to Canberra: Sailing and Spontaneity

My phone was trying to process all the Facebook notifications flooding in. Aside it being such a cool place to hang, Bondi had FREE and undeniably fast internet and my phone was just catching up from a day's worth of likes, comments and messages. It's not usually a lot but my picture featuring the Opera House drew lots of attention. A lot of people were asking who I was with, how long will I be in Australia and whether I've already moved there for good. One of those messages came from an old friend - Fr. Ogie. He asked if I had free time and could swing by Canberra. He was studying Anthropology in Australian National University and was willing to take a day out of nerdhood to show me the city. For a girl with ZERO plans, that was good news!

I've known Fr. Ogie since I was 12 or 13. He used to be a Jesuit Regent in our school when I was a freshman in Xavier University High School. We (my classmates and I) managed to become friends with our Jesuit educators over the years and I was happy to have to been invited over. As this Australian trip was partly about finding meaning to the life I left behind, I was sure I'll be able to sound off my thoughts and feelings to someone who can help me make sense of it. Or if not, help me see things in a fresher perspective. Trust me, the Jesuits never fail to do that.

The roads leading to Canberra were breathtaking. Fields, meadows and mountains as far as the eyes can see.






We arrived in Canberra before I could even "notice" that we've entered the city. For a country's capitol, I actually expected more buildings, more establishments, more cars, more noise - well MORE, in general. However, what greeted me was a street lined up with tall, sleepy trees that hung like drapes over the street.




I met Fr. Ogie at the Jollimont bus terminal a little after lunchtime. As I was already starving, we drove as fast as we could to Halal Pide place in Yarralumla, a lovely lakeside neighborhood. It's around 15-20 minutes away from Jollimont by car and I believe it's not accessible by public transportation. 

On the way to Halal Pide Restaurant

According to Fr. Ogie, Pide serves the best Turkish food in town and is one of the top-rated Canberra restaurants on Tripadvisor.

Just look at that giddy face!

We got their regular lunch box where you get to choose the food that goes in your box. There was a selection of greens, some meat and some Turkish sauces and pastes. 







As for me, I loaded up on the rice and meat because I'd been eating nothing but fish and chips since I got to Australia. For a minute there, it felt like I was eating in a Turkish place in Manila. Their spices and sauces were too good, I could eat another one! This place is legit and a must-try when you're in Canberra.



After our filling meal, Father offered me some options on how to spend the afternoon. I was planning to spend just a few hours in Canberra, taking the last trip out. He proposed to take me to the usual "touristy" route, covering all the national landmarks and places of interest. He told me it was impossible to do in one afternoon but he'll try his best. 

He also floated the idea of going sailing - he is part of his school's Sailing Club and he initially planned to spend the afternoon by the lake. That seemed like a better idea than doing all the cliche, touristy things. I'd never been sailing my entire life and well, I guess it's the perfect place to do it for the first time.



We made our way to ANU Sailing Club which was 3-5 minutes away from Pide, by car. There were other folks when we got there, busy setting up a tasar (a kind of sailboat). They were also part of the club and were excited to go out for a sail because it was the first sunny day in a long time. Winter had just finished and they had a really chilly early spring.

Telstra tower on top of Black Mountain and the great Burley Griffin manmade lake

"Are you planning to bring your phone or camera? I suggest you leave them behind because there's a possibility of capsizing."

That's what Father said before we started sailing and would seem like a warning of things to come. In total, we spent around 2.5 hours at the bay - more than half the time, we were holding on to the capsized sailboat trying to get it back up and fix the sails. It was quite a challenge! The body of the sailboat itself was quite heavy and there were the sails and the pipes that support them. A couple of concerned people stopped by to check up on us and offer help. We politely declined their offers and tried to do it ourselves.

It sounds a little terrifying but believe me, we were having such a good time just laughing off whatever was going on because it seemed really funny, at first! We already reached the middle part of the Yarralumla bay but we were washed down to the rocky end near the bridge. Then it started to get a little frustrating. We were at the bay for a couple of hours at that time. My feet could now touch the rocks on the bottom but they were sharp and slippery. We struggled in that area for half an hour before we declared the futility of our efforts and cried out for help.

Scene of the crime

It turns out, we missed out on one bolt that was supposed to cove one of the holes in the tasar. Water stared to get in, making the boat heavy and unstable - hence, the capsizing. Despite all that, it was quite an adventure! Sailing might seem like a glamorous past-time activity but boy, I was wrong! I realized that it was just like any sport - it could get rough, tough and crazy at times. If you find that grueling, you must also realize that it could be immensely rewarding if you get on by despite all the challenges.

That's me and my "I will never forget this day" face

After our unusally crazy sailing adventure, we went to visit the Jesuit residence which was also within the neighborhood. I needed to check on the bus trip schedules and Father had to attend to some house concerns. I found myself buried in their comfortable La-Z boys while indulging myself with some leftover hazelnut ice cream in their fridge.

