Day 3 in Sydney CBD is an extra special day for me in meeting up with my Vietnamese student Yen & her friend Jenny for a great day at Taronga Zoo (across the harbour from the Opera House) with a lot more walking, some 13.64klms for me all up in today’s encounter. I first met Yen in Hanoi on my first day in Vietnam backpacking back in 2018 where students, approx. 3-400 of them talked to us tourists all day around the beautiful city lake in the Old Historical Centre. Some parents even film you so they can replay the lessons back home. Yen was just 17, looked 14 & very slim and we discussed everything possible about her education and how she managed studies, exams, assignments, etc & in so, offering my old wisdom of advice, etc in what I believe would be best practice. Firstly, I had to correct her breathing so that would provide calmness and clarity in how she responded to communication & in areas of ‘stress’. Her breathing was slightly erratic, and she did extremely well in following my lead over time. If you want to see my Hanoi blog on this 2018 adventure pls scroll down on my website where it is easy to find.  https://bhlifestyles.travel.blog    

It was around 5.30pm after a long day ‘talking’ about myself to hundreds of students. Surely, you agree you can only talk about yourself for short periods .. LOL! I was determined not to involve any ego on my part but to involve everyone that was gracious to talk to me. I concentrated on the very shy ones too. Being so late in the day I took relief on a planter box under a large tree when the sweetest voice politely asked if she could sit next to me & talk English. For me, I had nothing for lunch, etc & was quite drained and I soon found out Yen was in the same boat & decided to eat once she got home some 90mins on the bus. I strongly advised her to walk across the road & have something at the counter still viewing the street so she would be comfortable sitting there.  The café chosen was The Note Coffee shop where there were thousands of post-it-notes placed in every conceivable spot by travellers & visitors all over the world. It would take you weeks to read them all. It was good reading for myself & Yen.

To partake in our respite I granted Yen, her first ever smoothie & cake. She suffered her first brain freeze too by sucking the straw too strongly .. so funny, we both laughed a lot but I did warn her. Her learning started from that point on. There’s more to this story back in an earlier blog on Hanoi if you scroll down to find it. I couldn’t decide on the 2 photos below, so you got them both. LOL!!!

Full credit to Yen’s commitment & her desire to learn where she excelled in her studies & was privileged to wear the traditional costume to honour students upon graduation. Since those 4yrs just passed, Yen has gained a university acceptance to do her Bachelor Degree here in a Sydney university for the next 3yrs. She does that on top of doing 2 jobs in different suburbs here in Western Sydney to be independent. Such a remarkable young lady now of 21. So very proud of her and most thankful she still remembers me & keeps me informed of her successes.

Both ladies were so excited to spend the day with me & to do a ferry trip to Taronga Zoo & see all types of nature (away from city life) today before Yen had to run off to uni at 3pm. I was so glad to see her and share in our catchup & to meet her great friend, Jenny. It was a day of connection so not many photos to share with you all although the photo of the tiger was amazing, and one should not complain on the dirty & flare from the ‘thin’ glass separating us. Whew!! To be so close. Most of the other animals were in hiding so no photos of them. Of course, most of the snakes were in full view … yay (not a snake lover)!!! One was half swallowing a rat much to the total disgust of a lady standing near us.

We missed the opportunity of using the cable car ride from the wharf to the zoo entrance however the State buses were there to take us up the hill free of charge. The zoo is constantly in change mode to keep the exhibitions real, functional & commercial so it took a bit of navigating in using the zoo map without double trekking. The week prior to our visit a Dad tiger & 3 of his cubs escaped from their enclosure overnight which made the news dramatically of course, so that part was closed off and we only saw the tiger in the photo. The zoo also provides overnight accommodation where they would fill an enclosure for night viewing from your bed or lounge. I think there are a few $ involved in that.

Before long, we had transversed the zoo and found the lower exit directly at the wharf for our return to Circular Quay, some 12mins travel. We got to see a closer look at the new cruise liner now berthed, the Queen Elizabeth which looked amazing in this harbour. With time upon us we scampered in a building that I had not found before, Oporto – Gateway Plaza, directly behind Rossini Restaurant off Wharf 5 in Alfred St where they had a huge food court & with great surprise the ladies chose a Chinese outlet (Vietnamese was not on their list .. haha!).

With Jenny required to go to The Museum Railway Station I finished the day with Yen by walking her from Circular Quay to the uni near Town Hall after. She preferred the walk with me instead of catching the Light Rail. With a huge hug I had to wish her well and to look forward to seeing her forthcoming successes. Of course, to celebrate this reunion I journeyed back to QVB to Metropole to enjoy another great coffee & then back to the resort before the storm eventuated.

My next blog, Day 4 involves a unique museum that you don’t see every day with an amazing story, so stay tuned. Take care & stay safe. Thank you for reading my blogs. Very much appreciated.