Melbourne: Day 5 & Sydney: Day 1

We went to Tullamarine Airport at 5.00 p.m. by a chartered van owned by our travel agent.

After checking in, we straightly went to the departure hall as we were late due to the traffic congestion on our way to the airport. Our flight was Jet Star (JQ 528) heading to Sydney.

Upon checking in, we encountered problem as 2 of our delegation could not check in through the automatic check-in kiosk, and they have to queue up to check in manually.

At the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, we encountered problems finding our travel agent since they are not allowed to stop their cars at the arriving hall. We waited for a few minutes before the travel agent called us and informed us their location. We have to walk a few miles to the location from the arriving hall to the parking lot.

We then settled down at our accommodation in East Lakes, located at the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

Since no space is provided at the airport for Muslims to pray, we took a small unoccupied space at the departure hall to perform our prayer. We took ablution at the toilet and people were staring at us and gave us unpleasant look. Here, we learnt that regardless of places, prayers can be performed anywhere and while taking ablution, we learnt to continue doing what we believe is right even though people might criticize and condemn you for what you do.

After arriving in Sydney, we found that Sydney is far more developed than Melbourne. In terms of structural sequence, Melbourne has more structural town planning and the city is centred while Sydney on the other hand has scattered structural town planning. When we inquired this matter to our travel agent, he told us that each state is administered by different government and each state has its own constitutions. Sydney for example is administered by New South Wales government while Melbourne is administered by Victoria government. Each state is led by a Premiere, which in Malaysia is referred as Menteri Besar.

After we have settled with our accommodation, we were introduced to our foster family in Sydney, Abang Mat and Kak Nani. Kak Nani is Malaysia Hall warden and we knew her through our email writing and phone conversation. Both of them are permanent residents in Australia and have stayed here for almost 20 years. From this introduction, we learnt that no matter how far you are from your own country, you always have people from the same country around you that can be your alternative family abroad. Through this, we learnt to accept the difference among Malaysians and change these differences into unity. By doing so, we will have a more peaceful and united community.