AND OFF THEY GO..

3 and a half weeks they have been here to visit me, my mum and aunt. Yesterday, sent them off to the airport at Coolangatta early in the morning. Mad rush as usual, even though we were early, the queue was pretty long. Baggage exceeded past 2 kg for each of them, as expected, so it was $20 extra. That's AirAsia for you.... they were not going to close one eye if it was 2 kg over the limit. Didn't know why but I was rather emotional. Perhaps because my husband isn't here and seeing mum and aunt go off was like it's just me & Jordie again. Gonna miss the tasty cookouts at home and company. I hugged mum tight for the very first time. She's going for gallstone removal after this trip, so pray that she will be ok after that. Well .. back to normal routine again. .and off Jordie goes to school on the same day.

SOUTH BANK @ BRISBANE

Yup.. gotta be specific..there's another South Bank at Melbourne.. and London of course -- but that's across the sea, ...but it was the Brisbane one that we went to last weekend. It is a must-do for Brisbane sightseeing, so I took my mum and aunt there on Saturday. Driving there would mean miles and miles of getting lost, frustration and parking fees, so I opted to go by train instead.

Taking the Translink there turned out to be a smart option because we got an open ticket which also applied to unlimited bus, ferry and train rides from anywhere within Zone 1 which trailed from Gold Coast up till Brisbane Central station. And since it was a weekend, we had unlimited time within the same day to make as many stops as we liked. The weather was pleasant that day. This was the entrance we saw at the South Brisbane stop. The Eye of Brisbane ferris wheel was there.

When we got there, we hopped on the City Cat which is the ferry that takes you to many stops within Brisbane with the last stop at the University of Queensland. So, we had like a 20 minute ride looking at Brisbane river scenery and landscape.

Jordan chose to sit outside by himself to enjoy the breeze and the view...

South Bank is a fave weekend hangout for tourists and residents here. It has this pretty lane called the Grand Arbour ...

with pink bougainvillea plants twirling & growing round its metallic arch structure which stretches 1km all the way from the South Bank entrance to the little Stevens Road street court centre and weekend markets. So, if you ever do go there, Saturday is a good day coz the markets are on...

Mum was busy shopping for bracelets and rings She ended up with a false jade bracelet for only $5.00.

We had lunch at the riverside Promenade which had many food choices from Asian to Western. Pasta, pizza, kebab wraps and chicken kebab sticks... that's what ended up in our tummies.

After lunch, Jordie dived into Streets Beach, Australia's only beach in the middle of the city. It's a unique, man-made swimming beach shallow and safe for children to wade & swim in with lifeguards on standby. Lots of seagulls were swarming around the water and some ibises too. He had a blast, splashing about. Fun... just to watch him... you wouldn't believe it is winter in Queensland when you see him in the water shirtless.

Unfortunately though, we missed the Aquativity Park which didn't seem to be turned on that day. It is supposed to have interactive water play for kids with fountains and jets. Turns on every 1st half hour just on weekends ...oh well, maybe next time.

Friday Bonfire

It was Bonfire Nite for the youths and Jets (children's fellowship)@ Genesis, so I took Jordie there for some evening fun. I never knew the church had such a big piece of land at the back premises. They had set up a nice and warm bonfire at the backyard and the children had a blast. It was a cold evening so the fire was a nice thing to have. They toasted marshmallows on dry tree twigs

and shared about the bible and their holidays. Jordie found the fire a bit too hot, but I think he enjoyed the bonfire very much, his very first time...

CHINESE TUTORING

Well, Jordie is enjoying the stay of grandma and 2nd grandaunt. He gets lotsa nice food and kaya- his fave bread spread plus free chinese tutoring from grandma 'popo' . So 'popo' will be the one helping with words mummy doesnt know.

LUNCH PICNIC @ BROADBEACH

We went to Broadbeach yesterday for a walk & lunch picnic. That's the beach I'm most familiar with. The day was nice & sunny, not too cold with a pleasant seabreeze blowing. Mum & 2nd aunt had a good stroll along Broadbeach and Jordie did his sandcastles as usual. This time, he wasn't too afraid of the tides and even went in himself..

Well, the two ladies were the only ones clad in winter jacket at the beach, .. there were some who were sunning themselves in bikinis, what a contrast of temperature tolerance levels!

We'd packed some tuna sandwiches, chips, grapes, yogurt and orange juice plus my favourite 'ju hu' (dried cuttlefish) which I bought from Kuantan months ago.

Jordan was only allowed to feed the hungry ibis hovering around us, after we were full. (he was afraid they would starve).. I don't believe in wasting good food on irritating birds.

EPISODE 25: WAS LOST BUT NOW AM FOUND

Had one of the worst scares in my life today. I went shopping with my mum & aunt to the Stockland Shopping Centre at Burleigh Heads. When we were getting ready to go home, I got them to wait for me at the entrance while I took the trolley of shopping goods to load in the car, as I didn't want them to walk too far. When we got home, I realised my handbag was missing!! Conclusion: it must have been left behind on the trolley I was pushing. Yes, I kicked myself about 10 times... my mum & aunt was frantic with concern.

