G'day all
you loyal LGE followers! It's been quite some time since my first and only foray into the world of blogging, and I'm glad
to be back in action with a recap of my recent trip down under.
It's been a
hectic six months to say the least, beginning in June when Cassidy and I made
the long trip back to the States to get hitched. Since then, between personal
and business travel, I've been to Phuket, Bangkok, Bali, Hong Kong (thrice!),
New York, Georgia, Kansas City, Connecticut, Mumbai and, most recently, Sydney
and Aukland (off to India again next week...). The miles definitely take a
toll, but the toughest part about the grueling schedule is being away from
Cassidy for sometimes weeks at a time! Despite these negatives, however, I must
admit that I've been incredibly lucky to get to see so much of this part of the
world.
My most
recent business trip to Australia (Sydney) and New Zealand (Auckland) was one
of my most eagerly anticipated jaunts to date. It's also a trip that I can't wait to repeat in a more
leisurely fashion with my wife by my side! Business travel is great in that it
has little impact on my bottom line, and most often I get to travel in relative
style (Singapore Airlines biz class is as ballin' as it gets), but I'm usually
so busy that I barely have time to look around. Lucky for me, my colleague,
Javad, who I was traveling with is pretty much in love with Sydney (he's been
many times) and had never been to Auckland. He was really cool about
encouraging me to get out and about - and even played tourist with me on
Saturday in Auckland before we headed back to SNG.
The above
photo was obviously compulsory. I was lucky enough to stay right up the street
from the Sydney Opera House -- literally a 2 minute walk downhill to the
harbor from the Intercontinental. It sounds a bit funny, but I was
actually rather unimpressed with the building from up close and in broad
daylight...picture a white car that never gets put in the garage...
...what a
different story at night! This photo was taken from the other side of Sydney
Harbor (also known as Port Jackson).
I feel like
you can see the difference in weather (from Singapore) by the color of the sky
in these photos. It was much cooler and less humid than what I've now become
accustomed to - I think you can see the crispness in the air here.
Sydney Harbor Bridge
On my second
night in Sydney I finished meetings in time to enjoy the last couple hours of
sunlight. I took advantage of the free time and caught a ferry out to Manly Beach. The above
were taken from the top deck of the ferry, which departed from Circular Quay
and arrived at Manly Wharf about 30 minutes later.
If you ask
me, it was way too cold for surfing (~65 degrees F), but there were tons of
bros out in the water, even at dusk.
On the other
hand, I needed to find a hole in the wall somewhere to warm my bones...and this
was just the place. It was a great place to enjoy a local brew (or two...and
maybe also a specialty gin drink...) after the sun went down and the weather
turned cold...middle of the day in the summer might require a slightly
different setting, though.
Manly Beach
faces pretty much due east, so the sun was setting behind me over the rest of
the Australian continent.
I'm not much
of a photographer, but I tried my best to capture this moment on the ferry ride
home.
......
Mid-week I
was off to Auckland! I had a couple days of meetings, and managed to push
my Singapore return flight off until late Saturday night (1:00am to be
precise!) in order to have a day to explore the city and surrounding
area.
The most
striking thing about New Zealand, to me, is how lush and green everything is. I
took the above photo on my iPhone as we approached Auckland from the west.
We've descended quite a ways by the time I snap this picture.
So this was
kinda funny. I'm walking along after my first work meeting on Friday
morning...desperately seeking a flat white (which is the only coffee drink to
order down under)...and all of a sudden I hear someone in the street shouting
my name: Duvall!!!!
I turned
around just in time to brace myself for a bear hug from one of my closest
college friends, Chris (DB)! WHAT!?!? Chris and Kate just so happened to be on
the second leg of their honeymoon (which, by the way is a year long trip around
the world --> you can follow the O'Dennys travels here). I was was a groomsman in
their wedding no less than 6 weeks earlier! How crazy. I scurried off to my next meeting and we met later that night for drinks and made
plans for the next day.
Here we are
on the ferry to Waiheke Island on Saturday morning (shouts to my dude - er,
boss - Javad for taking this pic).
Scenes from
the top deck ^
Three people
I never expected to be in the same place at the same time (Kate, DB and Javad)
-- it's such a great thing when worlds collide unexpectedly. I believe that if
one chooses to associate oneself with genuine, honest and interesting people,
mixing circles can be one of the must enriching experiences around!
A 20 minute
hike through a neighborhood of vineyards...
And what a
gem it was. Here's DB looking smug, as usual, with one hell of a horizon behind
him. A person could soak up this view for hours (ahem, out of the way DB...)
and that's just what we did.
To the
right, a chopper that was shuttling folks back and forth from the city to the
vineyard and landing about 50 yards away from where we lounged. Now that is
LUXE.
Spent the
second half of the day with good friends, a bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc and
a nice beach view. That sounds kinda queer but it felt so natural at the time.
(not
pictured: me getting horrifically suburned. Apparently there is an ozone problem down under)
Did I
mention the Rolling Stones were playing in Auckland that night? Apparently
Auckland was the last stop on the Stones' "14 on Fire" tour.
We couldn't pass up the opportunity, and somehow managed to snag some great
tickets at the last minute.
Here's one
of the newlyweds jamming to "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
Just below that, some Kiwi friends that we met outside stadium before the
concert. Apparently these ladies were told they were "too drunk" at
the gate and that they needed to wait 10 minutes to sober up before they were
allowed in (haha). Provided some unexpected but good humored conversation to get the
night warmed up.
Below:
Keef working his magic on the six string.
What a
whirlwind of a trip - full of surprises around every corner! Nothing to do but
roll with the crazy twists and turns that life throws at you.
I boarded an
11 hour flight back to Singapore roughly 2 hours after this last photo was
taken, by then ready to be home to my wife, but at the same time incredibly
thankful for adventure I'd just been taken on.
Until next time,
MRD