Now in Singapore: Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds

(source: http://www.youtube.com/embed/3askVFwNsPg)

The sailors and the merchants took the risks of sailing across the stormy and unknown seas. One particular ninth century Arab dhow that was on its trip back to its hometown found itself shipwrecked off the coast of Belitung, a small island in the Java Sea. Thankfully, as best as I am aware, no life was lost.

The shipwreck might have caused heavy losses for the crew. Yet, it brought about significant revelations and historical evidences for generations to come. The discovery of the shipwrecked Arab dhow off the coast of Belitung and the uncovered cargo provided the first physical proof of a maritime trade route between West Asia and China. Its discovery proved that as early as the ninth century, maritime trades existed between West Asia and China. Such maritime trades could have inspired the story of Sinbad the Sailor from the One Thousand and One Nights.

If you like the embedded video and this introductory post, please continue to read my post on my recent visit to the ArtScience Museum's Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds exhibition. In the meantime, please maintain your balance.

Genghis Khan: The enlightened leader and the brave warlord

Please click on the photo right above to be linked to a YouTube video of

a performance by Khan Bogd Ensemble.

My recent visit to the ArtScience Museum brings me to learn more about Genghis Khan, one of the world's great leaders. In addition, I was captivated very much by the performances by the Khan Bogd Ensemble which brought to me beautiful music from Mongolia.

Many thanks to Shaun from the National Heritage Board and the ArtScience Museum  for the invitation. Many thanks to our wonderful host in Wendy from the ArtScience Museum too. It was a memorable experience.

Please read the post on my visit to Genghis Khan - The exhibition.This exhibition ends on 10 Apr 2011, so catch it soon if you are interested.

We Heart Sydney

Join this contest to win a Sydney holiday and a Canon Digital Ixus camera! All we need to do is to share what we think is an awesome Sydney experience and we could be one of the lucky winners. Open to Singapore residents. The contest ends 10 Apr 2011.

I was most impressed that one of the recent winners of this contest, Christine, has never visited Sydney. Through good research and a dream to visit Sydney, she submitted her entries, and Congratulations, she won herself a pair of flight tickets to Sydney on Singapore Airlines and a Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS!

After my two memorable visits to Sydney in the year 2008 and 2010, I am open and receptive to visit Sydney yet again, preferably this autumn in Sydney. If you have enjoyed any of my blog-entries on my Sydney trips, could I please ask for your generous vote to support me in this contest: We Heart Sydney?

What you would need to do is to have a Facebook account, visit and "like" the WeHeartSydney page and click on the "thumbs-up" icon on any of my entries to this contest, e.g. Be inspired, loving the art and culture in Sydney!. And you may win yourself a bottle of Hunter Valley wine for voting. Good luck!

Your support will be greatly appreciated as I am looking forward to share my sketches from yet another sketching spree at Sydney with you.

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Here are some of my ideas of other awesome Sydney experiences:

Wonderful Watsons Bay.
"Take a ferry from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay. Then climb up to the top of the Sydney Harbour Nature Park, Gap Bluff, to be treated to an awesome view. Crashing ways that release the healing negative ions. Nature has its way to bestow us with its beautiful gifts of art."

Marvelling at whales and dolphins
"Somewhere out there at the beautiful Port Stephens, which lies about five hours from Sydney city, is the unique encounter with fellow mammals of the open sea. A city dweller's dream of the sighting humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins now comes true easily. This makes Sydney so Sydney!"

On the top of the Observatory Hill!
"Sydney is about feeling at the top of the world! On the top of the Observatory Hill, surrender to the awesome sights of the Sydney cityscape, the harbour, the Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, the Anzac Bridge and the Observatory. Feel as if everything is within your reach. Everything!"

Sculpture by the Sea.
"Water breaks over the rocks of Bondi. The wind blows with might. On the rocky and sandy beaches of Bondi, one is treated to beautiful sculptures by the sea. See the coastal area of Bondi being transformed to an artistic space in this annual event. Sydney equals sculptures, sea and a creative story."

