tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24496039109144074172024-02-20T12:12:15.447+11:00MIKEING IT IN AUSTRALIAI have decided to find out what it would be like to just move away, and start again in a place over 10,000 miles away from home.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-45129486548697145072013-10-02T08:46:00.000+10:002013-10-02T08:46:06.501+10:00Corner of the world I<div class="MsoNormal">
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For my next few blogs, I will be accompanied by my good
friend and partner in crime Vicki who had come from England to stay with me for
a month. </div>
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<h4>
New Zealand</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
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New Zealand, a small island country sitting quietly on its
own in the corner of the world. I always
planned to drop by New Zealand whilst I was living in Australia but I had
recently cancelled this planned excursion because I wanted to focus on getting
farm work and get my second visa. </div>
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<br /></div>
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However I came to learn that an old friend of mine from
England who emigrated to New Zealand was getting married next month and that
Vicki and I were invited to the wedding.
What are the chances? It was a
once in a life time offer and I could never turn it down. The farm work would just have to wait a bit
longer.</div>
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<h4>
Corner of the world</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So what did I know about New Zealand? Well, what do most people know about New
Zealand? Unless you are from New Zealand
yourself or have a special interest in the country then the average person’s (myself
included) general knowledge regarding this country is usually very limited.</div>
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New Zealand rarely shows up on the international radar of
gossip and it seems its only recent claim to fame is that a very popular
Hollywood fantasy film was shot there, a fact that never fails to come up in
New Zealand related conversation. </div>
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<br /></div>
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“I am going to New Zealand next week” I would say talking to
someone, “oh, that is where they filmed Lord of the Rings isn’t it?” the other
person would ask, “yes it is” I would answer and that would pretty much be the
end of the New Zealand related conversation.
Either that or the other person would make some poor joke involving
Orcs.</div>
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To me I liked the fact that New Zealand is very much unknown. I have it in my mind that New Zealand will be
a temporary escape from the restless and media obsessed city of Sydney that had
been my home for the past 8 months, I felt like I needed a holiday and maybe here
I can get some peace.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84ztLkuOnjTKxI13_Yzy20-i3lORV7EQiwpPmrzSg8ktVGBlbN8rmDHbqROhzGFrxA3AHT8LZYbRlL7wE_D64wdgus3tq4NrUSIiQqczhqFrWgsIZQ_6BGl22WN3J4KE-efne0n9G90E/s1600/DSC_0538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84ztLkuOnjTKxI13_Yzy20-i3lORV7EQiwpPmrzSg8ktVGBlbN8rmDHbqROhzGFrxA3AHT8LZYbRlL7wE_D64wdgus3tq4NrUSIiQqczhqFrWgsIZQ_6BGl22WN3J4KE-efne0n9G90E/s400/DSC_0538.JPG" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First sight of New Zealand, note the absence of Mordor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4>
Beyond the Tasman sea</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I thought the flight to New Zealand would be short. New Zealand and Australia are right next to
each other, right? Well compared to
other nearby countries yes but a good look at a map and you will realize that
there is a lot of blue sea between New Zealand and Australia. It took around 4 hours before the Orc infested
lands of New Zealand began to appear in my small cabin window. First impressions of New Zealand? Well it is certainly a lot greener than
Australia.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another thing I quickly noticed after getting off the plane
was the air here was a lot cooler and fresher compared to the air in Sydney. It had that fresh feeling you notice in the
air after a heavy downpour of rain, only here it seemed to be the norm.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The journey from the airport was relatively uneventful but
it is always exciting getting a bus into a new city that you have never visited
before. At the hostel we were greeted by
the receptionist who was a big young Maori looking bloke wearing an American
style sports jersey and a flat rim baseball cap. He seemed like a nice enough guy and gave us
the keys to our room.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
Cool room bro</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our room was basic, dull and had a cool feeling lingering in
the air. The walls, furniture and even
the bedding was cold to the touch. I
attempted to turn on the electric radiator but there was no life in it. The radiator was old, tired looking and was
covered in dents. It looked like someone
had previously tried to get it working by repeatedly hitting it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Along with the broken heater the large window that sat above
it was single glazed. Touching this
window was like touching a sheet of ice.
In fairness it probably wasn’t that bad but I had just come from Sydney where
the climate was a lot warmer. Here across
the Tasman Sea everything was a lot colder.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went back down to speak to the receptionist. “Yes, I reported the broken heater last week”
the baseball cap wearing Maori man said “I tried to get it working for you before
you arrived”. Maybe he was the one who
had assaulted our radiator in an impatient and uneducated attempt to get it
working. “I would move you but
unfortunately all the other rooms are booked” he said with a concerned look on
his face. Looks like Vicki and I would
just have to acclimatize.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But anyway Vicki and I didn’t come here to sit in an
uncomfortably cold budget hostel room.
We were only had a few days before the wedding and then shortly after we
would be heading back to Sydney. There
was much to see and I couldn’t wait, I had that new adventure feeling.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAOn8aliXHWIEa9lzA4yIab_XjAS4f-x_vRaXetKJXKSu4jEyyXA7_XPXzON6P1WMVV1ufYDxoAI1v39pemqXOn49SlIIdZLbJPElBpQCXrF4RcXBkbINGCl8JD3YLzWRzzWtbn63dlo/s1600/DSC_0694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAOn8aliXHWIEa9lzA4yIab_XjAS4f-x_vRaXetKJXKSu4jEyyXA7_XPXzON6P1WMVV1ufYDxoAI1v39pemqXOn49SlIIdZLbJPElBpQCXrF4RcXBkbINGCl8JD3YLzWRzzWtbn63dlo/s400/DSC_0694.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our home away from home away from home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-42665556485269214862013-09-24T08:45:00.000+10:002013-09-24T08:45:56.536+10:00Change of Direction<div class="MsoNormal">
12 months, what could you do in 12 months when you are on
your own, with no one to answer to and no one to gain permission first to do
something? Those people are literally on
the other side of the world. Here you
are in a foreign country that has a buoyant economy and everyone speaks your
language (give it with a slightly odd accent).
I am in this position and I could do, see and go pretty much anywhere I
wanted. </div>
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<br /></div>
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However looking back at my time here in Australia, I really
haven’t done that much. Sure I have done
the snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef with Olivia, the swimming in ancient
volcanic lakes in the Atherton Tablelands and the hiking across the Blue
Mountains whilst drinking vodka. But I
fear most of the past 8 months was spent in bars drinking overpriced Australian
cider. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t climb aboard a plane and get flown to the other
side of the world to get drunk? I guess I
am having what I have dubbed as a “mid Australian life crisis”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I simply needed more time here in this great and vast
country. I needed to get a second
working holiday visa and there were only two ways of getting one.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The first way is to do 3 months worth of farm related work
in designated rural areas of Australia.
Fruit picking is the most popular farm related work such as picking
cherries or apples. However the only
time I had done rural work before was when I used to mow the garden and the
only experience I had of handling apples was when I was handling my cider.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second way was to simply pay a farmer to lie to the
immigration department and claim that you have done your 3 months at their
farm. Finding a farmer to do this was
not difficult, there was always someone you knew who knew someone they knew who
knew a farmer who would do it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course this shady method of getting a second working
holiday visa carried inherent risks. I
have heard that the immigration department only investigate 1 in 7 visa
applications however the ones they do check are checked very thoroughly. If you withdraw cash from an ATM in the city
when you should have been picking apples they will know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being the honest person I am I decided to take the first
option and began looking into farm work.
My mission to get a second working holiday visa would result in me
leaving Sydney and eventually I will end up in Tasmania. Here I will do many cool things including
working on a farm, becoming a night manager of a hostel, try surfing for the
first time, buy a car, live in a motor home like a gypsy and encounter a ghost
with a friend (plus many more things).</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking back, my 8 months in Sydney I consider to be more of
a gap year. I had just finished 5 long
years of university and I needed a break.
But now that was all over, looking forward I had no idea what was going
to happen or where I will end up. I was
looking into the unknown. But it was
okay. Remember, I had no one to answer
to and no one to gain permission first to do something. I am in this position and I could do, see and
go pretty much anywhere I wanted. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-82281311853439536262013-07-10T05:01:00.000+10:002013-07-10T05:01:52.551+10:00A day at the races<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65IvX-CV6-w8a6-tPU8hsrIid_0yll1Hw_CmHT3YEq-BV72RkWvjAq_p4LvH0pFgdPifNhu9QpRZEpe8B1QpKOXa6R9mEdHpAhq7cHGgTEZ6t2lX9frJvbUxJptKUp7lrDH0SUp_VLxE/s1600/title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65IvX-CV6-w8a6-tPU8hsrIid_0yll1Hw_CmHT3YEq-BV72RkWvjAq_p4LvH0pFgdPifNhu9QpRZEpe8B1QpKOXa6R9mEdHpAhq7cHGgTEZ6t2lX9frJvbUxJptKUp7lrDH0SUp_VLxE/s640/title.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I challenged myself to draw a summary of this post in Paint in 5 minutes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A day at the races</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Horse racing is one of the oldest known sports with events
dating back to 600ishBC where it was a regular event in the ancient Greek
Olympics. This very much outdates other
sports such as Football, Rugby and the world’s greatest sport Badminton.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Horse racing is still a very popular betting sport in many
parts of the world and has taken Australia by storm, mainly thanks to
Australia’s slightly unhealthy obsession with gambling. You can walk into any sports bar or bookies
in Australia and find a wall of TVs dedicated to showing various horse racing
events happening across the country and overseas. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To my surprise they even have virtual horse racing as
well. These virtual races are set up to
look like the real thing but fail miserably due to poor graphics. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to bet
money on a virtual horse race. In the
event of losing how would you explain to your other half that you just lost money
backing a horse that never existed and was composed entirely of poorly rendered
pixels?</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDgwH1C8LdjHiBroDBrz6vpcWb2G2wl4uH6_fp3s6kVFIlOYvV20YPABexshRXEr80SqWA7_5r-jMwfIsY8MAqvf2u97nbMxMzwX1OnqU1fvDitisaxzlssmue4qNQ0NoHywM3bXUKJ0/s1600/game_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDgwH1C8LdjHiBroDBrz6vpcWb2G2wl4uH6_fp3s6kVFIlOYvV20YPABexshRXEr80SqWA7_5r-jMwfIsY8MAqvf2u97nbMxMzwX1OnqU1fvDitisaxzlssmue4qNQ0NoHywM3bXUKJ0/s320/game_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those virtual horses go!<br />
Image from: http://media.horseracegame.com/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, why am I talking about horse racing I hear you
ask? Because this weekend the house and
I were going to dress up smart and go to the races for the day.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The man in the mirror</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The day started off with everyone getting dressed up and
drinking moderate amounts of alcohol in the backyard. Putting on my suit alone in my room for the first
time since arriving in Australia gave me mixed feelings. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I even left England I had my whole year of living in Australia
planned out. I was going to get a well
paid job as a Civil Engineer and I would wear my suit every day for work, I
would then come home to my expensive apartment overlooking the Harbour Bridge
and drink red wine. However my real life
in Australia consisted of me working in a call centre taking abuse from idiots
on a daily basis and coming home to a cockroach invested windowless room inside
a poorly maintained dirty house.
Although I do drink a lot of red wine so at least I got that bit right.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-eCHYyWUO_acQ78E2FZYlvXFR_I-V6pVJF2U2cPMl5rWTh5XsiA6F10nSeumKvveYKi7s4M6KgWGtbNFr1bPqcMuOvzqV_i7MT-R__pV7nBQk_HZknXIUP3B7sbZzbSnRpqDwS9LsgI/s1600/default.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-eCHYyWUO_acQ78E2FZYlvXFR_I-V6pVJF2U2cPMl5rWTh5XsiA6F10nSeumKvveYKi7s4M6KgWGtbNFr1bPqcMuOvzqV_i7MT-R__pV7nBQk_HZknXIUP3B7sbZzbSnRpqDwS9LsgI/s400/default.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had a dreamed a bit too much? <br />
(Image from: www.wimdu.com)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmrxgLrJU8K8PgqduSwstzzgEgxi9qEufh0QAH65om776QVZ6iHZM8BlKKWfTufIA76bTI95-48spFq_KN9a6O2esCm0gMhzm-sGFElry7j-KsAZ0-LX1FiEhvUj3jB0gQAji6ogLkpk/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmrxgLrJU8K8PgqduSwstzzgEgxi9qEufh0QAH65om776QVZ6iHZM8BlKKWfTufIA76bTI95-48spFq_KN9a6O2esCm0gMhzm-sGFElry7j-KsAZ0-LX1FiEhvUj3jB0gQAji6ogLkpk/s400/DSC_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My reality, and if I had a choice I'd probably pick this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite these slight shortcomings I was really enjoying my
time in Australia and to be honest the life I had fantasized about was
unrealistic. But putting on the suit for
the first time made me realize how my life in Australia didn’t turn out anything
like I had expected it to. Just looking
into the mirror and seeing me wearing a suit was like looking into an
alternative dimension that I created in my mind, it was a very surreal moment.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPZbRpBd28BPAdb1ZGLfLRzL0KZI03QE6igZ8Ey8PUIkIZhx-kYi5W4pzJ3I5ltK3WIz_UfYTh8DdWJ3W0TaxU0pMMP_9HnZuuyFLVWbFeAJ87D1HnrIOJLL0j5nqeD4bKOOze9zYN7A/s1600/why.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPZbRpBd28BPAdb1ZGLfLRzL0KZI03QE6igZ8Ey8PUIkIZhx-kYi5W4pzJ3I5ltK3WIz_UfYTh8DdWJ3W0TaxU0pMMP_9HnZuuyFLVWbFeAJ87D1HnrIOJLL0j5nqeD4bKOOze9zYN7A/s400/why.tif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The sport of kings</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After several drinks in the backyard we got into taxis and
headed to the races. It was a very hot
day, the first hot day for several months and the first sign that the
Australian summer was on its way. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few people in the house took the races very seriously and
had done research beforehand on odds and which horses the racing pundits were
backing. This research however didn’t
seem to be working as a witnessed my house mates systematically lose race after
race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was amusing watching them fruitlessly shout at a giant TV
screen. It seemed real horse racing
wasn’t too different from the virtual horse racing after all, both involve
shouting at a TV screen showing horses.
You only saw the horses in real life for a few seconds whilst they galloped
past us during the final straight. The
only house mate who was winning anything was Irish Mick, who obviously had the
Irish luck with him that day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inspired by the success of my house mates and not wanting to
be left out I decided I would place a last minute bet on a horse in the next
race. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whilst I was approaching the bookies I realized I had no
idea what I was doing. I was confronted by
a wall full of odd horse names and confusing fractions. Western Symbol 4/6, Fruity Loops 10/5, Comment on my blog 16/4.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What the hell did this all mean? They might as well have written the whole wall
in Brail. I was never good with
fractions at school either; I was always more of a decimal kind of guy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a few minutes and with some guidance from the nice
girl behind the counter who at this point had become slightly concerned about
me, I managed to find the list of horses taking part in the next race. Looking through all the odd names the name
“Destruction” seemed the best choice. A
horse called Destruction obviously sounded like a winner, certainly better than
backing a horse called Fruity Loops.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqutIyZBT3EepvjWTgKwrzLjund-r6bL977aKar2PWs9vcRHRwGudN6bmycrasczbt9cJiDmuMX6yhSJzI3p8SidCu2M7wlqffGObnmEn29HSBAHE9zg0wruEda0X9RO0lcsq_skVxCw/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqutIyZBT3EepvjWTgKwrzLjund-r6bL977aKar2PWs9vcRHRwGudN6bmycrasczbt9cJiDmuMX6yhSJzI3p8SidCu2M7wlqffGObnmEn29HSBAHE9zg0wruEda0X9RO0lcsq_skVxCw/s400/DSC_0041.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lads.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A horse called
Destruction</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My race was about to begin.
I took position in front of the giant TV screen, the same position my
house mates had occupied before. I was
now involved, my money and a very small part of my pride was on the line. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The clap of the starting pistol signalled the
start of the race and amazingly Destruction got off to a flying start. While the other horses were stuck in the pack
Destruction had managed to break in front.
Had I had the incredible good fortune of picking the Usain Bolt of the
horse world on my very first race? I was
told the odds were good on this horse as well, whatever that means.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Destruction maintained the lead for the first half of the race
and was doing well. However towards the
final straight Destruction began to fall behind the other horses. I found myself shouting at the TV screen along
with everyone else. I was desperately trying to urge Destruction on but it was
pointless. By the time they reached the
final straight Destruction had disappeared behind the pack and ended up
finishing 2<sup>nd</sup> to last.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was disappointed not to have won, especially considering
that Destruction was winning for the majority of the race. Considering I was pretty broke after my
holiday in Cairns some extra money would have been really useful as well. But at least I could say I have tried horse
racing and for a brief moment it was fun and exciting, just a shame about the
end result.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCnFjyZePz0qlJPHOBOXbG4Z1RJXoxBpbTdmeJf4Z1F6VkhmWqjP-cCZQvYRyi8RcrMG5DJODwOT-sYXlLMDKf5g3VMTzGLD7LE41gxKUiELLqzX314mKBe8XefLFJ22Rjh7UrDQnyaQ/s1600/DSC_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCnFjyZePz0qlJPHOBOXbG4Z1RJXoxBpbTdmeJf4Z1F6VkhmWqjP-cCZQvYRyi8RcrMG5DJODwOT-sYXlLMDKf5g3VMTzGLD7LE41gxKUiELLqzX314mKBe8XefLFJ22Rjh7UrDQnyaQ/s400/DSC_0207.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rest of the evening consisted of drinking.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-51582377634741634002013-06-04T08:00:00.000+10:002013-06-04T08:00:01.449+10:00Coogee by day and by night<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Coogee by day</span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every iconic coastal city should have an equally iconic
beach to go with it. Miami has the Miami
Beach, Los Angeles has the Manhattan Beach, and Blackpool has the Blackpool
Pleasure Beach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what about Sydney?
Well the obvious answer would be the famous Bondi Beach. However since coming here I have heard mixed
reviews about Bondi Beach. The general
gist I got regarding Bondi was it is a nice looking beach but is very popular
with tourists and consequently is usually very overcrowded. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luckily Sydney does have a few other less
well known beaches to offer and one of them is Coogee Beach.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The house* and I decided we would drop by Coogee beach for
the day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*Referring to the gang of people living in the house, not the
house itself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Put another shrimp on the barbie</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our plan was to buy food and alcohol and have a barbeque on
the beach which is something I felt I had to do at some point whilst in
Australia. Before I arrived in Sydney
everyone I discussed Australia with mentioned barbeques. People seem to think that having barbeques is
a necessity of Australian life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe this stereotype is a result of a popular TV advert
that ran back in the 1980s where you saw some old guy burn food on a barbeque
whilst inviting you to Australia and telling you how great it is. This advert used the tag line “put another
shrimp on the Barbie”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luckily you don’t even need your own here as it seems most
popular beaches in Australia come equipped with public barbeques for everyone
to use.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are a good idea although they do have their issues, the
main one being there are never enough of them.
