Hindsight and Hindrances

Looking back on my travels thus far, I have to admit I really was the most poorly packed traveler. Let me walk you through the stages of my luggage so you can truly see what I mean. I started with a 100lb. monstrosity of a suitcase, a laptop bag, and an outrageously heavy carry-on. At the airport I added a huge duffel bag when they wouldn't let me on the plane because I was over the weight limit (my bags not me personally). After discarding the duffel upon arrival in Auckland, I purchased a smallish roller duffel bag. Deciding I needed yet another thing to carry, I bought a full-size backpack in Queenstown. When I arrived in Christchurch, I subsequently sold both roller suitcases and sent home the carry-on bag along with 50lb. of luggage. Last week when I happened upon a suitcase store in Surfer's Paradise, I bought a small laptop-compatible backpack. With a new home for my computer, I no longer needed my insanely heavy laptop bag and sold that in Brisbane. I now am down to two backpacks, small and large. This entire luggage shuffle took me three months to complete. Just think if I had started with the two backpacks in the first place, how much money and energy I could have saved myself on the trip. Instead, I thought it'd be fun to continuously buy and sell various bags, the route I mistakenly took. For future travelers, I advise against it.

Today Rosemary, Chris, and I ventured out to Redcliffe, a cute little town right near the water. I packed my bathing suit and towel all ready for the beach after days cooped up in the house due to rain. We arrived in town after a few wrong turns (and finally a few right ones) and strolled for a bit. We realized that barely anyone was laying out on the sand and not a soul was in the water, and after looking over the pier, I could see why. Huge, blue jellyfish were swimming (or floating is more accurate) in abundance. I don't know if they were killer jellyfish, as Australia harbors a few types, but all jellyfish sting nevertheless, and we decided swimming wasn't such a swell idea. After observing multitudes of people wearing bathing suits and toting towels and coolers down a path, Rosemary and I decided to check it out seeing as they weren't headed for the beach. At the bottom was a huge park area and swimming lagoon, the place where the whole town had apparently decided to congregate for the day. Rather than take a dip with the hundreds of screaming children and parents, we all hopped in the car and headed back to Brisbane. I spent a good part of the rest of the day on a chair in the backyard reading in the sun. I'm determined to get some semblance of a tan. No one is going to even believe I was in Australia looking as milky as I do.

After being here for a few weeks, I've noticed that Australia has a few interesting quirks that I find a bit over the top. I can see the need for some. For instance, how they prohibit the use of hose water because there's a massive drought. It doesn't seem to matter that the entire country is surrounded by water. In fact, the drought is so bad that the Australian government is considering the use of recycled water. I don't know about you, but I'd love to drink what my neighbor flushed down the toilet that morning. Or I can see how many restaurants forbid the use of doggy bags due to the new standards of food handling. They are trying to avoid any risk of food contamination for which the restaurant may be liable. It doesn't matter that it's a risk most people are willing to take to squeeze every dollar out of their food purchase. "This will be my lunch for the next three days" is a common exclamation we've all heard from the lady at the table next to us. Those restrictions I can somewhat understand. But the other day I was watching a T.V. program that displayed a mature audience label for 1) some graphic language, 2) a (just one) sex scene, and 3) supernatural themes. Who warns against supernatural themes? I didn't know they had been deemed offensive. I also saw a commercial (a commercial!!) with a label that cautioned "Infrequent Moderate Coarse Language." Do they say the word "heck" once or something? Australia just takes PC to a whole new level.

Merry Christmas to All!!

I bought a pair of Thai fisherman pants when I was in Byron Bay, and they are my new favorite article of clothing. However, when I washed them the other morning the color, a burnt orange, bled terribly. It turned my formerly black, green, white striped shirt to a black, green, orange striped shirt and my once teal top to more of a seafoam green with orange streaks. The label on the pants advised washing dark colors separately. My darks were the only ones unaffected. If I had washed the pants with only light colors, my new favorite color would have to be orange. I think I'll wash the pants separately from now on.

I arrived in Brisbane a few days ago and yesterday I spent a lovely Christmas with my new friends, Chris and Rosemary. While everyone back in NY was probably dressed in sweaters and pants, I was sweating dressed in shorts and my newly-oranged tank top. It was indeed strange for a Christmas day. Rosemary was intent on stuffing us full of good food, which she'd been doing to me since I stepped in their home, and organized a fantastic spread. The day started out with munch food, then came the seafood, followed by the main dishes of turkey, stuffing, ham, and five different salads, and finally Christmas pudding with vanilla custard for dessert. The food was excellent, as both Chris and Rosemary have culinary backgrounds, and I had to roll my tired self back to my room at the end of the night. If you can't spend Christmas with your family and you're in Australia, Chris and Rosemary's is the way go. They are extremely hospitable hosts, and I was happy to spend the holiday with them.

Town of Glitz and Glam

Sadly enough, Shannon and I parted ways when I arrived in Surfers Paradise last night, the town of glitz and glam. She headed straight on to Brisbane. Surfers, as the locals call it, has a very Vegas feel to it with tons of high rises, resorts, and lights, lights, lights. It’s very different from Byron, which I loved. I had booked a surf package in Byron, which included two days of lessons and I had a great time learning Australia’s pastime. I was able to stand up twice on the board on my own on my first day and on the second day, though I was tired and had a headache from the night before, I was even better. I stood and rode the waves in the majority of the time. I was really happy I learned to surf because I’m hoping to rent boards on my way north along the east coast and practice. Not only is surfing a fun activity but it’s a great workout. I was so tired after the second day that I fell asleep at 9pm, party animal that I am, and slept basically through the entire night.

I took a walk last night around Surfers and if you had told me I was in South Beach, I would have believed you. The town is littered with restaurants, bars, shops, and neon signs. Surfers is a tad tacky and caters to a certain type of tourist – those with money and those looking to get drunk.

I had set out originally in search of ice cream. After coming up empty, I asked a convenience store clerk who directed me toward Baskin Robbins in the mall, which would surely be closed, so I said thank you and left. I came upon a waffle café that served milkshakes, decided that would do, ordered, and headed toward the beach. As I got closer, I found myself smack in the middle of all the tacky action. There were people everywhere enjoying leisurely dinners, perusing the sale racks at shops, and sauntering toward the bars all snazzed up for a night on the town. I walked around for a bit sipping my milkshake and taking in the sights. I knew I wasn’t in Byron anymore when I spotted a Louis Vuitton. I walked past at least nine different ice cream parlors/gelaterias in the span of three blocks. The convenience store clerk had failed to mention these.

Though I’d eaten dinner already, I stopped into a pizzeria called “New York Slice Pizza.” I just had to take a look. The slices looked New York enough, but they probably wouldn’t have been as good. However, at 5.50AUD apiece it was not “New York Price Pizza.” Speaking of New York delicacies, I was craving a bagel yesterday morning so Shannon and I walked around Byron until we found a place serving them, and I happily paid the exorbitant 4.50AUD. However, I unhappily ate the cream cheesed sandwich roll with no hole set before me. It was a sorry excuse for a bagel, and I was disappointed.

I was hoping to head to the beach today, but I woke up to an overcast sky. Instead, I’ll probably walk around and check out the shops and hope the weather clears later on. I’m still searching for a denim skirt and a decently priced bathing suit. Tomorrow I’m heading to Brisbane for Christmas. I’m really looking forward to spending the holiday with a family and not in a hostel. I’m also looking forward to checking out of my accommodation in Surfers. The room I’m staying in is about half the size of my room at home and is currently housing six people. It also has no air conditioning or real ventilation of any sort, so I was roasting in my tiny upper bunk last night.

Land of the Kangaroos

On Saturday, I went on the Blue Mountains tour. As expected it was raining during the entire hike, not quite pouring but combined with the freezing temperature, enough to make it slightly unbearable. I kept thinking, “I will not do any more tours in the rain. I will not do any more tours in the rain.” I’ve heard how spectacular the Blue Mountains are but I really couldn’t tell you because at every lookout all I saw was a sheet of white fog. Thankfully the weather did clear a bit later in the day, and I was able to get a nice view of the Three Sisters rock formation.

My two favorite parts of the day, neither of which included the Blue Mountains, were riding the steepest railway up to the top of the mountain after clambering down 1,000 muddy, slippery wet steps that wreaked havoc on my older-than-their-years knees and viewing Eastern Grey kangaroos in the wild. I quite enjoyed lunch as well. The railway is a renovated coal-carrying car that was used to transport coal from the mines to the top of the mountain. It is the steepest railway train and if it were any steeper, it would be straight up; it was almost like riding a roller coaster.

Before starting the hike the tour guide drove to a park where kangaroos roam free. They are quite cute animals and surprisingly unafraid of people as I was standing only a few feet from them and they happily went on eating grass undisturbed by my presence. An interesting fact about kangaroos is that the females are the only animals that can hold off on pregnancy. They have the ability to hang onto a fertilized egg until they are ready to become pregnant again. Imagine if humans had that capability; it would certainly cut down on the number of unplanned pregnancies. You’d be able to say, “I’m not ready for this baby yet. I think I’ll just save the fertilized egg for later.” Think how much easier life would be if you could schedule your child for an appropriate time.

Saturday night was my hostel’s Christmas party, which turned into a big rowdy affair. I had a great time and especially enjoyed watching the drunken Christmas pirates, Christmas skeletons, and Christmas knights. I suppose you can make any costume Christmas-y by throwing on a Santa hat or just by being drunk enough to think it’s Christmas-y. Regardless, it was quite the spectacle and fairly amusing to see the train wrecks passed out in the T.V. lounge the following morning. There were many rough-looking revelers dragging themselves around the hostel on Sunday, let me tell you.

I took an overnight bus on Sunday from Sydney to Byron Bay. I’m a real fan of overnight buses, especially when they are empty enough to claim two seats for yourself. They save you on accommodation for the night and rather than wasting a day staring out a bus window, they turn traveling into a painless process. You board at night, sleep, and arrive in the morning. I’m planning on taking as many overnight buses as possible from now on.

I arrived in Byron Bay yesterday morning to an impossibly sunny sky. I spent the day at the beach working on my pseudo-tan. I did get a bit of color but I’m diligent about sunscreen so not too much color. The sun in Australia can be brutal particularly because of the hole in the ozone layer over the country so I was careful not to let myself burn. I didn’t want to ruin the rest of my days here by getting sun poisoning on my first venture down to the beach.

Byron Bay is the hippiest of hippy towns and as a matter of course is big on alternative therapies, dreadlocks, and yoga so I decided to connect my mind and body last night at a yoga class. Shannon, my travel partner from California, and I took an hour and a half yoga class. We were the only two people who attended so it was almost like a private session. I've been so inactive since I started traveling because it's really not feasible to join a gym or anything, so I felt really relaxed and toned after the class last night and I hope to take another one tonight after my first surf lesson tomorrow.

Rain Rain Go Away

Yesterday, I joined my hostel’s Sydney orientation walk, a 3 ½ hour trek around the city highlighting all points of interest from the opera house to the harbor bridge to the Anzac War Memorial. I essentially covered all of my sightseeing in a day while meeting a ton of people and sweating my butt off in the sweltering sun. To top it all off, we congregated in the bar for a free beer at the end.

After, I headed to Paddy’s Market, a basic garden-variety flea market touted for its cheap deals. But I have to say the prices weren’t bargain basement by any means, and I’m crap at haggling which wasn’t a good combination and hence not a successful trip. I did buy a cute weather-appropriate top for 20AUD, but considering how weak the US dollar is, I totally overpaid. I really liked it though and as Shannon, my shopping buddy, pointed out I could dress it up or down making it a worthwhile purchase. I was also in search of a short denim skirt to wear with everything but they were all only suitable for 12-year-olds and covered only one of my thighs. I suppose I’ll have to go to an actual store to buy something that fits a normal-sized female, though that may not be successful either considering how much skin Aussies love to bare.

I was supposed to go on the Bondi-Coogee beach walk today, which I was really looking forward to, but after showering and throwing on my bathing suit, I finally looked outside to see it pouring rain. Needless to say the trip was cancelled to my dismay. Instead, a small group of us took a trip out to Sydney Aquarium. It was a perfect rainy day activity, and I was able to see a variety of sharks, seals, fish, and other marine life. My favorite had to be the platypus. I’d never seen one up close and they are really amusing animals to watch.

I’m only going to be in Sydney for another two days before heading to Byron Bay, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it to the beach, especially because the weather isn’t forecasted to clear up for a few days. I’m going to try to get out to Bondi before my bus leaves on Sunday night; it’s a staple tourist destination and I can’t leave Sydney without seeing it. Tomorrow I have a Blue Mountains tour planned, so I’m really crossing my fingers that the rain will stop. If not, it’ll probably end up being another miserable tour in the rain, Franz Josef Glacier style (if you all remember that disaster.)

Outback Country

I arrived in Sydney last night after a decently pleasant flight from New Zealand. I had enjoyed my time in Taupo, especially white water rafting though I twisted my knee, but it was time for me to continue my trip. After spending the last few weeks in a small town, Sydney is quite a change – it has all the hustle and bustle of a truly cosmopolitan center.

After arriving at the airport, I waited almost an hour for the shuttle bus driver to take me to the hostel because she was waiting on more people. God forbid she drives just one person. Honestly, it was 8:15 at night – how many people did she think needed to be taken to hotels? After a few more people joined the shuttle (I found myself trying to coax people into the van just so we’d leave) I finally arrived at my hostel around 9:30 last night.

As far as appearances go, the hostel seems to offer every amenity one could want – internet, café, bar, lounges, etc. – but I’m not particularly pleased. For starters, they stuck me in a room with 6 guys, the kitchen is dirty and too small to accommodate the volume of people passing through, and the reception desk attendants hover on the verge of rude. I forgot to add that my room isn’t even fit for pigs, which isn’t the hostel’s fault but I’ll blame them anyway. I’m rooming with the dirtiest people I’ve ever met, especially my bunkmate who from the look of things deemed himself the lord of the room. His stuff is absolutely everywhere, covering every inch of space within a 5 ft. radius of the bed, hanging from every available railing, and sitting on top of the entire “communal” table. I want to take it all and dump it on his bed. (Side note: When I got back to my hostel today, there was a note on my door that our room is to be cleaned by the staff. I guess they got the hint when I asked to change rooms.)

However, the hostel does have one of the most helpful travel desks I’ve ever seen. The travel agent provided me with so much information on activities that my head was spinning – in a good way. I’m now very excited to start my Australian adventure, whereas beforehand I tired at just the thought of planning another country-wide trip.

After I went food shopping today, which by the way I’ll have to stop eating bananas because they are so expensive here, I decided to walk around and get a feel for the city. My roommate, Michael (not my pig bunkmate), and I made our way to Sydney Tower, which has the highest observation deck in the southern hemisphere towering 250m over the city. We looked out over Sydney from the observation deck and participated in the OzTrek, a cheesy simulated journey through the different areas of Australia. It was more funny than informative, but better than sitting at the hostel I guess. Sydney reminds me a lot of Auckland or Wellington in New Zealand, but I suppose all cities tend to look alike after awhile. There aren’t many variations on tall, brick buildings and crowded streets to set a city apart from another.

Travel Hiatus

In response to overwhelming inquiry, I decided to post and let you know that I am currently safe and sound – not dead, dismembered, laid up in the hospital, or being held for ransom as some of you have taken to believe. I have been in Taupo for almost two weeks now and will be for another week before I head to Australia, and for the majority of my time here, I have redefined the term lazy. My days consist of sleep, TV, and food, and rather than regale you with my tales of total mental and physical lethargy, I have held off on posting. I have managed to tear myself away from the couch to go for the occasional walk (and I plan to white water raft tomorrow), but other than that I am sad to report that my heart rate has barely risen above that of a comatose patient. I am essentially on travel hiatus, a seeming oxymoron, but a true description of my current situation.

And so I ask you all to stop worrying and wondering, I will be back posting in full force once I reach Australia in a week or so (December 12th exactly for you stalwarts) and I’ll catch up with all of you then.