An update is coming, I swear.
I got back from the trip 2 weeks ago, and I'm now settling back into living at home, and working as a sous-chef in a restaurant not yet opened.
I've started a food/cooking blog at http://8707sous.blogspot.com, and if you wait patiently, an update or a few updates will be here as well...
It was fun though. I have lots of good stories and 5500 pictures from the whole trip. Going through them is like another full time job...
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Hitchin' a ride...
Who would have thunk it.. I feel like an avid hitchhiker now. Going from Sydney to Melbourne was easy... We went out of town a bit by train, held up a sign for about 10 minutes, and got picked up by a guy in an 22 year old truck that kept overheating... We had to stop every 20 minutes to pour water all over (and in) the radiator... twas very interesting.
He was a cool dude, huge into politics, and we chatted for a good many hours about Australia, world politics, and such stuff... And, right before he had to drop us off, he started driving around to trucks at a truck stop to try and get us a ride down to Melbourne! He saw a truck he recognized, drove us over to it, and got out, met the driver, saying: "Do you know Peter?"
The driver was thoroughly confused, and said... "No. Is he a driver?" "No! He's the name on your truck! I went to school with him!"
The driver (named John), had no idea what this lunatic was talkilng about, but did offer to give us a ride to Melbourne. He was a bit quiet/reserved, but when I bought him some energy drinks and started eating a pie with chopsticks (it was hot..), he warmed up... Dude had internet in his truck (where my last post was from), and was a wealth of information about trucks and such stuff around Australia. Interesting. And there was a bed in the back! Fabienne had it that ride, but I got to ride there on the next trip (which I will touch on later...)
We got to Melbourne, caught the last train into the city and went back to the squat. Just like returning home! It was good to see everyone, and we spent the next few days chilling, catching up with people, showing Fabienne the city (I was like a freaking local), and a full on swing dance night in a park! Summer in Melbourne is pretty freaking cool...
Then we hitched to Adelaide... It was a bloody hot day, and I think that's why we got picked up from the highway. A nice dude who just got in from a diving trip, but a very weird guy. Kept talking about how all the women outside of cities were fat and ugly, and Australians were stupid, and generally just very anti-Australian...
Then again, he dropped us in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Victoria, where we tried to hitch for 9 hours before getting picked up by a truckie at 1:30AM... We went back and forth a billion times between the city center and the truck stop, and were really unmotivated to keep going when we got to Adelaide in the rain at 8AM, with a serious lack of sleep (It's hard to sleep in a bouncing truck, even if the bed is comfy)... We tried until about 2PM, and every single truck was going east (towards Melbourne/Brisbane). So we figured we'd try taking a bus to another city and keep trying...
And then we saw a hostel with internet, and just said screw it, booked a room/flight to Perth, and relaxed...
Adelaide isn't really that exciting a place.. it's either for business or for shopping... all of the restaurants closed early, there were a few clubs/bars, but the most exciting thing was the market two blocks away from our hostel... which was awesome. We went there pretty much every day to get food for breakfast/lunch/dinner... good cheese, good bread, good produce... mmm... it was good.
The beach was nice as well, but nothing too exciting. I burnt the backs of my knees, but oh well...
Waking up at 4AM was a bit tough though to catch the flight to Perth, but here we are. Fremantle is where we are exactly. We got a random ride from the airport to freo, as it's known, through the botanical gardens and the really nice area outside of Perth... Tour guides and a hitchhiking without having to stick out our thumbs... beautiful.
Now we're watiting to see if there is a room for us at the Old Firestation backpackers, an awesome hostel in Fremantle, which is a pretty cool old harbor town style place anyways...
I won't be on again probably until after Indonesia, so don't expect much here.. we're going into the jungle! All the best to you guys, and pray that the diarrea isn't too bad... =)
Oh, and if you want to follow Fabienne's blog, which has much nicer pictures (and some of me, for those that like that sort of thing), here's the link:
fabienne-becker.blogspot.com
He was a cool dude, huge into politics, and we chatted for a good many hours about Australia, world politics, and such stuff... And, right before he had to drop us off, he started driving around to trucks at a truck stop to try and get us a ride down to Melbourne! He saw a truck he recognized, drove us over to it, and got out, met the driver, saying: "Do you know Peter?"
