Either live splendidly or die quickly

I watched the story of Liu Wei, an inspiring musician from Beijing and was moved by his words, "Either live splendidly or die quickly."

Second home

Aunty Jo Jo with Zachary, Alyssa and their daddy, Andrew in Melbourne

Two weekends before my unexpected trip to Australia, I was chatting on Skype with my little god-daughter, Alyssa, who asked me, "Aunty Jo Jo, why do live so far in Singapore? When are you coming to see us?" Lo and behold, a business class ticket appears on my desk and I was on my way to see her. Never again will I dismiss the innocent prayers of a child.

We sat down to a lovely Vietnamese dinner and Alyssa and Zach kept me entertained with their playful antics, while their daddy, Andrew Wong, updated me on his latest edition of corny jokes. I met Andrew way back in 1990 when he was doing his accounting internship in seedy Kotaraya in downtown KL. We became such good friends, he started calling me Dragon Sister...go figure!

Andrew and his wife, Carina, are wonderful hosts who have always made me feel like one of the family. Sometimes I feel as if Melbourne is my second home.

Awesome offices

Our new Melbourne offices in St Kilda have awesome views of the Formula 1 race track at Albert Park. Hmm....I really need to figure out how to smuggle myself into those premises come March 2011!

Round House, Fremantle

(Text copied from signages on site)

The Round House was the first permanent building in the Swan River Colony. It was designed by Henry Willey Revely, the colony's civil engineer, and constructed by Richard Lewis & Co for Stg1603. The prison opened on 18th January, 1831. Gaolers were civil employees, not military.

Reasons for Imprisonment in the Round House

Mutiny
Disobedience
Contempt of Court
Breaking Curfew
Seamen kept in custody
Felony
Stealing
Misdemeanour
Larceny
Sick lunatic
Arson
Manslaughter
Murder
Killing a pig
Spearing cattle

Yummy Northbridge

While my first meal in Perth was a disappointing Angus at Burger King, my subsequent meals were delicious. Thanks to my colleague, Jacqueline Wang, I had some of the best dim sum in a long time. It was at Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant in Northbridge - the entertainment capital of Perth. Thank you Jacqui for being such a brilliant hostess!

The fung chau (braised chicken feet) was sublime - juicy, bursting with flavour and falling of the bone. The egg tarts were equally good with flaky buttery pastry holding all that custardy goodness. The satisfaction per calorie was so high that I didn't eat again till dinner which was a salad!

Old (and new!) friends

Aunty Jo Jo catching up with Jin Hui and her family in Perth

Most of you know by now that one of my favourite things about travelling is the opportunity to catch up with friends who are scattered across the globe. This time in Perth, I caught up with Ong Jin-Hui, a school mate whom I haven't seen for 23 years! Jin Hui migrated to Perth in 1986, married Michael Ho and they have 3 beautiful children. They were kind enough to take me to a cozy little restaurant in Shafto Lane called Durty Nelly's for the T-bone steak special...sigh...I love steaks in Australia!

3 smiley faces: Alessandra, Isaac and Lucas / Watch out, Lucas!

Jin's 3 children - Alessandra (10), Isaac (8) and Lucas (5) - are the friendliest funniest kids I've met in a long time. They were just so bubbly and hospitable that by the end of the evening, they had invited me to stay at their house for 2 weeks, and asked if they could spend the night in my hotel. Sweet Alessandra is clearly brilliant in school and strives to be the best in everything she does. Isaac, whom I think has the potential to be a handsome film star, is very perceptive and funny. When I said I loved to borrow other people's kids to have fun, he said "Oh, you mean like walking a dog?" LOL! Little Lucas is everyone's darling with a very sweet tooth. You should have seen him rummaging for lollies before dinner and how his eyes sparkled when I offered to buy them ice cream for dessert.

Boys providing entertainment during dinner with their Karate Kid moves

The evening came to a lovely end with a nocturnal trip to King's Park to catch a view of Perth by night. It's a beautiful city made even more memorable with the presence of old (and new!) friends. Thank you Jin Hui, Michael and the kids for showing me your hometown. I'll be back...I promise!

Impressions of Perth

Last week, I was given 36 hours notice to prepare for a trip to Australia to conduct some workshops. First stop, Perth - a city I wanted to visit while living in Sydney but never got round to because it cost the same to fly there as it did to fly home to Malaysia.

(L-R) London Court Mall and Town Hall

The city centre is a lovely mix of quaint old buildings and chic modern structures. It's very pleasant to walk around and enjoy the sights and weather although one must be careful to do all your shopping by 6 p.m. because that's when ALL the shops shut. On my first evening, I had to eat at Burger King for the first time in over a year because that was the only shop with the lights still on. What a shock to my Singaporean shop-till-you-drop system! But you needn't feel too sorry for me. I did find the Harbourfront Factory Outlets by Day 3, where my credit cards got a good workout. In fact, I had so much fun shopping, I forgot to take photos :-)

(L-R) View of city from Stirling Park and Bells Tower

The one thing that always strikes me when I set foot on antipodean soil is the blue cloudless sky. It makes for beautiful days and brilliant photos. The fact that it was winter didn't bother me at all because it was just so refreshing for body, mind and soul. In fact, Perth is known to have the best weather in Australia and is surrounded by lakes, parks and beaches, which makes it an ideal playground for sports-mad Ozzies. Running marathons and participating in triathlons are run-of-the-mill activities here.

Aunty Jo Jo enjoying the beaches at Fremantle and Cottesloe