We arrived at Coogee beach around midday but it wasn’t until mid
afternoon that one of these public barbeques became free. But even then we had to share it with a small
group of locals and a large group of Koreans.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second issue with these public barbeques is that they
don’t get very hot. I slapped on a few
Waitrose value burgers onto the small corner of the barbeque I managed to
occupy but it took a while before they started to sizzle. I think I would have been better off placing
my burgers on the bonnet of hot cars left out in the sun. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall Coogee beach is nice though, with its white sand and
clear blue waters. Since it was
September (Australian winter) it was too cold to venture into the water. I could imagine that during the heat of the
Australian summer Coogee beach would make an excellent retreat, especially when
everyone else is flocking to Bondi beach in their masses.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDDrsmvnbcxZ5ySRYM9HT_swHly3BNt9qfnjeYLQDwFrH5jMH3H6CwmrxWCFFwmX9U7HiRGM891uwwvcWPf3U0Aqs9SlkdkdLeK-L_onDRNbv1v3w2VoA7LH9HrK9PgiTDIZoXrdX3os/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDDrsmvnbcxZ5ySRYM9HT_swHly3BNt9qfnjeYLQDwFrH5jMH3H6CwmrxWCFFwmX9U7HiRGM891uwwvcWPf3U0Aqs9SlkdkdLeK-L_onDRNbv1v3w2VoA7LH9HrK9PgiTDIZoXrdX3os/s400/DSC_0050.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything you want from a beach.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><o:p> </o:p>Coogee by night</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a separate occasion I was invited to attend a roof top
party with the house in Coogee. The
venue for this shindig was on the rooftop of a rather fancy hotel near the
waterfront called the Beach Palace Hotel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since buying alcohol at bars in Australia is usually very
expensive we made an early start and had many drinks at the house before setting
off. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t go into much detail about the town of Coogee last
time because the bus dropped us off right at the beach, but just like it’s
beach Coogee is clean and generally a nice place to be. Most of the streets here are lined with small
cafes and bars. It seemed the biggest
building in this small town was the Beach Palace Hotel. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The roof terrace was separated
into two areas, the area where the party was happening and another private area
for hire. The other area had been hired
out for a kid’s birthday party by some obviously wealthy parents. “How could they have a kid’s birthday party
and an adult rooftop party full of drunks, alcohol and loud music?” I thought to myself. Luckily the kid’s party was just ending when
we arrived.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were amongst the first to arrive and I had that awkward
feeling of when you arrive at a party and no-one else has shown up. However it didn’t take long for the rooftop to
fill up with variety of colourful characters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Say hello to my little friend</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For this event I decided to bring my DSLR camera rather than
my compact. I was worried that I’d get
bored of having to carry the heavy camera around my neck all night and that
people would give me funny looks, but in the end I was really glad I bought
it. I was surprised how good of an ice
breaker the camera was, random people were just coming up to me wanting to talk
to me and have their photo taken. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did
make it clear that I wasn’t the event photographer but they didn’t seem to
mind. It just seems people at parties
like to have their photo taken and I don’t really know why. Perhaps it is because they have spent ages on
their appearance and feel good about how they look, or maybe it makes them feel
important, or perhaps it was just because they were drunk. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiFw6RgXv3NcDSvw8YPQbiVF9onRA8FRZT65UqvBmwPBTS-do-rQdbyoeoTY7DSe81c6KRXL0XeeypfInzDzrRLqxE0L4nqJ21m46nbBQZRplBpO1NHkMwFvWzmSUN9dXyul1grN3eI8/s1600/DSC_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiFw6RgXv3NcDSvw8YPQbiVF9onRA8FRZT65UqvBmwPBTS-do-rQdbyoeoTY7DSe81c6KRXL0XeeypfInzDzrRLqxE0L4nqJ21m46nbBQZRplBpO1NHkMwFvWzmSUN9dXyul1grN3eI8/s400/DSC_0235.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random people love their photos taken.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall the roof top party was great. When I usually go out on nights out I always
end up in some converted basement with black walls sticky floors and annoyingly
loud music. But this was completely
different. I was on the rooftop of a
nice hotel watching the sun set over the Tasman sea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not only was I feeling good because I was at a good party, I
also felt a sense of achievement, a sense that I “had made it”. Moving to Australia was difficult at first, I
arrived in the not so nice area of King’s Cross a few months ago with a
suitcase and no friends. But now I was
living in the nice and upcoming area of Surry Hills, had a decent job and a
group of friends who I was at this awesome party with. Despite the noise party and all the drunken
people dancing, I felt a sense of peace within myself.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwcT0IqF_Y6YyXRD7Cg4fN5Kw7MIwzhlLB1J5ewV0KkKW4qMV6FD9OGuYSgZmpQWBBmsybTiuybA8gKLMOv7OKTLaMCqIBEMUjI5TjDKW6t6j-Cs5an6yYbM2ECefVGGnUGAn36T6Ibw/s1600/DSC_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwcT0IqF_Y6YyXRD7Cg4fN5Kw7MIwzhlLB1J5ewV0KkKW4qMV6FD9OGuYSgZmpQWBBmsybTiuybA8gKLMOv7OKTLaMCqIBEMUjI5TjDKW6t6j-Cs5an6yYbM2ECefVGGnUGAn36T6Ibw/s400/DSC_0210.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A better view than a basement wall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-67114193831330152552013-04-26T01:37:00.000+10:002013-04-26T01:37:39.424+10:00The Blue Mountains (part 3 / 3)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>“Right, here is the
plan! We start off at Echo Point, then
walk the Prince Henry Cliff walk, down the appropriately named Giant Stairways,
visiting one of the 3 Sisters on the way, continue down until reaching
Dardannelle’s Pass, walk through the eerily quiet Leura Forest then pass the
amazing Leura Cascades then up the cliff face along the punishing Federal Pass,
then finally walk along the appropriately named Megalong Street back to
Katoomba in time for the late evening train back to Sydney.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2vXmCyaujnH783GuagoJx3wY0YyqpFVAYsNuLBYNjDyW5f3NTIMvG4Gq7YpxhJorP-HSwYRHvhN0ulkNYxXNdp7oGtvkgQpBDWh9epxvasL87N8WPZlv3vCjyX5PGV-C8JmCchWQYS8/s1600/map+of+blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2vXmCyaujnH783GuagoJx3wY0YyqpFVAYsNuLBYNjDyW5f3NTIMvG4Gq7YpxhJorP-HSwYRHvhN0ulkNYxXNdp7oGtvkgQpBDWh9epxvasL87N8WPZlv3vCjyX5PGV-C8JmCchWQYS8/s640/map+of+blue.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trust me, this walk was a lot bigger than it looks on this map.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Echoes</span><i><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We started off at Echo Point, a large concrete platform area
with amazing panoramic views of the Blue Mountains. Along the edge of the platform were metal plaques
that had engraved a map of the panoramic view with highlighted areas of
interest including “Mount Solitary” a lone standing hill that dominated the
centre of the panoramic view and “ruined castle” a rock formation that on
closer inspection does actually look like the ruins of an old castle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzQZUlHfgW04FVhBDbqcCDIr6xlsjwsFBOk57Q-4ilgXt3ARoNa-rHTKhiR91tskCDla6TryQq2kBd6KAvy77Iz9781Cj83l7XDum561TW6ZtqrHwaLpt-S-2gMGWD4THt7dk4YfPSFw/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzQZUlHfgW04FVhBDbqcCDIr6xlsjwsFBOk57Q-4ilgXt3ARoNa-rHTKhiR91tskCDla6TryQq2kBd6KAvy77Iz9781Cj83l7XDum561TW6ZtqrHwaLpt-S-2gMGWD4THt7dk4YfPSFw/s640/DSC_0002.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sri and Marten</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRYy3WmipqQcyo7WVuBgCpormK23O8HHBlZnVyYofNGkQG_rfT1oVuOWadjhwzUYjLsTarqjXzoAXM00JSBFT3uGIeB8qdm6RnDWwTsshJ6owErif0yIGshELcDvykCpp1UVcMTmFU60/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRYy3WmipqQcyo7WVuBgCpormK23O8HHBlZnVyYofNGkQG_rfT1oVuOWadjhwzUYjLsTarqjXzoAXM00JSBFT3uGIeB8qdm6RnDWwTsshJ6owErif0yIGshELcDvykCpp1UVcMTmFU60/s640/DSC_0014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The generation game II<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
To the very left of the panoramic view are a set of 3
protruding rock faces that form the Blue Mountains most iconic landmark; “The 3
Sisters”. The name I guess comes from
the fact that the rocky outcrops look somewhat similar to each other. It seems the theme of looking like you are
from the same family is present in the rocks here as well as the local people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbp5GWbsxkuZkODB43CKIbU1I0T-74pFKGe2fkwvaFQNgnX3pGcxLpg86F1abq7boAUmF_C4Opz20QCBj2xF8eTEGuqC0NNDe3ZVTit6j_h42j28Q_l-DDJ2FHHwTQDPrd61EQhhzq3A/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbp5GWbsxkuZkODB43CKIbU1I0T-74pFKGe2fkwvaFQNgnX3pGcxLpg86F1abq7boAUmF_C4Opz20QCBj2xF8eTEGuqC0NNDe3ZVTit6j_h42j28Q_l-DDJ2FHHwTQDPrd61EQhhzq3A/s640/DSC_0006.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On second thought, they don't really look alike...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After taking in as much of the amazing views as we could
Marten, Sri and I headed along the start of the Prince Henry cliff walk towards
the 3 Sisters. It was a short and somewhat
uneventful walk until we reached the appropriately named Giant Stairways.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was just the start of a series of very steep stairways
that led down the cliff face. Early on
in the decent we reached a bridge that led to the first of the 3 Sisters. This area was surprisingly busy with 20 – 30
odd people crowding around this small bridge, “I wonder how many people this
small bridge is designed to carry” I thought to myself as I watched Sri and
Marten cross first.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNMipw_bjv_zA0kYIfL_35rvbAxmAmYcyEXcjnvIfz1TSRfbAP3o609hz_UHSIWYTH5RCj8eXA5YsMN-68CFX_FQ0xPUqZnkdznsH-THd760ik98klT27229EaIWaOBQ10VUyh74gIcA/s1600/DSC_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNMipw_bjv_zA0kYIfL_35rvbAxmAmYcyEXcjnvIfz1TSRfbAP3o609hz_UHSIWYTH5RCj8eXA5YsMN-68CFX_FQ0xPUqZnkdznsH-THd760ik98klT27229EaIWaOBQ10VUyh74gIcA/s640/DSC_0032.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sri and Marten on the bridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The descent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After our quick visit to the 3 Sisters we continued over the
cliff and down the Giant Stairways.
These steep stairways were absolutely relentless. There were a few benches placed along the way
on small rocky outcrops along the cliff face but these temporary reliefs were
placed few and far between.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually after a knee punishing 15 – 20 minutes of steps
we reached the base of the cliff and the edge of the forest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHr-9sLc0xf7ckOyKrEcRuNRakhFBS6dhUxPyp0E3JK5e_lXmPij34tRXayN8Ry0XgeC66_Xq15JttxNz0CCPyKRG-6EJCeFeXQ4cdwxdO2ThnfHhJafAmd62uhz2gSSAgvc5KUew0zgU/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHr-9sLc0xf7ckOyKrEcRuNRakhFBS6dhUxPyp0E3JK5e_lXmPij34tRXayN8Ry0XgeC66_Xq15JttxNz0CCPyKRG-6EJCeFeXQ4cdwxdO2ThnfHhJafAmd62uhz2gSSAgvc5KUew0zgU/s640/DSC_0027.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was like this for a solid 15 - 20 minutes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It had been quite busy with people going down the Giant
Stairs, especially around the bridge. However
as we descended down the steps we started to see fewer people, and now on the
forest floor it was quiet, very quiet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of the Giant stairways we had a choice of heading
right to the scene railway or left towards the Leura Cascades. Since none of us had any money and we didn’t
know anything about the scenic railway we headed left towards the cascades.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZgHrAvjYgUMfTWxeEjhSSrZvdyhyphenhyphenNjXNeLkS7HGK7JlJYPbJxvBT0Oftai9Abmz6sChGg3L6foMNoD16lX789fZf7RZoiiV8gyy1x8Z3ADtuj3rmnMQTD26sLr-MprvkkIyq0vwhE0U/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTZgHrAvjYgUMfTWxeEjhSSrZvdyhyphenhyphenNjXNeLkS7HGK7JlJYPbJxvBT0Oftai9Abmz6sChGg3L6foMNoD16lX789fZf7RZoiiV8gyy1x8Z3ADtuj3rmnMQTD26sLr-MprvkkIyq0vwhE0U/s640/DSC_0050.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final stairway!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The echoless forest</span><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Initially I was worried about spiders in the forest. Before heading off to Australia everyone told
me to “beware of the spiders, BEWARE OF THE SPIDERS!” It seems to be the first thing most non
Australian people associate with Australia and it left me initially feeling
worried about walking through the forest, especially when Marten wanted to leave
the path to explore deeper into the forest.
I just had visions of me walking round a corner and getting a face full
of a black widow’s web.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But we didn’t encounter any spiders in the forest; to be
honest I don’t think they are very common in the southern areas of Australia
like New South Wales. I believe they are
more common in the hotter northern areas like Queensland and the Northern Territory.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I was to come to harm via spider it would have happened when
I was staying in Cairns, but the only danger to my health I faced in Cairns was
self-inflicted alcohol poisoning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoO5ApiGnY6hGqkWMrAubp3IFd2jq1pUdfOetdx6k4-jzhOsz_lyrgSgUfAnZsntWZvJzFuyK4aNWB8uUUgDjvclVNZ1b9qV0FYagS_dqLlqiqAn5W2CktMsxaiz6IdD9Vh34xs9qyZ8/s1600/DSC_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHoO5ApiGnY6hGqkWMrAubp3IFd2jq1pUdfOetdx6k4-jzhOsz_lyrgSgUfAnZsntWZvJzFuyK4aNWB8uUUgDjvclVNZ1b9qV0FYagS_dqLlqiqAn5W2CktMsxaiz6IdD9Vh34xs9qyZ8/s640/DSC_0085.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sri and Marten (note Marten's ridiculous walking stick).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only thing we encountered in the forest after an hour of
walking was a small picnic area. Here
there were some benches and a small tin roofed building with moss growing all
over it. The picnic site looked abandoned
and almost post apocalyptic. Together
with the quietness of the forest the picnic site was almost a bit eerie. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just beyond the campsite however the sound of silence was
replaced with the distant sound of rushing water. I guess we had finally reached the Leura
Cascades. I was expecting just one very
impressive waterfall but in reality there were lots of smaller waterfalls
before we reached the cascades.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMpfJbvql4QpQg_dZpsRaG34rvB-fimUD2g1dlW76P2VGo8SBP1MH1eV1b0BaK0DWhNyrKO5PW3iRXCMhUtP0YWfKccrwYZv0OTNRgCFmCglY5BZld-gc1ni9P4CgJwube9qXJ2oJhqs/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMpfJbvql4QpQg_dZpsRaG34rvB-fimUD2g1dlW76P2VGo8SBP1MH1eV1b0BaK0DWhNyrKO5PW3iRXCMhUtP0YWfKccrwYZv0OTNRgCFmCglY5BZld-gc1ni9P4CgJwube9qXJ2oJhqs/s640/DSC_0065.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQ-oza-7SHhLk5dU1ZrEwBzIKIGM1ZRiNtTeBLIdb3SkyEJ5E98etX0PpN2t3I6g6DYW5sFOyGY-qCx8Kh3KiuzJyGMrp1P2ThCkxrUj0-yHVPTOcjG902DmEctWJgN8isUpvxOYwmB8/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQ-oza-7SHhLk5dU1ZrEwBzIKIGM1ZRiNtTeBLIdb3SkyEJ5E98etX0PpN2t3I6g6DYW5sFOyGY-qCx8Kh3KiuzJyGMrp1P2ThCkxrUj0-yHVPTOcjG902DmEctWJgN8isUpvxOYwmB8/s640/DSC_0097.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leura Forest was very quiet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ascent</span><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between these small waterfalls we also started to leave the
forest floor as the path began to lead us up the cliff face. Like the Giant Stairways our pathway was made
up of a seemingly never ending series of very steep stairways. However these were a lot more spaced out than
the Giant Stairways and there were nice waterfalls to stop and look at between
the series of stairways.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdRTFDQ4Jt37RqbCoSN2gG769o8qjdCSao3-McD7GCfo3J86OZ8Lk-wlMMXhekPP82WiqIdwdq3aQ_Hu20BEyyJQLRIIAFU9dGU_ws-DbtHHeJlxlQSByvgPr6aYGuJX1gnKDFoVOcDU/s1600/DSC_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdRTFDQ4Jt37RqbCoSN2gG769o8qjdCSao3-McD7GCfo3J86OZ8Lk-wlMMXhekPP82WiqIdwdq3aQ_Hu20BEyyJQLRIIAFU9dGU_ws-DbtHHeJlxlQSByvgPr6aYGuJX1gnKDFoVOcDU/s640/DSC_0230.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An amazing waterfall that filled the air around it with a refreshing mist.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUh0uolG6Qpr7E-ApSYZ03WIwl8m3RX_a2iipJbIFgXMzT0N8dPxGJu4OL7TrEp4i2OR1fkSDk8m_Ql_9uSmOUYqvw6hDhrBzCzwwegdIzZbLcTO-ylW8thHqypn9DKD_BaD6ptF2y9PI/s1600/DSC_0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUh0uolG6Qpr7E-ApSYZ03WIwl8m3RX_a2iipJbIFgXMzT0N8dPxGJu4OL7TrEp4i2OR1fkSDk8m_Ql_9uSmOUYqvw6hDhrBzCzwwegdIzZbLcTO-ylW8thHqypn9DKD_BaD6ptF2y9PI/s640/DSC_0249.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I believe these are the actual Leura Cascades.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This leg of the walk was my favourite part. It had the best views with the waterfalls and
the views of the valley below. There were
also a lot less people around here compared to Echo Point and the Giant
Stairways which were too crowded for my liking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Half way through our ascent the sun began to approach the
horizon which gave all the protruding rock faces across the valley a fantastic
golden glow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_JEKY0HrFHvDMrCLVeuEiNdHz76VaigTaFRTyB-MbcjFIIJvP8M_1scS2xpSyE6qvzkfGquMKe6-azpleWJGTDFZLh_Nkv6Q0ouSrXHhiT6KpAJNUkaqqPc3AfOEJZUO9FehkAoE_Hs/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_JEKY0HrFHvDMrCLVeuEiNdHz76VaigTaFRTyB-MbcjFIIJvP8M_1scS2xpSyE6qvzkfGquMKe6-azpleWJGTDFZLh_Nkv6Q0ouSrXHhiT6KpAJNUkaqqPc3AfOEJZUO9FehkAoE_Hs/s640/DSC_0189.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome views.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx6uWunrJ03G7CJr70sj4q9XDMrQHFSR_4Us9gRXHXuia97j3jfW9QxIOg2hGfzmm5XIniFc9ShdFAztUiw5zmvuIc7vpbnB2wLEm7mdSnoxOuKY825lKKiNJDGN0M12KVcK-dMH5P2A/s1600/DSC_0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJx6uWunrJ03G7CJr70sj4q9XDMrQHFSR_4Us9gRXHXuia97j3jfW9QxIOg2hGfzmm5XIniFc9ShdFAztUiw5zmvuIc7vpbnB2wLEm7mdSnoxOuKY825lKKiNJDGN0M12KVcK-dMH5P2A/s640/DSC_0193.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around here we found some graffiti that dates back from 1910! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbUFkG95c1i4FNU4bN2ckTedPUBd9NZAwmFPX1NmP_IwbiykFFrC7Vx-d6R5Xik0ItpYSVXMyGZQ57fsYMEhmmIx-GQMAxisKtq_itkwN93PyExHfRBSWHht4YpIfLzEoSy5uWf1ABBs/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbUFkG95c1i4FNU4bN2ckTedPUBd9NZAwmFPX1NmP_IwbiykFFrC7Vx-d6R5Xik0ItpYSVXMyGZQ57fsYMEhmmIx-GQMAxisKtq_itkwN93PyExHfRBSWHht4YpIfLzEoSy5uWf1ABBs/s640/DSC_0194.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good place for a rest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Returning to civilization</span><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we finished our ascent we ended up on the somewhat appropriately
named Megalong Street that led us back to Katoomba and from here we headed to
the train station and waited for the train back to Sydney. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sun had just set over the railway lines, it was the
perfect end to a great day. If you are
ever in the Sydney area you must go to the Blue Mountains. I think every major city should have their
own Blue Mountains nearby because they are the perfect city escape.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijByPfsH-oQglPMoA4dYI1tFtV6eSEr5hMmywwxA_8Sf7sgDhqGZT4v9nYygb8oXb_JZBMZBxV7FpnZEPGMF-gm1JUvrsHfiIfNM3UDCP02nCU85sokXvel9gdvvn2zvwnlGn_EGSY_o/s1600/DSC_0256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijByPfsH-oQglPMoA4dYI1tFtV6eSEr5hMmywwxA_8Sf7sgDhqGZT4v9nYygb8oXb_JZBMZBxV7FpnZEPGMF-gm1JUvrsHfiIfNM3UDCP02nCU85sokXvel9gdvvn2zvwnlGn_EGSY_o/s640/DSC_0256.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some locals of Katoomba.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJ0PoUyozpJyjTYBgofPsAuR875s89hfE_5u1QmNJHPLMgvDOv4Qj6gIiQFxfxn1VhIGMO31bRU1XunLAMW-GzkUxptkKGOUNrML3B7yMbiJTnmjCc6CQOvJcgR7hxi4Qp_rlOE_xguQ/s1600/DSC_0262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJ0PoUyozpJyjTYBgofPsAuR875s89hfE_5u1QmNJHPLMgvDOv4Qj6gIiQFxfxn1VhIGMO31bRU1XunLAMW-GzkUxptkKGOUNrML3B7yMbiJTnmjCc6CQOvJcgR7hxi4Qp_rlOE_xguQ/s640/DSC_0262.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A perfect end to a great day"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-18247705128510944122013-04-02T11:10:00.000+11:002013-04-02T11:10:23.560+11:00The Blue Mountains (part 2 / 3)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the night rolled in
over the Blue Mountains and the sky turns from deep blue to pitch black, what
would become of this small mountain town?
