Update: Perth to Sydney by Road

I ought to include this Youtube video that shows longest straight road in Australia on the Nallabor Plain or Desert which is in Western Australia and South Australia. No dispute here as there's an official notice by the roadside stating it's the longest at 90 miles (1000 km)!

Yeah, give me another opportunity and I would love to cross it by road once again!

Australia ...18 Roadkills Update

In going through my notes about my time in Australia, I need to add in more "spice" to my story earlier. Yes, I have not forgotten to say more about the encounters with the profesional cops...
Observations made during the trip ...
The roads from Perth to Sydney were prone to flooding and on two separate occasions I had to drive through flooded roads. The most nerve-wrecking moment for me was when I drove along a road not too far from Broken Hill towards Sydney with my co-driver fast asleep and I saw a warning sign of possible flooding in some parts of it but decided to throw all caution to the wind as it was a balmy hot day with a bright sun up in the heavens and went at maximum 110km/hour cruise speed ... saw some slow movement of a huge truck and four-wheel drive ahead ... hit the brakes and before I knew it ... our vehicle was in sock-high flooded water! The other drivers stared at us as we hit the water with a splash and I realised then that they were possibly concerned about falling over the road into the gully below or a sinkhole perhaps!

Mon Dieu! 18 Road Kills!

Hello, everybody who's visiting my blog! I'm alive! I survived the three-day drive through the amazing dry arid desert known as the beautiful Nullarbor Desert aka the Nullarbor! I started off from Perth Victoria Park in one of the Ford Motor Company's latest car model -- still too tired to recall what the model is, will add in later -- and drove and drove, almost like my fave Canuck singer, celine Dion's song lyrics "I drove all night ...". Yeah, don't try this fellas if you have a fear of the unknown! The owner of the expensive vehicle was a total stranger and it would turn out later that he had so many past over- speeding tickets that he said "I can't remember how many!" That meant I had to do most of the driving while he snoozed! Jeez, day driving was a breeze along the mighty fine roads that were pretty winding in many areas but night driving was hell! Most, if not most of the rural roads did not have street lights! Don't worry though if you're ever attempting this feat, the reflectors on the roads were abundant and helped lots whenever the car lights hit them!

So it was great--who wouldn't enjoy driving a brand new largest Aussie car dealer John Hughes' Ford vehicle from Perth to Sydney? Just push the button on "cruise control" and enjoy the fast ride! Then when we reached the awesome Nullarbor Desert ... OMIGOD! I couldn't sleep staring in awesome wonder at how vast a desert it was! I could see small trees at first and then all I could see were yellowish land without any trees! Then there was this huge clear sign that said we were on Australia's longest straight road!!! Wow! Could I resist speeding over the 110km/hour speed limit? Ah, I won't answer that but all of my Miri buddies know I don't over speed or break the traffic laws ... However, my wealthy manager co-driver assured me that in Australia, there would be areas where overspeeding the speed limits are permitted if there are not posted anywhere!

So what could I have missed if I were sitting in the great Indian Pacific train from Perth to Adelaide? Wow! I would have missed the fresh cold air and the blazingly bright sunlight, the stench of road kills, the sight of over 18 bloody dead young kangaroos on the roads, dirty ugly vultures plucking away at their corpses, having the meals of their lives ... and the killing of a cute young rabbit as our car struck it just as it was about to reach our lft side of the road! Then there was the incredible view of the Pacific Ocean as we reached past Western Australia into South Australia ...

To be continued

Encounter with WA Cops
Encounter with SA Cops!
My change of destination from Adelaide to Sydney
The amazing Sydney City
The Red Lights of Sydney!

More amazing stories about the Nullarbor at Wikipedia here: Nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullarbor_Plainullarbor

Mama Mia!

It's almost 4:00 p.m. and I'm sitting inside the Western Australia State Library, blogging now and listening to some beautiful live singing by an Italian choir ... You see, there's a celebration of the Italian community and their many contributions to the society here. There is presently an exhibition of moving testimonies in huge posters, accompanied by vintage pics of the early Italian immigrants, some of whom were p.o.ws of WW2! Fascinating ... really touching tales of discrimination and the consequences ... Certainly many democracies can learn to be repentant of their past mistakes and Downunder we can see with our very own eyes, a nation that is not afraid of its past shadows! Cool, even he Italian consul is here with some sort of Aussie statesman in the ceremony...Many of us are busy with our own activities but occasionally, some of us would glance at all the merry-making... uncommon practice out West that many asian libraries would frown upon in their old autocratic--or shall I say, authoriterian style!

