Asia-lite

So, I’m back on the road again! Well, nearly… I’m actually in a small town/suburb north of Perth, where I’m planning on settling down for the next 6 months - providing I find work. It’s beautiful here, by the beach, the smell of eucalyptus… feels like California somehow. So I’m really hoping to find work, and make some friends, now the jet-lag’s finally wearing off.

On the way to Perth I stopped in to visit an old work mate in Singapore for a few days. It also coincided with my Birthday - well I figured I hadn’t spent a Birthday in Asia yet! And I’m still not sure that I have. Singapore is very much “Asia-lite”. It’s westernised facilities with an Asian cultural background. They even speak English lah! (OK, well “Singlish”, but technically it’s the same language). There are lots of rules and laws. It’s illegal for two men to have sex. Apparently it’s OK to be a lesbian though. I wonder whether that’s because the politicians don’t mind watching the ladies? Which leads me onto the next bizarre law: It’s illegal to be naked in your own home. Unlike at home, if someone’s watching you through the windows of your home and you’re naked, they’re not a peeping-tom, you’re an exhibitionist! So how do they take showers…?

In Singapore I mostly ate at home, and we ate European food (and some very delicious Tzatziki at his Greek friends house). I did, however, get to try some traditional Singaporean cuisine on my first night in Singapore, in a very lovely seafood place around the corner from my friends compound. I had Chilli Crab - basically a whole crab (on which I broke a tooth. On my first night out of the UK, at least it was on something yummy!) swimming in a sauce of chilli sauce. Also deep-fried whole prawns coated in cereal - a bit like eating a bowl of warm muesli dry and finding prawns in it! Apparently you can eat them whole, crunching through the shells. I was more keen on removing them and eating the delicious prawn inside! Apparently the locals suck the brains out of the prawns as they believe that it gives them “power”. That seems to apply to a lot of foods. The more gross, the more power seems to be the rule with food! But only to be eaten in a designated area. No eating or drinking in many places - including on trains and on station platforms. But it’s so hot does this include water? There are so many rules that I wonder whether that’s why everyone seems to smoke - maybe it’s the last rebellion allowed?

I didn’t really do much sightseeing in Singapore. To be honest there aren’t really many sights. Unless you’re interested in shopping. There are a lot of malls. And most of the shops are incredibly familiar. Either from the UK, or Australia. I did take a wander around ‘Little India’, which was full of impressive moustaches and shops selling gold and saris. To be honest it reminded me of a warm, sunny Bradford. So not Bradford at all!

We also went out on Clarke Quay. The best way I can think to describe this is “Disneyland for adults”. It’s bright - almost garish - with lots of places to eat and drink, all a bit quirky, and various rather strange sculptures… One of the bars we passed was clearly based on a medical theme. People sat on benches made from hospital gurneys cut in half and had drinks hanging from bags on drips. Fortunately I didn’t notice anyone actually taking their cocktails intravenously, instead they seemed to drink from syringes. I couldn’t help but wonder whether they were sterile sealed syringes, or from the local hospital… We later went along to Boat Quay where we had a drink in a classic British pub (I assume it was British rather than Irish because of the name: “The Penny Black”, but we went there for the Guiness). Interestingly this row of pubs and bars, along the waterfront, seemed to be where all the ex-pats and tourists hung out, whereas parallel to the water, one street further in, was where Singapore hung out - complete with very bad karaoke issuing from most bars.

My last day in Singapore was spent wandering along walkways above rainforest in and connecting the park areas of Singapore. We got caught by an approaching thunderstorm and so took a cable car down from Mt Faber (I think) back to “civilisation” (another shopping mall) just as the rain started. This afforded a fantastic view of the jungle behind, and the jungle of cranes at the docks ahead, both of which were quickly obscured as the rain grew heavier!

To be honest all of Singapore is a jungle. There’s the green canopy of trees, and above the grey canopy of high-rise buildings. On the ground, instead of leaf-litter there’s, well, strict fines if you drop litter, so it’s pretty clean. It does feel like the city is growing as part of the forest though. And I guess there’s not a lot of choice than to grow up. Singapore is a small country. On the plane on the way to Perth I spoke to a man who lives in Malaysia. Except his closest airport is Singapore. So he hops across the border to catch flights, but lives in the green space allowed by having just that bit more land.

So that’s Singapore really. An interesting place that seems to be an Eastern caricature of Western life.

