City of Brisbane.... Down Memory Lane

Brisbane Expressway

Got a new car and drove with my friend , now a Urologist at Ampang Putri Hospital KL, at 100 mph on this freeway, actually the speed limit was 100 kph ! No wonder the other drivers were left behind  and lucky we did not get a ticket!

City by  the Brisbane River

Brisbane city at night

I learnt to drive in Brisbane. The first time I was at the steering wheel, I hit the accelarator instead of the clutch (manual engine!) and nearly went into the Brisbane river!

My driving instructor was very good. He taught me how to do angle parking up a hill, In Brisbane there are many hilly roads. I remember his advice to always look in the rear view and side mirror, avoid tunnel vision, do not tailgate and drive fast when you are at the head of the traffic at the traffic light when the light turned green because he reasoned that everyone would want to catch that green light, so if you linger, less people can go through. To this day, when I am in that position, I follow his advice and  usually notice that I leave the others way behind.... eat my dust sort of  thing! Kind of hard to change my way...and  I do wonder about the Malaysian driving instructor... heard many first-hand story about them.

By the way, I passed the first time I took the driving test. I remember the tester was an old man, a bit amorous I must say.  After a short verbal test, we went together with me at the wheel and him guiding as to where to go. He jokingly said things like when I got the driving license I must take him for a ride..I had trouble concentrating with him yapping away and nearly went into a no-through road! ( talk about sexual harassment, you find it just about anywhere). But again no wanton  coffee money business here. I passed on account of my driving skill and understanding of local traffic laws. Things could be somewhat different in my country. Rather unfortunate but is being addressed now. Currently Malaysian driving license, unlike Singapore, is not recognised in the UK much to the chagrin of those who truly passed the test!

My only encounter with the traffic police officer was when I crossed the double line on my way back from  the Royal Brisbane Hospital, (RBH) on a Sunday! I then had only a few days before the end of my driving provisional period. I often noticed people crossing that double line and never got booked. So I thought no harm  if I were to do  the same after all  it was Sunday and there was hardly any traffics

Anyway this big burly policeman on an equally big motorbike flashed his light and stopped me. He came to the car door ready with a book and a ball pen, looking vicious. " What did you just do lady?" He barked... my heart ran faster than my thoughts. As he was about to write down on his book (there goes my driving license!), I unashamedly broke down and told him if he gave me the ticket, I would not be able to drive to the medical school and the hospital as I lived a distant away.. please. Ghee.. he actually stopped writing and closed his notebook and told me never to break the law again, and turned to his bike and rode off!! That was a close call. Till now when I see a double line, I recall that " Reasonable Brisbane traffic police officer".... no coffee money business like I used to hear in my own country.

The William Jolly Bridge

Jacaranda  blooming..... is Study time

Jacaranda starts to bloom about six week before our final exams. While the atmosphere went purple, we students knew the time to swot had come. It was and still is an annual natural calender in Queensland, the Sunshine State.

These photos are part of my journey down the memory lane. This is the city where I spent nearly  a decade  of my student's life. My university at St Lucia and later the Medical School at Herston and the Royal Brisbane Hospital where I once worked. And my friends... Allison, Elizabeth, Warren, John, Shaun, Janet, Richard, Lynnelle,David, Daryll who is now a prominent  Queensland Cardiologist and others.. those in my group work are best remembered as we studied and played together...they helped shaped some of my outlook on life. I was rather timid and took life seriously when I first set foot in Australia, was bullied silly by my  Aussie friends as I was the only foreign girl in that class.... And I almost forgot, this was where I met my husband, a chemistry of the opposites! No, no love at first sight.

I am feeling nostalgic because I happened to stumble upon a blog by a local TV personality whose daughter has been admitted to University of Queensland, my Alma Mater. For a close-up of the recent photos of the university , people can visit his blog at  http://aznilnawawi.blogspot.com/.

Kookaburra.... sits on the old gum tree, Merry merry king of the bush is he;

Laugh, kookaburra laugh, kookaburra gay as life can be... ( a sing-along)

   

Brisbane Botanic Garden

Brisbane Botanic Garden

Steps going down to the Brisbane river.

Stood on this very spot ... memories flooding in.. and that song by my favorite Diva, Barbra Streisand... "The way we were".