Our trip to Sydney was organised a year in advance. Who knew we would be flying during COVID-19 pandemic period. Really. Refund process is a painful process.
Friday 20th March 2020
Virgin Airline gave us popcorn and juice for snack. I watched a short animation called The Girl and the cat (directed by Ervin Han, Bernard Toh) and Judy. The flight was just an hour. We disembarked and checked-in to our hotel. It felt like a long day, but it wasn't. Unpack and slept.
Saturday 21st March 2020
My sister didn’t feel like waking up early or go to the Paddington market. We didn’t leave the hotel until 12 noon. She wanted to eat lunch at the Museum. No idea how to get there by public transportation. She didn’t feel like walking either. Later I found out her newly purchased shoes has hurt her feet. Oh dear. Who goes and buys a new pair of slip on runners on the day they are about to fly. There is no time to break in the shoes.
Thinking on the fly. We decided to catch a light rail (tram). However, we missed our interchange stop - China town. We were suppose to switch to another light rail line. Sis said it was my responsibility to tell her. I’m like what? You are an adult learn to listen to announcements.
The Power house museum only had a small floor space for Cue: 50 years of Australian fashion. The exhibit looked at the main marketing campaigns and key looks only. My sister was so disappointed that it was not the entire collection/stock of everything created in Cue. Exhibition curators like to tell a story and this is the story they have chosen to go with. Only took 5 mins to go through it.
Only a few people roamed about the building. The Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson exhibition was pretty and insightful. I have seen the knits before, but I have never seen the party gowns, and it was fun read the back story of how they came to be a dynamic duo.
After the museum, my sister wanted to buy super glue for her new shoe. The sole has come lose you see. Off to the Daiso she goes. I wanted to shiny check some pokemon. Then two raid eggs were about to hatch. Sadly, I could only make it to one. The raid was located at old tram line area and there is an underground walk way. Neat. Sis only saw stairs and didn’t want to see what’s on the end of the rainbow. Well, I did and there are pathways leading to major streets avoiding traffic upstairs. Score!
My sister was bored by this point. She got the glue and some inserts for her new shoe. I suggested she try Share Tea’s bubble tea. Large size just $5. She had the Tiger one (with brown sugar) and I had matcha milk. She felt a little better. We went to Central to sit down and drink. I missed every available gym slot and T1 raids at this point. My sister felt bored, uninspired, tired, and wanted to have an early dinner and go home to sleep. Possibly play her online game. She didn’t want to walk anymore. Yet she didn’t want to go home on her own. Ugh. I recommended we take a tram down to Circular Quay and see who’s open for dinner.
Lots of tourists here hanging out and dining. People still take photos by the Opera house.
Loo break time at Circular Quay. Then I walked over to a T5 raid at The State Library. A few players here. Spoofers too. We found a Mexican restaurant on Elizabeth St near the library. There were had tacos for dinner. She wanted dessert else where. Charlie rabbit dessert bar in China town. Hidden in a mall. Pretty hard to spot. She found the Matcha mania a bit too bitter for her liking.
I did T1 raid and tried to battle Arlo but her pogo account ran out of potions.
Since much of my back up plans were rejected and skipped. There is nothing really much to go on with.
Sunday 22nd March
Sis didn't want go to a beach or visit a zoo. Sis didn’t want check out from the hotel until close to 11am. She rather sleep in some more. By 10:50am we checked out. I went to bash a gym and get me some PoGo gold coins. Yay! Something productive at least.
Got to Circular Quay and she shuns the take away shops. Ugh. We walked to the Botonic garden and she said it was too sunny for her. I can’t tell the sun to tone it down. The Calyx was closed apparently. No high tea for us. But she didn’t want to check out the other two cafes in the garden. Scared that they might be closed too. She scurries off to Myer. I went back to Circular Quay and had my lunch at food court with air con. Someone kindly put down two PoGo lures. Sweet.
Got myself a Green Grin juice. My system feels over stressed for that 48 hours. I need to recoup. I don’t like having to come up with a new plan every hour, it is tiresome.
I went to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music do a T5 raid with a few players, before heading back to the Royal Botanic garden, as I have never being in there before. It is pretty. The views are gorgeous. No afternoon tours though.No paddle pop ice cream either. You can get hot chocolate and sit by the benches near the pond, which has eels in them.
Then our time is up and off we go to the Airport.
PS. I will book an indigenous walk next time. I want to learn about native plants of Sydney.
Social Networking
March 26, 2020
March 2020 - NZ
Off to visit our first city in New Zealand, Auckland. It was chosen on the basis it was the one closet to Hobbiton. My sister loved Lord of the Rings books and the movies.
5th March 2020
The economy seats had cushy foot rest that can turn into a bed. Well, if you can afford three seats in a row. For lunch I had beef rang dang and Sis had chicken penne. I managed to watch some movies: Doctor Sleep and The Farewell (half of it). From the last movie, nio nio me me means uninterested shrug yet shy. Eh? A traditional saying, I want to learn how to use it.
The airplane landed pretty late. Jucy Snooze hostel was located up a hill, near Emily place, it took us a while to drag our suitcases up the hill and up several flight of stairs. We checked-in immediately and I went to complete a T5 raid, and then went in search of dinner. Several of the restaurants we wanted to dine at had closed down. So, we settled for Madriaz (Spanish) and had tapas.
6th March 2020
I had a good sleep. We went for a light brekkie with sweet cakes at Amano. Headed down to the pier for our Auckland Free Walking tour. Our hosts Olivia and Kurtis were friendly and informative. Majority of the tourists did not make a booking and many of them flew from UK or Europe. The city is so hilly. Interesting Lorne Street is like their version of a tiny China town.
We tried Hanoi Cafe and it had over priced simple dishes. Then we went shopping on Queen Street and proceeded to walk up the hill towards the Skytower. Where I did two T5 raids before we went to do our Skywalk. Scary fun! Our host was friendly and kind. Overall, we managed to successfully completed 5 challenges on a circular grid with no rails. Whoa.
7th March 2020
We slept early the night before. We walked to the Skytower hotel to be picked up. From there we drove to Piha national park camping ground. There we changed into our bathers and wet suits. Later we geared up, learned to flip shape of 8 ring, types of rope holding positions, and practiced what to do if we eventually fall. We hiked up the mountain to the top of the waterfall and it was pretty crowded. People were jumping into the pool of water, sitting on the edge of the water/cliff, and a small group of us were trying try do abseiling.
The 54 metres of the waterfall section was by far the most slippery and had very few rocks for your feet to latch onto. No nooks. Just slime. I slipped and lost my footing, dropped 1.5 metres the rope riddled against my sides, I did my best to steady myself, but it was a difficult course. Not for the faint hearted, I’d say. We did 75% of the course and did not proceed any further. The last section involved swimming under water in a dark space.
By the evening my sister and I had a sore back, sore calf muscles, and left arm riddled with misquote bites. The water was nice, but short lived.
Ken Yakitori for dinner. Feels like we never left Japan. Yummo.
8th March 2020
Again we slept early the night before. We walked to the Skytower hotel to be picked up. The staff took us to a portable office unit for the bridge climb and bungy jump. Apparently, I weigh 55 kgs. No where near 60 kgs. Well, it ain’t no zipliner, so I am fine. The walking underneath the bridge and above the water was partly scary. The grills was the only thing that separated you and the water.
Bungy jumping. You can feel the g-force on your face and feel the wind pushing against your body. Then you swing and hang upside down. It feels great. Thank god we have trained staff to bring me back up. Felt amazing.
The bridge climb was filled with historical and factual information. The bridge is composed of two extra flexible moving sides. internet cable and supplies water to the city. A multi purpose bridge alright.
9th March 2020
A resting day.
The Thai food place was super salty. All appetisers were served with carrot and sweet chilli sauce. Bland. The Mojo cafe at the gallery was disorganised. They served Sis a fork to eat her cake when her cake requires a spoon. Auckland city has so many trainee staff everywhere.
