New Year's Day 2014

We had another very fun day in Sydney.  We spent the entire day on a trip to the Tangora Zoo and just getting there is worth the trip.  The ferry ride is only about 15 minutes but you get great views of Sydney, the High Bridge, and the Opera House.

The Lady Herron ferry that we rode on:

The High Bridge, from which they shot off the main fireworks show last night:

The famous Opera House:

Six lovely ladies on the ferry with the wind in their hair:

The Tangora Zoo is built on a hill over-looking the harbor and in addition to having a wonderful collection of animals in a top-rate facility it also has very nice views of the harbor as you're walking through the zoo.  When we landed on the other side of harbor we took a short bus ride to the upper level entrance so we could work our way downhill through the zoo.

They had a "Koala Encounter" that you had to pay extra for where you were able to get very close to a koala and its baby.  A photographer took pictures of us and we got to take close-up pictures of the koala.  Although the animal is iconic of Australia, its numbers are declining dramatically because of loss of habitat and disease.  One of the biggest disease problems they have is a sexually transmittable disease (which also occurs in humans) called chlamydia which renders the females infertile.  When we were in Noosa we were told that in Queensland they have a law that if a koala has been rendered infertile by chlamydia then they are required by law to euthanize the animal.  I asked a worker why that would make any sense and his response was, "That's Queensland; there are a lot of crazy things they do in Queensland."  Now there are only 3 koalas in all of Noosa National Park and a few years ago there used to be hundreds.  The zookeeper at Tangora said it costs them more to care for the koalas than it does any other animal because they only eat eucalyptus leaves and the zoo has to harvest leaves for them from trees on land the zoo maintains specifically for the koalas.

Here is a picture of a koala and her six month old infant laying on her lap.

Here are some pictures of Hannah and Kaylee at the zoo.

We went to a seal show that was pretty impressive.

Saw a tiger:

And mountain goats:

And giraffes with the Sydney skyline in the background across the harbor.

I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow.   Its supposed to be about 90 degrees, considerably hotter than its been up to now, and we may go to a beach or we may go to an aquarium.

12/30 & 31, 2013

On Monday, a Brisbane, Australia family that my daughter's family became friends with when they visited Disneyland in Hong Kong drove up to spend the day with us on the beach in Noosa and then back at our pool the Outrigger Noosa.  Carol also had fun showing the kids how to do Origami.

Carol volunteers at the Children's Hospital in St. Paul MInnesota visiting children in the hospital who are there for extensive treatment and there is nothing she likes better than playing with a group of kids, especially if most of them are her grandchildren.

This morning, New Year's Eve day, we all flew from Noosa to Sydney.  Everything went very smoothly at both airports and we were able to get an 8 passenger taxi van to take all of us to our hotel in Sydney.  We're staying at the Radisson Hotel near Darling Harbour.  It's not the fanciest hotel but the location is outstanding and we have two 2-bedroom suites for the eight of us.  The two oldest of our granddaughters are bunking with us and the youngest two are staying with Amy and Justin.

This afternoon we walked down to Darling Harbour for lunch and to scout out good places to watch the fireworks tonight.  There are many restaurants down by the harbor and a park for the kids to play.

We went back to the hotel late in the afternoon for a couple of hours to get unpacked and have dinner.  Then we went back to Darling Harbour to watch the fireworks.  There was a massive crowd gathered at Darling Harbor and it is only one of many places for fireworks in Sydney on New Year's Eve.  The Sydney newspaper said this year's fireworks were going to be the largest event they've ever done and they've always been very serious about their fireworks.

The Darling Harbour site was designated as a family-friendly site with no alcohol allowed.  In fact they searched  people's bags for alcohol when you crossed into the harbor park on the footpath.   There are other sites where you are allowed to BYOB and in the past they've gotten very rowdy and sometimes violent so I was glad we were so close to this site.  With that many people crowded together, adding alcohol to the mix is something I'd just as soon skip.

They shot off the fireworks at both nine (for the family friendly sites) and at midnight.  The fireworks were fantastic and we  couldn't have asked for a better spot to watch them.

Tomorrow we're taking a ferry across the harbor to the Sydney zoo.

