Canberra, You Are No Longer A Stranger

Good morning from Canberra — or, with my Indonesian accent, I often refer to as “Kan- Bera”.

It’s also referred to as Bush Capital, ACT and, as I learned yesterday, “CBR”. It’s our Day 2 in Canberra or maybe Day 1, depending on what’s counted — also, who is counting-not me!

The Canberra trip is a birthday gift from Jik. I have always wanted to check it out — I mean, after Tazi, Uluru, Brisbane and Cairns. So, finally, here we are.

Jik and I took the XPLORER regional train from Sydney Grand Central Station yesterday morning and reached Canberra Station in the afternoon. After taking the quick Uber ride to the iconic Ovolo Nishi for a short rest, we went to the city centre to check Canberra out.

There, we had a disappointing Biang Biang noodles (I realized I don’t like any type of large flat noodles-period) for lunch, followed by even worse cups of coffee.

Then, we walked to the Floriade Festival, Australia’s biggest spring festival. The park was packed with diverse people and beautiful flowers. There were fun rides, food trucks and miniature trains.

Back in room 231, we got in-room dining (ticking off a bucket list item — to order an extravaganza room service) of char-grilled pardon peppers, chilli salt edamame, sundried tomato bread with a side of cultured butter and shio kombu corn ribs.

All were vegetarian dishes, as the hotel is doing a vegetarian month in October, and all were delicious.

We ate plenty, drank soju we brought from Sydney, got nostalgic while Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Store and slept soon after.

Canberra Weekend Plan

We have a busy weekend ahead. Well, as “busy” as Canberra is willing to offer us.

We are starting the day with a bunch at On-The Lake Cafe overlooking Canberra’s Lake Burley, followed by museums, galleries, markets, university and bookstore visits with Indonesian food in between spread through the two days before leaving for Sydney tomorrow evening.

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