Gathering

A random gathering with uni friends...

some of which I don't see that often anymore...

some of which used to be my housemates...

some of which used to be part of my cooking group...

some of which used to live in the same hall as I did...

some of which used to be in the same course as me...

some of which used to be on the same committee member as I was...

It does feel like a walk down memory lane... sigh.. I'm really getting old I supposed!!

Decisions, decisions...

What should I do?? I need to make a decision by Monday!!!

Am I ready to climb the property ladder now??

Is it wise to commit myself into such a long-term investment??

Is it a worthwhile investment?? Will it be an asset or a liability??

Shall I wait and still look around??

Will I regret it and be able to take the hit if I really bought it now and find that prices are plummeting down??? Or would it be the case that I pass up this opportunity now and regret it later when prices are soaring and there's no availability???

WHAT SHOULD I DO???

YES OR NO???

I HATE BEING SO INDECISIVE!!!

BUT THEN AGAIN, THIS IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS SHOPPING FOR A DRESS!!!

GIRO Convention

It stands for General Insurance Research Organisation... GIRO is probably the most prestigious conference for general insurance actuaries in the UK... even though it's held annually, the conference rotate between a location in the UK and somewhere abroad alternately...

Since my department is quite large, it has been an unspoken condition that you have to be a qualified actuary for the company to sponsor your trip to the conference... and even amongst those who are qualified, you have to submit a business case to be selected for the conference... and usually those who qualified in the year are allowed to go...

I guess I'm lucky enough to qualify in the year where the conference is held abroad!!! And this year's GIRO location is the exotic SORRENTO!! :)

So... there... my first business trip out of the UK... all the way to the Bay of Naples... I have to admit that lady luck is smiling on me...

The venue for the conference is Hilton Sorrento Palace... it's supposed to be a 5 star hotel! The hotel sure did live up to its reputation...

I really did like my sea view room.... hehehe... it's a good thing that I didn't book my room early enough as they ran out of the normal rooms (i.e. cheaper rooms) and I was allowed to stay in the executive double sea view room... hahaha....

Just look at the views from my room... I guess that's why it's a whooping 235 euros a night!

The conference was really enjoyable for me... although some bits of it was really boring but that was more than made up by the fun that I had with my colleagues and the food that they fed us... I made some new friends as well... met some Malaysian actuaries from all over the world at the conference and they were even two guys who flew in all the way from Malaysia... one was from Kurnia Insurance and the other one from Bank Negara...

Felt like I was on a 4-day holiday instead of "working"... well... theoretically, we were "supposed" to be working by networking with clients and trying to sell business to them... oh well...

Trip to Down Under: Melbourne

After Sydney, we flew to Melbourne to continue with our exploration Australia...

On our first day there, coincidentally there was a fire in the middle of town! As a result, all transportation were suspended and we had to walk instead... but I suppose it's not too bad... we get to see more than we intended to (apart from MiMi who was cold!)

List of what we saw during our little walk:

The Victoria State Library...

Melbourne Town Hall...

St Paul's Cathedral, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and Victorian Art Centre...

That night, we had dinner at Mekong, this Vietnamese restaurant that my friend who used to live in Melbourne recommended... well... supposedly many different famous figures had eaten in the restaurant before... even Bill Clinton... BUT... somehow... I think that good old Cafe East was better!!!! :P




The next day, we had a full itinerary as well...


The Treasury Gardens... what a nice park to have a picnic! And it's Melbourne's oldest gardens...




The Fitzeroy Gardens, Conservatory, Cook's Cottage and the Fairy Tree... the conservatory was absolutely pretty and colourful... The cottage is supposed to be the original cottage shipped by Captain Cook's parents all the way from Yorkshire to Melbourne...

St Patrick's Cathedral - one of the grandest Gothic churches in Australia...

The City Museum...

The Parliament House, which is the home of the Victorian Government

Lunch at Chinatown - Little Bourke Street... I must say, dim sum at this restaurant was pretty good... Royal China standards!





