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Hello all!

I’m in Cairns and it’s pouring down with rain Bloody warm though and it’s 6:40 at night.

Since my last post Ive embarked on my quick stop East Coast Tour as you can see from the subject. My last weekend in Melbourne was rather odd… Saturday was cool as we went to the casino, losing $50 on Roulette before eating then a last drink at PJ O’Briens (BTW Lesley Lamont there’s one 5 doors up from where I am now!). Sunday my family came home from their holiday in Thailand all looking healthy and brown. I stayed up and watched the Wimbledon Mens Final then the World Cup Final, falling asleep in first half of extra time but awake for the shootout.

Next day I finished packing unaware my relatives didn’t know I was leaving that day… The rest of the day flew by and I said goodbye to my Aunt and one of my wee cousins at the train station before darting for the arriving train. In my rush I forgot to by a ticket and was promptly caught at Footscray. I managed to escape a fine by playing the old “daft tourist” routine! Got to the station, validated my rail pass then had to wait an extra 2.5 hours as the train was delayed coming out of Sydney.

Train ride was pretty uneventful, not getting much sleep. I arrived in Sydney at around 9:30am and my hostel, the behemoth “wake up!”, just yards from the station. I checked in there and then but couldn’t get to the room till after noon. So I went a walk to Darling Harbour. It was unseasonably warm and sunny - a stark contrast to the wet and windy Melbourne. After walking around the harbour, I walked back to the hostel and waited a while before just heading to the room. In the room I met Dave Seddon (NOT Sneddon!) from the Wirral and Sabrina Ali from Essex/London (she can”t decide). I hit the shower before me and Dave made for Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It’s pretty impressive up close and the views from the SE pylon are pretty cool. We then walked across the bridge and got the ferry back over the harbour to Circular Quay and headed for the Rocks - probably the oldest part of Sydney. We stopped in the Lord Nelson pub for two rounds of Old Admiral - a chocolaty bitter type thing, quite nice! We headed out for some food, stumbling into Lowenbrau, a German restaurant, to use their facilities and ended up staying for some pretty expensive sausages and sauer kraut! From there, back to the hostel, met up with Sabrina and headed to Darling Harbour for some drinks then to some Irish pub playing cheesy music and then home, phew!

Next day we had planned to go to Summer Bay but all of us slept in and in the end we didn’t bother. We took a cruise of the harbour instead which took us from Circular Quay, around the bay of Port Jackson (not as far as Manly) then to Darling Harbour and back. Following that some more drinks next to the Mexican ship that was meant to be in Melbourne the week before! After that we headed to the cinema, seeing the excellent Pirates of the Caribbean 2! Following an hour or so on the net, back to the hostel and sleep!
Next day we all got up early (I had to check out) and spent the day at Taronga Zoo! After that it was just back to the hostel for my backpack then on to the station for the train to Brisbane.

Another uneventful train ride, bringing me in to Brisbane at 630am :-s. Again I checked in, again would need to wait until noon. I was pretty exhausted and there ain’t much to do at 630am so I took the opportunity to phone home then had some breakfast and went a wander. The hostel is a few hundred metres from the XXXX brewery (pics coming soon - this cafe has a memory card slot in the PC which is good as I left the USB cable in Melbourne!). A random walk around Brisbane, not much to see, then back to the hostel, did some washing and crashed for 4 hours! Got up, had some dinner, then got talking to the “older gentleman” in my YOUTH hostel room, lol, ANOTHER David!

It was early to bed but not before another of my room mates came back first. Phil is the stereotypical boyish nerdy type person. He sports the weirdest handle bar type moustache you’ve ever seen, has a Simpsons wristwatch (with plastic strap), wears blue pajamas and, unrelated, talks to himself constantly! My other roomie was Dominik from Germany.

Next day I did another whirlwind day of not-so-many sights, getting lost in rain and flip-flops ending up at the Gabba. I stopped into STA Travel to book connections in the States then back to the hostel. There I dumped my bag and checked the guide book for somewhere to eat. I thought had found the pizzeria (forgot the name) but apparently I didn’t, though enjoyed my meal nonetheless - the southern Yankees across the restaurant ample entertainment. Australia were playing in the Tri-Nations just down the road from the hostel and I could hear the half time Waltzing Matilda as I made my way back to the hostel. They ended up winning by a landslide 49-0 vs South Africa.

Sunday morning I was up at 7am for breakfast before getting my 31 hr long train, departing at 855am. This trip was an experience, one I’m not likely to want to do again! Not to sound too patronising or snobby, the seating section was full of Hillbilly slack jaw Queenslanders!!!! They all seemed to be smokers as the place would empty at every stop for their next fag fix. Some of them even took to opening the door of the train in motion to have a ciggy. I spent most of the journey reading my USA guide book. I cannot wait to see Venice beach, Hollywood Blvd, Times Square, Central Park, the White House, the Golden Gate Bridge….. Halfway through the night two young mothers, each with THREE kids, came on raising the noise level before an aboriginal woman launched a FOULMOUTHED tirade on this poor German girl sitting in her seat - “YOU F******G C**T, GET OUT OF MY SEAT. YOU GOT A F*****G TICKET, YOU C**T? WHY WOULD YOU SIT IN SOMEONE”S F*****G SEAT, C**T?”. Which was nice. I can’t seem to get much sleep on trains and was glad to get off it.