12-29-2013 Noosa National Park and an Everglades boat tour

On Sunday morning we drove down to Noosa National Park (only a few miles away from where we're staying)  and walked around a path on top of the headlands and then down to a beach.  The weather was very sunny and warm but with the ocean breeze it was comfortable.

Then in the afternoon we went on a boat tour up the Noosa river to an area which they claim is an everglades and the only place in the world which has such an ecosystem besides Florida.  I'm not sure about that claim, however, and it certainly looked different than the Florida everglades.  

I was a little concerned about people getting in the water after re-reading Bill Bryson's "A Sun-burned Country" and his dire warnings about crocodile attacks, but our guide assured us we were too far south for crocodiles and that they are only found in the very northern part of Australia closer to the equator.

On the way back the guide let the kids drive the boat for a little bit and they got a kick out of that.

On Saturday night we had one of the worst meals I have had in years at a place called "Hog's Breath". It turned out that the meal was as unappetizing as the name of the restaurant.  The only thing worse than the meal itself was the service.  However, last night, Sunday, we had one of the best meals I've had in a long time at a restaurant called "Rococo".  I had barbecued octopus for an appetizer and for my main course had suckling pig with cracklings, neither of which I had ever had before.  The food was fantastic and everyone had a good time.

12/28/2013 Amy and the G-Kids Arrive

Amy, Justin and the G-kids arrived on Saturday morning after a 10 hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to Brisbane and then a 90 minute van ride to Noosa.  They were tired but game to hit the beach after a quick clean up and change into swimsuits.

Then it was off to lunch at the Sheraton and swim at their pool.

About mid-afternoon we checked into our place at the Outrigger in Noosa for the next three nights.  Our unit is a 3 story, 4 bedroom townhome with very modern architecture and stunning views from all the bedrooms and living room.  When Amy walked into the living room on the main floor and saw this view she said, "O-M-G!".

The picture really doesn't do it justice.  This is a picture of the master bedroom.

We also have access to two public pools within a block of our unit and a smaller "private" pool (not sure why they call it that) which also has a great view.

We're having a great time!

Making it to Noosa

Our flights from Minneapolis to LAX to Sydney to Sunshine Coast went very well.  They were all on time through Sydney and we we were even able to catch an earlier flight from Sydney to Sunshine Coast so we got to Noosa about 4 hours earlier than we had originally planned.

When we were filling out our customs cards on the plane to Sydney the stewardess announced that Australian Customs is very strict and that you should declare you might be carrying illegal drugs even if you were only bringing in prescription or OTC drugs because some things that are legal in the US are illegal in Australia and vice versa.  For example, Advil is apparently illegal in Australia but aspirin with codeine is legal in Australia but not in the US.  That got us concerned because both my wife and I have several prescriptions and OTC drugs with us.  The stewardess said you would be far better off to check off the box "Yes" that you might be carrying illegal drugs rather than having them find something you hadn't declared.  So although we were cringing when we did it, we checked off the box.  They said that the Aussies were very strict about other items as well so we were also worried that customs might make us unwrap all the Christmas presents we were bringing for the G-Kids.  

When we landed, the lady at the immigration desk saw that we had both checked off the box for possibly illegal drugs and immediately asked us what drugs we were bringing into the country.  But when I told her she smiled, made a mark on our customs form and sent us on our way to pick up our bags.  Right after I picked the bags off the conveyor there was another customs agent standing there who asked for our customs cards, made some marks on them and then sent us off.  I could tell from the expression on his face that he knew we were harmless geezers.  However, the place where he sent us did have us and our bags get sniffed by a very cute little dog before we were on our way.  All in all though, it didn't take us more than 15 minutes to go through both immigration and customs and they never made us open our bags.

After lucking out and getting an earlier flight to Sunshine Coast, the thirty mile drive from there to Noosa was a bit challenging.  I've never driven on the left side of the road before and I really don't like roundabouts and we must have gone through twenty of them getting to Noosa.  Also, my sense of direction is off because the sun is so much higher in the sky here.  Within minutes after leaving the airport we concluded that somehow we'd gone off in the wrong direction and were heading south rather than north.  But we got turned around and made it to Noosa safe and sound, although somewhat frazzled.

