Canberra

We had to make a trip to the capital city, Canberra over the weekend. It wasn't exactly the ideal family getaway I had imagined. The whole purpose of the trip was to get my Malaysian passport renewed. I had to do this in person at the consulate. What a pain! Anyways, I thought it would be nice to bring the boys for a short trip.



The highlight of the trip was that Lachie got to sit in an airplane! Whoaww, he was brimming with excitement. All the other times when we flew, he was too young to comprehend or even remember. We flew Tiger Air, got tickets online for $19.95 each way per person. Bargain! Even Luc's infant surcharge costs more than our actual tickets. They're the cheapest air tickets I've bought, ever.

We arrived on Sunday afternoon. I took Lachie and Lucas for a walk around the Manuka shops, had a relaxing lunch and a browse through little shops and boutiques. There were a nice collection of outdoor cafes and delicatessen.



We stayed at the Rydges Capital Hill, only minutes from the Parliament House. The boys enjoyed the hotel stay while I go about my business. Lachie had a swim in the hotel pool while Lucas enjoyed his bubble bath in fine porcelain china.

Monday morning, I took a walk to the Malaysian Embassy. It didn't look too far on the map but it was a little bit of a hike. Maybe I'm just loosing my stamina! It took me a good half an hour of brisk walking (each way). All I could think of was my fettucine primavera I had for dinner the night prior, and my two missed gym sessions last week and phew, thank goodness the boys didn't tag along!

The whole experience at the Malaysian consulate was just as expected, unpleasant. There were people cutting queues, rude verbal exchanges and even people who came without preparations whatsoever. Let's just say, I could not wait to get it all over and done with.

There was only one stop on our agenda: The Parliament House. We checked out of the hotel at midday and made our way there by foot. It didn't seem difficult, but our walk was a VERY long one, lugging around two little boys and our bags, going uphill! We also struggled to find the entrance.

Lachie did an amazing job walking. We walked and walked and walked and walked........

And finally got to the top.

We hung around for a short while before heading back to the Malaysian Embassy to collect my new passport en route to the airport by TAXI.

Good to be home.