White Christmas

I was dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know... but we will come to that. After a four hour flight from Perth in which I was stuck by the window next to the worst case of obesity I've ever encountered, his folds were encroaching on my personal space above and even below the arm rest. This I could put up with but then he started snoring, the loudest rumbling possible by a human, each inhalation was like a mini-earthquake. So much so that I got many pitying smirks from the other passengers. After arriving in Sydney and finding accomodation to be prohibitively expensive over Christmas and New Year, I ventured out of the city and have found a place in Manly. It is a half-hour ferry ride from central Sydney and the ferry itself affords the some of the best views of Sydney's Harbour Bridge and its Opera House.

Manly itself is a great base with my hostel being only one hundred metres from the beach, which is filled with surfers and volleyball courts but of course the majority of people are just lazing around. Been able to do some great snorkeling here as well. The beach is lined with lots of bars and restaurants which run along side a promenade and have spent most of the build up to Christmas frequenting these and catching up with friends both old and new.

When Christmas day did arrive as expected it was not white but unexpectedly it was overcast and grey. Was able to make it to the beach in the morning and watched a lot of surfers getting to grips with their brand new boards. But then the torrential rain came and did not cease for the rest of the day. Luckily we had decided upon a traditional British dinner instead of a typical Aussie barbecue. And in amongst all the drugged up chavs (I am pretty certain a few people had cocaine for their Christmas dinner, followed by ecstacy for pudding), I managed to find a great bunch of people to spend the day with, including a few talented cooks and who did themselves proud and whipped up two massive turkeys with all the trimmings. It was remarkably similar to a Christmas day back home as everyone ate too much and asleep in front of the TV.

On boxing day went to Watson's Bay and watched the start of the iconic Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, which was a real spectacle. Never seen so many vessels all cramped together, and initially did think the powerboats had an unfair advantage until we realised that these were merely spectators racing along side the course rather than actual competitors. From there went to Bondi and spent the remainder of the day supping schooners of beers and had a bargain $10 steak which was divine.
In movie news, just been see Avatar and was struck by the remarkable resemblance between its star Sam Worthington and footballing genius and general great guy Xabi Alonso - I have certainly never seen them in the same room together!?! And if watching a film with a Xabi Alonso lookalike was not enough, they sell the greatest ice cream known to man over here - The Maxibon. It was a sad day a couple of years ago when they stopped retailing in the UK, but it was trully great to bump into such an old and trusted friend over here.

Down Under

Regarding the last posts cliffhanger ending, the plug holes and toilets seem to drain clockwise down here but as I did not conduct a similar test under the same laboratory conditions back home I'm afraid I cannot draw any definitive conclusions.

Outside of the bathrooms, Perth is a very pleasant city - modern, clean and with a relaxed aura. On my first day I had a good ole city walk, passing through Perth's various cultural centres, impressive skyscrapers and also lots and lots of green spaces. I ended up in Kings Park which offered great views across the cityscape. Perth has an impressive skyline, although I'm glad to report I've not yet seen any domed structures to rival my native Perth's Bell's Sports Centre (2nd largest in the UK after London's Millennium Dome).

Overwhelming initial impression is how expensive everything is. The equivalent of £4 a pint seems extortionate when the same money fed me well for an entire day in Asia. Also different is the type of traveller, my hostel is full of long-termers, folks who have stayed here for months on end, some even locals of Perth who cannot not afford to rent or buy an apartment. I'm not sure staying in a rip off backpackers hostel is the most economically efficient route around this problem but how would I know. But I like Australia everything is very easy and seems to be a hybrid of the UK and USA, many big cars and trucks but they have lots of points of reference that are familiar to the British eye.

For example, I've been doing my food shops in Woolworths, which is a supermarket over here but with similar branding to the late British institution - unfortunately they do not sell pick n' mix. It has been strange getting into the habit of cooking cheaply for myself again after eight weeks of dining out for every meal. I am reminded of my student days every time I shop and cook, trying hard to keep costs down but not wanting to eat pasta and ketchup every night,. It's tough when your only variation is the shape of the pasta used. You can try to convince yourself that bowties taste different to penne which taste different to spaghetti but you are fighting a losing battle.

