In the land down under...

you better take cover...

That song has been in my head for three days. Moving on...So Srin and I are now in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It has been an interesting week thus far. We found rain upon our entrance and rather chilly weather, considering it is their summer. So, the first day was quite uneventful as we walked about the city, including the Harbor and the Rocks. However, the best part of our first day was the couple with whom we are staying. We found Rohini and Prashant on airbnb.com (a backpacker's sort of bed and breakfast), and they have not disappointed. They took us to Newtown to have lunch at Thai Riffic (pun must have been intended), and we spent some time just getting to know each other.

Day 2 found us putzing around until we decided to go to Sydney's Featherdale Wildlife Park to see what essentially was an Australian zoo. We saw some of the coolest animals. And, we got to love all up on a koala bear. She was only 8 months old!





















Awww....



The cute lil girl was precious...



The Kangaroos were copious and docile...



That blue was electric...







This was my favorite part...

The Tasmanian Devil...


Apparently he's an aggressive lil' guy...

Then we stopped by the Sydney Olympic Park. Though, the rings seemed to be missing... I sure hope that Sydney didn't ditch them...





Day 3 was finished with a mix of frustration with mass transportation and appreciation of Sydney history. You see-it is public holidays here until January 3rd. So all of the mass transit are on a weekend schedule. Thus, we spent much of yesterday and today waiting on the bus or train. I keep saying "I guess that's what you have to deal with when traveling." But, all of that was overshadowed by a fab FREE tour of Sydney. Srin found this tour that starts at Town Hall and is hosted by four young new college grads who love their city. We walked around for three hours and were told historical tidbits from a spunky Australian red-head. We saw Town Hall, Queen Victoria Building, Market Street, Hyde Park, Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney's Old Hospital, Martin Place, Australia Square, Circular Quay, the Rocks, Harbor Bridge, and Opera House.

The Town Hall...where we started our tour. It was initially built to be just that-the town hall of the new city of Sydney. Today, it is less than exciting. A mere fancy building kept for history's sake.



Our tour guide, Claire.



In the Queen Victoria Building, there are two clocks. One was put there by the Australian government and at the hour every hour, it chimes and images of Australian history plays in video segments. Pretty cool huh? Well, the Brits thought so, in a way. So, they put this clock above across from the other one. When it chimes, you see videos of the beheading of King James. Yes, you read that right. No, it does not make sense. Yes, that sounds like the Brits.



Normally, I would not take a picture of the Hilton while sightseeing. Though, this is actually interesting. Apparently, the only terrorist attack took place at this hotel (a big summit was happening inside at the time) in the 1970s. The bomb went off near or in the dumpster outside and the policeman and garbagemen were killed. No one has claimed the attack nor been accused of it as of today.



The Sydney Tower is the tallest point and we plan to go to the restaurant on the second from the top floor on Thursday night.




It is point which all mileages are measured for Sydney. So 12km to Sydney means 12km to this clock tower to be precise.



This anchor was placed at the point where the first ship of prisoners made landfall. As you probably know, Australia was initially the land where prisoners were sent by Britain.



The Rocks used to be the "dodgy" part where the convicts ate and drank at pubs (it was considered the cooler area). Today, it has the nightlife too with many pubs and eateries.



As the tour ended...with great photo ops of landmarks...



The view from the port, showing the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. You can climb the arch for the affordable price of $200...



What I thought was a cool pic of the other side of the bridge.



The famous Sydney Opera House...




All in all-Sydney went from initially underwhelming to pretty cool. We cannot wait to see Manly Beach and New Year's over the Opera House.

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A big toothy grin and a Bula!...

That's what you get when you visit Fiji. Here is our missing blog, which I am having to rewrite since it disappeared on me just now. Someone doesn't want me to tell you how much we enjoyed the first stop on our honeymoon. I wish I could remember everything I wrote, but sadly I am not that savvy and am a bit upset about the post. So here is a revised and shortened version consisting of pictures and captions. Enjoy!

You would have thought Srin was seeing a 747 for the first time! He was so thrilled that he even requested upstairs seats on our way to Sydney despite the look of sheer confusion (or was it disdain?) from the gate agent. Apparently no one sits upstairs...

Upon our arrival in Fiji, all we could think was God bless Bhikhu. Look at this resort he hooked us up with! We were living it up in luxury.

This was our pool with a view of the vast ocean blue. It was so worry-free and relaxing! This is how we spent day 2 .




As soon as we arrived, we took a day trip to a nearby island called Beachcomber. We snorkeled, fed fish, and enjoyed the warmth.




I got bitten right as I was getting out of the water. I was sure no one would believe me until I noticed this reaction and had the proof of fresh blood at my wrist.





We met this cool Canadian-Sri Lankan couple while in Fiji. Karthi and Sudha.




On our way to Srin's first scuba dive!





I could not believe how great the water felt. We saw fish and beaten up coral. Srin saw turtles, eels, bandit snake, and Neemos.








We saw a school of dolphins and this was my favorite pic. It was real and spectacular.








On our last night...





My lasting image of Fiji...


Vinaka Fiji! It was a great trip.

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Hinduism's Sistine Chapel...

