Destinations
DJ down under
By Suwitcha Chaiyong, Photos courtesy of Tanya-un Tantasatien
DJ Pae takes to Australia
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Breaking from the usual routine and escaping to an exotic location is a great way to recharge your batteries. After finishing her final master�s exam, 29-year-old Virgin Soft DJ Tanya-un Tantasatien (Pae) decided to fly to Australia with a group of friends, visiting Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
�I have friends who studied in Sydney, and they all said that it�s a beautiful city,� DJ Pae said. �My friend managed to find bargain fares, so we decided to visit Australia for two weeks.�
COLD MOUNTAIN
• Did you know • |
 In 2005 Sydney was ranked
first in Travel and Leisure Magazine�s list of the world�s best cities. |
One thing that DJ Pae and her friends wanted to do in Australia was to go skiing.
�None of us had skied before, so we wanted to try,� she said. �It was the end of winter, but we found an agency that said we could still ski on Mount Buller in Victoria.�
DJ Pae went to Mount Buller on the last of her four days in Melbourne.
�We only had one day at Mount Buller, so I took a skiing lesson from an instructor,� she said. �I fell over a lot. But at the end of the day, I skied down from the top of a big hill. It was scary, but fun!�
NATURAL ATTRACTION
DJ
Pae also took sightseeing trips to Victoria�s most famous natural attractions �
Phillip Island and the Twelve Apostles.
Philip Island is a national park southeast of Melbourne, where visitors can watch penguins walk to their habitats across a beach.
�At around 7 pm we saw about 1,000 penguins pass by very close to us,� DJ Pae said. �They were so lovely and very tame, but unfortunately we couldn�t take any photos because the camera flash frightens them.�
Located off-shore at Port Campbell National Park, the Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks formed by the erosion of the sea. Some of the stacks have already collapsed from the ocean waves.
�The Twelve Apostles are enormous and spectacular,� DJ Pae said. �Our guide said that there are only eight stacks left, so I was very happy to see them before they all fall down.�
STREET LIFE
The next stop for DJ Pae and her crew was Sydney. Her first impressions of Australia�s most populous city weren�t very positive.
�We arrived in Sydney at night and walked downtown to meet up with a friend at a cafe,� she said. �I kept hearing sirens and seeing so many different types of people � it felt like Sydney was totally chaotic and scary.�
The next morning, DJ Pae saw a different side of the city and discovered that Sydney can also be beautiful.
�We went to the Sydney Opera House, and it was so scenic,� she said.
DJ Pae also got to sample some of the city�s renowned cuisine.
�One place not to miss is a restaurant called Pancakes on the Rocks,� she said. �I�d never tasted delectable beef like that before � and their pancakes were great.�
FLORA AND FAUNA
During
her 10 days in Sydney, DJ Pae had a ball. She visited attractions both
in and around the city, including Darling Harbour, the Fish Markets, Sydney
Aquarium and Featherdale Wildlife Park � a sanctuary for kangaroos,
koalas, emus and Tasmanian devils.
�There were many animals that we weren�t familiar with,� she said. �It was a great, feeding kangaroos and taking pictures with koalas.�
DJ Pae also managed to fit in a day trip to Canberra to see the Floriade Festival.
�Canberra is a fairly boring city, but the Floriade Festival was fantastic,� she said. �It�s a festival of many different kinds of flowers and unusual flower arrangements.�
CITY LIVING
When it was time to leave Sydney, DJ Pae didn�t want to go.
�I prefer Sydney to Melbourne. The architecture and beaches there are really beautiful,� she said. �There are lots of activities to do. I think it would be a great place to live.�
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bargain
(adj): bought
for less than the usual price IDIOMS recharge
your batteries: to get back your strength and energy by resting for a while |
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