Thaipusam 2011

This may be a festival that may interest readers. The full moon day of the Tamil month Thai, also known as Thaipusam, falls on 20 January in the year of 2011. The Thaipusam festival is dedicated to Lord Subramaniam, also known as Lord Murugan. It "commemorates the feats of the Hindu God, Lord Subramaniam, son of Lord Siva. It also acknowledges Subramaniam's triumph over the evil forces." (Source: Singapore Infopedia).

For more information on Thaipusam 2011, please visit: http://www.heb.gov.sg/thaipusam2011.html .

Two years ago, on 7 and 8 Feb 2009, I had made time to observe the various events that celebrated the Thaipusam festival. You could read the series of posts that I had written of my experiences back then here: Thaipusam (2009).

Here's a video that I had taken two years ago of the Silver Chariot procession, may it interest you.


The start of the procession.

19 Nov 2010: The Rocks Walking Tour

19 Nov 2010, Fri:

When The Rocks Walking Tour started at 10.30 a.m., our tour guide led us to a special wall mural found at the Rocks area, on the way to Cadman's Cottage. She explained how the wall mural gave an overview to the history of The Rocks area. The mural showed glimpses of the local indigenous people before any European settlers set foot on Australia. It further depicted the days when the first European inhabitants arrived at The Rocks in 1788 and subsequently began the story of British Australia. One part of the mural was painted in shades of grey as it represented the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Great Depression.

The tour guide subsequently shared with us about the history of Sydney. What I can remember was that in 1788, Captain Arthur Philip had originally landed at Botany Bay, which was sighted by Captain James Cook in 1770. However, Arthur Philip who was later appointed the first Governor of North South Wales found Botany Bay unsuitable for inhabitation and subsequently moved northwards to Sydney Cove at Port Jackson. I vaguely remembered that Sydney Cove was chosen because of the steady supplies of freshwater. So my ears were tuning in as best as I could when our dear tour guide pointed to the direction where there was a steady source of freshwater back in the days of 1788. Check out this tour to find out the answer.

At The Rocks area, we of course had to learn about the rocks that gave this place its unique name. The Rocks is closely associated with sandstone which is predominantly found in Sydney. During the days of the early European settlement at Sydney Cove, buildings and many public infrastructure were largely carved out from sandstone. We were also introduced briefly to politics of the earlier days of the British colony of Australia. Vice Admiral, William Bligh, whose sculpture is shown on the photograph above, was the fourth governor of New South Wales. William Bligh was later succeeded by Lachlan Macquarie.

From a tourist point of view, the fifth governor of New South Wales, Major-General Macquarie, seemed to have made quite a lot of contributions to Sydney since I seem to notice that a number of places and establishments in Sydney were named after him and his wife, Elizabeth.

Onboard the first European fleet that brought the first European inhabitants to Sydney were convicts. For some of them, the journey to Sydney could offer a glimpse of hope to eventual freedom. At Cadman's Cottage, our dedicated tour guide shared with us the story of John Cadman and the Cadman's Cottage. This building is possibly one of the oldest buildings on mainland Australia.

We were then led to learn more about other parts of The Rocks and the stories of some of the inhabitants of The Rocks. One of the stories was a love story involving a couple with the family names Pulley and Rope respectively. Some of the stories involved young convicts. Others involved settlers who had lived in one of the earliest public housing in the area.

I was grateful that the people of Australia has the foresight to preserve such a historical place like The Rocks. Then, I found out that the preservation of the place had not come easy. There was one point in time when the state government had the intention of demolishing all the original buildings on The Rocks and re-developing them as high-density residential dwellings. Thank goodness to the courage and vision of a group of local residents who fought for the preservation of the area, The Rocks, a precious part of Sydney's and Australia's heritage was saved for future generations to see.

Today, I was told that The Rocks area is an area under conservation. Private development is not allowed at the area so most of the infrastructure that one can find at The Rocks were likely to be owned by the government.

