The airfares had dipped below $1000 a few times, typical
for only a few days. Probably the right
attitude is that we got a good price for the tickets, and be content with the
decision. Meanwhile due to personnel
issues the meeting has been moved to September, and as of now tickets are as
low as $829 roundtrip then.
Friday February 1. Chung Shu gave us a ride to the airport. Anne had precheck, I didn’t, so we went
through security separately. TSA check
point was quite quick, the minor problem is with a stroller I had to use a
“non-bin” line, which was a bit slow as everyone with an odd-shaped carryon
went through it. What I didn’t
understand was why some people with regular stuff would not just move to one of
the other lines, which were moving faster.
As it was, the process took about 20 minutes. Ellie et al were not far behind us, and we
met up at the United Club.
In good spirits at the beginning of the trip. Here relaxing at the Newark United Club before our first flight (Photo taken by Anne).
The 757 to LAX was packed. It wasn’t too difficult to get people to give
us the middle seats for aisle seats so we could sit together (3 and 3). One lady did mention she preferred the middle
seat as it afforded her more leg room.
Some truth to that due to where the “legs” of the seats are, but I for
one would always take an aisle over a center.
Plane landed about 30 minutes early, so we spent quite
some time in the new LAX United Club.
The selection of food, while still mediocre, has improved.
Reid asleep during UA1600 enroute to LAX.
Maisie reading eBook with grandma at LAX United Club.
We boarded UA839 early enough. This plane is packed (I am typing this about
2:30 hours from landing in Sydney), by switching one aisle seat with one
passenger we have a workable seating arrangement.
Then began a series of “small” problems. First we were told the plane would leave
about 15 minutes late so people on some delayed in-coming flights could make
this. While I have missed flights to
Australia before due to flight delays (winter in Newark, after all), I am okay
with that. Then there was a storm around
the equator, so they have to find new routing to get around it, and approval of
the new route takes time. We then taxi’d
out, waited a while, and an announcement came saying the windshield wiper
wasn’t working, so we had to return to terminal. After the windshield wiper was fixed was
paper work and fuel top-up. All said and
done, we were delayed for about 3 hours, schedule (gate) departure time was
10:45 pm, and the actual runway time (per flightstats.com) was 1:16 am.
Our connecting flight to Brisbane leaves the Domestic
Terminal at 12 noon, and our flight will land at the International Terminal at
around 11:25 am. About two hours ago our
United APP shows Anne and I have been rebooked on the 1 pm Qantas flight, and
Ellie et al on the 3 pm flight. We will
just have to wait until we land and talk to a gate agent about traveling
together, if possible.
This trip will bring me to over 3 million life-time
United miles, and an agent came on board to recognize that at EWR. One of the
flight attendants on this UA839 also thanked me for being a loyal customer.
With this trip I have flown over 3 million miles with United. Well, quite a bit of a was with Pan Am over the Pacific (routes United acquired) and with Continental (which merged with United.) Above screenshot taken on February 16.
One other note for the record. I bought a global WiFi subscription for a
month, at a cost of $69. The WiFi costs
for EWR-LAX and LAX-SYD would be around $40 and $22, respectively (go
figure.) United’s WiFi service is
atrocious, but at least I have some connectivity. Being mostly weekend travel, it wasn’t a
critical feature for this outbound trip.
Sunday 2/3. So the plane landed at around 11:15 am, Anne
and I made use of the e-Passport system and got through in less than 10
minutes, even though we had to declare the chocolate and energy bars we had
with us. Children under 16 cannot use
e-Passport, and it took Ellie et al over 30 minutes to clear customs. Meanwhile I walked over to the Qantas
terminal, talked the agent into putting all six of us on the 2 pm flight. We had enough time to make use of Priority
Pass’s dining credits at the Qantas terminal before we boarded.
Connecting to a Qantas domestic flight involved walking the length of the International Terminal to get to the Connection Lounge. We checked our luggage (carryon limit is 9 kg) and went through security before a bus took us to the Qantas domestic terminal (photo taken by Anne).