Queen Street by the Civic Centre is just as busy as downtown. The lobby for PoGo was small just 6 players. Geez.
YoYoSo retail store is similar to Miniso. The Only difference is the city store has these Pop mart collectible toys. Surprise blind box stuff. I shook a few boxes myself before settling down to one. Boom! It was the one I wanted after all. Wow. Who would have thought. Me? Also, I purchased two lightening cable surprise blind box as well. I couldn’t help myself. They were so cute.
They have David Jones here. Woolies is called Count down here.
Westfield shopping centre in Newton is trying to emulate Japanese department store with roof top dining. Most of the dishes were salty. The patrons here tend to drown it with beer. That’s how bad it is. People come here for socialising, not so much the food.
10th March 2020
Glow worm cave day tour day. 2 hrs drive. Just the 3 of us. Dozed off most of the way.
The worms resembled green LED light. Interesting creatures. They have a self sufficient eco system. They drop these lines from the ceiling to catch their preys. When they are tired they actually switch off.
Smartphone and GoPro or any camera of the sort were forbidden as it ruins the ambience experience said the guide. Not for the worm, but for the humans. Hey, the cave ceiling had the same amount of glow as the stickers in my room, I can replicate cave experience with a raft of my own. That’s what it looked like. But I wanted to capture how these animals huddle up against each other and how some turn off/on their lights. I’m sure David Attenborough would have documented it. I’d watch it via the Internet as per usual.
If you like Adelaide then you will like Auckland. Where you cannot top up your travel card at bus stops, only at train stations. And all tourist operators are anti GoPro. They only do still shots. No live video or Live Photo’s. They can’t stand action shots done by an individual. The experience are not immersive. Backwards really. Some have OH&S issues. Why would you take a person feeling dizzy up for a bridge walk? Shouldn’t you hike up the bridge then do the bungy jump?
On ride back to the city, we saw vast amount farm land. Much of trees were gone. Barren hills. No plants. Maybe a few cows here and there. You can easily mistaken it for Tasmania.
The gift shop by the pier opens later than the nearby restaurants. The marina area had skateboard ramps. How odd and cool. Lots of bars down here.
11th March 2020
Raining in Auckland today. As drove deeper into farmland it got sunnier, especially in Matamata. The place may have lots of cows, but they serve microwave processed meat in their burgers. Probably, all of its produce is reserved for exporting purposes.
Rotorua infamous for:
Once we got to the skyline. We asked how much do we have to play around here. 45 mins apparently. To get to the luge ride, we took a gondola up the hill. From there, we left our bags with our driver and proceeded to claim our first ride (part of the tour). Luge is like go kart but it has more sophisticated controls and setup. We chose to go down the scenic route and intermediate route. It was fun alright. Just by letting go of one hand you can lose control of the steering. This place has dedicated cameras to take still shots of while steering a luge and on the chair lift back. You often had to slow down at the corners and there are heaps of them. Not enough time to do the advance course which opened up later on.
Note: The 4G cellular reception is poor in Rotorua.
The Hobbiton 2 hours tour was filled with reminiscent scenes from the movie The Hobbit. Anecdotes to the books and movie magic. Even quiz questions. Endless photograph opportunities. I even got to drink cider in The Green Dragon Inn. Sis had ginger beer.
Back in Auckland. Where the rain has stopped. We went around gift stores to look for noise making kiwi bird toy and Sis found it. Then we had dinner at Crab shack. Yummo. Finger licking good.
12th March 2020
Lunch at District 5 (a Vietnamese cafe above a carpark). Then got shunned, not stunned by Giapo. App only purchase they said, no pay wave available, and that they were closed at 2pm despite white folks were eating in front of their shop. We could not afford to waste anymore time. So, we caught the INN green bus to Auckland Museum, and boy, did we just made it the last cultural performance of the day. Phew. It was most educational and insightful. We feel content. A side of New Zealand that we wanted to see and cannot find it in the city. Exception of carved pieces of jewellery.
