Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney 2016

The Sydney Vivid festival is a fantastic way to spend a Winters evening (Ideally if it’s not raining). See Sydney’s landmarks transformed into moving images and amazing colours during the festival.

From around 6pm – 11pm each night in Late May / Early June spend a few hours strolling around Circular Quay, the botanical gardens, and Martin Place, with other displays in the Rocks and places in the CBD. The displays are amazing and very entertaining. Not forgetting it’s all absolutely Free, which is a bonus these days.

I would suggest trying to avoid the weekend evenings if possible as it’s very busy, but that’s the downside of a great event.

Vivid Sydney
Vivid Sydney 2016

Vivid Sydney is an annual festival of light, music and ideas. It has become the premier winter event in the city. It is gaining a reputation for being among the world’s leading creative celebrations. This year the festival is on from 27 May – 18 June 2016.

To experience VIVID in different ways, there are events that take place every day throughout the city. The simplest way is to arrive in the city at nightfall and wander around until the installations light up your eyes. Maps are available to guide visitors through everything.

Another great way to experience it all is to book a specially created tour for the event. You can take a cruise around the Sydney Harbour and see the lights from the water, or go behind-the-scenes at the Sydney Opera House while the outside is lit up!

Vivid Sydney cruises
Vivid Festival banner
Image credit- www.captaincook.com.au

Vivid Lights Sydney Harbour Cruise– This cruise around Sydney Harbour is a 1-hour evening boat excursion. The spectacular light displays of Vivid Sydney festival is an unforgettable experience as you admire the artworks that light up iconic structures including Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay among others. Your cruise ends at Darling Harbour where you can explore more.

Darling Harbour– There are many attractions for tourists here. You can meet animals and sea life, climb aboard submarines and destroyers, see science in action, touch a giant 3D movie or a waxwork movie star, ride a carousel, catch a flying fox in the Darling Harbour Playground, roll the casino dice, pull up a deck chair on the Village Green, or escape to a blissfully tranquil garden.

  • 9D Action Cinemas– 9D Action Cinemas brings you the latest technology in a dynamic, multi-dimensional, small theatre movie entertainment, suitable for both children and adults.

Your senses will be overwhelmed with the stimulating and exciting 3D movies with surround sound, coupled with ‘active motion’ luxury seats and dramatic effects such as rain, fog, lightning, wind, snow, touch, feel and more. You will enjoy this genuine ‘action cinema’ experience like you have never had in traditional movies. For more details, follow this link.

  • ADVENTURE CRUISING WITH FANTASEA

If you want to see Sydney from the water, Fantasea is the way to do it. Do follow this link for more details.

  • AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM

The Maritime Museum promises a great day out for the family with enthralling exhibitions and a must-see collection of vessels. For further details, please follow this link.

  • CHINESE GARDEN OF FRIENDSHIP

Feel the sun on your face in your own secret garden in Darling Harbour’s Chinese Garden of Friendship. The Chinese Garden is a place to escape. It recreates the philosophy of a traditional Chinese garden with waterfalls, lakes, exotic plants and hidden pathways.  Chinese Garden Highlights tour.

  • Cockle Bay Wharf

It is located on the CBD side of Darling Harbour. Enjoy Sydney’s most stunning waterside location by taking advantage of the various dining options. A variety of restaurants and cafes with menus that will make your mouth water, fresh seafood, authentic Italian dishes, and hawker-style Malaysian cuisine, to modern Australian – each venue offers a truly unique experience.

Celebrate @RBGSydney‘s 200th Birthday as it illuminates from 6-11pm until 18 Jun. #VividSydney

📷speakerphone (IG) pic.twitter.com/0HpBvuX734

— Vivid Sydney (@VividSydney) June 2, 2016

Plan ahead for your #VividSydney adventure. Check changes to traffic and transport: https://t.co/vcsVVjaG8T pic.twitter.com/smrnIGMo4D

— Vivid Sydney (@VividSydney) June 3, 2016

References: Darling Harbour

Vivid Sydney

Tulip festivals around the world

Tulip festivals around the world

Tulips are considered the harbinger of Spring. A tulip festival allows locals to see them as well as tourists enjoy the attraction. Following are some of the Tulip festivals from around the world. Which one is your favourite?

ASIA

  1.  Srinagar, India– Tulip festival in India is celebrated usually in the month of April at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden. {Refer my previous post…Beautiful landscape of Srinagar}

EUROPE

  1.  Tulip Festival – the Flower of Lake Geneva– 26 Mar- 8 May

The delightful flower of Lake Geneva is yours for the picking! Every year, Morges greets the return of spring with more than 120,000 tulips decorating the flower banks in Parc de l’Indépendance. In the subsequent months, the gardens of Château de Vullierens present a fabulous collection of irises and lilies. In addition, there is unique exhibition and sale of dahlias on the town’s lakeside streets. For more details, follow this link.

      3. Keukenhof in Lisse, Netherlands March 20th – May 17th– -Keukenhof, the best day out among the flowers! Over 7 million bulbs in bloom with around 800 varieties of tulips. You can enjoy spectacular flower shows, surprising inspirational gardens, unique artwork and wonderful events. For more details, follow this link.

       4. Spalding England Flower Festival May– Spalding is a warm Georgian town in Lincolnshire Fens. The town stands on the banks of the River Welland. During spring, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips carpet the area with a glorious blaze of color. For more details, please visit this link

USA & CANADA

  1. Skagit Valley Tulip festival – April 1- 30 April – The Skagit Valley Tulip festival is designed as a driving tour. The fields are located in the valley between La Conner and Mount Vernon with events and activities all around Skagit Valley. For more details, follow this link
  1. Canadian Tulip Festival – May 8th -May 18th – When you visit the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, remember this… All of those beautiful blooms belong to you. They are a gift to all Canadians from the Netherlands for Canada’s role in helping the Dutch during the second world war. Join us this May!