The Rocks that rock.
"My words of gratitude to the courageous and visionary people who have fought for the preservation of The Rocks. The precious part of Sydney's and Australia's heritage now stands for generations to see. Marvel at the sandstone structures, Cadman's Cottage and Sydney's history. Sydney rocks!"

Milsons Point: The tranquil point to marvel at the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House
"Sydney is about tranquility. I was introduced to Milsons Point which I have no prior knowledge of. One can have a lovely view of both the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House at peaceful Milsons Point. To conclude the tranquil day with some fun, one could head to the nearby Luna Park!"

The freshest calamari rings at the Sydney Fish Market
"When it comes to food, Sydney stands for quality and freshness. Head down to Sydney Fish Market and be dazzled by the treat to fresh seafood. Let the wonderful folks at the Fish Market whet your appetite with their sincere cooking. The calamari rings here are the freshest I have tasted in my life!" 

A visit to the ArtScience Museum: Traveling the Silk Road

Life often present moments that we can be grateful for. Late last month, I was planning to visit the ArtScience Museum on 20 Mar 2011 because I had wanted to see the Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World exhibition before it concludes on 27 Mar 2011 in Singapore.

By a sheer moment of goodwill, a few days before my planned visit to the ArtScience Museum, I received an invitation for a complimentary visit to the ArtScience Museum. The only request was to write about my experience, which I would have anyway gladly done so.

What makes this exhibition on the Silk Road worth a consideration? What could have made the Silk Road possibly one of the most treasured networks in history? I hope my post, One of the most treasured networks: The Silk Road could shed some light.

Many thanks to Shaun from the National Heritage Board and the ArtScience Museum  for the invitation. Many thanks to our wonderful host in Wendy from the ArtScience Museum too. It was a memorable experience.

A glimpse of one of Singapore's few surviving dragon kilns

Image credit: Carolyn Lim

Did you know that somewhere in this urban island, lie one of the last few surviving dragon kilns in Singapore? Where is this dragon kiln? Would this rare surviving dragon kiln survive in a rapidly changing world where at times heritage from the past disappear in the name of progress?

Find out more by reading my post titled "A visit to the Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln Firing event 2011".

Read: Brida

Title: Brida
Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher, 2008

The first book by Paulo Coelho that I have read was "The Alchemist". Since then, I have read a few other of his books and find his writing pretty deep and thoughtful provoking.

According to the condensed summary found on the backcover of the book, Brida is "the story of Brida, a beautiful young Irish girl, and her quest for knowledge. On her journey, she meets a wise man who teaches her about overcoming her fears, and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the hidden music of the world. They see in her a gift, but must het her make her own voyage of discovery."

I find Brida a good read. I have enjoyed walking Brida's journey with her as a reader of the book. In many aspects, as a reader, reading the book was about learning to be like Brida, to learn to take risks and to risk failure.

Some of the passages in the book speak about the processes of making decisions and those of learning to muster the courage to make decisions. I quite appreciate the timely reminder by this short story between the protaganist and her father somewhere back in time. It goes like this, Brida's father led her to a large, antique grandfather clock which had stopped for years because it could no longer be repaired, and said "Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

This is one of those books that I had purchased instead of borrowing a copy from the library. It's quite a page-turner when I started reading it. Now I have to figure out how to find a space for it on the book shelves.

Delicious Japanese Vegetarian delights in Singapore

Everything's vegetarian.

In the efforts to cut down on red meat for health reasons, and after learning that it is more environmentally friendly to go on a vegetarian diet as compared to eating meat, I have been taking more vegetables and reducing on meat intake. This got me to notice that there are comparatively limited selections of interesting treats for the vegetarians in Singapore.

I like the presentation of this hot pot!

Anyway, during one of my walks about Singapore, I came across a Japanese Vegetarian restaurant, named "Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant" in Middle Road. I went there on two separate occasions and found it quite a worthwhile place for folks who would like a treat to thoughtfully prepared Japanese Vegetarian food in Singapore. Yes, everything that is served in this restaurant is vegetarian.

