And then there was Diwali. It’s a fun festival in India, and in the past few years I think I have come to figure out that I would prefer to spend the Diwali in India, with friends, if I cannot make it to the family in Amritsar. But here I was, in Sydney, celebrating Diwali in a piecemeal basis, cause here the weekday takes precedence over Diwali. Diwali was on a Wednesday, I attended one Diwali function the previous Saturday, on the day of Diwali I prepared for an exam, and after the exam on Thursday, I went for a ’Diwali ‘with the others from the university. The funny thing is it does not hit you till it gets to the evening. So it was all fine till the afternoon, studying and all, but towards the evening it starts to get get on to you. The houses are not lit, and neither is the sky. There are no sweets in the house, and the like.
But I did manage to view some fireworks in Sydney. I was told that in the months preceding Christmas (and no, not all 12 months before Christmas), there are fireworks in at Darling harbor. So I checked out the website (that’s a good thing, all info is available online), and figured out a day to go. That day arrived, and went, I missed it. So I checked the website again, and noted down another date. That day arrived, and passed too. This led me to go to the website and note down the next few potential dates, and then I watched them go by, one by one, till finally one day, I landed at Darling Harbour, in time to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were supposed to start at 9 pm, and I know that the firangs are a punctual lot, so I reached there at 8:00pm (also because the alternate was to reach there at 9:30 pm). I looked around to figure out where would the fireworks be, and then I placed myself at the centre of the bridge. Advantage1 : I could see both sides of the bay, so I would catch the fireworks whichever side it took place. Advantage 2: there was a good breeze there 
, Advantage 3: I could get a good view of not only the sky, but of the entire harbor, so seemed appropriate. 8:30 pm: I tried to figure out a good side of the bridge, I could not. So I waited at a side that offered a view of the sea. 8:45 pm : I see that folks are congregating on the other side, so I changed my position to the other side. 9:00 pm: nothing. 9:05 pm: I see people are looking at their wrists now, instead of the sky. So I look at mine, I find my wristwatch there, and figure out that people are getting impatient. 9:10 pm: I figure out that the firangs are not such a punctual lot after all. 9:15 pm, I hear a whistle, I look up and see a rocket going up .. yay !! the fireworks have stared !! In the very limited area of the sky that it occupied, it was a good show. There fireworks were being launched from three different rafts in the bay, and were nicely coordinated. But I think I like the Diwali sky better cause that lights up the entire sky, and because it lasts a lot longer. This one lasted 10 minutes. And then everyone went home. So did I.
Now let me rewind a little to the story of how did I land up at the harbor that evening. I first got up at 6 am that morning. We were supposed to go to Hunter valley that day. Hunter valley is ~3 hours drive from Sydney (and 3 and a half hours if the drive is an 80 year old veteran). It’s a wine growing region, the plan was to go to a few vineyards and taste wine, and I had to reach the university at 7:30 am for that. Anyhow, so I got up at 6 am, then I got up at 6:15 am, and then I got up at 6:30 am, and then I got ready and reached the university at 7:40 am. I turned out that I was the second last to arrive there (the last on e was my housemate who arrived there at 7:50 am. The others were not very happy, and I reminded myself that firangs are a punctual lot, and the Asians in firang land become unpredictable, they are not punctually late.
So we got on to the bus and got to the first vineyard. It was long and slow ride between the ‘got on’ and the ‘got to’ part. The first wine tasting session, 8 types of wine, 4 white ones followed by 4 red ones but the last one was amazing. It was a red wine with brandy in it, and it tasted really good and smooth. The first was a light fruity sparkling wine. Quick lesson on how to taste a wine: swirl the glass (to let the wine breathe), take a sip (you cannot do without it), and then swirl it in your mouth (to let it touch all parts of your ‘palate’), and then spit it out. Well, apart from the few people in our group who were the local maxima in wine tasting, the rest of decided to skip step 4. We were supposed to go to four vineyards, and by the third vineyard, all wines tasted the same. And no, it was not because we got drunk, but in general. I tasted 34 wines that day, 15-30 ml each, over the course of five hours. I used to like white wine, and now that desire has been killed (damn the abundance). I’d like to drink Tawny though (the one with wine + brandy), which bring up the point.. do I like wine or the brandy ?
While coming back to the university from the vineyard, I had to take a call, either go back home and then come back, or get off at Darling harbor itself. I chose the latter; the former would have been cutting it too close. So I also explored the central business district a bit, and it is quite a good place.
It is debatable if we are known for efficiency or not, but there is a good story on efficiency that I have, not necessarily the most recommended one. I have a cousin sister in city that is ~1.5 hours by train from Sydney, and I have gone there on some weekends, and take the Monday morning 7 am train. The first weekend, I got to the station at 6:58 and the train arrived as soon as I got into the long queue. The queue disappeared as people must have rushed onto the train with/without tickets, so I was able to get a ticket and rush into the train. The next weekend, I got there around 6:55, and the train arrives just as I got my train ticket. I got the ticket and rushed. The weekend after that, I went to the station early morning, got a ticket and came back home to have a comfortable breakfast. Thus, from efficient ways of getting onto a train I moved to using the systemic efficiencies available. The house was 2 minutes walk from the station.