Enjoying a meal at Bar Roma at the SYD Qantas Terminal, courtesy Priority Pass (photo taken by Anne.)
At the Brisbane airport Kuau hailed an UberXL (pick up
was outside the terminal, a couple of crossings over) which took us to our
hotel for the 5-night stay. It was
around 3:30 pm that we checked into the hotel.
We left South Amboy at around 5:30 am Saturday Brisbane time (2:30 pm
Friday NJ,) so door to door it took 34 hours.
Reid and Maisie came through in great shape, although Maisie ended up
talking a lot, which she’s wont to do when tired.
Our hotel arrangement is Ellie et al will stay in a 2-BR
apartment under my name, and we are in a 1-BR apartment in her name. She and Kuau plan to go to Noosa for a couple
of days. This arrangement works best, we
will just move to the 2-BR while they check out of the 1-BR during those days.
The kids went to the swimming pool for a short
while. Anne and I ordered takeaway from
Nando’s, an “African-Brazilian” style restaurant on the ground floor of the
hotel building. With two small children suffering from jet lag, we ended up having most dinners in the hotel room.
Enjoying the swimming pool at Oaks Festival Towers in Brisbane. The kids really enjoyed use of the pool during our 5-night stay.
One advantage of an apartment is the ample room it provides. This is the living area of the apartment at Oaks Festival Towers.
Accommodations: Oaks Festival Towers, Brisbane (5 nights.)
Monday 2/4. Went to bed last night at around 9:30 pm, and
woke up at about 3:30 am, slept on-and-off until around 6:30 am. Reid and Kuau came by and the four of us went
to have breakfast at Café Mondial located at Royal Albert Hotel. While we were grocery shopping afterwards at
Woolworth’s , Ellie texted and asked us to buy some Baby Tynenol (Panadol in
this part of the world) as Maisie seemed to be running a fever.
The trip to BST via Uber cost less than A$15, took about
20 minutes. We met up with Richard,
Phil, and Karen and over the next hour talked about various matters. Richard then dropped us off at the
Indooroopilly Shopping Center where we met up with Ellie et al, Ling &
Wally, and Alfred & Rachel. The last
two just got in from Hong Kong (via Melbourne) on a one-week visit. Anne, Ellie et al left first as the kids were
getting tired, I stuck around for another hour or so to chat. I then found my way back to the hotel via the
train.
Lunch at Yum Cha Cuisine in Indooroopilly. All my siblings were in Australia, but we didn't have a chance to get together at the same time: two were in Brisbane, I would meet the other two in Sydney.
Maisie’s fever came back, so we stayed in and ate food
from various takeout places around the hotel.
Tuesday 2/5. I woke up at around 8 am, by that time others
had gone and had breakfast. Such is the
effect of jet lag. At around 10 am Ellie
and Kuau checked out a rental car and headed to Noosa; Anne and I will be
taking care of the two grandchildren for a couple of days. We love to spend time with them, and they
with us.
Morning stroll in Brisbane (photo by Anne.)
We eventually settled on the Brisbane Wheel as the place
to visit. Ferries run along the Brisbane
River and we caught the one from North Bank to South Bank. Tickets are usually required for this trip,
but the crew told us we wouldn’t have time to buy the tickets, so he simply let
us ride for free. Brisbane Wheel is
similar to other wheels such as the one in London. We had fun, although I am thankful that today
was a calm day so the gondolas were not swinging much. Our plan was then to visit the Museums
nearby, but we ended up having only lunch there. The Uber we summoned wouldn’t take us without
a car seat, and we had only one with us.
Reid rode back to the hotel with Anne, and I strollered Maisie back –
she was asleep the whole time.
Walkway in South Bank Parklands, Brisbane.
The Wheel of Brisbane would take us around five times for a nice view of the city.
Each of these gondolas can seat six people.
Brisbane skyline from the Wheel.
There is still much construction going on as evidenced by the cranes. A multi-year construction of a casino/hotel complex is underway.
We again ate simple takeaway stuff in our room. We had moved into the 2-BR apartment.