The green tea soba was said to be one of the signature dishes. 

It tasted good even though I personally do not like noodles that are served cold.

The service there is sincere and thoughtful. During one of my visits, I was there to celebrate a friend's birthday with a few other friends, and the waitresses at the restaurant gladly helped us put on candles onto the egg-less cake that we had brought along. They even lent us a lighter to light the candles. The staff were also very prompt to refill our tea pots with water when needed. I appreciate the dignified simplicity in the ambience of the restaurant too.

 If I've got it right, this was the skewer set.

Wonderfully fried mushrooms, egg-plant, lady's fingers, and green chilli. 
I had wanted to order the grilled skewer yet this was a great choice too.

This was complimented with nice-tasting BBQ sauce. 

It's worth a try for folks who are good with deep fried food.

Overall, during my two recent visits to the Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant, I have had a wonderful time catching up with great company and enjoying a healthy and delicious treat to Japanese vegetarian food. The food there looks beautiful too. The average cost per person for a reasonable meal here is about $10 - $20.

The buck wheat noodles. This was also said to be one of the signature dishes. 

I prefer this to the green tea soba. It's purely because I love the taste of buck wheat.

The sashimi set. This scores well for presentation. 

I have to remind myself that everything is vegetarian and not expect this dish to taste like the real sashimi set. 

Great effort for making this beautiful looking sashimi set. 

The serving of wasabi was generous.
The photo is courtesy of Gama W.L..

The avocado (and salmon) maki and the unagi maki stole the show!

I strongly recommend these two dishes for anyone who wants to eat sushi. 

The vegetarian unagi has a texture so close to the real thing and a good taste too. The avocado tasted brilliantly delightful too. Each of these two maki is $12 per set. The photo is courtesy of Gama W.L..

Photo courtesy of Gama W.L..

According to a review, the signature dishes of Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant are the buck-wheat noodles and the green tea soba. I personally think that the unagi tasted good. One of my friends decided to order black pepper pork. I have tried it and I would say that the texture and taste was so close to the real thing that I might have innocently believed it was real pork if not for the fact that I know that all food that are served in the restaurant are vegetarian. My personal favourites were the unagi maki and the avocado maki. They were just so beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.

I would recommend this place for another who would like a treat to Japanese-style food without any meat. Reservation is recommended if you are going there in large groups and if you are visiting during weekends and the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar.


Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant
122 Middle Road, Midlink Plaza, #02-02, S(188973)
Tel: 68831586
Businese hours: 11.30 a.m. - 3 p.m. / 5.30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Nearest MRT station: Bugis

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Other reviews by other authors:
Delectable 'unagi' and 'salmon' sushi at Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant (By Shelia Lim)
Review by hungrygowhere.
Zen Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant Singapore (review by All About Veggie).
Brief review by Open Rice Singapore.

Sydney 2010

My visit to Sydney in Nov 2010 has left me beautiful memories and meaningful lessons. It was a visit that reminded me of the value of gratitude, courage, patience and kindness. There have been very kind and helpful souls who looked out for me, lent their company and support, provided me with the needed guidance and simply brighten my day with their genuine smiles.

There were times when I was lost, and I was found. More importantly, I am thankful that I have had a safe visit to Sydney.

I had visited some very beautiful places in Sydney, and the most memorable ones would be Watsons Bay, Milsons Point, and the Rocks. My visit to Port Stephens also helped me get closer to dolphins and whales. I had the privilege to also treat myself to an inspiring concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

I am very grateful for these treasured experiences and for my friends who have played host to me when I was in Sydney.

Here is to share these precious memories with you with the following compilation of the links to all my related posts on my visit to Sydney, in the year 2010. May you marvel at how life unfolds, like a miracle.

