Australia in 10 months!

Hi! How's it goin'? ..Yeah, that's probably how you'd be greeted here anyway. :) 

..It has been ages. Perhaps it's time to write about the experience.. 

and yes, it's my tenth month this week here. 

Almost a year ago, I quit my job in Dubai - one which I actually loved, in the aspiration of succeeding elsewhere, Australia in this case. I was very optimistic of the outcome back then. I've always had this high regard of myself thinking that I could make it all work. I had the future all pictured in my head. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but still I pushed through. 

Nonetheless, nothing really could prepare one to the actual experience. Not having a permanent job in a new country with new culture was harrowinggggg that I still occasionally look back and question my decision. I would tell my friends that - had I known it was going to be this hard, I wouldn't have embarked on this journey. What did they say? ..What would you have said?!

Then again, it was useless for me to dwell on what has been done. I had to accept and adapt to what is here and now. As in the maxim - 'change is the law of life'. Pretty easy to say but takes an awful lot of discipline to make it work ;) but with good support system (family and friends) it can be done (just expect bills piling on.. :p). 

And so, I tried to recall what has happened in what was close to a year! To my surprise, it wasn't all that bad! I can only be thankful  for having been able to endure such difficulty
(which actually amounts to nothing in comparison to many other problems in the world!). 

So, here.. I'm sharing my journey with you :)

The places I've been lucky to see:

Melbourne Central Business District

Perth CBD

Melbourne CBD

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
Anyone can use it and it has free wifi :)

Places of worship
(L-R) St. Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne, St. Mary's Cathedral Perth, Church in Melbourne

Interior of the Cathedrals above

The beauty in nature..

Unlike the clear blue skies of Dubai, clouds seem to frequent the skies of Australia
..that's the walk home (Coy and Lyn's home :)

They have nice parks here. Generous green spaces.
Pictured above is Hyde Park, Perth, WA & Sky High, Melbourne.

Rainbows. Double rainbows sometimes.

(L-R) Perth Street Scene. King's Park. Mounts Bay Road.

Kaili's Fish and Chips, Fremantle WA
Fish and chips (deep fried breaded fish+fries) is big in Australia.
Fremantle is such a good place to witness sunset.
It's nice to see the colour of the sky reflect on water.

Places, things and activities I was happy to take part of..

Dolphin Quay, Mandurah, WA

Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.
In the middle photo is the famous Ms. Marples, renowned for their waffles and scones.
A lot of specialty shops here.

Inside one of the shops in Dandenong Ranges.
That's Faith, having a hard time picking her kind of tea!

Perth CBD, Forrest Place. Middle picture - London Court, Perth
No plans for Fridays? Not to worry, there's food fair at Forrest Place!

Cottesloe Beach
Sculptures by the Sea 2014 Event

Cottesloe Beach
Sculptures by the Sea 2014 Event

Transportation.
L-R. Tram in Melbourne, Train Station in Melbourne, Train Station in Perth

That's my long walk from bus station to the office - left.
 Perth Metro-mid. Right - At the bus stop, it was raining when I was waiting for my bus, not really ideal place for waiting. It was very very cold.

What's uniquely Australian?

A lot of plant species in King's Park, Perth WA 

Woolies! Fresh produce.

Buskers. Cycling is big here. They have Jamie's!
Not that Jamie is Aussie. It's just that people here like it I guess. It's always fully booked.

Asian food is good. Government (partly) funded outdoor theatre performances. Freshly picked cherries and berries.
Walking and cycling lanes. Bikes shops. People jog a LOT.

Celebrity chefs are a hit. That's Colin smiling right at yah! Lucky you!
Cooking, almost all the ingredients are available.
Barbie (they tend to shorten words and end it with "-ie". Barbecue ~ barbie. Lollipop ~ lollies. Traders ~ tradies)

The food I've learned to cook out of Sullaga's, Timtiman's, & Oreiro's pantry.

Pinoy Macaroons. Chocolate Cake. Cheese bar.
Butterscotch. Red velvet. Crinkles.

Brownies. Ube cake na medyo blue lols >>> Bluebe cake. Kamote.
Cassava cake. Red velvet.  All time favorite, French toast.

Sweet and sour fish. Red curry. Chicken bbq.
Pansit. Guisadong gulay. Spaghetti + pork + corn +edamame (soybeans)

Kamote, brown butter, crayfish.
Yes, brown butter is important. lol. It is actually hit or miss. So I'm pretty happy I got it.

The stuff I had to learn, 

painfully. lol. 

Most houses are timber.

Precast and prefabricated materials are very common here. 

Hence, engineering opportunities are limited in a way.

Middle - Waffle Slab Construction.
I've been phone interviewed about it but unfortunately, I had no experience on waffle slabs :(

The industry I'm currently in.

Some happy thoughts. 

