Category Archives: Holidays

Counting down

Posted on December 9, 2013 | 20 comments

As I mentioned before, we will be going on a Cruise to New Caledonia soon and I am counting down the days until the day arrives. This year has been really long and I am glad holiday time is almost here so I can relax and enjoy the remaining days of this year. We will be spending Christmas on board so it will be a different experience.

I have to say I am a bit anxious about this particular holiday because I will be spending most of the time in the ship. This is our first cruise and being first time cruisers we were a little bit apprehensive and are doing a lot of research. I have sailed before but never been on a cruise so I am having mixed feeling. I am busy doing my research to make sure I don’t make any mistakes and reading everyone’s’ experience I can see that most of them really enjoyed it so I am hoping to come back and report that I had a fun holiday.

The most worrying part for me is seasickness. I normally don’t get sea sick and I am going to take heaps of medications as well to help me be normal but sometimes you can plan all you want and still things may not work out so a bit worried about it.

Most of the holidays we go to, I have full day plan for nearly all days so I know what I am doing and in control of everything but this holiday we are going to have few sea days and I have no idea how we should spend those. I have been doing my research and there seems to be heaps of things to do in Carnival like going on water ride, golfing, swimming or just relaxing but still not having a proper plan is making me worried a bit.

Apart from that, I think most of the things should go smoothly. I will spend 2 weeks with my loving husband by my side just relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, eating and enjoying ourselves. Can’t thank him enough for make my birthday so special and making me so happy with the cruise as a birthday gift.

If anyone has been on Carnival Spirit before, your suggestions will be highly valuable.

I am very excited about our destination. I have heard a lot about New Caledonia for years now and always wanted to go there and now we will be stopping there in less than a months’ time. I always love tropical holidays with lots of sun, sand and sea and this one is going to be one like that too. As all of you know, I am a summer person and tropical holiday is my cup of tea 🙂

One of the stop for us is Isle of Pines and I have seen so many amazing photos from this place. Isle of Pines was dramatically formed by a series of volcanic upheavals and is truly beautiful.

Another stop is Lifou which is within the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia and known for their coral reefs and limestone caves.

Hope this holiday will be exciting and fun so we can book more cruise holidays in the future too.

See you with my next post soon.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

20 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, New Caledonia, Travel

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Merry Christmas from Kathmandu

Posted on December 25, 2012 | 16 comments

I always wished for a white Christmas. Even though it is not snowing in Kathmandu, I am having a cold Christmas here in Kathmandu unlike in Australia where it is hot and muggy during Christmas.

So from a far far land called Kathmandu, Merry Christmas everyone. May the Christmas spirit keep you warm and full of joy this holiday season.

Kathmandu has changed a lot in the past decade. When I was growing up here, there was hardly any sign of Christmas seen in Kathmandu but these days every shopping mall is decorated with Christmas decorations and every shop has a Santa or mannequin dressed in a red. From the only Hindu country in the world Nepal has changed to be a multi religious secular country.

xmas in kathmandu

My Facebook is full of photos of people from Nepal celebrating Christmas eve and Christmas, It is nice to see globalisation (in every aspect) happening in Nepal as well.

utc xmas lights

I also got this picture from my boss; it is of my desk at work full of gifts for Christmas. It was really nice of her. I am eagerly waiting to go back and open them 🙂

Xmas

Talking about Christmas I couldn’t help but notice that Bangkok is adorned in fairy lights and Christmas decorations.

According to Wikipedia, 94.6% of Thais are Buddhists followed by 4.6%  Muslims which leave less than 1 percentage of Thai to be Christian. But if you are in Thailand, especially Bangkok, you will be forgiven if you think Thailand is a 100% Christian country. It looks like Thais love Christmas.  As soon as early November rolls around, every year, up go the Christmas trees, the Christmas lights and the Christmas decorations all over Bangkok. We saw Christmas decoration in every shopping mall, every department store, every shop and even many schools and offices decorated for Christmas. It’s actually quite wonderful if you’re a Christian living in Bangkok, as it’s hard to be depressed and miss your family when there’s Christmas cheer everywhere in Bangkok.