As the cold night air fills the streets we headed to one of the local
pubs, it was here when I noticed something rather strange about this place.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Sorry no photos on this post)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A night out in Katoomba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Returning from Echo Point we first headed to our youth
hostel. We initially had some issues
with our booking but the very nice lady who owned the hostel (who also owned a
little bakery in town) made a few phone calls and got us booked into a room in
another hostel just down the road called The Flying Fox.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The hostel seemed to have been converted from an old
Victorian house with very high ceilings and tall doorways. The best part of the Flying Fox was the
lounge which contained large comfortable sofas, a big wooden table and a very
well stoked log fire. The floor in front
of the fire was covered by a brilliant large red and gold rug that matched the
colour of the large sofas in the room. The
fireplace consisted of a medium size metal wood burner sitting in a rustic
brick archway. Considering the outside
temperature was plummeting and the other rooms in the hostel weren’t very well
heated because of the high ceilings, this lounge was the perfect place to be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 35px; line-height: 40px;">Sharing </span><span style="font-family: Freestyle Script;"><span style="font-size: 35px; line-height: 40px;">wisdom</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is in social areas in hostels like this where you may
catch the travel bug. I remember sitting
in this very comfortable room listening to the travel stories from an American
university lecturer who was over here on work.
He told me that there were stages in life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Between the age of 20 and 30 you should be travelling and
experiencing life and the world. </li>
<li>Between the age of 30 and 40 is when you should be settling
down with a better half and starting a family.</li>
<li>And between 40 and 50 is when you should be at the top of
your career, whatever field of work you have been doing before by this age you
should be at the top of the ladder. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this of course this isn't relevant to everyone, it is just one man's opinion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 35px; line-height: 40px;">The pubs</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After this we headed to a pub across the road. It was an old style English pub with lead
windows and a dark wooden bar area.
Towards the back was a stage where a local folk band were
performing. The pub was pretty full with
everyone sat down around small circular tables.
Everybody had turned their chairs to face the band towards the
back. I guess this is what passes for a
entertaining night out here in the mountains.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The music was quite good though and I loved the rural feel
of the pub. It is exactly what you’d
expect from the pub in a small town high up in some mountains. After a while many more locals began cramming
themselves into the pub. It seemed this
pub was part of a local bar crawl. It was at this point I started to notice something very peculiar. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 35px; line-height: 40px;">The generation game</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whilst looking around the bar people
watching I got a strange sense of Déjà vu, and then it hit me. I noticed a lot of the locals here looked very
similar. Basically I first noticed
somebody had a distinct shape of nose, keeping that nose in mind I would look
around a spot several other people nearby with the exact same nose (not literally). The same was true with other prominent
features, such as people with matching ears, or eyes etc. It was more than just a coincidence; these
people had obviously inherited these distinctive features from the same person
several generations ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have never seen anything quite like this before, it was
almost surreal. I grew up near a large
and very diverse city (Manchester) but I’m guessing something like this is not
uncommon in more rural towns. Here there
are less people coming and going and therefore less variety in the old gene pool.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I am not trying to be rude and say Katoomba is full of
inbreds, it is just the resemblance between so many people was just uncanny.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pub we were in was getting very busy so we moved to
another bar round the corner. There was
a fancy dress party here but I couldn’t spot a theme. The bar was just a sea of typical fancy dress
outfits you could buy from a cheap shop.
Here I continued to play my new game of “spot who has the same
grandparents”. This was fun for a while
but again this place started to become rowdy with locals. I couldn’t help but feel like a bit like an
outsider here so we finished our last drinks and headed back to the
hostel. </div>
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I guess most travellers who
visit the Blue Mountains stay for the trekking and sights but don’t go out to
the bars at night. Tomorrow was the day
we were going to do the trekking and I was very much looking forward to it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-51655489873766703962013-03-12T09:19:00.000+11:002013-03-12T09:19:42.114+11:00The Blue Mountains (part 1 / 3)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfStOlidR0MWXaYznmQfHwLPgUOqnVFBuKoUeBfb7IqL1kmbwm_6QRqnB5Q76kycrAD1w0DJ_92vP_Qr7FlI5LyPGiIdHce3J8UlUcrQag1365bKH_bXLMxZFqrp8xeHeigGTDaE6FOl0/s1600/DSC_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfStOlidR0MWXaYznmQfHwLPgUOqnVFBuKoUeBfb7IqL1kmbwm_6QRqnB5Q76kycrAD1w0DJ_92vP_Qr7FlI5LyPGiIdHce3J8UlUcrQag1365bKH_bXLMxZFqrp8xeHeigGTDaE6FOl0/s640/DSC_0073.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A posey picture of me and the Blue Mountains</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 115%;">The Blue Mountains (part 1 / 3)</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Blue Mountains, a beautiful region where impressive
rocky mountains and deep ominous gorges sit among a calming blue haze that
lingers in the air. Apparently the
distinctive blue haze is a result of organic chemicals released into the
atmosphere by the large number of eucalyptus trees in the area.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Blue Mountains acts like a rocky shield that separates
Sydney from the barren mainland of Australia, the bush or the outback as they
call it. Of course civilisation does
exist beyond the Blue Mountain barrier.
Small cities like Orange and Bathurst quietly get on with their small
city life. Beyond these places still and
further into the outback exists towns such as the beautifully named Broken Hill. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I’d love to go beyond the Blue Mountains and visit Broken
Hill and explore more of the outback, though financial and work commitments
prevent me from undergoing such an adventure.
For now, I can only go as far as the edge, the Blue Mountains.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have actually been to the Blue Mountains twice, but I will
focus on talking about my first encounter with the rocky blue giants. I was travelling with Marten (Dutch
housemate) and we were going to meet up with Sri (Indian housemate) in Katoomba
which is the main town in the Blue Mountains region. Here we would have a quick glimpse of the
mountains at Echo Point then stay the night in Katoomba followed up a full day
of exploring the Blue Mountains in time to catch the late evening train back to
Sydney.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZxMa9Q1MhRUGZyvZSBhOu0BY0iLOggOolY02IctpCYEj_EiNK3CtZS6CZ11ueZIzsYuuyAIBh7OoOsoF_LE59G_q7WZ6GZyn2nbf9KcLnJj8vtWGLUv0yDl8rkb9mheVbJ__-u5oVR4/s1600/map2done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZxMa9Q1MhRUGZyvZSBhOu0BY0iLOggOolY02IctpCYEj_EiNK3CtZS6CZ11ueZIzsYuuyAIBh7OoOsoF_LE59G_q7WZ6GZyn2nbf9KcLnJj8vtWGLUv0yDl8rkb9mheVbJ__-u5oVR4/s640/map2done.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katoomba is where A is.<br />Image courtesy of Google Earth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 115%;">Mountain town charm</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The first thing I noticed when getting off the train in
Katoomba was the drop in temperature.
Here up in the mountains it was bitterly cold. I stupidly thought that because Australia was
a hot country anywhere I would go in Australia would also be hot. My University of Bolton hoodie did very
little to keep me warm.</div>
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The high streets around the town were very clean and lined
with rows of small local shops, bakeries and cafes. There were no flat roads in Katoomba, all
roads were either heading up hill or downhill.
With its hilly side streets, deep blue skies and small rustic local
shops Katoomba really had that rural mountain town feeling about it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_WsO5edRyThg3s_VI41p9tF3XWBEh7MhsudVHbKrpvb6WAjd-BpkOS6KIkO3DbO8WkEnVpql4xdt0hvQF4VEkRatOhPKYcoi4IvIBrQTOGfA0nGt4T4M9Ou_cBh8sMtNJnjTjAz9dzo/s1600/DSC_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_WsO5edRyThg3s_VI41p9tF3XWBEh7MhsudVHbKrpvb6WAjd-BpkOS6KIkO3DbO8WkEnVpql4xdt0hvQF4VEkRatOhPKYcoi4IvIBrQTOGfA0nGt4T4M9Ou_cBh8sMtNJnjTjAz9dzo/s640/DSC_0018.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Katoomba</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI41tsWM63ISO96DIi42MYMPU4EzbKw2FlXEGy3dL2gKMgOUSMEPUzFZs_-886WmijHxqWa5E2Uwtof1_VopFMngOuN4YHo06FJAZITR-I00N_4GqClWpylo65_1ioW8qC_R4lSYJ2zDw/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI41tsWM63ISO96DIi42MYMPU4EzbKw2FlXEGy3dL2gKMgOUSMEPUzFZs_-886WmijHxqWa5E2Uwtof1_VopFMngOuN4YHo06FJAZITR-I00N_4GqClWpylo65_1ioW8qC_R4lSYJ2zDw/s640/DSC_0013.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For a small town, there were a lot of flyers on the lamp posts</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 115%;">A taste of the mountains</span></div>
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Before heading to Echo Point we stopped off at a small Asian
restaurant for some lunch. The mountain
rustic feel of the town was very much present in the restaurant, if not more
so. The inside of the restaurant was
lined with wooden decor and decorated with Asian ornaments of bright colours of
red and gold. The air like outside was
cold and fresh inside the restaurant. It
felt like we were having lunch in a small restaurant in the Himalayas.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After our explorer’s lunch of authentic Asian curry we
headed to Echo Point to capture a glimpse of the famous Blue Mountains that we
would be exploring the following day before sunset.</div>
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As I was really not equipped for the cold weather I dropped
by a small clothes shop on the way to Echo Point and bought a crochet bobble hat
to keep me warm. The guy said it was a
cool and fashionable hat and he had one himself but looking back at the photos of
me wearing the hat it was evident that the hat he sold me was exclusively for old
women.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlJrQNpSR5ZYFvAo197RH8g1sS3nvGvjFSMiu2VjggGPQh7BYp-ENASfnZ2QOlabglHAZzAQeW4narpcUo1vqh4ofvTNSdhO-gRFp8rswX9z_qya8eJ5EX9s1X4WMMWvfaJrPPuIG1bk/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlJrQNpSR5ZYFvAo197RH8g1sS3nvGvjFSMiu2VjggGPQh7BYp-ENASfnZ2QOlabglHAZzAQeW4narpcUo1vqh4ofvTNSdhO-gRFp8rswX9z_qya8eJ5EX9s1X4WMMWvfaJrPPuIG1bk/s640/DSC_0016.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The small Thai restaurant</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 115%;">“This is why we came here”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Echo Point arrived in 20 minutes from leaving Katoomba. We kept catching a small glimpse of the Blue
Mountains between trees and building until we finally reached the end of the
road where the ground disappeared over a cliff and we had our first
unobstructed view of the mighty Blue Mountains.</div>
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It was very satisfying to finally see the Blue Mountains. What we saw was golden cliff faces in the
distance emerging from valleys of deep green forests, all within a cool blue
haze. The sun was starting to set when
we arrived which gave the exposed cliff faces in the distance a warm glow that
made them really stand out against the blue mist. Overall it was an amazing spectacle. “This
is exactly why we came here!” I thought to myself. The views were definitely worth enduring the bitter
cold and wearing a stupid looking crochet bobble hat.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We spent a good hour walking along the edge of the cliff
where Katoomba ended and the Blue Mountains began before heading back to
town. Katoomba had all the charm of a
mountain town, but what would this place be like at night? What would the night life be like up where in
the mountains? For a small town it
certainly had its fair share of pubs and bars.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3H8cixRvuk0SrCEA_Q7wujghMQIahx5IY4teDgwrDrtnWL-Jn5E1Drup45jrMdcU438pQOjVRiQuaGQAFaxBgN-M7yCNhsLgEWBDl4KR9bax0ZDmovElXxPoZdzp7kOiS6v4lg7v9aCQ/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3H8cixRvuk0SrCEA_Q7wujghMQIahx5IY4teDgwrDrtnWL-Jn5E1Drup45jrMdcU438pQOjVRiQuaGQAFaxBgN-M7yCNhsLgEWBDl4KR9bax0ZDmovElXxPoZdzp7kOiS6v4lg7v9aCQ/s640/DSC_0023.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking down the appropriately named Blue Mountains Drive to Echo Point</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjki9zQdFUyFi0fN4shmOGtbcpPWkb3j3Kd8Ny97Xog-lGdUfCW9iazy4c9Jfe986Bhqorz4jgDpzV1D-Um6j7pSJBS3gz-yTPvhqQKacgNDAq4ooLpAalz6BaBEMbD8FQsc37vjLGMopU/s1600/DSC_0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjki9zQdFUyFi0fN4shmOGtbcpPWkb3j3Kd8Ny97Xog-lGdUfCW9iazy4c9Jfe986Bhqorz4jgDpzV1D-Um6j7pSJBS3gz-yTPvhqQKacgNDAq4ooLpAalz6BaBEMbD8FQsc37vjLGMopU/s640/DSC_0062.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the edge, we drank a lot of wine and vodka which helped with the cold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04lzI6XxG4jGx9fIyZe4bbXzNi1CvdPei8X5ftrbv_rRiOjCCt9cylfctve1e4AeZaYrSCiYw06VR3y3r2zWruOFCVXP9ajMR7znEBh-BZugzl0C_vGbMI-fxVBSAiAmkAnjC1KZkWgo/s1600/DSC_0064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04lzI6XxG4jGx9fIyZe4bbXzNi1CvdPei8X5ftrbv_rRiOjCCt9cylfctve1e4AeZaYrSCiYw06VR3y3r2zWruOFCVXP9ajMR7znEBh-BZugzl0C_vGbMI-fxVBSAiAmkAnjC1KZkWgo/s640/DSC_0064.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 4 of us, Sri, Marten, myself and that stupid hat.</td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OZPRwXnX-WA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-17061225979608398872013-02-09T00:26:00.000+11:002013-02-09T00:26:59.088+11:00A week in Cairns (part V/V)<br />
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">In a few paragraphs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cairns, you would have probably gathered by my previous
posts that I didn’t really think much of Cairns at first. With it being a coastal city close to the
Great Barrier Reef I had imagined a small tropical paradise with golden beaches,
clear inviting waters and friendly chilled out locals. In reality Cairns was pretty much like any
remote Australian city. Dusty, sparse
and a bit tired looking.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I suppose coming straight from Sydney (which is ranked in
the top 10 of the world’s most liveable cities) to Cairns was a bit of a shock
to the system as well. Basically what I’m
trying to say to Cairns is probably a nice place and not nearly as bad as I may
have made it out to be.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really enjoyed my time at the hostel Asylum. The atmosphere was always great, though I
didn’t get much sleep during my stay.