This first night Carol and I are staying at the Sheraton Noosa before we move over to the Outrigger where we'll have a 4 bedroom suite that all 8 of us will stay in when the kids join us tomorrow.  Our room at the Sheraton is huge and very modern.  And its very close to the beach:

Our room doesn't look onto the beach but looks out over the river that runs into the ocean:

The G-Kids arrive at 9 tomorrow so we're quite eager to see them.

Off to play with the G-Kids and Kangaroos Down Under

On Christmas Day my wife Carol and I travel to meet our daughter and her family in Australia through January 4. As noted at the outset of this blog, our daughter, son-in-law and our four young granddaughters (ages 2, 5, 7 and 8) have been living in Malaysia since last January when my son-in-law was transferred there for a couple of years for his work.  We were fortunate enough to visit them last spring in Malaysia and they all came back home for about 6 weeks this summer but we haven't seen them for months now and we are very excited about this trip to be with them.

First we fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles (4 hours) and then at 8 p.m. that night we fly from LAX to Sydney (15 hours) arriving at about 7 a.m. local time on December 27.  We lose a day going over the International Dateline on the way there but get a day back on the way home.

After a 5 hour layover in Sydney we fly about a 1000 km north to Sunshine Coast and then rent an 8 passenger vehicle and drive about 35 km (on the wrong side of the road) to Noosa.  Below is a map of the east coast of Australia showing the relationship between Sydney and Noosa.

And this is a map of the Noosa area:

We will arrive in Noosa about mid-afternoon on December 27 and our daughter, son-in-law and the G-kids arrive early on the morning of the 28th so we're hoping to be mostly over our jet lag when they get there.

Noosa is known for its beautiful beaches, lush green hinterland, stunning coastal national park, pristine river and laid-back lifestyle.  The surfing at Noosa Heads is supposed to be excellent.  Here is a picture of one of the beaches and I think our hotel, where all 8 of us are staying in a 4 bedroom suite, is on the hill behind the beach. 

After four days in Noosa we all fly back down to Sydney on December 31st.  Sydney is known for its New Year's Eve celebrations:

Our hotel is about a quarter mile from Darling Harbor so it should be quite an evening.

We stay in Sydney until the night of January 4th when our daughter's family flies back to Malaysia and we return home.  However, on the way home my wife and I are going to stop off on the island of Kauai for three nights before arriving back in Minneapolis on January 8.

I bought a Fuji x100s camera a couple of months ago so that I wouldn't have to lug my heavy Nikon DSLR with all of its lenses with me on this trip.  I've been shooting a lot with the Fuji and it is a remarkably versatile camera with a fantastic lens.  If you're interested, here's a link to the camera review by Zack Arias that sold me on getting the x100s -->  http://zackarias.com/for-photographers/gear-gadgets/fuji-x100s-review-a-camera-walks-into-a-bar/.  I plan on posting lots of pictures as we go and hope you enjoy this blog of our trip Down Under and to Kauai.

Return home and reflections

We flew home on April 6 through Seoul and Tokyo leaving KL at 11 p.m. and arriving in Minneapolis on April 7 at 2 p.m. CDT; about 27 hours travel time. There were no signs of anything out of the ordinary at the Incheon airport despite all the saber-rattling from North Korea.  The flight to Tokyo was more exciting than you would want as we had to land twice; the first time we were about 30 feet off the ground and the plane was wobbling all over the place due to the high winds so the pilot pulled up and circled around for another try which was still quite rough but we made it down.  Some of the passengers were crying but most clapped.
Obviously the trip back was quite long but it was not as tiresome as I thought it was going to be and we adjusted to the jet lag pretty quickly.

Looking back, the trip struck me as a study in contrasts.  There were the obvious differences you would expect when you take an upper middle class couple from an affluent suburb of a moderately sized metropolitan area (about 2 million people) in the upper Midwest and fly them to Kuala Lumpur, a metropolitan area of about 7 million people set in a tropical rain-forest climate 200 miles north of the equator.

From our backyard now:

To my daughter's backyard a week ago.

 Don't worry, ours will look a lot different in another month with leaves on the trees and green grass (if this winter ever ends).

Another difference between the Midwest and Malaysia is the starkness of the contrast between rich and poor.   In the U.S. we have just as great if not greater differences between the rich and poor but it is usually not so readily visible or close at hand as it is in Malaysia.