I was most excited when the tour guide led the group to the foundation stones of some of the earlier houses in Sdyney. The place used to be a slum. On our way there, we came across an senior artist. The place with the foundation stones of some of the earlier houses in Sydney happened to be part of an archaelogical dig. The wooden frames that seemed to indicate where the roofs might have been were added much later to give the modern visitors an idea of how tall the houses would be if they had still survived.

I was feeling happy that I could at least know bits and pieces of Sydney's history. With the knowledge of its Sydney, its present became more meaningful to me because I could at least appreciate how it arrived at where it is today from its past. The Rocks Walking Tour is one tour that I would recommend to visitors and residents of Sydney who would like a glimpse of the history of The Rocks in an experiential way. The guides are knowledgeable and friendly. In addition, the informative and engaging tour adds depth to my experiences at the Rocks. At AUS$30 per adult, I felt it was worth every bit of my investment of time and tour fees.

**** 
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) I am grateful for the good weather.
2) I am thankful for a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide who gave me good insights to the history of The Rocks area in just two hours.
3) I am deeply grateful to the people who have had the vision and courage to lobby for the preservation of The Rocks for the future generations to see.

New things that I did:
1) I have completed The Rocks Walking Tour for the first time in my life!

My learning points:
History is precious. It preservation cannot be taken for granted.


****
The Rocks Walking Tours
23 Playfair Street
The Rocks
NSW 2000
Australia
Tel: + 61 2 9247 6678
Fax: + 61 2 9241 1502
Email: info@rockswalkingtours.com.au
http://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/index.htm

19 Nov 2010: Finding my way to Playfair Street

19 Nov 2010, Fri:

 Town Hall building.

It was a day lined up with some interesting activities. First, I wanted to visit the General Post Office to purchase stamps and to post postcards. Next, I had to find my way to Playfair Street for The Rocks Walking Tour. I had also arranged at the last minute to have lunch with one of my friends, RL. My friend had also offered to give me a lift to Watsons Bay by car if I would like though I took a while before I could decide on whether to take up her kind offer. At 4 p.m., I had the Sydney Opera House's Essential Tour to participate in. Last but not the least, I would catch a highly anticipated concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House.

With so many activities lined up for the day, please allow me to write about the day in more managable parts.

After a wonderful treat to a delicious breakfast, by when I had figured that the staff at the Ceezens restaurant all knew me by my face, I was ready to set off for Playfair Street. Before that, I had one mission to accomplish. I had to purchase postage so as to post postcards to various parts of the world. I had headed to World Square building's post office but it was still not opened at that time in the morning. So, I decided I could find my way to the General Post Office at 1 Martin Place. There was a post shop at the General Post Office building at 1 Martin Place that in some ways hinted to the rich history of the building.

It was when I was writing this post that I learnt that the General Post Office in Sydney has a rich history. I learnt from wikipedia that Sydney's General Post Office was designed by colonial architech, James Barnet. It was constructed in stages from 1866 to 1891 after the former General Post Office was demolised in 1862. This building was the headquarters of the New South Wales postal system until 1996, when the building was sold and refurbished. I suppose that would meant that whatever mails that were sent out from the General Post Office would absorb some air of heritage on them?

The Westin hotel that stood at what was formerly the atrium of the General Post Office reminded me fondly of Singapore's Fullerton Hotel. Here is a photograph for you to have a glimpse of how similar the air-wells of these two places seem to be.

After I had purchased the postage and mailed out the postcards at hand, I studied the buses at a nearby bus-stop before hopping onto one of the buses to head for Circular Quay. I saw a number of beautiful historic colonial buildings but I could not quite figure out their history as a tourist.

Whatever it was, I had to ensure that I could find my way to Playfair Street before 10.30 a.m. It was past 9.30 a.m. already and I had not bought my ticket to The Rocks Walking Tour. So I figured that I had to find my way to Playfair Street soon. Honestly speaking, Playfair Street seemed to be quite a remote lane on its own. My eyes could not find it on both the different maps of Sydney that I had on hand. However, when I was back in Singapore writing this post, I realised that it was merely that I had not looked closely enough at the maps. Anyway, that day, I had to rely on nearby streets and landmarks to find my way to Playfair Street. Along the way, I passed by the Rocks market. There were some nice local produce on sale.