Adventures in Sydney
13 Nov 2010: Arriving in Sydney
14 Nov 2010: A church service and an interesting lunch pack
14 Nov 2010: Bondi and Sculpture by the Sea
14 Nov 2010: Beautiful Watsons Bay
14 Nov 2010: Dinner in the city
15 Nov 2010: From Sydney to Port Stephens
15 Nov 2010: Nelsons Bay and the whale-watching cruise
Delightful breakfast, everyday!
16 Nov 2010: The spontaneous tourist
16 Nov 2010: Once again, the beautiful Watsons Bay
16 Nov 2010: After Watsons Bay
16 Nov 2010: The trees with purple flowers and the Harbour Bridge cross
16 Nov 2010: The peaceful Milsons Point
17 Nov 2010: Mammals in the Australian Reptile Park?
17 Nov 2010: I'm back in Port Stephens
17 Nov 2010: The Four Wheel Drive Tours
17 Nov 2010: The Evening at Darling Harbour
18 Nov 2010: The refreshing Blue Mountains
18 Nov 2010: Going wild at Featherdale Wildlife Park
18 Nov 2010: Cruise along the Parramatta River
18 Nov 2010: The best meal in Sydney
19 Nov 2010: Finding my way to Playfair Street
19 Nov 2010: The Rocks Walking Tour
19 Nov 2010: The afternoon get-away, and back to Watsons Bay
19 Nov 2010: The Sydney Opera House Essential Tour once more
19 Nov 2010: Back to Milsons Point and the evening stroll
19 Nov 2010: The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's concert
20 Nov 2010: My friend's kindness to accomodate
20 Nov 2010: Utzon, Sydney Architecture Walks
20 Nov 2010: The Museum of Sydney
20 Nov 2010: The afternoon of choices made and a missed ferry
20 Nov 2010: The evening at Observatory Park
20 Nov 2010: Milsons Point and the ferry rides at night
21 Nov 2010: The Monorail and the Light Rail
21 Nov 2010: Sydney Fish Market adventures
21 Nov 2010: Darling Harbour and the rest of the day
The mystery of the name of the trees with purple flowers
Sketching and marvelling at Nature's gifts

NUSSO presents Voyage to the Orient

It is my pleasure to invite you to the NUS Symphony Orchestra's concert, Voyage to the Orient, part of NUS Arts Festival 2011, on 13 March 2011, Sunday, 8 p.m. at the University Cultural Centre Hall, NUS.

Under the baton of Maestro Lim Soon Lee, the NUS Symphony Orchestra will be joined by award-winning UK-based Australian piano virtuoso Geoffrey Saba with a programme featuring the Asian premiere of Peter Sculthorpe's Piano Concerto and the world premiere of Raintree For Orchestra, composed by Temasek Junior College Music Elective Programme and YST Conservatory of Music alumnus, Chen Zhangyi.

The concert will round off with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. This symphonic suite is based on stories from The Thousand and One Nights, which is more commonly known in English as the Arabian Nights.

There will also be a pre-concert and post-concert exhibition on Orientalism and the arts, which will explore the theme of our concert programme in greater detail, and will include exhibits on Arabian Nights and Orientalist art. There will be a live gamelan demonstration from 7.30 - 8.00 p.m. and during the intermission.

Tickets are priced at $16 and $19 (not inclusive of booking fee) and may be purchased from SISTIC. There are 15% discount for NUS students and 20% discount on group bookings (more than 20 tickets).

For further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact nusso.contact@gmail.com or visit the event page at http://nusso.org/360/voyage-to-the-orient.

Thank you very much for your support. Yours truly will be performing and I look forward to have the opportunity to play for you as part of the orchestra!

I would appreciate it if you could please also help to spread the word around for this concert. Thank you.

Here's to end this post with a trailer:

Sketching and marvelling at Nature's gifts

I am grateful for the respite and holiday in Sydney last November. It seemed to have a positive effect on my creative output. I had filled up all the pages of an entire sketch book in simply eight days in Sydney when it has taken me years to complete a sketch book in Singapore.

