Young Campbell

People follow the escalator etiquette. People understand and obey the rules that if you are at the right side of the escalator, you should walk. And if you are at the left side, you may stand and laze around. I superbly appreciate this manner because it gives order, convenience and politeness to each and everyone. We do not do this in the Philippines but it doesn't mean that Filipinos are being impolite. I guess it is just because we didn't get that concept long before and it has been part of our culture that we stand wherever we want when we are riding the escalator. Nowadays, that concept has been slowly introduced to some of the shopping centres in the Philippines. Hopefully, in the near future, people will get a strong grasp on this idea and follow it diligently.

The train etiquette. When the train stops, let the people from the train go out first before you get inside the train. It's a simple brilliant idea but I think, the competitive side of human nature sometimes rejects that. By living here, I have encountered only once that people don't observe this. It was when a family in the international airport aggressively went inside the train before the other passengers and I were able to get out. They blocked our way out and the door of the train were already closing. We almost missed our stop because of them. But I personally forgive them. My thinking is that they will soon learn how to properly ride a train when they live longer in Australia.

A train ride going for an Early morning shift.

Going to the beach or Mountain Park is absolutely free. Yes, you read it right. There's no entrance fee here. I like the feeling that I can actually benefit from the tax that I contribute. Whenever we get a chance, my family and I would go on a road trip heading to the beach, buy some sushi or bring some home cook lunch and just unwind. Life is good. 

Road trip to Little Bay

Jacaranda trees in Kirribill

The way they think makes me think. Whenever someone would celebrate birthday and decides to eat out, people pay their own bill. Free lunch is off the trend here because their way of thinking is that people go to work and they have the capacity to pay. I find that idea odd at first because I was used to the Philippine tradition that the birthday celebrant usually pays for the entire group. I think that teaches people not to depend on others and have some sense of pride and self worth. Another example is the ethical issue raised regarding self driving car. If ever there will be an accident, how are these automatic cars programmed? To prioritise the protection of the passenger or the pedestrians? That question honestly blows my mind. How can their neurons able to think far long steps ahead while my naive mind is still stuck in awe to the idea that a car can drive by itself?

Meeting different people. I realised that Davao City is too small and the world is too big. I have met a lot of people from all over the world. Before going to Australia, the only information that I know about Nepal is that their flag  has two right triangles on top of the other. I didn't know that they have similar features to Indians. And most of the Nepalese that I know can speak and understand Hindi because they admittedly watch too much Bollywood movies. Also, I had no idea where Armenia is, until I met some Armenians over and over again. I then eventually satisfied my curiosity by searching where is it on google map. I must also mention that, I enjoyed the small chats using my limited Spanish with people I met who are from Cuba, Yugoslavia and Chile. Most importantly, I will forever be thankful to my Irish friend who enthusiastically cheered me during my first days at work. You were right mate that I will be fine. I have also met people from England, Scotland, Romania, Italy, France, Greece, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Portugal, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Zimbabwe, etc. I could draw a world map.

It's not weird and awkward to read a book while in public. Reading while riding the train for me is perfect. I do not exactly know why. Whenever I read in public back home (Philippines), I get this odd look from people which makes me feel like what I'm doing is embarrassing and beyond the norms. My geek side of me has found a home in the land down under.

People throw their own rubbish in the bin after eating in fast food shops. I just love the idea of cleaning up your own mess. In a way, the act teaches the people to be more responsible. Also, its a good help to the staff workers. Let's be generous with kindness.

Impressively talented street performers are all over the city. There are singers, dancers, musicians, beat boxers, acrobats, and I even met a Japanese boy named Yuya who writes Japanese Kanji calligraphy for free just because he wants to sharpen his skill. The world is their stage as they say and I could not agree more.

Those written above are mainly based on my experiences and opinions. There are a lot more  reasons why I find Australia amazing, but I think the main reason is that, this country allows my goals and dreams closer to reality. With that, I am forever grateful to this country.

Sydney's CBD, a view from Mosman

If you are from Sydney who wants to see the beauty of spring right at your very own eyes but could not afford 6-hours back and forth drive to and from Canberra for Floriade Festival, Corbett Gardens could be the answer! 

Corbett Gardens which is located in Bowral, one of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales offers a large variety of tulips and other flowers that you could fall in love with. An hour and half drive from the busy city of Sydney, you could unwind and be one with nature. I personally like it because it is a very relaxing experience. It reminds me of Leura of Blue Mountains, a quite community with friendly and polite locals. It is better to visit there during weekday as there is not much people you would compete with to get nice photos. Warning: This post is overloaded with flower photos.

The Garden is not really humongous as a lot of people would expect but it houses one of the best tulip displays in Sydney. The best tip I could give when visiting a floral festival is that give a call to find out how the flowers are blooming since weather and time could dictate of  how the flowers would look like. As the Cliche goes, people do not follow their own advice. We did not call when we went there, we were just lucky risk takers.

On the photo above, I wanted to capture the anatomy of a tulip. What went wrong? Too much light, bad framing, incorrect lens and angle, less detailed. Photography Tips, anyone. Photo below shows a Church just outside the Corbett Garden. If my workplace is just located nearby, I would definitely move here.

To start off, we had a beautiful breakfast at Loaves and Dishes. I felt like it was my first time to experience legit Australian Brekkie. We were still waiting for my pancakes on this photo though. To add, they have their own fireplace inside which suits the need of my body thermoregulator that has been very used to the tropical weather. 

This Autumn, I was able to spend a weekend getaway to the far west of Sydney. Breenhold Gardens is located at Mount Wilson which belongs to Blue Mountains City Council. An hour and 50 minutes of tricky driving was very much worth it. Seeing the different kinds of trees on shade of autumn was such a divine experience. This is one of the things the amaze me living here in Sydney, two hours of driving away from the busy city and tall buildings can lead to a completely different world. 

Your legs must be very good in walking though since the sum of the gardens is 45 hectares. Bringing your own food is essential too since I have not seen some shops near by where you can buy your meal. Near the parking space, there is a wide picnic area where you can rest your wandering exhausted feet.

What came first to my mind when I was told that we were going to Sydney fish market was the wet market we had back home. If you are from Davao City, I am referring to Bangkerohan. A place that you would be very lazy to go to. However, people said that Sydney Fish Market is also a tourist destination. That made me realize that the wet market idea I had was very silly after all.