The same could be said about Captain Matty and his barefoot tours. Both were awesome because the people involved
went the extra mile.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Great Barrier Reef was the only reason we went to Cairns
and like Cairns it wasn’t quite how I imagined.
Brightly coloured photos from brochures and leaflets let me to believe
the reef would be an underwater jungle of colour and life in warm tropical
waters. The reef I saw and swam in was a
much more modest affair and the water was deep blue and cold. But the experience of swimming in the Great
Barrier Reef was a great one and definitely worth the trip. Especially if you listen to environmental
nutters who say there will be no reef in the future. Don’t you just hate pessimistic people who bang
on about the negatives?</div>
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<br /></div>
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So on our last day we said goodbye to the awesome people at
the hostel and headed to the airport via shuttle bus (which was late). Overall, our holiday in Cairns, was pretty
damn good.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsr5zOwq7BdtX4nF-g7k0H2pTeZPHNMmMiT7tHHxSN3ncqDEotuKzq4WTUoXe0_BDnzDvUFfDkaqAScgDbW5Yl6CapHyGqN7JK20C7qCXTA5WrGL7HG5MubESu-hMllLvT0JRjsbX5B0/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsr5zOwq7BdtX4nF-g7k0H2pTeZPHNMmMiT7tHHxSN3ncqDEotuKzq4WTUoXe0_BDnzDvUFfDkaqAScgDbW5Yl6CapHyGqN7JK20C7qCXTA5WrGL7HG5MubESu-hMllLvT0JRjsbX5B0/s640/DSC_0004.JPG" width="420" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmN5kKw8wlMMLoah0ktwG9GEkfV0DKurbcgy_8gKVtrdzq21eOZB75LnVyGENRVvN2pJvZhg62r9vkR44WcmUrz33b0SvDY2gmCuJW4v56BplSn5n1gKol4ZaSOKTq8_lc3r2_H7Btx7U/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmN5kKw8wlMMLoah0ktwG9GEkfV0DKurbcgy_8gKVtrdzq21eOZB75LnVyGENRVvN2pJvZhg62r9vkR44WcmUrz33b0SvDY2gmCuJW4v56BplSn5n1gKol4ZaSOKTq8_lc3r2_H7Btx7U/s640/DSC_0005.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone had obviously tipped off the media that I was in town</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0YK-n2BmhDWUTJ7SAtSWYXFU7ZuWFT_S_9sKNqOn2XK5YgJMsTAeZcHjlTTvPU77-K4xy4VrzCMUBDaRhuvf_8rRUg7h5IpCM8K_PhrmT_M5Id-HpyMkDXzfFu76PWQlktOrPPhwX6M/s1600/DSC_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0YK-n2BmhDWUTJ7SAtSWYXFU7ZuWFT_S_9sKNqOn2XK5YgJMsTAeZcHjlTTvPU77-K4xy4VrzCMUBDaRhuvf_8rRUg7h5IpCM8K_PhrmT_M5Id-HpyMkDXzfFu76PWQlktOrPPhwX6M/s640/DSC_0129.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The typically Cairns highstreet</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6A4wjXcGryXAg9wC6CXLYYc5aimBAC_R8L68Z5mSU3xi3EFbCB8IpIHCfwYo23NOrC5ZnW30G6ER89wpKCg7ns4BHMdUV8n38ByKQq7a1OdixYRBTGbwQxg2jzkD61bETHJiemRrx8k8/s1600/DSC_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6A4wjXcGryXAg9wC6CXLYYc5aimBAC_R8L68Z5mSU3xi3EFbCB8IpIHCfwYo23NOrC5ZnW30G6ER89wpKCg7ns4BHMdUV8n38ByKQq7a1OdixYRBTGbwQxg2jzkD61bETHJiemRrx8k8/s640/DSC_0113.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much goon was drank here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bromance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUTKIBSxAHcUIe6oZ5O-7ZIj-u7IPrY4CymLjVpunvItYj3KFUCk0wXyF8vDLN145_VL4ObognfNvHf542vwBLdZRGO_sGCWkjytkA4O0j1TyVSW-1hJivliSHgQzC64ngBZZPz1vC6M/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUTKIBSxAHcUIe6oZ5O-7ZIj-u7IPrY4CymLjVpunvItYj3KFUCk0wXyF8vDLN145_VL4ObognfNvHf542vwBLdZRGO_sGCWkjytkA4O0j1TyVSW-1hJivliSHgQzC64ngBZZPz1vC6M/s640/DSC_0161.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cans, in Cairns, get it?</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-10662332756365519012013-02-06T12:19:00.001+11:002013-02-06T12:19:05.304+11:00A week in Cairns (part IV/V)<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barefoot tours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Cairns, the tired little coastal town filled with
backpackers and unfriendly locals (probably a slightly unfair statement). Cairns is only a destination on the traveller’s
map because of its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, but surely there must
be more to Cairns than just the reef?</div>
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Whilst booking our excursions to the reef the people at the
hostel recommended a day trip to us called the “barefoot tours” or “Captain
Matty’s barefoot tours” to be more precise.
The trip was highly recommended not only by the people in the hostel but
also on Trip Adviser where it has been voted the 1# attraction for several
years along with a heap of excellent reviews.
The day trip was not expensive either so Olivia and I booked ourselves
on the trip. The plan was that Captain
Matty (who wears no shoes hence the name barefoot tours) would pick us up from
the hostel, drive us inland and up into an area known as the Atherton
Tablelands. Here we could swim in some
old volcanic lakes, swim underneath some waterfalls, slide down a natural
waterslide, have a good Aussie pub lunch and generally enjoy the views and
company of Captain Matty and his bare feet.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No friends of mine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Captain Matty pulled up outside our hostel bright and early
as promised in his tour bus. He was a
medium height friendly looking bloke with no shoes and dreadlocks, though he
didn’t look much like the cartoon character on his website. </div>
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After Captain Matty picked us up we headed out of Cairns and
towards the tablelands. On the way to
the Atherton tablelands some idiots driving a ute (Australian for pickup truck) came speeding
past us beeping their horn and waving frantically at the tour bus. Matty wasn’t sure if he knew them or not so
waved back out of courtesy. After the
idiots overtook us the passenger threw an empty drinks carton onto the side of
the road. Matty who was obviously a man
who enjoyed the great outdoors disapproved of this, “they are certainly no
friends of mine” he said.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S4aNumEwRU_C1unPXPpVdvOuoLxhpDXzHmLIq73crZk60NYAFiwnl-r-TFEP5IshiIJwjQTpLWlhiTFOWo3JQZTJhEmg_VwGVY_5OUQmuWOOmT4-9wF-G11wY2NvXOtx9-718XFASB8/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S4aNumEwRU_C1unPXPpVdvOuoLxhpDXzHmLIq73crZk60NYAFiwnl-r-TFEP5IshiIJwjQTpLWlhiTFOWo3JQZTJhEmg_VwGVY_5OUQmuWOOmT4-9wF-G11wY2NvXOtx9-718XFASB8/s400/DSC_0029.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The long steep road up to the tablelands</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUHW2T1bUfE887pBkbuX017iyNkFtZJuPlPEGx0_zkfijTmcQVpnphilXZk3Bow1EbiEEUUqpyMjemL_r89Rm6Q4uKUp8LFmn8X4L2NSYb1nj29cNigMvrr98wwJl8VhbU5uBbqhAOHo/s1600/DSC_0038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUHW2T1bUfE887pBkbuX017iyNkFtZJuPlPEGx0_zkfijTmcQVpnphilXZk3Bow1EbiEEUUqpyMjemL_r89Rm6Q4uKUp8LFmn8X4L2NSYb1nj29cNigMvrr98wwJl8VhbU5uBbqhAOHo/s400/DSC_0038.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Matty was a legend</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tablelands<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Atherton tablelands were a stark contrast from the
somewhat dry and arid Cairns.</div>
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Swimming in the natural waters was one of the main
activities of the bus tour, however I found that the majority of people on the
trip had no intention of swimming and didn’t even bring any swim wear. I could understand why though, all the waters
were not heated and therefore were going to be very cold. But this is what made swimming in the natural
waters fun.</div>
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When we stopped off at the first body of water I was reluctant
to go into the cold water at first, I was quite happy being a wall flower (or
edge of water flower) and take in the beautiful scenery like most of the other
people. </div>
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But I changed my mind, I remembered some advised the guy
from the hostel gave me before going on the trip; he basically said that in
order to make the most of the day we had to get involved as much as
possible. I guess you could say that is
a good metaphor for life in general. I
was standing at the edge of the cold natural water doing exactly what the guy
at the hostel told me not to do. Also
Olivia was in the water having an awesome time and was requesting my presence
in the water. So I thought “fuck it, I
am going in”.</div>
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And yes, the water was painfully cold, but only at
first. After the initial shock you
quickly get used to the low temperature and you start feeling great. It is a little hard to describe but the cold
water is just exhilarating! We stopped
off at several swimming locations including a small mountain stream, a large
and very beautiful waterfall and the famous natural waterslides. All of them were not only beautiful to look
at and to take in but awesome to swim in.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbFGApv-nhLmtvuvY0-ywTRaUAdGh8BVHM3qpNMqyD-oBlZcRghQtNhBx1MAYQeCn3ZV3lCrb5jlQM5V7FUWk_vsjc9tkpzOjHC5tMRsL-hs2-hLHMo9SxfO2Z3CtuGRSbF1ksGoADpw/s1600/DSC_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUbFGApv-nhLmtvuvY0-ywTRaUAdGh8BVHM3qpNMqyD-oBlZcRghQtNhBx1MAYQeCn3ZV3lCrb5jlQM5V7FUWk_vsjc9tkpzOjHC5tMRsL-hs2-hLHMo9SxfO2Z3CtuGRSbF1ksGoADpw/s400/DSC_0068.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A calm and tranquil lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJfJ9lYMPL-ZZtBtAFMEb3y3xEz4Jm3i33n-AYhZiaBUUR8NjbSqY2qV0-_Z9jvC_vM4Qo8uTdAqVnbDSbfFPlhmUTCWnwoD0KB71YKwn3WmBe3Dn_MaF8CjGO1yv4cFUv4QsdUUbO34/s1600/DSC_0057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJfJ9lYMPL-ZZtBtAFMEb3y3xEz4Jm3i33n-AYhZiaBUUR8NjbSqY2qV0-_Z9jvC_vM4Qo8uTdAqVnbDSbfFPlhmUTCWnwoD0KB71YKwn3WmBe3Dn_MaF8CjGO1yv4cFUv4QsdUUbO34/s400/DSC_0057.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh mountain water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ko7Z2LDqPSXWY-bISOlSe_CrUfyAvl0zRCPl34-3HJ-3DykEbj9Dc7aHUk_R-NDMmJZtWHG8VB3uy3TZKa4bzCmPQaBEgaP-cTlap7s2RMSfzy4Fx5vgcVWARr9r0xYMi7FVrChkZsw/s1600/DSC_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ko7Z2LDqPSXWY-bISOlSe_CrUfyAvl0zRCPl34-3HJ-3DykEbj9Dc7aHUk_R-NDMmJZtWHG8VB3uy3TZKa4bzCmPQaBEgaP-cTlap7s2RMSfzy4Fx5vgcVWARr9r0xYMi7FVrChkZsw/s320/DSC_0070.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More fun than any heated swimming pool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Hidden crater<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We also stopped off at a very deep hole in the ground called
Mount Hypipamee Crater. This very
sizeable hole in the ground was apparently first discovered when some guy who
was exploring the area apparently fell into it.
Looking at the sheer cliff faces that made up the hole you’d had to feel
sorry for the guy. The crater was actually
an old volcanic vent and Captain Matty said the flooded lake of the crater was
extremely deep and no-one knew the true depth of the water. However Wikipedia suggests the depth of the
lake is actually 82metres (which is still pretty deep).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9m_kCADu4XzkKnZe8j2AMN_6X0cSnt9HyB0pQM-zhRyQ1Zuan2yTgAr5oh1Ajk64nZ731lfuKOyXyEDo8HVEi5PSZ38yXQ0GnI7_sibSRAcjwMpU8FmT3Z7KDIlFc1JLMd0cT371WTw/s1600/DSC_0081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9m_kCADu4XzkKnZe8j2AMN_6X0cSnt9HyB0pQM-zhRyQ1Zuan2yTgAr5oh1Ajk64nZ731lfuKOyXyEDo8HVEi5PSZ38yXQ0GnI7_sibSRAcjwMpU8FmT3Z7KDIlFc1JLMd0cT371WTw/s400/DSC_0081.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mind that step</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">Hero</span></div>
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Overall we had an awesome time. The scenery was amazing and swimming in the
natural waters was exhilarating. But I
guess the real hero of the day was Captain Matty himself. He was cool, fun and generally a great bloke
to be around. It is amazing how he can
run these tours day after day and still maintain his energy and excitement.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBVPcBiX-eKJuvodVEjzhj0tQKw0x-culBpsbBNcYnVv1-DTVFJvnrvcAr_qdHLAiD9uoLFdjDQRUEoXHZ6SDEQOJU6qEl4apkXdyGjrmNGUFuSJXKGbXYqC7zeKrTgrDKBH60F5F0Qs/s1600/DSC_0069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBVPcBiX-eKJuvodVEjzhj0tQKw0x-culBpsbBNcYnVv1-DTVFJvnrvcAr_qdHLAiD9uoLFdjDQRUEoXHZ6SDEQOJU6qEl4apkXdyGjrmNGUFuSJXKGbXYqC7zeKrTgrDKBH60F5F0Qs/s400/DSC_0069.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olivia, thanks for dragging me into the water, it made the trip</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-60677377575955831072012-12-19T14:06:00.001+11:002012-12-19T14:08:56.359+11:00A week in Cairns (part III / V) - The Great Barrier Reef<div class="BlogHeading">
</div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A week in Cairns (part III / V)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Visiting the Great Barrier Reef</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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The main reason for our trip to Cairns was to see the world
famous Great Barrier Reef. I had learnt
a little bit about the reef whilst I was street fundraising for the ACF
(Australian Conservation Foundation) such as only a third of the reef is
actually protected which is quite surprising considering the whole reef is
listed as a world heritage site. There
were even plans to start drilling for oil in the reef but the good people at
the ACF applied pressure and the plans were eventually scrapped.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69oePEdrIEtEfzvduKvXMmgvqTMLw60ahyW3ebOFPhOT6opsuVTKwzbW4pXLTTtqboCDiq9F9g5O9JGPI-H4j1N0-d2uxFIqFIdXwqo0lEtO0FdZxPu9LoCKsti5hT2usFe5GPIDPG6c/s1600/new-ACF-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69oePEdrIEtEfzvduKvXMmgvqTMLw60ahyW3ebOFPhOT6opsuVTKwzbW4pXLTTtqboCDiq9F9g5O9JGPI-H4j1N0-d2uxFIqFIdXwqo0lEtO0FdZxPu9LoCKsti5hT2usFe5GPIDPG6c/s320/new-ACF-logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good on you</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">Nirvana</span></div>
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As we had previously discovered the only viable way of
seeing the reef was through excursion trips.
We took 2 excursions to sail out to the reef on separate days. On one of the trips about an hour out of
Cairns we stopped off at a small island to pick up a few more people. The island was very picturesque and looked
like one of those typical tropical islands you see in travel brochures. The island was covered in lush green trees
and the beaches were made of flawless golden white sand. There was a hotel on the island but it was
hidden away in the dense green forest. The
sea surrounding the island was a beautiful shade of light blue and looked very
inviting. I guess I had originally
imagined Cairns to look a bit like this island.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmcW444y9cSZkfKz3uj7P0iaF4xTdBlWCVnwaBQrhlIxxxomXxq5QlT-j38JTw7pIGM-Q9C22rheiTwJRO3cZ37iGZDAFELt9SPPgl5Dghopg-5vAVKAg99XSVo15tJrLwI1i0mb4iyc/s1600/DSC_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmcW444y9cSZkfKz3uj7P0iaF4xTdBlWCVnwaBQrhlIxxxomXxq5QlT-j38JTw7pIGM-Q9C22rheiTwJRO3cZ37iGZDAFELt9SPPgl5Dghopg-5vAVKAg99XSVo15tJrLwI1i0mb4iyc/s640/DSC_0157.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9guusjwvK-SCInQrwtDnqKhkrp63MqT6O8wgyInFrs04o9CJAvKBghZrajcz_f4C_KYfQADqahn32yzlyvFr86rzOMIF6TALzBhTxO3bEvb4vijGRcmD_3EwzdAAy7HnieQD7UOMetsQ/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9guusjwvK-SCInQrwtDnqKhkrp63MqT6O8wgyInFrs04o9CJAvKBghZrajcz_f4C_KYfQADqahn32yzlyvFr86rzOMIF6TALzBhTxO3bEvb4vijGRcmD_3EwzdAAy7HnieQD7UOMetsQ/s640/DSC_0161.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who's idea was that? Lets put a pick-up truck on an island with no roads</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Reef</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On both excursions after about 2 hours from leaving Cairns the
boats would suddenly stop in what looked just like deep sea. The only sign of the reef from the deck of
the boat were some waves crashing on some shallow rocks over in the distance. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the boats were anchored up we were given the go ahead
to get geared up and to enter the water.
Since we were in the Coral Sea I was expecting the water to be pleasantly
warm but the water was much colder than I had thought. The wetsuit kept most of me dry and
reasonably warm but occasionally a small amount of water would enter the suit
and trickle down my back which gave me the shivers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we were all in the water and acclimatised an instructor
would lead us to the reef. Whilst
following the instructor I could see what looked like a massive underwater
boulder come into view. I guess the reef
was made up of these submerged rocky islands were the water is shallow enough
to support underwater plant life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we arrived at the reef we were advised not to swim over
the reef as the water was very shallow and we could risk damaging the coral
with our flippers. After the instructor
left I started to do circles around the reef.
My first impression of the reef was a bit modest at first, I was expecting an
underwater forest of brightly coloured coral.
In reality the reef was more of a beige and dark green colour. I wasn’t disappointed though, I was swimming
in the Great Barrier Reef and it was awesome.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLq64MAZUIDlK-9C8VAaVJG3sYFrrtq99xu9n9dL64y1ErxgVpI4UX9iR6xcSEXwhareldszGElMzZwBh7fdUlL60x-6nh2SkPnmuTrOZIPsAX9e6J17LrStQvv6rS5hqjA-vvHha7nU/s1600/P1410507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLq64MAZUIDlK-9C8VAaVJG3sYFrrtq99xu9n9dL64y1ErxgVpI4UX9iR6xcSEXwhareldszGElMzZwBh7fdUlL60x-6nh2SkPnmuTrOZIPsAX9e6J17LrStQvv6rS5hqjA-vvHha7nU/s640/P1410507.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome stuff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIuFn2hb9d10t9KolTk0gFebqQieHsVwv47s9Mao1ZjWVCv5i6mrDNgbGjzE0kPFA1aGFn1UoyMsX3FtmYuyf3mV2D_lhAPPiOHg8Byzm_dI3_lr1Z68Plx6HP6shbQkXxBnqlkpjFkk/s1600/P1410579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIuFn2hb9d10t9KolTk0gFebqQieHsVwv47s9Mao1ZjWVCv5i6mrDNgbGjzE0kPFA1aGFn1UoyMsX3FtmYuyf3mV2D_lhAPPiOHg8Byzm_dI3_lr1Z68Plx6HP6shbQkXxBnqlkpjFkk/s640/P1410579.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The edge of the reef, note how steep the drop was at the edge of the reef</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrYyY3tJMEcNrqDd2S5mm4vWfkmtQX4wIIMJyae1TUZbEJOFo_GvWVYc3xt8X_pXo1OGaD8ZmwZ2eb_IsOu1uk6jViPKLzJAwi2qEJ-uecwxSS2H1RkZb4QwtpqXPSXzNYS2kovIUyv0/s1600/P1410480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrYyY3tJMEcNrqDd2S5mm4vWfkmtQX4wIIMJyae1TUZbEJOFo_GvWVYc3xt8X_pXo1OGaD8ZmwZ2eb_IsOu1uk6jViPKLzJAwi2qEJ-uecwxSS2H1RkZb4QwtpqXPSXzNYS2kovIUyv0/s640/P1410480.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olivia holding what I think was some kind of Sea Cucumber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Residence of the reef</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were many different types of fish swimming around who
didn’t seem bothered by our presence.
Instead they just continued doing what fish do, which didn’t seem to be
much. They were just wondering around
the coral (a bit like me).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During my rounds around the reef I came across a school of
parrot fish who I started to follow.
They would swim around the reef slowly and then suddenly dive on a
section and start eating it. The sound
of 20 odd parrot fish scraping bits of coral off the rock with their bills was
very loud and gave me that nails on a chalk board feel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During my wonders of the reef I would occasionally come
across a giant clam. These ominous
looking shells were just sat on the seabed amongst the coral. I was tempted to put my hand in one of the
shell’s open mouth but it was too deep to reach which was probably a good
thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So...I have swum in the Great Barrier Reef, awesome. A great experience to tick off my list.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE80yukVsrwkxs7pAlKzld-QN6lkqcppEPKlNxNH3Sk5I8DooVDjsI1hAws0HGwffLvREGd8vO9cQ98ogZi9MIAuQ1N3koKqseE3QuPBDnEU9pH5sT8c21kLs45LZQ5lMwqYEaeGM0xI/s1600/DSC_5622_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE80yukVsrwkxs7pAlKzld-QN6lkqcppEPKlNxNH3Sk5I8DooVDjsI1hAws0HGwffLvREGd8vO9cQ98ogZi9MIAuQ1N3koKqseE3QuPBDnEU9pH5sT8c21kLs45LZQ5lMwqYEaeGM0xI/s640/DSC_5622_exposure.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olivia is a qualified scuba diver and took some of the best photos. I wasn't allowed anywhere near the<br />
scuba equipment because I have asthma</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTJe0u91_u14SKTLQXv4Qyve8C26G1HgIZZe7QkknXhl73dG0Hju2co_a4sfawRqJY8HwB78BbrnGOFwfl51idIDNNZqMfngPS7gl8oONXgtU9Hokbrsx_qygAU2jWCsmU5e_tE7JS7Q/s1600/DSC_5624_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTJe0u91_u14SKTLQXv4Qyve8C26G1HgIZZe7QkknXhl73dG0Hju2co_a4sfawRqJY8HwB78BbrnGOFwfl51idIDNNZqMfngPS7gl8oONXgtU9Hokbrsx_qygAU2jWCsmU5e_tE7JS7Q/s400/DSC_5624_exposure.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Show off</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfW_MPF1avLIvaUKpn_tDhWDDHYsv8Ry_Uz1-YAMW-LEDI1sdfQSDk-4KuPENfFIWEr6Us74G-q44eqsawYoSsex-Xm788ZRWNZbBG_0wt9kRHhKNji5ns3W-S2lq_NfadUs0O2Co8moY/s1600/DSC_5644_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfW_MPF1avLIvaUKpn_tDhWDDHYsv8Ry_Uz1-YAMW-LEDI1sdfQSDk-4KuPENfFIWEr6Us74G-q44eqsawYoSsex-Xm788ZRWNZbBG_0wt9kRHhKNji5ns3W-S2lq_NfadUs0O2Co8moY/s400/DSC_5644_exposure.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOd5dFWzrZDa70YypfN_bpOZIm7k7L9drIZPd8qroVgCfPO3QZFK1DNRRtGpTS1xl4Xj5B-ErEHSrE019n82sgVozcaYehzbrlzd6bSvSk3fJa6uTwiQW_K5KTubp6Szz_doLVON47hhU/s1600/DSC_5650_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOd5dFWzrZDa70YypfN_bpOZIm7k7L9drIZPd8qroVgCfPO3QZFK1DNRRtGpTS1xl4Xj5B-ErEHSrE019n82sgVozcaYehzbrlzd6bSvSk3fJa6uTwiQW_K5KTubp6Szz_doLVON47hhU/s640/DSC_5650_exposure.JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant clam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEkfIe2Tju-nbr_S43lIZo0N_41Il3aEad5bzNoaU4U4iCD0JISpPXwUDyvWJMIouQ30KbNbK3tb5DUW36nenENG6tQnFOwJwvWXXlIECTnx1f3OQ9CySrwr7TPJFzvvQk1SvzKOZvjU/s1600/P1410515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEkfIe2Tju-nbr_S43lIZo0N_41Il3aEad5bzNoaU4U4iCD0JISpPXwUDyvWJMIouQ30KbNbK3tb5DUW36nenENG6tQnFOwJwvWXXlIECTnx1f3OQ9CySrwr7TPJFzvvQk1SvzKOZvjU/s640/P1410515.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I only saw a glimpse of this turtle, Olivia was lucky enough to<br />
get close enough to feed it and give its belly a scratch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnt-cCtYxfhuCS0vKaxgIXMyhEmp21l4ivW__PCokL9ZTW7_0dUZ3opJQcNISgBvV5xuw2rOSNBYlFve5YgxRgKmJAmgI4lbZ4nPBQIcwwkW-If1NjOpWQbI9HQQAt_6vgnqN2T0uAWs8/s1600/P1410588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnt-cCtYxfhuCS0vKaxgIXMyhEmp21l4ivW__PCokL9ZTW7_0dUZ3opJQcNISgBvV5xuw2rOSNBYlFve5YgxRgKmJAmgI4lbZ4nPBQIcwwkW-If1NjOpWQbI9HQQAt_6vgnqN2T0uAWs8/s640/P1410588.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boat from a distance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoElrVC71xaI8StPo9HuKIoXJ_-B6HLwg9RVWrRlWKObVPu7UDGQYXcXEnt_A5HqrbcvsB6tOODAjzzn_DdSPomO8qmdUM-FE58Ky2yGEYX2FKctRqHRnH1oR-6-3HN4r62b8Yj0pOaA/s1600/P1410609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoElrVC71xaI8StPo9HuKIoXJ_-B6HLwg9RVWrRlWKObVPu7UDGQYXcXEnt_A5HqrbcvsB6tOODAjzzn_DdSPomO8qmdUM-FE58Ky2yGEYX2FKctRqHRnH1oR-6-3HN4r62b8Yj0pOaA/s640/P1410609.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1Cairns QLD, Australia-16.923978 145.77085999999997-17.896182000000003 144.47996649999996 -15.951774000000002 147.06175349999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-34760307243450786952012-12-18T17:52:00.000+11:002012-12-18T17:53:23.801+11:00A week in Cairns (part II / V)<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 26.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A week in Cairns (part II / V)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Asylum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After getting off the plane at Cairns airport we headed off
to our hostel in a shuttle bus. Olivia
had booked us a 5 night stay in a hostel called Asylum, other than the name and
some good reviews about the atmosphere we knew very little about the hostel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was interesting stopping off outside each hostel and thinking
“is this one Asylum?” After stopping
outside some very comfortable looking hostels the shuttle bus pulled up outside
a tired looking white building with a big sign outside that read “Asylum”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSa15lVK1jid2BKzviyI3c6A3uhkg66DRSmeq8rXEEJ810XkZYHhEmmcUWKv59n_feDAwLiZUYBxGOzUvI4pllst9Kof3amEwvUdvHe33kpqw6mZ39HgLzkJ-NOlbgq9EGljfWgzkyUDA/s1600/DSC_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSa15lVK1jid2BKzviyI3c6A3uhkg66DRSmeq8rXEEJ810XkZYHhEmmcUWKv59n_feDAwLiZUYBxGOzUvI4pllst9Kof3amEwvUdvHe33kpqw6mZ39HgLzkJ-NOlbgq9EGljfWgzkyUDA/s640/DSC_0177.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Asylum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We left the shuttle bus and were both immediately greeted by
a friendly guy behind the reception who came round and gave both of us a big hug. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After checking in we headed to our room which
was very basic but clean. It had all the
basic facilities including a ceiling fan that had some dodgy electrics. The fan was operated using a dial on the wall
which had numbers 1 to 5 to set the speed (1 being lowest etc) however the dial
was broken and turning the dial to any number resulted in the fan spinning at a
dangerously fast speed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeGkLuJLXW02Vz6gfMsDBcSQdNqYsaDhiAaJs3zZXsEIOKcSE7UfklPPS_xhWSTwwYij4lXr_ukhPlk-lw0sNZz3kb2Ncx7mdUkx6ZJqnh94OG-aAbzR6VkhFMW4N-Y2IFMwG5u9NTFo/s1600/DSC_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeGkLuJLXW02Vz6gfMsDBcSQdNqYsaDhiAaJs3zZXsEIOKcSE7UfklPPS_xhWSTwwYij4lXr_ukhPlk-lw0sNZz3kb2Ncx7mdUkx6ZJqnh94OG-aAbzR6VkhFMW4N-Y2IFMwG5u9NTFo/s640/DSC_0130.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cell</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJ8j2Ei46US_ZlA6H37lCjdgyMseABwMEQ1xP-rhVlm106KyRsRfFMVAburA0O-LKnAhcc0sdE84pjmGx8vRPmlqe9xYgcfrFLe4M2bxmG_tYt9fzgnBcFeSZOq_f3WTz65vIDQ9zhis/s1600/DSC_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJ8j2Ei46US_ZlA6H37lCjdgyMseABwMEQ1xP-rhVlm106KyRsRfFMVAburA0O-LKnAhcc0sdE84pjmGx8vRPmlqe9xYgcfrFLe4M2bxmG_tYt9fzgnBcFeSZOq_f3WTz65vIDQ9zhis/s640/DSC_0131.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fan of doom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">Cairns</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After unpacking our stuff and playing around with the
psychotic ceiling fan we left the hostel to have a wonder around Cairns. It quickly became apparent that Cairns wasn’t
a particularly special place. We had
imagined a sunny beach town with golden sandy beaches, clear waters and
friendly people walking around with surfboards under their arms. In reality Cairns is a rather dull and sleepy
little town. The roads were wide and
empty and the whole place was quite barren.
There was a water front however there was no beach. The water along the front was dark and looked
very uninviting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QPI8-8LvkO4GdUP80bm_FdC7VaWI-o-FTqTUYs87pB6g4ozQBHCaQnGbFKpWo1Fajn7kzyr0DV8YlgbsAJtwyk-7YX9WtB9tB8J2zHJ1KT8vjPE6d7-rIjG_WjBvR8ecJ_carsJZDlg/s1600/DSC_0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QPI8-8LvkO4GdUP80bm_FdC7VaWI-o-FTqTUYs87pB6g4ozQBHCaQnGbFKpWo1Fajn7kzyr0DV8YlgbsAJtwyk-7YX9WtB9tB8J2zHJ1KT8vjPE6d7-rIjG_WjBvR8ecJ_carsJZDlg/s640/DSC_0135.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not what I had imagined</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNcKULEj9KlhFad72IGoTF1UbNMPauTw_A0D8Q6E5nRx3FcibDHL69w-Gv3nWUnHqpDFf04L3_iqS2r0455ACgeASib6B8Z2LTnaIWXQNL3MsKVOXjfXt7todIm7b8Nccum29G1UvOG8/s1600/DSC_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNcKULEj9KlhFad72IGoTF1UbNMPauTw_A0D8Q6E5nRx3FcibDHL69w-Gv3nWUnHqpDFf04L3_iqS2r0455ACgeASib6B8Z2LTnaIWXQNL3MsKVOXjfXt7todIm7b8Nccum29G1UvOG8/s640/DSC_0139.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The waterfront, complete with some ugly artwork</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nhbbRm3Q04ifmRXa0riQqhOED78Ca00DCPAPAu2LoLvXwddYNL-m7XT8iP-RblLn-nwqhtD0A-L_3yN0ArzSxGMkPIrarzOqfp9J2rdZYPYjLNMmmxbtCvbbRVhHGqnVR-V16i92vKE/s1600/DSC_0167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nhbbRm3Q04ifmRXa0riQqhOED78Ca00DCPAPAu2LoLvXwddYNL-m7XT8iP-RblLn-nwqhtD0A-L_3yN0ArzSxGMkPIrarzOqfp9J2rdZYPYjLNMmmxbtCvbbRVhHGqnVR-V16i92vKE/s640/DSC_0167.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We did actually find a beach later on in the week,<br />
but this sign kept us away</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another disappointment we had was when we went into a scuba
diving shop to find out more about the Great Barrier Reef. Our initial plan was just to hire some gear
and swim to the reef ourselves from one of Cairns nonexistent beaches. However we found out that the reef was at
least a 2 hour boat journey away from the coast and the only way to see the
reef was by expensive excursion trips.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course we weren’t going to let this small set back stop
us from seeing the reef. The next day we
did some research and with help from the great staff at the hostel we had some
reasonably priced trips booked. We had booked
2 full day excursions to the reef and one full day tour of the landscape that
surrounded Cairns. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Strangers are just friends you haven’t met<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We might have got some things wrong about Cairns, but one
thing we seemed to get right was the hostel we booked. The hostel had received an award for its
atmosphere and we could see why. Right
from our first night we made friends quickly.
It helped having Olivia around as she is more outgoing than me and was
very good at breaking the ice with other guests in the hostel and making
friends (I did make some friends on my own as well). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a wide variety of nationalities staying at the
hostel, but everyone was friendly and like minded. Goon pong was a very popular past time in the
hostel and pretty much everybody was involved either directly or as a spectator.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Goon Pong is the same as Beer Pong, only instead of beer we
used cheap wine which in Australia is known as goon. Using cheap wine for this game instead of
beer meant losing a game would result in a rather nasty hangover the next
morning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSKw_9WwDGVHQU6IDzxmQGnkTRrWMaVOQqW95vrEDxTlFlRKMWcS2LKDHmmdp_2YMwaPZcCWij83-YJfrkGDrTZd2uiQ75wQBLGrdUousa32gwCaVZochXHaBr5-sNIBgT8VcJuQiejE/s1600/DSC_0147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSKw_9WwDGVHQU6IDzxmQGnkTRrWMaVOQqW95vrEDxTlFlRKMWcS2LKDHmmdp_2YMwaPZcCWij83-YJfrkGDrTZd2uiQ75wQBLGrdUousa32gwCaVZochXHaBr5-sNIBgT8VcJuQiejE/s640/DSC_0147.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goon pong, notice the championship table on a sheet of paper in the top left<br />
and the medals for the 2 winners in the centre of the table</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEEDi5hezZl_LXLG9o-0eBkh-0k8OSnlRXmtU0TX55AXAQ964p6-epn7kUr19oe0nhyphenhyphenGcC4iG6mKM7S_KLKPQixoIR_k7WMZU7YfDCnHtK34Tz7jWveC8_4gbgJWP_5xGKLREMwz5Oc0/s1600/DSC_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEEDi5hezZl_LXLG9o-0eBkh-0k8OSnlRXmtU0TX55AXAQ964p6-epn7kUr19oe0nhyphenhyphenGcC4iG6mKM7S_KLKPQixoIR_k7WMZU7YfDCnHtK34Tz7jWveC8_4gbgJWP_5xGKLREMwz5Oc0/s640/DSC_0082.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some guy taking an important shot,<br />
they later lost the match because his partner got too drunk to play</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Freestyle Script'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;">Reputation</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing I began to notice whilst lounging around
comfortably in one of the hammocks in the front garden of the hostel was any
locals who walked past the hostel would look in at us with a disapproving look.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I later learnt that
the hostel had a reputation for being a party hotspot and the guests staying at
the hostel were often drunk and disorderly in the town centre at night (and
maybe sometimes during the day). I even
heard that the hostel was the subject of a damning local TV report regarding
the drunken behaviour of its guests. However
after the TV report was aired the number of guests staying at the hostel
increased.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The frown from the locals did not bother me. When I travel somewhere I usually try and
integrate myself with the locals and their culture as much as possible, but I
was on holiday and I had left my cares behind.
I felt like I had already been marked out as an “inmate” of the asylum by
the locals and I liked it. After all I
was on holiday and I was looking forward to the trips we had book for the week
and the goon filled nights out that gave the hostel its reputation.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0Cairns QLD, Australia-16.923978 145.77085999999997-17.896154000000003 144.47996649999996 -15.951802000000002 147.06175349999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-53625434249787227592012-10-12T02:14:00.002+11:002012-10-12T02:14:39.758+11:00A week in Cairns (part I / V)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">A week in Cairns (part I / V)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So this is a quick 5 part story about when Olivia (friend
from England) and I spent a week in Cairns. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess you could dub this was my “holiday within a working
holiday” as I am currently in Australia on a working holiday visa. Olivia (my good friend from the homeland) had
worked hard to save some money to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and
since I was already in Australia I thought I would tag along.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first we couldn’t decide on which resort to go to. I originally wanted to go to Whitsunday
Island because I heard it was a good party destination and I thought it would
be an ideal place for Olivia and me.
However Olivia wanted to go to Cairns as it was further up north and
therefore a lot warmer plus Cairns always seems to be the number one choice
resort when it comes to scuba diving in the reef.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a bit of research Cairns did seem like the better option overall
and we pushed Whitsunday aside and booked tickets to Cairns. After all it was Olivia’s holiday and she was
the one with the scuba diving license, which is always a good trump card to
play when deciding where to go on a scuba diving holiday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Flying north for the summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Freestyle Script"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The economy class flight from Sydney to Cairns took just under 3
hours and was a good reminder of how big Australia was. You could fly from the most southern part of
England to the most northern tip of Scotland and back again in less time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The transition from the temperate climate of Sydney to the
tropical climate of Cairns was apparent even before we landed. Looking out the plane window whilst
approaching Cairns the landscape had changed from rather dull looking beige
colour of when we left Sydney to rolling hills of rich deep green jungle. Walking off the plane was like walking into a
preheated oven. The humidity made the
air a bit sticky but it was not too unpleasant.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMi0fj0HME0UfbWYjJg9GRw9l2edgQWBEtiZrL_xA_6gvX2xYv8uHZC5EqsImEL0tV4Btqb-PZq3XptvNeWX_7I2aDIKF3eC8xF_TN9Mxi9yRJQ9ZDjCXPf3H2NCm0NhlDaoueqVkGxE/s1600/DSC_0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMi0fj0HME0UfbWYjJg9GRw9l2edgQWBEtiZrL_xA_6gvX2xYv8uHZC5EqsImEL0tV4Btqb-PZq3XptvNeWX_7I2aDIKF3eC8xF_TN9Mxi9yRJQ9ZDjCXPf3H2NCm0NhlDaoueqVkGxE/s640/DSC_0126.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looked like we had flown into a different country.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting off the plane everyone stopped in the skybridge rather
abruptly and started getting out their cameras, at first I thought everyone was
taking photos of the plane for some reason.
But I then noticed that everyone was taking photos of an awesome rainbow
that was spanning across the airport. This
was an awesome introduction to Cairns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Making our way through the relatively small airport was fine
although I was spot checked by security to see if I had any explosive resin on
my clothes. Luckily I tend to wear an
apron when I make my bombs (that was a joke, I don’t make any form of explosives).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4zaL2-4qN-stocY1SHq6BTS1GiYemP2dFOauFvALOGwwu4XKNoDWjGuURXvDDx8isc1FgsaAy1L-34zCZm3KOBrJUq6yeRFNPQmGRmhISiEcUgA-4sVhOsdOloWqS0-PD94HU7wBVjw/s1600/DSC_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4zaL2-4qN-stocY1SHq6BTS1GiYemP2dFOauFvALOGwwu4XKNoDWjGuURXvDDx8isc1FgsaAy1L-34zCZm3KOBrJUq6yeRFNPQmGRmhISiEcUgA-4sVhOsdOloWqS0-PD94HU7wBVjw/s640/DSC_0128.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cairns made a great first impression</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hadn’t felt the heat of tropic weather since I first arrived in
Sydney back in March, and it felt good!
The weather in Sydney over the previous month had been very similar to
the weather back in my home city of Manchester.
Sometimes I had to remind myself that I was on the other side of the
world, but here in Cairns it felt very different from home. We didn’t have to wait very long for the
shuttle bus to pick us up and take us to the hostel that Olivia had booked us
into. Our new home for the next week, a
youth hostel by the name of “Asylum”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-39333518783756613382012-09-18T00:14:00.001+10:002012-09-18T00:14:49.209+10:00Something missing?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH6XjNbJFUCE3GuJ4mRV-oicfKTfuSt4zuyfcePrEjuw9G04aNSUvPrIbB4CC8_gf8cWJ-5Uite-3bwtm1Q2-LwQnWK2FfEcce2YTBg3zAFyIhK7TPdNgonSinrzJ8t58k1LJ9nYXv6I/s1600/DSC_0076small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH6XjNbJFUCE3GuJ4mRV-oicfKTfuSt4zuyfcePrEjuw9G04aNSUvPrIbB4CC8_gf8cWJ-5Uite-3bwtm1Q2-LwQnWK2FfEcce2YTBg3zAFyIhK7TPdNgonSinrzJ8t58k1LJ9nYXv6I/s400/DSC_0076small.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad place to be stopped</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got stopped the other day whilst walking through Hyde
Park. Some guy said <i>“hi” </i>whilst I was walking past him.
I was daydreaming at the time so it took me a second or two to actually
stop, turn around and say “<i>hi</i>”
back. He then introduced himself and why
he decided to stop me. He was a middle
aged man with dark frizzy hair that was short at the front and sides but long
at the back. He looked quite friendly, although
he generally had a weathered looking face, rough hands and somewhat untidy
clothes that made him look very poor. He
had these brilliant blue eyes, though one of them was bloodshot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first, I thought he was going to ask me for money, but it
turned out he was actually a devote Christian who was going around spreading
the word of God. He asked me what I was
doing, what my story was and what I thought about doing in the future. I told him I was a traveller and that I
wanted to see the world. He started off
by saying that there was “<i>nothing wrong
with that</i>” and that is was a “<i>good
thing for young people to do</i>”, but he did then start to criticise my choice
of life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He said <i>“people who
travel, are travelling because they are not content with their life’s and they
are searching for something to fill their life’s” </i>or he said something on
those lines. He then continued <i>“perhaps what you should be looking for is
more spiritual enlightenment, rather than physical”. </i>He then went on to quote some passes from
the bible (even though at the start he promised he wouldn’t) and talk about his
life and how he got involved with God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The content
life<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;">I
supposed some of what he was saying was true.
If I was completely content with my life in England I wouldn’t have come
all the way out here to Australia. Maybe
I am searching for something? But what
is a content life? Some people might say
England is the best country in the world to live in, others may say Australia
is, but you couldn’t possibly say anything like that if you haven’t tried to
live in every other country. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;">I read in a
book somewhere about this theory called “learned happiness” which is the theory
about people (and animals) becoming content with their surroundings. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The example the book gave was about this zoo
that owned a bear. At the start the bear
lived in a small cage. The zoo didn’t
want this for the bear so they raised money and in the end managed to create a
large enclosure for the bear with rocks, trees and even a waterfall. And what happened to the bear when they
introduced him into his new enclosure?
He stayed in an area that was the same size of his small cage until the
day he died; because that was the area the bear had become content with.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I guess what I am
trying to say is you shouldn’t be afraid of what is not familiar. The same book also gave me a quote, that “uncertainty
is the key to a satisfying life”. If
everything in life was certain and there were never any surprises, then life
would quickly become dull (for me it would anyway).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Student of
the world<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing the religious dude
said to me that I disagreed with was the fact that he disapproved of me
travelling and seeing the world, instead he recommended that I should consider
doing more spiritual exploration rather than global exploration. And maybe I should be open minded to the more
spiritual exploration. But my
counter-argument I wanted to say to him was <i>“if God created the world, then
I want to see as much of it as I can, and surely God would be happy that I am
taking such an interest in his creation”</i>.
I didn’t say any of this to the dude, I wish I did but I was getting a
bit impatient of his recited bible verses and I wanted to end the conversation. I was just walking home and I wasn’t in the right
frame of mind to have a deep intellectual conversation about religion and my
choice of life style.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I told him that I needed to
head off and I would “think about things”.
He gave me a little booklet to read that contained yet more bible
verses, we then shook hands and went our separate ways.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall I don’t mind being
stopped by people like this. I am always
interested to hear people’s stories and opinions, but maybe not quite on a
Sunday afternoon when I have a mild hangover.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s-aThrBHwCx76YpEbMfSafPvCWxDiukOkyIpuVTQPekhCZeXkEyws-PV9yOIjfcw9AeFxIx61LBYpjmaKkgPZxG7Z7LQmpxUmUUeDWSfb95GED1Bzu9mYf2STZapYfMedE3g3cu2Qt4/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s-aThrBHwCx76YpEbMfSafPvCWxDiukOkyIpuVTQPekhCZeXkEyws-PV9yOIjfcw9AeFxIx61LBYpjmaKkgPZxG7Z7LQmpxUmUUeDWSfb95GED1Bzu9mYf2STZapYfMedE3g3cu2Qt4/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some bedtime reading, courtesy of the Jesus People.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-72484534949622146332012-09-09T22:55:00.002+10:002012-09-09T22:55:46.803+10:00Job interview at the call centre<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 6</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> June</b> (</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Day 97)</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Job interview at the call centre</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd3qwe0qVJPhKQKqktTyABfJj1UAF7n57E9J5U4z3uVkabmyk31ZuapxZo9dMIbHJy0OjkieIp5_aj2z2eo_KZJvUwYiGUegT72YnEdDI8JAaEgafsWKZ2F84H1Zy_KnwArvkVO6N7w4/s1600/Image844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd3qwe0qVJPhKQKqktTyABfJj1UAF7n57E9J5U4z3uVkabmyk31ZuapxZo9dMIbHJy0OjkieIp5_aj2z2eo_KZJvUwYiGUegT72YnEdDI8JAaEgafsWKZ2F84H1Zy_KnwArvkVO6N7w4/s320/Image844.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here is
something I wrote ages ago that I thought I would upload....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It has been a
while since I have had a job, and looking back I don’t really count fundraising
as a job. Going round on the streets
trying to stop strangers to get them to sign up for charities really wasn’t as
good as I made it out to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So I have
been applying for engineering jobs over the course of the last few weeks, but
with no luck. To find engineering work
was actually the reason why I came in Sydney to the first place. I was expecting to just arrive in Sydney and
pick up an engineering job within days, but I am clearly not as in demand as I
thought I was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Oh well,
there is always plan B.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Plan B<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Plan B was a
job at a call centre just down the road.
I heard my chances of at least getting an interview there were
good. Apparently they are always looking
for people who can speak English. My
house mate Nick has been working there for a while and has just recently been
sponsored (means he can stay in Australia for as long as his job). So they definitely seemed like an good
company to work for. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I filled out
their online application form very late one night and I was awoken very early
the next morning by a phone call.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Hi Michael, sorry to call you so
early, just wondering if you would like to come for an interview this morning
at 9:30?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Wow, that was
quick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I wasn’t the
only person being interviewed that morning.
They had invited 2 other people for the interview this morning, although
they received the phone call several days ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After waiting
in the reception area for something like 40 minutes the three of us were
finally led into the interview room. I
don’t think I have ever had a job interview that started on time, but having
said that I don’t think I have ever showed up for a job interview on time, so
it kind of works in my favour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The interview
room was dull and grey with a large frosted glass table in the middle. The 3 of us interviewees were sat on one side
of the frosty table whilst the boss of the company and a girl who was going to
be our supervisor should we get the job were sat on the other side. The interview started with the boss of the
company introducing himself and his company.
After about 5 minutes of the boss flexing his corporate muscles the
spotlight moved to us and we were asked to talk a bit about ourselves and why
we were suitable for the job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sell yourself<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">They started
off with the guy who was sat at the end of the row. He introduced himself very calmly and then
went on to list all his previous customer service experience, and there was a
lot of it. He had a variety of
impressive customer service jobs including when he worked for apple where he
made over $100,000 in sales! Damn, this
guy was good. He was really not the kind of guy you want to pit yourself
against in a group interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">They then
turned to the girl who was sat between myself and the guy at the end. Although her job history revolved entirely
around working at McDonalds, she made up for this in confidence and
enthusiasm. She was pretty good to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now the spot
light was turned to me and by this point I was not feeling confident. I was extremely tired and probably looked
awful. I didn’t have a shower that
morning either, in fact my last shower was several days ago so I certainly
wasn’t smelling fresh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I managed to
cobble something together regarding my previous experience in customer service that
sounded reasonably convincing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I left the
interview not feeling particularly confident on my chances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Later that day...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Later that
day, after a good few hours after the interview I got the inevitable phone
call. It was the girl from the call
centre to tell me whether I had the job or not.
She started off the phone conversation all happy and cheery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">She asked me: <i>“so, how are you?”</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Why don’t you tell me if I got the
damn job or not?! Then I will tell you
how I am feeling”.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> This is what I said in my mind, my actual
reply was something more like <i>“yes, I am
fine, thanks”.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Her tone of
voice then changed to a more serious tone and there was a long pause. The type of pause you get just before someone
tells you some bad news....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Yeah, we were very impressed with you
Mike and we were wondering if you would like to come in tomorrow to meet the
client?”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Oh, ok, sure”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> I said in response in a somewhat
surprised manner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It appears I
actually have a job now. A proper job as
well, not going around the streets acting all happy and friendly to raise money
for charity. A job I can actually keep
for longer than a week. It’s about time
as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-21665746230615622002012-08-29T20:23:00.002+10:002012-08-29T20:23:38.409+10:00Some Changes<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I
haven't written in a while, not for any particular reason. I guess trying
to write about my life constantly on a daily basis was a bit much.
Anyway, I going to start writing again now</span>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-76466738190540860362012-07-25T23:53:00.001+10:002012-07-26T00:26:44.991+10:00(Day 95) More Photos from the Vivid Light festival<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 4</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> June</b> (</span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Day 95)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More Photos from the Vivid Light
festival<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On the last
day of the vivid light festival I went back with my camera and tripod and took
photos of all the exhibits I missed out on my first visit. All the exhibits are numbered from 1 to 63
with number 1 being the Opera house itself and the numbers going around Circular
Quays and further north of Sydney past the harbour bridge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All the
exhibits around Circular Quay and on the main drag were all very popular and I
visited most of them during my first visit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lasting impression <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Heading up
north from Circular Quays there are still some nice exhibits. Also from here you can see the Opera house
from across the harbour. I wasn’t overly
impressed with the Opera house from my first visit but from across the harbour
it looked so much better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The further
north I headed the less and less people I saw and the worst the exhibits
got. It was like they just couldn’t be
bothered anymore and some of the exhibits they had towards the end were just
laughable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall the
Vivid Light festival was really cool, and I wonder if I will still be here for
