Status update
Hi! I'm still here. I'm just updating verrrry slow. That's mostly due to being busy and to the amazingly "fast" Internet connections around here.
I'm at Darwin at the moment. I arrived three days ago and I will stay here four more days. This is because I made a mistake by not taking into account the school holidays. All the flights to Sydney are booked and the only seats available are for three times the price. Therefore my flight back to Sydney, and the end of this part of the trip, is on the 16th of July.
The weather here is warm and sunny, blue sky and no cloud in sight. After three weeks on the East coast without a glimpse of the sun, fast winds and rain, I'm not in a hurry to go back to cold Sydney. It was supposed to be the dry season on the East coast, but it wasn't. Even the locals admitted it was a bit weird.
Another reason I'm happy to be here is that I had enough of the East coast. After a while, some of the things repeat themselves. My biggest two disappointments were the Whitsunday islands cruise and Cape Tribulation (I will expand more on it later) which wasn't so special. Of course, everything is relative. Cape Tribulation came right after Mission beach, which gave me all the rain forest I needed. The day after I went on a tour to a place called the Atherton Tablelands. It was much better than the Cape Tribulation tour.
On the 5th of July I am going on an eleven day tour, starting from Darwin and ending up in Alice Springs. The tour is actually made out of three separate tours: A three days Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks tour, three days Darwin to Alice Springs tour and four days center tour. The witty ones noticed that there are actually ten days. The eleventh day is a explore Alice Springs day at your own expense (accommodation included).
After that I will be over with traveling for now.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
More than meets the eye
I couldn't help it, the heat, the intense light outdoors and the cool and dark promising interior. Not to mention to see my childhood action figures (about eighteen years ago...). Thus I went to see the Transformers. The action scenes were brilliant. They made up for the fact that the movie's skeleton was a teen-flick, boy wants girl, etc. and other senseless acting, especially by John Turturo. The transformers are enough of an attraction without the annoying teenage scenes.
Enjoy!
I couldn't help it, the heat, the intense light outdoors and the cool and dark promising interior. Not to mention to see my childhood action figures (about eighteen years ago...). Thus I went to see the Transformers. The action scenes were brilliant. They made up for the fact that the movie's skeleton was a teen-flick, boy wants girl, etc. and other senseless acting, especially by John Turturo. The transformers are enough of an attraction without the annoying teenage scenes.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Alcohol
Australia has a lot of laws to limit people's consumption of alcohol. For example, from certain time of the night, alcohol can be served only in small quantities, like pots (for all the serving volumes and their names check here); Two days ago I met someone I knew, who was sitting in an outdoor area of a pub. She stood up to talk to me. After a few minutes one of the pub's guards came over and asked her to sit while she was in that region, because "it is the law"; The law also defines areas where consumption of alcohol is forbidden. They can be inside hostel rooms or even a block of houses.
So why, with all these restrictions, I see so many drunk people around? Probably it has to do with all the bottles shops around... For them (and just to post another song) I dedicate the following song, "Alcohol" by the Barenaked Ladies
Alcohol, my permanent accessory
Alcohol, a party-time necessity
Alcohol, alternative to feeling like yourself
O Alcohol, I still drink to your health
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Forget the cafe latte, screw the raspberry iced tea
A Malibu and Coke for you, a G&T for me
Alcohol, Your songs resolve like
my life never will
When someone else is picking up the bill
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
O Alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else
I thought that Alcohol was just for those with
nothing else to do
I thought that drinking just to get drunk
was a waste of precious booze
But now I know that there's a time
and there's a place where I can choose
To walk the fine line between
self-control and self-abuse
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Would you please ignore that you
found me on the floor
Trying on your camisole?
O Alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else.
Australia has a lot of laws to limit people's consumption of alcohol. For example, from certain time of the night, alcohol can be served only in small quantities, like pots (for all the serving volumes and their names check here); Two days ago I met someone I knew, who was sitting in an outdoor area of a pub. She stood up to talk to me. After a few minutes one of the pub's guards came over and asked her to sit while she was in that region, because "it is the law"; The law also defines areas where consumption of alcohol is forbidden. They can be inside hostel rooms or even a block of houses.
So why, with all these restrictions, I see so many drunk people around? Probably it has to do with all the bottles shops around... For them (and just to post another song) I dedicate the following song, "Alcohol" by the Barenaked Ladies
Alcohol, my permanent accessory
Alcohol, a party-time necessity
Alcohol, alternative to feeling like yourself
O Alcohol, I still drink to your health
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Forget the cafe latte, screw the raspberry iced tea
A Malibu and Coke for you, a G&T for me
Alcohol, Your songs resolve like
my life never will
When someone else is picking up the bill
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
O Alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else
I thought that Alcohol was just for those with
nothing else to do
I thought that drinking just to get drunk
was a waste of precious booze
But now I know that there's a time
and there's a place where I can choose
To walk the fine line between
self-control and self-abuse
I love you more than I did the week before
I discovered alcohol
Would you please ignore that you
found me on the floor
Trying on your camisole?
O Alcohol, would you please forgive me?
