This Year's Durians

As promised, here are some pictures of this year's durians. I can think of no reason why the bulk of you will be interested in them, but I'll post them for my personal enjoyment. Yes I enjoy looking at durians, but I enjoy eating them more of course.

These were taken during a durian party at my aunt's place. We have several of these every year.

Oh yeah HEAVEN!

 Another of my favourite fruits.

Da boss.

Table filled with awesomeness.

My favourite Hor Lor. Dry with an extremely strong taste and scent.

I used the word 'scent' to describe the durian. My American cousins would probably prefer the word 'stench'. I suspect we are both correct in our own way.

My dad's favourite Ang Heh.

There were other durians available. You can probably tell from the whole bunch of white labels in the photos. However the 2 I showed close-ups of were the stars of the day. The rest were good, but lightyears away from the awesomeness of the Hor Lors and Ang Hehs. Satisfaction!

Update

I apologise for the lazy title above. One does run out of creative juices once in a while. A common sign of ageing, nothing to worry about. I'm ageing with grace. A lot of it hopefully.

The past few days have been hogged with studying complex accounting issues, many of which I have no interest in. I notice I have neglected the blog for awhile, so I decided to exercise my fingers on the keyboard a little.

In terms of the job hunt, no luck so far, but hopefully the wise men were right about how you have to wait for the good things in life. On the brighter side though this has given me ample time to study for my non-so-simple professional papers.

Very soon I will be returning to Perth for my graduation! Something to look forward to definitely. After this one I believe I will not be returning to Australia for some time. It's a nice place. I definitely will go on holiday there again. Some unknown day in the future.

And DURIANS!!! My life is not complete without them. I had several durian parties lately and I will throw the photos here soon. You'll have to wait to see those pics. As stated previously, for the good things in life, you have to wait. :)

Studying Again

So university life in Perth draws to an end for our hero. He has officially graduated into what the human population refers to as "working life". He expects a round of applause as you read this sentence.

Back in Penang, although still jobless, I embark on a new adventure to attain my next level of holy enlightenment qualification. It's called CPA Australia. It's a 6-paper and 3-year long journey concluding in me qualifying as a professional accountant. This, provided nothing goes wrong along the way... *prays hard*.

Two thick files of study material.

After reading several pages I came to the realisation that taking professional papers REALLY wasn't a cushy job. It was no wonder those CPA people back in Perth warned me against taking 2 subjects at once. Fortunately though the unemployed man has much time to poke and ponder. I'll have to complete most of my study before I begin work. The exams are at the end of October. Not very far away considering by that time I'll be studying while working. Ang Kong Po Pi. 

Up North, Episode 11 - Jurien Bay

Jurien Bay Marine Park is a 2++ hours' drive from Perth. It was our last stop before returning to Perth. We did not spend much time there although there was quite a lot to do. There's hear-say that if you're lucky, you may spot seals along the stretch of beach. We did not see any. All we did was some quick sightseeing and fishing.

Like I said, Jurien Bay has a nice stretch of beach.

Another shot of the beach.

We were fishing on this jetty. Yeah there were lots of seagulls. 

And so we fished...

...and fished...

Unfortunately our catch wasn't even half as good compared to the previous night in Denham. We reeled up all sorts of fish in Shark Bay. All were edible. Unfortunately this time all we got was...

Puffer fish a.k.a. blowies.

They were tiny puffers and were only fist-size when errr... inflated?

Don't worry guys, little blowie here survived. We removed the hook and off it swam.

So no luck with the fishing. We did not fancy eating blowfish, so the 3 or 4 we reeled up were allowed to swim off to their next great adventure.

 Saw this hawk(raven?) perched on a solar-powered light.

Close-up.

And the journey ends with a photo of sunset in Jurien Bay. We packed our gear and drove back to good ol' Perth, exhausted but happy. A wonderful 4 days and 3 nights!

 The end.

And this ends my 11-episode narration of our road trip up north. A once-in-a-lifetime experience I'm sure I'll never forget. Until I am 80 that is. I'm not even sure I'll remember my phone number by that time.

Up North, Episode 10 - Pink Lake

A few months ago I wrote a post about Lake Thetis, which was slightly pink because of bacterial action at the bottom of the lake. This Pink Lake that I'm now writing about is several times more pinkish than Lake Thetis. It is found in the middle of Kalbarri. I guess the locals ran out of ideas and promptly named the lake after the colour of its water.

No kidding. Seriously.

That's the colour of the entire lake.

Certain parts are pinker, but generally the pink is concentrated in the center.

I love how the lake complements the sky.

Even the shrubs by the lakeside are pinkish.

And here's the group of fascinated tourists!

The Pink Lake marked our last stop in Kalbarri. After this we drove about 2 hours Perth-wards to Jurien Bay. Jurien Bay had some pretty nice beaches. More on that later.