Wed Oct 22
12:22 San Francisco Airport
It’s kinda funny how every time I come home, the first flight to the US is early. The hop to Vancouver is so short that it’s almost a given that it won’t be early. More time in the airport, I guess. Too bad the 2pm flight’s full. It’d be nice to cut the connection time by 2 hours.
Anyways, I am so annoyed by the guy at the SYD security gate. I had a half a bottle of water that I’d forgotten about, and he made me throw the bottle when I was emptying out the bottle! FIRST of all, that’s very environmentally unfriendly, and second of all, it’s not like I was trying to get the liquid into the friggin secured area. If that had been a more expensive bottle, would he have made me chuck it out too? What difference does it make that it’s just a generic powerade bottle? I need water too, ya know. And it’s not like there was anyone waiting behind me. Geez.
The US is so paranoid. I passed through the metal detector just fine at all the other airports, but had to take off my money belt at the United gate. Yea. Only flights to the States had an extra security check point and gated area right at the gate. I really didn’t like the guy rifling through my stuff. I’ve had my bag checked before, but I didn’t like this guy. It could be that at the other airports, they just ran a sensor over and in my bag, rather than actually take out my stuff. I think the point where I was really annoyed was when he took out my journal. If it had been dangerous, and the first security checkpoint hadn’t caught it, then really, what’s the point of it in the first place? I think also that on all my other flights this trip, the person described exactly what they were going to do, whereas this guy just dove in. Lack of courtesy, ya know? I’m not a criminal; don’t treat me like one.
Anyways. The flight was fantastic. I had the entire centre row to myself. The person who had been sitting at the other end must’ve changed their seat online shortly before checking in. I think I slept 9 of the 12 hours! I was so tired (having been up the day before, then taking the red-eye from Perth and finally boarding at 3:40pm the next day) that I missed take off. I mean, one minute, the plane was stationary, and the next thing I’m aware of, we’re already in the clouds. I think Will’s rubbing off on me =P
Oh my lack of direction really sucks. So we get to Sydney from Perth at 7am, and I’m supposed to pick up my stuff from Monica at 9:30. Desperately needed a shower, and the Lonely Planet said there were some at the Traveller’s Aid on Platform one of Central Station. I ask information, and he directed me to a public pool near Hyde Park, which is a bit of a trek, so I go to YHA Railway Square to see if I could buy a shower. The guy says showers are only for guests. Fine. All my customer training was appalled at how he didn’t even suggest alternatives, like gyms or community centres or whatever. Way to go, buddy. But since I’m not really a customer, I guess I’m not worth his time or breath.
Oh, and the kicker. When I asked if there were a pool somewhere, he tells me there’s one about 15 minutes away. I ask in which direction, and he’s like “Away from the city.” WTF? Thanks. And then he’s like, “You’ll be wet from the rain walking there and back anyway.” Uh. Hello? A shower and wet from the rain are two COMPLETELY different things. I have 20 hours before I get home, and the last time I took a shower was 30 hours ago. What a moron!
So I head to the post office to pick up mail. I have a Tax File Number now. Fat lotta good that’s gonna do me, eh? =P
Off to Darling Harbour to meet Monica. Easier said than done. I had to turn back 3 separate times. WTF! I’ve BEEN there several times this trip! You’d think I’d be able to get there 3 weeks later! Oi.
Oh, I must say. The rain was most welcome after the blistering heat of the past week. Even if Sydneysiders hated it. Monica tells me that the weather was really nice over the weekend; further proof that Vancouverites really do bring our weather with us =P. I have to admit that I was missing the rain.
Thank goodness there were complimentary showers at SYD. And the lady at Information was so nice about it. She was so grandmotherly, telling me that she hoped it were still there, for my sake. I guess I seemed really desperate =P
I’m glad I had set aside clean clothes for the flight. Everything else is in dire need of washing. Not that any of you need to know. Heh.
Oh. The Coles bag that I used to pack the excess clothes broke. It’s not that I actually had a lot of stuff; total weight of my check-in luggage was less than 20kg. I just didn’t pack efficiently. When I got to the counter, I asked the guy if I needed to repack it all into my one bag, and he told me to just put the broken bag into the plastic luggage bag. Easy.
This trip has been great, but I am totally ready to go home. I have no doubt I’m going back to Australia for a visit; there’s so much still to see. Next time, though, I’m going to go in cooler weather =P
If you’ve made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rottnest Island
Tues Oct 21
21:13 Perth Domestic Airport
Perth is so not for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful place, but there’s nothing to do, and everything closes early. I’m also not a fan of the climate, or the proliferation of flies. They’re a bloody nuisance.
Onto better topics. Went to Rottnest Island today. Quokkas are so cute! Not as cool as wombats, but cute. They just wander around the island. Oh, another reason why young kids should not travel: They’re bloody savages to animals. This one kid, couldn’t’ve been more than 4, was running around, trying to kick, poke, and stomp on the quokka, even after his mother told him not to. I wanted to throttle the brat. Yea. This trip is not endearing me to young children. Thank goodness I teach high school.
Right, better topics. The ferry ride to Rottnest was nice. Perth has regulations as to how fast large boats can travel in certain sections of the Swan River, so as to minimize the damage to shorelines caused by the wakes. As soon as the guide said it, the Fast Cat Fiasco came to mind.
Didn’t rent a bike, knowing that my leg is still a little screwy from the hike in Kalbarri. One of my roomies said that the island is a bit hilly, and I had the train and gun tour anyway, so I just walked around. The tour was interesting. I can’t really remember much of the information, only that the shell was 9in in diameter, and the initial velocity is about twice the speed of sound. I have a feeling the guys in my life would have hung onto more of the guide’s commentary than I did. =P
Had a HUGE dinner at Sassella’s Tavern in the city: 350g ribeye steak with fries, salad and veggies. When I saw the platter, I was wondering if I could finish it. I did, but it was a near thing. Oh, something else that I’m going to miss is how common blackcurrant juice is. So yummy!
I have basically 3 hours to kill before my flight. Why am I here so early, you wonder? The last shuttle to the airport got me here at 8, 4 hours before my departure. See what I mean about how Perth is not for me? Melbourne’s got the 24-hour Skybus to get you to and from the airport. I have a feeling, though, that I can actually take public transit here. Just no one around here knows about it, or there’s a conspiracy to get as much money from us as possible by only advertising the shuttle and taxi.
Gonna geek out and play solitaire. Can’t wait to get to hop on that flight home tomorrow! This is gonna surprise everyone! ^^
21:13 Perth Domestic Airport
Perth is so not for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a beautiful place, but there’s nothing to do, and everything closes early. I’m also not a fan of the climate, or the proliferation of flies. They’re a bloody nuisance.
Onto better topics. Went to Rottnest Island today. Quokkas are so cute! Not as cool as wombats, but cute. They just wander around the island. Oh, another reason why young kids should not travel: They’re bloody savages to animals. This one kid, couldn’t’ve been more than 4, was running around, trying to kick, poke, and stomp on the quokka, even after his mother told him not to. I wanted to throttle the brat. Yea. This trip is not endearing me to young children. Thank goodness I teach high school.
Right, better topics. The ferry ride to Rottnest was nice. Perth has regulations as to how fast large boats can travel in certain sections of the Swan River, so as to minimize the damage to shorelines caused by the wakes. As soon as the guide said it, the Fast Cat Fiasco came to mind.
Didn’t rent a bike, knowing that my leg is still a little screwy from the hike in Kalbarri. One of my roomies said that the island is a bit hilly, and I had the train and gun tour anyway, so I just walked around. The tour was interesting. I can’t really remember much of the information, only that the shell was 9in in diameter, and the initial velocity is about twice the speed of sound. I have a feeling the guys in my life would have hung onto more of the guide’s commentary than I did. =P
Had a HUGE dinner at Sassella’s Tavern in the city: 350g ribeye steak with fries, salad and veggies. When I saw the platter, I was wondering if I could finish it. I did, but it was a near thing. Oh, something else that I’m going to miss is how common blackcurrant juice is. So yummy!
I have basically 3 hours to kill before my flight. Why am I here so early, you wonder? The last shuttle to the airport got me here at 8, 4 hours before my departure. See what I mean about how Perth is not for me? Melbourne’s got the 24-hour Skybus to get you to and from the airport. I have a feeling, though, that I can actually take public transit here. Just no one around here knows about it, or there’s a conspiracy to get as much money from us as possible by only advertising the shuttle and taxi.
Gonna geek out and play solitaire. Can’t wait to get to hop on that flight home tomorrow! This is gonna surprise everyone! ^^
Western Exposure Day 4
Mon Oct 20
22:04, Perth
Back at Perth City YHA. Can’t exactly say I’m glad to be back, because this window also faces the train. But at least the hostel is cleaner than that of Grand Central. AND, I am no longer in the Outback. Nothing really wrong with rural/remote areas, just that it was really freaking hot and there were way too many insects buzzing around.
So last night was one of the, if not THE worst night I have had so far in Oz. Worse than that really hot night in Glebe. It was marginally cooler than Glebe, but the insects made it way way worse. I spent a good portion of the night swatting at them in the dark. I couldn’t even get up to do anything or go somewhere with fewer bugs, because the farm’s got all sorts of critters, snakes among them.
Had bread and honey for brekky. When I got to the mess, I realised that I couldn’t have cereal, cuz I didn’t have lactaid with me. As I headed towards the toaster with the bread, I also realised that there were probably bugs in the toaster, and really, I don’t need that source of protein.
That bottle of ice came in really handy today. The ice completely melted sometime on the stretch drive back to Perth, so it was good.
First stop of the day was Hutt River Province. HRH Prince Leonard was not in. He’s sick, which is a shame, cuz he’s apparently charming and tells good stories, which is more than what I can say about Duke (Arthur?) of Nain.
Hutt River seceded from Australia in the 70s because the guy who owned the land didn’t want to pay tax on his wheat crop. He found this loophole and managed to create his own sovereign province. Really, it’s a hole. Population of half a dozen permanent residents, and a few extra hands when needed. I wonder if they’re gonna keep it a separate entity from Australia when the prince dies, or if Crown Prince Ian will continue with it. I mean, they can’t possibly have all the benefits that Australian citizens have.
Anyways, I got a set of notes and a coin for Will. I didn’t think anyone else would want anything from the province.
Up next was a wildlife park. Can’t remember the name of it. Fed a bunch of animals. The kangaroos can get pretty aggressive about it. They apparently have a hierarchy, and being humans, we’re more drawn to the cute little guys, so the big males get uppity about it. They hissed and made a growling kinda noise. Poor Jessica got bitten by one. No blood drawn, just scratch marks.
The donkey spat at the Swiss girls.
The goats were hilarious! They propped themselves up on their hind legs and craned their necks as far as possible over the fence, then stuck out their tongues, trying to get us to give them food. Talk about eager! If I had my camera, that definitely would’ve been a video capture.
The Swiss girls were horrified with the turkey. One was like, “What’s wrong with it?” with respect to the red bits hanging off the beak. Sophie was nonchalant, telling her that it’s a turkey; Americans eat them at Thanksgiving.
Ostriches are so much prettier than emus. Emus have this evil eye look about them. Ostriches are like ladies playing with their feather fans.
The grand finale at the wildlife park was the snake show. A pair of pythons, Adam and Eve, was brought out, and we were allowed to handle them. Smallish things, about a metre or so long, and about as thick as the handle of a tennis racket. Sophie had one around her neck and Miriam held one. I didn’t want to, especially with the flies buzzing around, because I knew I would probably reflexively swat at the flies and probably startle it, or drop it.
The flies are EVERYWHERE! Have I mentioned that? And they always seem to dive at my eyes every so often. ABSOLUTELY HATE that! UGH!!! Just thinking about it pisses me off.
Anyways, then they brought out an orphaned joey, Jiba, meaning “moon”. What a cutie! For a $2 donation, we could hold her. I didn’t, because I JUST have enough to take the shuttle to the airport tomorrow. Jiba’s really soft, and she’s got those doey, liquid eyes framed by black lashes.
We stopped for lunch at Point Denison. Would be a lovely place, but the omnipresent flies ruined it. I was pretty disgusted with how they were all over the food. Thank goodness it was the last meal of the tour.
I almost left my waterproof jacket behind. Luckily, there was so much traffic that by the time I realised it, I was even with the bus, and Sophie quickly handed it to me at a light. Hopefully, I haven’t forgotten anything important.
Time for bed. I’m hoping that the pint of Guinness I had with dinner will help me fall asleep tonight.
22:04, Perth
Back at Perth City YHA. Can’t exactly say I’m glad to be back, because this window also faces the train. But at least the hostel is cleaner than that of Grand Central. AND, I am no longer in the Outback. Nothing really wrong with rural/remote areas, just that it was really freaking hot and there were way too many insects buzzing around.
So last night was one of the, if not THE worst night I have had so far in Oz. Worse than that really hot night in Glebe. It was marginally cooler than Glebe, but the insects made it way way worse. I spent a good portion of the night swatting at them in the dark. I couldn’t even get up to do anything or go somewhere with fewer bugs, because the farm’s got all sorts of critters, snakes among them.
Had bread and honey for brekky. When I got to the mess, I realised that I couldn’t have cereal, cuz I didn’t have lactaid with me. As I headed towards the toaster with the bread, I also realised that there were probably bugs in the toaster, and really, I don’t need that source of protein.
That bottle of ice came in really handy today. The ice completely melted sometime on the stretch drive back to Perth, so it was good.
First stop of the day was Hutt River Province. HRH Prince Leonard was not in. He’s sick, which is a shame, cuz he’s apparently charming and tells good stories, which is more than what I can say about Duke (Arthur?) of Nain.
Hutt River seceded from Australia in the 70s because the guy who owned the land didn’t want to pay tax on his wheat crop. He found this loophole and managed to create his own sovereign province. Really, it’s a hole. Population of half a dozen permanent residents, and a few extra hands when needed. I wonder if they’re gonna keep it a separate entity from Australia when the prince dies, or if Crown Prince Ian will continue with it. I mean, they can’t possibly have all the benefits that Australian citizens have.
Anyways, I got a set of notes and a coin for Will. I didn’t think anyone else would want anything from the province.
Up next was a wildlife park. Can’t remember the name of it. Fed a bunch of animals. The kangaroos can get pretty aggressive about it. They apparently have a hierarchy, and being humans, we’re more drawn to the cute little guys, so the big males get uppity about it. They hissed and made a growling kinda noise. Poor Jessica got bitten by one. No blood drawn, just scratch marks.
The donkey spat at the Swiss girls.
The goats were hilarious! They propped themselves up on their hind legs and craned their necks as far as possible over the fence, then stuck out their tongues, trying to get us to give them food. Talk about eager! If I had my camera, that definitely would’ve been a video capture.
The Swiss girls were horrified with the turkey. One was like, “What’s wrong with it?” with respect to the red bits hanging off the beak. Sophie was nonchalant, telling her that it’s a turkey; Americans eat them at Thanksgiving.