The driver was thoroughly confused, and said... "No. Is he a driver?" "No! He's the name on your truck! I went to school with him!"
The driver (named John), had no idea what this lunatic was talkilng about, but did offer to give us a ride to Melbourne. He was a bit quiet/reserved, but when I bought him some energy drinks and started eating a pie with chopsticks (it was hot..), he warmed up... Dude had internet in his truck (where my last post was from), and was a wealth of information about trucks and such stuff around Australia. Interesting. And there was a bed in the back! Fabienne had it that ride, but I got to ride there on the next trip (which I will touch on later...)
We got to Melbourne, caught the last train into the city and went back to the squat. Just like returning home! It was good to see everyone, and we spent the next few days chilling, catching up with people, showing Fabienne the city (I was like a freaking local), and a full on swing dance night in a park! Summer in Melbourne is pretty freaking cool...
Then we hitched to Adelaide... It was a bloody hot day, and I think that's why we got picked up from the highway. A nice dude who just got in from a diving trip, but a very weird guy. Kept talking about how all the women outside of cities were fat and ugly, and Australians were stupid, and generally just very anti-Australian...
Then again, he dropped us in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Victoria, where we tried to hitch for 9 hours before getting picked up by a truckie at 1:30AM... We went back and forth a billion times between the city center and the truck stop, and were really unmotivated to keep going when we got to Adelaide in the rain at 8AM, with a serious lack of sleep (It's hard to sleep in a bouncing truck, even if the bed is comfy)... We tried until about 2PM, and every single truck was going east (towards Melbourne/Brisbane). So we figured we'd try taking a bus to another city and keep trying...
And then we saw a hostel with internet, and just said screw it, booked a room/flight to Perth, and relaxed...
Adelaide isn't really that exciting a place.. it's either for business or for shopping... all of the restaurants closed early, there were a few clubs/bars, but the most exciting thing was the market two blocks away from our hostel... which was awesome. We went there pretty much every day to get food for breakfast/lunch/dinner... good cheese, good bread, good produce... mmm... it was good.
The beach was nice as well, but nothing too exciting. I burnt the backs of my knees, but oh well...
Waking up at 4AM was a bit tough though to catch the flight to Perth, but here we are. Fremantle is where we are exactly. We got a random ride from the airport to freo, as it's known, through the botanical gardens and the really nice area outside of Perth... Tour guides and a hitchhiking without having to stick out our thumbs... beautiful.
Now we're watiting to see if there is a room for us at the Old Firestation backpackers, an awesome hostel in Fremantle, which is a pretty cool old harbor town style place anyways...
I won't be on again probably until after Indonesia, so don't expect much here.. we're going into the jungle! All the best to you guys, and pray that the diarrea isn't too bad... =)
Oh, and if you want to follow Fabienne's blog, which has much nicer pictures (and some of me, for those that like that sort of thing), here's the link:
fabienne-becker.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 07, 2010
10-4 good buddy..
Hello from the cab of a truck driving from Sydney to Melbourne!
I'm hitchhiking with Fabienne, and we got passed from a guy with a red pickup who had to pull over every few minutes to cool down his radiator to a truck carrying 20 tonnes of watermelons. Apparantly, the driver has all sorts of internet and not enough useage to warrant 5 gigs a month, so I can check my email..
This is freaking awesome. There's a huge bed in the back, everything is plush leather, and we're hitchhiking to Melbourne.
Crazy times indeed....
More to come later!
I'm hitchhiking with Fabienne, and we got passed from a guy with a red pickup who had to pull over every few minutes to cool down his radiator to a truck carrying 20 tonnes of watermelons. Apparantly, the driver has all sorts of internet and not enough useage to warrant 5 gigs a month, so I can check my email..
This is freaking awesome. There's a huge bed in the back, everything is plush leather, and we're hitchhiking to Melbourne.
Crazy times indeed....
More to come later!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Happy happy New Year!
