Gorgeous.
Plus I had my first ride in a helicopter and flew over the 12 Apostles.. was sooo fantastic :)
Came home and slept 11 hours. LOL.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Melbourne
It's been over a week since I last wrote... so yeah.. lazy. That's exactly what I've needed to be though, I was so travelled out that even when I got to Sydney, where I've never been before, I had limited energy to do stuff!!
I stayed with a lovely couple that I met on tour in Cambodia, they even picked me up and dropped me off at the airport.. so nice :) They were quite close to the Sydney CBD so it was easy to walk down there and take a look at the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, etc. I wandered down Oxford St, which is a gay area in Sydney. It was okay, not a busy evening, not too many people about.
Flew into Avalon airport, which is way the hell out from the city (50km or so), but my new housemate, who is lovely, came and picked me up.
My new place is in Coburg, a suburb north of central Melbourne, takes about 40 mins between walking and taking a train to get into the city, not too far. I'm in a lovely 3 level townhouse, have my own bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, and a balcony off my room. Yeah.
My week has consisted of exploring the city a bit, meeting new mates that I've been chatting to online, getting my bank account established, and just generally taking it easy. I'm starting to get a bit restless though... time to find a job.
I had dinner this evening with an old work colleague (and her partner), she works for STA Travel, which is basically the equivalent of Travel CUTS, marketing predominantly to the student/youth/budget market. I plan to apply there among other places :)
Time for bed.. tired boy here.. :)
I stayed with a lovely couple that I met on tour in Cambodia, they even picked me up and dropped me off at the airport.. so nice :) They were quite close to the Sydney CBD so it was easy to walk down there and take a look at the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay, etc. I wandered down Oxford St, which is a gay area in Sydney. It was okay, not a busy evening, not too many people about.
Flew into Avalon airport, which is way the hell out from the city (50km or so), but my new housemate, who is lovely, came and picked me up.
My new place is in Coburg, a suburb north of central Melbourne, takes about 40 mins between walking and taking a train to get into the city, not too far. I'm in a lovely 3 level townhouse, have my own bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, and a balcony off my room. Yeah.
My week has consisted of exploring the city a bit, meeting new mates that I've been chatting to online, getting my bank account established, and just generally taking it easy. I'm starting to get a bit restless though... time to find a job.
I had dinner this evening with an old work colleague (and her partner), she works for STA Travel, which is basically the equivalent of Travel CUTS, marketing predominantly to the student/youth/budget market. I plan to apply there among other places :)
Time for bed.. tired boy here.. :)
Sunday, November 9, 2008
On to the next leg...
The trip to Hoi An was uneventful and relatively easy, with the exception of the cab driver who basically ripped me off, and he knew that I knew he was ripping me off. Oh well. Suffice it to say it cost twice as much as going to the airport in Vancouver, and it's shorter distance.
I got to Hoi An and all was better. I was being wooed by tailor shops before I even got out of the taxi, but ended up choosing the one that my little guesthouse recommended, who did a fantastic job, cost a bit more but I got a really, really nice suit. And nice dress shoes. And PJ's. For about $250, custom fit, done in less than 24 hours. Love this place. The lady at the tailor shop and I struck up a rapport instantly, she was shocked when I told her something similar at home would probably have cost $1000 just for the suit, and taken much longer.
The rest of my time in Hoi An was spent relaxing, mostly in my hotel room as it was stinking hot outside (with humidity).. but I came out and wandered during the evenings, finding a nice place to eat each night.
Today, I was up at 530am, to get a 600am taxi to Danang (closest airport, 30km away), on the plane at 830am, 1 hour flight, 5 hours in Saigon airport (which has been updated quite nicely since I was last here), then 2 hours more to Singapore. Got through immigration quickly, and into my lovely, really super posh hotel (Crowne Plaza Changi Airport if you want to have a look). After some dramas getting electricity (lol), got my computer up and running (what would I do without internet, lol), and then headed out into the terminal building (hotel is attached to airport) to find some dinner.
I can't wait to drop into bed tonight! I think I maybe got 2 hour sleep last night.
I'll report next when I get to Melbourne..
I got to Hoi An and all was better. I was being wooed by tailor shops before I even got out of the taxi, but ended up choosing the one that my little guesthouse recommended, who did a fantastic job, cost a bit more but I got a really, really nice suit. And nice dress shoes. And PJ's. For about $250, custom fit, done in less than 24 hours. Love this place. The lady at the tailor shop and I struck up a rapport instantly, she was shocked when I told her something similar at home would probably have cost $1000 just for the suit, and taken much longer.
The rest of my time in Hoi An was spent relaxing, mostly in my hotel room as it was stinking hot outside (with humidity).. but I came out and wandered during the evenings, finding a nice place to eat each night.
Today, I was up at 530am, to get a 600am taxi to Danang (closest airport, 30km away), on the plane at 830am, 1 hour flight, 5 hours in Saigon airport (which has been updated quite nicely since I was last here), then 2 hours more to Singapore. Got through immigration quickly, and into my lovely, really super posh hotel (Crowne Plaza Changi Airport if you want to have a look). After some dramas getting electricity (lol), got my computer up and running (what would I do without internet, lol), and then headed out into the terminal building (hotel is attached to airport) to find some dinner.
I can't wait to drop into bed tonight! I think I maybe got 2 hour sleep last night.
I'll report next when I get to Melbourne..
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Saigon
Our last few days in Cambodia were lovely.. we went to Kampot for one night, a lovely little town that I could have had an extra day in. Very picturesque riverside little place :)
On the road to Sihanoukville, we caught our first glimpse of the sea.. I was soooo happy. Hadn't seen the ocean since I was in Malaysia nearly a month earlier. Made me very very happy. Jordan will never live away from the sea :)
Sihanoukville was our beach component of this trip.. it was beautiful, but very very hot. I stayed in the air-con room and watched movies most of the time! Went to the beach for dinners both nights we were there, was very pleasant. Lots of people selling things on the beach, and some poor souls begging (I gave one or two some food rather than money, for which they seemed quite grateful!).
Back to Phnom Penh for our final night as a tour group, we all went out to dinner, and called it an early night. We had all swapped contact details earlier in the trip.
Up early the next day... on the minibus, all by myself (except for the tour leader and driver, my two tourmates who were supposed to do this leg of the trip bowed out of it), for the 4 hour drive to the Vietnam border, where my tour leader saw me through exit formalities and said goodbye.
There is a 500m or so long causeway from the exit area from Cambodia to the Vietnam entry point, along which a motorcycle followed me, the driver wanting to charge me to carry me and my things down the causeway. He wasn't aggressive but he wasn't taking no for an answer.. eventually he have up, but only as I was nearing the building! After I got through Vietnam immigration and customs, which was a quick procedure, I was met by the local Gecko's representative and he put me in a car and off we went. Took about 2 hours to get to Saigon.
I wanted a city tour of Saigon, since the last time I was here it was my arrival point and I was so jetlagged that I didn't remember much of it, so the Gecko's fellow arranged for it the following day, a private tour just for me :) Spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in my hotel room just resting.
Got met at 9am for my city tour, which was fantastic, saw the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum (very sad), the Municipal Post Office (built in the early 19th century), where I was able to ship a package home, also the Cathedral (same era as the Post Office), yummy lunch at a local restaurant where I was the only tourist in there, a Buddhist/Taoist temple, and the market at Chinatown. Was awesome. Back at the hotel where I just watched movies and chilled out the rest of the day.
That brings us to today... I need to get packed soon, as I have to leave for my flight in an hour or so. I'm headed to Danang, from which I will take a taxi to Hoi An, where there are hundreds of tailors who will get custom fit clothing together in an hour and for a fraction of the cost at home. I was in Hoi An two years ago when I came to Vietnam, I had a suit (among other things) made at the time, but I've since dropped about 40lbs, so I need another one!
Off I go to pack! Next time I report may very well be when I arrive in Australia.
Thank you for reading my blog everyone! :) :)
On the road to Sihanoukville, we caught our first glimpse of the sea.. I was soooo happy. Hadn't seen the ocean since I was in Malaysia nearly a month earlier. Made me very very happy. Jordan will never live away from the sea :)
Sihanoukville was our beach component of this trip.. it was beautiful, but very very hot. I stayed in the air-con room and watched movies most of the time! Went to the beach for dinners both nights we were there, was very pleasant. Lots of people selling things on the beach, and some poor souls begging (I gave one or two some food rather than money, for which they seemed quite grateful!).
Back to Phnom Penh for our final night as a tour group, we all went out to dinner, and called it an early night. We had all swapped contact details earlier in the trip.
Up early the next day... on the minibus, all by myself (except for the tour leader and driver, my two tourmates who were supposed to do this leg of the trip bowed out of it), for the 4 hour drive to the Vietnam border, where my tour leader saw me through exit formalities and said goodbye.
There is a 500m or so long causeway from the exit area from Cambodia to the Vietnam entry point, along which a motorcycle followed me, the driver wanting to charge me to carry me and my things down the causeway. He wasn't aggressive but he wasn't taking no for an answer.. eventually he have up, but only as I was nearing the building! After I got through Vietnam immigration and customs, which was a quick procedure, I was met by the local Gecko's representative and he put me in a car and off we went. Took about 2 hours to get to Saigon.
I wanted a city tour of Saigon, since the last time I was here it was my arrival point and I was so jetlagged that I didn't remember much of it, so the Gecko's fellow arranged for it the following day, a private tour just for me :) Spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in my hotel room just resting.
Got met at 9am for my city tour, which was fantastic, saw the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum (very sad), the Municipal Post Office (built in the early 19th century), where I was able to ship a package home, also the Cathedral (same era as the Post Office), yummy lunch at a local restaurant where I was the only tourist in there, a Buddhist/Taoist temple, and the market at Chinatown. Was awesome. Back at the hotel where I just watched movies and chilled out the rest of the day.
That brings us to today... I need to get packed soon, as I have to leave for my flight in an hour or so. I'm headed to Danang, from which I will take a taxi to Hoi An, where there are hundreds of tailors who will get custom fit clothing together in an hour and for a fraction of the cost at home. I was in Hoi An two years ago when I came to Vietnam, I had a suit (among other things) made at the time, but I've since dropped about 40lbs, so I need another one!
Off I go to pack! Next time I report may very well be when I arrive in Australia.
Thank you for reading my blog everyone! :) :)
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