Ostriches are so much prettier than emus. Emus have this evil eye look about them. Ostriches are like ladies playing with their feather fans.
The grand finale at the wildlife park was the snake show. A pair of pythons, Adam and Eve, was brought out, and we were allowed to handle them. Smallish things, about a metre or so long, and about as thick as the handle of a tennis racket. Sophie had one around her neck and Miriam held one. I didn’t want to, especially with the flies buzzing around, because I knew I would probably reflexively swat at the flies and probably startle it, or drop it.
The flies are EVERYWHERE! Have I mentioned that? And they always seem to dive at my eyes every so often. ABSOLUTELY HATE that! UGH!!! Just thinking about it pisses me off.
Anyways, then they brought out an orphaned joey, Jiba, meaning “moon”. What a cutie! For a $2 donation, we could hold her. I didn’t, because I JUST have enough to take the shuttle to the airport tomorrow. Jiba’s really soft, and she’s got those doey, liquid eyes framed by black lashes.
We stopped for lunch at Point Denison. Would be a lovely place, but the omnipresent flies ruined it. I was pretty disgusted with how they were all over the food. Thank goodness it was the last meal of the tour.
I almost left my waterproof jacket behind. Luckily, there was so much traffic that by the time I realised it, I was even with the bus, and Sophie quickly handed it to me at a light. Hopefully, I haven’t forgotten anything important.
Time for bed. I’m hoping that the pint of Guinness I had with dinner will help me fall asleep tonight.
Western Exposure Day 3
Sun Oct 19
8:45, Monkey Mia
I GOT PICKED TO FEED A DOLPHIN! Quite cool in that I totally had not expected it, since a little boy near me got picked first. You hold the fish by the tail and put it underwater, and the dolphin comes up to you and takes it.
That was the idea, anyway. Spark (or was it Sharp?) kinda nibbled on it, and so I let go, and it fell to the bottom, and she didn’t bother with it. Apparently, only 5 specific females get fed about a fifth of their daily requirement each day, so they won’t rely on humans for food, and will teach their calves to hunt.
This regular feeding (it happens 3 times a day between 7:30 and noon) has been going on for 40 years.
These are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, a subspecies. Their undersides get speckled as they age. And man, it sucks to be a female. The boys are rough with them (a few had rake marks). They continue to pop out babies until they die, and they raise the calves on their own. Sure, the females group together to form families, but they’re either breeding, pregnant, or nursing. The boys? They stay with mum, then move off, have sex, and frolic in the open seas with their buddies.
It was quite amazing how the dolphins came right up into the shallows. We were standing less than calf-deep water.
Apparently, the females are so used to coming for their food that they will often bring their calves with them the day after they’re born. If a female misses a day, then chances are, she’s giving birth.
Oh, if you want to up your chances of having a close encounter with a dolphin, either be pregnant, or bring a pregnant woman along. Dolphins are fascinated by the fetus. There’s a dolphin interaction zone, and while you’re not allowed to touch them, they are free to touch you. So there you go.
21:12, Riverside (Ajava?) Sanctuary Farm
Currently at a farmstay. My GOD the bugs are everywhere. I will be SO glad to be going home, where it is winter = NO BUGS!
I don’t care how unfashionable a fly net is, it does its job, and that is more than what I can ask for, because obviously, asking that all the flies be wiped off the face of the earth would be too much. Even the vast majority would be too much to ask for.
I didn’t do anything at Monkey Mia, after the dolphin feeding and getting a couple postcards. It was HOT. Apparently the sand was boiling. I wouldn’t know, cuz I wore flip flops the entire time. Met a couple of older Perthites, Sue and Maggie, and their rescue dog, Iggy. Some sort of Border collie mix, I think. Really docile, though that could be due to the heat. Sue gave me her number, saying that I should call her if I’m ever in Perth again. They were raving about Esperance.
Left Monkey Mia at 12:30. Got to the Overlander Roadhouse, and had to wait an hour for Greg to pick the four of us up to head back to Perth. The others were going north, beyond the Tropic of Capricorn to Exmouth. Just Sophie, Jessica and Miriam (Swede, Swiss French and Swiss German) and yours truly here.
Went on a little walk. Jock the dog is a cutie. Golden brown dog of some sort.
Dinner was a simple affair of shepherd’s pie, garlic bread, and fruit with custard. I have a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer. Should be fantastic for tomorrow. Shoulda done it for the last couple days. Brain OBVIOUSLY not functioning properly.
May sleep with a fly net on tonight. Would LOVE to have the bed nets that they have in Asia.
8:45, Monkey Mia
I GOT PICKED TO FEED A DOLPHIN! Quite cool in that I totally had not expected it, since a little boy near me got picked first. You hold the fish by the tail and put it underwater, and the dolphin comes up to you and takes it.
That was the idea, anyway. Spark (or was it Sharp?) kinda nibbled on it, and so I let go, and it fell to the bottom, and she didn’t bother with it. Apparently, only 5 specific females get fed about a fifth of their daily requirement each day, so they won’t rely on humans for food, and will teach their calves to hunt.
This regular feeding (it happens 3 times a day between 7:30 and noon) has been going on for 40 years.
These are the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, a subspecies. Their undersides get speckled as they age. And man, it sucks to be a female. The boys are rough with them (a few had rake marks). They continue to pop out babies until they die, and they raise the calves on their own. Sure, the females group together to form families, but they’re either breeding, pregnant, or nursing. The boys? They stay with mum, then move off, have sex, and frolic in the open seas with their buddies.
It was quite amazing how the dolphins came right up into the shallows. We were standing less than calf-deep water.
Apparently, the females are so used to coming for their food that they will often bring their calves with them the day after they’re born. If a female misses a day, then chances are, she’s giving birth.
Oh, if you want to up your chances of having a close encounter with a dolphin, either be pregnant, or bring a pregnant woman along. Dolphins are fascinated by the fetus. There’s a dolphin interaction zone, and while you’re not allowed to touch them, they are free to touch you. So there you go.
21:12, Riverside (Ajava?) Sanctuary Farm
Currently at a farmstay. My GOD the bugs are everywhere. I will be SO glad to be going home, where it is winter = NO BUGS!
I don’t care how unfashionable a fly net is, it does its job, and that is more than what I can ask for, because obviously, asking that all the flies be wiped off the face of the earth would be too much. Even the vast majority would be too much to ask for.
I didn’t do anything at Monkey Mia, after the dolphin feeding and getting a couple postcards. It was HOT. Apparently the sand was boiling. I wouldn’t know, cuz I wore flip flops the entire time. Met a couple of older Perthites, Sue and Maggie, and their rescue dog, Iggy. Some sort of Border collie mix, I think. Really docile, though that could be due to the heat. Sue gave me her number, saying that I should call her if I’m ever in Perth again. They were raving about Esperance.
Left Monkey Mia at 12:30. Got to the Overlander Roadhouse, and had to wait an hour for Greg to pick the four of us up to head back to Perth. The others were going north, beyond the Tropic of Capricorn to Exmouth. Just Sophie, Jessica and Miriam (Swede, Swiss French and Swiss German) and yours truly here.
Went on a little walk. Jock the dog is a cutie. Golden brown dog of some sort.
Dinner was a simple affair of shepherd’s pie, garlic bread, and fruit with custard. I have a 1.5L bottle of water in the freezer. Should be fantastic for tomorrow. Shoulda done it for the last couple days. Brain OBVIOUSLY not functioning properly.
May sleep with a fly net on tonight. Would LOVE to have the bed nets that they have in Asia.
Western Exposure Day 2
22:40, Monkey Mia
It feels so good to finally get here. The Bayside YHA is basically a resort here. There’s a boardwalk right out onto the beach. I took a brief walk out there after dinner. You could see quite a few stars, not quite as many as when I was at Merzey River, cuz the lights from the resort are bright. Gotta say that it’s very odd not to see Orion.
Today was a PACKED day.
Left at 7:30 to Kalbarri National Park.
The Z-Bend lookout had quite a view of the gorges. The sandstone in the area is about 280?million years old. About 170mya, the ice age started to carve out the gorges. There were fossilized tracks of an ancient arthropod. The sandstone was variegated, yellow, beige and red. The hike itself is not bad…2 hours or so roundtrip. You go down to the bottom of the gorge to the river. A few sections were steep, and a bit scary, but mostly doable. I’ll see how my legs feel tomorrow.
When we got to the bottom, I made my way to the shady side and just sat, enjoying the view and the breeze. Sophie nearly got stranded in the middle of the river. She was rock hopping and realised that from her little rock, there were no others close by. She made it back, and went a different route to cross. Self-proclaimed tour guide’s worst nightmare, because she likes to do extreme things.
Course, then Tim, and American here on his honeymoon, tried to do her route in reverse. Quite possible that he was into track and field. Did standing long jumps for several of the stones, and made it. I was getting nervous just watching them.
Saw some cool (golden orb?) spiders. They can get quite big, and their webs have a golden glow to them in the light. The neatest thing is that their anchor lines are uber strong, and not sticky. When you pluck on it, like a violin string, it flexes, and doesn’t break.
A short drive to the other side of the park to see Nature’s Window, a freak erosion that caused the centre of a formation to wear away. If you look through it, there’s a nice view of the valley. The winds coming up were just divine.
Hamburgers for lunch, and it was off we went to the stromatolites. Oh, before I forget, it’s very convenient how there are barbecues at most larger parks.
The 2.5 hour drive to the Billabong Roadhouse was frickin HOT. Highs were probably mid-30s today. The aircon was pumped to the max, and it was pissy weak in the heat. Someone in the bus was emitting quite the B.O.
Had a Tim Tam Cornetto and a Blackcurrant Powerade. I dunno if it’s because it actually tastes good, or because I was dehydrated, but the Powerade was really good. Tim Tam cone was ok. Gimme caramel anyday. I also don’t entirely get why Tim Tams are sooooooooooo good. Everyone raves about them, and I’m kinda ambivalent about em.
Another hour’s drive got us to the stromatolites. Pretty cool when you think about the fact that they’ve been here for 3.5 billion years, and that here and the Bahamas are the only places you’ll get to see them still alive. But I didn’t find them overly impressive. Perhaps one of the issues is that I’m a hands-on kinda person. Touching is a big part of an experience for me, and we couldn’t (protected area and all that).
Yet another hour after that was Shell Beach. Cool and a bit odd at the same time, to be at a beach that’s all cockle shells. The water was also quite shallow. Went out about 500m and the water only came up to my knees. Tim and Woody went further out, and it was still quite shallow. Interesting geography, in that the Peron Peninsula protects the bay, so there’s no wave action, and the water doesn’t flow much. Evaporation leaves the water about 3 times saltier than that out in the ocean.
Sophie spotted a jelly! I was the only one to touch it out of the 4 of us. They all thought I was nuts, but I know better. It’s a fleshier one, with a blue hue to it. The tentacles were stubby and their widths were about pinky-sized. The bell definitely had substance and was about the size of an adult human head. Felt like the stalks of larger anemones.
The sunset was gorgeous. That brilliant orange glow and striated sky never gets old.
Stopped into Denham to get some booze. I still had the JD, so I didn’t bother. Denham was a whaling town up until the 30s, when, due to the stench of the town, could not be gazetted. They stopped then, and is now just a fishing town with a population of about 470. It’s also a jumping off point for people to Monkey Mia, as it has more of a night scene.
Dinner was a simple affair of steak, sausages, and salad. Because there were no carbs, I can feel my stomach growling already, and we just ate less than 3 hours ago.
I’m gonna see how I feel tomorrow morning. If I’m awake, I’m going to go to the first feeding of the dolphins at 7:30. If I sleep in, then I’m gonna sleep in. Been sleeping so badly of late. With the red-eye on Tuesday, and the ensuing flight home on Wednesday afternoon, it’s probably a good idea to sleep when I can.
It feels so good to finally get here. The Bayside YHA is basically a resort here. There’s a boardwalk right out onto the beach. I took a brief walk out there after dinner. You could see quite a few stars, not quite as many as when I was at Merzey River, cuz the lights from the resort are bright. Gotta say that it’s very odd not to see Orion.
Today was a PACKED day.
Left at 7:30 to Kalbarri National Park.
The Z-Bend lookout had quite a view of the gorges. The sandstone in the area is about 280?million years old. About 170mya, the ice age started to carve out the gorges. There were fossilized tracks of an ancient arthropod. The sandstone was variegated, yellow, beige and red. The hike itself is not bad…2 hours or so roundtrip. You go down to the bottom of the gorge to the river. A few sections were steep, and a bit scary, but mostly doable. I’ll see how my legs feel tomorrow.
When we got to the bottom, I made my way to the shady side and just sat, enjoying the view and the breeze. Sophie nearly got stranded in the middle of the river. She was rock hopping and realised that from her little rock, there were no others close by. She made it back, and went a different route to cross. Self-proclaimed tour guide’s worst nightmare, because she likes to do extreme things.
Course, then Tim, and American here on his honeymoon, tried to do her route in reverse. Quite possible that he was into track and field. Did standing long jumps for several of the stones, and made it. I was getting nervous just watching them.
Saw some cool (golden orb?) spiders. They can get quite big, and their webs have a golden glow to them in the light. The neatest thing is that their anchor lines are uber strong, and not sticky. When you pluck on it, like a violin string, it flexes, and doesn’t break.
A short drive to the other side of the park to see Nature’s Window, a freak erosion that caused the centre of a formation to wear away. If you look through it, there’s a nice view of the valley. The winds coming up were just divine.
Hamburgers for lunch, and it was off we went to the stromatolites. Oh, before I forget, it’s very convenient how there are barbecues at most larger parks.
The 2.5 hour drive to the Billabong Roadhouse was frickin HOT. Highs were probably mid-30s today. The aircon was pumped to the max, and it was pissy weak in the heat. Someone in the bus was emitting quite the B.O.
Had a Tim Tam Cornetto and a Blackcurrant Powerade. I dunno if it’s because it actually tastes good, or because I was dehydrated, but the Powerade was really good. Tim Tam cone was ok. Gimme caramel anyday. I also don’t entirely get why Tim Tams are sooooooooooo good. Everyone raves about them, and I’m kinda ambivalent about em.
Another hour’s drive got us to the stromatolites. Pretty cool when you think about the fact that they’ve been here for 3.5 billion years, and that here and the Bahamas are the only places you’ll get to see them still alive. But I didn’t find them overly impressive. Perhaps one of the issues is that I’m a hands-on kinda person. Touching is a big part of an experience for me, and we couldn’t (protected area and all that).
Yet another hour after that was Shell Beach. Cool and a bit odd at the same time, to be at a beach that’s all cockle shells. The water was also quite shallow. Went out about 500m and the water only came up to my knees. Tim and Woody went further out, and it was still quite shallow. Interesting geography, in that the Peron Peninsula protects the bay, so there’s no wave action, and the water doesn’t flow much. Evaporation leaves the water about 3 times saltier than that out in the ocean.
Sophie spotted a jelly! I was the only one to touch it out of the 4 of us. They all thought I was nuts, but I know better. It’s a fleshier one, with a blue hue to it. The tentacles were stubby and their widths were about pinky-sized. The bell definitely had substance and was about the size of an adult human head. Felt like the stalks of larger anemones.
The sunset was gorgeous. That brilliant orange glow and striated sky never gets old.
Stopped into Denham to get some booze. I still had the JD, so I didn’t bother. Denham was a whaling town up until the 30s, when, due to the stench of the town, could not be gazetted. They stopped then, and is now just a fishing town with a population of about 470. It’s also a jumping off point for people to Monkey Mia, as it has more of a night scene.
Dinner was a simple affair of steak, sausages, and salad. Because there were no carbs, I can feel my stomach growling already, and we just ate less than 3 hours ago.
I’m gonna see how I feel tomorrow morning. If I’m awake, I’m going to go to the first feeding of the dolphins at 7:30. If I sleep in, then I’m gonna sleep in. Been sleeping so badly of late. With the red-eye on Tuesday, and the ensuing flight home on Wednesday afternoon, it’s probably a good idea to sleep when I can.
Western Exposure Day 1
Fri Oct 17
7:32, Perth
On the bus, headed to Monkey Mia on a tour with Western Exposure/Planet Perth. There’s a trainee, Woody, and the guide, Zolton, is telling him that some guys get this job, thinking that the tours are going to be full of supermodels. LOL! There’s at least 4 ppl over 50 on this tour of 14.
Sat Oct 18
6:43, Kalbarri
Am waiting for breakfast to be ready, and thought that it would be a good idea to blog while most of yesterday was still fresh in my mind. I woulda done it last night, except there’s no outlet in the room, and the lounge was fully of partiers. And I was tired. Still am not able to get a full night’s sleep. Could be that my body’s getting ready to go back to Vancouver time, who knows, eh?
So we get picked up yesterday from the Wellington Tourist Stand, which seriously is just a bay for buses. When I saw the boot space available, I was getting worried about how my luggage was going to fit. They had specified in fine print in the brochure that luggage should be in a soft bag, under 15kg. I only have my suitcase (what used to pass as a carryon), and I’m sure it’s closer to 20kg. It fit, so all is good =P
The bus is your average ‘adventure tour’ bus. It’s rows of pairs and single seats. The bus to Broome, a 10 day tour, had nice reclining seats. Makes ya think that there may be some overnight stretches.
From Perth, it was a 2-hour drive to our first destination, petrol. I don’t even remember where that station was. Then it was a relatively short hop (half an hour? one hour?) to Nambung Park, where the Pinnacles are. The word “Nambung” means “snaking river” and is the name given to the river that runs through the park. On the way there, we passed by the Emu Downs Wind Farm, which supplies all the power to the 5000 or so residents in the area. WA is quite sparsely populated. The state takes up a third of the land in Australia, but only has 2 million people, 1.8 of which are in Perth and suburbs.
The Pinnacles are in the desert area of the park. Again, I wish I had my camera, but I’m sure I can pilfer some off the web as my own momentos. The formation of the Pinnacles has been about 20,000 years in the making. As the trees sent their roots down into the limestone to search for water, the limestone started to wear away in v formations. Acidic leaching further eroded the stone in patterns. A calcrete layer formed over the remaining pillar structures, and that has helped to prevent erosion as the forest gave way to the desert.
The Pinnacles are not very big; I think the tallest being about 7 or 8 feet, maybe 10. What is neat about them is how they look against the blue blue sky (and it is an intense blue, the air is so clean and dry) and in comparison to the white sand dunes in the distance. There’s a lookout where you can survey the entire area, all the way to the sea.
We stopped for lunch at Jurien Bay Beach, probably better known as Hangover Bay, as the signage calls it that. Simple affair of sandwiches. There were a couple of Blue Tongues, reptiles of some sort. The Germans in our group fed them bits of lettuce and red pepper. The beach was so nice (seems to be a recurring theme in WA, eh?). The water was probably about 18-20 degrees, and the sand was powdery soft. I think a large part of its appeal was that there were no people and crowds around.
Next was Geraldton for SANDBOARDING! Much simpler and more forgiving than snowboarding, as you can’t carve into the sand. You just go down with the curve of the dune. The first time I went sitting down on the board, I started off a bit sideways, and the board spit me out pretty quickly. Then I did it right and went to the bottom. Not so fun was the climb back up =P. The sand is so soft that you end up sinking into it a bit.
Then I went standing up, and got all the way to the bottom! Much better than my first attempt at snowboarding =PPP. The Swedish girl in our group, Sophie (she has some resemblance to Markus Naslund, no lie. Was about to ask if she were from Ornchlovik (sp?)) was so determined. She wiped out so many times, and just kept coming back for more. She eventually went down the highest and steepest slope, and did well until the bottom, where she got a mouthful of sand.
Didn’t matter whether or not you went boarding, the wind blew sand everywhere: in your ears, eyes, nose, clothes, hair. And because the sand is so fine, it CLINGS. Showering never felt so divine, though I STILL have sand in my ears.
The scenery from the top of the dune was stunning because you could see it contrasting against the shimmering ocean. You just don’t get that back home, ya know?
Just FYI, should anyone ever decide to make this trek themselves, the dunes are in Geraldton, on McDermott near Oceanside. Oh, and I don’t particularly recommend driving here, as the distances are VAST, and petrol is 161.9, while diesel is 174.9. Oh, and most of the highways are just straight stretches.
We stopped into North Hampton for booze. And you just can’t miss the tavern, even from the air. Its red roof’s got TAVERN in huge white lettering. Strongbow’s available in sweet here! $3 per bottle; what a bargain! I also got a bottle of Jack Daniels mixed with cola.
Zolton told us that by law, we are not allowed to drink in the bus, but hey, when we leave town, if we wanted to crack open a few, then what the cops don’t see won’t hurt them. Of course, if he told us to, then we would have to hide the bottles out of sight.
We stayed at the Pelican Cove YHA. Had chicken stirfried on the barbie, so it was like teriyaki, on thickish noodles. I was sooooooooo hungry that everything tasted good. I’m sure it was decent, but lunch had been a good 7 hours prior.
Called it a night pretty early, but Sandy, another tour guide from Western Exposure had her group there, and they were partying it up for a bit. I think I actually managed to get in a good 5 hours of sleep. Woke up before my alarm. I think my body’s still on Melbourne time.
7:32, Perth
On the bus, headed to Monkey Mia on a tour with Western Exposure/Planet Perth. There’s a trainee, Woody, and the guide, Zolton, is telling him that some guys get this job, thinking that the tours are going to be full of supermodels. LOL! There’s at least 4 ppl over 50 on this tour of 14.
Sat Oct 18
6:43, Kalbarri
Am waiting for breakfast to be ready, and thought that it would be a good idea to blog while most of yesterday was still fresh in my mind. I woulda done it last night, except there’s no outlet in the room, and the lounge was fully of partiers. And I was tired. Still am not able to get a full night’s sleep. Could be that my body’s getting ready to go back to Vancouver time, who knows, eh?
So we get picked up yesterday from the Wellington Tourist Stand, which seriously is just a bay for buses. When I saw the boot space available, I was getting worried about how my luggage was going to fit. They had specified in fine print in the brochure that luggage should be in a soft bag, under 15kg. I only have my suitcase (what used to pass as a carryon), and I’m sure it’s closer to 20kg. It fit, so all is good =P
The bus is your average ‘adventure tour’ bus. It’s rows of pairs and single seats. The bus to Broome, a 10 day tour, had nice reclining seats. Makes ya think that there may be some overnight stretches.
From Perth, it was a 2-hour drive to our first destination, petrol. I don’t even remember where that station was. Then it was a relatively short hop (half an hour? one hour?) to Nambung Park, where the Pinnacles are. The word “Nambung” means “snaking river” and is the name given to the river that runs through the park. On the way there, we passed by the Emu Downs Wind Farm, which supplies all the power to the 5000 or so residents in the area. WA is quite sparsely populated. The state takes up a third of the land in Australia, but only has 2 million people, 1.8 of which are in Perth and suburbs.
The Pinnacles are in the desert area of the park. Again, I wish I had my camera, but I’m sure I can pilfer some off the web as my own momentos. The formation of the Pinnacles has been about 20,000 years in the making. As the trees sent their roots down into the limestone to search for water, the limestone started to wear away in v formations. Acidic leaching further eroded the stone in patterns. A calcrete layer formed over the remaining pillar structures, and that has helped to prevent erosion as the forest gave way to the desert.
The Pinnacles are not very big; I think the tallest being about 7 or 8 feet, maybe 10. What is neat about them is how they look against the blue blue sky (and it is an intense blue, the air is so clean and dry) and in comparison to the white sand dunes in the distance. There’s a lookout where you can survey the entire area, all the way to the sea.
We stopped for lunch at Jurien Bay Beach, probably better known as Hangover Bay, as the signage calls it that. Simple affair of sandwiches. There were a couple of Blue Tongues, reptiles of some sort. The Germans in our group fed them bits of lettuce and red pepper. The beach was so nice (seems to be a recurring theme in WA, eh?). The water was probably about 18-20 degrees, and the sand was powdery soft. I think a large part of its appeal was that there were no people and crowds around.
Next was Geraldton for SANDBOARDING! Much simpler and more forgiving than snowboarding, as you can’t carve into the sand. You just go down with the curve of the dune. The first time I went sitting down on the board, I started off a bit sideways, and the board spit me out pretty quickly. Then I did it right and went to the bottom. Not so fun was the climb back up =P. The sand is so soft that you end up sinking into it a bit.
Then I went standing up, and got all the way to the bottom! Much better than my first attempt at snowboarding =PPP. The Swedish girl in our group, Sophie (she has some resemblance to Markus Naslund, no lie. Was about to ask if she were from Ornchlovik (sp?)) was so determined. She wiped out so many times, and just kept coming back for more. She eventually went down the highest and steepest slope, and did well until the bottom, where she got a mouthful of sand.
Didn’t matter whether or not you went boarding, the wind blew sand everywhere: in your ears, eyes, nose, clothes, hair. And because the sand is so fine, it CLINGS. Showering never felt so divine, though I STILL have sand in my ears.
The scenery from the top of the dune was stunning because you could see it contrasting against the shimmering ocean. You just don’t get that back home, ya know?
Just FYI, should anyone ever decide to make this trek themselves, the dunes are in Geraldton, on McDermott near Oceanside. Oh, and I don’t particularly recommend driving here, as the distances are VAST, and petrol is 161.9, while diesel is 174.9. Oh, and most of the highways are just straight stretches.
We stopped into North Hampton for booze. And you just can’t miss the tavern, even from the air. Its red roof’s got TAVERN in huge white lettering. Strongbow’s available in sweet here! $3 per bottle; what a bargain! I also got a bottle of Jack Daniels mixed with cola.
Zolton told us that by law, we are not allowed to drink in the bus, but hey, when we leave town, if we wanted to crack open a few, then what the cops don’t see won’t hurt them. Of course, if he told us to, then we would have to hide the bottles out of sight.
We stayed at the Pelican Cove YHA. Had chicken stirfried on the barbie, so it was like teriyaki, on thickish noodles. I was sooooooooo hungry that everything tasted good. I’m sure it was decent, but lunch had been a good 7 hours prior.
Called it a night pretty early, but Sandy, another tour guide from Western Exposure had her group there, and they were partying it up for a bit. I think I actually managed to get in a good 5 hours of sleep. Woke up before my alarm. I think my body’s still on Melbourne time.
Perth
Thu Oct 16
7:30 Perth
Kinda bored right now, waiting to check out. Glad I only stayed 2 nights here at Perth City YHA. The room that I’m in is right by the train tracks, so every time a train goes by every 5 minutes or so it seems, the alarms go off, warning pedestrians of the oncoming train, followed by the squeak of the train wheels on the tracks. Totally uncool.
I’ve got something of a case of insomnia right now anyway, so it’s not a huge deal. Logic is totally not functioning at the moment. I dunno why, but I booked a Monkey Mia tour for Friday, rather than today. And since the YHA is booked up for tonight, I’m gonna hafta make my way to another hostel. I called one last night, but he told me I would have to walk in when reception was open.
The guy at the YHA was singularly unhelpful. When he told me that it was full, I asked if there were other YHAs in the city. He says no. Liar. All the others are connected by train. There’s like 3 or 4 of them in the surrounding area, maybe 20 minutes by train.
Anyways, here’s to hoping that I don’t need to check myself into a hotel for the night.
Yesterday was spent in the surrounding suburbs of Perth. Got a really helpful tourist information lady, and went to Hillary’s Marina, which is where the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is. Cool place. Their tunnel has a conveyer belt, and seeing sharks and rays swim above and around me is always cool. I still think the glass floor at the Sydney Aquarium is the bomb.
There was a little video clip of stonefish. Their skin is camouflaged to look like stone. In under 1/20 of a second, they grab unsuspecting prey. If anyone finds a youtube video of it, lemme know. I think it’d be something neat to show the kids.
Wandered around the Marina, then headed over to Fremantle. I had a day pass, so I figured I’d go to the suburbs. Fremantle’s got that old feel to it. The architecture and the streets are more European. Had fish and chips at Kailis, voted best in town, and wow, talk about flaky and light! Also had an iced coffee, on the recommendation of Chaturi. It’s made with ice cream here. Really yummy, especially on the warm day that it was yesterday: sunny, high of 27, with a nice ocean breeze. Haha, some senior commended me on throwing away my trash when I finished my meal. I actually wasn’t going to, but the seagulls made me worry that the dishes were going to break. Oh, also had a glass of Pipsqueak(?) at Little Creatures Brewery. Apple cider, not as dry as Strongbow.
The day was capped off at Cottesloe Beach. It’s nice how they have the walk to the beach from the station so nicely marked. Every half a block or so, there was a painting of a wave on the sidewalk.
Perth has really nice beaches. Even a non-beach person like me can appreciate it. The water was cool, and a beautiful blue. I am sorely missing my camera at this point, because the wave action, and the sunset were something else. It’s funny, because I always think of sunsets as tranquil events. But at Cottesloe, the rock peninsula and the crashing surf contrasted with the slow sinking of the sun.
7:30 Perth
Kinda bored right now, waiting to check out. Glad I only stayed 2 nights here at Perth City YHA. The room that I’m in is right by the train tracks, so every time a train goes by every 5 minutes or so it seems, the alarms go off, warning pedestrians of the oncoming train, followed by the squeak of the train wheels on the tracks. Totally uncool.
I’ve got something of a case of insomnia right now anyway, so it’s not a huge deal. Logic is totally not functioning at the moment. I dunno why, but I booked a Monkey Mia tour for Friday, rather than today. And since the YHA is booked up for tonight, I’m gonna hafta make my way to another hostel. I called one last night, but he told me I would have to walk in when reception was open.
The guy at the YHA was singularly unhelpful. When he told me that it was full, I asked if there were other YHAs in the city. He says no. Liar. All the others are connected by train. There’s like 3 or 4 of them in the surrounding area, maybe 20 minutes by train.
Anyways, here’s to hoping that I don’t need to check myself into a hotel for the night.
Yesterday was spent in the surrounding suburbs of Perth. Got a really helpful tourist information lady, and went to Hillary’s Marina, which is where the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is. Cool place. Their tunnel has a conveyer belt, and seeing sharks and rays swim above and around me is always cool. I still think the glass floor at the Sydney Aquarium is the bomb.
There was a little video clip of stonefish. Their skin is camouflaged to look like stone. In under 1/20 of a second, they grab unsuspecting prey. If anyone finds a youtube video of it, lemme know. I think it’d be something neat to show the kids.
Wandered around the Marina, then headed over to Fremantle. I had a day pass, so I figured I’d go to the suburbs. Fremantle’s got that old feel to it. The architecture and the streets are more European. Had fish and chips at Kailis, voted best in town, and wow, talk about flaky and light! Also had an iced coffee, on the recommendation of Chaturi. It’s made with ice cream here. Really yummy, especially on the warm day that it was yesterday: sunny, high of 27, with a nice ocean breeze. Haha, some senior commended me on throwing away my trash when I finished my meal. I actually wasn’t going to, but the seagulls made me worry that the dishes were going to break. Oh, also had a glass of Pipsqueak(?) at Little Creatures Brewery. Apple cider, not as dry as Strongbow.
The day was capped off at Cottesloe Beach. It’s nice how they have the walk to the beach from the station so nicely marked. Every half a block or so, there was a painting of a wave on the sidewalk.
Perth has really nice beaches. Even a non-beach person like me can appreciate it. The water was cool, and a beautiful blue. I am sorely missing my camera at this point, because the wave action, and the sunset were something else. It’s funny, because I always think of sunsets as tranquil events. But at Cottesloe, the rock peninsula and the crashing surf contrasted with the slow sinking of the sun.
Last Day in Melbourne
Mon Oct 13
21:33 Melbourne
I just saw the cutest ad! It’s for Kleenex, and there’s this yellow lab puppy resting its head on a roll of toilet paper. The caption above read: “Lab tested for softness”. So I’m a sucker for cute things and plays on words. Sue me =P
Spent an easy day in the city. It was raining in the morning, after an apparently hot weekend. Had a nice dinner with Chaturi; we’d finally managed to meet up, and it was fun seeing someone after 9 years. I wouldn’t know, having been in Hobart and then Phillip Island.
Heading out again tomorrow. I’m going to miss travelling, but not the smell of stinky socks. Two of my Taiwanese roomies came in, and whew! The room smells now. I had thought at first that it was the guys that stunk in Hobart. Now I’m not so sure.
Melbourne’s a really nice city. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to stick around for a while. Me, I still love Vancouver best. The climate is just so much more for me. I’ve been in extended periods of 30+ weather, and it’s not for me. Give me temperate (yes, rainy) Vancouver any day over that. What HAS been nice, though, is the relatively few homeless people. Oh, and no skunks. And the fact that I’m vacationing helps =P
Heh. One of my Taiwanese roomies asked where I was from. And then she remarked that she thought Asian people in Canada all had brown hair. I’m rather puzzled…what does locale have anything to do with hair colour? What about hair dye? I don’t recall seeing very many women in Japan having their natural hair colour. It’s interesting learning about different stereotypes.
For instance, in Germany, they tell each other, be careful of the crocs, they really like German people. Our Phillip Island tour guide responded that “It’s not that the crocs are racist. It’s just that the Germans are always where you tell them NOT to go. You tell the group don’t swim here, and a few minutes later, you turn around and who’s there? The Germans!” The 4 German girls in our tour laughed and agreed.
21:33 Melbourne
I just saw the cutest ad! It’s for Kleenex, and there’s this yellow lab puppy resting its head on a roll of toilet paper. The caption above read: “Lab tested for softness”. So I’m a sucker for cute things and plays on words. Sue me =P
Spent an easy day in the city. It was raining in the morning, after an apparently hot weekend. Had a nice dinner with Chaturi; we’d finally managed to meet up, and it was fun seeing someone after 9 years. I wouldn’t know, having been in Hobart and then Phillip Island.
Heading out again tomorrow. I’m going to miss travelling, but not the smell of stinky socks. Two of my Taiwanese roomies came in, and whew! The room smells now. I had thought at first that it was the guys that stunk in Hobart. Now I’m not so sure.
Melbourne’s a really nice city. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to stick around for a while. Me, I still love Vancouver best. The climate is just so much more for me. I’ve been in extended periods of 30+ weather, and it’s not for me. Give me temperate (yes, rainy) Vancouver any day over that. What HAS been nice, though, is the relatively few homeless people. Oh, and no skunks. And the fact that I’m vacationing helps =P
Heh. One of my Taiwanese roomies asked where I was from. And then she remarked that she thought Asian people in Canada all had brown hair. I’m rather puzzled…what does locale have anything to do with hair colour? What about hair dye? I don’t recall seeing very many women in Japan having their natural hair colour. It’s interesting learning about different stereotypes.
For instance, in Germany, they tell each other, be careful of the crocs, they really like German people. Our Phillip Island tour guide responded that “It’s not that the crocs are racist. It’s just that the Germans are always where you tell them NOT to go. You tell the group don’t swim here, and a few minutes later, you turn around and who’s there? The Germans!” The 4 German girls in our tour laughed and agreed.
Phillip Island
Sun Oct 12
23:27 Melbourne
Just got back to the hostel from the Phillip Island tour. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves wildlife and does not have a car. For those who do have a car, DRIVE.
Stopped in several places. First we went to Gurdy’s Winery (at least I think that’s the name). Did a wine tasting of 2 dry whites (a chardonnay and ??), 2 dry reds (cab sauv/merlot blend and a Shiraz), a Riesling, a rose, and a port. The rose was quite a bit redder than what I’m used to. The port was sweet—I loved it ^^.
A view of the water is available from the winery. In that sense, it really reminded me of Kelowna. Different landscape, though.
Next we went to Maru Fauna Park. It was ok. The Bonorong Animal Park was better. You learn more about the wildlife, and the stories are better. After visiting Bonorong, I wanted to have a wombat and to go on a crusade to save all the tassie devils. No such compulsion here. The only thing that was really better was the fact that the wallabies and kangaroos approached, rather than waiting for you to go to them. The ones in Bonorong really appreciated scratches, though, which is a delight in itself. Oh, you are also legally not allowed to touch koalas in Victoria, so another point for Bonorong. Just go to Bonorong =P
Next up was Woolamai Surf Beach. We only spent 20 minutes here. Tragic. Not that I’m a beach person, but it felt uber rushed. This beach is the second most dangerous in Victoria, getting a rating of 8/10 for danger. The undercurrents are really strong, and can pull you 700m out in a matter of seconds. The waves also came in erratically. I didn’t expect it to come in so quickly, and so much further than the last one, so my (just laundered) jeans got wet. Boo. Luckily, it was a warm day.
Pizza dinner at San Remo. Gotta say, the ham is different here. It’s shredded... but the consistency is more like spam... it’s kinda mushy.
The Nobbies were next. WOW. Just WOW.
The waves crashing to shore were spectacular! There are some similarities in the wave action to Peggy’s Cove, but the colour of the water is something else. Glassy blue water turning into white foam against black rocks. The Blowhole was cool, too. It’s a cave-like structure that has trapped air when waves come in, and causes the water to leave the cave in an explosive spray.
The area is a nesting ground for seagulls. There were chicks. They’re a fluffy, speckled brown. Seagulls really are just bullies towards one another. This parent was regurgitating food, and a couple of adults came by and stole the food! Lots of aggressive displays, and they’re LOUD.
Last and definitely the highlight was the Penguin Parade. I’d paid a little extra for Penguin Plus, and it was worth it. Will and Cindy will get postcards that have the special Penguin cancellation stamp. I would’ve sent more, but alas, I did not know any other addresses by heart. It wasn’t personal =P
So the Penguin Parade is the nightly return of Little Penguins (formerly known as Faerie Penguins) to their burrows on Phillip Island. There are grand stands for visitors to watch them (for a fee... I think Penguin Plus was $35). The regular viewing site is by the beach, so you get to see them walk across. I was at the boardwalk, closer to the nesting grounds, where they feel safe, so they actually stopped in front of us and preened. SO CUTE!
One moment there’s nothing in the water, and when the tide ebbs, there’s suddenly a bunch of them on the sand. You see them waddling along, and their white bellies make them look like they shimmer in the dark. A few tried to jump this one rock, and missed, sliding on their bellies for a bit, and having to repreen. You really have to see them for yourself ^^.
23:27 Melbourne
Just got back to the hostel from the Phillip Island tour. Highly recommend it to anyone who loves wildlife and does not have a car. For those who do have a car, DRIVE.
Stopped in several places. First we went to Gurdy’s Winery (at least I think that’s the name). Did a wine tasting of 2 dry whites (a chardonnay and ??), 2 dry reds (cab sauv/merlot blend and a Shiraz), a Riesling, a rose, and a port. The rose was quite a bit redder than what I’m used to. The port was sweet—I loved it ^^.
A view of the water is available from the winery. In that sense, it really reminded me of Kelowna. Different landscape, though.
Next we went to Maru Fauna Park. It was ok. The Bonorong Animal Park was better. You learn more about the wildlife, and the stories are better. After visiting Bonorong, I wanted to have a wombat and to go on a crusade to save all the tassie devils. No such compulsion here. The only thing that was really better was the fact that the wallabies and kangaroos approached, rather than waiting for you to go to them. The ones in Bonorong really appreciated scratches, though, which is a delight in itself. Oh, you are also legally not allowed to touch koalas in Victoria, so another point for Bonorong. Just go to Bonorong =P
Next up was Woolamai Surf Beach. We only spent 20 minutes here. Tragic. Not that I’m a beach person, but it felt uber rushed. This beach is the second most dangerous in Victoria, getting a rating of 8/10 for danger. The undercurrents are really strong, and can pull you 700m out in a matter of seconds. The waves also came in erratically. I didn’t expect it to come in so quickly, and so much further than the last one, so my (just laundered) jeans got wet. Boo. Luckily, it was a warm day.
Pizza dinner at San Remo. Gotta say, the ham is different here. It’s shredded... but the consistency is more like spam... it’s kinda mushy.
The Nobbies were next. WOW. Just WOW.
The waves crashing to shore were spectacular! There are some similarities in the wave action to Peggy’s Cove, but the colour of the water is something else. Glassy blue water turning into white foam against black rocks. The Blowhole was cool, too. It’s a cave-like structure that has trapped air when waves come in, and causes the water to leave the cave in an explosive spray.
The area is a nesting ground for seagulls. There were chicks. They’re a fluffy, speckled brown. Seagulls really are just bullies towards one another. This parent was regurgitating food, and a couple of adults came by and stole the food! Lots of aggressive displays, and they’re LOUD.
Last and definitely the highlight was the Penguin Parade. I’d paid a little extra for Penguin Plus, and it was worth it. Will and Cindy will get postcards that have the special Penguin cancellation stamp. I would’ve sent more, but alas, I did not know any other addresses by heart. It wasn’t personal =P
So the Penguin Parade is the nightly return of Little Penguins (formerly known as Faerie Penguins) to their burrows on Phillip Island. There are grand stands for visitors to watch them (for a fee... I think Penguin Plus was $35). The regular viewing site is by the beach, so you get to see them walk across. I was at the boardwalk, closer to the nesting grounds, where they feel safe, so they actually stopped in front of us and preened. SO CUTE!
One moment there’s nothing in the water, and when the tide ebbs, there’s suddenly a bunch of them on the sand. You see them waddling along, and their white bellies make them look like they shimmer in the dark. A few tried to jump this one rock, and missed, sliding on their bellies for a bit, and having to repreen. You really have to see them for yourself ^^.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I WANT A BABY WOMBAT!
Fri Oct 10
15:03 Bonorong Wildlife Centre, Tasmania
OMG!! I just have to squee over all the cool animals that I got to touch today. (ok, so it was really only 3, but STILL!!). Learned about wombats, tassie devils, and koalas. Got to touch a wombat, and a koala.
Will’s joke about toilet cleaning koalas leaving behind a eucalyptus scent is turer than he probably thought. After petting the koala, my hand smelled like eucalyptus ^^.
Fed kanagroos, and gave them a nice scratch on the chest, between the shoulders. They’re totally like dogs, with the hindleg coming up to scratch as well. Apparently, scratching on the back is an aggressive behaviour among kangaroos, so don’t do it.
15:03 Bonorong Wildlife Centre, Tasmania
OMG!! I just have to squee over all the cool animals that I got to touch today. (ok, so it was really only 3, but STILL!!). Learned about wombats, tassie devils, and koalas. Got to touch a wombat, and a koala.
Will’s joke about toilet cleaning koalas leaving behind a eucalyptus scent is turer than he probably thought. After petting the koala, my hand smelled like eucalyptus ^^.
Fed kanagroos, and gave them a nice scratch on the chest, between the shoulders. They’re totally like dogs, with the hindleg coming up to scratch as well. Apparently, scratching on the back is an aggressive behaviour among kangaroos, so don’t do it.
Port Arthur
Thu Oct 9
9:56, Devil’s Lookout, Tasmania
What an amazing place! The Tasman Arch is a sandstone structure that had been eroded over time. I really miss my camera. It’s impossible to describe the place, beyond stunningly gorgeous. The drive leading up to the Tasmania National Park is a lot of rolling hills, some forests and pastureland for sheep and cows. Very green, and very much how I imagine the English countryside.
Touring with a bus is ok. But I think driving on your own would be far better. You’d be able to stop wherever you wished, for however long you wanted. There were some driving trail brochures that the visitor centre, so I am sure that they are easily accessible by car, even for the directionally impaired =P.
14:50, Port Arthur
Just finished walking around Port Arthur, which was a penitentiary until 1877. Very interesting place, and the audio tour was very good. You start with a playing card, and you use that to see what happened to the convict that the card represents. Then you tour the grounds. What a beautiful place for a prison. It’s a peninsula connected to the main island by a thin isthmus, Eaglehawk Neck, I think. Dogs used to be chained in a line across it. So savage that they had to be chained just out of reach of each other so they wouldn’t rip each other to shreds.
The harbour cruise on board the Maran is included. The water changes from emerald to jade green near the boat, indigo further out.
My ticket included lunch. Yummy yummy sandwich, soup, chocolate and caramel cake and apple berry juice were my picks. I ate at 11:30 and am still full.
The Isle of the Dead tour was also part of my silver pass (regular price is $66). Definitely recommend it. The little island was the cemetery, and the tour sheds light into a few of the more fascinating stories. Like the bloke that was sent here because he stole clothes from his father. His dad felt that he was out of control and wanted to teach his son a lesson. He never envisioned that he would be sent to a maximum security prison. Or the grave digger who thought he would die here and dug his own grave, checking on it everyday, and eventually leaving because he had a vision from the devil. Or how about the fact that the women all died from childbirth, or the complications resulting from it. The baby girl of one such woman as saved by 2 women of differing social classes nursing her. The descendants have visited last year.
