Last Sunday...

Agnes (my neighbour) and me went to see the Fremantle festival.



Ok taken before I left home, checking my camera to see if it still works!!! hahahha

We left our car at the Claremont train station and hitched a train ride. It was fun. There were many people heading that way too. Now Fremantle festival is an annual event (apparently.. hehe.. only heard about it this year!!!) Anyway, we arrived there at around noon, train ride took about 15 mins. First stop - Target!! I needed to buy a christmas present for a little boy/girl, part of our office Christmas program to collect gifts for the orphan kids. So into Target we went, me looking for a present and Agnes, just browsing. I suppose as the store is big, we got sidetracked around the ladies section :-) (I know, I know..an excuse ...) 20% off ladies clothing... hmmmm.. who could resist that??? Good bargain!!! Tried on a few pieces, liked one, and guess what??? Just had to have it... hahahha... Then we went upstairs to look at toys (which was the reason I was in Target) but didn't buy any. Reason being??? Oh, too hard to carry all over the street. We still had to watch the parade remember?? :-)

After Target we went roaming the street and found some other bargain!!! Red Dot was our next stop and this was where I bought my gift for a little girl, and it was good bargain too!!!.. Ok by now, I was already carrying 2 plastic bags. So much for saying 'No more buying, gotta save money!!!!' or 'Don't want to buy lah.. so hard to carry' ...Yeah right - the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!!! or something like that..

Well, we went wandered down South Terrace where the hoo-haa was supposed to take place, and guess what? We saw the road was closed, people were wandering around.. but nothing much happening. Just like a typical Sunday in Fremantle... Where were the stalls?? Where was the parade???


See no stalls. I was hoping for a street fair..like Gaya Street.. hehehe...

Now, shopping makes one hungry, so we went into Dome for lunch. Picked a window seat and enjoyed watching people walking by. And this is what we saw...



This man was in a costume and posing for everyone who wanted a pic :-)

After lunch, we went a walkabout and saw some interesting events...




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At the end of the street, a stage was set up and these young ladies were dancing the bhangra.. Very catchy music.. kids watching were dancing along.. very vibrant!!!

We also found where the stalls were!!!




Parade started at 4pm, and it was indeed a colourful one. Here are some pics of the parade..










Parade ended at around 5pm but the street festival went on till night time. We didn't stay till late. We left Fremantle at around 6pm. It was a tiring but interesting day.

Next will be the Christmas parade :-)

Anzac Day - Lest we forget


Today we celebrate Anzac Day. Thousands of people gathered at a dawn service to commemorate those who have died in the battle in Gallipoli. I admit I don't know much about what happened in Gallipoli 93 years ago. To me, it is just another public holiday and Anzac biscuits. But watching the dawn service in Gallipoli on TV now makes me curious of what actually happened on that day, and what made it such an auspicious day for the thousands who gathered in the dawn of this day, standing in the cold, honoring men who have fought and died in the battle. Here in Perth, 40,000 gathered at Kings Park for the dawn service. There was also a parade in the city afterwards.

So what actually happened in Gallipoli in 1915? And here is what I found out from Wikipedia:

The Battle of Gallipoli took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916, during the First World War. In early 1915 Russia was fighting a multi front war against Germany, Austria/Hungary, and Turkey. While it had a sizable army it struggled to deliver sufficient supplies to the troops. The landings at Gallipoli were an Allied attempt to clear a supply path through the Dardanelles to Russia. This would also assist them by putting pressure on Turkey by threatening Constantinople (now Istanbul). On April 25, 1915, after failed attempts to force a passage through the Dardanelles by naval forces alone, a force of British Empire and French troops landed at multiple places along the peninsula. The battles over the next 8 months saw high casualties on both sides due to the exposed terrain, weather and closeness of the front lines. The invasion forces were successfully blocked by the Turkish troops and the subsequent Allied withdrawal meant the Russians would not be receiving supplies through the Dardanelles.Overall, there were around 140,000 Allied casualties including around 45,000 deaths and 250,000 Turkish casualties including around 85,000 deaths. In Turkey, the battle is perceived as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people—a final surge in the defense of the motherland as the centuries-old Ottoman Empire was crumbling. The struggle laid the grounds for the Turkish War of Independence and the foundation of the Turkish Republic eight years later under Atatürk, himself a commander at Gallipoli.