Here are some decoration from Siam Paragon, Central World Plaza, Amarin Plaza and other malls and walkway around Bangkok.

Christmas in Bangkok DSC09557 DSC09560 DSC09562 DSC09564 DSC09565 DSC09570 DSC09571 DSC09573 DSC09615-tile DSC09620 DSC09638 DSC09649 DSC09653 DSC09658 DSC09659 DSC09663 IMG_1089

16 Comments

Posted in Australia, Holidays, Nepal 2012 / 2013, Thailand

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My Easter long weekend

Posted on April 11, 2012 | 9 comments

Even though I don’t celebrate Easter, it is one of the best times of the year to have fun. Every year there is an Easter breakfast at work with Easter buns and Easter eggs and after that, off we go for a 4 day long weekend.

This year after a long time, I spent my Easter long weekend in Sydney. Before, I have always tried to escape Sydney at this time of the year as it is the second longest holiday here after Christmas, but this year we have a holiday planned in May so we thought it was better to enjoy Easter in Sydney. And I was surprised how busy we were even in Sydney.

Over the four day period, we attended a family dinner, a baby shower, catch up with my friends for dinner, catch up with AS’s friends for dinner, catch-up with his family for  dinner, whew, even writing all that tired me out! I couldn’t believe that the time went so fast and I am back at work now.

As I mentioned before in my post , everyone around me is either pregnant or already has a baby. Our friend N and J are expecting their first baby soon, so I went for the baby shower. It was organised in a park and we had great fun with them and their guests. The most entertaining part of the day was the games they had organised. If anyone is planning a baby shower soon and looking for ideas for games, here are a few fun ones from the day.

  • Fill baby bottle with milk and have a competition on who can finish the milk from the baby bottle.
  • Have adults (blindfolded) taste baby food and ask what flavour it is.
  • Blindfold people and make them feel baby stuffs like pacifier, nappy, clothes and ask them what they are.
  • The best one out of all, in a baby nappy, put some baby food (like green spinach or yellow corn ones) which will look like poo and have a competition on who can lick them clean quickest. I know it sounds gross but it was fun to watch. 🙂

The next evening we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner, the food was amazing and the highlight of it was the fish we had. Tasty with a very spicy sauce.

Then one evening we went to AS’s friend’s place for dinner. There was so much food that by the end of the evening I was so stuffed that I could  barely walk.

On the last evening, we went for a BBQ and momo in AS’s cousin’s place. How can Nepali people party without a momo? I got to meet his side of the family and make momo. The sauce was really spicy and tasty.

Also Easter is the time to indulge with lots of chocolates as well so there was lots of exchange of chocolates at work as well as with friends. AS is a big fan of dark chocolates so I bought him handmade chocolates from Belle Fleur. It just melts in your mouth and tastes divine. They were in shape of bunny, Easter eggs and hot cross bun.

How was your Easter break?

Hope everyone had a great time.

9 Comments

Posted in Australia, Holidays

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Australia day 2012

Posted on January 26, 2012 | 4 comments

Every year on the 26th of January we celebrate Australia day which is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788.

To mark Australia day, there are lots of activates all around the country. This day not only reflects contemporary Australia, it also highlights Australia’s diverse society, landmarks, achievements and future.

It is a public holiday in Australia. Most people choose to go and attend events organised for this day or just relax with friends and family with BBQ and watch the fireworks.

I went to a shopping centre today and I saw the Australian flag everywhere. It is so nice to see everyone getting into the sprite of Australia day. There are also lots of merchandise for Australia day on sale like party plates, cups, table clothes, lollies. One of the beauty salon was offering Australian flag manicure. That should be interesting.

Every year I try to go and attend celebrations in different part of Sydney. Last year I went to a concert in the city followed by amazing display of fireworks. I had a tattoo of Australian flag on my face (temporary of course!) and was proudly waving our flag.

The year before I had gone to Brighton where there were lots of stalls and market for Australia day celebration. There was a concert and lots of dancing going on. I remembered that day to be very hot so after lunch we went for a quick swim in the ocean.