Gonna see you baby soon! 

Min's doing well in school and I'm very proud.

Reminders of good friends from afar.

Beauty of God's blessings.

This is me. Irrelevant of anything in the post! I want to get glasses soon but can't afford.

Business Bay Station, Dubai Metro

Red Line Metro Station No.26: Business Bay, Dubai, UAE
Buildings behind the station (left to right): 
One Business Bay, The Prism, The Regal Tower, Iris Bay Dubai (partly covered)

Facts:
Line: Red
Zone: 3
Station type: Elevated Type 1, at grade concourse
Parking: small car park
Attractions: Business Bay

Bus connections:
F16 (not in service) – Jumeirah 2 / Burj Dubai station
F18 (not in service) – Jumeirah 2, 3
F20 (not in service) – Al Safa 1

Source: http://dubaimetro.eu/stations/red-line/business-bay

Red Line Metro Station No.26: Business Bay, Dubai, UAE

One of the buildings directly behind (almost black in color) the station in the above photo is One Business Bay. 

One Business Bay is a 35-storey skyscraper at the northern (at Sheikh Zayed Road) entrance of Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed by German architects Kling Consult GmbH, the tower will have 3 basement floors and a five floor podium with 1000 car park spaces. The developer is Omniyat.

Each floor will be larger than the previous. It will have 774 m² on its 1st floor and 1,420 m² on its 30th floor, while three of its upper floors remarkably extend out of the building. There will be a glass feature on top with a sloping roof. On the roof of the podium a garden will be located including trees and paving.

The building will have freehold offices and high-tech infrastructure and robotics.It was completed in Q3 2009.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Business_Bay

Business Bay Metro Station with 
JW Marriott Marquis 
(the two towers with spires on top) on the right

The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Hotel is the world's tallest hotel, a 72-storey, 355 m (1,165 ft) twin-tower skyscraper complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The AED1.8 billion features a 1,608-room hotel run by Marriott International. 

The buildings were completed in 2012, surpassing the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana as the world's tallest hotel. 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JW_Marriott_Marquis_Dubai

Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi

Summer is Dubai. Truly, it is. However, since we have been in Dubai all these time, we have decided to spend last weekend at Yas Waterworld, Abu Dhabi! I wasn't part of the 'we' really. It was my friend Dhors who initiated and planned everything. Thankfully, I was invited along with ten others! 

Yas Waterworld is situated in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi - about an hour and a half from Dubai.. quite far for me since I don't usually go for long trips as travelling wears me out easily (~lazy really) but when the invitation came, I decided to go. After all, a little going out of the way would be nice occasionally. In the end, I was (still am) very glad I went!

Basic Info:

Entrance Fee: 225Aed (regular price)

Locker, medium: 55  Aed (can fit approx. 3 normal size bags)

Locker, small: 30~35 Aed

Towel rental: 30-35 Aed

1 bottle of water: 10Aed 

Meal: 45 Aed (Shawarma which comes in 2 wraps, large cola and fries)

Photo from rides: 50 Aed

(We only noticed one drinking fountain in the resort and I'm not sure if there's more)

Note: Photos from dhors, bhengs, mhengs unless noted otherwise.

Special thanks to Ruby and ate Wengs for the ocular inspection. :p 

for without them, this wouldn't be possible!!!!

A company of eleven. One behind the camera!

"Yas Waterworld is a waterpark and amusement park located at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE near Abu Dhabi City. It opened in January 2013. With 43 rides, slides and attractions. Yas Waterworld was officially opened to the public on the 20th of January 2013. The current park which currently sits on an are of 15 hectares is just phase one of the project.General Manager of the Park Mike Oswald said that plans for phase two of the project are said to be developed over an area of two hectares in the coming year.The park is said to fit up to 6,000 people at a time. Yas Waterworld is owned and operated by the same owners and operators of Ferrari World, Aldar Properties and Farah Leisure Parks Management."

Happy to be at Yas Waterworld!

"Yas Waterworld is just one of many entertainment outlets present at Yas Island, but it is said to be the biggest project to yet be executed. It is expected to be very successful and rival the success of Dubai's Atlantis, The Palm, and Wild Wadi water parks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yas_Waterworld 

So, what's in Yas Waterworld? Water. Rides. Fun.

Here's a photo of the artificial beach with waves they have inside. Nice isn't it? I'd be safer here considering that I can't swim! The water by the way (we think) is salt water. Yes, we've gulped quite a few litres from shouting and found the water salty! ..Don't overthink. :p

Inside Yas Waterpark; Amwaj Wavepool & Beach complete with parasols and lounge chairs and even cabanas. Those yellow and red cabanas on the right are actually for rent. Yeah? What's that ball? The complete name of the theme park's: Yas Waterworld, The Legend of the Lost Pearl. Got it?