next year’s?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEdd0pyoBMYq__Pi7AE1zt5R0RjI0NojPvUVAhKONiMDhrQ-IV2Fgc-EQs7GSQMq73zPLcq0ObqHq3hZH7RpBPDxSH5I4J2RDvaUteumYuj3S2Z4NpYkC0hTFMFDWdT24jbWgwLs8GaM/s1600/SDC12711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEdd0pyoBMYq__Pi7AE1zt5R0RjI0NojPvUVAhKONiMDhrQ-IV2Fgc-EQs7GSQMq73zPLcq0ObqHq3hZH7RpBPDxSH5I4J2RDvaUteumYuj3S2Z4NpYkC0hTFMFDWdT24jbWgwLs8GaM/s640/SDC12711.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ironically most people don't come this far up Circular Quays which is a shame because<br />the Opera house looked so much better from here. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUT_XaOQsfY0o3ZF8GORf2aqxLNLEVlJcqGX90JfHGURvS0XOCyCUtliP2r60oDZxdlILc9rl_M6wwonWOZs78NLNxPXFriY5m8cTcLnvZzBvP60HmP7oByixHuCqJFChXIHN0zIDNA8/s1600/SDC12716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUT_XaOQsfY0o3ZF8GORf2aqxLNLEVlJcqGX90JfHGURvS0XOCyCUtliP2r60oDZxdlILc9rl_M6wwonWOZs78NLNxPXFriY5m8cTcLnvZzBvP60HmP7oByixHuCqJFChXIHN0zIDNA8/s640/SDC12716.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88dYNp6t0s00syaVbZs1edoSgrCO5IWIV_YMyDc8U5CcSNzmmGu7B5-TQQWOp3o_IWSIhnCoXFlIW2hsWjBNxULLREh0d3JS8IayKrXfZ-i_S3GxCg6kX-_SAA1Kxvi2_HLEJonwupiY/s1600/SDC12721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88dYNp6t0s00syaVbZs1edoSgrCO5IWIV_YMyDc8U5CcSNzmmGu7B5-TQQWOp3o_IWSIhnCoXFlIW2hsWjBNxULLREh0d3JS8IayKrXfZ-i_S3GxCg6kX-_SAA1Kxvi2_HLEJonwupiY/s640/SDC12721.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The light rain and the water on the floor looked pretty cool with the light exhibits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvrvYmyfwEEZNCeHo1IVxC-p5CI3uxe8rvz1OiMYUKnVID6gIif-lLrgJH7T2GYDbUwPE8fytMLk8csUcFCdIq7C7bhSzzKwwjyl-CgC28vsHwJ-hKctGHswuzbKnWb9WP18i9laq2Yk/s1600/SDC12722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvrvYmyfwEEZNCeHo1IVxC-p5CI3uxe8rvz1OiMYUKnVID6gIif-lLrgJH7T2GYDbUwPE8fytMLk8csUcFCdIq7C7bhSzzKwwjyl-CgC28vsHwJ-hKctGHswuzbKnWb9WP18i9laq2Yk/s640/SDC12722.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't know what this thing was supposed to be but it looked pretty cool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTYykRP1crp6mzlbv4UtRGMmBtLETHUmkkNfM0HYBNlSQ06cRUqS0vbp1aKqcP5b2pN6omU73wwuvUmF4a3_wbIS2tj7gUtoUOFxMl3fobFA_Ik7eRWNFBf9HhRZXbP8z-TzSh6FS5zk/s1600/SDC12727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTYykRP1crp6mzlbv4UtRGMmBtLETHUmkkNfM0HYBNlSQ06cRUqS0vbp1aKqcP5b2pN6omU73wwuvUmF4a3_wbIS2tj7gUtoUOFxMl3fobFA_Ik7eRWNFBf9HhRZXbP8z-TzSh6FS5zk/s640/SDC12727.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can spin this thing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKlOwT0D6IGKLw24DqHz6X5lOsFn2MEM7i-hfj1dtq8jZrWnrCLGM3nOgZkVhhAw7QC0pbsbwrFKWHH8pomLnk2BoU1g5DOzvL4HykfV4_Eqshs_GlTjHVC9v_uaNnoSip9O-0u1iYEg/s1600/SDC12728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKlOwT0D6IGKLw24DqHz6X5lOsFn2MEM7i-hfj1dtq8jZrWnrCLGM3nOgZkVhhAw7QC0pbsbwrFKWHH8pomLnk2BoU1g5DOzvL4HykfV4_Eqshs_GlTjHVC9v_uaNnoSip9O-0u1iYEg/s640/SDC12728.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random chandelier, and why not?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCst3fkkNV5QSxGv7P2ddgWBE5PKfaqW-Lbfx25C4fU2eDVUHIFIl2BirxOM5kmWBesje6GLRMViNWSQRpf6ZlNZ2UExFAWQc_Zi9f76vLNpjCe6CTN-W7-xySPVEYrTVI1epzPMWxvYk/s1600/SDC12733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCst3fkkNV5QSxGv7P2ddgWBE5PKfaqW-Lbfx25C4fU2eDVUHIFIl2BirxOM5kmWBesje6GLRMViNWSQRpf6ZlNZ2UExFAWQc_Zi9f76vLNpjCe6CTN-W7-xySPVEYrTVI1epzPMWxvYk/s640/SDC12733.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children liked climbing through this, but I was too big to fit through :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJf7l31reAd9U0mcNQdMrMBvDkuhJpeBctNPpZ8cnX6uSXHMY4LFvDmZ_ADRubDUdNRmH-b6x778xSCfU4iGLyfyeH6lg51EbM04He_3e-uKWcBtDMfugBA23agh3QYPdpFApJjN0656w/s1600/SDC12742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJf7l31reAd9U0mcNQdMrMBvDkuhJpeBctNPpZ8cnX6uSXHMY4LFvDmZ_ADRubDUdNRmH-b6x778xSCfU4iGLyfyeH6lg51EbM04He_3e-uKWcBtDMfugBA23agh3QYPdpFApJjN0656w/s640/SDC12742.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random chandelier and Opera house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ9QAWVw7oFqNOtNXtpyXblWCtgb8zFkD4OoplcgVyT26FooapTHFBXMUEGdRqTmum02P1uu0FvxdQTRnq6y2LQzuVrDqD7Y07zavDQJyCGubp5289X7EaZuYdpwHJ2dIszL5vJvQ8Nk/s1600/SDC12746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ9QAWVw7oFqNOtNXtpyXblWCtgb8zFkD4OoplcgVyT26FooapTHFBXMUEGdRqTmum02P1uu0FvxdQTRnq6y2LQzuVrDqD7Y07zavDQJyCGubp5289X7EaZuYdpwHJ2dIszL5vJvQ8Nk/s640/SDC12746.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That stupid woman was still rolling around on the Opera house.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Xn4GOOtGrL8rDwjqB-wFa2aWDWP23kcvf7XorJyynzro_6gZ_AZ3sCGM4Y2neO07XoFvm2AfysmaQAcKqKwG_vOIZauzWTlRT3701rkPelg3psoZrmCZKDC82QWET_htGfkxPfpEI_U/s1600/SDC12750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Xn4GOOtGrL8rDwjqB-wFa2aWDWP23kcvf7XorJyynzro_6gZ_AZ3sCGM4Y2neO07XoFvm2AfysmaQAcKqKwG_vOIZauzWTlRT3701rkPelg3psoZrmCZKDC82QWET_htGfkxPfpEI_U/s640/SDC12750.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All you need is a tripod</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47nU2FZrFdlDFj71Dz0TzSv73p5sm51plMkZoZy57172XXHGF5oo8R6-tCVXQSbBMwlgNM0k8wZDI7EFiBLLN5YOzhml4GvUGwswqzI2OX84_VK2L7CFbifVDwGaJXVfLMfXDL3ElZXo/s1600/SDC12759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47nU2FZrFdlDFj71Dz0TzSv73p5sm51plMkZoZy57172XXHGF5oo8R6-tCVXQSbBMwlgNM0k8wZDI7EFiBLLN5YOzhml4GvUGwswqzI2OX84_VK2L7CFbifVDwGaJXVfLMfXDL3ElZXo/s640/SDC12759.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was really quiet this far up the bay.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILovTJgxd1zw7G_I-g-WTJVtMY7e9wIc6_38kAb3vDkn8VULp4zBN9arHjU9Xyoc5wsiIroMquSeR2CwvPV30ATK1MbPY5CL8Z6P4vFHdIl3RsRnAseD-HVIT2s1L0F3q9OrxTmu6_Io/s1600/SDC12760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILovTJgxd1zw7G_I-g-WTJVtMY7e9wIc6_38kAb3vDkn8VULp4zBN9arHjU9Xyoc5wsiIroMquSeR2CwvPV30ATK1MbPY5CL8Z6P4vFHdIl3RsRnAseD-HVIT2s1L0F3q9OrxTmu6_Io/s640/SDC12760.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can buy these stars for $5, shows how much effort they made towards the end,</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hwlz4uDAcr3ZtwHNGow1D2Mb8NWmX2peZc81Sw2hpdAS1WnESM1bK-Yzi2HlNPe98FEP_mTAVx-eHofDC5mUqv9NLvV9nZBF-GBJL3l0ANgyvXQqAuEMhic7EKMmUwHvh62AQ43t8u8/s1600/SDC12767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hwlz4uDAcr3ZtwHNGow1D2Mb8NWmX2peZc81Sw2hpdAS1WnESM1bK-Yzi2HlNPe98FEP_mTAVx-eHofDC5mUqv9NLvV9nZBF-GBJL3l0ANgyvXQqAuEMhic7EKMmUwHvh62AQ43t8u8/s640/SDC12767.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5iObBKizpKnUErgTEZDlMMfnb3zeVWQVu745q2AAEhTSV-mGcIriSlfGqRFWG_xprJuhkZd_xkfU0biChZOdYsWW7RqsoVwcXlYhN4P-AHyw1if2C_bj3CcDI5DQyPDKME_osKdgoMM/s1600/SDC12773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5iObBKizpKnUErgTEZDlMMfnb3zeVWQVu745q2AAEhTSV-mGcIriSlfGqRFWG_xprJuhkZd_xkfU0biChZOdYsWW7RqsoVwcXlYhN4P-AHyw1if2C_bj3CcDI5DQyPDKME_osKdgoMM/s640/SDC12773.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is that it?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRga2VijFPkpGgPCupfvxNApqoKW_x2d_jdl8AqJPM_EdqH3V3eap7v_QDevZGyLW3S0-KONNiXNDuCUIuJ8Bq2bNkUyC9oSFbklz8DDfOMA8IV_7D1d9xE4b1k3l84pXx36V1luWmFY/s1600/SDC12784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRga2VijFPkpGgPCupfvxNApqoKW_x2d_jdl8AqJPM_EdqH3V3eap7v_QDevZGyLW3S0-KONNiXNDuCUIuJ8Bq2bNkUyC9oSFbklz8DDfOMA8IV_7D1d9xE4b1k3l84pXx36V1luWmFY/s640/SDC12784.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come on...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7I5bNZnWXhbb1OKNHwj-Cx333OEFjqyix_3HsZGHv-Dt3UNboVEocgTU53YT0BkDhL5EZ4URx2faPqKnyKmAbASUeWZsUX5-59A1EyC7FF81JpMQn2stZkCkxJ5TYgAPq3FbCEDJ8Mk/s1600/SDC12809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7I5bNZnWXhbb1OKNHwj-Cx333OEFjqyix_3HsZGHv-Dt3UNboVEocgTU53YT0BkDhL5EZ4URx2faPqKnyKmAbASUeWZsUX5-59A1EyC7FF81JpMQn2stZkCkxJ5TYgAPq3FbCEDJ8Mk/s640/SDC12809.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is more like it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyM2vibj1R_9fySOcs4nwDQzs_eyWfgw_ACCsOwTrMRqrMDJWgEGcdpYHn7f_u7l8bJuAHgs0rVoVZAxpmVG9ug7c-6OQOBIZK7hC0xIOpiPvKHzMAmRJ0e2mIV0kWfRhxz7SaXE-NAs/s1600/SDC12815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyM2vibj1R_9fySOcs4nwDQzs_eyWfgw_ACCsOwTrMRqrMDJWgEGcdpYHn7f_u7l8bJuAHgs0rVoVZAxpmVG9ug7c-6OQOBIZK7hC0xIOpiPvKHzMAmRJ0e2mIV0kWfRhxz7SaXE-NAs/s640/SDC12815.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These changed colour.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMCCdCZFXbH0rB4fO2JCn4Pd9jr2pJSU14Ckb2C2Bn8URz48imhkQhYyJYFQ16KhmpB7LiA8PpeSu_XI4vxP0EiT1Ek91QWnzE4vRr7nA6NNGN7d33i0ERvHv7zAcG6-nITsxTK7zoT0/s1600/SDC12817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMCCdCZFXbH0rB4fO2JCn4Pd9jr2pJSU14Ckb2C2Bn8URz48imhkQhYyJYFQ16KhmpB7LiA8PpeSu_XI4vxP0EiT1Ek91QWnzE4vRr7nA6NNGN7d33i0ERvHv7zAcG6-nITsxTK7zoT0/s640/SDC12817.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhLV0meOKc9KMutwoeXMJZsR2zUwQsr9WIpsaI6m3yrva-Z8Pgs8hZ7dI_u90TcLRISoocy_d4UMxV1d8GyR35dOg3pQFUq9iDRLXyuAhsnzept6o-GfSQYIQ_MLzjwhe96MT-O61QeU/s1600/SDC12820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhLV0meOKc9KMutwoeXMJZsR2zUwQsr9WIpsaI6m3yrva-Z8Pgs8hZ7dI_u90TcLRISoocy_d4UMxV1d8GyR35dOg3pQFUq9iDRLXyuAhsnzept6o-GfSQYIQ_MLzjwhe96MT-O61QeU/s640/SDC12820.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye Vivid, maybe see you next year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-27598589362923995652012-07-16T01:10:00.000+10:002012-07-16T01:10:30.634+10:00(Day 92) Talk to the hand<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Saturday 1</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">st</sup><b> June</b> (</span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Day 92)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Talk to the hand<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Living in a
house occupied by backpackers and travellers means that a person moves out and
a new person moves in pretty much every 2 weeks. Today a new girl called Charleigh moved into
Amy’s old room. One of the first things
I learnt about her through word of mouth was that she could read palms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Earlier this
evening I was in the kitchen socialising when Charleigh’s palm reading
abilities came up in conversation. I was
interested and asked her if she could read my palm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">She asked me
to hold out my hand and then she started to look very keenly at it. She flattened down the edges of my palm with
her hands and ran her fingers gently along the lines of my palm. She then started telling me the names of
everyone in my family including my sister’s husband. She even moved onto the family cats. “I see cats in your family...2 of them...no,
maybe 3. All black and white...” she
said whist fiddling around with my right palm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I was
astonished. How the hell did she get
this information from looking at my palm? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">She said
quite modestly “I can only do names” whereas her aunty who taught her could
predict future events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was a fascinating
experience having my palm read. I had
butterflies in my stomach the whole time. I spoke to other people in the house and they
all said the same thing, that she got everything right and it was kind of
freaky, but in a good way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The inner sceptic<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Naturally you
could argue that she just facebook stalked me when she first moved in and got
her information that way. So I decided
to make another facebook account and facebook stalk myself to see what
information she could have got. She
could have got the names of most of my family but not the name of my sister’s
husband, nor could she have got any information about my cats as they don’t
have their own facebook accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Really I don’t
know how she does it and her ability fascinates me, I spent about 10 minutes
staring at my palm to see if I could see anything but I just couldn’t, I just
saw my palm. But apparently you can’t
read your own palm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-2JHYYp1RzjQa-AEY11_o_yIbSoHWJKjFcMLLPNslBP2DqiCPogT0GO8OmPUPxTp0qn9nXo21Cq2A7OVs_ZiNiGwac-gp2uLvu8x86sn3_LE9ohk41mIcoWM-IohGwSUJNZCoSi7HLI/s1600/DSC_0053editedresized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-2JHYYp1RzjQa-AEY11_o_yIbSoHWJKjFcMLLPNslBP2DqiCPogT0GO8OmPUPxTp0qn9nXo21Cq2A7OVs_ZiNiGwac-gp2uLvu8x86sn3_LE9ohk41mIcoWM-IohGwSUJNZCoSi7HLI/s640/DSC_0053editedresized.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a story in there, somewhere.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-80100112647553043312012-07-10T23:03:00.002+10:002012-07-10T23:03:45.817+10:00(Day 91) Sofa moving<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Saturday 31<sup>st</sup> May</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Day 91<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I will do anything for beer...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today was a
relatively uneventful day until Aaron from across the road dropped by. He was looking for 2 people to help him move
a sofa and in return he said he would buy us beer. My response to Aaron was “I will do anything
for beer...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At first I
thought it was going to be a simple task.
I thought he had found an abandoned sofa in some back alley and wanted help
to move it into his house. Sounds tacky
but the house I live in now is furnished exclusively with back alley sofas,
even our TV was picked up off the street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So I thought we
were just moving a sofa from a nearby alley way but when Aaron hailed down a
taxi I started to worry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">...but I won’t do that<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If the sofa
was so far away that we had to take a taxi to get there how the hell were we
going to carry it back? Another little
detail Aaron forgot to mention was that it was actually a pair of sofas he was
after, not just one. So we had 3 people
to carry 2 sofas...the maths didn’t really make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Aaron was
optimistic and said “you can do anything if you put your mind to it”. Yeah that is true but my back can’t do
anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After a 5
minute taxi journey we arrived at some little industrial estate behind a
stadium. I never knew there was a
stadium 5 minutes drive from my house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We met up
with this random guy who I didn’t recognise, it turns out Aaron was buying the
sofas off him and had found them through an ad on Gumtree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The sofas
were a curved shape (bit like a kidney bean) and they looked heavy. Luckily we quickly noticed that the sofas
came with wheels, and not just normal small wheel but big industrial sized
casters. They were clearly designed to
be moved around a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Light work<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We stacked
one sofa on top of the other and started rolling them back towards Aaron’s
house. The sofas were heavy but we
managed to build up a fair amount of momentum and soon we were rolling them
down the street fast. We even started
overtaking people, it must have been an odd sight to just be walking down a
street and then get overtaken by 3 guys pushing 2 larges sofa stack on top of
each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At one point
we were moving so fast my shoe came off and got run over by the sofa. We arrived back at Aaron’s house after about
20 minutes. Whilst we were stood outside
of Aaron’s house with the 2 sofas this old couple walked past us looking at the
sofas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">They could
tell we had just been moving them because we were sat on them getting our breath
back. The woman asked us “where have you
moved these from?” Aaron replied “just
from Moore Park”. The couple looked
amazed, “all the way from Moore Park? That is a good effort”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After we
moved the sofas into Aaron’s lounge we opened up a box of beers and put the
sofas to good use. It was a good evening
and the sofa moving was a little adventure that came from nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9v-VvhyHO-CSM4nQ5K-d8HpDA_gylyUZa2gClHqXfRlFCoH_FMySumTLjq9tGhUeAQ2GkbwoQqZZnfzGNIED6c2X1CU0-7lXp7T9oSHkJ3dkvOmGWeCtm2yQ303WExPjLC1FRNlZA9DY/s1600/Image841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9v-VvhyHO-CSM4nQ5K-d8HpDA_gylyUZa2gClHqXfRlFCoH_FMySumTLjq9tGhUeAQ2GkbwoQqZZnfzGNIED6c2X1CU0-7lXp7T9oSHkJ3dkvOmGWeCtm2yQ303WExPjLC1FRNlZA9DY/s400/Image841.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big sofas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoEWUckA9ANBL9jEI9Go8X37dXMLQcpnhj-sI5dFuxgtrtxPnUmMyHDJNkG5TRuGD96-biMqR4dBi51DYNmAu0OKjCCConMZziM3gqmB1xuJAY3E3FQsQLSksS9Sy9GV3eyutcAdzedM/s1600/Image842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoEWUckA9ANBL9jEI9Go8X37dXMLQcpnhj-sI5dFuxgtrtxPnUmMyHDJNkG5TRuGD96-biMqR4dBi51DYNmAu0OKjCCConMZziM3gqmB1xuJAY3E3FQsQLSksS9Sy9GV3eyutcAdzedM/s400/Image842.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5LcWJnbvfA-ILyqwrh6ERrjZ36W09Ix7lidNTDwrQijS1Rj3_SALiBBsC0h57LD7PWpb8nWtJzqp8R4_j2MVxPdhwGWnPGevUtmaPjGfdklZekicjP2M91am8Ui2RPXrM0jFFK1S1hM/s1600/sofa+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5LcWJnbvfA-ILyqwrh6ERrjZ36W09Ix7lidNTDwrQijS1Rj3_SALiBBsC0h57LD7PWpb8nWtJzqp8R4_j2MVxPdhwGWnPGevUtmaPjGfdklZekicjP2M91am8Ui2RPXrM0jFFK1S1hM/s400/sofa+map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-58026814014414357592012-06-26T01:00:00.003+10:002012-06-26T01:01:50.022+10:00(Day 87) The Opinion of Others<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 27</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> May</b> (</span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Day 87)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The opinion of others<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(This took me
a few days to write but it is probably my favourite post to date, please read
it all and enjoy!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I go for
a run I always do the same route which involves running to Hyde Park, round the
war memorial and back home again. My
plan was to stay with this route until I could do it without needing to walk
some of the distance and then start making the route longer by running further
into the park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today though
Marten was going for a run and asked me if I wanted to come with him. He suggested we run through the Botanic
Gardens, the gardens were way beyond Hyde Park and far out of my comfort zone
but I didn’t want to be outdone by my Dutch housemate so I agreed and went with
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Botanic
Gardens are an amazing amazing place and I will talk about them soon. However today I want to talk about (or write
about rather) some very interesting people I met.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marten and I
were running along a path that runs up to the Art Gallery of NSW near the
Botanic Gardens when we saw some random guys stood on boxes alongside the path. There were 5 or 6 of them all spaced out
along both sides of the path and they were all stood on something (wooden box,
ladder etc) and they all had several boards in front of them with signs and
printouts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Penny for your thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They were
there because they had an opinion on something that they wanted to share with
people who were walking through the park.
I guess you could say they were street preachers but in a none religious
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I will just
give you a quick list of the preachers and what they were preaching about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One guy was
dressed normal and was preaching about anger.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One guy was
dressed in a suit with a top hat and sunglasses, he was preaching about
politics amongst other things.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One guy was
dressed like a tourist and he was preaching about public nudity.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One guy was
dressed like a weird old science teacher and was preaching about science.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One guy was
dress like a weird conspiracy theorists and was preaching about a new language
he had devised.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He also had a t-shirt on
that said something about UFOs and how they were everywhere.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What makes you angry?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We stopped by
quickly to have a look at what was going on and to read some of the boards. The first guy who spoke to us was the guy
preaching about Anger. He looked at
Marten and I and asked us “What makes you angry?” We paused for a second to think, I was in a
good mood so thinking about stuff that made me angry was difficult. After a few seconds of internal debate I
replied “my landlord, my landlord makes me angry”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He corrected
me by saying “no, your landlord doesn’t make you angry, you get angry because
of your landlord!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He then explained
what he meant by this, basically in changing the statement from “someone making
you angry” to “you becoming angry because of someone” empowers you. Rather than someone else being in control of
your anger, you by taking responsibility for your anger become in control of
your anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He did of
course acknowledge that my landlord might have been a deeply unpleasant person
(which he is) and gives me good reason to become angry (which he does). He wasn’t trying to say “you should never get
angry”, he was just explaining a different way of perceiving anger which gives
you more control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I liked this
guy and I thought his idea was a very good one which is why I am writing about
it in this level of detail. Really you
can extend his idea beyond anger to just about anything in life. Rather than blame other people and let other
people pull your strings you can take responsibility and in taking
responsibility you also take control!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(His actual
name was Mr Bashful and you can checkout his website at </span><a href="http://mrbashful.com/">http://mrbashful.com/</a>)<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mad as a hatter's tea party<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With the words
of wisdom from the angry man we moved onto the next guy on the same side of the
path. He was the one who I described as
looking like a weird conspiracy theorists.
