Sydney Stories - Week 53

Hello,

This weekend, I broke my tennis racquet strings right when we were in the 3rd game of a doubles set. My spare racquet was unusable - broken strings again. I was given a dummy old one as a substitute, but simply couldn't play with it. My doubles partner then offered is racquet to me while I was returning serve and then switched racquet while he returned serve. He did the same whenever I had to serve. Not that I made a big difference to the scores...but my partner felt maybe a better racquet would help. Poor guy.

Today had the chance to eat in a super duper malay restaurant - Sambal. It was recommended by a Malay client of mine. It definitely did not go wrong. Did a taste test with the basics - Mee goreng, Char kway teaw and nasi goreng. None of them disappointed me, though Uma was not impressed with the Mee. It was a bit far from where we live. I was asking the manager if they had any thoughts of opening a branch closer to where we live. Thoughts are in progress. The restaurant was very unassuming tucked along with another Thai restaurant in North Ryde. The prices were quite affordable too. A unique thing about this was as you enter the restaurant there was a basket of blue crabs set like a prop. I first thought they were dummy and even saw a few kids (NN included) playing with them. Just while we were going out saw the slip "Do not touch" and saw the eyes prodding in one of the crawlers. Oh yes, if I had to order a Chilli Crab dish, I had to order  2 days in advance. Now that was definitely a first!!

Continuing with the malay theme I made Kway teaw at home tonight. It was almost like being bitten by a Malaysian bug. Turned out pretty well except that I ran out of soy sauce and was missing THE ingredient - Sambal. Next time I go to Sambal will get a box of their home made sauce.

Have a great week!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 52

Hello,

So yes, this weekend completes a year in Sydney. Has been a pretty interesting ride so far and I suppose it will continue to be so.

The news from down under as many people have been asking me is flood, flood and more flood. Sydney is so far not being directly impacted by nature's calamity. However we could already see an impact by increase in vegetable and fruit prices. Am sure this will have some long term impact for the next few years. Talking about flood there has been bit of a flooding situation at home for the past few weeks. Every time we turn on the AC, there is one spot in the house where water is leaking due to condensation. It is creating a big nuisance with the carpets being soaked in a 2 feet radius.

It has been a week since the real estate agent knew about this and no action taken yet. Thanks to Aussie efficiency. Last weekend had a bit of an anti-climax with the apartment inspection. The previous inspection was a nightmare when a lady inspected each and every inch of the house with her heightened sense of perfection. This time the guy came around had a very quick look and determined all is OK. All the preparation that we did went unwanted.

Nandha has been walking consistently in the last 2 weeks. This has started causing newer troubles with respect to Nandha-proofing the house. He is quite excited with the new "perspective" he has now on the books and plates and what not is now within his reach. If our eyes are off him for a few minutes he would be in some room setting things "right". 

This weekend went in a jiffy as usual. Saturday went for a bowling party in the afternoon. Scored 95, which I was not disappointed at all - considering that I am bowling after close to 3 years. Later in the evening there was a Pongal party arranged by my neighbour's friends. It seems to be a common practice here to rent out "community halls" for getting together. Definitely seems to be a cheaper option when compared to a hotel and less nuisance than having at one's house.

Have A Great Week!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 51

Hello,

Hope you had a great week.

Week started off on a great note with a trip to Lithgow. A sudden invite from our neighbour if we were interested in a trip to see glowing worms in a tunnel. Didn't think twice since they all had small kids and sure that it should be manageable. What I did not consider though was that there would be a 30 km unpaved road and others had SUVs or bigger vehicles and I had a sedan. The ride upto Lithgow was a beautiful hilly route with a good view of country side Sydney. From Lithgow had to get into a "dirt road" which I thought would be few kms but not 30. Had to hold my breath at a few spots where I was not sure if the tyres will hold up in the mushy clay. Thankfully made it up and down. The trek up to the tunnel was quite easy - easy enough for 4 year olds to walk all the way through. It had a bit of everything in the short 1 km walk to the tunnel - bridge, slightly steep steps, creeks running through etc. The tunnel was cool with basically a bunch of glow worms stuck to the walls. Had a view like watching the stars in the sky with everything else pitch dark (had to carry flash lights). Another unique view was the ferrous trees. There was a stretch where all the trees had green leaves but ferrous orange barks. Photos upload at http://picasaweb.google.com/ncchetty/LithgowJan2011#

The work week was crazy after coming back from almost 3 weeks of non-action. Almost everybody wanted to get things done at the same time. I thought Aussies were supposed to take it easy!!