Melbourne smells of eucalyptus

I just needed everyone to know that. I don't think it's just because of the smoke that continues to wrap the city.

My job has extended for another couple of weeks, so I may just be able to fly back out to Australia... I'm taking it one day at a time at the moment!

By the way, the fires didn't get as far as Melbourne

Just for those of you who sent me worried emails - the worst we got was a lot of smoke (which is still around) and ash. And a few days of searing heat (46.4C being the highest I think).

The end is nigh?

The dream may well be coming to an end. A combination of the plummetting pound draining my finances rather earlier than expected and the global financial crisis making it nearly impossible to find work have meant that I have no money. Sure I have a job (I started yesterday!), but it's only a temporary assignment, I don't know how long it will last and rent will be due before I'm paid. It looks like when I head back for Sarah and Simons wedding, that will be it. I won't be able to afford to fly back out. And even if I could afford to I wouldn't be able to support myself job-hunting (not to state the obvious or anything, but you can't draw on the dole as a foreign national!). So I guess this means back to the world of Blighty and trying to find a "real" job then? Or at least something that will tide me over and let me save money so I can escape again? What a waste of the "once in a lifetime" working holiday visa... Do you think I can claim my visa fees back on the basis there isn't work? At this point I'm open to any ideas/suggestions/offers of work/free flights/free accommodation....

Brits in Melbourne on Australia Day

Well what have I been up to? Mostly job hunting. That's it really. Oh and melting in 41C heat (seriously, it's like walking around with a large hairdryer blowing at you outside). What have I learnt? The global financial crisis has hit jobs in Australia, hangovers are even less fun when it's steaming hot and you have no aircon, I still have no idea when guys are flirting with me, and me and Mhairi should NEVER be left unsupervised with alcohol. That last one is a VERY important rule. Which got broken briefly again on Australia Day (26th January for anyone NOT Australian) as we gave up on being tourists and joined the locals having a few beers in the botanic gardens. Fortunately we were soon rescued by the boys from the hostel returning and... well encouraging us to have more beers by the river instead (what seems to be an Australia Day tradition). However we did behave ourselves very well under supervision. It was Irish Mark who did an Irish Jig for the crowd and Canadian Wes who decided it was a good idea to swim across the jellyfish infested Yarra river (another tradition apparently). He didn't get stung, but he did emerge with a lovely cut on his foot. Which was duely ignored by the 3 medical students we had with us. So yes, I am getting indoctrinated into the Australian way of life, which seems to involve cold beers in hot places.

Japan or Melbourne?

Having now found a reasonable Japanese restaurant (with lots of cheap sashimi) and a Japanese style karaoke booth bar I find myself today feeling rather nostalgic for Japan. And with a sore throat!

I'm also getting a bit nostalgic for St Arnauds hostel, which has become a bit like a second home (albeit one where your room is shared with snorers and borderline alcoholics...), as tomorrow I check out. Yes, I have somewhere to live!! I will be living in Prahan for the next 6 months with two lovely Australian girls (address available on request). Now all I need is a job to pay the rent...

Sweden is a bad influence...

...yes the whole country. But they know how to rock!

Of course drinking on a Thursday night is only possible as I still have no job or flat. I'm ever hopeful... but 37C heat makes it rather hard to think, let alone trapse round town!

New year, new job?

OK, so I'm still job hunting, but everything closed down for ages over Christmas and New Year here and is only just starting up again. I'm ever hopeful that I'll find something soon - I've blitzed with my CV, so we'll see.

In the meantime I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs! I have explored Melbourne with Geoff. This included taking in "The Life of Brian" under the stars (and bats!) in the botanic gardens on Christmas Eve, meaning that for the whole rest of the time we have been bursting into song (or more often whistling). When Geoff wasn't asking "are we nearly there yet" - despite my constant reminders that life's not about the destination, it's about the journey. That's as philosophical as this post's going to get - it's all downhill from here.

We have also explored the Melbourne Museum (lots of cool buttons to press and interesting insights like "canoes need oars"), St Kilda Beach (rather a disappointment after many of the beaches I've been to with soft white sand and no litter... but we did see a baby penguin on the pier),the Melbourne State Library (complete with quiet room surrounded by metal steps that echo fantastically if you hit them just right with a flipflop - you have to try hard though! Oh, and Ned Kellys armour), the Dandenongs (courtesy of Imtiaz who couldn't think of anything else to show us), Melbourne Aquarium (which I'd probably have enjoyed more if it wasn't New Years Day and therefore the way perspective changes as you walk past curved tanks was REALLY trippy) and Melbourne Gaol (which is where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and hung, and would make a really good hostel!). Oh, and the Great Ocean Road, let's not forget that! Which was really impressive, if chilly. Great for the "rock scientist" (Geoff). The trip was short and fun, taking in many of the sights like the 12 apostles (there aren't 12 and no-one seems to know exactly how many there are - you wouldn't have thought that rocks could move THAT fast would you?!) and London Bridge (which really IS falling down), as well as allowing ample time for koala spotting! I learnt (again - but I keep forgetting!) that it's COLD along the coast here. Geoff learnt that he looks like he has a bad case of dandruff all day if he does a headstand on the sand...

So New Years Eve was spent drinking in the hostel with the Swedish contingent (a Swedish family and friends), Ricardo, Thomas and Fabrice (the campervan boys) and a British couple before we headed off towards Federation Square at about 11pm. We never made Fed Square, we ended up viewing the midnight fireworks from the forbidden position (as it's the best position!) of the bridge beside Fed Square. Not before we lost the Swedish contingent. And found them again by Geoff bellowing "SWEDEN" as they passed in the crowd! Alcohol was forbidden in public. So obviously several groups had plastic bottles filled with "ribena". After midnight (and an impromptu performance of acapella Swedish rap...) we headed to Fed Square (finally getting there around 1am!) and ended up standing in the middle of the road, where the tram tracks cross, outside Flinder Street Station - what a great place for drunken photos... which are up on facebook now... Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas from the sunshine!

OK, so it certainly doesn't FEEL like Christmas, but the calender definitely says that it's the 25th of December, so therefore that MUST be the reason I've eaten many mince pies today... Merry Christmas from someone who's spent much of the day chilling in the garden with a cold beer!

Melbourne or bust!

To cut a long story short, I made it to Melbourne. There you go, that's it - shortest blog EVER!

OK, maybe not, it's just that I've been a bit lazy about updating my blog lately, having had very rare (and very expensive) access to t'internet, so I don't really know where to start. I can't tell all, so maybe I'll just tell a few short stories...

At some point I realised we were in termite country. I think I first noticed it as we shook our way along a dirt track to yet another free camping area. Every dirt track is a challenge, and it isn't only small roads that can be unsealed. You can have followed a seemingly quite major road for 50km only to find that there's 20km of dirt road in the middle before you get back to the tarmac at the other end. Some dirt tracks are fine, but it has been raining (yes - really) and many tracks have had dust rivers washed away and potholes enhanced. This tested Ricardos driving skills to the limit (thank goodness we had the brakes replaced eh?), and also tested the fittings in the van as they squeaked and rattled more and more. Anyway, I digress. When you see one termite mound you see more and more and eventually you wonder just how many you passed without seeing, and they can't suddenly have 'appeared' right? The termite mounds are a good indication of the colour of the soil - never brown, but varying shades of orange from yellow through to red. Which makes me wonder whether the 'dusting' of colour on the tops of all the trees is dust or flowers. I suspect flowers, but it really does look like the termite mounds are mini-volcanoes that have shot plumes of dust up to the treetops.

Last time I wrote I believe I talked about our encounters with wildlife. Well since then we found possums that were even braver than our rubbish bin raiding kangaroo. We had possums IN the van. They chewed a banana and an orange that we then left close enough to us to get some decent photos whilst they finished them off. Or at least we would have if possum world war III hadn't started - oops! Who'd have thought that something as simple as a misunderstanding (in this case over a banana) could cause a war *ahem*. Other wildlife encounters were less cute and cuddley. Yes a huntsman spider tried to get in the van. And it nearly did. It turns out that the "insect killer spray" that Ricardo had doesn't do what it says on the tin. Fortunately my 40% DEET insect repellant DOES kill big spiders. Nice to know! (And yes, I did sleep with it beside me that night... just in case...)

We spent a few days in the Snowy Mountains. Only a few days though. It was VERY cold at night (below 4 degrees) - OK, so that's not as cold as most of you guys are at the moment (he he he!), but you were not in a little camper van. Trust me when I say it was COLD. And the roads winding, and the views spectacular. What else can I say except that we pushed not showering to the limits (yes there were rivers. Need I remind you how COLD it was? And that Mount Kozioszco still had patches of snow on the top? Yes smelling WAS the better option!)

So at some point we had the luck to happen across the Blue Pools campsite. Another free campsite. Recently built compost toilets (ie the door still shut, even if it didn't lock). Looked just like any other campsite at first glance (except it was all on a bit of a slope). Then we wandered off looking for firewood and found the bathroom... (now's the time to look at the video below!) We spent an extra night there to explore. Went for a lovely bushwalk the next day, with a little light rain falling. One thing that's different about Australian rain is that there's a lot of space in between drops, so you hardly even notice that it's raining, especially when it's warm. Of course it does rain heavily (as we discovered later that night), but during the day it was "lovely weather for a bushwalk" as we were greeted by the local guy prospecting for gold at the river at the apex of the walk (which had no bridge. I was wearing crocs, so just waded through, fortunately for Ricardo our gold prospecter had a spere pair of wellies in his car and threw them across to him!). This chirpy chappy told us where to find gold near our campsite, so we spent a pleasant few hours in the afternoon prospecting for gold in a wok. And yes we did find some! And boy we must have looked daft!

That evening the heavens opened and a proper downpour prevented any firelighting (even using firelighters made from nasty fake marshmallows (so much stuff here is just way too sugary - even for me!) wrapped in free newspapers from the tourist office). So we were huddling under a tiny canopy with Riocardo attempting to find exactly WHERE that water that was dripping in his dinner was coming from, when the only other van in the site regurgitated one of its occupants. Which is how we met Fabrice and Thomas from the French Alps. They invited us over for some wine, and by the end of the evening we'd decided to travel together! The next morning I woke early (for someone who'd been up drinking with French guys until late) and went for a swim in the pool from which the campsite took its name. Which isn't blue by the way, but is more a kind of greenish brown, as that is the colour of the rocks underneath. The water is incredibly clear, but the pool so deep in the middle that even with a snorkelling mask on you can't see the bottom. Did I mention how COLD the pool was too - I have no idea where the water came from, but seeing as we were at the edge of a mountain range it'd be fair to say that it's probably partially snowmelt. And it was freezing! And therefore a very SHORT pre-breakfast swim, but very pleasant nevertheless as the sun was shining and the wind hadn't yet picked up for the day. And boy did the wind pick up....

So we headed off down Wilsons Promotory with the French guys. By this time the weather had changed and it was tipping it down with a bit of a gale blowing. Just like summer in England really. On our way to the Prom we stopped off for lunch outside a pub (having found no rest areas). Here we got talking to the local lads (although where they live I couldn't tell you as the town seemed to consist of a pub, a service station and a shop/chippy - incidently, they don't do proper chips with their fish and chips down here). The local lads insisted on buying us drinks (well, me and Thomas, Ricardo and Fabrice were driving) and kept feeding Thomas Aussie speciality after speciality (and I tried a "Bundy" for the first time - Bundaburg rum and coke in a can - very nice!). They then put music (power rock) on the jukebox and rocked out to Aussie music, which they were then shocked that we'd never heard. One of the guys ran to his truck and grabbed a few CDs of MP3 files with "Aussie music" on them. Although when we finally managed to look at the files most of the bands seemed to be American or British... maybe he gave us the wrong discs?

The time at the pub definately made us care a little less about the storm at the campsite down at Wilsons Prom. Well, me and Thomas cared less - we had the warming power of alcohol inside us, Fabrice and Ricardo had been wrestling with the vans in the wind, dodging branches and in some cases trees, and now they were stuck with two giggling idiots in the rain. Fortunately with two campers and two canopies one of the giggling idiots (yours truely) realised that we could build a room with 3 walls and a roof in an attempt to stay warm and dry. We stayed nearly dry and nearly warm (obviously the wine had to be drunk for its medicinal warming properties...). The next morning we realised that it wasn't a good idea for Thomas and Fabrice to go to bed without finishing their bag of wine (the seagulls had pecked it open), and that the parrots are just as dangerous as seagulls if you have food... I had a parrot walk onto my head, then later one landed on the arm of my chair, walked across my knees to the other arm, then back again, whilst another flew in and landed on my head. And all because I was eating tortilla chips! Wilsons Prom (the Southernmost point in mainland Australia) turned out to be very pleasant in the sunshine, even though half the paths from the campsite to the bridge across the adjacent river were flooded and "squeaky beach" was so wet that the sand didn't squeak at all. I feel a little short-changed about that....

