Bryan Wong

Tasmania, an isle down under, proves to be a haven for one who worships nature..where the air is fresh and temperature hits down under..Under the Tassie sky we romped the isle for a good seven days, drinking in the sights of cradle mountain, walking with fairy penguins and basking in the frail sunlight, in a temperature of 4 to 15 degrees, where the biting cold hits your frail joints when the wind blows…….

After a good long seven and a half hours of flight time, arrived in Melbourne International airport where i promptly snap a pic of myself, a sort of a ritual as i always do it on trips, so that i could always remember how i look and felt at that point of time. Frankly, the flight there wasn’t so comfy..Its on a 747 megatop, which is rather old and wonder why humans are reduced to be sardines when they travel…Hmm….

Fortunately, its only about one hour flight time to Hobart, which we walked over to the domestic airport and boarded this lovely fire engine red Virgin Blue aircraft..They are rather strict with your hand carry though..everything have to be stowed away..even a small little waist pouch have to be placed under the seat in front of you..

Upon arriving in Hobart we started our tour, visiting first, the fruit farm.On the way, upon arriving in Hobart, we crossed the bridge in the city, of course picture time again. The bridge resembled the one in Macau, rather pleasing to the eye and picture worthy..

Tasmania is famous for its abalones ,oysters and scallops and what you see above is the Barilla Bay oyster farm..actually, that would be the cafe and boutique shop of the farm. rather interesting way of farming though..as they have to haul the oysters too and from the sea, sort them out by sizes… It is educational to know that Tasmania is one of the least polluted place on earth and thats why its produce whether its seafood or agricultural stuffs are of good quality.. and the air.. hooo..really fresh….

The temperature there is rather amazing..its end of winter and approaching spring ..occasional showers that really freezes you! But,after the rain, there is always the lovely rainbow, which we saw twice on this trip…

this is over at launceston…

One of the scenic places that i enjoyed would be the lovely historical town of Richmond, which is about 25 km from hobart..The quaint sandstone bridge that you see in the picture is the oldest surviving bridge in aust, built in 1823 …

All in all minus the group that went down, i think there are only another twenty souls at this scenic spot…

Hobart and launceston is a relatively quiet town..quaint and serene..rather like Mosman in Sydney..here are some of the sights you might see..

blue skies and puffy white clouds…

having trees this old really adds character to the city..

good to sit and watch the world goes by…pensive thoughts of retirement?

Sunrise In Hobart

Quaint historical buildings in launceston..

You might wonder if Hobart is just about a wee bit too quiet ..Don’t fret..there is always the Salamanca Market if you long for some human touch..

Most of the buildings here are made of sandstones, an architectural trademark of Tassie..

There are about three hundred stalls thronging the streets on a saturday at the market, which is located at princes wharf..here you could find lots of stuffs, from locally made made handicrafts to german sausages..

Huon Valley is one of the places that we visited and the Tahune airwalk is really something. It is one of the latest attractions in Tassie and a great place for forest lovers…

Huge tree!

If you were to ask me what would be the place that i really loved in Tassie, its gotta be Cradle Mountain..Why?…You’ll see…

Very much into shadow pic..sometimes shadows say alot more…

pure serenity…tranquility……

The Crew…..

Sunset time..when darkness takes over..

This is taken on the night of the mid autumn..

Temperature dips down to six degrees in the mountains….

This is the lodge that we stay in.. Very nice wor! Quaint on the outside, modern inside! V nice to have a fireplace in the room!

Caught this wallaby in the morning just outside my cabin.. they are all over the place, like cats in sgp… very cute and bouncy…

These are some of the group members that went on the trip..very lovely people! had much fun with them….

Thousand of miles away from home.. yet, very much at home under the tassie sky.. What have i learnt on this trip? many. As you might know, i was unwell before the trip and during the trip, about the fourth day, sickness took over in a very bad way..was shivering in cold, feverish and coughing badly..however, what kept me going was the unconditional care and concern the people around me gave and that really saved the day..also, the medicine bag that my mum packed for me really did the trick! she had me well covered…even though i thought she is over the top with the flu medicine, cough drops, tablets for dry throat etc etc.. One of the best moment of this trip is when i get to cuddle a Koala.. the moment it reaches out and clasp its arms around me, it felt really good, as it hung on to me in absolute trust..

It has been a true wonderful experience in Tassie..a really good break for me as i am really running out of steam..Thank you to the wonderful 45 friends on this trip who made these seven days amazing and memorable..

One day i shall return to Cradle Mountain..to explore the mountain and be cradled…wait for me…wait for me……

i am most delighted and ever most thankful when i logged on and received so many well wishes…it is simply amazing that you guys cared enough to give me the additional boost that i needed… its awesome and mind blowing when you feel so doted on..this feeling is really really nice..thank you all..even though at this point of time my throat still hurts and my flams are turning yellow, you guys really warmed my heart.