Walk inside the park showing the gigantic bucket of water
that overturns when full at Marah Fortress.
Kids and adults alike will surely enjoy the thrill of water gushing out of that bucket.
Simple pleasures really. 

Bandit Bomber's Seat
http://www.blooloop.com/news/vekoma-s-interactive-suspended-coaster-at-yas-wate/3260#.Uh2zwtJgdFg

The epitome of amusement parks - roller coasters!
In Yas Waterworld such ride is called the Bandit Bombers and it's aptly called so as it is equipped with water bombs and guns to spray over people on the ground.
Mind you, that's not unfair.
People on the ground also have access to water sprays from the ground for fighting back!

Below is us from the ride. If you notice, the seat is without the usual lock that securely fastens your upper body. Instead, its seats are so deep - enough to provide the rider's stability with seat belt. Furthermore, the seats remain upright the whole time so there's really no need for the usual locks.
If you ever feel scared, just shout it out! 

That's us on the left.
It's a four-seater ride and four of us were supposed to fill it however,
....one of my friends changed her mind the last minute!
And we never knew until we the ride was over! 
At the end of the ride you'll be shown 3 shots from the ride.
You can, of course, not take the photos.
Photo on the right courtesy of themeparkreview.com

Then here's the Slither Slides.
The yellow tubes are used for the slides.
You can choose to do it alone or by two's. 
It's a nice way to start the fun! We arrived at the park at around 10am and started with it.
There was almost no queue for the slides that time. 
Then we passed by it an hour or two later and found the queue to be long.  

Slither's Slides. Photo courtesy of Yas Waterworld
You start from the top and end up at the snakes' mouths!
It begins with a covered tube then open tube and end in covered tube once again.
It was dark inside though there's this one video in youtube which showed the slides as lighted inside.
We're not quite sure how was that. 

Sebag - race through sliding on those blue mats. It's an individual ride.
What actually scares me is the first part. You stand in front of your respective holes and there's a light on top of each, signalling ready, get set, go! The blinking of the yellow, red and finally green lights definitely adds pressure on the already scared rider.. plus the fact that if you don't dive in, you'd be the only one left standing there. Here's a video of how it happens..

Al Raha River (Lazy River)

After scaring yourselves with the other rides, you may want some time to relax a bit.

Just float around the lazy river! Tubes come in single and for two.

Yas Waterworld Slides: Hamlool's Humps (blue), Jebel Drop (green)
Photo courtesy of Yas Waterworld

Still have enough courage? Then try the long slides!
The Humps is actually similar to that of Wild Wadi's old Jumeirah Sceirah slide.
Only, I think the Humps is wider and longer. 
Which one is more scary? I'd have to say that of Wild Wadi's old slide.
Why? It's because the slide was narrower and when you lie down, the slide's wall is just barely a little over your nose's level so you can clearly see the highway on your right and the waterpark on your left. Furthermore, I think it's a bit steeper that at some point in the slide, you'd lose contact with it - free fall bit.
Perhaps, I was just more afraid of free fall?

You prefer free fall? Then try Yas' Jebel Drop!
Tell me more after as I haven't tried that!
I was willing to try it, only the queue was considerably long.
There's one line for Humps and Drop but 
we were supposed to try only the Humps or atleast the Humps first.

After the slide at Hamlool's Humps Yas Waterworld.
Ecstatic that we tried it!

Liwa Loop
Photo on above from Yas Waterworld Youtube vid.

Never miss Liwa Loop!
It's equally thrilling as the Humps!
Set aside your fears, it's a quick one! I'd like to say again 'just shout it out'.
However, before you even begin to summon your vocal chords to shout, it's already over!
Or, am I just the one who's late to react?!

How does it work?
You stand in a capsule as above then by the count of 3,
the slippery floor opens up allowing you to free fall then slide at a tube that's looped as in the photo below. The water in the tube plus your sun block (yes, it helps) allows you to slide easily through the loop! Preferably, try it with two piece or atleast, board shorts to ensure that you won't be stuck inside!

Yes, there were those who were stuck. No worries though, if you're stuck, you'd be found at the lowest point of the loop where there's an opening so you can be retrieved 
(excuse me for the word but it seems like it's that case!).

Liwa Loop
Photo on the left from thenational.ae;
me on the right at the end of the loop  - from bheng's/mheng's cam.

Then here's us, at the queue for Dawamma and Falcon ride.

Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of us during the ride itself.

Both rides are for a group of 4-6. Falcon was like a big roller coaster on water!

This was the part when we gulped the most water!

There are several rides/attractions which we haven't tried such as surfing 

but we're already very much happy and contented with what we have experienced!

Surely, it's well worth the visit!

Bring along friends whom you are most comfortable with,

that's the icing on the cake! Or the other way around!

To end this post, here's a video: