Phuket

If the flight ban remained, the contingent plan was to do a "wash out" either in Singapore or Thailand. Fortunately, the flight ban from Australia was lowered. Due to the lack of perceived urgency that work needs me back in Hong Kong I figure it would be a good opportunity to do some travel before returning to Sydney and onwards to Hong Kong. First block of annual leave for 2022. First night stayed in a SHA+ hotel, while waiting for negative PCR results, I'm sure this process will all sound so unfamiliar in the future.

Sydney

Back in Sydney after almost two years. It's nice to be back!

Xmas 2017

Third Christmas that I've now been back for. It's insane that I went through a phase where in the past, I had "better things to do" during this time of the year. Although to be fair, the return trip to Sydney was fairly cost prohibitive in my younger years.

This year's Christmas would be a little different. For years, and I mean years. Christmas has always been held in the Southern Sydney Suburb of Blakehurst. This year, however the aunt that usually hosts the Christmas event had serious operation. Fortunately, another aunt picked up the baton and Christmas Eve festivities would take place in Menai. Christmas Eve always has two fundamental rules: Mountains (seriously) of food and the countdown to midnight, followed by unwrapping of presents.

Currently reading: "Radical Acceptance" - Tara Brach

Sydney 2016 (Part 1)

It has been 16 years since we finished high school and it still feels like yesterday we were running around the Canterbury Boys' High School quadrangle. The memories from that period of my life are the most fondness and memorable. Most of the boys have gotten married and started their own families with some of their kids about to embark upon their own high school memories. It's a surreal feeling, it feels like I'm a spectator watching from the side lines. Despite this, there are still a handful that aren't married so when one does decide to tie the knot, it's always a 'drop everything' event.

So with that in mind I headed to Sydney for what would be part 1 of an enjoyable December back home. I flew out of Hong Kong on the Friday night and arrived in home on Saturday morning for a short return. I can't speak more about being at home with family, if there's anything that remains constant it's returning home to Earlwood and having family time. In my eyes, things don't age but I know that each time I go back, there are subtleties that change.

The weekend was relaxing, I slept early on the Saturday evening and rose early to run errands before the wedding. I checked my calendar to confirm the Sunday wedding time, 2 pm. It seemed a little late for a wedding but I took the open morning to head out and pick up a Wedding Card before a family lunch and onward to the ceremony.

Embarrassingly, it turns out that Google Calendar stores the event as the local time of where the event  entry was created. Now, what that means is, when I received the invitation in Hong Kong, and entered the event that was at 11 am, it registered the Wedding at 11 am, Hong Kong Time. Read that carefully. So of course when I head to Sydney, it re-adjusted the event, factoring in a change in timezone and readjusted my calendar to 2 pm Sydney time, or 11 am Hong Kong time. Yes, that's what happened, I flew into Sydney for the wedding and still managed to be 3 hours late. Read that carefully.

I pulled up into the car park 30 minutes early (or 150 mins late, interpret that as you want) at Mosman and it was full, unusual that everybody was on time, but again I still didn't know that I was late. It was only until I found the wedding crowd. They were all standing and had champagne glasses, while listening to the groom give his thank you speech. He saw me walk in from the corner of his eye and made a special mention of my tardiness in his speech. Despite this, given the nature of the high school group, this unfortunate event would probably not surprise anybody. Beautiful afternoon, catching up with friends like we were still running around the grounds of Highschool. Time is fleeting.

Currently Reading: "Superforecasting"

The Reception - Sydney

During the last two-and-a-half years living in Hong Kong I have returned to Sydney a handful of times. Each and every visit has been tied to a wedding. The wedding is the proverbial stone that kills two birds. Bird #1, I attend the wedding of close friends. Bird #2, there's a a high chance that the wedding draws together common friends from Sydney, making it an excellent place to reminisce and of course, catch up.

Sydney trips share the same theme for all people: Catch up with things that you have been deprived of living overseas. For me, this includes fresh air, low humidity, great food, fresh produce, driving and the company of family and friends. Just like there's a standard list of things that have to be seen and done by the Hong Kong visitor: Eat in a Dai Pai Dong, hike the Peak, catch a tram, shop in Causeway Bay and go out in LKF. I have my own Sydney list: Sleep in my old bed, go to the Fish Markets, drive around listening to Mix 106.5, walk around the CBD, eat, attend a wedding and create a new meal decoying as an excuse to meet up with somebody. Anybody fancy a meal between brunch and lunch?

The wedding itself was held on the first weekend of Spring. The weather gods could not have planned a more glorious day, blue skies, wisps of clouds and crisp breeze made for a perfect backdrop to the Wedding. Thankfully, all activities including the Bridal Party games, tea ceremony and reception were all held in the same venue. The wedding was small intimate and included close friends and family of the bride and groom. For the bride and groom, this was far more relaxed compared to the Bali Ceremony. It was more of a formality and neither appeared to be stressed having already declared their love.

Other highlights include Dad's Birthday dinner, sumptuous Japanese dinner with the family, took quite the effort to convince the family to steer away from Hurstville and Chinese Food. Experiencing Lizzie and Viv's new yoga class, excellent teachers, great sequences, oh and of course the massages. Dies. Huge family feast with extended family and finally being afforded the chance to train with Mr AIS.

I really don't visit Sydney enough...

APAC

27th March 2011

The culture shock here is enormous - I actually feel like an outsider here, especially compared to London. First interaction with the locals and I've already had issues with language barrier. Tried to catch a cab from the Airport Express Station to Caine Road, ended up being driven to King Road. Fear, excitement and anxiety - Cannot wait!