Wednesday 2/6. Anne woke up early and took the grandchildren
to breakfast. We left the hotel to catch
9:30 am bus (Number 445) to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was raining heavily when we got off the
bus about 40 minutes later, and I bought two ponchos for the kids; of course
the weather improved considerably right then. We
saw a raptor show, a dog herding show where an 8-year old border collie and a
one-year old kelpie helped with herding 20 or so Merino sheep. It was then to kangaroo feeding area where
people could get close to these animals, traipsing all over the scat-covered field.
After a look at the wombats and koalas, it was time to return to
town. We got back at around 1:30 pm, and
both Reid and Maisie fell asleep along the way.
Reid woke up when we got to our bus stop and wouldn’t sleep any more; Maisie,
however, was asleep through the entire transfer process and didn’t wake up
until about 6:30 pm.
Heavy rains greeted us as we got off the bus at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
So we bought two ponchos for the kids at A$5 each. Naturally the rain stopped after that (photo by Anne.)
(Anne took this photo)
The kelpie is 15% dingo. It jumps on top of a flock of sheep to keep them under control.
After I got take out for Anne and the kids, I took an
Uber to BST, met up with Wally, and went to Yim Thai in Middle Park for dinner
with Ling, Alfred, and Rachel. It was
about 9:30 pm when Wally dropped me off near the hotel, and I walked for about
30 minutes before returning to the room.
Dinner at Yim Thai in Middle Park with Ling, Rachel, Alfred, and Wally.
The kids went to bed at about 8 pm, perhaps they will
wake up a bit later tomorrow?
Thursday 2/7. Well, no such luck, they still woke up at
around 5 am. Good thing Anne went to bed
at around 9 pm last night, so was somewhat ready for them.
We brought along many activities books for the kids, they were put to good use.
Our adventure today started with breakfast at
McDonald’s. Reid and Maisie gladly
shared an order of pancakes, and they each ate some of the sausage in our
sandwiches. This McDonald’s has a rather
large children’s play area, which the kids enjoyed for quite a while. This was followed by a walk to South Bank
Parklands with its larger children’s playground. We stayed there for a couple of hours before
having lunch at one of the small eateries there.
Having fun in South Bank Parklands playground.
At 12:30 pm we boarded a small boat for a 90 minute
cruise on the river. We were hoping the
kids would fall asleep during the cruise, but they were surprisingly engaged
with what they saw on the banks of the rather narrow Brisbane River. Anne and I also enjoyed looking at the many
modern high rise buildings along the river banks, and both concluded Brisbane
seems to have a lot to offer. Our prior
visits gave us an impression of a practical, commercial city, with minimal
cultural offerings. And on top of that,
the place is hot. Still true, probably,
but the hustle and bustle of the area around our hotel, the modern looking
buildings along the river, and the compactness of the downtown area all seem to
make the city more pleasant. Even the
concert scene, which is important to us, seems to be more alive than we previously
thought.
Route taken by the cruise along the Brisbane River.
The story behind the Story Bridge is that it was named after a person.
Customs House.
Apartments along the river.
A riverboat on the river!
By the time we got back to the hotel, Maisie was asleep
in the stroller. Ellie and Kuau were
just back from their 2-day trip, so we gladly returned their kids. Dinner was takeaway again, somewhat
un-coordinated: I ate at the Myers Food Court, while other brought food back to
eat.
We moved to the apartment Ellie booked for the
night. It would be an early flight
tomorrow.
Friday 2/8. We woke up at around 5 am, and left for
Brisbane Airport soon after 6. Ellie et
al left earlier and had already checked in when we got to the airport. The process was quite smooth, only hiccup was
I couldn’t check in a stroller at the kiosks without having to pay excess
luggage (A$78 each). A Qantas “roaming agent” told us I could get the extra,
free boarding pass at the International Connections check-in counter, which
worked.
The airplane was an Airbus 330, and was quite full. I bought four adult and one child Opal cards
for our travel the next few days. I
looked in vain for the Opal cards we had from prior trips, in vain. (Later Tim reminded me I had given those
cards to him last year.) It was then
train to Chatswood, changing at Central Station.
