Last Day in Melbourne & Travel Tips

Melbourne fun video for day 4, 5 and 6 is now available on YouTube.

Some tips on visiting Melbourne:

– If going in autumn, be sure to bring enough clothes for layering. You could experience four seasons in a day.

– Melbourne participates in Daylight Savings. So, do check the time before you go. When I was there in early June, it gets dark at 5:30pm.

– There’s luggage storage service at the Southern Cross tram station. There’s also a Travelers’ Aid center at the station that offers services like shower, internet, guide book with coupons, etc.

– Most shops at Brunswick Street open late (11am, noon). There’s no point going there early.

– Public transportation is the way to go. There’s no need to rent a car in the city. Get a Metlink card and you can use the same card on the tram/bus.

– Melbournians are friendly. Open your mouth to ask for directions, and recommendations on eating/drinking places.

– Hotel accommodation can be expensive. Homestay is a great option to save some $$$ and learn more Australian culture from the locals.

– Don’t rush when traveling. Don’t feel like you have to cover a lot of places in a day. Slow down and relax.

– Travel with someone close to you. Happiness can multiple when it’s shared.

– Melbournians say “No worries” A LOT!!

Travel, see, feel and have a good time!!

Fairfield, Iowa Welcomes THE Happy Bus

Dear Delivering Happiness Team,

Fairfield, Iowa welcomes you.

Some people describe Iowa as a “no people, only cows and corns” state. Is that a myth or fact?

As far as I know, there are about 10,000 special species living in Fairfield. They disguised themselves as Americans, Chinese, Indians, Hispanics, etc among the cows and corns.

We want to be cool and enjoy driving with audio books, but there’s no traffic and it takes five minutes to drive to work.  We want to shop till we drop, but there’s no shopping mall here. So, we have no choice but to think about “other things” in life.

We are passionate about sustainable living. In fact, we’ve been featured in many publications as a model for sustainability. We build wind mills, run non commercial radio station (kruufm.com), practice meditation on daily basis, promote community supported agriculture and we just like to have fun. :rtdance1:

Some of us got bored and decided to run multi-million dollars companies.

Species Sky Factory is one of the winners of the 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces competition (see INC’s June issue). David Lynch has made a movie (School of Thought) here. Big River Man Martin Strel visited us.

Fairfield is a hidden gem. You’ll have to stay here for a while to discover its beauty. We welcome THE Happy Bus to come visit this heartland of America and share our source of happiness. You might be able to bust the “no people, only cows and corns” myth after all? :ohidiotsmile:

Namaste!

Yewming

Twitter @yewming

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Back to Fairfield

My vacation has ended. Leaving family is hard.

My eldest sister asked me, “Do you miss us?”

What a silly question. I miss my family dearly.

Got back to Fairfield on Tuesday.

I feel like a truck just ran over me. I have been sleeping more than nine hours yesterday and I am still feeling exhausted!!

I hope to get over jet lag by this weekend. There are so much to be taken of. I can’t waste more time on sleeping. 🙂

I got up early today, and started reading Tony Hsieh’s new book “Delivering Happiness”. This book is a page-turner. I can’t wait to go back to reading after work.

Sze Yoga Studio

I am back to Kuching for vacation and was looking for a good yoga studio in Kuching. I was lucky to have found one – Sze Yoga Studio.

I’ve compared three yoga studios and Sze Yoga Studio stood up because they offer pranayama and meditation classes. That means Sze Sze cares about breathing techniques which I really like.

I only had time to attend one class and really enjoyed it. The atmosphere of the studio is warm and relaxing. Sze Sze is a very experienced yoga teacher. She was able to show us how to achieve certain poses easily.  I didn’t feel I was rushed. The pace was perfect.

Sze Yoga Studio

Sze Yoga Studio

I highly recommend Sze Yoga Studio!! Kuching people are so lucky to have Sze Sze here!

I’ll be back to her studio next year to attend more classes. 🙂

My sisters and Sze Sze (left) after yoga class

My sisters and Sze Sze (left) after yoga class

Check out the time table here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3861155&id=88848369053

Sze Yoga Studio’s facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kuching-Malaysia/SZE-YOGA-STUDIO/88848369053

Some photos:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kuching-Malaysia/SZE-YOGA-STUDIO/88848369053?v=photos

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Melbourne Fun – Day 3

My sister complained that the walking that she has done in these few days is equivalent to the walking that she usually does in a year.

So, we decided to take it easy today. We only planned to go to Queen Victoria Market (QVM) today, and let everything else unfold on their own.

We tried different foods at the market, walked the streets in downtown and chatted with the locals.

At QVM, we met Auntie Liu who immigrated from China and she gave us a ticket to go to Shen Yun classical chinese dance show at the Arts Center. I had to buy another ticket for my sister but we saved $108!

Did you know that Chinese classical dance is among the most comprehensive dance systems in the world?

Shen Yun show was dazzling and exciting. I’ve learned a few years of Chinese classical dance when I was younger, so it was special for me to see the masterful display of Chinese dance and music.

Some of the performances can’t be seen in China. Those dances are about Falun Gong and the brutal persecution of its practitioners by the Chinese government.

Auntie Liu’s brother also has been jailed due to his Falun Gong practice. She was amazed at how much freedom the people have outside China.

To be honest, the religion thing in the dance was a turn off for me. But I didn’t regret to see the show and was glad to have met Auntie Liu. I tried to always have an open mind when traveling.

We shouldn’t take religion and speech freedom for granted. I pray for more peace and love in the world.