For more details, check out this link

AUSTRALIA

  1. Tesselaar Tulip Festival Australia September 8th -October 4th – Tesselaar Tulip Festival held in Silvan, Victoria (near Melbourne, Victoria). For more details, please follow this link

There are many more tulip festivals around the world.

What is your favourite? Which one should  I include on my next list?

International Women’s Day 2016

International women's day

 Wisdom shared by great women from around the world on the eve of International Women’s Day-

I am Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me. ~ Maya Angelou

International Women's Day
My Heroes- Maya Angelou connected with countless people through her powerful poetry

Extremists have shown what frightens them most: a girl with a book ~ Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai -International Women's Day
Malala Yousafzai at Girl Summit 2014

Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world ~ Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton-international Women's Day
Hillary Clinton official Secretary of State portrait

If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. ~ Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher-International Women's Day
Margaret Thatcher

One is not born a woman, one becomes one. ~ Simone de Beauvoir

Simone_De_Beuvoir International Women's Day
Simone De Beauvoir

Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey -International Women's Day
Oprah Winfrey

International Women’s day celebrates the social, economic and political achievement of women.

Leaders across the world are pledging to take action as champions of gender parity.  According to  The World Economic Forum 2014 prediction, it would take until 2095 to achieve global gender parity. Then one year later in 2015, they estimated that a slowdown in the already glacial pace of progress meant the gender gap wouldn’t close entirely until 2133.

So all men and women can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly – whether to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias. Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to taking pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity.

#PledgeForParity

International Women’s Day 2016 events are occurring across the world. Do follow this link to check out what is going on in your area.

Source: IWD 2016 campaign theme

Image Source: Wikipedia.org

I wanted to share this helpful guide I found about women in hi-tech industry.

It gave me a lot of insight into the state of the women who work in the hi-tech area. It helps to promote women in tech and I think it would be a great resource to share with you, especially the women.

6 Events to check out in Malaysia 2016

If you enjoyed the earlier post on Fascinating Malaysia, then the following events happening in Malaysia are not worth missing out.

Events happening in Malaysia during March and April 2016

  1.  8Th Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2016

11 March 2016 -13 March 2016

The Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will return from March 11-13. Pic courtesy of MyBalloonFiesta, February 20, 2016.
The Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will return from March 11-13.
Pic courtesy of MyBalloonFiesta, February 20, 2016.

 Venue
Millennium Monument, Precinct 2, Putrajaya

View colourful hot air balloons from around the world. The fiesta features balloons in various shapes and sizes resembling a teardrop, clown, elephant and even Darth Vader.

               2. Raptor Watch Week 2016

12 March 2016 

Raptor watch week Image courtesy- Malaysia travel
Raptor watch week
Image courtesy Malaysia travel

Venue
Tanjung Tuan, Malacca

Image courtesy-malaysia.travel
Image courtesy-malaysia.travel

Birdwatchers converge in Port Dickson to watch the annual migration of these birds of prey, on their journey back to the northern hemisphere.

             3.     Thai Water Festival Songkran

13 April 2016-15 April 2016

Thai New Year celebration Image courtesy- www.songkranwaterfightfestival.com
Thai New Year celebration
Image courtesy www.songkranwaterfightfestival.com

Venue
Thailand

The Songkran festival  is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day from 13 to 15 April. The word “Songkran” comes from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti literally “astrological passage”, meaning transformation or change. The Songkran Festival is also known as the Thai New year or Thailand Water Festival, originally celebrated as a way for the Thai people to sprinkle water on their family members and elders for good fortune and pay their respects to images of the beloved Buddha.

             4. Regatta Lepa

22 April 2016 – 24 April 2016

Semporna Sabah Regatta Lepa
Semporna Sabah Regatta Lepa

Venue
Semporna, Sabah

A colourful festival that pays homepage to the lepa, a traditional single-mast sailing boat of the Bajaus of Semporna. Witness the crowning of the most beautiful lepa, the Lepa Beauty Pageant, cultural performances, fireworks display and much more.

           5.    Pesta Air Labuan

29 April 2016 – 01 May 2016

Labuan International Sea Sport Complex image courtesy- event-carnival.com
Labuan International Sea Sport Complex
image courtesy event-carnival.com

Venue
Labuan International Sea Sport Complex, Labuan

 This is the biggest annual event in Labuan. Major competitions include the Labuan International Deep Sea Fishing Tournament, Cross Channel Swimming Challenge and Round Island Kayak Challenge.

             6.    Nasi Ambeng Carnival

15 April 2016- 17 April 2016

Nasi ambang/ambeng is a Javanese rice dish made up of spiced/fried/gravy chicken, chilli paste, serunding (Malaysian meat floss), vermicelli, tempe (Indonesian fermented soybean cake) and salted fish. It is really popular in Johor but not common in KL Image courtesy- Nasi ambang @ Pasar Ramadhan Kelana Jaya
Nasi ambang/ambeng is a Javanese rice dish made up of spiced/fried/gravy chicken, chilli paste, serunding (Malaysian meat floss), vermicelli, tempe (Indonesian fermented soybean cake) and salted fish. It is really popular in Johor but not common in KL
Image courtesy Nasi ambang @ Pasar Ramadhan Kelana Jaya

Venue
Homestay Banghuris, Sepang Selangor

The aroma of ‘Ambeng Rice Festival’ is guaranteed to beckon visitors, both local and international to enjoy the uniqueness of this dish.

So, mark your calendars and head to Malaysia, truly Asia.

 

References: Songkran 2016 Festival