The Virtual Experience
Eat & Exercise
Chips, chips, and more chips. I think it is safe to say that I will do a hard pass on French fries for a while. Ausi offered cuisine that closely matches that of the USA minus kangaroo burgers and crocodile, of course. And no, I did not indulge.
We stayed a stone’s throw away from Darling Harbor, so constitutions were taken daily. The scene reminded me a lot of National Harbor or Baltimore Harbor, so it was like being home, so to speak, except I was in the southern hemisphere and enjoying temps in the 80s instead of the 40s or below.
Pray
The devastating fires Australia experienced followed by the disastrous flooding caused this trip to be called into question. That was then met with the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has suspended classes in Hong Kong until February 17th. Alongside that natural and health epidemic was the untimely death of one of basketball’s G.O.A.T.s, Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and the others onboard the helicopter. When processing everything that has occurred, I am left calling on the only name that has the power to comfort and guide, Jesus.
One scripture that has been tried and true in my faith life are those penned by David in Psalms 27:13-14,
“ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
It is my prayer that the Word not only be a blessing to those going through the valley of grief due to death but bless those who are dealing with other losses, both spoken by mouth or whispered by heart.
If I can glean anything from the life of Kobe, aka The Black Mamba, it is to live life to your fullest and use the bad to propel you to be the best version of you that you can be. Furthermore, when it is time to write a new chapter in life, leave with grace and dignity. The words Kobe authored in Dear Basketball are a beautiful tribute of gratitude to the game he loved, adored, and who made him who he was as a man and a legend.
Love
I love that this trip was made with my “twin” who is over three decades older, known as my mother. She often states that she wants her children to go beyond her accomplishments. As she is one continent up on me, my passport, in the next decade, hopes to see Africa (tying with her) and South America. And should you be keeping count of the continents listed, Antarctica is not on the bucket list as no humans permanently live there, and those that visit probably surpass my appreciation of the plants and animals who call it home. As for the 7 Wonders of the World, visiting South America will help me check off, Chichen Itza in Mexico and Machu Picchu in Peru, and a trip to Africa will get me to the great pyramids of Egypt, thus completing my list.
This trip is our third continent experience together, and that for sure will be forever cherished memories.
Teach
The Big Bus Sydney bus did not disappoint offering 72+ hours of tours around the city of Sydney, the famous Bondi Beach, and other bays as well as a tour in the harbor. The ticket we purchased allowed us to visit Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Sea Life, and Wild Life Sydney Zoo. Part of daily scenery over the course of three days included the iconic Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge. One day we even took a cruise to enjoy a proper British High Tea with even more breathtaking views of the harbor. The Sea Life tour was scenic, and the Wild Life visit left us saying, “koalas, kangaroos, and platypus oh my!” When trying to take a photo with the koala, we found that they were a bit camera shy, and the one we did get looked like the koala’s name could be Clarence as he did not have a care or give a care.
Britannica offers this information on Australia, “the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s capital is Canberra, located in the southeast between the larger and more important economic and cultural centers of Sydney and Melbourne. Being that I have taken a liking to warmer temperatures, we visited Australia in what is considered their summer. Sydney was selected for this holiday, which has a population of over 5 million people and is about twice the size of New York City for size comparison. It is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) and is said to be amongst the top 15 most expensive cities in the world with Hong Kong tying with Singapore and Paris for number one. When considering that, perhaps my repatriation to the US won’t be so bad.
Once I check off my other two continents and countries of my list, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Cape Town, South Africa, I will be able to say that I have been to the five great cities in the world that share the same latitude with Sydney and LA.
Our holiday coincided with what is becoming a more accepted holiday, Australia Day. Originally the 26th of January marked when the first fleet landed in Botany Bay. However, there were already people living on the land. The British ruled it, “Terra Nullius,” meaning land belonging to no one. To me, it mimics Columbus Day. Like Native Americans, the Australian Indigenous population lost their rights to their native land, that is, if they weren’t killed by force or disease. In the past, this day has also been known as “Invasion Day,” and throughout most recent years, more has been done to be inclusive of the aboriginal people, which translates to original inhabitants. If you wish to know more about this holiday, I did locate an interesting article on CNN.
The two most photographed sites in Sydney are the opera house and bridge. When in Delhi, I thought the Lotus Temple was going to be the closest I would ever get to view a structure of the magnitude, but alas, it was not. The Sydney Opera House officially opened in 1973, and it took 10,000 workers fourteen years and a price that exceeded 102 million dollars to complete this 185 meters long by 120-meter wide structure. The difference between the Lotus Temple and the Sydney Opera house is the materials in which it is made with India using marble and Australia using stone. Some fun facts about the opera house are that it has over 15,000 light bulbs that need to be changed annually, is cooled by using the seawater taken from the harbor, and is home to the largest pipe organ in the world that took over a decade to build.
And as for the Sydney Harbor Bridge, nicknamed, the coathanger is the widest long-span bridge and tallest steel arch bridge in the world. How does one test the durability of such a structure? By placing 96 railway engines on the bridge. Crazy right? But not as crazy as those who choose to climb the bridge that takes you some 440 feet to the top for a two hour plus experience that has breathtaking views (which for me would be literal and figurative) and a nice price tag of $174 plus. Needless to say, we passed and enjoyed our multiple views from the bus and the boat. There are other fun facts about the bridge which you can explore JustFunFacts.
During our stay, we thankfully did not encounter any mozzies (mosquitos) or stumble upon a barbie (barbeque) which would have been gladly welcomed. But we did have the mindset of “She’ll be right,” (everything will be all right) and at the end could say to each other, “Good onya, mate!”
kjb1908 