And so much more has happened besides! I have been within 200 km of Horsham (Victoria), and found a coffee shop that does Fairtrade coffee (in Ballarat) and serves very delicious "something wicked?". So it's probably just as well that I'm no longer in Ballarat and am in Melbourne for the forseeable future. And the sun has come out!

White sand, white surf

Ah yes, I'm headed down the coast between Sydney and Melbourne in a camper van with a German guy called Ricardo. So far we've made it to Horseshoe bay. Having seen many beautiful beaches, and much wildlife en route. Most of the wildlife has been flies. Although we did spend a night with wombats and kangaroos on site in Kangaroo Valley, where the wombats wandered under the van, rocking it in the middle of the night. Then there were the Possums in Jervis bay, so unafraid of us that one ran straight into me in the dark whilst they were busy fighting. And then there was the kangaroo that snuck up on us and raided our bin with me sitting under a metre away!



But the scariest encounter was the one with the huntsman spider than ran across the table (in the dark) and I saw it just as it approached, and climbed, our full bottle of wine... I'm very proud of the fact that I DIDN'T scream! And boy did I NEED a drink after that one! (A friendly Aussie guy removed it for us, after laughing quite a lot at the look on our faces!). And there is so much more to tell, but the sun is shining, the sand is white, and the sea blue, so why would I stay in here any longer than necessary?!

Who needs money anyway?

Erm... well I do, but not just yet. I can probably survive a bit longer without finding work. And with the complete lack of work available in Sydney (at least if you don't have any previous bar or restaurant experience) I have changed my plans. I will no longer be in Sydney for New Year. I will be in Melbourne. And I'm getting there in a camper van with a German guy I barely know taking about a month to explore the Snowy Mountains and the coast! We plan to arrive in Melbourne a few days before Christmas, but this is pretty much as far as the planning has gone... I thought it was about time I did something a bit more adventurous! The freedom of the open road!

So what have I done in Sydney then? I went to Manly (it was freezing) and watched people learning to surf (I wasn't daft enough to get into that sea - brrr!). I have thoroughly explored the botanic gardens and managed not to get shat on by a fruit bat. I have seen the opera house, wandered along the bridge, been confused by the anti-tardis effect of the modern art gallery (really it DOES look a lot bigger from the outside!) and explored the observatory. I have not visited the Blue mountains or Bondi (it has been unseasonably wet here). I do fly out of Sydney though, so I can always come back for a few days...

Anyway, I don't know how often I'm going to find internet, or even much more civilisation than a long-drop and a BBQ (or more likely just the BBQ), over the next few weeks, but I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I finally make it to Melbourne...

Where are the flatshares?

So far I have had very little luck with finding accommodation in Sydney. OK, I tell a lie. There is lots of accommodation if you want to be someones live-in whore, or if you want to share a box-sized room with 2 other Korean girls in Chinatown. However, if you just fancy having your own room with a group of like-minded people (and not have to worry that you put your shoes in the wrong place for 2 months), and you don't fancy being a live-in whore ("don't reply to this advert if you don't know what I'm after if you know what I mean..."), then there are very few choices unless you're willing to sign up to a 3-6 month contract. One option is becoming an au pair (but you do have to deal with their kids then). Another is a long-stay hostel. However, long-stay hostels all kick you out over Christmas and New Year (not a time I fancy being homeless) and not having a job yet I'm not sure that I'm enamoured enough with Sydney to stay here for that long if I can't stay or New Year... I have heard about a waitressing job at the Opera House which I'm going to see about tomorrow though, and i I get that then I probably will stay in a long-stay hostel or a while and worry about the accommodation at a later date. I imagine the tips over the holiday period will probably be pretty good with the clientele there...

Chilled in Cairns and Sydney

But for different reasons. Unsurprisingly 21C feels very cold after 2 weeks of 32C...

So Cairns, what did I do in the end? The answer? Honestly not a lot! It's difficult to motivate yourself in that humidity and I think I was getting a little bit of travellers burn-out after moving so much since I left home!

I did go up to Cape Tribulation, where I saw crocs and cassowaries and many other things that can kill or maim you if you look at them a bit funny! I stayed on Myall Beach for 2 nights, wandering along the beautiful beach (bordered at one side by unbelievably blue sea and on the other by unbelievably green rainforest), wandering through mangrove forests, and rainforest to (very cold!) swimming holes, and swimming in the pool at the hostel. Because it's stinger season, which means you don't go swimming in that beautiful blue sea, even if you have been baking on the beautiful sandy beach!

The first night there me and two German girls headed to go and see the beach in the dark. We got as far as the archway over the path that leads to the beach before we hit our first obstacle. In the form of a spiders web. Except we couldn't see the web in the torchlight, only the spider hanging in the middle. After a bit of squealing the web was removed by very girly waving of a long dried leaf held at arms length. We continued down the path, which was bordered on each side by shallow water. Which then made me freak out about crocs (occasional rustling of leaves behind us didn't make me any more confident). With the potential to be eaten by something unseen, or worse encounter a spider in the dark (ok, maybe my priorities are SLIGHTLY skewed...) I chickened out and headed back to the dorm. I was followed all of 3 minutes later by the other girls. It seems one said to the other "it's very dark, isn't it?". The next night we made it to the beach in a group of 5, accompanied by a guy who walked in front to remove any spider webs (although we didn't tell him that was the reason...) we got to the beach to find that the tide was low and eerie black lumps were emerging from the sea close to the shore. These were the remains of an ancient coral reef that was close to the shore until the rainforest moved down to the lowlands and leached nutrients out of the soil into the sea, killing the coral. We had a very successful bonfire on the beach, sand inbetween our toes, listening to the waves and the crackling of seaweed being thrown onto the fire (until one guy forgot to shake the sand out first and nearly put the fire out!).

After Cape Tribulation I headed back to Cairns to a new hostel (I can't recommend Dreamtime enough guys!) for a few days before a trip to the Atherton Tablelands. A definite advantage of this trip was that it's cooler in the mountains! We swam in Josephine falls, sliding down the waterfall and plunging into the freezing water, then laughing at each other as we attempted to get enough purchase on the slippery rock to climb back out of the water and to the top of the falls again! Fortunately we didn't find out about the 6 ft eel or the catfish that inhabit that pool until after we got out! On that day we also saw the Devils Pool (abbreviated to "Evil Poo" on the sign of course) where many young men with more testosterone than sense have vanished. If you jump into the edge of the pool it spits you out down the river. If you jump into the middle it sucks you down. It's a whirlpool and they haven't found the bottom. The even let a 1.6km weighted line down it and never found the end. One theory is that it leads to a known freshwater spring out in the Pacific. Which would be why only some of the bodies have ever been recovered. Needless to say that no-one fancied a dip at that moment.

Also in the tablelands we saw platypus - or as much of them as you ever see, and Musky Rat Kangaroos (which are just bouncing rats really). As well as driving along a road that gives even the strongest stomachs a run for their money!

Back in Cairns and I FINALLY ventured out on the reef. But only snorkelling having had a cold recently and still having blocked ears... I must say, I'm not so much a fan of snorkelling - my mask kept filling up so I had to empty it about every 30 seconds, and the sea was quite rough, so I think I drank about half of the Pacific through my snorkel (yes I know I'm exaggerating a bit!). However, the view was AMAZING! And I had all sorts of brightly coloured fish swimming around my hands, and I saw a shark! Which I'm assured was a reef shark and harmless to humans, but was still rather bigger than I expected and did nearly make me swallow my snorkel!

The best bit of the day for me was the trip home though. We were on a small boat, around 15-20 passengers, 3 crew (all Brits!) and we switched off the engines and sailed the WHOLE way back to Cairns! We got a little wet, and our captain DID manage to put a little more of the boat under water than he meant to - probably because he was busy chatting up a bikini clad girl - but it was great fun! So yes, I LIKED sailing, and can only conclude that the reason I haven't liked it before is that England is COLD. Of course the wine and cheese we were served on the way back may have influenced my opinion rather too...

And now I'm in Sydney. And an MP3 player down, which I'm very unimpressed about. I arrived at Base backpackers to find a filthy smelly room and no common room. I immediately booked somewhere else and got my money back, so I'm now out near Kings Cross (the red light district) in what feels like a leafy London suburb. I have a bank account, a medicare card and a mobile. As yet I do not have a job or a flat, but I'm working on it - everything stops for weekend here!

Beaches and Rainforests

Having been in Cairns doing mostly nothing for 2 weeks it does seem that I've been incredibly busy. In fact too busy doing nothing to update my blog! However my internet time is about to expire, so it won't happen now either. I'm off to Sydney tomorrow morning, and I'll have to tell all then. Needless to say it has involved hammocks, ice-cream, crocs, fish and lots of sand and trees :o)

Sushi and Karaoke

Well what else are you going to do in Japan? But this was hardcore Karaoke. Singing with the best until 5am with free drinks, free icecream and tambourines. Yes there were tambourine related injuries. No I still can't get the karaoke classics out of my head!

So after our temple me and Lezanne went to Nikko and saw approximately a zillion temples and shrines, as well as experiencing an outdoor onsen in the middle of woodland. For those of you not in the know, and onsen is a Japanese bath, generally hot springs or water pumped up from underground, and you're naked. As we sat cheek to cheek (butt cheeks of course) and gazed out at the trees we wondered whether any monkeys would join us. Unfortunately we didn't see any monkeys (in the baths or otherwise), but we did see a Swiss magician, and Lezanne even saw him doing yoga! (I was NOT getting up for a 7am yoga class). After having relaxed completely we headed back to hectic Tokyo, which is where karaoke happened.

We also visited Miyoko, saw her lovely house, and got shown around the bright (rather daunting) lights of Shibuya by her. Which is where I experienced my first conveyer belt sashimi restaurant. Freshly made in front of us, about 100 yen a plate, and hidden down a side street in between the sex shop and the "love hotel" - you've gotta love Japan!

And I did, very much. However my bank balance has now breathed a sigh of relief as I am now in Cairns enjoying a couple of weeks in the sun before I have to find work in Sydney. So the first day I did nothing. Yesterday I did nothing by the lagoon (where a local indie band was playing for hours of chill out time). Today I.... erm.... did nothing. My plans for tomorrow? Nothing! I'm just enjoying being in the same place for a while! On Tuesday I plan to head up to Cape Tribulation, where I'll probably do nothing :o) Now this blog could turn very dull over the next week.... maybe I'll have to go diving or something.... (sky or sea? - place your votes now!)

Land of the rising Yen

which rises and rises against the pound until it reaches 150 Yen to 1 GBP... and I end up with no money. So maybe I shouldn't have eaten kobe beef for dinner (yum!)...

Ah well, tonight I am staying in a temple in the mountain town of Takayama. The walls are paper and slide and the bed is on a mat on the floor. I feel very zen. I wish the mossies did too.

Risen from the ashes

So today's post may be less up-beat that others. I'm in Hiroshima, and it has affected me in many ways. At first glance you could say that a more sombre post would be appropriate when you think about the only thing that the rest of the world knows about Hiroshima. And sitting in the Peace Gardens opposite the A bomb dome (the only building that really survived with some walls intact after the atom bomb because it was pretty much ground zero), my mood was pretty low. I would like to challenge anyone who has ever thought that nuclear weapons could be justifiable (including our own Trident "deterrent") to come to Hiroshima and still believe there can be ANY justification for nuclear weapons.

That is one side of Hiroshima. Necessarily sombre. Monuments calling for world peace. The other side of Hiroshima was the group of school kids laughing behind me. The gentleman who came and talked to us in a shop, just to talk to a foreigner. The people who smile at my attempts at Japanese, and the city that gets on with the act of living and being alive, full of bright lights and chatter. Hiroshima has risen from the ashes, and is a great city as well as a poignant reminder of how fragile civilisation can be.

I have also been in Kyoto since my last post, geisha hunting, and saw some real geisha as they were chased down the street paparazzi style by groups of excited tourists. In true Japanese style they simply continue to smile and walk around the offending lenses. We had the fortune to be in Kyoto for a couple of festivals - the first the slowest parade EVER of costumes through the ages. the second in Kurama outside of Kyoto was a fire festival where boys and men carry ridiculously oversized torches up and down the main street, the men with bare backs and sumo style nappies, chanting what sounded like "sailor, sailor!". Cue a lot of photos of mens bums, accidental and otherwise.