One of the free trams in Melbourne for tourists... reminds me of the colonial trams in Hong Kong...



Carlton Gardens... hahaha... I guess we haven't had enough of gardens yet... judging by how energetic we were in jumping up and down for photos...





The Melbourne Museum..




The IMAX theatre... though I didn't watch any movies in there... maybe the next good movie comes along I'll try it out... missed out on Dark Knight at London's IMAX...




Dinner at the famous Lygon Street where my bro could stuff himself with his favourite food on earth - SPAGHETTI CARBONARA!!!!





The following day, it was our Philips Island tour....

The first stop was a Victorian winery for wine tasting... hmmm... not a big fan of wine nor am I an expert... so I just left it to my dad to do the selection...

Then it's another wildlife park...

And ooooooooohhhhhhh.... they have a baby wombat... called Wilma... she is absolutely the most adorable thing and she looks so "manja" with the park ranger... just a random fact... wombats have poo which are squared-shape.... hahaha... that's your trivia for the day...

Other animals that we met at the park... a koala with her baby in her pouch... an albino baby kangaroo inside his mother's pouch... but surprisingly the mother wasn't albino...

We also headed for the Cape Woolamai... one of the famous surf beaches... but I guess it's not summer yet so you don't see any surfers...

Seal rocks... if you are lucky enough... you may be able to spot seals resting on the rocks, hence the name... but yours truly couldn't see anything at all...

The nobbies centre for seal...

I may not have spotted any seals... but ta-da... I spotted penguins... the real fairy penguin... and our very own penguin... spot the resemblance??? Pointed head, fat, open arms and wobbling along??? Hahaha...

Finally... the highlight of the trip! The penguins parade... it was so cute... the penguins coming up from the ocean, forming groups and making their ways back to the nests... as they are in their natural habitat, we weren't allowed to take any pictures or make any noises to scare them away... but I'm telling you, if you do go to Melbourne... go for the penguin parade... you'll be amazed how smart they are... they wait for their whole clique to arrive before starting to make their way... and they know their way back to their nests!!

Couldn't resist taking a picture of it... found it so cute!

And I met Clare! Thanks girl for taking out time to see me... it was good to meet up and I hope things go well with your job hunting...

Our final day in Melbourne was spent cramming in as much touristy stuff that we could do...

Queen Victoria Market

The Yarra River... hehehe... can you spot the PwC building behind again... hahaha...

Southbank Arts and Leisure Preccint - one of Melbourne's main entertainment preccint with shops, restaurants, cafes etc.

The Crown Casino... no no no... I didn't go gambling there... hmmm... maybe if I did, it might boost my downpayment for a flat!!! hahaha... nah... we went in to the casino to have a look but only my dad join the tables...

While my dad was at the casino, we had gelati... Yummy!!!

Queen Victoria Gardens... I know I know... more gardens... but flowers are pretty... and by the time I'm back in London... it'll be autumn and there'll be no flowers... check out the floral clock...

Shrine of Remembrance - a tribute to Victorian people who served in war...

National Gallery of Victoria...

Afternoon tea at KoKo Black... rivals of Max Brenner... I'm not a big chocolate fan but everyone else in my family loves it especially my younger sis... so a treat for her...

I just think that they are so pretty... hehehe... they make good photos... but the iced chocolate drink that I had was not bad... it was an blend of chocolate with vanilla and chocolate ice-cream with chocolate sauce... sinful!!!

Someone trying to act cool at Victoria Harbour...

Modern art at Harbour Esplanade... not us but the metal sculpture of course...

We had dinner by the Waterfront City and the Newquay area... it's quite cool... feels like you are in a Canary Wharf minus the office buildings...

And hahaha.. they have their version of the "eye"... I think it's called Melbourne Eye... so creative...

To end our trip, Yuni's friend brought us out for a ride in her mini and we went for Max Brenner again!

It's simple... to just love chocolate...

But I guess I'm still more interested in taking pictures of them rather than eating them!!!

Oh well... bye bye Australia... it has been fun... but I don't know whether I'll be back...