Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Return to Oz

For brief stay ...

It's hard to believe that was the first year, done! - two more to go.

It's lovely to be back in Perth (been away from here for two years!) The first thing you notice is the blue blue sky, and the crisp clear air. It's cold - well, I'm feeling cold! In our Terengganu apartment the thermometer on the wall never budges off 28 degrees, night and day. But here the nights are cold and we need to sleep under a doona.

There is no time difference between here and Malaysia, however in Terengganu the sun is up around 6.30-7am, and here it is up before 5am. And so on our first morning we were down at the beach well before 6am, it just seemed like time to get up.

So then we wandered into the local town (Rockingham, just south of Perth) and found that the 'Dome' coffee shop was open and serving breakfasts.



Now that's a breakie you don't find in Kuala Terengganu! Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on top of smoked salmon and rocket, on sourdough bread and a tall latte (coffee).

In Kuala Terengganu we have these lovely views of the South China Sea from our bedroom window:



Here in Rockingham we have views of the Indian Ocean:



So we feel right at home. It's a different colour, and it's too cold to swim in at the moment - and there have been rather too many shark sightings and shark attacks in these parts lately. At night the wind blows and blows - like the monsoon in Terengganu.

The Real Reason

Of course we didn't come here to gawk at the sea!

Our little grandson, Thomas, is only a few days old, and very enjoyable!



And his big brother, Taj, needs a lot of attention with a baby brother now stealing the limelight.



And there are 3 more grandchildren who we will see in the next few days.

So it has its good side (grand kids, grand views, clean air, no open drains etc) but there is a downside. The cold air / pollen in the air / dryness of the air has given me a cold or hayfever or something unpleasant so that I don't get too overjoyed.