For while I cannot love myself
I'll use something else.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Standards of living
While I was in Asia Orit, a friend of mine, asked me how do I handle the degradation of the standards of living I was used to. It came to my mind again while traveling in Australia. While I was in Asia I used to have a room all to myself, sometimes sharing it with someone else, with en suite bathroom. I always ate out, whether in restaurants or on the street, whether noodles, rice dishes, organic salads or croissants.
In Australia, a Western country, prices are Western too. Therefore I sleep in rooms of four, six or eight people. My earplugs have finally began proving their worth. The bathroom is en suite some times but it can also be on the other end of a corridor. The quality and prices vary, but they are not necessarily related. I mostly go to YHA hostels. They are a bit more expensive and tend to be quieter, in contrast to hostels defining themselves as "party" hostels. When ordering a package from a travel agency on the East coast, you get vouchers that give discounts for several hostels on the East coast. I use the vouchers to know where not to stay for the night and, on the other hand, where to go out to.
I have a green bag full of groceries I fill up in the big supermarkets, like Woolworths or Coles. For breakfast I eat muesli with yogurt (actually quite good, might turn out to be my new breakfast). At evening I "cook" an instant pasta meal from a bag, improved with some canned "goods" (that's how my cousin, who traveled up the East coast too, calls them) like tuna (in flavors!) or salmon. For lunch I go for the cheapest food I can find. It usually consists of either fish and chips or a burger. I started going for the "works" or the "lot" burger, consisting of a tiny burger topped with lettuce, tomato, beetroot, fried egg, bacon, cheese and pineapple. Unfortunately, in Australia the cheapest food is junk food (nothing like Humus or Falafel). You can get a huge box of chocolate chip cookies for two dollars! and for the same price, half a banana (exaggerated a bit...). The basic menu of take away store will consist of fish, chips and burgers.
There is a positive side of course. Traveling is much easier. Everything is in English and almost everything is online. There are information centers and loads of brochures. Sometimes the huge selection is actually confusing and that's where talking to other travelers helps sorting things out a bit.
And one last complaint, why the Internet tends to be really slow in a lot of places? Why it was easier to burn DVDs in Asia than in Australia??
While I was in Asia Orit, a friend of mine, asked me how do I handle the degradation of the standards of living I was used to. It came to my mind again while traveling in Australia. While I was in Asia I used to have a room all to myself, sometimes sharing it with someone else, with en suite bathroom. I always ate out, whether in restaurants or on the street, whether noodles, rice dishes, organic salads or croissants.
In Australia, a Western country, prices are Western too. Therefore I sleep in rooms of four, six or eight people. My earplugs have finally began proving their worth. The bathroom is en suite some times but it can also be on the other end of a corridor. The quality and prices vary, but they are not necessarily related. I mostly go to YHA hostels. They are a bit more expensive and tend to be quieter, in contrast to hostels defining themselves as "party" hostels. When ordering a package from a travel agency on the East coast, you get vouchers that give discounts for several hostels on the East coast. I use the vouchers to know where not to stay for the night and, on the other hand, where to go out to.
I have a green bag full of groceries I fill up in the big supermarkets, like Woolworths or Coles. For breakfast I eat muesli with yogurt (actually quite good, might turn out to be my new breakfast). At evening I "cook" an instant pasta meal from a bag, improved with some canned "goods" (that's how my cousin, who traveled up the East coast too, calls them) like tuna (in flavors!) or salmon. For lunch I go for the cheapest food I can find. It usually consists of either fish and chips or a burger. I started going for the "works" or the "lot" burger, consisting of a tiny burger topped with lettuce, tomato, beetroot, fried egg, bacon, cheese and pineapple. Unfortunately, in Australia the cheapest food is junk food (nothing like Humus or Falafel). You can get a huge box of chocolate chip cookies for two dollars! and for the same price, half a banana (exaggerated a bit...). The basic menu of take away store will consist of fish, chips and burgers.
There is a positive side of course. Traveling is much easier. Everything is in English and almost everything is online. There are information centers and loads of brochures. Sometimes the huge selection is actually confusing and that's where talking to other travelers helps sorting things out a bit.
And one last complaint, why the Internet tends to be really slow in a lot of places? Why it was easier to burn DVDs in Asia than in Australia??
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Shaq
On Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, I was hanging out with Amaya and Nathalie. They have decided to call me "Shaq" in order to deal with the problem of pronouncing my name by languages, like English, without the relevant sounds. I never thought this would come in handy later on. I usually spell my first name when it comes to registering at hostels and similar, but of course it can be avoided when meeting people. If I would have taught each and every one of them, it would have taken ages! So I compromised with "Shaq" and that is how I introduce myself. Last night I went dancing with some English fellows, and you can imagine what happened when the song "Love shack" by the B-52 played...
On Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, I was hanging out with Amaya and Nathalie. They have decided to call me "Shaq" in order to deal with the problem of pronouncing my name by languages, like English, without the relevant sounds. I never thought this would come in handy later on. I usually spell my first name when it comes to registering at hostels and similar, but of course it can be avoided when meeting people. If I would have taught each and every one of them, it would have taken ages! So I compromised with "Shaq" and that is how I introduce myself. Last night I went dancing with some English fellows, and you can imagine what happened when the song "Love shack" by the B-52 played...
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