Sarikei and Brisbane

If Sarikei is located next to the sea.. it'll look like Brisbane! (minus the population of course). Some part of the rivers that I see is murky, there's plenty of mangrove growing near the rivers. The weather is tropical and hot, with plenty of vegetation around. You get what I mean for Brisbanites or Sarikeian readers.

Other similarities? Sarikei has couple of interesting bridges as well the lastest two being one over Nyelong river that's just completed and opened for public use and on the other end is the 'Red Bridge'. This Red Bridge is nearer to Bintangor but its like smaller version of Storey Bridge here. Everytime I drive under these bridges I can't help but feel amazed and start looking up instead of keeping focus on the road.

Brisbane is also home to the crocodile hunter... whereas Sarikei is home to the crocodile which is caged in Murudu temple next to the Sarikei River.

Actually what I'm trying to imply here is that I miss Sarikei for once during this time of the year when everyone is going back for Chinese New Year. This will be the 2nd year I'm missing CNY. In fact, this year will be a near miss. I'm scheduled to finish flying here on 26th January itself which is the 1st day of CNY. There's another similarity here. That very same day... its Australia Day which means its public holiday here! Due to that.. even myself can't conclude what's gonna be the plan later...

What does CNY mean for most of us? It used to be visiting open houses and enjoying the foods there. Foods range from chicken curry, rendang to red dried cuttlefish, bakua, kuachi (dried sunflower seed) and pistachios. But more recent years, as all the friends start to work out of town, it becomes a social reunion with family and friends. Its an excellent idea and time cause everyone will be back at that time unless situation does not permit that (like me!!)

Oh well, I guess CNY and life still goes on.. Happy Chinese New Year to everyone especially the 5Sc1 guys Class '96 (you guys know who you are!). Hope to see you guys soon, will try to edge my way back soon..

December Smile

Few days right after I arrive at Maroochydore.. I saw a shooting star. I made a wish which I can't reveal right now. Even before I arrive, I tried to read up on what's interesting here. Surprisingly, one of the tours that this particular Brisbane website recommended is the UFO sightings. I guess this is few of the more unconventional tourist attraction to the home state of the Great Barrier Reef.

Two weeks later, I gazed into the sky again.. and guess what I see this time? See for yourself!

The sky is smiling down on me! How wonderful.. why worry about tomorrow? Live in the moment.

Some extract from Fox News:

Australians are getting a big hello from the heavens as Venus, Jupiter and a waxing crescent moon combine to create a celestial smiley face.

Local astronomers said that Venus and Jupiter had appeared side by side in the evening sky over the past week or so, but Monday night would be the best night to see the "face" appear.

Viewers in Western Australia have the best view, with the moon appearing closer to the "eyes" formed by the planets.
While the planets and moon appear to be close together, in reality they're not. The moon is 250,000 miles away, while Venus is 93 million miles away and Jupiter 540 million miles away.

"Home is where your heart is... God doesn't promise to protect us from problems on His earth. Instead He promises to give us the courage to face our problems with His strength. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.... It's about learning to dance in the rain"

Happy Advent to everyone. It'll be Christmas soon!!

Sunshine Coast-Brisbane-Gold Coast

Some background about Brisbane. Its the state capital of Queensland which covers the north east of Australia. Described as the fastest growing city in Australia, evident by the number of construction and road works in and around the city. Its the gateway to great barrier reef to the north of the city. The city is flanked by two tourist destinations namely Gold Coast to the south and Sunshine Coast to the north. We're staying in Maroochydore which is an hours drive from the city in Sunshine Coast. Weatherwise, its similar to tropical countries minus the humidity, plus all the beaches you can get and some kangaroos along the way. Brisbane in general is quite low lying and you can see marshlands not unlike those in Sarikei where I grow up. Queensland is also home for the Australia Zoo which hosted "Crikey!" Steve Irwin.

For 1st time since we reach Queensland, its time to chill out. My initial impression is that everybody here will be friendly and good natured as in Perth. I'm half correct. The other half is monster when it comes to driving in the city. Everybody was driving into the city on Friday night to see the Christmas Tree light up and that caused massive jam. I guess that's how it is in big cities around the world.

Sandeep missed our Swan Valley road trip when he was with us in Perth so he made sure that there was a road trip organized when he's around this time! So down south we drove to Brisbane in our huge 8 seater Terago.

