Good Bye Taipei & USA !!!

Time flies.. yes! we're home. We had a wondeful family vacation...up & go, up & go, lots of sightseeing, clicking of camera, visiting relatives, eating, drinking, karaoke singing, dancing, pampering(free manicure/pedicure)and lots of shopping of course...ok these are some of the places we've covered in 3 weeks:

1.Taipei(Taiwan)- Late president Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Presidential Building, National Palace Museum, Martyrs' Shrine, Yangmingshan National Park (just to look at the famous flower clock!), Beitou Hot Springs (TOTALLY NUDE!!), Xianing & Shilin Night Market (unforgetable fried stinky tofu eww..), Handicraft Centre (bought a nice necklace with a flower coral pendant, Taipei 101 (the world's tallest building apparently)

2.Los Angeles, California - Disneyland, Universal Studio, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Muscle Building Beach in Santa Monica, Santa Ana (Little Saigon), South Coast Plaza in Orange County (got myself a "Coach" bag & a winter coat), Xilaishi Taiwanese Temple (Great mountain view), San Diego, Ronald Reagan Museum and on board "Air Force One" (this aircraft served as the “Flying White House,” for President Reagan and six other U.S. presidents from 1973-2001

3.Tijuanna, Mexico (quite an adventure, we drove past the border without our passports !!)

4.New York City, New York - Uptown, Downtown, Brooklyn, Manhattan..(wow! we've experienced our first white Christmas!!!!)

5.Las Vegas, Nevada - haha no bet no win! hey you know what? never miss seeing the "Jubilee" topless show when you are in Vegas, a must see entertainment for visitors over 18+, loved it!

6.Arizona - Hoover Dam (awesome), Grand Canyon (well..we had to endure 20 miles of bumpy road to get there and guess what? it sucks as you have to park your car for $20USD, then take a bus tour to look at the Grand Canyon for $29.95 pp. You can no longer drive all the way in with your car.) Money an issue? of course not! It was well over 3pm by the time we got there, the tour took at least 2 hours plus we had to queue up for tickets...forget it! we've decided to head back before it gets dark. So.. NO GRAND CANYON this time, instead we captured views from afar which, surprisingly, resembles our Ayers Rock (believe it or not!!)

San Francisco & Niagara Falls - sadly we missed out! time not permitted :( Nevertheless great trip overall!



So here are some more photos of our trip... Enjoy!

NY weather report

Young people take over Parliament House

After months of anticipation, Alexander and his team finally made their way to the Victorian Parliament House on September 30 to introduce the following Bill:

Increased night-time security on public transport systems

"It gave us a real sense of pride knowing that things that we had a say in had an impact on the community," Alexander & his Legal Eagles team said.

The Legal Eagles team (from left): Alexander, Jade, Daniel, Eric, Simo and Anita.
Article courtesy of: Monash Journal - Monday, Sept 29, 2008.

Fun with piano teacher

"Beauty and the Beast"
Piano duet Vivian(Primo) teacher Joanna(Secondo), together they make beautiful music!!

Royal Melbourne Show

It's that time of the year again! time to bring the country into the city.
Carnivals, food & wine tasting, animals & agriculture, live shows, pavillions, activities 4 kids, show bags...
By the end of the day...kids? happy & gay...mum and dad? tired, broke, oh come back again no way!!!

Father's Day Outing and Dinner 2008

Get a cuppa, turn on your speakers, sit back, relax & enjoy the show...

1st part: Spirit of Tasmania tour
2nd part: Dining at the Volcanoe Joe's
3rd part: kids singing "I love you"

Together again!

Mum's joyful reunion with her family in America
Mum(no.3 from right)with big brother and 5 of her 6 sisters, 3 younger brothers not in the photo. Mind you, grandma has 11 children that's right! ELEVEN !!!

Niagara Falls - Ontario, Canada (rain coats to protect them from getting wet when the boat got near the falls, quite stylish!)

Pamela & Kimberly ( just 2 out of my dozens of cousins) they were only "2 yrs old" and "just born" respectively when I was in LA some 17 years ago..and look at them NOW! WOW!

Another 2 cousins James Banh aka James Bond & his sister Cynthia.

A rising star - coming to a cinema near you...

Just mucking around with the "BuboMe" application - How cool is that?

Netball Champions

Well done to our Premiers the St Christopher's Crystals for winning this year's Netball Grand Finals last Saturday - what a magnificent result! --->>> Crystals 25 defeated Templeton TicTacs 23
Good on ya girls, it was a truely nail-biting game but you've pulled it off in the end - Vivian! Congratulations to you and the girls! look forward to the next Spring Season.

From left (top row): Nellie (Coach), Cindy, Lucy, Vivian, Lauren, Katherine, Isabella
From left (bottom row): Shankari, Tahlia & Amy

Lucky 8

8/8/08 @ 8.08pm marked the opening ceremony of the XXIX Olympiad. So do you know what "number 8" sounds like in Chinese (Cantonese)? yes " wealth = 发aka财富" and many people believe eight is a number that is linked to prosperity - but wait...no one tells you that "8" can also means "Sticky Beak" = "八卦，多管闲事" hahahahahaaaaaaaa
Enjoy the Olympic games everyone!!! "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi"