Hong Kong we're done with you- Day 5

Our last full day in Hong Kong. We decided once again to do one of the walking tours we had in our book. So we went to Hong Kong Island across the harbour and started in Statue Square, followed by their Supreme Court, a garden/courtyard, the HSBC building (which had the largest free standing escalator so we rode that up and down) onto the last cour of appeals, St. Johns Anglican church, past the US embassy, up to the Botanical Gardens (which had an aviary, and a mammal section consisting of two very depressed looking orangutans, gibbons, and ring tailed lemurs) and down to the Victoria peak tram station. We took the tram up to Victoria Peak. It was pretty amazing cause at one point your almost going vertical up the mountain. When you get to the top, we had to take a couple escalators to get to what they call the Terrace which is this gigantic structure they built at the top so tourists would pay more money. Victoria Peak is supposed to be the most expensive real estate in all of Honｇ　Ｋｏｎｇ。　Ｉｔ　ｄｅｆｉｎｔｅｌｙ　ｈａｄ　ａｍａｚｉｎｇ　ｖｉｅｗｓ　ｏｆ　Ｈｏｎｇ　Ｋｏｎｇ。　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｍｏｓｔ　ｃｌｅａｒ／ｐａｒｔｉａｌｌｙ　ｓｕｎｎｙ　ｄａｙ　ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ｓｏ　ｆａｒ。　Ｗｈｅｎ　ｗｅ　ｗｅｎｔ　ｂａｃｋ　ｄｏｗｎ　ｗｅ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒａｍ　ａｇａｉｎ。　Ｗｅ　ｄｅｃｉｄｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｗａｌｋ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　Ｓｔａｒ　Ｆｅｒｒｙ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ａ　５　ｍｉｎｕｔｅ　ｆｅｒｒｙ　ａｃｒｏｓｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｈａｒｂｏｕｒ。　

Ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｍｅｅｔ　ｏｕｒ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｇｒｏｕｐ　ｆｏｒ　ａｔ　６：３０ｐｍ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｉｎｔｒｏ　ａｎｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ　ｔｏ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ。　Ｗｅ　ｅｎｄｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ　ａｔ　ａ　ｓｔｒｅｅｔ　ｍａｒｋｅｔ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｊｕｌｉｅ　ｈａｄ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｗａｎｔｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ　ｔｏ　ａｎｙｗａｙｓ。　Ｏｕｒ　ｔｏｕｒ　ｌｅａｄｅｒ　ｗｈｏ‘ｓ ｎａｍｅ　ｉｓ　Ｄｒａｇｏｎ　ｄｉｄ　ａｌｌ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｒｄｅｒｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｂｒｏｕｇｈｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｔｕｆｆ　ｏｕｔ。　Ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ｐｒａｗｎｓ，　ｃｒａｂ，　ｄｕｃｋ，　ｔｏｆｕ，　ｂｅｅｆ，　ｆｒｉｅｄ　ｒｉｃｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｓｈｒｉｍｐ，ｎｏｏｄｌｅｓ　ａｎｄ　ｆｒｉｅｄ　ｔｏｆｕ，　ｆｒｉｅｄ　ｓｑｕｉｄ。　Ｉ　ａｔｅ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｎｏｏｄｌｅｓ，ｔｈｅ　ｂｅｅｆ，　ｔｒｉｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｆｕ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｑｕｉｄ　ａｎｄ　ｈａｄ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｒｉｃｅ。　Ｔｈｅｎ　ｉｔ　ｓｔａｒｔｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｒａｉｎ　ｔｏｗａｒｄｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｅｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ　ａｎｄ　ｗｅ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｕｎｄｅｒ　ａ　ｍａｋｅｓｈｉｆｔ　ａｗｎｉｎｇ　ｂｕｔ　Ｉ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｇｏｔ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｗｅｔ。　Ｗｈｅｎ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ　ｗａｓ　ｏｖｅｒ　Ｊｕｌｉｅ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｄｅｃｉｄｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｍａｒｋｅｔ。　Ｊｕｌｉｅ’ｓ　ｍａｉｎ　ｇｏａｌ　ｗａｓ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｈｅｒ　ｆｏｒｔｕｎｅ　ｔｏｌｄ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｍａｒｋｅｔ。 The only guy we saw was the“ｗｏｒｌｄ　ｆａｍｏｕｓ　Ｓｔｅｐｈｅｎ Shum”。 Julie was looking to spend about 20HKD so we went up to ask the price and it was 150HKD which was like 20USD。 So that dream died really quickly。The market was the same as the others just selling knock off crap。

ps. I don't know why it started typing like this. Its China, what can you do?

The Hong Kong Continues...Day Four

Day Four- Temple of 10,000 Buddhas and Market time

For breakfast we decided to stop at this place called Yoshinoya which seemed to be Japanese chain of fast food. I got like a chicken and vegetable bowl. It was pretty much chicken, rice, vegetables and their version of teryaki sauce. The chicken they serve in China is quite interesting. They pretty much use all parts of the chicken (including the feet) so you have to be careful which dish you order. This was just dark meat chicken but it had skin on it. So I think I ended up eating like 1 of the 8 pieces. The vegetables were good. I also had a Pepsi with ice. We were told the water and ice is okay to drink in Hong Kong but not in mainland China.

This day was really Julie's day to choose the activities because I chose to do Macau and that didn't turn out too well. So she wanted to go to the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. It was in Hong Kong but we had to take the East Rail Line to get there so it was a little on the outskirts. We got off at the Shia Tian stop and we actually saw a sign for it. So we had read that it was like 400-500 steps to the top of this temple. We went in the direction it pointed and along the way ran into two other Americans who were looking for it too. We walked up a hill to the large complex on the hill and figured it was it. We took escalators up which we thought was weird. We were walking throughout, taking a couple of pictures and then started to notice how much it looked like a mausoleum. We eventually asked and this lady pulls out a laminated piece of paper that basically said she didn't speak English, that this wasn't the temple of 10,000 Buddhas but that we were very close and it gave directions how to get there. We just started laughing because for this woman to have a laminated piece of paper stating this, she must get tons of people coming in there doing what we did. We eventually went in the direction she gave and man was it a trek. Julie was kind of hauling ass but me and the two guys were taking our time. All along the way up the steps were these statues that were supposed to be like wannabe Buddhas in all these different positions and with different features. When we got to the top there was this temple building and then all these other statues spread throughout like a guy riding a giant blue dog and other random ones. Then in the main building there were all the Buddhas. Apparently there are more like 13,000 Buddhas. They range from little one inch ones to ones that are like 1-2 feet tall. They are all along the wall up and down and then there are these giant ones in the middle. It was very impressive. We roamed around a bit and even went up higher but that just looked like a place where the wannabe Buddhas went to retire because there were a bunch of busted ones.

Eventually we headed back down the hill and decided to head for lunch. Our days usually consist of eat, activity, eat, activity, eat, sleep, and I think you see where I'm going with this. We were recommended by the Renaissance a restaurant in the Chinese cultural center for some dim sum. We headed in that direction. We saw a sign that said something about 2080HKD so we quickly decided to eat elsewhere. We wandered a little and found a museum cafe to eat at. Both Julie and I got chicken in soup with noodles. So it was basically a peppery broth with cabbage, red peppers, and slices of noodles with stringy gross chicken. I just ate the noodles and cabbage mainly. At this point I decided that maybe chicken wasn't the best option.

From there we sat at the harbour and planned our next event. I read in one of our books about a flower market so we headed to Mong Kok to go there. It really wasn't that impressive just a group of shops selling flowers on the same road. It was a nice smell for a change. When I was checking a map I looked down and noticed these two people holding a child and another one was holding a bag beneath it. So basically the kid was peeing on the streets. That was a sight. After the flower market we wandered into a bird market/hangout or as I call, the place to get Avian flu. It was basically a bunch of birds in cages for sale and a couple of locals hanging out with their birds. From there we headed to Goldfish market which was conveniently located down the road. It smelled so bad that we could barely go a block down the road so we took a couple of pictures and headed out. Then we went back down the main street Prince Edward West and saw another market for shopping. It was basically comprised of designer name knock off clothes, shoes, underwear, socks, bags of designers like Dolce and Gabbana, Guess, Burberry, Paul Frank, and tons more. We even saw a jersey that said 50 CENT on it. After that we decided to head back and take a nap and were planning on going out to the Temple Street Night Market and maybe a bar but never made it.

Hong Kong…

Day 1- The Arrival- July 9th-10th, 2008:

Buildings Buildings Everywhere

After a twelve hour flight from LAX to Seoul, Korea followed by a 3 hour flight from Seoul to Hong Kong, I was ready to hit the town…not. I slept on both flights but I don’t know if that was the best idea. When I got in I found the way from the airport to my hotel Renaissance Kowloon quite easily. I refreshed myself and although I was extremely tired, decided I needed to get out and see something. I started one of the walking tours that I printed out from Frommers and it took be down to the harbor. I saw the clock tower, which was what remained of the old train station, which was right on the Harbor. The harbor was an amazing view. The only drawback was that the weather was foggy, cloudy, and rainy. Pretty much like Seattle but add 300% humidity.
From there I decided to go to Harbour City which was a shopping plaza (kind of) comprised of 700 shops. It was one of the most confusing places I’ve been. You could only access certain floors through certain parts of the building. There was like 3 of every store from Burberry, Chanel, Nike, and tons of other name brand stores. If there is one thing I have learned about the Chinese so far, it’s that they love their designer labels. I decided to have lunch in the most authentic place I could find; Pizza Hut. Definitely a strange experience. I ordered a sunshine pizza which was pepperoni and corn but minus the corn for me. The interesting thing was how the waiters and waitresses worked. One person took your order, a different person brought your drink, another person brought whatever part of your meal came out first and then another would deliver your bill but someone different would return with your change. Plus, they just stared at you the whole time waiting for you to finish your plate so they could take it.

Day 2- Disneyland- July 11th, 2008


Nothing is better than that slice of Americana in a foreign country. Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty much the same as the Disneyland in Anaheim but not as developed. They lack many of the key rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan and others but they did have some awesome ones of their own. There was one called Mickey’s Philharmagic, which was a 3-D show similar to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids show at Disneyland Anaheim but this was better because it had smell a vision and Disney songs. They also had this really cool Lion King show that was in a 360-degree room and the action was in the middle of everyone. It kinda felt like an abridged version of a Broadway musical. We also took a little tutorial on how to draw Daisy Duck in Cantonese, which wasn’t that hard to follow actually.
We decided after Disneyland to head to the largest, outside, sitting, bronze Buddha in the world. There is this gondola experience that you can take that takes you all the way up there because it is on the side of a mountain. It’s called the Ngong Ping 360-degrees. The tourist’s books said it was one of the best things to do in Hong Kong. It closed at 6 and we got there at like 6:05 pm but they still let us go anyways. This had to be one of the scariest fucking things I have ever done in my life. This gondola literally went up the side of the mountain and then when you thought you might be there, it just kept going up and up. It was 30 minutes of hell. This thing had to have been at least 500 feet off the ground. We got so high at the end that we were in the clouds. But we survived it. Unfortunately, because we got there so late we didn’t have time to go all the way up to see the Buddha because the last bus down the mountain left at 7pm. We just snapped a few pictures and left.


Day 3- Side trip to Macau- July 12th 2008

This was another recommendation that the tour book talked up left and right, I personally wouldn’t recommend it. First, you have to take a ferry out to Macau from Hong Kong, which takes about an hour each way. The map in my book made it look like a small island; we quickly learned how big it was. It is called the Vegas of Southeast Asia. They have a Venetian, Sands, and a bunch of other Casinos. I mainly wanted to go to see the Macau tower because it was on the Amazing Race. Our plan was to see at least 3 to 4 sites because we had about five hours there; we left at 11:45 am and our return ticket was scheduled for 5:45 pm. The very first thing we did was find the largest chandelier in the world in the lobby of the Sands hotel. We headed for one of the things, which I can’t even remember the name of. It was what was left of a church, basically a facade. We were first going to walk and then seeing how big this island was we took a taxi. The best part was that they had these different blow up versions of the Olympic mascots in the front of it (strangely out of place) playing different sports. Really random in my book. We then walked to a bus map we found on one of our maps. There bus system was a lot more confusing than the lovely tourist book pretends it is. We wanted to go to a temple on the southwest corner of the island but instead we rode a bus for 20 minutes to the northern part of the island. We were pretty much pissed by this point. We had to walk to find another bus in the right direction. Another 30 minutes later we arrived at the A-Ma temple. It was very interesting and ornate. They had a lot of characters carved into the rocks surrounding it. By that time it was time to head back to the Ferry terminal. We finally found the right bus at about 5:20pm. By the time we made it back to the ferry it was 5:50 and we missed our ferry. The best part was that they don’t let you change the ticket once the time had passed so we were out another $20. When we got back we had to change hotels to the West Hotel that is the starting part of our tour. But we still have 2 more full days left in Hong Kong.

My Trip to LA to get Chinese Visas

My experience with the Chinese Consulate in LA.

I flew from Phoenix, AZ to LA at 6am (I eventually got in at 7:30 am and on the road by 8:30 am) just to get visas for my trip to China for Danielle, Julie and Myself. I have over planned my trip and thought I was ready for this little adventure. I was dearly mistaken. I looked at the Chinese Consulate website many times to see the requirements. I had the applications filled out correctly, the pictures were taken in front of the light backgrounds just like they asked and I even got people’s itineraries (even though I didn’t see that as required). I quickly learned that what the website says and what they want are two entirely different things. I got there at 9:30 am and wanted to do the expedited same day service so I had to turn the applications in by noon to get that processed. I waited a little over an hour to get a teller. The place was non-stop packed. I got to the teller by 10:40. None of us had the official passport photos you get at Kinkos or Walgreens but were taken in the manner they described on the website and cut to fit the application. But that is not what they want; they want those official passport photos. At first they were going to accept two (Julie and Mine's) out of the three but once the teller checked with someone in the back about Danielle's, they were all rejected. I pleaded the whole “I’m not from here mantra” but to no avail. I don't think I have begged and pleaded with strangers as much as I did on this day. The best part of this consulate is the only place to park is on the metered streets and there is always someone checking those meters and you technically can only do an hour. So between waiting for your number to pop up, you are constantly feeding the meter. I knew I should have brought someone with me as an assistant but my goal was to lower the costs of actually getting the visas.

The whole event was stressful. I then had to go to Kinkos and try to print what I could for Danielle and Julie because Danielle lives in Tennessee and Julie lives in Wisconsin. So I'm driving through crappy LA traffic, almost getting side swiped every second light to get back in time. So when I'm at Kinko's I'm literally printing off pictures from Julie's myspace page and ended up printing one of her eating jello, but with a little editing it looked somewhat legit. Danielle's on the other hand were a zoomed in shot of her face that were way larger than the dimensions they asked for, but that's all I had to work with. I went back with one of the official photos of myself and two make shift photos. I had grabbed a number on the way out thinking they averaged about 10 numbers a half hour so I could be in line when I got back. I ended up getting back at 11:56 am and they had picked up the pace so my new "clever" number of 73 was long gone and they were on 115. My new number was 143. I had pretty much given up hope and then luckily the security guard took pity on me and gave me a discarded number of 123 so I only had to wait 15 minutes to get to the teller again. Only this time the higher ups she needed to check with weren’t there and I was left to more waiting. She finally called my back up to the window and after profuse begging, they told me the applications were okay but still looked at me with disdain. All I had left to do was to come back after 2:30pm to pick up the visas. Or so I thought.

I hadn’t eaten in 8 hours so I decided to get lunch and I returned at 3:30pm. I ran into a Chinese gentleman in the hall and he asked me some questions and told me the office had closed at 3pm. He told me to come back tomorrow, and once again I begged saying I wasn’t from California and I couldn't. He took pity on me and let me in to the office. Only they wanted me to pay in cash because they’re credit card machines were closed. I personally don’t carry $480 in cash on me so I had to leave again and roam the streets to find an ATM. The teller woman assured me that she would listen for my knock when I came back. I found an ATM and after using three cards and $6 in ATM fees, I returned. I ended up knocking at least 10 times on two separate doors and no response. My breakdown commenced. I was about to give up and then the man from the elevators appeared from some door down the hall and let me in. I groveled and thanked them profusely. I felt like an idiot but at least I got the passports back. I definitely learned a lot from that experience. For instance, it’s much easier to pay a company to do the work for you. Or that you can never trust a communist country's consulate page for instructions on anything. They were a lot nicer to me then they had to be. If this is representative of how crazy it’s going to be when I actually get to China, it’s going to be an exciting trip.

Blogs from the past- The South Pacific- Part Quatre.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Country 3 of 3- Fiji- Yes Naomi I am alive, kinda
Fiji and a little closing on Sydney

I finished out my time in Sydney by going to the opera at the Sydney Opera House. It was "Turandot" by Puccini. It was pretty much the only opera I have ever heard of. It was kinda of a romantic plot after the first couple of guys got killed off. I would recommend it. I can't really remember what else I did in Sydney so I think I will just go onto Fiji.

"Bula" (That means hello in Fijian, yep I am almost fluent)
So I arrived in Fiji and at the airport there were a bunch of Fijian's singing and welcoming. I loved it already. Random people ushering you through the airport to the shuttle for the hostel, confusion arose but I went with it. Then the guy turns on the blaring Fiji music while telling us where "not" to go after 10 pm. It was like a tour through the ghetto. After we got to the hostel they just took down our name and ushered us off to a room with a guy in a security guard outfit leading each of us to our room. It was the weirdest thing.
A thing I came to learn about Fiji was that it was it's own little world and in that world they had their own time frame and their own rules. So when I went to dinner for the first time I was slightly confused. I learned that you sit their and wait for 20 minutes for them to bring you a menu where they immediately ask if you if you know what you want? Which of course you don't because you haven't read the menu so you frantically pick something. Then it takes a good 20 more minutes to actually get your food which will not at all be hot or even warm. Then you have to chase the waitress down for the bill which will take another good 10 minutes. Its what they call "Fiji time." You can't do anything in a hurry there. But I got used to it.
The first day I was there I went into town (Nadi) and wow was that a culture shock. So there were Indians and Fijians and then everyone who was white was obviously a tourist. I had never felt like a minority before that time. But on the drive back to the hotel I drove by what you would likely find in a rather undeveloped country; a McDonald's. I even took a picture.
Well my days in Fiji pretty much consisted of me waking up at about 10am, sitting by the pool and occasionally eating. And then the sun would eventually set and then I would eat something else and watch the nightly movie which were always the weirdest American movies they could find to bring into the country via counterfiting in Thailand. Then I would get up the next day and do it all over again. I have never done so little so many days continuosly. It was awesome. On the last day I went out to one of the islands called "Treasure Island." I picked that one because it sounded the most piratey. My activities were quite similar to my time at the resort but just on the beach instead of the pool. I went snorkeling though. It was awesome. Maybe 5 feet off the beach there were reefs and there were tons of cool fish. It was slightly better than snorkeling at the GB Reef because it was warm and you could see everything so clearly. After about 20 minutes I saw a reef shark and then I got the hell out of the water. My flight was at 10pm that night and I headed back to the good ole US of A. I ended up with a 5 hour lay over in LAX which was lovely to say the least (You got the sarcasm on that one right?). No celebrities this time though which was slightly disappointing. And my flight was only delayed by 30 minutes and I made it home alive.
All in all it was a good time although I caught what I am refering to as the "Fiji Flu" and I also had a little mishap and fell on my knee so with the cough and the bum leg I really felt like a pirate afterwards. It was a good time and I am glad that I went. I will post some pictures soon which will show my journeys. Until another trip. Farewell.

Blogs from the past- The South Pacific- Part Trois.

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Country 2 of 3 still- Part 2- Airlie Beach down to Sydney Category: Travel and Places
Australia Round 2- Journeys between Airlie Beach to Sydney.

