Miss Traveler » postcards 2009 http://misstraveler.com Postcards from a curious soul Thu, 09 Jan 2014 15:51:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.22 summer sydney video link http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-sydney-video-link/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-sydney-video-link/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:30:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=78
It’s been a fun few days, brought around a visiting friend in Sydney.
Best to view to the video before youtube takes off the music. My fault really…I didn’t have any good ideas for songs so used a very popular one. Would like to do more vids, as I have a few more stops coming up in the next few months. Also it’s a video diary for myself, for when I age disgracefully (not a typo). I have photos and stuff that are scattered all over globe from the past few years but nothing beats the memories in your head..however the vids and pics definitely help me remember them!
Hope you enjoy.
x
Shi

]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-sydney-video-link/feed/ 0 summer crowds http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-crowds/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-crowds/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=77 Something very odd happened the moment the calender went into december. My quiet little rock pool and beach became flooded with people talking about the american football game, spanish speaking retirees who wanted to take pics in various We-are-still-so-much-in-love poses (awwwww), chinese who brought chopsticks to the beach to eat whatever they could find in the rock pool (??), golden scandinavians, drunk burnt brits in badly matching summer clothing, westies in mullets and football shorts and white australians who wanted to speak to me like this: “so..jump..here?”
Why, thank you, my english is perfectly fine. How’s yours?
Welcome to another aussie summer!
Can’t really complain though. Tis good to share with others, good karma and all that.
Heading up to the Gold Coast for xmas & new year… bring on the bogans! I mean..errr… the beach. And surf. And even crazier crowds.. haha…
Merry christmas,
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/summer-crowds/feed/ 0 60 days of summer http://misstraveler.com/postcards/60-days-of-summer/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/60-days-of-summer/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=76
Hmm. Summer. I think all this sunshine, beach, warm weather and walking around in shorts has killed my ability to elucidate my thoughts in written form. So here goes. Sunny. Nice. Beach. Snorkel. Fish. Swim. Jump. Happy. Sculpture by the Sea (again). Tired.
More here.
x
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/60-days-of-summer/feed/ 0 between a fort, a shark and a t-rex http://misstraveler.com/postcards/between-a-fort-a-shark-and-a-t-rex/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/between-a-fort-a-shark-and-a-t-rex/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:00:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=75 Island hopping is something I like to do in when in tropical Malaysia, Thailand, Greece or Croatia, but Sydney? Yes, Sydney Harbour has islands. Sydney Harbour also has scuba diving and sharks but that’s a different story.
Last weekend I hopped on a fast boat and went around to 4 tiny islands: Fort Denison, Clark Island, Shark Island and Garden Island. Fort Denison also used to be known as Pinchgut Island as convicts were left on the island without food for 1 week as punishment and when a fort was built there in the 19th century, construction took so long to build that the cannons went obsolete when it was finally finished. The island hopping was actually part of Crave Sydney, a month long festival, so there were performers on the other islands.
Shark Island is called that for it’s shape, but it used to be a quarantine island for animals entering australia. This time they had puppeteers with dinosaurs and mystical creatures, including men in t-rex and stegasaurus costumes – good fun. No, barney the dinosaur was nowhere in sight. Also it’s a gorgeous place for having a picnic, sydney weather was in fine form that day after weeks of rain and wind, sydney dazzles when the sun is out :)
On Clark Island they had Aboriginal cultural performances (dances, didgeridoo etc), art and some talks/demonstrations about how they used the plants and coastal tides. I really enjoyed it, it was a good insight into how they really lived in harmony with nature. The sad reality is that within 3 years of the european settlers arriving in sydney, an entire aboriginal tribe in the harbour were wiped out by the european disease, smallpox. Disease would wipe out 50% of the aboriginals in australia and their babies taken away (the stolen generation) by the australian government to “civilize” them..or to breed them out. No wonder most aboriginals hate white people so much.
But of course they didn’t mention this on that day but had activities for the kids and we all enjoyed the sun and the beautiful harbour. Last stop was the naval museum that had 1 of the 3 Japanese mini-subs that snuck into the harbour during WW3, got stuck in the nets and torpedoed the wrong boat. 1 sub got lost heading towards Narabeen beach instead of Bondi Beach and the japanese crew committed harakiri (suicide) when found.
All in all, It was a good day out, I really enjoyed it :) Hope you like the pics, fingers crossed that summer comes soon, the weather has been horrible lately. Well..horrible for sydney anyway ;)
x
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/between-a-fort-a-shark-and-a-t-rex/feed/ 0 hunter valley http://misstraveler.com/postcards/hunter-valley/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/hunter-valley/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=74 Hooray! Australia’s population just tipped 22 million people! With an Australian land mass of 7,692,030 km², a majority of people live by the sea, me included – I live about 20 minutes walk from the beach (yay!) However the oldies came to visit, so we all headed up to hunter valley, australia’s wine regions since the 1820s. Guess who got to be designated driver…yeah, that’s right…me. 3 backseat drivers and many hours later, I really needed a stiff drink but couldn’t have one because I was driving. Sigh. I love my family, I love my family, I love my family (repeat 1000 times)
It was a nice weekend trip anyway. The Hunter Valley Gardens were a highlight for me, especially the “floating” japanese pavillion and the sakura were flowering. So beautiful.
Enjoy the pics,