With this new found economic condition in mind I decided to use my skill set to earn some money in a pool competition. So after three beers to get me to my perfect place on the 'Beer Parabola' (Y-axis is 'pool ability', X-axis is 'number of beers', not enough = unrelaxed, to many = uncoordinated), I walked away with $50. I do not see this as a long-term job prospect but it help get me through the weekend.

Another oddity round these parts is that Australian Burger King is called Hungry Jacks. I am told this is because the original Aussie Burger King, probably a solitary burger van in the outback, refused all offers of compensation to change its name, so Hungry Jacks was formed. I recall a similar story with a sausage vendor in South Africa called McDonalds, but cannot remember the outcome, I hope its true and means McDonalds usual World Cup advertising will have to be more imaginative.

In other news, and not many people from the UK can say this, I went to Scarborough in December and it was sun drenched. A massive beach teeming with surfers and not a tea dance in sight. Also, met some old friends from Perth, Scotland in Perth, Australia which was odd.

I've been torn the last week as to what to do with myself with Christmas and New Year on the horizon and lots of talk of the job situation in Perth being illiquid. So I made the decision to sacrifice the West Coast and head East for a classic festive time in and around Sydney. Slightly disappointed that I only got a week in Western Australia but as ever there is too much to see and unfortunately I can't see it all so a week is better than nothing. But now I am uber-excited about the prospect of New Year in Sydney and hopefully meeting up with a few friends for Christmas.

So my last remaining days West were slightly hurried as I tried to squeeze in as much as possible which included Fremantle, a sleepy place south of Perth with a big music, arts and cultural scene. As I walked past the oldest building in Freo, The Roundhouse, where everyday at 1pm they fire a canon and drop a timeball so the ships in dock have an accurate time to set their clocks by. Just as I was looking at my watch (12:53), i was nabbed by a lady who worked there an made gunnery assistant for the day. I was charged with firing the canon on her say so, and at as 1pm came around I pressed the big red button!! Almost deafened myself and covered everyone with smoke. I was warned afterward that I was now covered in explosive material so if I'm flying anywhere in the next couple of days I may be in for some awkward questions at airport security. Luckily I've got my gunnery assistant certificate in case any such problems arise. After this I walked directly into a statue of a man standing on an amplifier, with a large microphone and larger lunch-box. It was a statue of Bon Scott, the original singer for AC/DC who although born in Kirriemuir spent much of his life in Fremantle. There was even Bon Scott themed tours on offer visiting his old homes, schools, prison, cemetery and more!!

I also visited Cottesloe beach which was picturesque with a sea full of kite surfers – which looked like a lot of fun. I stayed there until the evening as before I left I wanted to see one of the West coasts legendary sunsets over the Indian Ocean. And I was not let down, probably the best sunset I've ever seen, but as I was being snap-happy my camera unfortunately ran out of battery before the sky turned its fantastic shade of orangey-pink.

Currently writing this in Perth airport. My flight to Sydney is at 6am so ingeniously to save a little money I decided to forgo a nights accommodation in favour of the departures lounge carpet. It's presently 1am so I have a fair wait but luckily I've got The Times Book of the Decade ('The Road' by Cormac McCarthy) and The Times Album of the Decade ('Kid A' by Radiohead) to keep me sufficiently entertained...

Movin' On

This week has been one of transition with much travelling, three new countries and a new continent. First stop was Penang, an largish island just off the East coast of the Peninsular Malaysia. Traversed the Penang bridge to get there, one of the longest bridges in Asia at thirteen and a half kilometres. Penang turned out to be a very likable place with everything of interest and necessity within walking distance. It is very apparent that the British Empire has had a marked impact on the region, with place names such as Georgetown and Butterworth sprinkled in amongst Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah. The whole place has a real colonial feel to it which was a shift from Thailand where it felt like the Western invasion was a lot more recent and to some extent ongoing. Even my lodging (pictured), had a certain charm to it. After a quiet couple of days here I decided to move south to Kuala Lumpar (KL).