View of Opera House and Harbour Bridge from airplane (next to winglet, photo by Anne.)
Check-in area of Silkari Hotel, Chatswood (photo by Anne.)
It was too early for hotel check-in, so we left our
luggage at the front desk, and walked across the street to Chatswood Chase for
a quick meal.
Maisie had been running a temperature the last few days,
so Tim stopped by to take a look. He
didn’t have his equipment with him, and Maisie wouldn’t let her look into her
throat. In any case, Tim concluded that
both Maisie and Reid had a mild case of the flu.
The Silkari is located right next to the Chatswood
Performance Arts Center, which also houses the Library. Anne took Reid there, and they stayed there
for about an hour.
Anne and I ate at s Shanghai fast food at the train
station; I then went to Opera house, collecting tickets and attending opera La
Boheme. with Tim and Whitney.
Curtain call, La Boheme at Sydney Opera House.
Sydney has the Chinese zodiac signs on display during the Chinese New Year. These roosters were outside of the Opera House.
It was raining this evening, with quite a bit of thunder
and lightning. Most of the walk from the
Circular Quay train station to the Opera House could be done under shelter (the
eaves of Quay Grand and the Lower Promenade are prime examples.) Everyone had the idea of going to the Lower
Promenade, so the odor of humanity was a bit overwhelming.
Accommodations: Silkari Hotels, Chatswood. (3 nights.)
Saturday 2/9. Seventeen of us met for early lunch at the
Tang Dynasty Restaurant located in the Westfield Shopping Center. The ones who couldn’t make it were Alfred and
his family. In addition to the dim sum
dishes, we also had an emperor crab and a spiny lobster, weighing 3 to 4 kg
each.
While Anne went off with Ellie et al, I had coffee with
Stephen and Ruth. They then showed me
their new apartment located in Waitara, where they moved after the Matraville
house was sold. They then drove me down
to Botany Cemetery to visit father and mother’s grave.
Group photo at the restaurant. My two other siblings Tim and Ruth.
Each of these (emperor crab and spiny lobster) weighed more than 3 kg, and the cooked dishes each cost over A$600. We splurged to celebrate Stephen's 88th birthday.
A visit to our parents' grave with Ruth.
I then got dropped off downtown, trying to catch up with
the rest of the family. They decided to
Uber back to Chatswood, so I ended up spending some time by myself, including
dinner at the Food Court located in Harbourside, Darling Harbour (Espress
Grill.)
This is the year of the pig. This photo taken outside the Harbourside Shopping Center in Darling Harbour.
Pork dinner by myself at Espress Grill, Harbourside Shopping Center.
I then went to the Opera House to meet up with Ellie and
Kuau for a Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert.
Ellie decided not to go, so we had an empty seat. Kuau and I took the train back after the
concert.
Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson.
Sunday 2/10. I slept in this morning, having gone to bed at
around 2 am the previous night. Anne and
Ellie et al took the train to town and then walked the short distance to the
Sydney Aquarium, now called Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, part of a
three-attraction complex on the Darling Harbour. Reid was very interested in what he saw, and
stayed for over 2 ½ hours. Maisie’s
tolerance level was about an hour shorter, so Kuau joined me for lunch first,
followed later by Anne, Ellie, and Reid.
Simplicity Café doesn’t seem to serve anything regular, the burger we
ordered had beans and a hashed brown in the bun.
More pig balloons.
Maisie and Reid seemed to have a lot of things to discuss.
Animals of the Chinese Zodiac on display at Darling Harbour.
This is "The Butch," chorizo, scrambled eggs, and baby lettuce.
Nothing is simple at Simplicity Cafe.
Before I hit Simplicity Café I stopped by the café at
Adina Hotel for a cup of coffee. That
was an extraordinary bad experience. On
the specials board outside the café there was a special for around $11 of a
breakfast roll and a coffee. When I said
I wanted eat-in it became $16, and then there will be a 10% surcharge because
it was a Sunday. I just walked away.
