19 June 2009 Friday
Flight was scheduled to be on 19 June 2009 at 835pm from Changi Terminal 3.
Had dinner with K over at TCC and then bid a reluctant farewell to him at the departure gate…Was feeling a little tired as well from a long draggy business lunch..
Anyhow, the plane taxied around and only took off around 850-855pm. Mr Captain said Changi was rather congested that night. Hmm mm..interesting hor?
H1N1, economic downturn and still so many people traveling.
It was an Airbus 380. My virgin time on one.
Nothing great, except that things were newer compared to the other fleet models. But it was darn cold as well. Had to have 2 blankets and my thick jacket to keep me warm.
And even with that, my fingers were still freezing and numb.
p/s: I forgot to bring my gloves…:(
Watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” on board. Cried buckets. Damnit.
So embarrassing, hope I didn’t sniff too loud hehe. Eyes were puffy after that.
Thought that since I was tired out, it would be easier to sleep. But I was wrong.
Turned out that I was too busy freezing, I couldn’t really fall asleep.
20 June 2009 Saturday. 540am AUD time. 740am SG time
Touched down in one of the smoothest flights I’ve had in awhile. The landing was rather well-executed :) Hung around the airport for close to 45minutes waiting for an Indian guy (who’s a HongKonger and speaks fluent Cantonese) who’s attending the same conference. Was supposed to share cab with him to the event hotel.
Zzzzz, it’s a “guan xi” thing so no choice.
How difficult can it be to spot an Indian guy at the airport. Answer: VERY.
Tons of Indians milling about. Tons of whites, tons of Asians, tons of Middle-Eastern-looking men. My eyes grew even more tired seeing the hordes of people walking here and there.
Late Morning
Went to visit The Rocks Market in the late morning. Weather was dismal. Drizzles, light then heavy then light again. Torrential downpour at various times. My shoes were wet through and through. (Heng I brought other pairs)
My toes were wrinkled from being soaked in rainwater…Fingers were numb the whole day hahaha. Darn darn cold lah. I suddenly miss the heat back in SG lol.
Met up with my boss and a Hong Kong boss for lunch before heading back to the hotel for a quick break. And then it was off to explore the surrounding area again. Ended up buying a lot of snacks, macademia nuts and nougats!
Night
Went back to the hotel again, unpacked my stuff and then napped for a little while before being woken up by HC for dinner.
Had a quick visit to Darling Harbour and the Darling Harbour Bridge.
Supposed to have gone to the Sydney Fish Market for cheap and good seafood after that but the area was closed off. Perhaps they are closed on Saturdays. Anyhow, found a simple place and had nice prawn and spinach pasta.
I wasn’t good company today. I’ll accede to that fact.
Partly cos I lacked sleep and felt irritable. Partly cos of the cold. Partly cos my lower back was aching. Partly cos I was missing someone….
Wines
Was at the supermarket. And I realized to my horror that a bottle of mineral water costs up to AUD$3.40. That’s almost SGD$4.
And a bottle of Jacob’s Creek Riesling wine can be gotten for AUD$9.99 which is about SGD$10-something.
What the???? Wine can be bought in Australia for only AUD$6 more than a bottle of mineral water bottle?? Gosh.
No wonder there are so many watering holes littering the streets of Sydney. At almost every corner you can see a little drinkhole to slink into.
People
Australians are generally a very happy and chirpy bunch of people. Think Steve Irwin (god bless his soul), but with a smaller dosage of the bubbliness.
And they love to use the word “love”. I’ve been asked tons of times today :
“What can I do for you love?” or….
“How’re you doing love?” or…
“How’s things love?”….
“Where are ya from love?”
Weather
I think I need not elaborate more here.
C-O-L-D. period.
R-A-I-N-Y. period.
C-R-A-N-K-Y. period.
Hope tomorrow brings some dryness and just a tad bit of sunshine.
Goods
Things are generally expensive. At least what I saw was pricey.
eg. SGD$10 for a bottle of spice. SGD$20 for an atas looking box of biscuits.
The Streets
It was strange. There were alot of police cars with sirens going at full blast and lights flashing like there's no tomorrow. These vehicles were just going round and round the city area...Don't know why. Perhaps it's the norm to have them patrol the streets like this at night.
It was initially unnervering to keep hearing the sirens and see the flashing lights but after awhile, it sort of becomes part of the city's landscape haha.
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