Horrible thoughts flashed thru my mind, about losing not just my documents but my cellphone - which was my main communication tool. I dashed back to Stockland, praying really hard for protection against theft and to my relief, it had been found by the trolley pusher and they had sent it to the management office. PHEEEWW!

When I checked my bag, everything was intact except my cell phone. My heart dropped, oh no, had it been stolen? The lady at the office said she could ring the phone to see if anyone answered it. When she dialled, I could hear my phone ring... it was somewhere in the office. She said, 'oh how did it get there? must have come in separately..' Maybe it was her way of testing if I was the genuine owner. But anyway, I was just so super glad and relieved to have everything back safely in my hands.. God is good, and whoever that kind saint was who pushed the trolley and returned the bag, thank you for your honesty & integrity.

When I got home, they couldn't believe I found my bag with nothing lost. They said if this was in Malaysia, I would never have seen the daylights of my money or my phone again. Someone was watching out for me today...Thank you, God!

THE CARRARA WEEKEND MARKET

Last Saturday, we went to the Carrara weekend market, to have a look at stuff there. Thot it would be nice for my mum & aunt to try some market culture from Gold Coast. They had lots of interesting stuff there. From cowskin,..

art & craft, potteries, plants, clothes, toys, collectibles,...

to didgeridoos (a type of ethnic aborigine pipe) ....

to fresh fruits and vege, they had quite a good variety. There was a chinese man playing his dulcimer as demo for music on DVD's being sold.

One thing you won't find here is live animals being sold like in the "pasar malams" in Malaysia. Australian culture is strictly against peddling animals for sale. They've got some humane law probably to protect their rights. So, one won't find live caged birds, or fish in tanks here or dogs for sale. But, you will find instead, their plastic, porcelain replicas in the form of art & craft, clay potteries and little miniatures.

Unfortunately, the two ladies didn't find anything they like except the fruits and vegetables! Not up to their taste, I guess, these western handicraft stuff. The tie dyes and ethnic cloths, they said, could be bought at a fraction of the cost at Thailand. But the strawberries and grapes, - too good to resist for their price & freshness....

ONE SCREW LOOSE

Nope, this event wasn't about mental illness, but it did have some anxiety involved. This happened some nights ago, when my mum was cooking dinner, I noticed my spatula's screw was missing.

Yikes, could it have gone into the food? My guess was it went into the stir-fried vege and so everyone was alerted to please spit it out in case it ended up in their mouths. Sure enough, we spotted it during dinner, nicely tucked away amidst broccoli & carrots...

That was a close one, ...definitely won't make extra fibre, this loose screw...

Jordan became really busy after dinner trying to screw it back on. Hands off everybody, handiman at work.....

CURRUMBIN WILDLIFE SANCTUARY & HONEY WORLD

My mum and aunt are visiting. Flew in on July 5th and have been enjoying their company. Well, considering being lonely here without my husband, it is nice to have company from Malaysia for a change. So, 2 days ago, took them to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for a visit.

Was wondering if it would be too taxing for the two ladies to walk thru the park but I figured, ..since it was my aunt's 1st visit to Australia, she's just gotta see koala bears and kangaroos rite? After all, these are Australian trademark animals proudly unique to this continent and found nowhere else unless through diplomatic zoo exchanges or blackmarket wildlife smuggling. So, off we trudged to Currumbin.

Managed to get 3 adult tickets for kid's price which is at $21.00 per pax. Usually you pay $44.00 for adults and $26 for kids. How did I do it? Easy, bargain hunting for coupon giveaways. This promotion was even better than the measly 10% offered for online bookings.

The weather was lovely, cool but not too windy. Koala bears were all curled up in a furry ball sleeping, so we didn't get to see their faces, too bad. We walked to see the snake show but missed a good portion of it, but managed to take pixes with the possum. (They had other animals for display as well, you see). Jordan was too chicken to take shots with the snake curled round his shoulder, so he opted for posing with the possum instead..

They also had crocodiles, emus, hedgehogs, pelicans, many other bird species, dingos, wombats, tasmanian devils but a good portion of these animals weren't awake. You'll see the nocturnal ones in action more at night, so get the night tickets for the "wild nite tours", - better I think. But oh well, the day tour was good enuff as an appetizer for visitors. The kangaroo section was stinky and full of kangaroo poo on the ground. They were very docile and gentle animals, allowing you to pet them, but boy does the place stink! Glad it's not summer otherwise, flies would have been swarming around.

After the kangaroos and eagles, the older ladies decided they had enuff for the day, so we took the park's free train back to the entrance. We then crossed the street to see the Honeyworld shop which sells honey products.

You get to sample all types of natural Australian honey.

Never knew there were so many honey types including eucalyptus, rainforest, macadamia, wild, etc. I was told Manuka honey is the best type with natural antioxidants. Honey with popcorn is also super lovely. You can also pay for a honey-making show but we didn't go for that.

WHO GETS TO PLAY WITH ME?

Overheard downstairs, the kids next door are fighting over who gets to play with Jordan. Boys vs girls.. "I'll play with you one more time, alright, alright..." the generous Jordie tells Liam, his friend. Torn between playing with brother or sister. Sister says not fair, you always get to play with Jordan, I never get to... wow, what is this, hot in demand aren't we? Or do we have a group of truly bored kids stuck during the school holidays?