Back From Newcastle...

Three weeks have gone by and i am back in good old Sydney. Overall, i enjoyed my clinical bloack very much. The hospital i worked at dedicated alot of time teaching me. We even had refresher tutorials before we entered each room which made learning more pleasant but most importantly they spoke ENGLISH! I enjoyed communicating with them. I learnt a new line...What do ya reckon..haha..I looked forward to heading to work every morning because the staff made it so enjoyable. My clinical supervisor took extremely good care of us.She was a very approachable person being a university lecturer herself. I am missing you already Sharon. The teaching style is also rather different (in a GOOD way) and as i mentioned earlier they spoke in a language i could understand. Back home, they would be discussing cases in Mandarin. I told them so many times to get some English subtitles but they would be at it for a while and head back to their normal self. How often can you remind such thick headed people? One of the dreadful things i would have to face when i head back. Sigh! Overall i learnt alot from the centre.


Newcastle had alot of sights to offer. The Newcastle city reaches out to the sea on a Peninsula at the mouth of a river known as the Hunter River. This distinctive geography creates the only Australian City with a CBD simulatneously on the beach and habour front. I enjoyed sitting at the lovely beaches and just oogling at the water. I tried Greeek food for the first time in my life. I had Italian food in a restaurant for the first time as well. I had the best tasting samosa in Australia there. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm...Anyways i shall give you a short description of the places i visited.


City Centre
I found the place dissapointing. There were only a handful of shops which contradicts with my perception of a city centre. But i guess the main attraction was the beach which sits in front of the shops. There were so many restaurants, cafes and pubs selling so many varieties of mouth watering food but unfortunately each time i went there, it was so packed i could not even find a seat.

Honeysuckle and the habour
The habour is home to Honeysuckle (a major waterfront rejuvenation project transforming Newcastle). I had Greek food at the Honeysuckle Market. They even had Punjabi Cha in their menu. I decided to order it but the tea was milky. I decided that it was to leave the punjabis to make cha..haha


The Junction
It is a shopping village by the sea. Why the name 'The Junction'? It was originally the junction point for trains converging on the way to the port from the outlaying coalmines. Today, this area is a junction of designer labels, fascinating jewellry and hip home wares.


Hamilton
I was living a street away from the happening suburb. I could walk there. The cosmopolitan heart of Newcastle is in Beaumont Street (which is in Hamilton). This place was first home to the first Greek and Italian arrivals. This is where i had my first Italian restaurant dinner. There is still a strong Mediterranean focus here with the delicatessens and restaurants offering a veriety of international delicacies. Beaumont Street is a street with many sidewalk cafes and a thriving pub scene. On the 19th March, i had the oppurtunity to attend the food,wine and music festival held in that street. I had fun tasting wine from all sorts. They were not allowed to sell any bottle. They could only allow people to taste (A pity actually). Oh ya! The best tasting Samosa is also found here in a shop called 'Raj's Corner'!!!!


Cooks Hill (Darby Street)
I did not really enjoy this place much. It is famous for its arts galleries and i am not a very arty person so it was a ......YAWN!


Beaches (Thats what Newcastle is about)
Newcastle prides itself on its magnificant coastline. It has proved to be a successful breeding ground for great surfers (Not Bondi as i orinally thought). Here comes the list of beaches : Stockton Beach, Nobbys Beach (this is the one with the walkway which stretches to the middle of the sea..a MAGNIFICANT sight and chance to be up close and personal with the strong waves), Newcastke Ocean Baths, Newcastle Beach, Bar Beach, Dixon Park Beach, Merewether Beach and Merewether Ocean Baths.


Shopping
There were a number of Westfiels shopping centres. But i did not get anything for myself. I got alot of things for my friends and family though...hahha


It was extremely warm during my first two weeks there. I grew more and more tan as each day passed by. I am so tanned that there is a skin tone difference between the part of my wrist covered by my watch and the exposed arm. Sigh! Overall i really really enjoyed my stay in Newcastle. If you guys are thinking of coming to Sydney be sure to pop by Newcastle which can be assesed via train from Sydney for less than $20 (one way).