Back from Aus

Im back from australia since yesterday... after a 13 day trip including travel. supposed to be 12, but we got an extra day for free. literally. that would be due to a very long flight delay (which would be elaborated in the accounts.) and because of that delay i couldnt make it to church. spent most of the sunday on the plane and airport. its frustrating to miss such once a week events just by a few hours due to someone else's fault.

Basically, the trip was nice as i expected. got to save lots of costs by staying at my uncle's place and at the same time have extra company and guidance. free & easy beats tours anytime. on a tour we are like circus animals, as compared to those in the wild with free & easy. but of course its a chance hard to come by. at most we can go back to melourne again some time.

i thought this pic looked rather funny. from day 6's gathering dinner. taken while joel and i were unaware. but kax and the camera love each other as usual.

australia in a nutshell
the people there are very friendly on the whole. at least compared to singaporeans who keep to themselves or worse, americans who uses vulgarities in each breath and get into fights too often. not uncommon to be greeted by a stranger passing by. information counter staff are really helpful and chatty, very approachable. theres an unexpectedly high population of asians there. but hardly any blacks.

theres a good range of uniquely australian animals, being a whole continent by itself. the most well known is of course the kangaroos and koalas.

the weather is nice and cool during the day. though temperature fluctuations are not unusual (like the 2nd-3rd day weather shift.) its ok to walk around in t shirts on an average day unless theres a lot of wind. dry climate is also desirable that u hardly sweat and face doesnt feel so oily. but cracked lips and skin can be quite a bother. most of the time the sky is totally clear of clouds so its literally a whole blue space. ideal for seeing stars at night but can easily sunburn during the day.

prices are mostly much higher. most of the stuff are significantly more expensive there even without conversion. the only things that are cheaper there are locally made sweets & chocolates, cars and houses. even farm products are more expensive despite the many farming operations there.

food variety is limited. nothing compared to the food paradise of Singapore. but better than american meals, cos aus has american plus other culture's cuisine available or infused. portions are like double of singapore's. so are clothing sizes.

language is a big factor in making the trip easier. would be having much more trouble in say, japan, where the signs and documents are all in jap or broken english.