How strange it is ... I wasn't supposed to be here! I would have been relaxing on the Indian Pacific train bound on a three-day ride to Adelaide! I tried booking a seat and even went to the train station at East Perth, after catching the metrotrain there but couldn't get a seat!

I sort of miss a wonderful French gal, Clemency who was on her merry way to Sydney on the Indian Pacific train. We were the only two persons sitting together and instantly hit it off. She entrusted her many belongings in my care when she had to go elseway and I did so likewise. She was smart, having just completed her uni and advertising studies ... She could be a Hollywood star with her stunning looks! Hell, sure wish I could flirt! Anyway, we couldn't help feeling a little sad to part as friends ... funny that she had just arrived from Auckland and I am on my way there!

Ah yes! Here's little update about this marvelous Aussie one-person only toilet ... I discovered that the public library one is really classy! When you enter inside it withits spaceous size, a male voice tells you to lock the door, followed by a lovely tune in the sound system ... It was soothing but the voice will remind you that "You have TEN minutes" in the loo. Hmmmnn ... I love the tune ...It was something about love--just forgotten its title... wonder if a different tune will come on? Gotta drop by to find out after this!

One little thing that bugs me about this place is FLIES! Nasty pests that will even attempt to enter your nostril and mouth, even when you're walking ... Malaysian flies are never this aggressive! Wonder if there are any attempts or campaigns Downunder to get rid of them permanently!

At Last, Dear Australia!

Yes, that's right! At long last, I'm in Australia, the land of my many past dreams, of kangaroos, jolly swagmen, billybong, pretty sheilas ... and so many other greats! Yeah, I'm in Perth, enjoying the warm --nay-- scotching sunshine at this time of the year! Here's a list of wonderful folks I would love to meet: my dearest loving foster "parents" Nigel and Pamela Heyward of Tasmania and their two sons, one of whom Philip was my best childhood mate ... and my all-time favorite teacher/principal, Leonie Kathleen Armour, Revd. John Yapp, my late uncle Chong Yuk Min's widow ... and yes, my own dearest eldest sister, Mary Chong who's a law practictioner and lecturer here ... someone whom I would love to spend time with!

Back to Perth .... It was not my first choice as I was thinking of dropping by Australia enroute to New Zealand and outwards to Canada. Of course, spending time with my dear sis is important and besides, the air fare to Perth seemed fairly low compared to others. I imagined Perth would be an easy access point to other cities... Nothing could be further than the truth -- it is expensive to travel elseway from here!
Anyway, being out here is marvelous. What a big city it is! It's clean and well-maintained. The folks here are friendly ... they can give proper, clear and concise directions unlike, if I may admit it, so many Malaysians in the cities and towns of Malaysia!
Some fascinating things I've learnt so far ... seasoned traveler that I am ...
I was strolling along Beaufort Street when something caught my eye --a quite ordinary road sign that made me stop and stare ...huh?! "Toilets" it says! Yup, I have since learnt that the clean Aussies have special single toilets ... a fella goes in a nice rectangular loo that has a whooshing sound door--wah! Auto-door... just press a red button &just imagine yourself in a Star Wars space machine as the door slides open!
Wonderful ... but I had an interesting experience at a Chinese food court in a nearby shopping mall ... We had to queue up to use the toilet! Quite a lot of fellas understandably couldn't stomach it and walked off ...

More from the bright side ... it's 7:25 pm here and I've been sitting and blogging outside the State Library of Western Australia since 5 pm. Nothing like free Aussie wifi! Thanks, mate! Cheerio!

Coming later--Bedding with the Germans, glasses and glasses of free wine from a young English fella with a love problem ... so Camrose guys ... the peer counseling training helped!

A Death Omen

A strange but true story here...

One day, I had the sudden inspiration to paint the wall of an old building that was formerly used as a dreaded Kempeti (Military police) interrogation centre by the occupying Japanese army during World War 2. The building is located in a graveyard which holds the remains of many foreigners and locals. Most of the foreigners were Aussies, Britons and Canadians, unfortunate victims of rampant diseases as workers in the newly discovered oilfields. The area is close to Sarawak's Miri's most famous landmark, aptly called Canada Hill in honor of many Canadians coming from oil rich Alberta in Canada who had been hired as oil workers.