Geishas on the metro

So I'm in Japan! And I'm just skipping over my last few days in China, just because there's TOO much to writte. The Summer Palace was amazing, but I'd like to keep that as my personal experience. However I will happily share the nightmare of airport security in China (who confiscated my alcohol hand gel from my checked baggage even though I was fine taking it on the flight to Berlin. As I asked "who do you think's going to be setting a match to my backpack?"). They also did not want to check me into my flight as I didn't have a Japanese visa. Passport holders from the UK and EU don't need a tourist visa in advance, it gets granted when you arrive. As I told them, repeatedly. I ended up whipping out my flights to Australia to prove that I was only staying there 2 weeks, but the whole time I was thinking "surely this should be Japans problem not yours? My Chinese visa is about to expire, you don't want me!". After that ordeal (all before 7am and on 4 hours sleep) the thought "I would kill for a Starbucks" went through my head for the 1st, and I hope the very last time. And the next corner I turned I heard the incipid soft Jazz designed to melt your brains that tells you a Starbucks in nearby. I'm slightly worried that Starbucks can read my mind.... (and for the record, no I don't normally drink in Starbucks, but when you want a coffee in an airport in China...)

So Japan, well Tokyo was hectic, but not as hectic a I'd expected. No-one had to push us onto trains. It is a bit confusing because the overground trains are run by 2 companies that you have to buy separate tickets for, and the metro is run by 2 different companies that you can't interchange between unless you've pre-planned... In fact when I arrived I navigated myself very well until I had to buy a metro ticket, which you have to look up your destination station on a map to work out the fare for. As I stood staring at the VERY complicated ticket machine a kindly gentleman stopped and asked where I was going. When I said he found it on the map, worked the machine and even put in 20 yen for me as I didn't have the right coins, then pointed out the direction I needed to go! You can always depnd on the kindness of strangers :o)

But aside from initial confusion I've mostly been wondering at how neat and tidy and fashionable everyone is. And how you get ladies in full Geisha costume riding the metro alongside the Harijuku girls! I'm definitely not fashionable for Harijuku and I don't know anyone who is....

I've seen the lights, seen the crazily clean streets and on-time trains and climbed the Tokyo Tower (a copy of the Eiffel tower that happens to be just a bit taller - bet the French LOVE that, they even call the cafe at the top "de la cafe" just to rub it in!).

Unfortunately I have not been very well, so the vast arrays of delicious looking Japanese food that has been passing under my nose have predominantly remained untouched.

Today we are in a small town at the foot of Mt Fuji, and fortunately for us the sky is clear and blue, and the view amazing! I say "we" as Lezanne arrived safe and sound (and jet-lagged) for our adventures and many cheesey photos together...

I don't need real friends, I'll make them from clay!

So yes, I went to see the Terracotta Warriors. Well you have to really. I mean if you go to China what are people going to ask? "Did you see the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors?". And if you say no you'll probably just get a strange look and people will wonder WHY you went to China and start wondering where your hostel was in relation to the red light district and... well, OK, probably not for me, but I think I WOULD wonder why not!

Anyway, so I went to see them because it's the "done" thing. Fought my way through the crowds of shouting elbowing tourists (predominantly Chinese), nearly had my eyes taken out several times by those little flags the tour guides hold so the rest of their group can find them (incidently the rest of their group can find each other because they all have matching baseball caps). I knew it was a big site and there were a lot of warriors and eveything, but I don't think I was quite prepared for the SCALE. I mean this guy Qin must have pissed off a LOT of people to think he was going to need that much protection in the afterlife! So you walk in and you're in this aircraft hanger. And facing you are lines and lines of full size ancient warriors. The whole hanger has yet to be excavated, but it's basically enormous and all filled with army ranks. Rows and rows of different soldiers that had real weapons, and terracotta horses that used to have chariots attached. And every head is different. Maybe I should emphasise that more? EVERY HEAD IS DIFFERENT!!! And there are 1,000's And this was just pit one. There are 3 pits, although 2 and 3 are smaller than pit 1. And here's the amazing thing about it - this tomb is over 2,000 years old (we're talking BC here ok?) and there are metal working techinques used that were only discovered in the Western world in the 1920's, paint compounds that were still unknown to the Western world when this was discovered in the 1970's, I mean we're talking a very advanced and old civilisation here. Makes us look a bit pathetic in comparison hey?

So how to top that? I can't really. But the sun DID manage to break through the smog here, so yesterday I cycled around Xi'an city walls - all 14km on a rattley bike with no discernable suspension... But worth it for the wow factor. These are no 'York' city walls. These are walls designed to keep people out and make them wonder why they ever thought it might have been a good idea to try and get in in the first place!

So that's it for Xi'an - tonight I'm on a sleeper back to Beijing.