In Australia and New Zealand, the campaign was the first major battle undertaken by a joint military formation, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries. Anzac Day (April 25) remains the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in Australia and New Zealand, surpassing Armistice Day/Remembrance Day.

And so, Anzac Day is commemorated every year by the countries who have sent and lost their children in the battle in 1915. If you visit Kings Park, you can see the memorial that was built. For many of us, it is just a memorial built to remember those who have fought and died in battle, but for families who have relatives who were lost in the battle, this means a lot to them.

In Malaysia, we commemorate those who died during WWII. The Tugu Negara was built to remember those who died in our country's struggle for freedom, from the Japanese during WWII and later from the British from which we gain our independence.

3 am Sunday morning, that's tomorrow, officially ends daylight savings for 2007/08. Many families came out to celebrate the end of daylight savings, by enjoying the extra sunlight by the river. Tomorrow we will go back an hour, which means I get an extra hour of sleep in the morning.. haha..

I rather like daylight savings. It gives me that extra sunlight to do the things I want after work. Now many west Australians would disagree with me on this. The government has given the people a 3 year trial, and at the end of that 3rd year, the people will vote whether to have it for good or to reject it in a referendum. Ah well, whatever the outcome is, I will enjoy it while I can. Until next summer...

Christmas is ....

just around the corner :-) Seems like it was just yesterday that I spent Christmas here in Perth. My 2nd Christmas, and this year I will be celebrating it with some friends from Sabah..oooo.. nice :-)

Anyway, last Saturday Valerie and I went to watch the annual RAC Channel Seven Christmas pageant. Last Christmas we said we were not going to come to this year's pageant and guess what?? We were there again.. hahaha.. People starting camping along the road where the pageant will pass through as early as 4.30 pm and the whole affair didn't start until 8.30pm! Mommies, daddies,grandparents, kids and even babies as old as a few weeks old all came out. They brought mats, picnic chairs, food and drinks, and St George's Tce, William St, Wellington St and Barrack St (the route of the parade) turned into a big picnic ground. It was very cold too and we had to go and get ourselves a jumper, luckily there were sales on. The parade sponsored by Channel 7 and RAC was officiated by the Lady Mayor. There were floats, multi-cultural groups, camels, dogs, dancers, clowns, fairies, samba bands and drum bands as well as the display of luxury cars. It started with the City of Perth band and ended with Father Christmas and Reindeer. Didn't get home until after 10pm.

Here are some pics I captured but they are not very clear as you can see..hehe.. my camera is not equip to take night shots! Bugger!!

Deep within a forest, at the summit of a volcano, exists an extraordinary world—a world where something else is possible. A world called Varekai....

And so the story began, and what an amazing 2 hour entertainment it was, where audiences were brought into a world of sounds and colours. The costumes were fabulous, the sound system was pretty amazing for a show in a tent. The acrobatic movements were out of this world. I wish I could take some pics and show you all, but unfortunately it is not allowed :-( The only complaint is that the seats were not very comfortable..haha.. and you don't really know what they were singing about. I thought that they were using french, but my friend said it was actually gibberish! haha.. BUt there were bits and pieces of logical language, like 'sorry mate' or 'la lune' .. :-) There were also merchandise for sale, and of course they were expensive. The cheapest would be the key ring, but I didn't get any. Perhaps I will just keep the ticket :-) Not cheap too, $89!! BUT.. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't indulged himself in this kaleidoscopic world of colours populated by magical creatures. It is indeed a show worth watching.

Varekei

Wildflowers Festivals - Japanese Garden