Kia ora can be expressed in three different ways. Hi (flagging people down). Thank you (hands by the heart). Be safe (waves). Wow.
Dinner at the Marina. Oyster and chop. Windy. The seafood was good and the truffle sauce was delicious.
13th March 2020
Time to fly home. Left luggages with Jucy Snooze after check out. We had bagels for brekkie before ducking down to the Maritime Museum to go for a sail along the harbour on a heritage scrow, Ted Ashby. The sun was shining on us and the water was crystal blue. No sea creatures came by though. We did see two people do the bungy jump from the bridge and two competition ships sailing past. We had a bite at Burger Boy for lunch. Talk about spicy sauce. A quick visit to Davenport chocolate before picking the luggages and catch the sky bus to the airport.
There was no one at Auckland airport custom to check our temperatures and upon arrival in Melbourne it was the same deal. Customs was more focus about dried food and wooden pieces.
5th March 2020
The economy seats had cushy foot rest that can turn into a bed. Well, if you can afford three seats in a row. For lunch I had beef rang dang and Sis had chicken penne. I managed to watch some movies: Doctor Sleep and The Farewell (half of it). From the last movie, nio nio me me means uninterested shrug yet shy. Eh? A traditional saying, I want to learn how to use it.
The airplane landed pretty late. Jucy Snooze hostel was located up a hill, near Emily place, it took us a while to drag our suitcases up the hill and up several flight of stairs. We checked-in immediately and I went to complete a T5 raid, and then went in search of dinner. Several of the restaurants we wanted to dine at had closed down. So, we settled for Madriaz (Spanish) and had tapas.
6th March 2020
I had a good sleep. We went for a light brekkie with sweet cakes at Amano. Headed down to the pier for our Auckland Free Walking tour. Our hosts Olivia and Kurtis were friendly and informative. Majority of the tourists did not make a booking and many of them flew from UK or Europe. The city is so hilly. Interesting Lorne Street is like their version of a tiny China town.
We tried Hanoi Cafe and it had over priced simple dishes. Then we went shopping on Queen Street and proceeded to walk up the hill towards the Skytower. Where I did two T5 raids before we went to do our Skywalk. Scary fun! Our host was friendly and kind. Overall, we managed to successfully completed 5 challenges on a circular grid with no rails. Whoa.
7th March 2020
We slept early the night before. We walked to the Skytower hotel to be picked up. From there we drove to Piha national park camping ground. There we changed into our bathers and wet suits. Later we geared up, learned to flip shape of 8 ring, types of rope holding positions, and practiced what to do if we eventually fall. We hiked up the mountain to the top of the waterfall and it was pretty crowded. People were jumping into the pool of water, sitting on the edge of the water/cliff, and a small group of us were trying try do abseiling.
The 54 metres of the waterfall section was by far the most slippery and had very few rocks for your feet to latch onto. No nooks. Just slime. I slipped and lost my footing, dropped 1.5 metres the rope riddled against my sides, I did my best to steady myself, but it was a difficult course. Not for the faint hearted, I’d say. We did 75% of the course and did not proceed any further. The last section involved swimming under water in a dark space.
By the evening my sister and I had a sore back, sore calf muscles, and left arm riddled with misquote bites. The water was nice, but short lived.
Ken Yakitori for dinner. Feels like we never left Japan. Yummo.
Again we slept early the night before. We walked to the Skytower hotel to be picked up. The staff took us to a portable office unit for the bridge climb and bungy jump. Apparently, I weigh 55 kgs. No where near 60 kgs. Well, it ain’t no zipliner, so I am fine. The walking underneath the bridge and above the water was partly scary. The grills was the only thing that separated you and the water.
Bungy jumping. You can feel the g-force on your face and feel the wind pushing against your body. Then you swing and hang upside down. It feels great. Thank god we have trained staff to bring me back up. Felt amazing.
