Brisbane Business Trip 2009

March ’09 was a busy and fun-filled month. I had to make a trip to Brisbane, Australia for some work. But as they said, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. With that in mind, I decided to go around the city and take in the sights. Not to mention the food 😛

Though the weather report predicted 4 days of heavy rain, it was sunny all the time until I boarded the plane home.

This is a train station. Look at that magnificent clock tower!

As I walked through the streets, many interesting sights captivated me, especially this queer shot I took…probably I’m secretly hopping to visit Gold Coast yeah?

Beyond this junction lies beautiful Brisbane River, the longest river in Southern Queensland (sources Wikipedia). The river is served by City Cats and a number of other ferries.

A City Cat, I can see them clearly even from the Marriott Hotel room

Blue skies welcome me as I cross the bridge spanning the river

Another take on the bridge, I love this shot

And the view gets even more breathtaking!

Anyone crossing to the other side of the river is quickly greeted with a huge Ferris wheel. Called the Wheel of Brisbane. Needless to say, this author took a ride in it and came back with even greater memories. Now I just have to find some time to get on board our very own Singapore Flyer…

The 60m high wheel was opened in Aug 2008, a 15 min ride is well worth the $15 one spends

On the way back, there was this gorgeous building, I was to learn later that it’s actually a casino.

Ain’t it beautiful?

Now if you a itching by now to visit Brisbane, let me whet that appetite a bit more…

The next day I took a bus ride up Mt Cootha. Rising 287m above sea level, it overlooks the city of Brisbane. Here’s a shot.

I decided to show you more of the deep blue sky here again

A winding road I took from the top of Mt Cootha to visit the Botanical Gardens below
Incidentally, the 2 ladies in the photo are part of a group of Korean girls I met along the way.

One of the photos I took in the Botanical Gardens.

Around the city, church buildings dotted the streets. Some of them look more like pieces of art than just a mere building. Take a look at the following and you will agree.

There are also several beautiful buildings for non-religious purposes. Such as the shot below, showing a hotel.

This building looks more at home in a Western movie 😀

There are other structures around the city that I have to give a spot on this post.

I can’t recall the name and purpose of this monument. (if you my reader knows, please drop me a mail)

As the trip draws to an end, I can’t help but start to miss the sights, people and of course the food. I can never forget the breakfast I had at the Pig n Whistle pub. A blog post is too inadequate to express fully some of the beautiful sights I saw there.

It is of course always refreshing to know that I might just have another chance to visit Brisbane again…till then, sit tight, and don’t forget to send in your comments on my post. Your comments are truly greatly appreciated. 🙂

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Trip to City Harvest Church – Kuala Lumpur

I spent the final weekend of March 09 (27-29th) visiting and helping out in City Harvest Church Kuala Lumpur. Me and 10+ other friends took a coach to the beautiful city of KL on the 27th. Arriving in the later afternoon, we decided to lunch out at the Sunway Shopping Centre. It’s a HUGE place really, I got lost twice.

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A very colorful ceiling with an equally impressive advertisement

Spotting an ice skating rink in the heart of the centre, the place is very much like home, as in Orchard Road Singapore. Taking a closer look at the rink, I noticed 2 graceful skaters, one of them apparently giving lessons to the other (the lady in the brown t-shirt).

We had a wonderful lunch at Wendy’s and proceeded to our hotel rooms. 6pm came and I went for a home visit to one of the member’s place. We were very warmly welcome and took part in small group meeting.

All of us in the home group meeting

 After that it was supper time and then back to the hotel room for the long day ahead on Saturday.

Saturday hit us pretty fast, and very soon we found ourselves busy helping out in the various areas in the church. Here are a few shots of us sweating it out.

Here’s Kenny hard at work

Cleaning the glass doors

 Cleaning tags…

Our favorite girl in the whole group, always cheering us up with her infectious laughter

Service started at about evening time and we were off to our various stations. I’m tasked to help out in the Lighting Department. I must say I’ve learned quite a bit interacting with the crew there.

3 of us in the group were invited to share a bit of their lives on the stage that night.

A typical City Harvest Church service comes with Children’s church too. And boy are these children excited about theirs.

Some of us enjoying the fun with the children, the guy in the black shirt is one good guitarist I must say

On Saturday night we had a wonderful supper at the Asia Food court. Words simply fail to describe the wonderful food there. So here are a few photos, read the happy faces 😀

Don’t ask me about the name of those drinks, I only know they are called “Wow” for the size!

We parted on Sunday afternoon reaching home in Singapore around evening time. Though the trip was only 3 days, I’ve had the honor make so many friends and learn so much.