1.5 (Million!) people descend on Sydney every year for the New Years Eve fireworks show on Sydney Harbor. There are spots all over both sides of the harbor, and people push and shove, wait in lines, and pay outrageous ticket prices to attempt to get the best view of the fireworks.
Or, you spend all morning at the US consulate, waltz over to the Opera House at 3PM, and get great views of the evening's fireworks with little hassle (and a lot of waiting).
We showed up at the Opera House around 3PM, and while there were throngs of people there, it wasn't as crazy as expected. The day was spent waiting, playing with a crowd passed beach ball, playing games with my companions (and a random Canadian that we met), watching the first "Family" fireworks at 9 (a nice show, but kinda like any normal fireworks show), and finally, seeing the spectacular amazing display at midnight.
You stand there, and the entire bridge lights up with fireworks, corresponding to a cool LED display in the center of the bridge, which moves/changes with the fireworks. Then, all of a sudden, fireworks are behind you, on the other side of the Opera House. While trying to decide where to look, fireworks spout out of the tops of the buildings in Sydney (!), and everything is just going nuts. You think it can't get any better, and the finale involves more fireworks coming from every side of the opera house, and vast amounts of combustible powder being shot off of every angle of the Harbor Bridge....
And to add to all of it is the spirit of the people who see it. Every cool display, every boom is accompanied by an "ah!" from the crowd. Everybody gets into it starting early in the day, when people try to get cheers going, the wave, and any sort of crowd activity is greeted with exuberance. People just want to get into the spirit!
So 2010 started off with a bang, and has been going good so far. The more astute readers will notice that I said I spent 3 hours at the US Consulate. My passport expires in April, and you're not supposed to travel with less than 6 months until expiration. But wait, you say, why do you need that when you're coming home in a few days?
Um. About that. I'm kinda extending my trip and going to Indonesia from the 18th of January through the 15th of February. I've been meaning to do something random like that for a while, and I finally broke down when invited by Fabienne, the anthropologist I met at Christmas. I can't resist the option of going to a developing country and spending a large amount of time traveling among indigenous peoples, learning about new cultures.
Yeah, so not gonna be very accessible, but the pictures will be great, I promise.
Have a happy new year, and see you on the flip side..
Sean
Or, you spend all morning at the US consulate, waltz over to the Opera House at 3PM, and get great views of the evening's fireworks with little hassle (and a lot of waiting).
We showed up at the Opera House around 3PM, and while there were throngs of people there, it wasn't as crazy as expected. The day was spent waiting, playing with a crowd passed beach ball, playing games with my companions (and a random Canadian that we met), watching the first "Family" fireworks at 9 (a nice show, but kinda like any normal fireworks show), and finally, seeing the spectacular amazing display at midnight.
You stand there, and the entire bridge lights up with fireworks, corresponding to a cool LED display in the center of the bridge, which moves/changes with the fireworks. Then, all of a sudden, fireworks are behind you, on the other side of the Opera House. While trying to decide where to look, fireworks spout out of the tops of the buildings in Sydney (!), and everything is just going nuts. You think it can't get any better, and the finale involves more fireworks coming from every side of the opera house, and vast amounts of combustible powder being shot off of every angle of the Harbor Bridge....
And to add to all of it is the spirit of the people who see it. Every cool display, every boom is accompanied by an "ah!" from the crowd. Everybody gets into it starting early in the day, when people try to get cheers going, the wave, and any sort of crowd activity is greeted with exuberance. People just want to get into the spirit!
So 2010 started off with a bang, and has been going good so far. The more astute readers will notice that I said I spent 3 hours at the US Consulate. My passport expires in April, and you're not supposed to travel with less than 6 months until expiration. But wait, you say, why do you need that when you're coming home in a few days?
Um. About that. I'm kinda extending my trip and going to Indonesia from the 18th of January through the 15th of February. I've been meaning to do something random like that for a while, and I finally broke down when invited by Fabienne, the anthropologist I met at Christmas. I can't resist the option of going to a developing country and spending a large amount of time traveling among indigenous peoples, learning about new cultures.
Yeah, so not gonna be very accessible, but the pictures will be great, I promise.
Have a happy new year, and see you on the flip side..
Sean
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