The bridge climb was filled with historical and factual information. The bridge is composed of two extra flexible moving sides. internet cable and supplies water to the city. A multi purpose bridge alright.
A resting day.
The Thai food place was super salty. All appetisers were served with carrot and sweet chilli sauce. Bland. The Mojo cafe at the gallery was disorganised. They served Sis a fork to eat her cake when her cake requires a spoon. Auckland city has so many trainee staff everywhere.
Queen Street by the Civic Centre is just as busy as downtown. The lobby for PoGo was small just 6 players. Geez.
YoYoSo retail store is similar to Miniso. The Only difference is the city store has these Pop mart collectible toys. Surprise blind box stuff. I shook a few boxes myself before settling down to one. Boom! It was the one I wanted after all. Wow. Who would have thought. Me? Also, I purchased two lightening cable surprise blind box as well. I couldn’t help myself. They were so cute.
They have David Jones here. Woolies is called Count down here.
Westfield shopping centre in Newton is trying to emulate Japanese department store with roof top dining. Most of the dishes were salty. The patrons here tend to drown it with beer. That’s how bad it is. People come here for socialising, not so much the food.
Glow worm cave day tour day. 2 hrs drive. Just the 3 of us. Dozed off most of the way.
The worms resembled green LED light. Interesting creatures. They have a self sufficient eco system. They drop these lines from the ceiling to catch their preys. When they are tired they actually switch off.
Smartphone and GoPro or any camera of the sort were forbidden as it ruins the ambience experience said the guide. Not for the worm, but for the humans. Hey, the cave ceiling had the same amount of glow as the stickers in my room, I can replicate cave experience with a raft of my own. That’s what it looked like. But I wanted to capture how these animals huddle up against each other and how some turn off/on their lights. I’m sure David Attenborough would have documented it. I’d watch it via the Internet as per usual.
If you like Adelaide then you will like Auckland. Where you cannot top up your travel card at bus stops, only at train stations. And all tourist operators are anti GoPro. They only do still shots. No live video or Live Photo’s. They can’t stand action shots done by an individual. The experience are not immersive. Backwards really. Some have OH&S issues. Why would you take a person feeling dizzy up for a bridge walk? Shouldn’t you hike up the bridge then do the bungy jump?
On ride back to the city, we saw vast amount farm land. Much of trees were gone. Barren hills. No plants. Maybe a few cows here and there. You can easily mistaken it for Tasmania.
The gift shop by the pier opens later than the nearby restaurants. The marina area had skateboard ramps. How odd and cool. Lots of bars down here.
Raining in Auckland today. As drove deeper into farmland it got sunnier, especially in Matamata. The place may have lots of cows, but they serve microwave processed meat in their burgers. Probably, all of its produce is reserved for exporting purposes.
Rotorua infamous for:
- Mud - skipped
- Geyser - skipped
Once we got to the skyline. We asked how much do we have to play around here. 45 mins apparently. To get to the luge ride, we took a gondola up the hill. From there, we left our bags with our driver and proceeded to claim our first ride (part of the tour). Luge is like go kart but it has more sophisticated controls and setup. We chose to go down the scenic route and intermediate route. It was fun alright. Just by letting go of one hand you can lose control of the steering. This place has dedicated cameras to take still shots of while steering a luge and on the chair lift back. You often had to slow down at the corners and there are heaps of them. Not enough time to do the advance course which opened up later on.
Note: The 4G cellular reception is poor in Rotorua.
The Hobbiton 2 hours tour was filled with reminiscent scenes from the movie The Hobbit. Anecdotes to the books and movie magic. Even quiz questions. Endless photograph opportunities. I even got to drink cider in The Green Dragon Inn. Sis had ginger beer.
Back in Auckland. Where the rain has stopped. We went around gift stores to look for noise making kiwi bird toy and Sis found it. Then we had dinner at Crab shack. Yummo. Finger licking good.