I got lost when I took a wrong turn along Argyle Street. I later learnt that an easier way to get to Playfair Street was to walk up to the end of George Street. Taking the route to Playfair Street via Argyle Street could be rather confusing for a tourist who is new to the vicinity.

The blessing in disguise was that when one seemed to take a wrong turn and got herself lost, it would also meant two things: the blessing to see new sights and the blessing to ask for and to receive help. I saw a nice church building, The Garrison Church, along the way. Then, much later, I met a kind lady who lived along Gloucester area and she gave me clear instructions to get to somewhere close to Playfair Street.

Soon enough, I found myself approaching Playfair Street from the back of it. I was feeling relieved that I reached 23 Playfair Street definitely early enough to purchase a ticket to The Rocks Walking Tour. My tour guide, Leisa, welcomed me. Since I was early for the 10.30 a.m. tour, I explored nearby parts of Playfair Street.

I was looking forward to The Rocks Walking Tour. Stay tuned for more please.

****
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) I was lost, and yet found my way to Playfair Street with the help of the kind lady who gave me the directions.
2) I was punctual for the Rocks Walking Tour and could get myself a ticket despite purchasing it on the day itself.
3) I was grateful for a safe journey to Playfair Street.

A new thing that I did:
I have found my way to Playfair Street. It was my first time visiting Playfair Street.

My learning points:
The blessings in disguise when one seemed to take a wrong turn and got herself lost were the blessing to see new sights and the blessing to ask for and to receive help.

****
General Post Office, Sydney
1 Martin Place
Sydney
NSW 2000
Australia
http://auspost.com.au/index.html


The Rocks Walking Tours
23 Playfair Street
The Rocks
NSW 2000
Australia
Tel: + 61 2 9247 6678
Fax: + 61 2 9241 1502
Email: info@rockswalkingtours.com.au
http://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/index.htm

18 Nov 2010: The best meal in Sydney

18 Nov 2010, Thu:

After a lovely though longer than expected cruise along the Parramatta River, I had finally reached Circular Quay. I had a dinner appointment with my friend, RL, and her fiance. I had to head to Wynyard station to catch a train to her home.

Anyway, on the side, remember the tree with purple flowers whose name I was trying to find out?

I had tried to ask a number of people but they were either tourists or were locals who did not know the name of the tree with purple flowers. So when I was about to alight the Captain Cook Cruises, I mustered the courage to ask one of the young personnel working on the cruise. He readily told me the name of the tree. I tried to remember it. Alas! The thing was that I could only remember that the name of the tree starts with "J" and has four syllables.

Anyway, after having asked the name of the tree with purple flowers, I steadily headed for Wynyard station to catch a train to where my friend lived. Honestly, I was pretty late. Anyway, in times like those, I appreciated the saying "it is better late than never".

With an interest to find my way about on my own, I happily found my way to my friend's apartment and she was waiting patiently with her fiance for me. I was close to an hour late. I am usually punctual for appointments so I figured that when I am in a tourist mood and when I am unfamiliar with a city to estimate the travelling time accurately, it is still best to make more allowance for travelling time.

At my friend's place, I was greeted by one of her paintings. We had minced turkey meat with fresh vegetables and a hearty soup for dinner. My hosts showed me how I could wrap the minced turkey meat with the fresh vegetables. My dear hosts had taken some food beforehand and I was glad that they did.

The dinner was my best meal in Sydney for many reasons:

-First, it was made with care and thoughtfulness by my friend. 
-Second, she had considered the nutritional value of the food and my state of health when she planned the menu for the dinner. As such, the food was healthy, nutritious and kind to our body. 
-Third reason, the food tasted good. 
-Fourth, it was a meal with lots of vegetables (that certainly delighted the vegetable lover in me)! 
-Fifth, interestingly, my friend's neighbours were playing on the piano, and my ears picked the sounds from the piano playing up through the walls. Music and great food, what better combination? 
-Sixth, I had wonderful hosts who offered their thoughtful company and hospitality. I think I was too focused on enjoying every moment of the meal that it totally slipped my mind to take any photo of my visit to my friend's place.

