I haven been in Alice Springs for the past 5, no sorry 6 days. I arrived on Saturday at 9am, picked up the Mistubishi ASX that I rented at the airport and made my way towards the town centre.
Why was I in Alice Springs? Well, mainly for work but I did extend the trip into two weekends so that I could do some exploring as well.
When I first arrived in the town centre, there seemed to be one swanky cafe that was bustling with people. As it was 10am, it was the perfect time for a hearty breakfast and I soon found myself digging away at mushrooms, bacon, eggs and tomatoes with a warm mug of cappuccino watching from the sidelines. While indulging, I texted a soccer buddy who had recently located to Alice Springs. His name was Kundan and he invited me over to his place.
Shortly after, I found myself sitting in his living room and watching a Nepalese movie with his friend Deepak and him. As we I had time to kill till I checked into my hotel, motel rather, we decided to go no a drive where I thought Kundan how to drive a manual car. Having only an Automatic license, he decided to take the plunge and had bought himself a manual car so as to be forced to learn how to drive one. Coming from Singapore, this was something my "Just Follow Law" mentality could not comprehend. This is what it means to be thrown in the deep end.
Anyway, with manual manoeuvring completed, I proceeded to check into my motel which was rather comfy. After a short afternoon snooze, I headed back to Kundan's place where I assisted him in making a traditional Nepalese dinner called Momo. It was like Chinese dumplings with Indian stuffings. Quite the fusion it was. There were quite a number of dumplings to finish and towards the end, we had to shove them down Kung Fu Panda style.
I then headed back to my motel for a deserved rest due to the day's exertions from all that ingestion.
Sunday was fanatastic. I picked Kundan up at 7am and we drove towards the West Macdonnell Ranges. We first visited Simpsons Gap where we had to battle the chilling wind blowing through The Gap. Definitely a nice place to soak in the morning sun and enjoy some fresh air. We then drove to Standley Chasm where we had to pay an entry fee of $12. There, we walked an easy trail and then did another short hike up the chasm for a view of the surrounding area. Once again, peace, nature, fresh air and a good view all collaborated to furnish us with a stunning experience.
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| Simpson's Gap |
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Top of Standley Chasm
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There on, we got to the airport to pick up an arriving couple. These were Kundan's good friends who, incidentally, had moved to Alice Springs. Having dropped them off at their residence, I made my way back for the ritualistic afternoon snooze. In the evening, Kundan invited me over to another Nepalese friend's place. The Nepalese community were gearing up for their biggest festival of the year and that meant a multitude of celebrations. Although uncomfortable, I decided to tag along. To be sitting within a group of happy Nepalese, eating traditional food, playing cards and learning about their festival was something I would never have imagined. Even in Singapore, where there is such a huge Nepalese community, not many Singaporeans mingle with them mainly because we need to get on with our preoccupied lifestyles.
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| Kundan with with Mr. and Mrs Keshav |
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| Fun times in Alice Springs |
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| Traditional Nepalese Dish - That white thingy (beaten rice) was really hard to eat. |
At that moment, I knew for sure that I had no regrets leaving Singapore. I have experienced so much of joys and happiness since making the move to Australia. It is not perfect, but there is just so much opportunity to discover new experiences.
I shall end this post here so that my blog post does not evolve into a novel. I have 3 more days in Alice Springs and hope to do more exploring this coming weekend. Cheers!
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