So back to my story... the walls of the building had been painted with a faded pink and there were black fungi patches all over it. The walls used to be painted in grim black.

I decided to paint sea creatures all over the wall to enliven everything a bit in view of the grim graves and a solitary war memorial that housed the remains of 28 innocent foreign and local civilians-including my granduncle- who were brutally tortured and executed by the barbaric WW2 Japs.

The result of the mural work was colorful sea creatures were randomly splashed everywhere, including the sting ray as shown in the pic.

It was an instant image in my mind that a sting-ray, which my friend and I had had an encounter with back in the late '70s (resulting in his emergency treatment) would serve as a scary warning of its potential devilish dangerous and harmful capabilities beneath its benign appearance ...

Not too long after this, the world would shockingly lose one of our courageous animal rights heroes, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin when he had a rare careless encounter with a sting-ray in Australia .... Could this be a premonition of his death?

Malaysian Crooks in New Zealand!

Here's the story I found in The New Zealand Herald today. By the way, "Kevin", if you are who I think you are... you should quit all these devious schemes & repent... Better still, be a man and turn yoorself in! I always knew you were telling the truth when you talked about barbecuing one of the lost sheep your gang found Down under.!!!

Crime ring splurges on consumer goods
4:00AM Sunday Jan 04, 2009By Jared Savage
An Asian crime ring bought more than $100,000 of jewellery, designer handbags, computers and plush carpet with "skimmed" credit cards while on holiday in New Zealand. One of the men, Chee Thiong Teh, 48, was charged with six counts of using cloned credit cards to spend $40,000 before he was arrested at Auckland International Airport.

The Malaysian national pleaded guilty on his first appearance at Auckland District Court last week and Judge Josephine Bouchier sentenced him to 18 months in prison that same day.
He used cloned Visa and Commonwealth Bank of Australia credit cards, under fake names Daniel Teh and Joseph Teh, to buy goods in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.

Detective Michael Knighton, of the Auckland fraud squad, said Teh's spree totalled $40,000.
Two other Malaysian tourists, Suliaman Bin Haron and wife Saerah Binte Men, have also pleaded guilty to credit card fraud of $66,000 as part of the same scam.

The crime ring used cloned credit cards from details "skimmed" from ATMs - where the magnetic strip of the card is recorded into a portable device then transferred on to blank cards.

The trio travelled around New Zealand in August and September and were supplied credit cards by another man, known only as Kevin.

In Auckland, they tried and failed to buy an $7800 entertainment system, but successfully purchased four laptop computers and clothing.

The tourists flew to Queenstown and bought handbags and wallets worth $8000 from Louis Vuitton.

Haron and Men flew back to Auckland and used one card 13 times in two days to buy jewellery, clothing and food worth $12,500.

They also bought rings for $15,000 and $6000.

In September, "Kevin" gave Haron and Men more cloned cards before flying to Christchurch Airport, where the police caught them.

They had 20 cloned Mastercard and Visa cards with them.

Teh managed to escape from New Zealand but was caught two weeks ago at Auckland International Airport when he tried to enter the country again.

"He was declined entry by Immigration and we charged him as a deterrent," said Knighton.

"There need to be consequences for this sort of crime, other than being sent home."

The fraud by Teh was discovered by Chris Martin, owner of Carpet Court in Newmarket, who "smelt something fishy" when Teh tried to buy $5000 of the most expensive carpet.
Teh unsuccessfully used two credit cards, then returned a week later with different contact address and phone details to complete the sale. Teh eluded capture and fled the country, before being caught on his return.

The convictions of Teh, Suliaman and Men are the most recent in credit card fraud involving "skimmed" credit cards, as foreign criminals increasingly target New Zealand ATMs.
Police are investigating a brazen attack on National Bank ATMs in Queen St, Vulcan Lane and Parnell, in which more than 800 customers used the machines during the narrow timeframe.

The bank has refused to reveal how much was taken other than to say the amount was "significant", and it is believed to be linked to another attack in Hamilton, also in November.
The ATMs were fitted with anti-skimming "jitter" technology. The latest attack in Auckland comes shortly after the successful police prosecution of two illegal immigrants, Jan Marius Scutariu, 31, and Andrei Iustin Raileanu.

The Romanian pair stole nearly $35,000 with cloned credit cards after gluing a skimming device to a Westpac ATM in Hamilton - also fitted with a "jitter" mechanism to supposedly prevent skimming.

