Australia is AWESOME!
At two months in I was starting to feel a bit of Bali-fatigue, so a trip back to the first world was just what I needed. And, wonder of wonders, my old high-school friend Shantakumar, who is living in Sydney at the moment, was willing to put me up and show me around for a few days. T
he first night I was there, I got to see him play tabla and guitar in a concert of devotional music at his Ashram in western Sydney, which was awesome. Just a little while after i arrived, he had to go to soundcheck and a last-minuit rehearsal, so he dropped me off a few blocks away at the west-sydney Koala Sanctuary. So within an hour of setting foot in Australia, I was hanging out with kangaroos.
they were all super relaxed because on a saturday afternoon, there was no one around, and on the remarkably cold first day of spring, each one had claimed a patch of sunlight, and didn't really want to move. So I literally got within petting distance, and all they did was kind of sniff at me, in a bored kind of way.
then over the weekend he took me around the city, and we went surfing at Manly beach! Despite his best efforts to teach me to "feel the waves" i spent most of the time sideways, underwater, or snorting water out of my nose while trying to crawl back up on my board. I had a ton of fun, but ....lets say my performance wasless than elegant. Can't tell from the photos tho!
One more night on the town with Shan, which included this lovely pic taken by an obliging photographier along the park walk at sunset, and then, all too soon, i headed back to Bali, refreshed, revived, and ready for another round.
Shan, you rock. Thanks for the awesome time! Australia, it was nice meeting you, I hope we can get to know each other better.
At two months in I was starting to feel a bit of Bali-fatigue, so a trip back to the first world was just what I needed. And, wonder of wonders, my old high-school friend Shantakumar, who is living in Sydney at the moment, was willing to put me up and show me around for a few days. T
he first night I was there, I got to see him play tabla and guitar in a concert of devotional music at his Ashram in western Sydney, which was awesome. Just a little while after i arrived, he had to go to soundcheck and a last-minuit rehearsal, so he dropped me off a few blocks away at the west-sydney Koala Sanctuary. So within an hour of setting foot in Australia, I was hanging out with kangaroos.
they were all super relaxed because on a saturday afternoon, there was no one around, and on the remarkably cold first day of spring, each one had claimed a patch of sunlight, and didn't really want to move. So I literally got within petting distance, and all they did was kind of sniff at me, in a bored kind of way.
I then Spent a day just wandering around Sydney on my own, while Shan was in class. It was a breath of fresh air. It's hard to explain, but it felt really familiar. Like some perfect combination of Boston and LA. Boston's downtown and student population, plus LA's beaches and weather. I wandered, enjoyed not sticking out like a sore thumb, and bought myself a pair of pants that actually fit. BY Indonesia standards, I am an XXL. Shopping for pants that only come in skinny-jean style size -2 is highly amusing, but not very effective, and in August, bali is surprisingly chilly. So I ended the trip with some key Items: jeans that fit, a few dozen koala keychains for people a the office, and a decent haircut. SCORE!
Oh, but how could i forget: THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!!! WOOOO!! I went there, and learned about how it was designed, engineered and built. Unfortunately i didn't have time to see a performance, but i did get to learn about the custom-designed tiles that cover the thing! This is an awesome building. And one of the many examples of why working as a structural engineer at ARUP is now officially my dream Job.
One more night on the town with Shan, which included this lovely pic taken by an obliging photographier along the park walk at sunset, and then, all too soon, i headed back to Bali, refreshed, revived, and ready for another round.
Shan, you rock. Thanks for the awesome time! Australia, it was nice meeting you, I hope we can get to know each other better.
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