William Chong

I started the weekend with a swim in the pool. It’s a shared pool between two apartments (ours and the one next door), but it was beautiful and the water was just right. Did the tourist thing and walked all round the city centre, lots of interesting pics of the various landmarks. Did you know that the roof of the Sydney Opera House is all tiling? You only discover this when you get up close. Very expensive shows in there too, most of them will set you back at least $100 if it’s opera. (I’ll leave the BridgeClimb, which was awesome, for another post.)

Also got to see one of Sydney’s many markets, the Paddington Market. Had to go through major gay and lesbian area to get there though. Very unsettling sight when it suddenly hits you why the tavern on the corner is packed, and there are no females in there, lol.  The market itself was pretty good. Lots of clothing-related stuff, some arts and crafts. Most of them too pricey for my limited budget, but very interesting to look at. If you’re wondering what the second picture above this paragraph shows… well those are decorated cakes. YUM.

(On a side note, some Sydney food places have funny names… try some Chinese food at “Wok On Inn”, or have a nice lunch at “Thai Me Up” restaurant. Not joking.)

The internet I’m borrowing is a wireless connection that’s not the best in Sydney apparently. I met up with a close relative of mine (his name is Gerald) – works as an IT manager setting up major hotel logistics and analysis, very well paid in Sydney. Everything here is more expanded: the salaries, the suburbs, the stress levels, the expenses.

I also managed to attend church – it’s a notable comfort that we can worship God no matter where we are in His earthly domain. The pastor here is also called John, he’s somewhat older (in his 60s), and oversaw a pretty efficient service (we went through 5+1 hymns, a Bible reading and a message about Christians and authorities, in Romans 13:1-7, in just over an hour. (John later told me that the mind can only handle as much as the backside, lol).

John and a couple of people from the congregation went from the church (based in Dundas Valley, west of the main centre) to a food court in Parramatta City Centre where a famous local Malaysian stall was. It’s a pretty good travel tip to go with the local wisdom, and I enjoyed the food so much I brought another pack home for a future meal.

YUM.  (I’m pretty sure I have a wider belly. Mm.. crispy pork belly.)

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Enough about me. I wanna hear how *everyone* is doing. TELL ME.

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