And oh, did I say that their wifi connection was incredibly fast? #iLovetheJesuits haha!



Did you ever have that confusion about Australia's capital? I could remember back in school, I'd always answer Sydney but it would always end up wrong. Sydney and Melbourne are the more popular ones but the capital is actually Canberra. As a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, the Australian government decided to build a capital in between the bigger rival cities.

Canberra is an urban planner's dream. The Australian government held a competition back in the day for the city planning and layout which was won by an American by the name of Burley Griffin. The man-made lake located in the heart of the city was named after him. Personally, what endears Canberra to me is the fact that they have wide open roads, a good number of parks and stretches of foliage by the sidewalk. 

You can literally go around the city by foot - as what most Canberrans do. I believe there is no need for a city railway or tram - the city is set-up in such a way that all the places you need to go to are accessible and near to each other. They have a couple of bus lines plying the major routes so there's nothing to worry about.

Sometimes, kangaroos use the roads too!

We then went to the Pariliamentary Zone. That's the place where all of the government offices and places or interest are located. We parked outside the National Treasures library which was our jump off point to the nearby attractions. We went to all of the others on foot. 

The picture above was taken at the Reconciliation Place - a place to commemorate the reconciliation between the Aborigines and the settlers. The white building directly behind me is the Australian War Memorial. Behind the Australian War Memorial, way back all the trees and hills is where our next stop was located, Mt. Ainslie.


We decided to go to Mt. Ainslie lookout to hopefully catch the sunset and see the views. We got there just before the sunset but there was a flock of tourists trying to get their sunset fix as well. As for pictures, apologies, these are the best ones in the bunch.

Not sure if you see it, but the open space in the center after the lake was where I was an hour before this pic!

Obligatory turista shot, feat Photobomber

The plan for that day was to get the evening bus to Melbourne, my next stop. Canberra happens to be conveniently in between Sydney and Melbourne and the overnight bus would save me some bucks by skipping an overnight stay in a hostel - hitting two birds with one stone! The bus to Melbourne was leaving at 10PM and we have around 5 more hours to kill.

We visited Australian National University (ANU) because I wanted to know how Fr. Ogie spent his days being a student of Anthropology. Little did I know that I would instantly fall in love with a place so much, I wanted to turn back time and go back to college!

Our first stop was the awe-mazing Research School of Chemistry building. It was love at first sight. Yes, I am a big Chemistry nerd and I get an instant high in seeing benzene rings (please, give me a break!).

We also went to the nearby science buildings (Biology and Physics). They were not as cool as the Chemistry building (heavy benzene bias here) but there were several cool art installations on the patio in between the buildings. Not only were they beautiful but I find them really inspiring.

Another inspiring place was the Chiefly Library. If in Providence University in Taiwan (where I had my Junior exchange), the library operated from 6am to 10pm - Chiefly operates 24/7! Unbelievable! And get this, it was a lazy Saturday night but a lot of students where there doing their thing. If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is

Check out those people behind me. There were more and more of them as we went inside.

 We also made our way to Union Court and have an obligatory shot by the ANU post.

While walking back to the parking lot, I said a little prayer about being thankful to be there at that moment - and wishing for a chance to get back at school. Well, this one.

Still a few hours to kill! We went to the hip and lively part of Canberra - New Acton, which was a few minutes away from ANU. Father told me that this is their smaller version of the "Fort" in Manila. There were several commercial complexes with restaurants, boutiques and other stores which were all bustling at that time. What caught my attention was this building that looked like it was made from a thousand of wooden planks. Apparently, it was made of two thousand wooden planks! If the exterior was interesting, the insides were astonishing. The building houses a cinema, apartment and some high-end restaurants.

It was time to go back to Jollimont and check on the bus to Melbourne. As soon as we got to Jollimont, we noticed that there weren't so many people and their offices were closed. I did check the schedule online and there was a schedule for that night. We panicked, a bit. Father called up Greyhound Australia to confirm the schedules. We discovered that yes, there was indeed an overnight bus to Melbourne that night but we can only get the tickets several hours prior to the trip and we could only get it online. That only means one thing - I'll be staying in Canberra for another night!

I was a bit worried, at first. Staying another day there was fine with me but at that night, Canberra was fully booked! It was the last weekend of Floriade, Canberra's annual spring flower showcase which draws crowds, not only from Australia but different parts of the world. I was lucky enough that there was a cancellation at YHA and I got myself a decent place to stay for the night - the only AVAILABLE bed left in Canberra that evening. The Universe pulled all of its strings to give me a great day. 

We dropped off my bags at YHA and ended the night at Bentspoke for some craft beers and doing what anthropologists do - people watching. 

With bruises on our arms and legs and smiles on our faces, we slowly finished our cups while talking about what happened during the day. From the spontaneous sailing adventure to trying to see Canberra in a snap, we laughed about how preposterous our plans were and how serendipitous the next series of events were. In between sipping beer, I thanked my lucky stars for giving me one of the most unforgettable days of my life.