Unbeknownest to me, I was late for my bus to KL as I had not realised that Malaysia is one hour ahead of Thailand. So for two days I had been living one hour out of sync and had not realised. That just goes to show how little I have been relying on time and how few appointments I have to keep - it quite refreshing. Fortunately, nothing runs on time over here and I was still able to catch my bus... and what a bus!! I had expected the usual sub-megabus experience but was confronted with a monstrosity from the future, a huge bus and with only 20 seats, each of which could fully recline and each of which had a functioning automatic electronic massager!! A five hour bus journey has never felt so short.

I arrived in KL to find that the hostels I had earmarked to stay in were fully booked so ended up in a real hovel. Not wanting to hang around I headed straight out and straight to the only landmark in KL I was familiar with. The Petronas Towers stand at 450 metres and used to be the tallest in the world - you may recall them from the film 'Entrapment' starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones. They are a shtunning shight and shtill the tallest twin-towers in the world. I approached them just before sunset, so was able to enjoy them in both daylight and then lit up when the darkness had settled in. During this wait I talked to a German chap, Flo, who had had a similar plan and he was also here for a quick stopover on his way back from a year in Australia. So ended up grabbing dinner and a beer with him, and getting the some good Germanic Oz advice.

My foot was still really aching from barefoot walking on sharp matter, so second day in KL I could not do my usual wander around aimlessly until I stumble upon something of interest. I was really at a loss of how I was going to spend my day, find a quiet cafe?!? But then I saw my saviour a bright pink and black bus, the city hop-on hop-off tour bus. And I quite literally hopped on! It gave me a much better insight into what the city has to offer and I hopped off feeling much more positive about KL than I had done. When you're backpacking in a city you generally stay in the cheap sections so if you don't make the effort to get further afield you can just leave with a real negative perspective of a place. That night ended up in Chinatown and feasted on some authentic duck pancakes at a roadside/middle of the road cafe.

But once again it was time to move on and it has to be said that the bus to Singapore was a real struggle without an electronic massager, it's amazing how you miss things you didn't know existed but a day before... After a journey without stress relief, me and my aching muscles were eventually put down in the centre of Singapore without a inkling as to where I was or where I was going. I was looking for a map or information on a place to stay but with no luck, fortunately however the locals were unbelievable friendly and technologically equipped. So two minutes after speaking to a Singaporese girl with an i-phone and I was winging my way to my latest abode.

Clean, busy and filled with bars and restaurants, Singapore really has a feeling of a place whose time is now. I was in the city for less than 12 hours and that proved a blessing in desguise as although there is plenty to do and much to see, it is an incredibly expensive place. I started off in Little India and had great vegetarian Indian meal, then walked down through the CBD and Chinatown. Everyplace had a different feel to it and was full of different people. Little India filled with Indian/Malaysians, CBD filled with urban professional suits of all nationalities, Chinatown filled with orientals. Clarke Quay was also an astounding place, covered with restraunts and bars at every turn. You could eat in a different restaurant every night for years without growing bored and I got the impression that people do just that. It also has a very impressive skyline especially afterdark. I got a real buzz about Singapore and it's probably the first place I've been that I could actually see myself living. A spotless and modern city that although big does not have the often isolating vastness of the likes of NYC or London.

The next day on the flight out of Singapore I was given a corker of a seat by the emergency exit, but with extra legroom, comes extra responsibility!! Had to pass a test, and confirm that I was willing to accept the burden of opening the door in the event of an emergency. I took to this head on and fell asleep for the majority of the flight. So now you find me in Perth, Western Australia. It's the first time I've been in the southern hemisphere, so I'm going to find out which direction the toilet water drains away, for the results of this test see the next post.

