Aussie Muslim Lifesavers

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One morning at Southbank

Today, we decided to go to Southbank, a buzzing popular local attraction near the CBD. Dh's officemates had been recommending it to him but we never got to go as we were always interested in going somewhere else. Well, since there were some activities held in conjunction with The 5th Asian Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery, I thought it was a good idea to have a look at the area. We parked our car at the basement and had a brekkie, then decided to stroll along the river bank. We didn't have a glimpse of any gallery or museum when dear son saw there... an artificial manmade beach near the river, and our program to see the gallery went haywire. Play dad took out wetsuits for the kiddos and after a change of clothes , they were all set to hit the water. They stayed there for hours. Luckily, there was a craft market nearby and I had a stroll with baby. I bought him a big hat to protect my precious baby from the glaring sun and sent him back to have some fun at the the beach.
There were some interesting things at the market. One lady was selling some locally made olive oil and spices. I am a sucker for Mediterranean food and had to see what was on offer. She demonstrated how to eat the dukkah. Use a toothpick to pick up some bread ( cut into bitesize pieces) , soak it into some olive oil and then dunk it into the dukkah spice mix. Yummy. I bought some dukkah and olives straight away. I also had a look at a stall that was selling swimwear with UPF 50. Full body attire swimwear is the rage in Oz to avoid over exposure to the sun. Funsunwear. The lady was willing to measure me and make a tailor made and full body cover swimwear for me. I had to take a raincheck. I already had a burqini I bought from a ahiida.com dealer.

Fun in the Sun

As predicted, we went to a theme park on Sunday. Dh had bought the tickets online and decided to bring the kids there as a "surprise". Dd was making guesses as to where we were heading and she said she felt suspicious when she guessed Movie World and her dad didn't answer.
It was a very hot sunny day , a little hotter than usual. There were heaps of people there some of them were locals as well as tourists. I saw bus loads of Asian tourists entering the park. Many muslim tourists also visit the popular theme park so they have provided a comfortable room which was nicely decorated and laid with persian carpets for muslims to pray in.There is also a restaurant serving halal certified food in front of the musollah in this middle eastern themed bazaar area.
I did a fair bit of people watching. A group of men from the Indian subcontinent were taking pics at a fountain at the main entrance when we arrived. Nothing extraordinary there except the Superman rollercoaster towering behind it. I saw a group of Chinese tourists smoking and socialising next to our table when we were having brunch at a cafe. They seemed more interested in their company than the thrill rides at the park . Shutterbugs were having a field day taking photos of one another all across the park as well as with the actors of the animated cartoon characters such as Tweety bird, Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny. I also watched with wonder as some tourists took pictures of a painted wall of a cowboy town reminiscence of the wild wild west. Even a replica graveyard on a manmade bump of a hill was snapped by some eager tourists.
We went to Looney Tunes Splash Zone so that the kiddies could wet themselves silly. Dear baby could walk quite well now so I left him there with his older sister while I watched from under a shaded tree. He seems to be enjoying himself with some Aussie kids who took an instant liking to him. It looks like his personality has emerged as he toddled back and forth in the splash zone . What a cutey he is! Dh took some footage of the kiddies and we had a blast watching the video replay at home.