Pray for Enlightenment of All

Although the following interesting news report happened months ago, it is brought here again to remind everyone, especially Christians for the great need of praying for those who live in darkness. As in the recent Tamil newspaper flap in which Christ was offensively pictured and the paper was eventually suspended for a month by the authorities, Christians need not be violent about it and in fact make known how much forgiveness matters.

With regard to the Tamil paper case, the economic plight of the unemployed Tamil employees of the Tamil paper, regardless of their religious affiliation, does remain more of a concern for believers in the grace of Christ. Out of Christian charity, compassion and love, we can only pray for them as the one month suspension order, which seems harsh, by the authorities has been delivered.

Nevertheless, I want it known that I, like many others, fully support Archbishop Murphy's forgiveness of those who apparently made a mistake in publishing the pictures.

Remember as we read this that the rape incident as described in this article could happen anywhere in the world, including in this country.

Raped for reading the Bible

Article from:

Exclusive by Evelyn Yamine

April 17, 2007 12:00am

AN Iraqi man allegedly raped a Muslim woman as "punishment" for reading the Bible, saying, "let your Jesus help you", a court heard yesterday.

Campbelltown District Court was told Abdul Reda Al Shawany twice sexually assaulted the woman, a practising Muslim who wears a hijab, after they met at a railway station.

Al Shawany, 52, has plead not guilty to two counts of having sexual intercourse without consent between September 1 and 27, 2002, at a unit in Warwick Farm.

At the first day of the week-long trial yesterday, Crown prosecutor Michael O'Brien outlined the case and told how the woman allegedly kept the clothes and underwear she was wearing on the day of the alleged rape in a plastic bag for about three years.

The woman initially reported the matter to police but did not want to take it further because she felt "ashamed", Mr O'Brien said. She later changed her mind and Al Shawany, of Hillsdale, was arrested in July 2005 and the woman provided police with the clothing.

The Crown alleges swab samples from the accused had the same DNA as the semen sample taken from the woman's clothing.

"The complainant was born a Muslim and raised a Muslim and was a Muslim all her life," Mr O'Brien said.

He said when the woman came to Australia from the Middle East she began listening to Christian teachers and reading the Bible.

He said the woman had received threats from members of her faith for reading the Bible but had not converted to Christianity.

It is alleged she met Al Shawany, who she had first met overseas, at Warwick Farm railway station in September, 2002, after he told her he had some mail for her from overseas.

Al Shawany allegedly then took her to a Warwick Farm unit and pushed her in the head as she entered.

"She was wearing a hijab. The accused grabbed the hijab, the veil, and pulled it tight across her mouth," Mr O'Brien told the court.

"She fell to the floor and she couldn't scream because she had a hijab tight across her mouth."

Al Shawany allegedly raped the woman and later allegedly said: "Let your Jesus help you."

In a police interview, Al Shawany denied having sexual intercourse with the woman or threatening her.

Al Shawany's barrister Chris Pike told the court his client was a hardworking businessman with close ties to the community who strenuously denied the charges.

"My client is not a zealot," Mr Pike said.

The woman gave evidence in closed court yesterday and is expected to return to the witness stand when the trial before Judge David Knox continues today.

THE COURT'S VERDICT:

Guilty Bible rapist's sick ploy

Article from:

By Edith Bevin

April 24, 2007 12:45pm

THE man found guilty of raping a woman as punishment for reading the Bible lured her to his unit by claiming he had news of her family overseas.

In a case that has stunned Sydney, Muslim Abdul Reda al-Shawany was today found guilty of sexually assaulting the then-Muslim mother of four - a refugee from the Middle East who had left her children and husband behind - for her "insult" to Islam.

She had been studying the Bible because she was interested in Christianity. After the attack, at al-Shawany's Warwick Farm unit in Septmeber 2002, she converted.

It took a jury just half an hour to convict al-Shawany, 52, of two counts of assault at Campbelltown District Court.

Even after the decision was handed down he protested his innocence, with his lawyer Christopher Pike indicating his intention to appeal.

He said there was a viable alternative hypothesis as to how al-Shawany's DNA, in the form of semen, came to be on the victim's underwear - and that he believed his client could be accquited on appeal.

An application for bail was refused by Judge Brian Knox, who said that the crime was "a fairly brutal attack".

Al-Shawany will be sentenced in the Downing Centre on Friday, June 15th.

His victim was not in court today.