The ferry from Darling Harbour to Milsons Point took us
to Luna Park. One good thing about the
park is smaller kids get charged less money as there are rides they cannot get
on; and adult companions are also charged accordingly. Reid and Maisie reported to us afterwards
that they had a blast, although Maisie had somewhat of a hard time not falling
asleep – both her age an jet lag worked against her.
In front of the face at Luna Park. Maisie and Reid had a blast.
Anne and I took the ferry to Watson’s Bay, walked around
a bit, and took buses back to Chatswood, with a connection at Bondi Junction (380
followed by M40). We certainly made
great use of the Sunday deal where the maximum charged for all trips is
A$2.70. The ridership wasn’t as packed
as I expected, and cost wasn’t an issue for most people. (A typical short ride costs around A$5, if I
remember correctly.)
At Watson's Bay.
A great view of Sydney from Watson's Bay.
After Anne and I had a quick dinner at Kreta Ayer at
Chatswood Chase, we relieved Kuau and Ellie so they could enjoy a dinner.
I have always noticed lorikeets coming back to trees at
this particular intersection in the evening to rest for the night; they are
quite noisy. Today I shot a short video
of it.
The Rainbow Lorikeet is very common in this part of Australia. They measure 10" to 12". For some reason these trees around Chatswood are their favorites at dusk, and they make a loud noise.
Monday 2/11. We will be spending the next two days in the
Blue Mountains region. When we first
started traveling to Australia in the early 80s, Blue Mountains was quite a few
hours drive on the Great Western Highway, which was basically a two-lane
country road cars sped along at reckless speeds. Now most of the drive would be on “M” grade
highways, with about 30 minutes on a good “A” grade road.
At Susanna’s suggestion, we booked the Fairmont Resort in
Leura, a town next to Katooba, where the Three Sisters are located. Anne and I checked out of the Silkari a
little after 8:30 am this morning, and we took the train to the Sydney Airport
(domestic) where we had a rental car reserved.
The price at the time of reservation was about A$350, by the time we
added a car seat, tolls, and the half fuel-tank option the price became
A$550. It was a “Kluger” by Toyota, with
enough room of the six of us and (relatively light) luggage. We got back to the hotel at around 11 am to
pick up Ellie et al. The drive to Leura
was quite uneventful, other than my general discomfort with driving on the
left.
For lunch we bought some pies at “Mountain High Pies” and
ate them at the Wentworth Falls Picnic area.
After some short hikes to see Wentworth Falls, we got to the hotel at a
bit after 2 pm. One room was ready for
us, Ellie and Kuau took the kids swimming, Anne and I rested a bit while we
waited the other room to be ready.
After a visit to Sublime Point which afforded a great
view of the landscape and the Three Sisters, Anne and I drove to “Leura
Shopping Center” for a quick meal at a takeaway shop, and then to Woolworth’s
for some groceries. Ellie and Kuau went
out and we performed our babysitting duties in the dark.
We stopped by Wentworth Falls to have a picnic lunch of pies from Mountain High Pies.
We were here about 10 years ago, and didn't notice the many resorts in the this part of Blue Mountains.
Panoramic photo taken at Sublime Point. The Three Sisters are on the right.
Checking out the accommodations at Fairmont Resort.
Making use of the swimming pool at the resort.
Accommodations: Fairmont Blue Mountains, Leura, NSW (2
nights.)
Tuesday 2/12. The hotel offered a buffet breakfast for
little additional cost, which we took advantage of. Scenic World is about 15 minutes away, so we
got there soon after opening time, before the many tourist buses that would
show up later. First we took the Skyway
(roundtrip) which spanned over Katoomba Falls.
Anne and I did this ten years ago, still the same small stream that
cascades down a considerable height. We
went our separate ways a bit, I ended up taking the Railway down to the valley,
met up with Anne, and took the Skyway back.