A heartfelt word of thanks to my friends, RL and her fiance, their hospitality and the wonderfully prepared dinner. Dinner was yummy.

****
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) I am thankful for my wonderful hosts.
2) I am grateful for the care and thoughtfulness that my friend had put in to prepare a delicious and nutritious dinner.
3) I was thankful to that my hosts were understanding and patient with me, despite me being late close to an hour.

A new thing that I did:
I have found my way to my friend's place on my own (with some directions from my friend of course) and visited her place for the first time.

My learning points:
When I am in a tourist mood and when I am unfamiliar with a city to estimate the travelling time accurately, it is best to make more allowance for travelling time

Adventures at OH! Open House

Fancy an art walkabout in the heartlands?
A post on my adventures at OH! Open House can be found here: Adventures at OH! Open House.

OH! Open House 2011 is held on 8, 9, 15 and 16 Jan 2011. Each tour ticket costs $10. Tickets to the event can be purchased from Marine Parade Community Club, located at 278 Marine Parade Road.

The first OH! Open House tour for each day starts at 4 p.m. The last ticket sales is at 7 p.m. The houses close at 8 p.m.

18 Nov 2010: Cruise along the Parramatta River

18 Nov 2010, Thu:

I had an option to return to Sydney City via one of the Captain Cook's Cruises along the Parramatta River or via the coach. Steve was such a great driver and guide that I felt tempted to remain onboard the coach. However, the thought of travelling on a cruise along the Parramatta River was more enticing since I could not do so when I am back in Singapore. To take the optional Captain Cook's cruise, each passenger would have to pay an additional AUS$7.

The Parramatta River "begins at confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek west of Parramatta and travels in an easterly direction to a line between Greenwich Point, Greenwich, and Robinsons Point, Birchgrove. Here it flows into Port Jackson, still about 21 km from the ocean".

Before taking the cruise, the tour group stopped by at the Olympic Park. Steve, my favourite driver and tour guide for the day, gave the tour group accounts of some interesting trivia related to the Olympic Park. Since they were trivia, I did not commit them to my memory as much as I would do so for historical accounts. Anyway, I would say that the Olympic Park was very grand.

The coach then brought us to the Olympic Park wharf. Boarding the Captain Cook Cruises took some time. I managed to get a seat next to a nice couple in their golden years. I was enjoying the ride on the cruise and the treat to some beautiful sceneries along the Parramatta River.

While enjoying the cruise, I had one major concern. I had arranged to meet one of my friends at her place at 6.30 p.m. for dinner. I saw the Sydney Tower at a distance and had thought I would reach Circular Quay by 6.10 p.m. or so. However, I was very wrong. It took me more than half-an-hour to reach Circular Quay because the cruise would stop at Darling Harbour first. Since I had made the choice to travel back to Sydney city by cruise, I had to bear with the consequences that came with it. Admittedly, I did not like to be late. I had thought that there would have been enough time to reach Sydney city by cruise. I guess that was my lesson learnt. Nevertheless, I mustered enough tolerance for my miscalculation so that I could at the very least enjoy the beauty of the Parramatta River onboard the cruise.

I cannot remember what time it was when the cruise left Darling Harbour but I was certainly going to be late for my dinner appointment with my friend. Anyway, it was when the cruise left Darling Harbour when I caught sight of a fellow Singaporeans onboard. We had met each other the day before on the Port Stephens tour. She had wanted to alight at Darling Harbour but she did not know that she had missed it. So, I decided to distract her by showing her how beautiful the Harbour Bridge is when the cruise came close enough to the Harbour Bridge. I suppose I have learnt that if something has happened and is beyond our control to reverse the situation, the next best option is to be present to experience what is at hand.

So here is the Sydney Harbour Bridge! And the Sydney Opera House!

Even though I felt apologetically pretty late for my dinner appointment, I felt happy to be able to cruise along the Parramatta River. It was not an everyday affair that I could cruise along the Parramatta River, and I treasure the experience. I trust that I would later be grateful for an understanding friend who would trust that I had seriously made an honest mistake as I was too enthuasiastic as a tourist.