Garry Was A Diver But He Was Never Down

This week I've mostly been scuba diving, relaxing and partying...

First off I spent four glorious days learning to scuba dive in yet another paradisaical island, this time Ko Tao, and now I'm a PADI certified Open Water diver. This means I can now dive to depths of up to 18m anywhere in the world, and although it was primarily a learning experience, it was also a great fun. Being back in a classroom, receiving homework and even sitting an exam were novelties that I doubt will be repeated often on this trip. It was both interesting and essential to learn though, as the equipment was brand new to me and and the dangers faced very real. In fact the scared the bejesus out of me discussing lung expansion injuries, decompression sickness (the bends) and of course plain old-fashioned drowning.

But after all the theory, the practice was immense. After a quick session in the swimming pool on day one, where breathing underwater for fifty minutes felt very unnatural, we were let loose in the ocean at the dive sites of Twin Rocks, Mango Bay and White Rock. It remarkable how quickly any awkwardness subsided and by the end of course everyone was doing somersault entries from boat to water and then taking advantage of their weightlessness to do front/back flips and even some 'Matrix' style kung fu.

In between the larking around there was also a fair few fish to be seen including clown fish (Nemo), barracudas, boxfish and also lots of cool coral and sea cucumbers. No sharks as yet but hopefully I'll get to use my new skills when I get to Oz.

On the final day after we had all been certified, myself and a few fellow divers were going to grab some lunch when an intense but friendly guy on a motorbike pulled up offering to take us to his mothers restaurant... It turned out my dive buddies had met this character Zingo (surprisingly not short or ginger and knew nothing about the inner working of a Landrover Discovery!!) the previous night and he was a Burmese waiter in a local Indian restaurant. We decided to take him up on his offer and must have walked for 30 minutes down dirt tracks until we calm to a 'tea house', which constituted the main meeting point for the Burmese community on Ko Tao. After Zingo sorted us out with drinks, he joined us at the table where we were each given a bowl of rice and then plate after plate of food started to arrive. Beef curry, squid, exotic salads, noodle stirfry, potato soup and we all helped ourselves. All this time 'Sceptical Weir' here had been thinking that we may be getting swindled and was expecting an extortionate bill but when the time came to pay, Zingo refused all our offers of money. An insanely generous act -reaffirmed by his Burmese roots, as we in the West use Thailand as a cheap labour force well Thailand in turn looks to Burma for its cheap labour. We arranged to stop by a bar he worked in that night but unfortunately there was no sign of him...

That night the whole group had a few celebratory drinks and the combination of alcohol, fire and my easily influenceable nature led to the following video...

From Ko Tao I headed South to Ko Pha Ngan to meet back up with Andy and Greg whom I'd been with in Phuket and Phi Phi. We stayed at a great place Mai Pen Rai bungalows which translates as 'no worries'. When we were there on our secluded beach at our perfect bungalow with amazing sea, beach, and jungle views we had no worries but the trip to and from the camp was a different story. It involved an hour journey off the beaten track only suitable for 4x4 vehicles which we had to make in a regular taxi. We had to do the trip four times in total and it never got any easier but these things all add to the experience.

The only time we really left our relaxed surrounding was for the legendary full moon party in Haad Rin, where 20,000+ partygoers descend onto a couple of kms stretch of beach and dance from sunset until sunrise. When we arrived it was pure insanity and took me a few minutes to be able to close my gaping mouth. Such a sensation overload - the music, the number of people, the colours as everyone was covered from head to toe in glow paint. An incredible sight and a great night, so good I lost my flip-flops.

Current injuries include a nasty knock on the head on said death trip back after the full moon party and I've got something stuck in my foot which is making me limp around. I also overstayed my welcome in Thailand by a couple of days so had to leave quick sharp, and after a hellish twenty-four hour transfer I now find myself in Penang, Malaysia - smelly, hungry and tired. Apart from that it's all roses...