He had badges on his jacket about aliens and UFO and that shit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I am sure he
had a lot of interesting and wacky opinions he wanted to share but today he was
pushing forward the idea of his new language.
Something he probably devised during his second lobotomy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His first big
statement was that dyslexia doesn’t exist and that it is the fault of the
English language and the way it is taught.
I found this statement annoying because I have dyslexia and I believe it
exists. If you want proof that dyslexia
exists, just ask me to read you a paragraph out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After making
this statement he then showed us an example alphabet and sentences using his
“new language”. It just looked like English
with a few letters missing; to be honest it looked stupid and kind of reminded
me of Welsh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marten could
read the sentences but I couldn’t, I just thought the whole think looked stupid
and it would look better if he wrote his language using a crayon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The mad guy said
quite boastfully “you could take this to Japan and they would be able to
understand it” Marten immediately replied saying “no you couldn’t because in
Japan they speak Japanese”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marten has a
great ability of giving very quick and blunt responses and I had to stop myself
from laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This guy was getting
very impatient because we were disagreeing with him and not taking his idea
seriously. But he was the one wearing
the badges and hats with UFO and alien symbols on them. How could we take him seriously?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After talking
to the anally probed nutcase we continued the run going around Mrs Macquarie’s
Point and then I headed home whilst Marten continued to the Opera House. When I got back I decided to go back to the
garden to hear more from the mad preachers.
Plus I didn’t take my camera with me on the run and I wanted to take
some photos for this post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The origin of the Earth!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I arrived
back to where the mad preachers were and listened to the mad scientist and the
guy in the suit and sunglasses. I didn’t
get round to the public nudity guy, sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The mad
scientist wasn’t really attracting much of a crowd but I stopped off to listen
in to what he was saying. He was having
a discussion with some random guy who had the patience to sit down to listen
and discuss his ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">At one point
during the conversation the mad scientist made a quick statement, he said quite
calmly “I believe the Earth is a burnt out sun”. After that the conversation went quiet. I am not going to pretend I know the facts
but I believe if you asked most scientists they would disagree with his idea
and brand him as a bit of a nutter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The system is broken<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The final guy
was the dude in the suit and sunglasses.
He had various views about politics and corporate corruption but none I
remember well enough to give you an example of.
He had a strong opinion on various issues but he rambled on too much so
his ideas were not clear. He did start
talking to me and asked me where I was from, when I replied that I was from
England he said “welcome to Australia”.
I think that is actually the first time anyone has said that to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall I
really enjoyed listening to the interesting and sometimes strange ideas from
these quirky individuals. The anger guy
to me made a lot of sense but the others I thought were a bit wacko jacko,
though entertaining none the less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I also took
some videos of these guys so check out my video here: <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFP43kALSXc&feature=plcp">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFP43kALSXc&feature=plcp</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Additional note<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Through
additional research after I finished writing this post I found out that I
actually stumbled upon an event called Speaker’s Corner. You can check out the website here at: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://speakerscorner.org.au/">http://speakerscorner.org.au/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Also you will
find that Speaker’s Corner is not exclusive to Sydney but is held in many
cities in Australia and the UK. So if
you live near one check it out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAGF_QgeSRmDl37fOdnTwSb5dK9MqXOWWB4vf3P77B0hdQksG6xacNgsUaltXXqnwF9oKUQR8KYZM6Wn1ujCqxlQLbjx8YhAQrEp2EBRKw88yPF-AVJj439VMiME4C4hvNDZdc55rncI/s1600/SDC12541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAGF_QgeSRmDl37fOdnTwSb5dK9MqXOWWB4vf3P77B0hdQksG6xacNgsUaltXXqnwF9oKUQR8KYZM6Wn1ujCqxlQLbjx8YhAQrEp2EBRKw88yPF-AVJj439VMiME4C4hvNDZdc55rncI/s640/SDC12541.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Bashful gives me a smile</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The answer is no</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure what his point was but he was a very interesting man</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weird</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-40735890560400968652012-06-21T03:33:00.001+10:002012-06-21T23:57:48.201+10:00(Day 86) Vivid Festival of Light<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 26</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> May</b> (</span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Day 86)</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vivid light show<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vivid is a
festival in Sydney that revolves around light in many forms. Here the outside of large buildings become a
canvas for imaginative light shows done using very powerful projectors. The festival starts in the evening at 6pm
everyday when it is dark for obvious reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Phantom on the opera<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the
shows was done on Sydney’s most iconic building, the Opera house. The way they did the show made the opera
house look like it was made out of a different material. The surface of the building would flutter
like a sail in the wind. Another show
portrayed a woman lying on the side of the opera house like it was a giant mattress. The effects made it look like the surface of
the Opera house was soft with areas of the opera house being pushed down under
the woman’s weight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This all
looked impressive at first but it got boring rather quickly. They incorporated the shape of the opera
house well but really they could have done something a bit more exciting than
some giant woman lying around on the surface of the opera house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Life in cartoon motion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On the way
back we passed another building where a show was just about to start. The show was a cartoon about life in the
city and it was excellent. The show
incorporated the building well and the vivid bright colours were awesome. I can’t really describe it well enough but I
recorded the whole thing on my camera and there will be a link to the video at
the end of this blog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A bright idea<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I really
liked this festival. To get a few
massive projectors and use them to light up the city with a variety of artistic
shows and cartoons is really awesome.
Apparently other cities do have similar light festivals but I have never
seen anything like this. The idea of it
is simple and I supposed that is one of the reasons why it is awesome. You can just walk around the city and watch
the shows. I think every major city
should have a light festival at least once a year. The festival is in town for another 2 weeks
and I will definitely be dropping by again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Video: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_WgvE1cw9I&feature=plcp" style="background-color: white;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_WgvE1cw9I&feature=plcp</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-28760199867051313312012-06-20T01:18:00.002+10:002012-06-20T01:18:29.009+10:00I am still hereSorry about the lack of updates. The issue is I am using more and more videos and photos to go with my posts, however this coincides with the internet in our house suddenly becoming really slow.<br />
<br />
My next post is about when I went to the Vivid light festival which was amazing and I have a nice selection of photos and videos to go with the post however it was been impossible to upload any of them recently.<br />
<br />
But tonight (partly by accident) I have discovered that the internet works much better in the kitchen (still slow, but at least it works). So I am going to start doing all my blog stuff here in the kitchen. So expect some awesome updates in the next few days.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-79367961030781598692012-06-12T04:04:00.002+10:002012-06-12T04:09:09.976+10:00(Day 83) On the run<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 23</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">rd</sup><b> May</b> (</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Day 83)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On the run<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Because I am
unemployed I have a fair amount of free time on my hands and to keep myself
busy and to prevent the onset of boredom induced insanity I decided to take up
running as a hobby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Running is a
good hobby for me to do right now. I
need to get some exercise and it is a great way of getting me out of my room
and into the sunlight. It is also a
great way to see more of Sydney.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These boots are made for walking<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jogging is
popular in Sydney and in some areas there are more people jogging than
walking. One issue I have with jogging though
is I don’t actually own a pair of trainers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The only comfortable
footwear I have at the moment is a pair of walking boots I bought for when I go
exploring the outback and the Blue Mountains.
I must look ridiculous trying to do jogging wearing these heavy tan
coloured walking boots whilst everyone else jogs past me in there lightweight
trainers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And the sound
as well, everyone else is jogging quietly with their light trainers whilst I
sound like I am marching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Anyway I am quite
enjoying running. Taking part in some
form of organised running event like a 10k through Sydney would be a good
target for me so I might add it to my to-do list.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And yes I
will buy some trainers when I get a job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KB0AMe3E4olKezgToEREVsxog0EeFt5i_PI_xNeqDsoFc8PsZHf8HyuKrP01UMdCZfNYMoW89A203nwAJ_iX4XnCqe_WNA0BAYk1JLzah0URoHYaBKyUi5HQXdWVZzcGPb1f-8JM1mg/s1600/SDC12822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KB0AMe3E4olKezgToEREVsxog0EeFt5i_PI_xNeqDsoFc8PsZHf8HyuKrP01UMdCZfNYMoW89A203nwAJ_iX4XnCqe_WNA0BAYk1JLzah0URoHYaBKyUi5HQXdWVZzcGPb1f-8JM1mg/s400/SDC12822.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These boots weren't made for running</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-36954692156246998522012-06-09T18:40:00.000+10:002012-06-09T19:03:42.073+10:00(Day 79) Chinese Laundry<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 19</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> May</b> (</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Day 79)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chinese Laundry<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you owned
a nightclub what would you call it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I can go
through the names of the nightclubs I have been to in Sydney and understand the
origin of their names. For example the Ivy
has ivy growing outside on the building, the Argyle is on Argyle Street (very
imaginative), Scary Canary erm... rhymes, Scruffy Murphy’s a typical Irish
sounding name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But how about
the name “Chinese Laundry” for a nightclub?
The origin of this name is beyond me.
I googled Chinese Laundry to see if it had some urban slang meaning,
maybe Chinese laundry in urban slang means “to be in a small overpriced
overpacked nightclub being pushed around” but no I couldn’t find anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But anyway
Chinese laundry is a small overpriced overpacked nightclub where you get pushed
around a lot. I had to pay $25 just to
get through the front door. The drinks
are very expensive as well. JC bought 2
vodka redbulls from the bar which set him back 42 dollars!<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Busted<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I saw one guy
get busted for doing drugs in the toilets.
They were leading him out saying stuff like “so you flushed the rest did
you?” and “do you have any ID on you?” The
bouncers were actually quite calm about the whole situation; I guess they bust
someone for doing drugs most nights and it is quite routine for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hello, I’m Doctor Werewolf <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The reason
why people come to this expensive and strangely named venue is because of the
DJs they have here. Rather than having
just local DJs come in with a laptop and play all their music off iTunes
Chinese laundry attracts big name DJs from all across the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I am not into
the whole DJ scene because it isn’t my type of music. Looking at Chinese laundry’s website
apparently they are having big name DJs “Bass Mafia” featuring “Chrissy Chris”
on one night with “Doctor Werewolf and the Abyss” on the other night. I have never heard of any of these people but
I am sure their music is very popular in the DJ world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That sort of brings
me back to my original question; if you were a DJ what would you call
yourself? For me I guess DJ Mike would
be considered too normal. Actually I
think TakingtheMike would work quite well; because Mike sounds just like Mic
(microphone) and taking the mike is an expression for someone who is taking the
piss and if I ever tried to be a DJ I would be taking the piss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Music to my ears<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overall
Chinese laundry was actually pretty good.
I didn’t know any of the songs that were played but I did like
them. For once I actually liked remixes
but for $25 I wouldn’t have expected anything less. This place isn’t like the Ivy with its grand
courtyard and its real tree with fairy lights.
Chinese laundry was just a few rooms painted in black with too many
people in them. You are paying entirely
for the quality of the DJs and their music here.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUfweRPhujckLUYTn9yGmMlgs9YKBLNLkXg4XegXcW-FqTo4a0WyeiCKvfWJl_4M1r6f4zPV7ivEdXgZKpnSZz0ctd-l7NzWl4sx-djlLBpfzLtzPamBVrDhU24oJZICgfGMlaHNy9d0/s1600/resizeSDC12487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUfweRPhujckLUYTn9yGmMlgs9YKBLNLkXg4XegXcW-FqTo4a0WyeiCKvfWJl_4M1r6f4zPV7ivEdXgZKpnSZz0ctd-l7NzWl4sx-djlLBpfzLtzPamBVrDhU24oJZICgfGMlaHNy9d0/s400/resizeSDC12487.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Packed to the rafters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MquAeSRvKshL07ahLfWyiYjlhKLDwUNuOKXQW_kO3HTEkxJTV7Iz2p04SsJAtbFczHWr9oq8coh4b-4BIR2TpGooUX92SlqWnhtI7iGF2odM-1UoY8cItf3KJkpd1yyVKxC9upKSy9E/s1600/resizeSDC12490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MquAeSRvKshL07ahLfWyiYjlhKLDwUNuOKXQW_kO3HTEkxJTV7Iz2p04SsJAtbFczHWr9oq8coh4b-4BIR2TpGooUX92SlqWnhtI7iGF2odM-1UoY8cItf3KJkpd1yyVKxC9upKSy9E/s400/resizeSDC12490.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSOS5xUTVeHbsp3E5kCUC9LlzTTvuHlyduPD7LtL8T3h5pFdS-WVIhosx23On54-W87JmU1GOH4PnvpqsmL0mv5tgTG83qHq2aNrjbJYUmmf3zGn2GRBWWfo81tG-gle-yUnLuAEZHzE/s1600/resizeSDC12489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSOS5xUTVeHbsp3E5kCUC9LlzTTvuHlyduPD7LtL8T3h5pFdS-WVIhosx23On54-W87JmU1GOH4PnvpqsmL0mv5tgTG83qHq2aNrjbJYUmmf3zGn2GRBWWfo81tG-gle-yUnLuAEZHzE/s400/resizeSDC12489.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Laundry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZHV5ut5gvqk3Ia5MQmv0nMtpbSmMaijv21DqixAlD4xyo6bFf1PlWR29zH7y5pHXFmFt5tA_kEqFWC2mn3VSt72YcblMkjcZBA03icTgYyIw59_VUrU_4v2b3VBtXNfC92mLOhem1_c/s1600/resizeSDC12491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZHV5ut5gvqk3Ia5MQmv0nMtpbSmMaijv21DqixAlD4xyo6bFf1PlWR29zH7y5pHXFmFt5tA_kEqFWC2mn3VSt72YcblMkjcZBA03icTgYyIw59_VUrU_4v2b3VBtXNfC92mLOhem1_c/s400/resizeSDC12491.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">= Chinese Laundry<br />
I get it! No, wait, I don't get it...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9Biz0YkF77VdKms7B3r6lrN3nVjWgR2T2gip7UZZk8n3V6DwUTo24wKkW4WNiZXWDpICu1d1WuxcJRXp2S2pvIPBMCnMYZrOVyX0RYVm-DIrdeB9p6y4kYJpLlcT1rwBLHMED78_3rI/s1600/resizeSDC12497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9Biz0YkF77VdKms7B3r6lrN3nVjWgR2T2gip7UZZk8n3V6DwUTo24wKkW4WNiZXWDpICu1d1WuxcJRXp2S2pvIPBMCnMYZrOVyX0RYVm-DIrdeB9p6y4kYJpLlcT1rwBLHMED78_3rI/s400/resizeSDC12497.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We found Troy passed out (through alcohol) on one of our sofas when we got back</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-69177687819080769902012-06-09T18:37:00.002+10:002012-06-09T18:37:23.608+10:00(Day 75) Job Hunting<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Wednesday 15<sup>th</sup> May (</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Day 75)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The necessary evil<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">There are a
few things I hate more in life than job hunting. I really dislike it. To me it just feels like I am trying to sell
myself, putting my services up for sale to anyone that would take me. Really I know it isn’t anything like that,
but it just sort of feels like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With money I
can finally afford to buy that camera I have been drooling over for weeks. I can start doing stuff off my to-do list. I can start planning trips in and around
Australia and see what this awesome country has to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But I need to
get a job first before I can start doing any of this stuff. Getting a job is the first step.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hopefully I
will find a job soon, my housemate Nick works at a call centre just down the
road and he said that they are always looking for English speaking people. Maybe I should try and sell myself to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449603910914407417.post-87970244404114176102012-06-02T14:32:00.002+10:002012-06-03T14:58:27.213+10:00(Day 72) Drunken Wisdom<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday 12</b><sup style="font-weight: bold;">th</sup><b> May</b> (</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Day 72)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The backpacker’s way of partying<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So last night
I went to a very smart upper-class nightclub where everyone was wearing a suit
(apart from me) and every barmaid was stunning to look at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I assume this
club is one of those clubs where if you apply for a job there you have to send
a photograph of your face as well as your CV.
The more attractive you are the more likely you are to get a job. Working behind the bar or waiting the tables
during the day are jobs reserved for the most facially gifted whilst the less
fortunate will get jobs working in the backrooms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I applied for
a job in a club like this one and I included a photograph of my face as
requested, however they never got back to me...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Scary Canary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Anyway
tonight I went to a nightclub that was completely on the other end of the
spectrum. It is a place called Scary
Canary and it was mad. It is classed as
a backpacker bar because it is where backpackers and people staying in hostels
go to get drunk and have fun, whereas the Ivy is for people who live in fancy
studio apartments with stainless steel fridges go to stand around and talk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most
nightclubs put an ink stamp on your arm so you can leave to club to smoke and re-enter
without having to queue again. The stamp
for a nightclub is usually some kind of symbol that has something to do with
the club. For Scary Canary the stamp was
a cartoon condom, I guess this is a club where backpackers go to pull.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Putting the
sleazy drunken atmosphere aside Scary Canary was actually very good. It was a big party atmosphere and everyone
was in a good mood. I spoke to a few
backpackers and had some very interesting conversations about travel and where
they have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Drunken wisdom<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One guy in
particular gave me some advice. He said
“when someone tells you about a really awesome place, just go there. Don’t think about it or plan it, just book
the plane tickets. Trust like minded
people”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Spontaneous
exploration eh? Of course it is never as
easy to just jetting off to Laos like he told me to, but he does have a
point. Over thinking an idea can be a
bad thing. I almost never came here to
Australia because I spent ages just thinking about the idea of travelling here
to the point where I nearly lost interest.
It was only a spontaneous moment where my mum dragged me to the local travel
agent one day to look at tickets that got me here. We only went in to have a look at prices and we
ended up leaving with plane tickets to Sydney!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Being
spontaneous is fun, if everything in your life is planned then nothing
surprising happens and your life becomes dull.
I supposed becoming a street fundraiser was a spontaneous idea and I had
a lot of fun doing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I recommend
that everyone should try and be more spontaneous. Just go for it! Life is full of fun things to do!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As for Scary
Canary, it is a good place but everyone inside is very intoxicated. So if you don’t want to feel left out you
will have to get yourself intoxicated as well.
If you do that then you will have a good night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06672710699281714883noreply@blogger.com0