An amusing story on the bus was how one convict attempted to escape by killing a kangaroo and putting on its hide and hopping away. When he came within sight, the guards, who had not seen fresh meat in a while promptly aimed for him. Realising this, he threw off the skin and was rejailed.
The bus tour was a bit rushed. Just a heads up that Experience Tasmania and Grayline are actually the same company. I still firmly believe that hiring a car is well worth your while, especially if you’re more than one traveller, and can split the costs of rental and petrol.
9:56, Devil’s Lookout, Tasmania
What an amazing place! The Tasman Arch is a sandstone structure that had been eroded over time. I really miss my camera. It’s impossible to describe the place, beyond stunningly gorgeous. The drive leading up to the Tasmania National Park is a lot of rolling hills, some forests and pastureland for sheep and cows. Very green, and very much how I imagine the English countryside.
Touring with a bus is ok. But I think driving on your own would be far better. You’d be able to stop wherever you wished, for however long you wanted. There were some driving trail brochures that the visitor centre, so I am sure that they are easily accessible by car, even for the directionally impaired =P.
14:50, Port Arthur
Just finished walking around Port Arthur, which was a penitentiary until 1877. Very interesting place, and the audio tour was very good. You start with a playing card, and you use that to see what happened to the convict that the card represents. Then you tour the grounds. What a beautiful place for a prison. It’s a peninsula connected to the main island by a thin isthmus, Eaglehawk Neck, I think. Dogs used to be chained in a line across it. So savage that they had to be chained just out of reach of each other so they wouldn’t rip each other to shreds.
The harbour cruise on board the Maran is included. The water changes from emerald to jade green near the boat, indigo further out.
My ticket included lunch. Yummy yummy sandwich, soup, chocolate and caramel cake and apple berry juice were my picks. I ate at 11:30 and am still full.
The Isle of the Dead tour was also part of my silver pass (regular price is $66). Definitely recommend it. The little island was the cemetery, and the tour sheds light into a few of the more fascinating stories. Like the bloke that was sent here because he stole clothes from his father. His dad felt that he was out of control and wanted to teach his son a lesson. He never envisioned that he would be sent to a maximum security prison. Or the grave digger who thought he would die here and dug his own grave, checking on it everyday, and eventually leaving because he had a vision from the devil. Or how about the fact that the women all died from childbirth, or the complications resulting from it. The baby girl of one such woman as saved by 2 women of differing social classes nursing her. The descendants have visited last year.
An amusing story on the bus was how one convict attempted to escape by killing a kangaroo and putting on its hide and hopping away. When he came within sight, the guards, who had not seen fresh meat in a while promptly aimed for him. Realising this, he threw off the skin and was rejailed.
The bus tour was a bit rushed. Just a heads up that Experience Tasmania and Grayline are actually the same company. I still firmly believe that hiring a car is well worth your while, especially if you’re more than one traveller, and can split the costs of rental and petrol.
Hobart, Day 1
Wed Oct 8
20:04, Hobart
Woowee… people with stinky socks really should either wash em or contain them in a bag or something. One of my roomies has socks that have permeated the room. Yelch. Luckily, my bug repellent can double as an air freshener (Bug Off from Escents smells like lemongrass).
Hobart reminds me of Halifax. I think a lot has to do with the antique ships in the harbour. Went to Fish Frenzy for dinner, and had 2 pieces of Blue Eye and chips. I don’t know if I’ve ever had Blue Eye, but it’s like a smoother and tender chicken. (I know, everything tastes like chicken... Will’s probably going buck buck buck right now =P). You can choose what type of batter for the fish: beer, bread crumbs or tempura. I chose beer batter, just so I could have a point of comparison. REALLY YUMMY!
I also had a Ginger Beer…The brand eludes me, something like Gillispie. Brewed in the bottle (non alcoholic). The ingredients were lemon juice, sugar, ginger kibble, yeast, and water. OMG, we need to have that here. Am seriously contemplating buying a few bottles to bring home. And I would, if this were the last stop on my trip. Maybe I’ll just go out and have one for each of the days that I’m here =P
Wandered around for a bit. It’s a quiet, small city, but a very nice feel to it. 12 degrees, so just in my comfort range. Oh, and it was raining a bit when I landed. Like a true Vancouverite, I bring our weather with me =P. It’d rained in Sydney and Melbourne as well.
Booked two tours. One to Port Arthur and one to the Borobong (sp?) Wildlife Park. Not having a car really puts you at the mercy of tour companies. Most unfortunate.
Oh, the pilot on the flight here was FANTASTIC. If not for the sound of the tires on the tarmac, I totally would not have noticed the touchdown. Tiger Airways is definitely worth a booking for anyone who wants to go to the south Pacific. Reasonable fares. (But also a good idea to check out Jet Star and Virgin Blue to compare prices).
This hostel is alright. The YHA Montgomery’s. My room sits on top of a pub, so you can smell the grease. I was also warned at booking that there is loud music till about 1am on Friday nights; maybe I’ll head down to the bar then. Have yet to have Aussie beer. That might be the time to do so.
I also must mention that I am not a fan of the charges when calling 1300 numbers. They’re so-called premium numbers that get charged a higher rate. So annoying, cuz they’re for booking or banks and stuff, the people who put you on hold the longest so the charges are ridiculous. Use a payphone if you need to call these numbers; you’ll save tonnes.
20:04, Hobart
Woowee… people with stinky socks really should either wash em or contain them in a bag or something. One of my roomies has socks that have permeated the room. Yelch. Luckily, my bug repellent can double as an air freshener (Bug Off from Escents smells like lemongrass).
Hobart reminds me of Halifax. I think a lot has to do with the antique ships in the harbour. Went to Fish Frenzy for dinner, and had 2 pieces of Blue Eye and chips. I don’t know if I’ve ever had Blue Eye, but it’s like a smoother and tender chicken. (I know, everything tastes like chicken... Will’s probably going buck buck buck right now =P). You can choose what type of batter for the fish: beer, bread crumbs or tempura. I chose beer batter, just so I could have a point of comparison. REALLY YUMMY!
I also had a Ginger Beer…The brand eludes me, something like Gillispie. Brewed in the bottle (non alcoholic). The ingredients were lemon juice, sugar, ginger kibble, yeast, and water. OMG, we need to have that here. Am seriously contemplating buying a few bottles to bring home. And I would, if this were the last stop on my trip. Maybe I’ll just go out and have one for each of the days that I’m here =P
Wandered around for a bit. It’s a quiet, small city, but a very nice feel to it. 12 degrees, so just in my comfort range. Oh, and it was raining a bit when I landed. Like a true Vancouverite, I bring our weather with me =P. It’d rained in Sydney and Melbourne as well.
Booked two tours. One to Port Arthur and one to the Borobong (sp?) Wildlife Park. Not having a car really puts you at the mercy of tour companies. Most unfortunate.
Oh, the pilot on the flight here was FANTASTIC. If not for the sound of the tires on the tarmac, I totally would not have noticed the touchdown. Tiger Airways is definitely worth a booking for anyone who wants to go to the south Pacific. Reasonable fares. (But also a good idea to check out Jet Star and Virgin Blue to compare prices).
This hostel is alright. The YHA Montgomery’s. My room sits on top of a pub, so you can smell the grease. I was also warned at booking that there is loud music till about 1am on Friday nights; maybe I’ll head down to the bar then. Have yet to have Aussie beer. That might be the time to do so.
I also must mention that I am not a fan of the charges when calling 1300 numbers. They’re so-called premium numbers that get charged a higher rate. So annoying, cuz they’re for booking or banks and stuff, the people who put you on hold the longest so the charges are ridiculous. Use a payphone if you need to call these numbers; you’ll save tonnes.
Awaiting Tas
Wed Oct 8
9:32, Melbourne Airport, Tiger Airways Terminal
I am ever so glad that I have an obsessive tendency to check my flights and whatnot. Otherwise, I very well would’ve missed the freaking flight (again. The first being in Taipei). I thought take off was at 13:35. Nope. That would be arrival. I had booked the shuttle to pick me up and get me to the airport by about 11:30, and had to rebook it. Now I’m just early and waiting around in the terminal, cuz the shuttle was booked up during the times closer to my departure.
Didn’t do much yesterday either. It was kinda rainy. I did, however, book my tour to Philip Island. Am wondering if I should get a disposable camera. I’m leaning towards no, considering how bad I am at taking pictures. Digital seriously saves me tonnes of money… Just ask Cindy with reference to San Francisco in Grade 10.
Had lotsa food yesterday. Fresh churro (Yum!), green tea gelato that had white grape juice to give it more flavour (mmm!), a marinated beef wrap from Torta (at least I think the chain was named that). Would’ve had more, if I had managed to meet up with Chaturi for dinner, but that’s gonna happen when I get back from Tasmania.
It was kinda weird having gelato at the riverfront when it was raining.
Oh, I must say that I am glad to have recharged with a plan that gives me 60 free texts. Am so bored here that I am texting like mad and blogging at the same time.
9:32, Melbourne Airport, Tiger Airways Terminal
I am ever so glad that I have an obsessive tendency to check my flights and whatnot. Otherwise, I very well would’ve missed the freaking flight (again. The first being in Taipei). I thought take off was at 13:35. Nope. That would be arrival. I had booked the shuttle to pick me up and get me to the airport by about 11:30, and had to rebook it. Now I’m just early and waiting around in the terminal, cuz the shuttle was booked up during the times closer to my departure.
Didn’t do much yesterday either. It was kinda rainy. I did, however, book my tour to Philip Island. Am wondering if I should get a disposable camera. I’m leaning towards no, considering how bad I am at taking pictures. Digital seriously saves me tonnes of money… Just ask Cindy with reference to San Francisco in Grade 10.
Had lotsa food yesterday. Fresh churro (Yum!), green tea gelato that had white grape juice to give it more flavour (mmm!), a marinated beef wrap from Torta (at least I think the chain was named that). Would’ve had more, if I had managed to meet up with Chaturi for dinner, but that’s gonna happen when I get back from Tasmania.
It was kinda weird having gelato at the riverfront when it was raining.
Oh, I must say that I am glad to have recharged with a plan that gives me 60 free texts. Am so bored here that I am texting like mad and blogging at the same time.
Melbourne, Day 2
Tues Oct 7
14:25 Melbourne
At the State Library right now. What a gorgeous building! Lots of work stations, but internet looks to be only available to residents. I wouldn’t really want to surf the net in a library anyway; seems kinda wrong.
Spent most of yesterday ‘sightseeing’. I put that in quotes cuz it was raining, and so I didn’t do quite as much as I’d wanted to. It’s raining today, too, which is partially why I’m indoors. I would’ve come here anyway, but probably not sit down to blog.
Melbourne’s transit system is SO user friendly. Everything is integrated: bus, tram (light rail), and train/subway. It services all the suburbs a traveller would want to visit. Unlike Sydney, where all three forms (4 if you count the monorail) are on different tickets. Melbourne’s transit is by time, rather than distance. Similar to ours, in that sense, but you get 2 hours of travel, and there are only 2 zones. I got myself a day pass, and saw St. Kilda (beautiful waterfront), the city, and Williamstown (wild beach full of birds).
Went to the Shrine of Remembrance. Not as emotionally draining as the Peace Museum at Hiroshima, but still solemn. The Immigration Museum was interesting. They have a gallery that’s a remake of a ship cabin. Quite cool to wander through that. The dude there asked if I were a student, and when I showed him my UBC card, he considered me concession and I got in for free. I tried to make my way back to Cook’s Cottage, but got lost and ended up at the Docklands, where my camera went kaputz on the pavement and died. It’s had a good life: All over Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia…May it rest in peace. So yea. No more pictures from here on in, just thousands of words in print.
There’s this chain of fast food called Lord of the Fries. Come on, with a name like that, I had to give it a whirl. Got a cone of the Belgian, which is with European mayo. Not bad. It kept my hands warm as I wandered the Federation Square/Southgate area. Had pasta for lunch, Penne Sicilian. The eggplant was so freaking good! Oh, I gotta say that I am loving the lack of a need to tip. Seriously. Dining in Canada has so many hidden charges, with tax and tips tacked on later. Oh, and the notion of BYO amuses me. It just does.
Foodwise, I also went into the crepe place. Got a chicken pizza: lettuce, cucumber, corn, chicken, mayo and pizza sauce. Not bad, but I think I like sweet crepes better. May have one later today =P.
I have booked a flight to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. Gonna be staying there 3 nights in a 12-share room. Good thing I have my earplugs, and I know exactly where they are. Going with Tiger Airways this time, cuz they’re cheaper than Virgin Blue (though after baggage charge and all that, not by much). $130 roundtrip, I think, was the final tally. Not bad, eh?
I can’t remember the cost of going from the airport at Taipei to the city, but it makes me wonder if Vancouver is one of the few cities that has public transit connecting the airport to the city on regular fares. It’s really damned cheap, compared to prices in Osaka, Sydney, Melbourne, and Toronto.
Spoke at length to Constance yesterday. Also met a new roomie, Cyrus (at least I think that’s her name. From Hong Kong). I think I can get good travel info from Constance on NZ and Germany, when I decide to go. Groovy Grape Getaways also does the Melbourne-Grampians-Great Ocean Road-Adelaide trip. Cheaper than the one I was looking at, but has fewer things.
I have not planned anything for Melbourne, since I’m leaving here tomorrow at noonish. The Philip Island tour is gonna hafta wait till I get back to Melbourne on Saturday.
I like the feel of Melbourne. At times, it reminds me of Victoria. At others, Winnipeg. Yet at others still, Montreal. Victoria for the slower pace of life. Winnipeg for the wide streets. Montreal for the liveliness.
14:25 Melbourne
At the State Library right now. What a gorgeous building! Lots of work stations, but internet looks to be only available to residents. I wouldn’t really want to surf the net in a library anyway; seems kinda wrong.
Spent most of yesterday ‘sightseeing’. I put that in quotes cuz it was raining, and so I didn’t do quite as much as I’d wanted to. It’s raining today, too, which is partially why I’m indoors. I would’ve come here anyway, but probably not sit down to blog.
Melbourne’s transit system is SO user friendly. Everything is integrated: bus, tram (light rail), and train/subway. It services all the suburbs a traveller would want to visit. Unlike Sydney, where all three forms (4 if you count the monorail) are on different tickets. Melbourne’s transit is by time, rather than distance. Similar to ours, in that sense, but you get 2 hours of travel, and there are only 2 zones. I got myself a day pass, and saw St. Kilda (beautiful waterfront), the city, and Williamstown (wild beach full of birds).
