My ties with Australia

I have close ties with Australia. I have a sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew living in Melbourne plus two nieces and a nephew in Sydney. My daughters had their tertiary education in Monash University and RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University in Melbourne. They have fond memories of Australia. Australia was kind enough to allow foreign students to work part-time to help defray their cost of studying there, which was a great lifting of a financial burden from my shoulder. I have a former colleague who is now staying permanently in Perth.

Perth, Western Australia

It will be nice to see my former colleague in Perth again after all these years. Further incentives are the many interesting places to visit and the the many events are are organised year round in Perth. Especially well known is Australia's largest and oldest multi-arts festival, the International Arts Festival (PIAF), held in Perth each summer showcasing some of the world's finest artists and performers. It brings together award-winning films direct from international film festivals, music from Leonard Bernstein's Candide inventive music of violinist Nigel Kennedy and cool jazz tunes. There is also the famous international writer's festival where authors descend on Perth to scrutinise and celebrate writing during the festival. The festival is traditionally closed by colorful fireworks display on the closing night.

It will be too much to expect my former colleague to put me up in their cramped quarters, so that means hotels which should not be any problem with the existence of online booking sites like Hotels in Perth.

Sydney

Copyright under Creative Commons by ionsand uploaded to Flickr

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Above is a view of the Sydney Harbour with the icon of Sydney, the Opera House with its complex tiled seashell roof on the left and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (fondly called the "coat hanger") on the right. The Opera House, while it is a beautiful architectural building earning itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site award on 28 June 2007, was one of the most difficult and expensive building to be constructed because of its shell roof design and the difficulty of tiling it. This is one building I will very much love to visit.

Again, expecting my nieces and nephew to put me up during my visit will again be too much to expect with their cramped student accommodation. I will have to depend on hotels again. This should again be not a problem with online searching and booking at Sydney Hotels.

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria and is infamous for its extreme, erratic and unreliable weather. However, it is a charming city which still uses tram system , which began operations in 1885, for public transportation. Unfortunately, most of its attractions are in the metropolitan areas while my sister stays far way in the suburbs. I will have to depend on hotel online booking sites like Melbourne Accommodation.

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia, a coastal city beside the Southern Ocean. The Adelaide Festival Centre is Adelaide's first multi-purpose art center and its answer to the Sydney Opera House. It was built at a fraction of the cost of the Sydney Opera House, but attract as much art festival activities, and its acoustics are considered far superior, in fact, considered one of the best in Australia. Adelaide has gained itself a reputation as a city of culture mainly from the world famous biennial Adelaide Arts Festival, a gathering of world-renown performers, artists and writers.

I have no one I know in Adelaide, and for accommodation, I will have to depend on Hotels in Adelaide.