The week ended on a wonderful note with a good 3 hours of tennis. Finally made it to a tennis club in a suburb called Crestwood about 7 kms from our place. Played about 4 sets of doubles non-stop. Ouch...my shoulders hurt!!  The concept was very similar to the social tennis I used to play in Phoenix. However they had a unique rule that everybody served on only one side of the court. Every 2 games the players switched sides and served continuously without handing over the serve to the opponents. The tennis club is located in a beautiful park. Took Uma and kids later in the day to entice them on areas of interest to them. Nandhitha has now added this to her list of favourite parks. "Now I have 3 parks to play Daddy!!".

So long folks...

Have A Great Week!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 49

Hello,

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

This week as to be expected was quite interesting. The Xmas spirit has been going on for the past few weeks and was reaching its peak this week. There were carols going on at various public spots. So far the only Christmas carol that I have been familiar with was Jingle Bells. This year I have been exposed to a new song - Rudolph  the red nosed reindeer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55j7rLp8iIY. It was played at Nandhitha's school concert and then I keep hearing that everywhere. At work the Christmas cheer was interesting. Not many people were there at work this week. On Friday the day started with champagne, berries and pan cakes. Our client's office was closed post noon. Merry Christmas!! I think one should not waste taking leave during this time. Just enjoy the good time at work.

The weather has been acting really crazy. We were lucky to have sun on Christmas day but so far 2 other days have been washed out by gloomy weather.

This was my first X'mas down under and yes had a fair bit of learning. The only shops that was probably open was the gas station and the mini marts with it. There was absolutely nothing else open. My friends and I planned on a trip to a place called Palm Beach. One of the scenic beaches of Sydney. Apparently the home of some of the rich and famous. The trip started with some adventure where I took a wrong exit on a Toll road. Ended up paying $15 ($5 each way) just to realize that the toll road didn't make much of a difference. We left home packed with a few snack tid bits assuming that there would be some wayside Maccas (Mc'donalds in Oz) or Hungry Jacks (Burger King in Oz). Merry Christmas - none of them were open. When we reached the beach it was a massive picnic spot where everybody had come absolutely prepared for a good barbie (barbeque). After scouring the beach for food the only option we had was a small snack shop. There was nothing they had that we could eat. Our lunch then comprised of different flavours of potato chips (or crisps as they called it), and cornetto ice cream. Kids had no problem with this LUNCH!! 

Spent a good amount of time in the water and in the sand. Nandha did a Krishna by taste testing the sand. Couldn't control him much beyond a point. He had a good time though exploring. Returned back home at around 5 PM. Had an early dinner at Billu's in Harris Park. After dinner went to see Man Madhan Ambu. Sooper duper movie. Incidentally this is a record of sorts. Our first movie in a movie hall down under and I suppose Nandha should mark this as his first movie in a cinema theater. The day ended well thanks to  MMA.

We were supposed to go to a place called Hunter Valley Gardens, thanks to weather and some lack of planning from our end dropped the idea. Hopefully we can catch up before the Christmas lights are taken off.

Traffic in Sydney - a big lesson here during the days after Christmas. Should never venture anywhere near a 3 km radius from a shopping mall. By mistake I thought of entering the mall to get some groceries the day after X'mas. After wasting petrol for about 20 minutes turned around empty handed. While we were driving today  we had to cross the mall area - bad idea. I think the best thing to do for Christmas is to stay put at home or travel to some remote place fully loaded and chill out.

Oki doki...1 more day to go for the holidays. Hopefully it is quiet.

Have A Great Week!!

Wishing you all A Very Happy New Year!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 47

Hi,

Hope you had a good week.

Looks like the maargazhi maasam (month of maargazhi)  music season has hit Sydney as well. There are a bunch of concerts happening in the last few weeks. Just that this is of a different kind - rock and pop. Eagles, U2, what not. One of my clients was mentioning that these days when every other country is watching every penny Aussies have the money to burn. Not sure how much of this is economically true...just an Aussie perspective.

