From My Perspective

I met all sorts of people in my 3 weeks in Australia. Old friends, new friends, beloved families, and even strangers-turned-friends.

First, let me introduce you to the person who sparked off the idea of me going to Australia in the first place. Carol Ngoo Siew Ching.

Yup, that’s her. Classmates with her from F1-F5. She migrated to Melbourne 5 years ago and only came back to Malaysia to visit us
late last year. I was shocked to see her back, (she didn’t tell us she was coming) and so we met up, went to makan, and boom, i said "Hey! I can go visit you after my last semester!" And after that, history was made.

Next, to the person with whom i spent almost half of my holiday with, Tabitha Ann Menon.

HEHE.
No, she wasn’t drunk. We were just tired in the train on the way back from one of the night rallies, fooling around with the camera. (Tabs, you’re a gracious person, no?) I wonder if she reads my blog… haha.

For the NG family who fed me well when i was in Sydney, introducing, Uncle Johnny and Aunty Yunnie.

And.. Jasmine =) Their daughter. She’s a really nice girl, brought me and Tabs around Sydney, chatty and funny and hospitable. I enjoyed her company very much!=) We’re from the same Ng clan, so do you see any similarities?

A family that I will always cherish and love, Ps Ed, Aunty Selina, Ash, Nat, and Chrisa. Tabs and I toured most of Sydney city with them.

And here’s another cutie pie I got to meet after so long, Natasha. (don’t have a picture with Ps Palan and Aunty Surya)

In Melbourne, i met up with Peggen, who graciously let me stay at her place for a couple of days =) thanks Peggen..

Through her, i met some of her church friends. They attend Planet Shakers Church. 
From left: E-Lyn, Pegg, me, Melissa (i think), Rachel, Wayne, Victor, Hao Wei.

For most of my journey touring Melbourne, I spent with THIS bunch of people. From left: me, Khy Lynn, Carol, Ben (Carol’s boyfriend) Carol and Ben did a great job, tirelessly taking me and Khy Lynn around. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it =)

Khy Lynn was my junior in high school. She was a prefect, i was not. hehe. So of all places to meet her again, it was Melbourne. And guess who else i met in Melbourne?
This guy. Aaron Tan. Khy Lynn’s housemate. I met him a week before i left for Australia, and I met him again a week after i arrived in Australia.

Am quite sure he was stalking me. HAHA.
Meet Carol’s sister, Cheryl.

She used to be so little then, and now she’s as tall as i am!

Now, this is the most interesting part of this post. I met NEW, NEW friends. By new, i mean, strangers. Meet Melissa.

I met Melissa on my 12-hour night bus from Sydney to Melbourne. Melissa’s turkish. We are both the same age, and our names have the same first syllable, so we hit it off almost instantly. She told me her love story. She and her husband have been married since they were 16. She knew him since very young. They were always together in school. So at 15, they ran away from home, but returned after a few days, and parents were so mad that they asked them to get married if they loved each other so much. And they have been together since. What a love story, kan? Her trip to Melbourne was the very first time being AWAY from her husband. (alright, i’m not suggesting that any of you elope, okay?)

Another girl whom i met and sat beside on the bus is Asrin =)

Asrin is Iranian, she lives in Amsterdam. She has been travelling alone for a month or so, in Asia and Australia. I was amazed at how she has gone everywhere alone, travelling. That’s what i call a TRAVELLER. We became friends and talked about each other’s culture, religion, what Malaysia is like, and why Iran ladies wear those black tudung thingies. It was fun getting to know her=) And best of all, the day we arrived in Melbourne was the Asrin’s birthday.
So i suggested that we go celebrate her 24th birthday as soon as we arrive in Melbourne.
Lemon Cheese Tart and a Latte, Chocolate cake and Hot Chocolate. We had a party~! hehe.. I hope you enjoyed it, Asrin=)

And this is the end of my get-to-know-the-people-i-met-in-australia post. =)

(sidenote: blogging takes up so much time!)

Now, some people have noticed and mentioned that i’ve "put on". =)P i know..

So, to "fill you in" on the why and the how, i’m especially taking up one post to show you what i’ve been eating in the past 3 weeks. In no particular order…

Good ol’ Australian Fish and Chips. How could i go all the way down under and NOT have F&C?

Steak, anyone? Australian beef, yumz!

Let’s not forget McD=)

Australia has it’s own burger, McOz.

Aussie Beef and Mushroom pie…  yummy…

It was winter.. but it’s never too cold to have ICE CREAM!

Cheeseburger…. mmmm. The beef patty was 2cm thick!

Pizza! It was called Pinky’s Pizza.. haha..

Now, before you start thinking that i ate makanan orang putih the entire 3 weeks, you are absolutely wrong. I had Char Kuey Teow. Looks like the real deal, no? My host family in Sydney, Uncle Johnny cooks real good char kuey teow. Complete with fishcake slices, prawns, bean sprouts and even deep fried crunchy lard. *mouth watering*

There were many other asian /malaysian food which i had. Here’s another, Red bean soup..

You can’t leave Sydney without going to the fish market. Scrumptious SEAFOOD!

Guess what, i even had DURIANS in Australia..

Take some advice from me. NEVER eat durians anywhere else except in places where they grow them. Durians are frozen and then exported to Australia. So when they get them there, the durians defreezes and it becomes watery. Durian-water drips as you eat. Tak bes langsung. X-p.

Dessert? =) I got to bake in Melbourne, in Carol’s place. We baked muffins!

Okay..  just to qualify what you see, the muffins taste better than they look >-P.

There’s this place called Max Brenner. It’s a chocolate cafe. Everything they sell has chocolate in it. And as we all know, chocolate = heaven.

Now, lastly, no one should ever leave Australia without having the famous Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnut. (and other lip-licking flavours) =D

Well guys, now you know why i have "gained some". So, zip it! hehe. They were all yummy and i didn’t regret downing them one bit! (except, maybe, the durians)

*sslurp*

To start, to be able to post these pictures of Australia up, I give thanks to Big Daddy who made all of it happen. I’m still awfully grateful for the fantastic and, at times, breathtaking sceneries that my eyes have drank in. The pictures that follow below and in coming posts will never do Australia justice.

Now, where do i start?

Hillsong Conference!
One word. Impressive.
The organisation of the whole conference was fantastic, with heaps (as they would say) of volunteers, exciting worship, and powerful speakers. I felt spiritually filled to the brim only on the second day. It was THAT good. You could really feel God’s presence, and each word was spoken with power and conviction. See their willing spirit and boundless energy. Such commitment..

The band that i had to wear for 5 days. (yeah, i bathed with it.)

The size of Acer Arena. (i really don’t know how many people it fits)

The Stage. The man on the screen is Hillsong Church’s Senior Pastor, Brian Houston.

me, fooling around on one of the many parks in Sydney Olympic Park.
Tabitha, whom I was with most of the conference=) Thanks, buddy! You were a great companion.

The conference was, "Awesome!" (Australian accent included) My recommendation to everyone to attend it at least once in your lifetime. =)

to blog.

(alright, alright… I will put some pictures up.          Later. =P)

Hehe. Yes, i’m safe and sound in Australia… =D i’m enjoying myself so far. it gets cold sometimes, but it’s fine. Hillsong starts tomorrow:) am excited.

Am staying with a once-from-Malaysia family and their sirname’s Ng too! and it’s the same chinese character! so we’re practically family! ahaah… well, they’re nice.. and very hospitable, so it feels like home, but only at 10degrees celcius.

gtg. it’s already 11.20pm here. and i need to sleep. more updates and hopefully pictures next time when i have access:)

toodles~!