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/hunter-valley/feed/ 0 ciao and aloha london http://misstraveler.com/postcards/ciao-and-aloha-london/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/ciao-and-aloha-london/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:30:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=73 Time seemed to pass way too quickly while I was in London, I was sort of dashing in and out of london going to different european cities but I finally got some down time in London – and then spent a week with some ladies from the UK and all over the world “sight seeing” around London. Well.. my kind of “sight-seeing” anyway :p Very tiring fun, couldn’t really lower myself onto a chair, sort of just collapsing in a soft jelly. Heh. Good fun.
London in the summer is great fun, with lots of festivals going on, I was trying to be more relaxed on this trip but in looking at the pics I really did have a good time. Carnivale Pueblo is touted as the biggest latin american festival in europe, but in true summer style, we missed the parade, slept, ate and drank through the performances and just lay in the sunshine. Kyoto Garden was very beautiful, I was rained on for a bit but without the people it only made became more serene. It kept on raining that day and eventually I got to the Royal Albert Hall so I ducked in for the BBC Proms :) And I revisted my childhood at the V&A Museum of Childhood, which has all sorts of toys from all centuries including a great selection of toys from the 1980s – Carebears, He Man, Ninja Turtles. Kind of funny seeing my old toys (that mum has already given to charity) put into glass boxes, and also some great illustrations by Quentin Blake for Road Dahl..remember him? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, Monkey, Pelly and Me? Ahhhh…
The more you get to know about a place, the more facets you can discover, but London is one city that is definitely diverse in all senses. It was great to meet up with everyone..almost everyone! I missed out quite a few people…sorry – my bad. But I do love a global rendezvous – pick a city and I’ll meet you there! :D I met up with one friend from sydney who’s living in singapore for 2 hours in milan! Was awesome, I love how small this world is..
x
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/ciao-and-aloha-london/feed/ 0 play me I’m yours http://misstraveler.com/postcards/play-me-im-yours/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/play-me-im-yours/#comments Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=72 Perhaps one thing remains constant in London in the midst of change – the horrible weather. It’s what London’s known for, which is why the first thing people start a conversation with is “Lovely weather we’re having”, assuming that the sun came out for that 30 seconds. But horrible weather aside, you will never see a cloudy day in these photos and all photos will be filled with sunshine :)
A friend made a spot-on observation about me “you like wanky stuff” – and indeed, yes I do! Which is why in this London collage, you see pics of SANAA’s (Sejima + Nishizawa) pavillion at the Serpentine Gallery, a pair of posh pooches, the Museum of Design, the rainbow phallus by Jan Kaplicky (Future Systems), Routemaster No.9, Hey Jude on a street piano and a public lynching by an angry mob…. okay, not a public lynching but a birthday celebration of some kind. Yes, these brits are nuts.
Enjoy the wanky collage x
Shi
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/play-me-im-yours/feed/ 0 bar, bra and cat http://misstraveler.com/postcards/bar-bra-and-cat/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/bar-bra-and-cat/#comments Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:39:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=71
In hindsight, the trip to Barcelona, Costa Brava, Perpignan and Girona turned out well. I ate and drank myself silly because the food is so good, the architecture is amazing in Barcelona and I found my Costa Brava was a quiet beautiful part of the Catalan region.
Gorging on tapas, sangria and waffles with chocolate sauce, Barcelona is kaleidoscope of Gaudis and Picassos, Costa Brava is white sand clear water and apartments, Girona is a scenic small town with a big church and red bridge, Perpignan is a cool little town, also where Picasso and his mistress ran away to escape her husband and his mistress who was also having an affair with someone else! what an adulterous couple! haha.. It also has a big old castle of the Kings of Majorca :)
Enjoy the pics, tells more than I can in this email :D
Shi
ps: everything looks good in hindsight ;) heehee
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/bar-bra-and-cat/feed/ 0 miss bicycle http://misstraveler.com/postcards/miss-bicycle/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/miss-bicycle/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=70 Somehow everytime I go to Paris I have a good time. Compared to London, the weather and food seems to improve the moment the eurostar goes under the channel, which is rather bizarre. Or (most probably) it’s that I’m on holiday…anyway…
Arrived on the hottest day/week of the month, even the cafes had to close as it was suffocatingly hot indoors and a lot of old buildings don’t have central air-conditioning. On the 1st sunday of every month is free museum day, although I found out that not all museums do.
But I’d kind of been thinking of a bicycle ride by the Seine which is rather nice with leafy boulevards and water and beautiful churches and palaces and buildings. So I decided to rent a bicyle (Velib) and check out the museums on free sunday. Afterwards I realised several important things:
1. The musems are much further than they look on the map
2. There are loooong queues on free museum day
3. Velibs are not dirt bikes
4. Walking in the Louvre with blood trickling down your leg is not a good look.
5. If your wound continues to become more swollen the day after, it may have gone septic and you will need to go to the ER. (It got better after).
6. Cycling in the twilight evening, along the Seine is great :)
All in all, a good trip.
Back in the room while gazing wistfully at my swollen knee, I thought out loud “Well, at least when I’m old I can tell my grandkids that grandma fell off a bicycle in Paris” “Or you mean that when grandma still had a leg…” “…!!!”
:)
Shi
ps: here’s a link to pics of some of the silliness at glasto! Made me laugh out loud, I was standing next to the oompa loompas at the glasvegas concert..they are led by willy wonka, and they have a synchronised dance that they did during the concert..hahahaha…
]]> http://misstraveler.com/postcards/miss-bicycle/feed/ 0 showers in a field http://misstraveler.com/postcards/showers-in-a-field/ http://misstraveler.com/postcards/showers-in-a-field/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:30:00 +0000 http://misstraveler.com/?p=69 How do you describe 6 days of living in a tent in the english countryside, seeing amazing bands, acrobats, stalls, sculptures and performers?

