing in a better location, the fireworks itself was disappointing. 

10:30pm Fireworks - a quite disappointing preview to the main show.

There was still 1.5 hours to go before the midnight show. During this time, we brainstormed on where we should stand for a better view. Ten minutes before midnight, we made our way to the chosen spot. Since everyone had planned to leave right after the fireworks, most of the people who had staked out the site had packed their stuff away. This gave us room to stand without blocking anyone. Yay! Results as below. 

The finale did not disappoint - we got a clear view too.

The last 30 seconds of the 10 minute show.

After 10 minutes of spectacular show, it was time to go home. We made our way back to base, packed our things and walked towards the bus stop. It was not until an hour later we managed to board a bus that would take us to Wynyard Station. Although it was full, we wanted to be on it as we did not know how long the next bus would be. From Wynyard Station, we took a train to Newtown. We finally reached home at 3:00am. Such a long day it was.

Our bus ride home - after an hour's wait.

Overall it was a wonderful experience spending new year 2015 in Sydney with family and friends. Would I do the same again in future? YES!

Happy New Year from Us in Sydney. May 2015 be a prosperous one for you.