Today I am going to the city to enjoy the music and fireworks. It will be followed by BBQ lunch and some shopping with hubby.

Australia day is very popular among migrants to take their Australian citizenship. There are lots of ceremonies conducted around the country where many migrants take the oath and become Australian citizens.

Each year there is a celebration of the achievement and contribution of eminent Australians through the Australian of the Year Awards. They are given to Australians who achieved and contribute to a better Australia.

The awards are given in the following categories:

  • Australian of the Year
  • Senior Australian of the Year (those aged 60 years or over)
  • Young Australian of the Year (ages 16 to 30)
  • Australia’s Local Hero

This year the award recipients are (source news.com.au)

Australian of the Year- Geoffrey Rush. Rush was recognises for his outstanding achievements in a lifetime career on the stage and screen as well as his long-term commitment to the Australian arts, including mentoring young artists.

Senior Australian of the Year – Laurie Baymarrwangga. Laurie has shown extraordinary commitment to maintaining her culture, the environment of her beloved Crocodile Islands and ensuring younger generations continue to keep their heritage alive.

Young Australian of the Year – Marita Cheng. Marita founded Robogals Global in 2008, as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in science, engineering and technology.By 2010, Robogals had run workshops for 3,000 girls in Australia and has now expanded to 17 branches across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Australia’s Local Hero 2012 – Lynne Sawyers . Lynne has shared her home, her family and her love with more than 200 children. For 15 years, she has been on call to care for lost, abused and bewildered children in heartbreaking circumstances.

Hats off to all the winners.

Happy Australia Day everyone !!!Have a great day!!!

4 Comments

Posted in Australia, Holidays

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Christmas in Australia

Posted on December 20, 2011 | 7 comments

Christmas in Australia is normally all about BBQ and beach. It is in summer so instead of having snow and bonfires we head to the beach to cool down and enjoy time with our family and friends.

One of the famous things to do during Christmas is to go and watch Christmas carols in Domain. Normally they have lots of celebrities and thousand of spectators coming together to sing carols and support charities.

I really feel bad for the Santa here who are wearing Santa outfit in this hot weather.

Normally we eat roast turkey, roast potatoes, pumpkin and salads, cold ham, cold chicken, king prawns, lobster and crayfish. Desserts are normally Pavlova with cream, strawberries, passionfruit and mince Pies. Don’t forget chilled beers, wine and champagne.

I am sure you haven’t seen this but if you go to Bondi beach on Christmas day, you will see Santa not in the sledge but in either surfboard or lifesaving boat.

This year the weather has been a bit crazy. It has been raining and a bit cold. Very abnormal for December in Sydney. We are hoping it snows here (hahaha) this year so we can experience a white Christmas. It is raining right now.

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I love the way all the malls and streets are decorated with lights and ornaments. Lots of houses in each suburb and their gardens are decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments. Today, I saw a bus fully decorated with Christmas stuff and the driver dressed as Santa. He was happily honking and wishing everyone a merry Christmas. It brought a smile to lots of passer by.

 The environment in the malls and offices are transformed into sparkly and colourful, happy places. I did a round at work yesterday and going through each department, I saw lots of nice decorations. Everyone seems happy and looking forward to a long break.

Our department is well decorated as well with tinsel and Christmas lights. The gifts under the Christmas tree is growing day by day as everyone is dropping their gifts there.

There are a few lunches and dinner planned to celebrate Christmas at work. The first morning tea was held last week officially starting Christmas celebrations. Lots of selections of pastries, sausage rolls, chips, dips and cake were there to choose from. The cake was decorated with Santa’s reindeers and a Christmas tree as well.

Also on Wednesday, we went to our first dinner after work. It was bowling followed by dinner. Had great fun. Then on Friday there was a big dinner organised for the whole 200+ staffs. So many people to know and mingle with 🙂 .. I am going for one more dinner tomorrow and there will be a few more lunches and morning teas before we officially close on 23 December for 10 days to reopen on 2nd January 2012. Looking forward to the break. Time to relax and unwind.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

7 Comments

Posted in Australia, Holidays

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