For example, this is a picture from the balcony of my grand-daughter's bedroom.

Each of these duplexes is valued at around $1 Million U.S.  I don't know the square footage but they are each 3 stories tall and have their own elevator.  Each of them also has a small room off the kitchen for a live-in maid who is typically an OFW (i.e., Overseas Filipino Worker) usually paid about $500/month plus room and board and the Filipina maids send what they can back to their families in the Philippines.  I was told that the maids like working for American Ex-Pats because they are regarded as being generous and friendly and that the least-liked employers are the Chinese who are regarded as being more demanding and tight-fisted.  But this was a survey of one who happened to be an American Ex-Pat so who knows what the truth is. The maids' room are modern and clean but they are small and are not air-conditioned.

But back to the view from my grand-daughter's balcony . . .If you zoom in past the modern million dollar duplexes you see tin roof shacks and shipping containers that people are living in just a stone's throw away.

Note the satellite dish on top of the shipping container shack.

And yet, a couple of miles away are the stunning Petronas towers:

Another striking contrast, at least to me, was the overt issue of race in Malaysia.  Of course, America had a long disgraceful history of racism but it is fortunately no longer sanctioned by law and although there are clearly still some Americans who have racist attitudes, open expression of those views is not socially acceptable.  In Malaysia, racial preferences are de jure; written into law.  The Federal Constitution of Malaysia gives preferences to the Malay ethnic group, often referred to as the Bumiputra (Sons of the Soil), which constitutes about 70% of the population.  The ethnic Malays are guaranteed, as a matter of constitutional law, preferences for admission to government educational institutions, qualification for public scholarships, positions in government, ownership of businesses and a 7% discount in purchases of real estate; all without reference to financial status or need.  

The purported rationale for this law is the economic disparity between the Malays and the ethnic Chinese that developed in colonial times.  When Malaysia was a British colony in the 19th century Chinese were imported to work in and run the tin mines.  Eventually the ethnic Chinese became economically dominant and after Malaysia became independent the ethnic Malay majority established the constitutional preferences for their ethnic group.  The 20% ethnic Chinese population and the roughly 10% ethnic Indian population (who have always been on the lower rung of the economic ladder in Malaysia) are understandably upset about this de jure discrimination by the majority for the majority.  I don't see how that type of legal discrimination can continue without considerable social and political consequences.

Race and skin color is apparently something that is often considered by Malaysians.  On our flight from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur a young Malaysian was sitting next to us and telling us about the country.  I was surprised when the very first thing he said was, "In Malaysia we have three different races.  The lightest in skin color are the Chinese.  The next lightest are the Malays.  The darkest are the Indians.  And that is also the hierarchy in terms of the economic status of the races."  I've also mentioned several times earlier in this blog how odd it struck us that Asian women in both Thailand and in Malaysia would want to touch our grand-daughters and have their pictures taken with them.

I'm grateful that they were so kind to our grand-daughters but I still don't understand what their thinking was.

The last thing I wanted to comment on was the issue of the religions in the country.  The majority of Malaysia is Muslim and I have to confess I felt a little trepidation about that before we went there given the history between the U.S. and  Muslim countries during the last 20 years.  However, that concern turned out not to be an issue at all.  The only time anyone expressed any animosity toward me was when I went to pick up our son at the airport and a 20 year-old guy wearing a T-shirt that said "Jihad is the only solution", aggressively pointed at the message and scowled at me.  But hey, you can find 20 year-old jerks in any country.  Other than that I didn't perceive any hostility at all.

It really is quite remarkable that a Muslim majority country is able to co-exist peaceably, as far as I  could tell, with a minority Hindu population when their tenets and cultures are so different and have, in other parts of the world, resulted in such conflict.  As an example of the stark differences between them, the Muslims are completely monotheistic and believe it is inappropriate to have any images of animals, humans, or God in their mosques. Thus, the architecture and art of the mosques use a number of primary forms: geometric, arabesque, floral, and calligraphic, which are often interwoven.

The Hindu temples on the other hand are a riot of images of animals, devas, supernatural beings and gods.

All in all, Malaysia is a remarkable country with incredible diversity in all aspects of life.  I highly recommend going there if you have the opportunity.