Went to the Shrine of Remembrance. Not as emotionally draining as the Peace Museum at Hiroshima, but still solemn. The Immigration Museum was interesting. They have a gallery that’s a remake of a ship cabin. Quite cool to wander through that. The dude there asked if I were a student, and when I showed him my UBC card, he considered me concession and I got in for free. I tried to make my way back to Cook’s Cottage, but got lost and ended up at the Docklands, where my camera went kaputz on the pavement and died. It’s had a good life: All over Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Australia…May it rest in peace. So yea. No more pictures from here on in, just thousands of words in print.
There’s this chain of fast food called Lord of the Fries. Come on, with a name like that, I had to give it a whirl. Got a cone of the Belgian, which is with European mayo. Not bad. It kept my hands warm as I wandered the Federation Square/Southgate area. Had pasta for lunch, Penne Sicilian. The eggplant was so freaking good! Oh, I gotta say that I am loving the lack of a need to tip. Seriously. Dining in Canada has so many hidden charges, with tax and tips tacked on later. Oh, and the notion of BYO amuses me. It just does.
Foodwise, I also went into the crepe place. Got a chicken pizza: lettuce, cucumber, corn, chicken, mayo and pizza sauce. Not bad, but I think I like sweet crepes better. May have one later today =P.
I have booked a flight to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. Gonna be staying there 3 nights in a 12-share room. Good thing I have my earplugs, and I know exactly where they are. Going with Tiger Airways this time, cuz they’re cheaper than Virgin Blue (though after baggage charge and all that, not by much). $130 roundtrip, I think, was the final tally. Not bad, eh?
I can’t remember the cost of going from the airport at Taipei to the city, but it makes me wonder if Vancouver is one of the few cities that has public transit connecting the airport to the city on regular fares. It’s really damned cheap, compared to prices in Osaka, Sydney, Melbourne, and Toronto.
Spoke at length to Constance yesterday. Also met a new roomie, Cyrus (at least I think that’s her name. From Hong Kong). I think I can get good travel info from Constance on NZ and Germany, when I decide to go. Groovy Grape Getaways also does the Melbourne-Grampians-Great Ocean Road-Adelaide trip. Cheaper than the one I was looking at, but has fewer things.
I have not planned anything for Melbourne, since I’m leaving here tomorrow at noonish. The Philip Island tour is gonna hafta wait till I get back to Melbourne on Saturday.
I like the feel of Melbourne. At times, it reminds me of Victoria. At others, Winnipeg. Yet at others still, Montreal. Victoria for the slower pace of life. Winnipeg for the wide streets. Montreal for the liveliness.
Melbourne, Day 1
Sunday Oct 5
22:53 Daylight saving, Melbourne
Melbourne seems nice so far. The climate, at the very least, is more agreeable at the moment than Sydney. Sunny and warmish during the day, cool now. Hopefully, it won’t have the crazy mood swings.
Children under the age of 7 really should not fly. I ended up sitting in front of this brat of a kid that wouldn’t stop screaming and kicking my chair. Too bad his brother, who looked to be about 8 wasn’t the one behind me. I’d actually turned around twice to tell him to stop, and eyeballed him, like any good teacher would, since his guardian was not doing so. The Japanese girl in my row was not impressed by the kid either, but she just huffed to herself. Well, the Look was only good for a few minutes’ reprieve, seeing how kids at that age have the attention span and memory retainment of a Dorie fish. Thank goodness the flight was only an hour and a half.
Flew with Virgin Blue, a discount airline that services all over Australia. To expedite boarding, they actually had 2 doors going. With a seat near the back of the plane, I had to walk across the tarmac to get to the rear door. A different experience =)
The other thing of note today is that we had a fire. So as I’m unpacking, this chime starts going and I’m wondering what it is, but since it didn’t seem urgent, I continued to unpack. My roomie comes back from her shower and I ask her, and she’s not sure, only that people are evacuating the building. When we leave via the stairs (room’s two floors above ground floor), the distinct smell of smoke permeates the air.
The fire brigade comes, and I’m hungry, so a shot in the dark, I walk towards what I’d hoped was city centre. Had pad Thai that was mediocre, but hey, it was reasonably cheap, and it filled me up. Off I go to find my usual netcafe. I was giving up hope when I didn’t see the familiar orange signs, when I smelled something really yummy wafting from my right. I turn in, and it’s a Japanese crepe place. Everything looked delish, but I was full, so I wandered, and there ya have it, netcafe!
Turns out that that building is Central Station underground, and there was a Coles as well, so I got a few items. Finally tried a Nudie Crushie. They’re good. Period. =P
Boy do I ever miss the winter rates. EVERYTHING increases in price come October. Internet doubled. It’s still reasonable, but BOO.
Oh yea. So the fire? My roomie (Constance from Germany) tells me it was a faulty dryer. Good thing I didn’t need to do laundry, cuz the room is out of commission. I just saw signs telling us not to go in, for risk of electrocution. Ouch!
Anyways, I’ve grabbed a whole tonne of brochures from the desk downstairs. Gonna plan out this leg, with a tour to Philip Island or something.
22:53 Daylight saving, Melbourne
Melbourne seems nice so far. The climate, at the very least, is more agreeable at the moment than Sydney. Sunny and warmish during the day, cool now. Hopefully, it won’t have the crazy mood swings.
Children under the age of 7 really should not fly. I ended up sitting in front of this brat of a kid that wouldn’t stop screaming and kicking my chair. Too bad his brother, who looked to be about 8 wasn’t the one behind me. I’d actually turned around twice to tell him to stop, and eyeballed him, like any good teacher would, since his guardian was not doing so. The Japanese girl in my row was not impressed by the kid either, but she just huffed to herself. Well, the Look was only good for a few minutes’ reprieve, seeing how kids at that age have the attention span and memory retainment of a Dorie fish. Thank goodness the flight was only an hour and a half.
Flew with Virgin Blue, a discount airline that services all over Australia. To expedite boarding, they actually had 2 doors going. With a seat near the back of the plane, I had to walk across the tarmac to get to the rear door. A different experience =)
The other thing of note today is that we had a fire. So as I’m unpacking, this chime starts going and I’m wondering what it is, but since it didn’t seem urgent, I continued to unpack. My roomie comes back from her shower and I ask her, and she’s not sure, only that people are evacuating the building. When we leave via the stairs (room’s two floors above ground floor), the distinct smell of smoke permeates the air.
The fire brigade comes, and I’m hungry, so a shot in the dark, I walk towards what I’d hoped was city centre. Had pad Thai that was mediocre, but hey, it was reasonably cheap, and it filled me up. Off I go to find my usual netcafe. I was giving up hope when I didn’t see the familiar orange signs, when I smelled something really yummy wafting from my right. I turn in, and it’s a Japanese crepe place. Everything looked delish, but I was full, so I wandered, and there ya have it, netcafe!
Turns out that that building is Central Station underground, and there was a Coles as well, so I got a few items. Finally tried a Nudie Crushie. They’re good. Period. =P
Boy do I ever miss the winter rates. EVERYTHING increases in price come October. Internet doubled. It’s still reasonable, but BOO.
Oh yea. So the fire? My roomie (Constance from Germany) tells me it was a faulty dryer. Good thing I didn’t need to do laundry, cuz the room is out of commission. I just saw signs telling us not to go in, for risk of electrocution. Ouch!
Anyways, I’ve grabbed a whole tonne of brochures from the desk downstairs. Gonna plan out this leg, with a tour to Philip Island or something.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Rough Guide to a Working Holiday
Ok. So after bumbling around these past couple weeks, here are a few pointers to whoever is thinking about doing something like this (Cindy & Ronnie). Hopefully, this will help you plan things better than I did (that is, none whatsoever, beyond booking the flight, and the first week’s accommodation). Mind you, I did discover that I’m a 3-week traveller. Much longer than that, and I just get bored of travelling, and I want to go home. I’m also the type that likes steady income, so a working holiday really isn’t for me.
Pre Departure:
- Get the visa online, via the Australian Government’s site. It’s easily googled. The approval takes about 2 days, and will set you back about $200.
- Get a travel guide. craigslist.org often has them for cheap.
o Check out jobs. On www.seek.com.au, there is a list of recruiting agencies, as well as a wack of jobs. It takes about a month for them to get back to you, so plan accordingly. You may notice that some cities seem to have more job openings. This may affect where you want to be based. Two among many are Sydney and Melbourne. Of note, Sydney is VERY similar to Vancouver. If this is not what you want, consider staying somewhere else.
- Update your resume. The Australian format and expectation is a bit different from ours, so do look it up. The other thing is to set your paper size to A4.
- Book your flight 4-8 weeks before you want to leave, as that is when ticket prices drop a bit. United tends to have the cheapest flights. Book directly from their website: united.ca
- Book 3-4 nights at a hotel or hostel. If you plan on travelling around, get an HI membership. It saves you money on loads of other stuff as well.
- It is a good idea to have about 1000AUD for rent and places that only accept cash. For all other purchases, you can put them on your credit card, with a decent exchange rate. (I am assuming that you will have money in your Canadian accounts to pay off these purchases via the internet).
- Check out mobile providers and/or get your phone unlocked. If you are really attached to the internet, and do not have a laptop, get one. Talking pc-pc or pc-phone is way cheaper than any phone card. Also note that calls to Australian mobiles are more expensive than calling landlines. Major companies that I’ve heard of:
o Optus
o Vodafone
o Three
o Telstra
- You will need an adapter, but you can also purchase them in Oz for less than $10.
Arrival
- Get a phone/SIM card ASAP. This is vital for finding a place and a job. When getting a plan (prepay or otherwise), keep in mind that call display (number only), incoming texts and incoming calls are free. You only pay for the stuff you call/send out.
- Get on the internet and look for a place. Don’t bother with listings that are more than 4 days old. You can also look for ads on lamposts around major train stations. Make sure you check out the place before committing. Note the state of the kitchen and bathroom. Test out the bed, if you can. If you can’t get a good night’s rest, you’re gonna have a bad time. Make sure the landlord gives you a receipt for your payments.
o flatmates.com.au
o gumtree.com.au
o craigslist.org
- Set up a bank account within 10 days after you arrive. If you wait too long, you will have to procure more forms of identifcation. There’s some sorta points system that determines whether or not you can open an account. I went with Westpac, and have no complaints. They were pretty awesome in setting me up with an everyday account, a savings account (7% interest), and a Super account (a pension account that your employer will be depositing 9% into, that you can claim back when you leave). HSBC is also here, but you may want to check how available their ATMs are around Australia. Be careful about how much money you deposit right off the bat. It takes a week for your bank card to be ready for pick up.
- Follow up on applications to temp agencies. Try to land placements that are 1-2weeks long, and use the time between jobs to travel. In the meanwhile, go sightsee and have fun.
- Once you have a residential address, apply for a Tax File Number. It typically takes 4 weeks to process. You will need this number to be taxed only 29%, rather than 49. Don’t worry about not having it right when you start your job. You are allowed to work for 3 weeks before they require the number.
Pre Departure:
- Get the visa online, via the Australian Government’s site. It’s easily googled. The approval takes about 2 days, and will set you back about $200.
- Get a travel guide. craigslist.org often has them for cheap.
o Check out jobs. On www.seek.com.au, there is a list of recruiting agencies, as well as a wack of jobs. It takes about a month for them to get back to you, so plan accordingly. You may notice that some cities seem to have more job openings. This may affect where you want to be based. Two among many are Sydney and Melbourne. Of note, Sydney is VERY similar to Vancouver. If this is not what you want, consider staying somewhere else.
- Update your resume. The Australian format and expectation is a bit different from ours, so do look it up. The other thing is to set your paper size to A4.
- Book your flight 4-8 weeks before you want to leave, as that is when ticket prices drop a bit. United tends to have the cheapest flights. Book directly from their website: united.ca
- Book 3-4 nights at a hotel or hostel. If you plan on travelling around, get an HI membership. It saves you money on loads of other stuff as well.
- It is a good idea to have about 1000AUD for rent and places that only accept cash. For all other purchases, you can put them on your credit card, with a decent exchange rate. (I am assuming that you will have money in your Canadian accounts to pay off these purchases via the internet).
- Check out mobile providers and/or get your phone unlocked. If you are really attached to the internet, and do not have a laptop, get one. Talking pc-pc or pc-phone is way cheaper than any phone card. Also note that calls to Australian mobiles are more expensive than calling landlines. Major companies that I’ve heard of:
o Optus
o Vodafone
o Three
o Telstra
- You will need an adapter, but you can also purchase them in Oz for less than $10.
Arrival
- Get a phone/SIM card ASAP. This is vital for finding a place and a job. When getting a plan (prepay or otherwise), keep in mind that call display (number only), incoming texts and incoming calls are free. You only pay for the stuff you call/send out.
- Get on the internet and look for a place. Don’t bother with listings that are more than 4 days old. You can also look for ads on lamposts around major train stations. Make sure you check out the place before committing. Note the state of the kitchen and bathroom. Test out the bed, if you can. If you can’t get a good night’s rest, you’re gonna have a bad time. Make sure the landlord gives you a receipt for your payments.
o flatmates.com.au
o gumtree.com.au
o craigslist.org
- Set up a bank account within 10 days after you arrive. If you wait too long, you will have to procure more forms of identifcation. There’s some sorta points system that determines whether or not you can open an account. I went with Westpac, and have no complaints. They were pretty awesome in setting me up with an everyday account, a savings account (7% interest), and a Super account (a pension account that your employer will be depositing 9% into, that you can claim back when you leave). HSBC is also here, but you may want to check how available their ATMs are around Australia. Be careful about how much money you deposit right off the bat. It takes a week for your bank card to be ready for pick up.
- Follow up on applications to temp agencies. Try to land placements that are 1-2weeks long, and use the time between jobs to travel. In the meanwhile, go sightsee and have fun.
- Once you have a residential address, apply for a Tax File Number. It typically takes 4 weeks to process. You will need this number to be taxed only 29%, rather than 49. Don’t worry about not having it right when you start your job. You are allowed to work for 3 weeks before they require the number.
Glebe
Saturday Oct 4
14:23 Sydney
Am currently spending a quiet day in. (Not that I’ve done all the much up to now). It’s raining. Such a relief from the oppressive heat of the last two days. I think it was 34 degrees yesterday. Not sure about the day before. Even the wind was hot. Needless to say, had a hard time sleeping last night, and am currently sporting a rash of sorts on my right forearm. Thank goodness I am not staying here over the summer. Dunno what the hell I was thinking when I thought it would be a good idea.
Had a bubble tea from Easy Way yesterday, on my way back to the flat after collecting mail. It’s good. I got honey milk tea with pearls. Would’ve preferred to have had grass jelly, but it was not on the menu. Lots of other jellies were, though and of note was fig. That set me back $4.60, but it’s ok, cuz I got my bond deposit back from Yuli, so all is good ^^.
So on Thursday, I had put up the ad on flatmates.com, and got a few calls and inspections. Of them, Ludivine, a girl from France, seemed the most interested. I was totally crossing my fingers that she would call back, and she did that night. All was arranged for her to move in on Friday. I just needed to book a hostel.