I thank Nature for the wonderful gifts that it has bestowed on us. Its gifts were the inspirations that had beckoned me to sketch. I am thankful for the skills to sketch for with it, I could use it as the good reason to sit down and marvel at Nature's beauty. It was therapeutic to sketch.

Here's a compilation of some of my favourite sketches that I have done in Sydney, and I dedicated them to my friend, RL, and all of you!

This was taken at Watsons Bay.

This sketch reminded me of the peaceful feeling that I get when I visited Watsons Bay.
I thank my accompanying friend for her kind patience with me when I sketched.

This tree at Watsons Bay reminded me of the gift of Life, so steady, so grounded, ever so wise.

I would not be allowed to take photograph inside the Sydney Opera House's Concert Hall.

Yet, the great thing is that there is no guideline against sketching so long as I respect other users of the hall.

This sketch reminded me to pay attention to my intuition.

It also reminded me that it is alright to be lost. 

I have proven that I could find my way back. I have happily survived!

A very quick sketch of Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

I hope the lines speak for themselves?

One of my favourite sketches of the Sydney Opera House.

It reminded me that I love the ferry-rides.

While I think the proportions could have been better, 
I like this sketch nevertheless as it looked nostalgic with Anzac Bridge in the background.

Which of these sketches do you like?

Thanks to Nature for the inspirations!

Dragon Kiln Wood Firing 2011

The Thow Kwang Dragon breathes its fire again!

Read more about the event here: http://thowkwangclayartists.wordpress.com/

This firing will be extra special, as it involves firing the entire length of the kiln for the first time in many years.

Address: Thow Kwang Industry Pte Ltd, 85 Lorong Tawas (off Jalan Bahar).
The nearest MRT station is possibly Boon Lay MRT station.

Thanks to Victor for the information.

I was there last night and I hope to write about my attendance to this yesterday on this space soon enough.

The mystery of the name of the trees with purple flowers

My logs of my visit to Sydney in Nov 2010 has come to a close. It was a journey filled with numerous learning points and a lot of blessings to be grateful for. I am thankful for a safe trip to Sydney. It was admittedly one of my main concerns when I visited Sydney for my physical health has not been in its optimal level at that time of my travel to Sydney.

Here I thank my friends in Sydney who have so graciously been wonderful hosts. Many thanks to the strangers I have met during my journey. They have shown me what it meant to be kind without expecting anything in return, and yet the joy of making a difference in most humble ways.

Now, I felt I still have a few outstanding things left unpublished. Do you remember one of my earlier posts on the trees with purple flowers?

In yet another post, I wrote that I had asked one of the crew members onboard one of the Captain Cook Cruises for the name of this very species of tree and was pleasantly delighted to learn the name of the tree. However, Alas! No thanks to a slip in recollection, I could only remember that the name of the tree starts with "J" and has four syllables.

Did anyone of you manage to do the research to find the name of this species of tree?

I did my research when I was back in Singapore from the Sydney trip. I used Yahoo! Image Search and keyed in the key words "trees with purple flowers Sydney". Then I looked at the images from the results generated against the photographs that I had taken of the trees with purple flowers so as to determine the possible name of the tree.








According to wikipedia, this species of tree "is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America (especially Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is found throughout the Americas and Caribbean, and has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, India, Fiji and parts of Africa".

That could explain why a number of locals in Sydney did not know the name of the tree. I am starting to wonder if the crew member who had given me the name of this species with such great confidence was from South America.

And the name of this tree is the Jacaranda.

Wonderful research skills and/or brilliant knowledge in trees for those of you who have gotten its name right!

21 Nov 2010: Darling Harbour and the rest of the day

21 Nov 2010, Sun:

I headed back to the hotel to check-out after a hearty visit to the Sydney Fish Market. The hotel was very nice to extend my check-out time to 12.30 p.m. Furthermore, the hotel offered free baggage service. I guess simple kind gestures like these matter a lot to a travelling tourist who would appreciate a home away from home.