After serving lunch to Reid and Maisie at the café, we dropped off Kuau
and Ellie for high tea in Katoomba, and took the kids home to nap. Maisie did (for close to three hours), but
Reid didn’t. At about 3:30 pm I brought
Reid with me to meet up Ellie and Kuau, Reid and Kuau went off to catch more
scenic rides (turned out to be one roundtrip on each of the three) and Ellie
and I walked around a bit, including Reid’s Lookout, before picking the
father/son duo.
Checking out the location guide before we start our Scenic World visit.
The Skyway crosses the Katoomba Falls gorge.
Three sisters as seen from Skyway.
There are other rock formations in this part of Katoomba.
Katoomba Falls is a trickle during the summer.
The Scenic Railway is at a 52-degree incline. Photos don't do it justice.
This stream must have looked daunting to a 5- and a 3-year old.
Glass bottom in Skyway. The operator said it would be a 6-second drop to the ground below.
Dinner was at Leura Garage for all six of us. One of the few times we ate out at dinner.
Wednesday 2/13. About 30 minutes north of Katoomba, along
A32, is another area that tourists like to visit. Govett’s Leap was recommended by Ellie’s
coworker. We also found out about Evan’s
Lookout, a short distance away, that would give us a view of the “Grand
Canyon.” Indeed both locations gave us
some nice views of the valleys carved out by the Grose River and its
tributaries. The view of the Grand
Canyon was not spectacular, behind THE Grand Canyon, and the Waimea Grand
Canyon of Lanai. Ellie, Kuau and Reid
took a short hike around Govett’s Leap Lookout while Anne and I took Maisie to
get some pies from Bakehouse in the town of Blackheath.
Map of Govett's Leap area at the Lookout.
Bridal Veils Falls.
This is the Grand Canyon.
Interesting flora and fauna in the area.
Fun in the Govett's Leap Lookout area.
Afterwards we drove to Le Perouse to visit another
beach. Along the way we stopped by my
parents’ grave so their great-grandchildren would have a chance to visit. It was sunny and hot, so we encouraged the
young people to stay in the shade. I
made a quick visit to Danny’s Seafood and had myself two pieces of fried
fish. This was followed by a short visit
to Little Bay with the many multi-million dollar homes, and a nice beach.
Another visit to my parents' grave. This time with their grandchild and great grandchildren.
Frenchman's Beach in La Perouse.
We then drove by 58 Jennings Street, again as part of the
“heritage” tour, before heading to Eastgardens for dinner. I bought something at Dumpling Queen while
the rest had Vietnamese food. To
commemorate this last day of our trip, we shared a 6-pack of ice-cream cones.
Check-in at Rydges Sydney was easy, we had rooms close to
one another, and with views of the tarmac.
The hotel was just beyond the Hertz Rental Car return, so we had to
drive around the airport to return the car. But it was a short walk from Hertz
to the hotel. The hotel is also an easy
five-minute walk (to the furthest check-in area); I know, because I tried it.
Car rental return, hotel, and airport International terminal are all very close. We had to drive around to get back to the rental car return, though.
Accommodations: Rydges Sydney Airport (1 night.)
Thursday 2/14. One
can get through security and board a plane without having a paper boarding pass
in one’s hand. But no dice at Mach 2,
the Priority Pass restaurant on the landside of Sydney International
Airport. Perhaps it was too easy for
people to access, but I am not sure what a paper boarding pass would have over
an electronic one in cutting down misuse. Policy is policy, so we went over to the
United check in area to get our paper passes printed at the kiosks before
sitting down to have breakfast at the restaurant – a table service one, at
that. That made the rest of the morning
a bit of a rush as I had to return to the hotel to shower, and to pack. Nonetheless, I managed to stop by the Air New
Zealand lounge for a few minutes to have a couple of scones, while Anne stayed
in the terminal area to buy some toys for the three grandkids in Boston (we are
seeing them in a few days.)
About to touchdown at Houston International Airport.
This is about two hours into the flight, and we just had
lunch. Perhaps I had not traveled with
children on this route for a while and paid no heed, but there are quite a few
on this flight. A mother with a lap
child was assigned a middle seat in this place with quite a few empty seats,
she got re-seated. The six of us all
have empty middle seats, so I have no complaints.
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