Lunch at District 5 (a Vietnamese cafe above a carpark). Then got shunned, not stunned by Giapo. App only purchase they said, no pay wave available, and that they were closed at 2pm despite white folks were eating in front of their shop. We could not afford to waste anymore time. So, we caught the INN green bus to Auckland Museum, and boy, did we just made it the last cultural performance of the day. Phew. It was most educational and insightful. We feel content. A side of New Zealand that we wanted to see and cannot find it in the city. Exception of carved pieces of jewellery.
Kia ora can be expressed in three different ways. Hi (flagging people down). Thank you (hands by the heart). Be safe (waves). Wow.
Dinner at the Marina. Oyster and chop. Windy. The seafood was good and the truffle sauce was delicious.
13th March 2020
Time to fly home. Left luggages with Jucy Snooze after check out. We had bagels for brekkie before ducking down to the Maritime Museum to go for a sail along the harbour on a heritage scrow, Ted Ashby. The sun was shining on us and the water was crystal blue. No sea creatures came by though. We did see two people do the bungy jump from the bridge and two competition ships sailing past. We had a bite at Burger Boy for lunch. Talk about spicy sauce. A quick visit to Davenport chocolate before picking the luggages and catch the sky bus to the airport.
There was no one at Auckland airport custom to check our temperatures and upon arrival in Melbourne it was the same deal. Customs was more focus about dried food and wooden pieces.
March 25, 2020
March 2020 - Corona Virus peak
The accused
Corona virus fear has taken over Victoria. My work place was fearful I have it because my sister and I had came back from Auckland (New Zealand) on the 13th March 2020. Two managers advised that I go self-isolate, otherwise the organisation will be fine and I will be fined for not following the newly issued government mandate. I understand employers have the right to exercise caution, but sending one staff home when several patrons and staff had come back from Europe between December 2019 to March 2020 is a bit rich.
I rang my local doctor, he said do not come in since I was heathy, he recommended I stay away from the work place using statutory declaration form if that makes the employer feel at ease. So, I have decided to take stress leave and I had a Victorian police officer sig off on my statutory declaration form. I also rang the Corona virus hotline and they said I will not be fined, as my return date falls outside of 15th March midnight. So, I am allowed to go wherever I please. Phew.
Note: no employer have no right or clause to force you to see your local doctor for whatever reason.
During my weekend away in Sydney, one of ex-colleague thinks I have corona virus as well. The ex-work colleague thought I was in Tasmania when news broke out state border lock down was coming into place. I said over and over, I was in Sydney for the weekend and not Hobart. Last I checked, Sydney is in New South Wales and not Tasmania. I have not visited or met up with this ex-work colleague for well over two months now. Fearing for nothing when we don't even catch up is stupid. Hysteria has hit all time high alright.
Reality of an ill prepared society
What most people are unaware of is the lack of border control or temperature checks at airports. My sister and I went through both Australian and New Zealand airports and we could not see any tools used to detect corona virus. There were no officer to screen people disembarking the aircrafts either. Where are the preventative measures?
People who has the corona virus were told to voluntary self-isolate themselves without medicine. Whatthe? Why is there no self-testing kits? No pre-packaged medicine handed to the infected. Just told to practice social distancing! How does that get rid of the virus?
At present, there is still no vaccine, and in the meantime, no one is fighting to get the flu vaccination.
Leisure gone down by the wayside
Hotels, bars, casinos, theatres, cafes, cinemas, gyms, and swimming pools were told to close up shop. This is reduce the spread of corona virus. People are urged to stay home and to work from home. However, many businesses do not have an online presence or produce online wares, so instead they let go hundreds of staff. People were made unemployed within 24 hours. Now many people cannot pay their rent or mortgage. Possibly homeless too. Centrelink is overwhelmed by this point. Also, there is no universal wage in Australia, so many people are stuffed by the government's mandate to close all non-essential businesses.