 
I visited Darling Harbour to enjoy its open spaces. It is a beautiful place worthy of our visit if we are in Sydney, even if I may be biased in my reviews since I love spaces that are open.

Nearby, near the Convention Centre, I saw people enjoying the shades that the trees offered. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The people of Sydney are in many ways blessed.

Nearby, children have had fun at the playground. Fountains provided a cooling relief to the bright spring sun. I was reminded of the innocence that life can offer, if we were to pause for a while to see it.

My friend, RL, who had so generously loaned me her camera took the special effort to travel to town to meet up with me before I catch a flight to Singapore. Together with her fiance, we had lunch at Sydney's Paddy Market. I ended up choosing chicken congee for I simply wanted a lunch that was as light as possible after a delicious treat to calamari rings that I could not finish. I guess my appetite for seafood was pretty small afterall.

After a beautiful lunch, my friend and her fiance were very kind to wait with me at the hotel lobby for the shuttle bus service that was to take me to the airport. It was to come at 2.10 p.m. However, it did not. I tried calling the bus company but no one picked up the phone. I was doing my best to stay collected and balanced as I did not want to risk missing the flight. Thank goodness for the presence of friends and the helpful service of the htoel staff, I eventually dedcied to take one of the cabs to the airport by 2.30 p.m.

On the way to the airport, the taxi-driver and I saw a Qantas plane waiting at the taxi way (runway track). The taxi-driver commented he has never seen something like this before. I reached the airport around 3 p.m. The cab fare took AUS$38.50. Botany Bay is beautiful in its own way.

When I stepped into the airport, I was in a moment of panic when I could not find my flight number on the display panel of departing flights. Having learnt from previous experiences, it was better for me to get myself calm and collected. So I did so and went to speak to one of the airport's volunteers to ask for help. She did not know what had happened so she advised that I head towards the Qantas' desk to ask for help. I learnt that my original flight that was to depart at 17:30 was cancelled. I was transferred to another flight that would depart at 16:55. I felt thankful that I did not insist on waiting for the shuttle bus service. I would have risked being later if I had insisted. I later learnt that the bus met with a traffic accident and while there was a replacement service that came much later, I had left on the cab.

At the airport, I found a shop that sells nougats and got some for my family. Soon enough, I found myself on the plane. I had the pleasure to sit at a window seat next to a couple who was on their way back to London. They would be stopping by my hometown, Singapore, to break their journey. They were very kind to accomodate me whenever I needed to excuse myself to the toilet.

For much of my journey, I read Discover Your Inner Wisdom. I felt blessed that I was able to read and that meant more access to knowledge.

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People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) I am thankful to RL for taking time out with her fiance to meet up with me on a precious Sunday afternoon. She has been a wonderful host during my stay in Sydney. She saved the day too with her most helpful loan of the camera. Many of the photos that you see from this trip are possible thanks to her timely loan.
2) I am thankful to RL and her fiance for waiting with me at the hotel lobby for the transport to the airport, even though they need not have to. Their presence have been most assuring and comforting.
3) I am thankful for the hotel's staff for their kindness and attentive help.
4) Many thanks to the taxi-driver for getting me to the airport safe, sound and on time.
5) Many thanks to the people whom I have met at the airport for attending to me when I realised that my original flight number was not published anywhere on the list of departing flights.

New things that I did:
1) I took a cab to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. That was my first time taking a cab to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.

My learning points:
1) I have learnt to put the skill of getting myself collected and calm to greater mastery. Yes, even during challenging and unforeseen circumstances whereby I was taken aback. Two such episodes in one single day: a missed shuttle bus and a sudden change in flight details.
2) I have learnt through the experience the value of asking for help. At times of challenge, be willing to receive help. Next, communicate, communicate and communicate. Communication involves listening. Learn to have the faith that things will work out somehow, for good reasons.

21 Nov 2010: Sydney Fish Market adventures

21 Nov 2010, Sun:

I did what I have found quite an adventure: to find my way to a new place, and in this case, it was the Sydney Fish Market. Being armed with a map and having great navigation skills still required me to have the courage to walk new paths while taking risks to be lost and then to be found.