****
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) Despite being late for dinner, I was at the very least able to arrive at Circular Quay safe and sound.
2) Thankfully, I know I have an understanding friend who would forgive me for being late for our dinner appointment. I hope this will be the first and very last time.

New things that I did:
1) I had a cruise along the Parramatta River.
2) I saw Anzac Bridge from the Parramatta River.
3) For the first time in my life, I took a cruise that travelled from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay.

My learning points:
1) I practised not to take myself too seriously, especially when I make mistakes that I did not intend to make.
2) I practised being present to the beauty of the Parramatta River although I was pretty bothered by the fact that I would be late for my dinner appointment.
3) I have learnt that if something has happened and is beyond our control to reverse the situation, the next best option is to be present to experience what is at hand.

****
Captain Cook Cruises
http://www.captaincook.com.au/home.asp

Head Office Australia
Monday to Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm

Pier 26, Aquarium Wharf, Darling Harbour NSW 2000, Australia

Postal: No.6 Jetty Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Tel: +61 2 92061111
Fax: +61 2 82705107

Email: cruise@captaincook.com.au

 
Olympic Park
http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au

18 Nov 2010: Going wild at Featherdale Wildlife Park

18 Nov 2010, Thu:

Yes, the stop after the visit to the Blue Mountains was the Featherdale Wildlife Park. This attraction has won a Gold Award in the NSW Tourism Award 2009. I personally like its intimate setting and prefer it to the Taronga Zoo that I had visited two years ago. Featherdale Wildlife Park focused on introducing and educating its visitors about Australian wildlife. I like its fairly interactive Koala bears enclosure.

The park welcomed its visitors in a very personal way. One of the rangers greeted us with an adorable looking young marsupial, technically known as a joey. I thought quite positively of the Featherdale Wildlife Park for its public relational skills.

Admittedly, I seem to have a liking for the Koala Bears. I was quite delighted to find a good number of the koala bears at the Featherdale Wildlife Park to be awake. I was aware that they spend about 20 hours per day sleeping and it takes good luck to see a koala bear that is awake. I learnt that the koala bear's diet consists of tallowwood, grey gum, sydney blue gum, narrow-leaved peppermint, manna gum, forest red gum and many more.

At the Featherdale Wildlife Park, I also had the pleasure to see animals such as the emu, wombat, Tasmanian Devil and penguins. It was quite a heart-warming sight seeing children getting close with the docile animals such as the kangaroos.

I was rather intrigued by one of the species known as the short-beaked Echidna, also known as the Spiny Anteater. The short-beaked Echidna is found all over Australia and is an egg-laying mammal!

Interesting, I noticed that there were a few albinos that can found in the wildlife park. I think it was at the Featherdale Wildlife Park that I saw an albino kangaroo and an albino peacock for the first time in my life? Anyway, I suppose the management of the wildlife park may have a liking for albinism or genetics? Seeing the albino animals reminded me of the Genetic chapter from the Biology classes that I had taken more than a decade ago. It is rare to have an albino animal. Both parents must have recessive genes for the trait responsible for the production of the melanin pigment. If both parents with recessive genes for the trait looked normal, the chances to have an albino child is only one out of four.

Agriculture is quite an important industry in Australia. You could imagine that I could not leave the Featherdale Wildlife Park without checking out the section on farm animals. I saw sheeps, goats, turkeys and more. I was told that there were pigs on display but I could not find any. At the very least, I shall consider myself lucky that I have managed to see how these animals look like in real-life. It is simply a priviledge to see them in real-life in the urban city of Singapore that I live in.

***
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) One of the nice folks from the tour group helped me to take photographs with the koala bear.
2) The weather was great.
3) Thank goodness that I had sighted a number of Koala Bears that were awake at the Featherdale Wildlife Park.

New things that I did:
1) I visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park for the very first time in my life.
2) I learnt a bit more about the wildlife of Australia.

***
Featherdale Wildlife Park
http://www.featherdale.com.au
217 - 229 Kildare Road, Doonside
NSW 2767 (near Blacktown).
Australia
Tel: (612) 9622 1644