Game is work in itself
Pokemon Go game world was rocked when the first ever community day was cancelled, as WHO organisation recommended that there be no gathering or events with 500+ people during this pandemic. Then it was down to 100. Now even small gatherings of any sort is not encouraged. Then Ex-raids were cancelled. However, Go Battle League does not have the same feel as raids or community day, that social element. You could not use your free raid pass in Go Battle League. Moreover, players started to run of poke balls from being stuck at home. I was so tired after each day trip while in NZ, that I didn't write any suggestions to Niantic, not until I came back from Sydney that I managed to write up a convincing argument asking for discount priced poke balls and more items to drop from gifts. Phew. Niantic fulfilled my request. I may not be working in my actual job, I am working furiously to get players that support they needed in PoGo.
My friends and family are safe and fine. - - -
Corona virus fear has taken over Victoria. My work place was fearful I have it because my sister and I had came back from Auckland (New Zealand) on the 13th March 2020. Two managers advised that I go self-isolate, otherwise the organisation will be fine and I will be fined for not following the newly issued government mandate. I understand employers have the right to exercise caution, but sending one staff home when several patrons and staff had come back from Europe between December 2019 to March 2020 is a bit rich.
I rang my local doctor, he said do not come in since I was heathy, he recommended I stay away from the work place using statutory declaration form if that makes the employer feel at ease. So, I have decided to take stress leave and I had a Victorian police officer sig off on my statutory declaration form. I also rang the Corona virus hotline and they said I will not be fined, as my return date falls outside of 15th March midnight. So, I am allowed to go wherever I please. Phew.
Note: no employer have no right or clause to force you to see your local doctor for whatever reason.
During my weekend away in Sydney, one of ex-colleague thinks I have corona virus as well. The ex-work colleague thought I was in Tasmania when news broke out state border lock down was coming into place. I said over and over, I was in Sydney for the weekend and not Hobart. Last I checked, Sydney is in New South Wales and not Tasmania. I have not visited or met up with this ex-work colleague for well over two months now. Fearing for nothing when we don't even catch up is stupid. Hysteria has hit all time high alright.
Reality of an ill prepared society
What most people are unaware of is the lack of border control or temperature checks at airports. My sister and I went through both Australian and New Zealand airports and we could not see any tools used to detect corona virus. There were no officer to screen people disembarking the aircrafts either. Where are the preventative measures?
People who has the corona virus were told to voluntary self-isolate themselves without medicine. Whatthe? Why is there no self-testing kits? No pre-packaged medicine handed to the infected. Just told to practice social distancing! How does that get rid of the virus?
At present, there is still no vaccine, and in the meantime, no one is fighting to get the flu vaccination.
Leisure gone down by the wayside
Hotels, bars, casinos, theatres, cafes, cinemas, gyms, and swimming pools were told to close up shop. This is reduce the spread of corona virus. People are urged to stay home and to work from home. However, many businesses do not have an online presence or produce online wares, so instead they let go hundreds of staff. People were made unemployed within 24 hours. Now many people cannot pay their rent or mortgage. Possibly homeless too. Centrelink is overwhelmed by this point. Also, there is no universal wage in Australia, so many people are stuffed by the government's mandate to close all non-essential businesses.
Game is work in itself
Pokemon Go game world was rocked when the first ever community day was cancelled, as WHO organisation recommended that there be no gathering or events with 500+ people during this pandemic. Then it was down to 100. Now even small gatherings of any sort is not encouraged. Then Ex-raids were cancelled. However, Go Battle League does not have the same feel as raids or community day, that social element. You could not use your free raid pass in Go Battle League. Moreover, players started to run of poke balls from being stuck at home. I was so tired after each day trip while in NZ, that I didn't write any suggestions to Niantic, not until I came back from Sydney that I managed to write up a convincing argument asking for discount priced poke balls and more items to drop from gifts. Phew. Niantic fulfilled my request. I may not be working in my actual job, I am working furiously to get players that support they needed in PoGo.
