Today marks a full year since I left Singapore for Darwin. It has been a full year since I bade farewell to my family and closest friends and arrived in Darwin, Australia with lots of hope, little expectation and full of apprehension. Time as flown so quickly as it always does in retrospect. What have I learnt in one year of living here?
Firstly, let me begin by saying that moving to Darwin, Australia has been the best decision Sang and I have ever made. Yes we do miss Singapore and it was tough to leave a place that we had grown accustomed to, a place where family and friends were in close proximity and where we had a safe shelter which we owned. However, after a year in Darwin, all I can say is that the pros of moving to Australia definitely outweigh the cons. The move to Darwin has taught us that there is a lot more beyond the waters of Singapore. Australia is such a massive country that the opportunities are endless. In this fairly short period here, I have worked as a photographer at a crocodile attraction, worked as a photographer at the Darwin Thoroughbred Racing Club, joined a photography club that has helped me improve my photography by leaps and bounds, gone for a few camping trips, swam in waterfalls almost 10 times, gone trekking about 5 times, enjoyed countless sunsets while sitting by the beach, played football about 100 times, gone off-road biking a few times, joined a regular badminton group, learnt and became confident in cooking, went for 5 boat rides and many more.
To be honest, I can't see myself having done all of these in Singapore in 3 years, let alone one year. It's not that I do not like Singapore. However, being a fairly outgoing person and one who loves nature and the outdoors, Singapore has very little else to offer outside a city life. That's ofcourse no fault of anyone, but it's just the way things are and I am glad we decided to leave the comfort of our home to explore new frontiers.
Darwin (and Australia for that matter) is not perfect. To be honest, the crime rate here is something that is definitely a cause for concern, especially in recent times. Youth delinquents seem to be causing lots of problems by breaking into houses and stealing cars. Does that mean that we would want to leave Australia and return to Singapore? It has definitely made us rethink our stay in Darwin for the long term. However, at present, returning to Singapore is not something we have considered. We have taken steps to reduce the possibility of us becoming victims again (already had my car window smashed once) and we have considered moving to a different state not only due to crimes, but also for me to take my photography forward. What the next year holds is difficult to predict. However, returning to Singapore has long been diluted as an option. Maybe some day many years down the road or maybe not at all; only time will tell.
For anyone considering moving to Australia, make a calculated decision. As long as you can fund your move and brace yourself for a tumultuous six months, I would definitely say, go for it. There is a lot of learning and self discovery that Sang I have experienced that we wouldn't have had we remained in Singapore.
On a side note, Sang and I have just spent four days in Sydney. In fact, I am on the Jetstar flight right now as I type this. It was a fantastic four days meeting up with close friends who now reside there. We stayed with Victoria and Andrew at their home in North Sydney and we also met up with Shivani on three occasions. We had so much of good food and did some sight seeing as well. We were amazed by the trains in Sydney. They were double-decked trains and the seats could do the coolest things. We could reverse the seats depending on the direction of the train! There were so many beautiful houses in Sydney that we quite obviously can't afford but it was nice driving by seeing the beautiful architecture. We also visited the Royal Sydney National Park and went for an early morning drive to Turimetta Beach. It was really a wonderful holiday considering it was only four days long. We land in Darwin at 11.30pm and it's back to work for us tomorrow morning. We are heading to Singapore in three weeks for Sang's brother's engagement so we are looking forward to that as well. 2017 seems like it will go by fairly quickly as well. Anyway, I shall end this post now and you can enjoy some of the photos taken from out Sydney trip. Cheers.
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| The Lovely Andrews |
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| Royal Sydney National Park |
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| An Italian Night Out |
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| Long Lost Friends |
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| Shivani and Shi Nee, both my JC Classmates |
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| Turimetta Beach at 6.30am |
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| Amazing Cocktails at The Potter's Shed |
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| A Fantastic Tomahawk Steak at Oaks Hotel |
On a side note, Sang and I have just spent four days in Sydney. In fact, I am on the Jetstar flight right now as I type this. It was a fantastic four days meeting up with close friends who now reside there. We stayed with Victoria and Andrew at their home in North Sydney and we also met up with Shivani on three occasions. We had so much of good food and did some sight seeing as well. We were amazed by the trains in Sydney. They were double-decked trains and the seats could do the coolest things. We could reverse the seats depending on the direction of the train! There were so many beautiful houses in Sydney that we quite obviously can't afford but it was nice driving by seeing the beautiful architecture. We also visited the Royal Sydney National Park and went for an early morning drive to Turimetta Beach. It was really a wonderful holiday considering it was only four days long. We land in Darwin at 11.30pm and it's back to work for us tomorrow morning. We are heading to Singapore in three weeks for Sang's brother's engagement so we are looking forward to that as well. 2017 seems like it will go by fairly quickly as well. Anyway, I shall end this post now and you can enjoy some of the photos taken from out Sydney trip. Cheers.
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