Day 3: Touring the Opera, Watching the Whales (Aug 13)

Unlike yesterday, we started off earlier today (enough sleep). Desmond and Yannis were kind enough to accompany us to the bus-stop for bus 626 to Pennant Hills train station.

We had one major unfinished business from the day before : Getting on to the Inside Tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was amazing to hear the inside stories, the up and downs, the politics and the drama - all wonderful parts of an operate itself! No photo-taking inside the performance halls but we had a beautiful package of photos and videos at the end of the tour (of course, got to pay, extra-lah).

Now, for the main highlight of the day - WHALE WATCHING!

Praise God for the wonderful, sunny weather! Just the day before, the winds were so strong that we were almost blown away on the top of the Sydney Explorer Bus! It was not long before the humpback whales showed up. Here's the commentary from the tour leader :

"Quite surprising how many whales we got to see this afternoon. There would have been an easy 10 whales within a couple of miles radius around our boat. Pretty good for the cross over of the northern and southern migration. We spent most of our time watching an active pod of 3 throwing their tails around a fair bit!"

https://www.facebook.com/whalewatchingsydney

Here are a few professionally taken photos by the tour operator as a summary of our whale sightings this day

Now that the whale-watching adventure is over, it is time to see those in captivity. Came back just in time for the SeaLife Aquarium located near the whale-watching drop off.

Yes - this is Eunice's latest pet! It is a female platypus called Sidney. She followed us home from the SeaLife Acquarium. When we got back home (Desmond/Eudora's home). Sidney was promptly introduced to her Dugong friend as well!

Birthday video messages to Ariel Lim - fellow agent in England!

Day 2: Hopping On/Off - Exploring Sydney (Aug 12)

Woke up about an hour or so later than intended - recovering from the travelling (and packing) the day before. Nonetheless, with Desmond's help, we reach Pennant Hills train station in time for taking the city-bound train for our first city adventure! Circular Quay, here we come!

Upon reaching Circular Quay, we quickly spotted the Sydney Explorer Bus - ran towards it - only to find out that it was still waiting for passengers, whew! Enjoyed the commentary and the big picture view of the city sights.

Later in the afternoon, it really got windy! Heard later that even a few trees were blown down. Thank God we managed to finish the Explorer route safely.

Took the Bondi Beach extension of the Explorer Bus as well. Had a look at the exclusive area surrounding this world-famous beach area.

Yum, yum - lunch stop at a Vietnamese Shop to re-energize. The portions were huge (glad that we did not order the large bowl!). After our lunch, it was time to feed the birds instead.... we did this at a park opposite Sydney Central Station. The birds did such a great job with the bread that 50% of the extra long loaf we bought was finished in a matter of minutes!

We then hop on to the Explorer Bus again and concluded by getting close to the two icons of Sydney - The Harbour Bridge and The Opera House.

The next upcoming performance at the Sydney Opera House............

A few concluding scenic shots of the day :

Day 1: Finally, The Trip Down Under! (Aug 11)

After more than a year of waiting and anticipation, AirAsia X Flight D7-220 is finally ready to take us on our first major holiday overseas after a five year break (the last time was to Perth in 2008)! When we left in 2008, it was 11 April (Eunice's birthday) and this day on 11 August - it is my birthday! Am appreciative to Dicky and Vency who came at 5.30am to pick up to catch the SkyBus coach at 1-Utama. Was surprised by the Birthday Cupcake greetings so early in the morning! This is a good start to the day indeed.

Another amazing timing - Chee Meng and his family are also on the same flight with us. So, the kids were really excited! We will meet up together for the snow adventure trip to Mount Buller near Melbourne. It will be the first snow experience for the children!

No in-flight entertainment on AirAsia - no problem! Both the girls could easily occupy themselves.

Wai Bing with Eudora - old friends since Melbourne Uni days. By divine appointment, we met up in Singapore last year and since both Desmond and Eudora have migrated to Australia - hmmm,,,, we put friendship and holiday together and presto! We are now staying in their home in Sydney!

 Our first meal in Sydney : home-cooked wanton mee! We were famished after being in the air for 8 hours (the dinner meal portion on AirAsia is quite kid-sized!). Praise God for the kind hospitality from Desmond and Eudora.

Yannis - the 11 year old son of Desmond and Eudora is really quite a character - all lively and chatty - when he talks to us, he does it in such a relaxed fashion as if he had known you his whole life! Besides his social skills, he also bakes! Pictured above is his creation called "The Triple" which was baked in corroboration with my wife and Eudora for round two of my birthday celebration. Thank you so much!

Rainbow of Covenant

Just as God gave Noah a covenantal reminder of His mercy with a rainbow after the Flood. The clear rainbows yesterday came at a time when I have such a real sense of my mortality.
It is by Your mercies O Lord that I present my body to you a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).
As David Gibbs mentioned - I live not on explanations but by promises. Man explains but God promises.

Tough Love @Fridge

My family is extremely concerned about my sweet tooth because bars of chocolates, cakes, etc magically disappear from the fridge over short periods of time. So, I jokingly suggested - Why not someone draft an agreement for my commitment?

Well, Eliza took up the challenge and type (plus laminate) the agreement which now stares at me in the face when my appetite wanders! Since my father's family is prone to diabetes, guess I better be on my toes and this "in-the-face" commitment is as good as any place to start!

The Minion Nite

Last night, we got our hands dirty in sculpting our very own Minions since McDonald's ran out of Happy Meal toys. And this was definitely more fun because it had our very own stamp of creation!
Not everything needs to be purchased.
In fact, if we learn to make do with the listed resources available, it builds character and a deep sense of satisfaction and confidence.
Focus on being creating instead of consuming. Plus you have a lot of fun in the process!

Completion of the Bible Journey!

Finally, after being a follower of Jesus Christ since 1981, I am happy (and ashamed) to admit that as of yesterday, I have read through every book of the Bible. All of my reading previously have been sporadic and topical in nature.
So, what's the next focus? I have two goals :
(1) Going through the "Fighter Verses" scripture memory program with my family.
(2) Personal meditation through the Book of Proverbs till end of the year to assist in the writing of my long procrastinated book!
The focus right now is on memorizing & meditation rather than just reading.

My Pride and Joy

Photo like this makes it all worthwhile!
With the years coming by so quickly, and the parenting window growing narrower, I am grateful for moments like this.