UNREAL.

Glastonbury (music festival) again this year – booked my ticket since December!

Day#1: Arrival.
Carrying tent and setting up wasn’t too bad. Where are those tentpegs? Oh well, lots of shops so easily sorted. Sun is out, grass is green.

Day #2, #3, #4, #5: Music music music. At various times, we climb to the top of the hill, get Mum tattoos, drink organic coffee, organic cider, eat organic bread, organic big breakfasts, use all types of public loos including the “comfy crappers” (no kidding), sit on the grass, walk through mud, stand in the rain, sit on the grass, sit in the sun…listen to more music.

Night #5:
Prodigy festival closer! Totally mental. Some tall guy behind me was jumping up and down and suddenly stopped. 2 seconds later felt a warm spray on my leg and I ask the guy next to me “did you drop some water?” (knowing it wasn’t, but hoping it was) – the guy in front me shouts “ew some guy’s using my leg as a tree!” At one point everyone’s crouching down on the ground – why? Because they told us to! haha.. That, and crowd-surfers, moshing with 1000s of sweaty new best friends with no room to breath. Was supposed to meet my friend, but got lost amongst 1000s of people.

Afterwards I really need to wash everything off. Strip down to a bikini past midnight and subject myself to a cold wash under a tap in the middle of the campgrounds. My breath mists up as walk away feeling refreshed and tingly…only to walk up to my giggling friend who’s just happened to walk by and witness the whole scene.

Day 6:
Packing up the tent. Found out where the tent pegs went to, I’d set the tent up on them. Realised what that hard lump he’d been sleeping on for the last 5 nights was ;) Heh.

Amazing 6 days. Not sure if I’d do 6 days again – but I will keep an eye out for when the tickets for 2010 come up!

The playlist:

Dizzy Rascal, N*E*R*D, Bruce Springsteen, Badly drawn boy, Kep Domino, Bombay Bicycle Club, Prodidgy, Glasvegas, Lady Gaga, The Yeah yeah yeahs, Doves, Priscila Anh, Lily Allen, Spinal Tap, Kasabian, In case of fire, The boxer rebellion and a little of: Jason Mraz, Bon Iver and the music of the penguin cafe orchestra

Have a good one,
Shi

ps: I forgot to mention in the last email that I also spent a day in Milan. I spent most of the day on the roof of the Il Duomo trying to prise my fingers off the walls (voted #1 most scared asian tourist on the roof)..it was beautiful though :)

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