Canberra - The Capital City

What a way to start my call. Collapse of one patient before 5pm, followed by another young patient from Oncology. Am I jinxed or what?

Anyway, I ended my trip back in Sydney, where I immediately signed up for a day tour to Canberra, Australia's capital. Apparently the reason why Canberra was designated as the capital and not Sydney or Melbourne was basically because of the fact that the two bigger cities could not reach a compromise. Hence we noted the innate tension between these two cities, subtlely demonstrated by the presence of the two respective commonwealth banks situated on two sides of the roads separated by a divider, and commentaries by the driver of how the two cities are growing competitively in population, supplemented by the influxof more immigrants into each city. I was surprised to hear that though, as I've heard that immigration is much trickier now and the laws have also been stricter recently.

Back to Canberra......it has a small residential population, is mainly a political capital, unlike Sydney which is the cultural and financial hub. Locals do not favour living in th city itself as the lands are all leased out by the government, and hence the cluster of residents at the outskirts where the properties are all freehold. What we would expect from the city are Parliament buildings, with the Parliament House being the star attraction, followed by the High Court Building, National War Memorial (again!), the Australian National Museum, the different high commissions.....all of which are built in an octagonal fashion ( ie if we look down from the sky, we see a circular body with spreading legs, like a spider, if you can imagine). There were gardens too in Canberra which were unfortunately not the highlight of the trip, to my great disappointment. I must say the Aussies do have an immense pride of their museums and war memorials, these being the main bulk of my trip for the day. It did not help that I had an 80 year-old ex-professor of Microbiology as my tour guide for the day at these places. His deep interest in the politics and lives of the ministers who had helped shaped the country's progress impressed me though. The trip ended memorably with the most chilly weather I had experienced during the whole of two weeks, with temperature dipping to a low zero degree by the evening. The warmth of the lasagna and hot marshmellow chocalate saved me from further hypothermia.

On a lighter note, I went to the famous Manly beach via ferry before my departure the next day. Real cool.......it is highly recommended that anyone who drops by Sydney should make a trip there. It was full of vibrance and life, and the waters were simply inviting. Surfers galore despite the chilly winds blowing, and beach-lovers laze around on the white sands in light clothings. I could imagine how summer would turn out to be.

" If you never leave the old shores, you would never find new oceans"
Singapore is a cocoon for me, with the rest of the world as an oyster. I hope to find my rightful pearl one day.

More of Melbourne

Gosh, the N95 mask is really suffocating. I miss the fresh cool air in Australia. Today's my first day back to work, but the memories in melbourne stay fresh and clear, so please don't delete this mail as yet, won't you?

After my trip to the Great Ocean Road, I decided to take a short break from any long coach rides and continue my garden trips in the city of Melbourne. They were breathtaking.....the flowers, trees, monuments, lakes.......I could never have enough of them. I strolled down to the magnificent Shrine of Remembrance, which was built in the early 1900s to commemorate those who had served in army and fought in wars gallantly. It was a pleasant sight from the balcony of the building as we overlooked the stretch of Melbourne city from above. I noticed the trend of numerous war memorials being constructed in australia and the great emphasis they placed on these commemorations, having annual Anzac Days and Remembrance Days etc. Their interest is indeed commendable.

The second highlight of the trip would have to be the journey to the Phillips island. Not so much for the penguin parade, which was lacklustre otherwise, having to squint my eyes in the dim to witness small little penguins swimming up the shore from afar. But I met an "international alliance" while travelling and got to learn a bit about other cultures. Amongst them: Christian from Italy, Nibuhiro Matsuda from Japan, and Li Xin Rebecca from Tianjin China. We cliched almost instantly and stayed together throughout the trip. In particular, I happened to sit next to Christian in the coach, and he happened to be a fresh medical school graduate. Like me, he had been travelling at least twice a year, was planning to do family medicine and follow his dad's footstep, and he loved Australia, just like me! I'm sorry if I sound like I'm gushing, but he really charmed me off my feet, with his deep-seated eyes and well-mannered ettiquette. Hey, I did Singapore proud at least, being the most well-versed in the English language amonst them. They were certainly very impressed (especially Christian ). Life's truly worth living.......

My days in Melbourne eventually ended with a brief morning at Queen Victoria Market, which was a better version of Paddy's market I think, and the Crown Casino. But hey, no gambling for me!

Beautiful memories.....I'm still smiling right now......are you guys having chills and rigors now?

Melbourne - The City of Romance

I'm back from Australia! Yeah, Sydney again despite spending two weeks there last year during this time. But the highlight of this trip has got to be Melbourne! I simply love that place! Some of you may have been there longer than I did and find it boring, but for a nature and garden lover like me, it was insatieable.

I arrived on a sunny Tuesday morning after an early morning flight from Sydney, and was immediately on my feet roaming the city. Staying in a budget hotel at the corner of the city was a good choice, as it was superbly convenient and well-equipped, hence good value for money. Walking to the hub of the city with all the shopping malls and bustling activities was a breeze, but I decided to save all the shopping for the last, not wanting to waste the precious good weather staying indoors. Melbourne is full of gardens, there's no doubt about it. Situated in every corner and direction of the city brink is grass and greenery. For me, that was a dream come true. I wasted no time strolling through all of them, right from Fitzroy to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Along the way, we passed the Paliament House, buildings with great European structures and its grandeur, the museums, art galleries, Federation Square, Yarra river.....it's a pity sun sets at 5pm during winter here. The temperature was perfect, sunny with timely breezes. Two layers of clothes would have suffice.

The Great Ocean Road is a must for all travelling to Melbourne. I was told to drive there but decided against it, as everyone's aware that I have completely no sense of directions; I get lost even in Singapore! The long meandering roads were vestibular-challenging, but all was worth it when we reached the Twelve Apostles (stone monliths) and the Loch Ard Gorge. Basically they were all rock formations, which were awesome. But the thrill lied with the challenge of taking great pictures while battling with the strong ocean winds and occasional drizzle. I remember distinctly being nearly swept off the ground by the merciless winds while trying to capture the remains of the "London Bridge" but emerged triumphant with the end product desired. That really made my day.

More to come with my city ventures and the famous penguin parade at the phillips island. Hope you are not studying your inner eyelids now.