So we paid about $9 USD for an hour of internet at the resort so we could relieve the worrying minds back home. In the remaining 15 minutes, I posted a blog entry with some of our pics. Of course, I went to upload it on the 15th minute, and well...you don't see a blog do you?

Thus, I found an internet cafe (which by the way was only $0.97/hour by the way) as we strolled through the town of Nadi so I could tell you about the beauty of a Hindu temple Srin and I just visited (pictures to be posted later). This temple was unlike any other temple we have seen-sharp and contrasting colors greeted devotees while the open-aired structure lent itself to the crisp (yet hot) weather. Inside, the ceilings told stories of Hinduism, richly depicting religious respect to God. The one that impacted Srin's memory the most was a painting that showed Mount Kailash in the background with Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Nandi, and so many others in the foreground.

The coolest part was right when we were about to leave, the guy who painted much of the ceiling introduced himself-Santhosh from Kerala. We were so interested in his work that he took us in and showed us around. He comes to Fiji just to paint and then returns home, a job he has had for four years. It seemed he was as interested in us (well, Srin since he is South Indian...) it seemed. My favorite part of the conversation was the story of how Fiji got its Indian population. Apparently, when Fiji was ruled by Britain, there was a need for laborers. The Brits started forcing the Japanese to come and work but to no avail. Next, they tried the Chinese. No joy. Then came the Indians from all over India. Success! Thus, the Indian population that came never returned home, creating what would soon become 40% of the Fijian population.

That's it for now. We are having a great time just relaxing and doing almost nothing! We'll be back in Sydney.


 

Notice the painted ceilings. Hence the Sistine Chapel...



This is the guy who came from India to paint.

Fiji Bound...

Slowly but surely. Of course it has already been eventful in small ways but we finally made it to the airport in DC (many thanks to Doug for a relaxed start to the journey, allowing enough time for a solid breakfast), finished our 5.5 hour flight to LA, and are halfway through a 9 hour layover in the ridiculously sub-par LAX. For instance, Wifi. Seriously-who doesn't have wifi in one of the States' major airports!?!?!? Then, ironically, the weather map showed an entirely clear country except for a lime green splash of color all over California. And by lime green splash, I mean thunderstorms all up in this mug. I thought Cali weather was enviable? Needless to say, we have self-entertained for the last 6 hours in the terminal using our fab gift a la the Clarkes. Teamed up with my brother's gift of noise reducing headphones and movies on the iPad, we have made it to within two hours of the much anticipated start of our three month honeymoon. No real complaints here!

Here's my man using up the last bit of technology before leaving the States.

Next up: Stop number 1. We will be back with a big BULA! from Nadi, Fiji.

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One would think...

that I would be used to this whole moving thing. After all, I seek stability and find mobility. In a moment I thought would be delayed by at least 20 years, I left JSC today. And, I finished the week off with my closest friends. And it wasn't really goodbyes. Everywhere I left friends or colleagues, I left among guffaws of laughter. Tears were minimal and emotions suppressed, and that made me realize just how lucky I am. I try to surround myself with friends who make me a better person-who keep me lighthearted-who are trustworthy. I could not have asked for a better way to exit the Cube of All Cubes. Toni, Cerise, our exotic visitors :), and laughter. Just the way I will always remember C&T and CATO. Gosh. Houston has been a tough return for me. I can't really explain here, but life didn't return as I had left it. Friends who I have known for decade+ remained my friends but just were not the same. Yet, I found myself surrounded by these new people, my three fellow bowlers with whom my previous interactions were minimal. You see-I don't generally make friends with anyone at work-something my sister, Hemben, taught me. Conflicts of interest, if you will. Though, Four Balls was something else. An exception of sorts. From night one, we hit it off. I had not had so much fun since returning to Htown. I knew instantly that I had found the type of personalities that I admired and respected. Then came significant others, food, and the addition of close friends in Brini and Gil. Pot luck nights have never been the same. Dan, Karen, Jats, Pooj, Purav, Adam, and Brini-Thanks for a fantastic night of fun, laughter, food, and joy. Marc and Laurie-thanks for the chat by the fire and the many dinners. Tonight, I leave Houston in peace, knowing that our friendships will grow stronger.

Onward and upward...my husband and I leave for our around the world expedition in T-8 days and counting. Forecast: 100% chance of takeoff.


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The Decision...

D.C.


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My new iPAD toy...

I am typing this post from my new Kensington Keyfolio. The keyboard is likened to one on a net book (which I also recently got) in terms of size. Keys are silicon-based so are super-soft (no screen damage). The only key I am having trouble typing is the letter a. You can use your normal home-row key typing, but not everything follows the usual pattern on this keyboard since it is smaller than your standard keyboard. Example you ask? Only one shift button. Overall though, it totally beats having to post using one finger typing from the native iPAD keyboard. And, the bad boy was only $79.95 on Amazon at least as of last week. Normally it is $100-$150. Oh, and it was super easy to connect as I tried for about 10 seconds without reading anything and voila!-I was posting!

I wish there was a mousepad though. But you can still use your normal finger-mouse-ing. I believe I give it 4/5 stars so far. We'll see in a few days.














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