Thankfully, i did not have yet another shitty day..though my thigh and ass still aches badly, i managed another day of filming the princess dude thingy with jeanette with much fun and laughter. Its rather fun to work with her..fyi, she is unassuming..sweet..and rather professional. Even though she is catching a flight to china tonight at about ten, she filmed patiently till 1930hrs, only to rush home to do last minute packing..

So tonight i will probably sleep late as i have to attack the task of packing for the trip.latest info from my friends found that the temperature over tasmania varies from 5 to 15 degrees..Guess its gonna be cold…me like.. however, starting to feel a little bit apprehensive about the trip cause i wonder if i make a good guide…..hmm.. homework and more homework…

Just when i thought i am well into the road to being thin, i embarked on the road to being SICK!!! eew! Yesterday, started a new variety programme “Seven princess and the dude” which stars Me as the dude and the seven princesses ( jeanette Aw, Ruien,Fiona, Fann,Felicia…)as co anchor for the programme.

Ist ep saw jeanette and i going to the spa, getting in a jacuzzi filled with flower petals, having massage in a greenhouse like structure right smack in the middle of the pool. So, you see, exposure to the sun and then to aircon and then back to the sun took a toll on my old body and today, just when i started the first ep of home decor three, my nose ran like a bloody train and temperature shot up and guess what, I HAVE FALLEN SICK! And, to make matter worst, yesterday, one of the segments for the princess dude show, we have to feature a form of exercise called ” Sliding Tone”. You have to perform a series of actions that requires you to slide on one leg and TODAY I WOKE UP WITH A PAIR OF ACHING THIGHS AND MY ASS HURTS!!!!! And to make matter worst, i start work tommorrow morning at 0730, finish at 8pm and on this thursday, i am flying off to Tasmania to film the variety show ” 我的导游是明星“。。

I think by now you might just agree that i had a shitty day.However,it could have been worst. Perhaps a good night sleep might do me some good and perhaps tomorrow will be a better day.

This couple of days of absence reaffirms one simple theory..and that is, if you were to lay off doing something for one or two days, you might just end up evading it for a longer period of time. Frankly, i logged on every night ..just staring blankly at the screen, reading what you guys wrote..starting a line or two but, only resulting in having lots of uncompleted drafts,waiting to be completed, to be published.. sigh..that is just so me…like what my friends said, that when i set my mind on doing something, i will do it with all the conviction i could and never stop but if i were to stop..hmm…i stop.

its the same scenario when it comes to going to the gym..Last time, i used to be an avid gym freak..i even wake up at 6am just to be at the gym by seven if my filming starts at nine in the morning. I would pursue this form of exercise vigorously,almost zealously.. Until the day, one fine day, when i am done with pursuing the six pec and buldging biceps i stopped going to the gym altogether for one and a half years.. till one fine day when i looked in the mirror and saw one big ball of rotound fat stomach and a sad looking pair of chest( as you know, the N will sag and points downwards..ya?) that i am jotled out of my dreamlike state and went promptly back to the gym and tried to wrestle the N pointing back at the right direction.That went on for two months….

But once again..i stopped. The N? well…they are not so happy again… direction? you are correct, they are indeed….pointing southwards….. So, now that i am finally making another entry in my blog, i should go back to the gym.. Perhaps tomorrow i shall put on my faithful gloves and start lifting weights again.. If ever..my N finally points at the right direction, i shall post the picture here, tastefully done of course, but if i were to lay off again, the picture will never ever make it here…ever!

As i look back, its been quite a while since i attended a farewell dinner..To be exact, probably three years ago..when i bid farewell to a very dear friend mediaworks. Since then, i haven’t attended any sort of a farewell thingy,probably because the pain and saddness is just…too much to bear. however, this fateful day came again, when one of my dear colleague left her job and once again, farewell reared its ugly head.

so a bunch of us decided to give her a farewell dinner..perhaps a soft wrap to our years of being together.everyone seemed jolly..perhaps that was just a facade to mask the saddness inside. We appeared happy..photograph taking, tons of laughter,mountains of jokes,plentiful of bitchings…we appeared ..happy. As i took a lingering look at our group i wondered..why is it that it took a farewell dinner to bring us together?  what happened to all those time when time is abundant and there isn’t the ominous departure lurking in the air? That we could have done things ever so differently..perhaps sharing more, treasuring the company?

But, my dear friends, not all farewells are allowed sweet reunions..Some farewells..well..they are forever…..So perhaps, from this day,from this moment we learn the meaning of Carpe diem( seize the day)..we learn how to cherish what we have, whom we have and the tangible friendship/kinship that is in our lives, that we learn how to cherish each and every moment time allow us too because, just one day, just one fine day, it will cease to be ours..ever..again…

My dear friend teletubs..thank you ……