Hah. Easier said than done. Turns out that this weekend is a long weekend. Which explains why my Sunday flight to Melbourne was so cheap. So anyway, the hostels in the city were all booked up. The YHA in Glebe was available, so I took it. Cheaper than the ones in the city by a couple dollars, and it’s 4-share, rather than 8. It’s only 2.5km from Central, and a bus passes right by. Light rail is about a 5min walk away. Very residential and quiet neighbourhood. There are supposed to be restaurants nearby, so maybe I’ll have a looksee for what’s around for dinner tonight.
14:23 Sydney
Am currently spending a quiet day in. (Not that I’ve done all the much up to now). It’s raining. Such a relief from the oppressive heat of the last two days. I think it was 34 degrees yesterday. Not sure about the day before. Even the wind was hot. Needless to say, had a hard time sleeping last night, and am currently sporting a rash of sorts on my right forearm. Thank goodness I am not staying here over the summer. Dunno what the hell I was thinking when I thought it would be a good idea.
Had a bubble tea from Easy Way yesterday, on my way back to the flat after collecting mail. It’s good. I got honey milk tea with pearls. Would’ve preferred to have had grass jelly, but it was not on the menu. Lots of other jellies were, though and of note was fig. That set me back $4.60, but it’s ok, cuz I got my bond deposit back from Yuli, so all is good ^^.
So on Thursday, I had put up the ad on flatmates.com, and got a few calls and inspections. Of them, Ludivine, a girl from France, seemed the most interested. I was totally crossing my fingers that she would call back, and she did that night. All was arranged for her to move in on Friday. I just needed to book a hostel.
Hah. Easier said than done. Turns out that this weekend is a long weekend. Which explains why my Sunday flight to Melbourne was so cheap. So anyway, the hostels in the city were all booked up. The YHA in Glebe was available, so I took it. Cheaper than the ones in the city by a couple dollars, and it’s 4-share, rather than 8. It’s only 2.5km from Central, and a bus passes right by. Light rail is about a 5min walk away. Very residential and quiet neighbourhood. There are supposed to be restaurants nearby, so maybe I’ll have a looksee for what’s around for dinner tonight.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Flat Listing
So because I am moving out early, I need to find someone to replace me as Yuli's roomie, so I can get my bond deposit back. Considering it's a sizable chunk o'change, I've decided to use the internet.
I was trying to use share-accommodations.net, but they required a membership. bleh
Then posted on flatmates.com.au, and already got 5 calls. After the 3rd guy called, I decided to put FEMALE right in the title of the listing. Cuz obviously, people don't read.
So far, a New Zealander and a French girl has come to see the place. Here's to hoping that someone will take this before Sunday!
I was trying to use share-accommodations.net, but they required a membership. bleh
Then posted on flatmates.com.au, and already got 5 calls. After the 3rd guy called, I decided to put FEMALE right in the title of the listing. Cuz obviously, people don't read.
So far, a New Zealander and a French girl has come to see the place. Here's to hoping that someone will take this before Sunday!
Massive Change of Plans (Delta Oz)
So after being here for 2 weeks, and living the reality that is a working holiday minus the work but still with the stress, I have talked with Susan, and decided to travel around the southern and western parts of Australia and then go home.
Japan's been on my mind for a while now, and Will's got vacation time in March, so we're gonna go to Japan instead of touring Australia at that time. Meanwhile, I feel so much lighter. I've already booked a flight for Melbourne, as well as 3 nights' stay at a YHA there. Pretty happy!
Am looking into tours to Wilson's Park, Phillip Island, and the Great Ocean Road. More likely than not, I'm going to go on a tour that takes me to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road. May also go to Tasmania; Chaturi was talking about this CRAZY roundtrip airfare: $39!! If that's for real, then HELL YA! Perth and surrounds is also on my hitlist.
I expect to be home by mid-November at the latest; just in time for the storms =P
The Outback, Canberra, East Coast, and NZ will just have to wait till the next time I'm down here.. I say within 5 years ^^
Japan's been on my mind for a while now, and Will's got vacation time in March, so we're gonna go to Japan instead of touring Australia at that time. Meanwhile, I feel so much lighter. I've already booked a flight for Melbourne, as well as 3 nights' stay at a YHA there. Pretty happy!
Am looking into tours to Wilson's Park, Phillip Island, and the Great Ocean Road. More likely than not, I'm going to go on a tour that takes me to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road. May also go to Tasmania; Chaturi was talking about this CRAZY roundtrip airfare: $39!! If that's for real, then HELL YA! Perth and surrounds is also on my hitlist.
I expect to be home by mid-November at the latest; just in time for the storms =P
The Outback, Canberra, East Coast, and NZ will just have to wait till the next time I'm down here.. I say within 5 years ^^
Second Sydney Album
Because facebook only allows 60 photos per album..
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165746&l=5ab66&id=850470160
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165746&l=5ab66&id=850470160
Monday, September 22, 2008
Check out, Move in
Monday Sept 22
18:50 Sydney
I feel poor. I’ve just moved into the place on Pitt St. It’s a Regis Tower, managed, I assume, by a Regis corporation of some sort. Just paid a 3 week bond, so my cash supply is quickly running low. I can’t wait till I get my bank card, so I can have access to the money in the bank. Pretty sure it’ll be alright, but it’d just be nice to finally have that card physically in my hand.
Am a big dodo. Left half a loaf of bread at the hostel. I hope somebody enjoys it. On the upside, also just had a free weiner bun. Apparently, a frend of Julie works at the bakery, and brought some over. What comes around goes around, eh?
I am a bit worried that the mattress is going to be too soft. When my weight is undisbributed, the area sinks like there’s no tomorrow. However, it is a spring mattress, so it’ll likely be ok when I’m sleeping. In any case, I’m just gonna hafta live with it. It’s not like my foam mattress at home is any better. Loud neighbourhood. It’s a good thing I’m used to noise, living on 41st. There are currently 2 other guys living here. I’m assuming that they got the room for 2. Just goes to show how quickly places get snatched up in this part of town, eh? Julie’s receipt book is nearly full. I wonder how much she makes over a year.
Nearly called it quits last night. (ok, so maybe ‘nearly’ is a bit of an exaggeration, but the thought definitely crossed my mind.) After installing some updates onto my laptop, I had to restart it. When I tried to log on, IT COULDN’T FIND MY ACCOUNT. So I frantically reboot several times, and when that didn’t fix the problem, I got online (was still at the netcafe), and looked for solutions. All of them assumed that I could still get into my computer, so none of it was helpful. Janett suggested I take it to a repair shop, but seeing how it was Sunday, nothing’s open. Now, I have a lot of memories as well as sweat and tears in this machine, in the form of pictures, practicum stuff and practical stuff that I had not backed up onto disks yet. So I started to panic, even as I was looking for repair shops. Luckily, Will came home just as I was breaking down, and I called him over msn. He, in turn, got a hold of BJ, who is actually in IT, and he walked me through a system recovery and now all is good *knocks on wood*.
Windows got me to do yet another update today, and so I did, with much trepidation. But, things seem fine…I’ll keep crossing my fingers that it remains this way. I’d end up with a major breakdown, similar to the one I had in Japan if I couldn’t (cheaply) connect with everyone in Vancouver.
On a slightly more amusing note, I went to Coles to pick up Gatorade, and as I walk in, I see that the Chiller Bags, the cloth bags that have an insulating lining in them, were on sale, 2 for 3 bucks. They conveniently zip close, so guess what! I’m gonna use them as a way to transport my extra luggage home. Most likely clothes, as they are uncrushable. If I have enough stuff to fill two of them, then I’ll tape em together or something, and check em in as 1 piece =P. Actually, I needed them to move my food to the flat, but hey, multipurpose is good!
18:50 Sydney
I feel poor. I’ve just moved into the place on Pitt St. It’s a Regis Tower, managed, I assume, by a Regis corporation of some sort. Just paid a 3 week bond, so my cash supply is quickly running low. I can’t wait till I get my bank card, so I can have access to the money in the bank. Pretty sure it’ll be alright, but it’d just be nice to finally have that card physically in my hand.
Am a big dodo. Left half a loaf of bread at the hostel. I hope somebody enjoys it. On the upside, also just had a free weiner bun. Apparently, a frend of Julie works at the bakery, and brought some over. What comes around goes around, eh?
I am a bit worried that the mattress is going to be too soft. When my weight is undisbributed, the area sinks like there’s no tomorrow. However, it is a spring mattress, so it’ll likely be ok when I’m sleeping. In any case, I’m just gonna hafta live with it. It’s not like my foam mattress at home is any better. Loud neighbourhood. It’s a good thing I’m used to noise, living on 41st. There are currently 2 other guys living here. I’m assuming that they got the room for 2. Just goes to show how quickly places get snatched up in this part of town, eh? Julie’s receipt book is nearly full. I wonder how much she makes over a year.
Nearly called it quits last night. (ok, so maybe ‘nearly’ is a bit of an exaggeration, but the thought definitely crossed my mind.) After installing some updates onto my laptop, I had to restart it. When I tried to log on, IT COULDN’T FIND MY ACCOUNT. So I frantically reboot several times, and when that didn’t fix the problem, I got online (was still at the netcafe), and looked for solutions. All of them assumed that I could still get into my computer, so none of it was helpful. Janett suggested I take it to a repair shop, but seeing how it was Sunday, nothing’s open. Now, I have a lot of memories as well as sweat and tears in this machine, in the form of pictures, practicum stuff and practical stuff that I had not backed up onto disks yet. So I started to panic, even as I was looking for repair shops. Luckily, Will came home just as I was breaking down, and I called him over msn. He, in turn, got a hold of BJ, who is actually in IT, and he walked me through a system recovery and now all is good *knocks on wood*.
Windows got me to do yet another update today, and so I did, with much trepidation. But, things seem fine…I’ll keep crossing my fingers that it remains this way. I’d end up with a major breakdown, similar to the one I had in Japan if I couldn’t (cheaply) connect with everyone in Vancouver.
On a slightly more amusing note, I went to Coles to pick up Gatorade, and as I walk in, I see that the Chiller Bags, the cloth bags that have an insulating lining in them, were on sale, 2 for 3 bucks. They conveniently zip close, so guess what! I’m gonna use them as a way to transport my extra luggage home. Most likely clothes, as they are uncrushable. If I have enough stuff to fill two of them, then I’ll tape em together or something, and check em in as 1 piece =P. Actually, I needed them to move my food to the flat, but hey, multipurpose is good!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Flat!
Sunday Sep 21
13:26 Sydney
I found a place to stay! It is rather pricey, but I think it’s worth it. $170 per week, so it works out to about $700 a month. I’m sharing the master bedroom of a flat with the person who lives there/owns it. Just a 10-minute walk from Central Station, and less than 5 away from Coles, the supermarket. It’s a nice building, with a pool (which I probably will not use) and a gym, which I intend to use. Free wireless! Yahoo! I will no longer be at the mercy of netcafe trading hours or gross keyboards!
I got a good vibe from the girl--heck, I got a good vibe from the ad alone; seeing the place and the girl just sealed the deal. The other ads that I saw were rather shady, or they would have had me sharing with 3 or 4 other people in the same room.. I may as well be living at a hostel, ya know? And it’s impossible to say how well you’d be able to tolerate a person, nevermind 3 or 4. Some had minimum stays that made me uncomfortable; what if I hated my roomies? And then there were some that had a male contact name, but only wanted females, and Asian at that. I know it may not mean anything, but I just got the creeps reading the ad. Gotta trust instinct. I’m also decently sure that if I’m still here when Cindy comes, we can swing it so one of us gets a cheap night or two on the floor (just until we head off to Melbourne). If available, there’s also a second room for 2 ppl for $320pw.
I’m checking out of the hostel tomorrow, and got a refund for the unused nights, too! Too bad the refund was back onto my credit card, and not in cash. Not that I’m running out, but it’d be nice to have cold hard cash, rather than credit into an account that I’m not going to touch much now that I’m here.
I guess waking up early and wandering around town was rather fortuitous after all. I saw the girl as she was putting up the ad this morning. =D
Now I feel ready to tackle the work issue. Though without a tax number, I’m gonna be taxed a whopping 49%. YIKES! Crossing fingers that I will get that number soon.
13:26 Sydney
I found a place to stay! It is rather pricey, but I think it’s worth it. $170 per week, so it works out to about $700 a month. I’m sharing the master bedroom of a flat with the person who lives there/owns it. Just a 10-minute walk from Central Station, and less than 5 away from Coles, the supermarket. It’s a nice building, with a pool (which I probably will not use) and a gym, which I intend to use. Free wireless! Yahoo! I will no longer be at the mercy of netcafe trading hours or gross keyboards!
I got a good vibe from the girl--heck, I got a good vibe from the ad alone; seeing the place and the girl just sealed the deal. The other ads that I saw were rather shady, or they would have had me sharing with 3 or 4 other people in the same room.. I may as well be living at a hostel, ya know? And it’s impossible to say how well you’d be able to tolerate a person, nevermind 3 or 4. Some had minimum stays that made me uncomfortable; what if I hated my roomies? And then there were some that had a male contact name, but only wanted females, and Asian at that. I know it may not mean anything, but I just got the creeps reading the ad. Gotta trust instinct. I’m also decently sure that if I’m still here when Cindy comes, we can swing it so one of us gets a cheap night or two on the floor (just until we head off to Melbourne). If available, there’s also a second room for 2 ppl for $320pw.
I’m checking out of the hostel tomorrow, and got a refund for the unused nights, too! Too bad the refund was back onto my credit card, and not in cash. Not that I’m running out, but it’d be nice to have cold hard cash, rather than credit into an account that I’m not going to touch much now that I’m here.
I guess waking up early and wandering around town was rather fortuitous after all. I saw the girl as she was putting up the ad this morning. =D
Now I feel ready to tackle the work issue. Though without a tax number, I’m gonna be taxed a whopping 49%. YIKES! Crossing fingers that I will get that number soon.
Sydney Day 2
Friday Sept 19
20:59 Sydney
I did absolutely nothing today, and feel kinda, sorta guilty, but hey, this was mainly to help me reclaim a piece of sanity after the hectic B.Ed program, so really, nothing to be guilty about. It’s just a bit odd, being halfway across the world, and doing basically what I’ve been doing at home: chat on the net and eat. That basically sums up the day. Woke up at about 6, but refused to get up till 7/7:30. Headed out for breakfast, and that’s when I really realised just how expensive eating out could be. I mean come on, $6.45 for an egg McMuffin, hash browns and hot chocolate? McD’s is supposed to be the cheap eats.
Headed over to the netcafe, but because no one was on, decided to go grocery shopping. I somehow couldn’t find Coles, even though I shopped in it just yesterday, and ended up at IGA at where else but Market City, “Where east meets west.” So like a good little Chinese girl, I got oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee, of course), chili sauce (the rooster brand), and bok choi. The oyster sauce will go a long way in helping me meet my daily veggie quota.