I last left off with Naomi and I in Airlie Beach. While there we went on our sailing trip through the Whitsundays. Don't feel bad if you don't know what that is because I sure as hell didn't until someone mentioned it to me at work. Its basically a big group of islands that have mostly remained undeveloped. Well it was a 3 day and 2 night sailing trip. We actually only sailed about 2 times during the entire thing but thats what motors are for. Our bad weather continued except for the 4 hours of sunshine we got when we were at Whitehaven Beach which worked out perfectly. I like to think I got a nice golden tan during that time but I think the sun just got to my brain. It was a nice trip overall but I think I am done with boats for awhile.
After the Whitsundays we decided to continue our travels South down to Hervey Bay. So we took the Greyhound for another lovely night ride which took a little over 12 hours to get there. We stayed at a pretty nice hostel and decided to get a twin share room. So instead of hitting "the town" we took a nice 5 hour nap before heading off to the local watering whole; the Club. It was basically a Members club that served a buffet for cheap and they also had "Pokies" which in American speak are slot machines. But just because its a members club we talked our way in. Well ok we just signed in as guests. I hit the penny slots and wound out on top at the end with $1 in winnings. I was proud of myself. But the buffet was a socialogical experiment in itself. We were the only people in the place under 50 if you don't count the 20 year old guy there with his parents for a free meal. It was pretty entertaining to watch the looks they gave us. We booked a Fraser island tour though so we had to catch that at 6:15 am the next morning.
Fraser island is basically a island of the coast with sand dunes. We took a four wheel bus tour. It was a little rocky. Not much to say there. A lot of trees, some whales off the shore, and a lot of sand.
Fraser island was right off Hervey Bay so when our day tour was over we decided to hit the town again. Naomi found a place in her tour book that had a pizza and pancake "all you can eat" deal. We were pretty stoked which of course led to disappointment and a slightly ill feeling afterward. After that Naomi was intent on finding this Irish pub we saw on the way in. After a good mile walk we finally found it. And the best part of the night followed. Basically we met some weird guys but then we met perhaps the hottest Australian yet. about 6'2" and pretty much fucking hot. After switching bars due to closing hours we ended up talking to him for the rest of the night. We were pretty proud that we finally found a hot Australian and not just another British guy. Definte highlight of the trip and you would understand if you had seen him.
(I know this is getting long but if you know me at all I like to chat and this will save me time when I get back from having to tell you what I did and if you don't read on then you will just feel really left out :)
After that we decided to head down to Noosa Heads. Which basically resembled Malibu, CA. It was gorgeous. It was a quaint little surfer type town that tourists like ourselves have slowly invaded. I did eat the best meal of my entire trip here which was fried rice at an Thai-Malaysian restaurant of course. While there I took a day trip to the Australia Zoo which is the zoo ran by Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter." It was kinda a mix of theme park cheezyness and a zoo. Steve was there that day but I didn't see him, just the scooter he rides around on. I did see some lovely crocs though.
Then came our last stop before Sydney which was Brisbane. Everybody told us not to go there because it sucked and of course they were right. However they did have some crazy nightlife in "The Valley" which the name alone made me think of "Clueless." We went out there and stayed out till like 6 am and but you would have never guessed because the area was just as packed as when we got there. It was basically a block area of bars where the entire city was at. It was the most bizarre thing I had seen in awhile. People were getting in fights and then 5 bouncers would appear out of nowhere and tackle them and put them in headlocks. Plus it was raining which made it more chaotic then it needed to be. It was pretty much ridiculous but worth mentioning.
After Brisbane we had to get down to Sydney for Naomi to catch her flight. That was a 16 hour bus ride. It was the worst of them all. The bus sucked, there were an abnormal amount of crazys on the bus and the hippies behind us kinda smelled. But always a cultural experience and we made it to Sydney without much harm.Sydney is not really what I thought it was going to be. I have hit a bunch of the sites including Bondi beach where there were a total of maybe 10 people on it as opposed to the usual thousand or so when the sun is actually out in the summer. I went to the Zoo yesterday which was pretty good. I saw some local wildlife and the animals were cool too. Just kidding. It had a really good location with Sydney Harbor in the background. I have a couple days left and then I go onto Fiji which hopefully will only involve me lying on a beach. Until then.

Blogs from the past- The South Pacific- Part Deux

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Country 2 of 3- Australia Part 1 Category: Travel and Places
Australia- Cairns down to Airlie Beach

Ok so now I am in Australia. I had to catch a 3 am airport shuttle to leave from Auckland for my 6:30 am flight. That was a little rough. I arrived in Cairns and met up with Naomi. I met some Welsh boys in the lobby who were fans of Lostprophets as well so I knew the trip was going to be good. We had just one night there before going on our dive/ snorkel trip. Naomi did diving because she was certified and I snorkeled. It was a 3 day and 2 night trip. To get to the Great Barriar Reef it took 3 hours and I ended up throwing up about 5 times during that. It was a little crazy though because there were 40 people including the crew on this boat in the middle of nowhere. I ended up going in the water for 7 snorkels. It was like a lovely salt water bath every time. Its a good thing I can't swim very well. I ended up seeing 3 green turtles, 3 stingrays and a bunch of fish and of course coral reefs. We also saw a couple of Minke Whales during the trip too which were cool. The ride back wasn't quite as bad.
The only bad part of this trip so far is that we have had one day of sunshine the entire time. We then went from Cairns to Magnetic Island where everything closes at 9pm. The island boasts that it has 320 days of sunshine during the year, but for us it was cloudy and pissing rain. A little disappointing. But we went to this place where you could hold animals. Naomi and I both ended up holding a snake, a baby croc and a Koala Bear. I even got a fancy picture with the Koala bear. If your lucky I might show it to you when I get back. After Magnetic island we headed further south with our Greyhound bus pass (which is suprisingly not quite as scary as the American version of Greyhound). We are now at Airlie Beach and are going to sail the Whitsundays tomorrow for 3 days. This has definately been a water themed trip between all the rain and the ocean but its been fun so far.