This weekend we had the kids' birthday party at Hungry Jacks (equivalent of Burger King) near our place. It looked like a muhurtham day for b'day parties. There was a party before us and another after us as well. It is a neat concept where there is no worry of cleaning up the mess after the party nor the cost of booking a function hall. Just that the space is a bit limited and could've got cramped if more than 15 kids were in the group. Kids had fun I suppose jumping around. We had a Dora cake for Nandhitha and Spiderman for Nandha. Hungry Jacks was supposed to organize some "activity" for the kids but they decided not to considering the average age group of the kids. After the party couple of my friends came over to our place and we had a poker session at home. 

Today we went to Parramatta Park at around 7 PM. It was quite bright and sunny then. Nandhitha had fun cycling and playing in the park. It was getting darker and suddenly we realized that we were the only ones in the park. While trying to get out the park gates were closed. Then we read the "fine print" that the park closes at 8 PM and we tried coming out at around 8.45. Had to wait for 30 minutes before a park officer could come and open the gate. Luckily they had posted a number we could call if we had "overstayed" and yes, there was a fine as well. The most expensive public park experience so far. A couple of passers by on foot and bicycle stopped by and enquired. A desi gave some suggestions to avoid the fine. A chinese lady suggested that I go reverse (it was a 1-way loop that we had to drive on) on a curvy path for about 2 kms and find an "exit". However we stay put not to make more mistakes and increase the fine. Nandhitha almost lost her hope that we would get back home tonight and I had to prepare for answering her questions on why and what happened. Guess the weekend was wrapped up quite eventfully.

Photos uploaded at - http://picasaweb.google.com/ncchetty/KidsBDay2010#

Have A Great Week!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 48

Hello,

This week officially commences the Silly Season in Australia. Guess the term comes from people drinking silly during this season. At work we were told to come in casuals until the New Year. The only restriction was not to wear shorts, thongs and midriffs. Thongs...aka flip flops aka chappal.

The weather has been acting up really crazy. Today it was in the later 20s in the morning and was woken up to a good rain in the evening. Its all good. Keeps the weather pleasant.

Nandha is slowly experimenting his walking skills from today. Guess we will be soon start burning some calories running behind him. Hopefully we do after all the sweets and treats in the last few weeks.

Today we had a good breakfast in Parramatta called City Extra - a 24 hour cafe. One of a kind I would say for Aussie where nothing is open for 24 hours except for a select few Mcdonalds along a highway. A typical continental / European deal. Had good pancakes and eggs for breakfast after a loooong time. IHOP...miss you much. :-) We also tried a sea food crepe which was definitely worth a try (and worth repeating as well). 

Some more photos uploaded at : http://picasaweb.google.com/ncchetty/MiscDec2010#

Have A Great Week!!

Chetty

Sydney Stories - Week 46

Hello,

I had to go to the post office here recently to collect 2 parcels. One was a package from India and another from here. As expected the names were different on the envelopes. The guy - a Chinese I suppose got confused. He said, "So who are you BTW? You people always mixing up names. Me - was named Fung and will always be a Fung. No confusion.". I sure would've gotten into trouble if I had shown him the multiple identifications I had to prove either way.

Saw Guzaarish this weekend. Didn't realize Hrithik Roshan can act so well. A beautiful love story. I guess the tag line could've been "Do you love someone enough to kill them?"

Made it a long weekend this time to celebrate Nandhitha's b'day. Visited the Helensburgh temple. Got in there right in time for the Uchhi kaala (Noon) pooja and hence had "special" darshan. Had lunch at a convenience store. An interesting business model. You have a grocery story and if some customer feels hungry they can cook the food for you right there. Introduced Crumpets to Uma and Nandhitha. Crumpet is like a pre-cooked pancake with a gingery flavour. It is toasted with a dash of butter and honey. 

Nandhitha's long due visit to the beach was accomplished finally. All these days we visited a beach it was a short trip and just wet our feet. This time the weather cooperated and so was the time available. Had a good 1 hour without being too hot or cold (23 deg C). Nandha was not quite upto it at the beach. Guess he was scared by the sound of the waves.

Oki doki. Have A Great Week (the rest of it)!!

Chetty