The plan is to have no plan! We'll its all well until we found out that we're having difficulty finding accommodation there at the very last minute. All the happening places are near the backpackers and there's plenty of chicks all over the world walking around. After having dinner and sending cadet off to the airport, we went to check out the city by foot and then settled down for a beer or two. The view of the Brisbane Bridge is quite nice and the city is still bustling with people looking for night life.

Next day we drove down to Gold Coast only to manage Surfer's Paradise. Along the way we passed by all the theme parks such as Dream World, Movie World and Water World. That's for another trip due to time constrain (and not to mention gloomy sky). Gold Coast's skyscrappers are as impressive as Brisbane itself if not better. We walked around for a bit before driving back to the City's Direct Factory Outlet and then straight back to Maroochydore. I guess we'll be organizing more trips after Deep is back in Singapore again.. muahaha....

The drive into Gold Coast

Surfers Paradise

A month In Singapore

For a month, its lotsa happenings here.. as compared to a month in Perth. The action started from the time we got the call to leave Jandakot that fateful morning. Anyways, I took photos along the way.. but only manage to get it downloaded now (priority of task.. muahahaha). Well, here they are!! Enjoy!

0. Cleared JDK. Take photo.. play with the 'Gong', play with the Solo bell (waited 9 months to finally ring the bell)

Half in the photo have gone home. We're waiting for the other half to join us!

Bye bye Perth!

Helloooo mama!

1. Parents came over for a week's holiday

2. Bought a house

This is not the photo of the house. Its actually our current rented place. Think might just miss this place.

3. Went to see Airshow in Boon Lay with Bunny (almost as good as Red Bull Air Race)

Singapore's own Peter Besenyei

4. Completed our Learjet ground school (dun play play.. 3 weeks non stop study ok? plus exam some more)

5. Got my CPL licence

6. Had my 1st snow crab to celebrate passing the exam

7. Went for basic theory to convert my driving license (almost!!! Just give me one extra day!)
8. Going to Brisbane (one day before my theory test)

One Month Break

In case you're wondering what happened.... I'm back in Singapore. Just for one bloody month. That's why I'm utilizing my time not updating the blog.. but just savouring the sights, the sound, the taste buds and the companionship.
That and as well as juggling the ground school at hand. Think I'd have more time by the time I'm in Brisbane hopefully for just short of 3 months. But until then, which is just 2 weeks away from now... don't think you'd see any updates.. even on my own 'gong'ing!

Breaking of the Fellowship

The fellowship of this course began the day we went for briefing. We hardly know each other back then. But little did we know that our life would be so intertwined with each other. It doesn't take long for each individuals to feel a sense of belonging here. Everyone is unique but in their own way complement the group, bringing flavour to it.

We were here too long, that we almost forgot that there's an end to our stay. Then when Macha and Iswen cleared their flight test, we were estatic! It was a sign of hope after so much turbulence in our course. To set the record straight, the course on its own is very strong. Its the external forces that bumps the whole course around, upside down, left and right. After so much trials and hiccups; we are finally reaching our goal.

On the other hand, there's a sense of sadness that the core of our group is breaking up. Its exactly the same feeling that I had when I read LOTR.. but alas, do not despair and be sad! Because as we know in that classic, we know that towards the end, the fellowship will cross swords paths once again.

Cleared Round 4!

Round 4! Start!

The fight begins from the bed. Psychological warfare starts from the time you wake up. You think you're good enough but the person sitting next to you will try their very best to bring you down. You try to keep your spirits high throughout the two and half hours of something that should be enjoyable.

Aim high, hit lower. Always be on your guard! If you identify flying with boxing, then the left hand guard is HSI, right hand guard is the Altimeter.. and your aim is always the Altitude indicator.

As the fight ends, there was no clear winner. The judges retreated to delibrate on the show they had just seen. Finally the verdict is out! The contender won with just a narrow margin! The judges weren't exactly impressed. He just slipped through this final stage! He's victorious! Its marginal but a win is still a win!

I guess I'm just blabbering out the words of wisdom from my instructor as well as what just happened this afternoon. Not a fantastic finish at the moment but a closure nevertheless. I think I should be going head over heels about it but I'm not. Not sure what's missing from the picture. Arghh.. for now I just wanna relax for a while. Tomorrow I'll worry about improving myself. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

My heart goes out to the rest who's in my same predicament. I really hope all our guys from 126.07 get through this unscathed. God do I pray everybody will be fine.