Heaven was kind. On my way to the Sydney Fish Market, I was a bit lost. Then, I met a kind lady and her granddaughter. They walked with me for part of my journey. Afterwhich, I embarked on my journey to the Sydney Fish Market on my own. I took a wrong turn and when I realised I was lost again, a kind gentleman gave me clear directions that put me back on the right track to the Sydney Fish Market. As I followed his directions religiously, I realised that I had been so near yet so far from the Sydney Fish Market. One wrong turn can make such a great difference. Nevertheless, thank goodness that along the journey, there are kind souls to guide us back on track. Eventually, we have to learn to walk our own paths on our own.

I felt a sense of relief and joy when I saw clear indications that I had arrived at the Sydney Fish Market. Honestly, I did not know how to appreciate fish. Yet, if there was a guided tour of the Sydney Fish Market that was designed to inspire folks like myself, who know nothing much about fish, to love fish, I would gladly go for it. As I was writing this post, I found out that there was indeed a tour about the Sydney Fish Market! This tour would get visitors a glimpse of the behind-the-scene activities at Sydney Fish Market. If I visit Sydney again, this could be one tour that I would like to embark on.

When I was at Sydney Fish Market, one of the most delightful welcoming gifts that I had received other than treats to lots of fresh food was a good view of the Anzac Bridge. Being offered a good view of Anzac Bridge was something that I had not expected. Almost instinctively, I knew I had to sketch it into my sketch book as a response. Anzac Bridge has a graceful beauty in it against the blue skies and the ships.

While I was working on the sketch, I thought it would be a good idea to buy myself a serving of chocolate milk shake from the nearby ice-cream stall. Then I found myself a seat nearby the ice-cream stall and started sketching. I did not quite capture the graceful nature of the design of Anzac Bridge, yet I hope I had captured some of its essence in my humble sketch.

After the sketch, it was time for an adventure about the Sydney Fish Market. There was plenty of fresh seafood at the Sydney Fish Market. In addition, one can find freshly cooked seafood ready to be eaten being put on sale at the Sydney Fish Market. The Fish Market had a pretty earthly and friendly ambience. I won't mind visiting it again for some deliciously fresh seafood.

It was a bit too early for lunch and I was not hungry. Yet, with so many fresh seafood offerings at the Sydney Fish Market for the tourist in yours truly, I could not resist byt get myself a serving of calamari rings at AUS$9. The calamari rings were tasty and very fresh. I had not eaten such fresh calamari rings at that price when I was in Singapore. Regretably, I had only the appetite to finish half of it. Perhaps I could have asked for just half of the portion.

I later learnt that the Sydney Fish Market is one place to find fresh and cheaper sashimi. Maybe this explained why there are so many people at the Sydney Fish Market feasting on seafood and more seafood. The seafood here is fresh and delicious indeed. This is one place to visit for seafood lovers!

****
People and moments that I am grateful for:
1) I am thankful to the kind lady and her granddaughter for walking with me for part of my journey to the Sydney Fish Market.
2) Thank goodness for the gentleman who offered me directions to the Sydney Fish Market so that I could get back on track to visit the Sydney Fish Market.
3) I am thankful to come across a good view of Anzac Bridge from the Sydney Fish Market by chance.
4) Many thanks to Sydney Fish Market for the wonderful concept in making seafood such a delicious treat!
5) Life is great to me. Even when I have no idea of the path ahead, Life lends its guides and assures that I will be safe.

New things that I did:
1) I visited the Sydney Fish Market for the very first time!
2) I tried calamari rings freshly prepared from the Sydney Fish Market for my first time.
3) I did my first sketch of the Anzac Bridge.

My learning points:

1) Sometimes, we are so near yet so far from our destinations, others can help guide us to get closer to our destinations, even though we may have to walk our journey on our own.

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Sydney Fish Market
http://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au