My friends and family are safe and fine. - - -
#FYI libraries everywhere are PHYSICALLY closed, but their online reference service “Ask-a-Librarian” is still #OPEN, so pls feel free to drop a question. I look forward to your enquires. Don’t let #CoronaAustralia stop your research, you beauties.— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 24, 2020
#weekend in #Sydney with @sngo1982 a typical normal— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 22, 2020
Sunday where most shops are closed but Sis is in disbelief. Sigh. Fact of life mah. Meanwhile, I spent my the sunny arvo sussing out Royal Botanic Garden. Did you know there are eels in the pond? pic.twitter.com/SEl2vqgJGG
#Sydney outing w/ @sngo1982 #PowerHouseMuseum. Saw Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson: Step into paradise, Cue: 50 years of Australian Fashion, then x2 #PoGo T5 raids (98 IV Cobalion). Tacos for dinner (Contrabando). Matcha mania for dessert (Charlie Rabbit dessert bar). #nomnomnom pic.twitter.com/Li15bLt13l— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 21, 2020
Keen to find your Victorian roots? A good starting point would be the birth, death, and marriages Victoria (website). I highly recommend it. https://t.co/Gf3CxY1kUP#GLAM #digitalresource #Oz— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 19, 2020
Day 7 (yesterday): our last outing was a sail on #TedAshby #scrow via the Maritime Museum. The weather was perfect. @sngo1982 got the chance to drive a tug boat through a stimulator. Lunch at #Burgerboy Snack at #DavenportChocolate. Then we flew home. #FarewellNewZealand pic.twitter.com/ml9agJNgBR— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 13, 2020
Day 6 (yesterday): 2nd resting day. We had Vietnamese food for lunch. Took inner link bus to @aucklandmuseum ($2 one way). We made it to the last cultural performance session of the day. Phew. It was educational and informative. We decided to suss out other exhibits too. #NZ pic.twitter.com/0ZFfrq7cag— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 12, 2020
Day 5: a full day tour. @sngo1982 and I took the scenic and intermediate luge routes at #SkylineRotorua. Wicked fun! Then we sussed out every house in #hobbiton and I had apple cider at the Green Dragon.The host (Edd) was bloody informative through out. 🤣 #NZ pic.twitter.com/1smnqcjiXU— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 11, 2020
Day 4: a half day tour of #waitomo #glowworm cave. Black water raft ride with @sngo1982 . The worms looked like LED lights. Self sufficient eco system. Replicable pattern. Then back to the city and we had dinner at #CrabShack #nomnomnom #Auckland pic.twitter.com/IC84qSrV24— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 10, 2020
The tourist operators in #NZ #Auckland have this dislike towards #GoPro camera use. I’m constantly being told not to use mine like a child. These folks do not know how to use mounts or run a tour that’s memorable.— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 10, 2020
Day 3: we successfully climbed the #Auckland harbour bridge and bungy jumped too! Woo! Exhilarating alright. #AucklandBungy #AucklandBridgeClimb #LiveMoreFearless then @sngo1982 and I went to have 🌮 for lunch. Ha ha. pic.twitter.com/OrI9W8zjqW— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 8, 2020
Day 2 (yesterday): @sngo1982 and I went abseiling at Piha Canyon against Kitekite falls. Thanks #AwolCanyoning for organising it. We had fun. #Auckland #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/OUXYduffNw— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 7, 2020
Day 1: We went on #Auckland free walking tour, and it was fun and educational. Thanks to Kurtis and Olivia. In the arvo, @sngo1982 and I took on the skywalk. The weather was just perfect. No wind and sun sunshine. #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/8ESTkHhuH4— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 6, 2020
Breakfast was yummo #nomnomnom they toast your food using a wood fire oven. Also, French treats can be found here. w @sngo1982 #Auckland (@ Amano Bakery in Auckland) https://t.co/tAXQg20mNa pic.twitter.com/LO9UiGzaHl— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 5, 2020
Watching: Invisible man [movie] with @sngo1982 #thriller #undead #noclothes #bae (at @IMAXMelbourne in Melbourne, VIC, VIC) https://t.co/bRKKTd6hiW— Melly Tango (@melpucca) March 2, 2020
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