The Brain Drain...

Yep, Sydney welcomes another kiwi to its sunny shores. The latest to jump ship from the land of the long grey rainy cloud is Mei's old flatmate Stef, albeit temporarily in her case. In between counting down the days to the start of her PhD at the University of Rhode Island she found time to pay the harbour city a visit. So, we popped on our tourist hats and headed for... the generic tourist traps of course...


...and you don't get more generic than the Opera House (unless you're Jared ordering your 10th consecutive mild butter chicken, but that's a whole other story). Nonetheless, even in this age of endless digital snaps there's always room for one more pic of most photographed landmark in Sydney.


The name's Zhu, Mei Zhu... hmmm... somehow it doesn't have quite the same ring when you're one of 56 million Zhu's on the planet.


Next stop, the Taronga Zoo overlooking the harbour on Sydney's north shore. Here a specimen from the earliest rungs of the primate evolutionary ladder makes her first foray into the world of spoken communication. A few rudimentary phrases are captured by the avid observers: "I'm hungy!"... "I'm tired!"... "I'm hungry!"... Ah well, at least we've moved slightly beyond the unicellular level.

An emu muses on some irrefutable evidence that brain capacity is unrelated to intellectual capacity ;)


These giraffes are undoubtably the proud owners of the most expensive plot of pseudo-savana in the world - sweeping views of the Sydney harbour and skyline that would fetch a fortune on the property market.

The march of the penguins!

Out of my way peons! I'm trying to spot Citigroup Centre.


Damn it, now there's a fat yankee tourist in my way!

And that's the wrap. Next photos are definitely from Japan. Final boarding call for QF021 is 2210 hours next Thursday. Pull out them sailor suits gals, I'm Tokyo bound!

Melbourne AFF1 Fencing Tournament

Check out all the action (mainly off the piste) from the Melbourne AFF1 tournament held on the weekend. Frigid weather and grey skies were compensated for by great food and superb coffee (mmm... Koko Black... mmm).

For those who are actually interested in the fencing results, check them out here.

The trip begins as most do... with the food! After a long day at work and a mad rush to the airport, it's time to kick back and relax over a surprisingly good bowl of laksa at domestic terminal foodcourt.

What's this? Jared's already been eliminated? Surely not?



Meanwhile Rock (who tends to refer to himself in the third person) is awarded the "medal" for seventh place. Not a bad result except for the fact he did his old fencing master Galley proud and choked horribly in the quarterfinals, losing after being 7-2 up. Oh well, just means we can hit the food quicker (about the only thing Jman could hit on the weekend).


Sup dude? Welcome to da hood!

Three hungry tourists refuel on Lygon Street.

Next stop, the Melbourne Museum. A tourist from the far East wonders where all the requisite AK47 toting guards have gone in this expansive square.


Two cool cats strike a pose next to that flying tram from the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.


Rock spots the deadly dive of an incoming Pteronadon... oh wait, it's a kookabura...

Captain on the bridge! Yes Sir!... Sir, we have incoming TIE squadrons in sectors 43R and 26Z... arm the turbolasers! Deflector shields set aft, full strength! Reroute power from the number two and three engines! And will someone get that f#!%ing gungan off the bridge!

The cold, grey waters of the Yara meander below as Jman tries to think of something witty to say... wait for it...

Careful, not too quick Jared, you do realise that chili chicken is a step up from your mild butter chicken?

And that's all folks! That's the appetizers done, make sure you tune in again in two weeks time for the real deal - Japan 2006! Hai!