I later did make it to Coles, and of note, I got marmite. I was debating over Marmite or Vegemite, but in the end, decided to fall for the “Original” rather than Vegemite, “Proudly Australian”. or something like that. Mostly because of price. And Susan LOVES marmite, so I’ll go with that first, and if I find that I like it, vegemite will be next, after I’m employed =P. Which also means I got bread, and eggs, which means breakfast food! No more eating out breakfasts for me. That’s like 6 bucks everyday! Cha-ching! Boy do I sound cheap, eh?
Got in a nice long conversation with Will, who now should have a proper computer chair. Baby chair is cute and all, but not exactly ergonomic. And according to Carson, the seat of the new chair is soft as a baby’s bottom ^^
Am loving facebook, btw. After Chathuri’s messages about how easy it is to find work, I’m feeling better. I also spoke with Anna, a traveller from England, and she says that there are vodafones for sale at the front desk. Will have to look into that, especially if I wanna get a job..kinda hard to get one if I’m not easily contacted, eh? And I figured that Cindy and I could share the phone when she gets here, and she can have it when I leave, since we’re really only using it for jobs. Gotta love cost sharing. ‘Course, I’ve gotta talk it over with her first =P
The hostel offered Thai cooking tonight. We made Tom Ga. It’s pretty easy! Coconut milk, water, chicken, galangal, lime leaf, lemon juice, fish sauce, red pepper, carrots, zucchini, tomato, sweet chili paste, chili pepper, tom paste?, basil. It all seemed to be an art to taste, rather than a set recipe. My kinda cooking =P
Then they made stir fry for us. Wine was thrown into the mix, and it was all just 5 bucks. Talk about affordable!
I am so not a hosteller. Not that I dislike staying in hostels, just that I’m rather antisocial, and so chitchatting with other travellers makes for an awkward situation. It’s weird. I guess I either travel alone or travel with friends; I don’t make friends on trips.
Did very minimal research on travelling. But the more I think on it, the more I think I’m gonna leave Sydney as soon as Cindy gets here and set up camp at Melbourne. Not sure whether it would be better to get a Great South Railways Pass ($450 for 6 months, but there seem to be hidden fuel surcharges), or to fly from place to place. It’s a time-money trade-off, for sure, but if I’m travelling with Cindy, the long hours on the train might not be so bad…
20:59 Sydney
I did absolutely nothing today, and feel kinda, sorta guilty, but hey, this was mainly to help me reclaim a piece of sanity after the hectic B.Ed program, so really, nothing to be guilty about. It’s just a bit odd, being halfway across the world, and doing basically what I’ve been doing at home: chat on the net and eat. That basically sums up the day. Woke up at about 6, but refused to get up till 7/7:30. Headed out for breakfast, and that’s when I really realised just how expensive eating out could be. I mean come on, $6.45 for an egg McMuffin, hash browns and hot chocolate? McD’s is supposed to be the cheap eats.
Headed over to the netcafe, but because no one was on, decided to go grocery shopping. I somehow couldn’t find Coles, even though I shopped in it just yesterday, and ended up at IGA at where else but Market City, “Where east meets west.” So like a good little Chinese girl, I got oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee, of course), chili sauce (the rooster brand), and bok choi. The oyster sauce will go a long way in helping me meet my daily veggie quota.
I later did make it to Coles, and of note, I got marmite. I was debating over Marmite or Vegemite, but in the end, decided to fall for the “Original” rather than Vegemite, “Proudly Australian”. or something like that. Mostly because of price. And Susan LOVES marmite, so I’ll go with that first, and if I find that I like it, vegemite will be next, after I’m employed =P. Which also means I got bread, and eggs, which means breakfast food! No more eating out breakfasts for me. That’s like 6 bucks everyday! Cha-ching! Boy do I sound cheap, eh?
Got in a nice long conversation with Will, who now should have a proper computer chair. Baby chair is cute and all, but not exactly ergonomic. And according to Carson, the seat of the new chair is soft as a baby’s bottom ^^
Am loving facebook, btw. After Chathuri’s messages about how easy it is to find work, I’m feeling better. I also spoke with Anna, a traveller from England, and she says that there are vodafones for sale at the front desk. Will have to look into that, especially if I wanna get a job..kinda hard to get one if I’m not easily contacted, eh? And I figured that Cindy and I could share the phone when she gets here, and she can have it when I leave, since we’re really only using it for jobs. Gotta love cost sharing. ‘Course, I’ve gotta talk it over with her first =P
The hostel offered Thai cooking tonight. We made Tom Ga. It’s pretty easy! Coconut milk, water, chicken, galangal, lime leaf, lemon juice, fish sauce, red pepper, carrots, zucchini, tomato, sweet chili paste, chili pepper, tom paste?, basil. It all seemed to be an art to taste, rather than a set recipe. My kinda cooking =P
Then they made stir fry for us. Wine was thrown into the mix, and it was all just 5 bucks. Talk about affordable!
I am so not a hosteller. Not that I dislike staying in hostels, just that I’m rather antisocial, and so chitchatting with other travellers makes for an awkward situation. It’s weird. I guess I either travel alone or travel with friends; I don’t make friends on trips.
Did very minimal research on travelling. But the more I think on it, the more I think I’m gonna leave Sydney as soon as Cindy gets here and set up camp at Melbourne. Not sure whether it would be better to get a Great South Railways Pass ($450 for 6 months, but there seem to be hidden fuel surcharges), or to fly from place to place. It’s a time-money trade-off, for sure, but if I’m travelling with Cindy, the long hours on the train might not be so bad…
First Day in Sydney
This'll be for those not on facebook.
Some of you asked for notes and whatnot of my adventures in Oz. Not sure how good I will be at blogging, but here's an uber long one to start. Not particularly interesting, so read at your own risk =P
Thursday Sept 18, 2008
20:25 Sydney
So here I am, back at the YHA Railway Square. I’ve got a different room this time, #224, behind a barred gate, then up some stairs. There isn’t an ensuite, just showers and toilets in a different room. I had to go out and buy a basket for all my toiletries. It’s just too much of a hassle having to remember to get everything I need. Everything into one basket makes it so much more efficient. Yea, and bringing full sized bottles makes it very difficult to pack well. Luckily, nothing exploded on the way over, though my medicated cream somehow leaked. The jar’s fine, just that the cap had become loose.
I had the exact same problem as the last time I was here, trying to find the hostel. When I came out of the train station, I took a wrong turn, and instead of walking to the end of the block, ended up circling around the entire complex. I can’t wait to find a place to move into. It’d be nice to have a real bathroom, and to be able to unpack. I hate living out of a suitcase, and rummaging through it everytime I need something. I don’t mind the lack of privacy overly much, since I rarely see my roommates anyway. The other thing that bites is that all internet access is paid by time. It’s rather expensive here, almost double that of Everywhere Internet, so I go out to use the net. I just got an adapter, so starting tomorrow, I can use my laptop at the café. Much more convenient than using their desktops.
Everything’s been good so far. The flight was on time. Actually, the San Fran-Sydney leg was a bit ahead of schedule, but we weren’t allowed to land before 6am anyway, so it didn’t make much of a difference. Earplugs are saviours! Never leave on a trip without them. There were a couple screaming kids on the plane, but they were beautifully muffled. It’s also been quite a while since I’d last flown. I’d forgotten just how loud planes could be, what with the roar of the engines combined with the wooshing of the air vents. I’d gotten lucky, too! I’d picked an aisle seat, and because the plane wasn’t overly full, one of the flight attendants moved me to another aisle seat, where I had a second seat to myself. (It was part of a 4-seater row, and the guy on the other end had a seat to himself too). All that space makes all the difference. This cantankerous Cantonese couple behind me were angry that I’d gotten moved, and not them. Weird, seeing how they had the same arrangement I did. I mean, what did they expect, an entire row for each of them? Yeesh. They kept referring to me as the ‘leng mui’, and here I thought I’d long outgrown that epithet, being at the ripe age of 27 already.
Anyhoo, I just ignored them. The earplugs helped =P
Pretty good experience with United. I had no troubles on either flight. The YVR-SFO pilot had a rougher landing than the SFO-SYD dude. The latter did a really smooth touchdown. Impressive.
No trouble with customs, though they did have me going for a sec. Aussies like to give you a mild heart attack, just for kicks. The coolest basset hound caught my attention. I thought he was a pet at first, then I actually read the vest, and looked at the handler, and he’s a Quarantine Dog, trained to sniff out suspicious objects. It’s a damned good thing I hadn’t reached out to pet him. That most definitely would not have gone over well.
Walked a LOT today. Kinda wished I had a pedometer, just to have a rough idea of how far I’d traversed. Urban planning obviously was not high on the priority list in the making of Sydney. I think it’s somewhat worse than Vancouver, and maybe the slightest bit better than Seattle, though all three could be sisters. Sydney’s a fantastic place for a Vancouverite, especially at this time of year. The weather’s absolutely perfect, if a bit sunnier than what I’m used to. Eighteen-degree high. T-shirt and jeans weather for me, plus a light jacket in the evening. Spring’s barely started. What the heck am I going to do come summer??? And it is set. I shall be proceeding clockwise. Apparently, the north is horrid between October and March: monsoon season. So I will hit up than area near the end, meaning I will not be spending much time. Just as well, considering the restrictions on my Visa. Not allowed to work for any one employer for more than 6 months. Hopefully, by then, I will have saved up enough money to be vacationing full time, and not dipping into credit cards.
I must say, people in Sydney jaywalk like there's no tomorrow. I'll probably eventually join in, but seeing how I can barely remember to look right, rather than left, for traffic, I think I shall stick to following. I'd actually followed this 10-year old girl for a few blocks. She was obviously a local with the way she was so fearlessly jaywalking. I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I only walked when she walked =P.
Feeling decently accomplished. Got a mailing address with the General Post Office:
Sophia To
Poste Restante
GPO Box Centre
Sydney, NSW 2001
Australia
Free service, and as Will says, “Free is affordable!”
Also applied for a Tax File Number (cross your fingers that I did it all correctly… won’t know for a couple weeks), and a couple bank accounts. The guy at the bank was SO helpful! Now I just have to wait for my card, and I’ll be good to go with banking. It’ll be nice to get this cash off my person. I’m turning paranoid.
Up next: Accommodations and Work. Dun dun dun!
But first, sleep. 9pm seems like a decent bedtime, yea?
Some of you asked for notes and whatnot of my adventures in Oz. Not sure how good I will be at blogging, but here's an uber long one to start. Not particularly interesting, so read at your own risk =P
Thursday Sept 18, 2008
20:25 Sydney
So here I am, back at the YHA Railway Square. I’ve got a different room this time, #224, behind a barred gate, then up some stairs. There isn’t an ensuite, just showers and toilets in a different room. I had to go out and buy a basket for all my toiletries. It’s just too much of a hassle having to remember to get everything I need. Everything into one basket makes it so much more efficient. Yea, and bringing full sized bottles makes it very difficult to pack well. Luckily, nothing exploded on the way over, though my medicated cream somehow leaked. The jar’s fine, just that the cap had become loose.
I had the exact same problem as the last time I was here, trying to find the hostel. When I came out of the train station, I took a wrong turn, and instead of walking to the end of the block, ended up circling around the entire complex. I can’t wait to find a place to move into. It’d be nice to have a real bathroom, and to be able to unpack. I hate living out of a suitcase, and rummaging through it everytime I need something. I don’t mind the lack of privacy overly much, since I rarely see my roommates anyway. The other thing that bites is that all internet access is paid by time. It’s rather expensive here, almost double that of Everywhere Internet, so I go out to use the net. I just got an adapter, so starting tomorrow, I can use my laptop at the café. Much more convenient than using their desktops.
Everything’s been good so far. The flight was on time. Actually, the San Fran-Sydney leg was a bit ahead of schedule, but we weren’t allowed to land before 6am anyway, so it didn’t make much of a difference. Earplugs are saviours! Never leave on a trip without them. There were a couple screaming kids on the plane, but they were beautifully muffled. It’s also been quite a while since I’d last flown. I’d forgotten just how loud planes could be, what with the roar of the engines combined with the wooshing of the air vents. I’d gotten lucky, too! I’d picked an aisle seat, and because the plane wasn’t overly full, one of the flight attendants moved me to another aisle seat, where I had a second seat to myself. (It was part of a 4-seater row, and the guy on the other end had a seat to himself too). All that space makes all the difference. This cantankerous Cantonese couple behind me were angry that I’d gotten moved, and not them. Weird, seeing how they had the same arrangement I did. I mean, what did they expect, an entire row for each of them? Yeesh. They kept referring to me as the ‘leng mui’, and here I thought I’d long outgrown that epithet, being at the ripe age of 27 already.
Anyhoo, I just ignored them. The earplugs helped =P
Pretty good experience with United. I had no troubles on either flight. The YVR-SFO pilot had a rougher landing than the SFO-SYD dude. The latter did a really smooth touchdown. Impressive.
No trouble with customs, though they did have me going for a sec. Aussies like to give you a mild heart attack, just for kicks. The coolest basset hound caught my attention. I thought he was a pet at first, then I actually read the vest, and looked at the handler, and he’s a Quarantine Dog, trained to sniff out suspicious objects. It’s a damned good thing I hadn’t reached out to pet him. That most definitely would not have gone over well.
Walked a LOT today. Kinda wished I had a pedometer, just to have a rough idea of how far I’d traversed. Urban planning obviously was not high on the priority list in the making of Sydney. I think it’s somewhat worse than Vancouver, and maybe the slightest bit better than Seattle, though all three could be sisters. Sydney’s a fantastic place for a Vancouverite, especially at this time of year. The weather’s absolutely perfect, if a bit sunnier than what I’m used to. Eighteen-degree high. T-shirt and jeans weather for me, plus a light jacket in the evening. Spring’s barely started. What the heck am I going to do come summer??? And it is set. I shall be proceeding clockwise. Apparently, the north is horrid between October and March: monsoon season. So I will hit up than area near the end, meaning I will not be spending much time. Just as well, considering the restrictions on my Visa. Not allowed to work for any one employer for more than 6 months. Hopefully, by then, I will have saved up enough money to be vacationing full time, and not dipping into credit cards.
I must say, people in Sydney jaywalk like there's no tomorrow. I'll probably eventually join in, but seeing how I can barely remember to look right, rather than left, for traffic, I think I shall stick to following. I'd actually followed this 10-year old girl for a few blocks. She was obviously a local with the way she was so fearlessly jaywalking. I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I only walked when she walked =P.
Feeling decently accomplished. Got a mailing address with the General Post Office:
Sophia To
Poste Restante
GPO Box Centre
Sydney, NSW 2001
Australia
Free service, and as Will says, “Free is affordable!”
Also applied for a Tax File Number (cross your fingers that I did it all correctly… won’t know for a couple weeks), and a couple bank accounts. The guy at the bank was SO helpful! Now I just have to wait for my card, and I’ll be good to go with banking. It’ll be nice to get this cash off my person. I’m turning paranoid.
Up next: Accommodations and Work. Dun dun dun!
But first, sleep. 9pm seems like a decent bedtime, yea?
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