The hostel is across the road from the station and is really nice. After I checked in, I phoned the diving place to confirm my pickup in the morning for the start of my diving course - yay! I used the kitchen tonight, preparing my own meal - the oh-so-complicated tuna pasta. I’ll probably have to have it again before the end of the week as cooking for one ain’t so economical!!! After my meal I took a walk, in the rain, to the Esplanade which must be beautiful when the sky is blue, which wont be until probably Wednesday and even then just as warm as Glasgow!!

On a side note, I managed to break my shades. Another expense I can do without!
Must dash, need to do some more washing (spilled Coke on a white tshirt :-|), shower and sleep as I”m up early in the morning!

It being winter, people are succeptible to illness and I came down with a pretty heavy cold [or man flu!]. I spent two full days in the house feeling pretty sorry for myself! Saturday I met up with Lesley and Tracy. We had planned to go ice skating at the Winter Wonderland in the Docklands. Alas, when we got there all the sessions had sold out. We had also planned to visit a navy vessel stationed in the docklands but it had already set sail! All in all, pretty disappointing. After a wander around the shops I accompanied the girls to the vigil Mass in the city centre - my first mass in quite a while! After that we had curries for dinner then headed home.

Sunday was a day I’d been looking forward to - an AFL game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). It was Richmond versus Collingwood, 2 of the 9 Melbourne teams in the 16 team AFL. At start of play Collingwood were 2nd so we (me and Lesley) thought if we support them we’ll get to celebrate more! However, they seemed to pick this game to play their worst football of the season! Our seats were right behind the goals (four vertical poles, no bar, no net) which wouldve been great if it wasn’t pishing it down with rain. The Tigers (Richmond) completely blew the Magpies (Collingwood) away during the first two quarters. It was strange to be at a sports game where the two teams’ supporters sit with each other and there seems to be no conflict in the stands - very different to back home. Collingwood had a support squad near our seats with huge black and white pom poms that they waved when the magpies scored - didn’t happen very often! Final score was 92-45 to Richmond. On the train ride home I had the misfortune of sitting next to a rather strange magpies fan who seemed to blame the weather for Collingwood losing - a poor excuse. He seemed to want to discuss the game with everyone around him who were all laughing at him inside I’m sure! It was a relief to us all when he got off the train. One lady said “Could you imagine sitting next to him at the game?”. That would’ve been torture!

Monday I finally started sightseeing, as I entered my third week in Melbourne. Another visit to the Docklands to take pictures before heading to Victoria market which, unbeknown to me, was closed Mondays and Wednesdays - grrr! I headed into the city centre, wandered around the shops then headed back down towards the river and the MCG to take more pictures. I met up with Lesley and some of her workmates later on. We were planing on seeing a movie but when we got there the film was sold out so we headed to the Prince of Wales in St. Kilda where we spent a few hours before I headed home - 20 mins on tram and 45 mins on train!!

On Tuesday I visited more sights - I started off with the Victoria Market. It’s a pretty big place although most of the stalls seem to be selling the same kinda stuff. There were countless denim stalls, shoe stalls, aussie souvenir stalls that just seemed to repeat themselves. I bought myself a pair of thongs (flip flops) for wearing in warmer climes - tho I did wear them out the next day! From there I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol where the notorious Ned Kelly was executed. It was quite interesting to see the workings of the old gaol - including the noose! After the goal I went shopping, not buying much then visited the aquarium (not really worth it) and the Rialto Towers. After getting the spectacular views from Tokyo Tower and the Osaka Umeda Sky building in Japan, I couldn’t not visit the Melbourne Observation Deck. I got there just as the sun was setting, allowing me to see the city gradually light up.

I couldn’t go to Melbourne and not visit Ramsay Street so I booked myself on the Neighbours tour on Wednesday. Heading out from the city we stopped off at “Erinsborough High”, drove past the studios and then stopped at Pin Oak Court - setting of Ramsay Street! It really is a tiny street with camera tricks used to make it seem bigger.

On Thursday I got up at 5:30am as I was heading to the Great Ocean Road. The two day tour took us along the entire stretch. Starting of at Logan’s beach - home of a whale nursery - we headed through Warrnambool, Towert Hill (home of koalas, kangaroos and emus) then heading to the Great Ocean Road stopping at the Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, The Grotto, London Bridge and then the 12 Apostles - all sites of erosion into the limestone rock offering beautiful views. We didnt get a particularly good sunset and I had given up waiting on the penguins to come ashore! From there it was to Port Campbell, our stop for the night, where we enjoyed a tasty barbecue. After dinner we sat around talking and drinking before heading to the pub and back with a carry out! Up at 7 the next day we headed out at just after 8am. We visited Loch Ard Gorge before back to the 12 Apostles for a $60 (24GBP) helicopter ride along the coast line! From there we made our way along the great ocean road, taking a detour to maits rest rainforest then off to Apollo Bay for lunch. After leaving Apollo Bay we were on the original stretch of the road as we headed for Bells beach (setting for film Point Break) after passing the “Round the Twist” lighthouse!! After watching the surfers at Bells beach, and kangaroos playing golf, we made for Torquay and a bit of shopping at Surf City before back to the city. A thoroughly enjoyable trip, my highlight so far of Oz.

G’day!

It’s been a while since my last entry. My trip to Japan ended on a high with a great second week. Osaka was cool. It’s like a miniature version of Tokyo only a lot less rushed and a lot less people. The castle is pretty impressive too. If and when I come back to Japan, I’ll revisit Osaka and see the things I couldn’t see in one day or afford (the aquarium in particular).

On leaving Osaka, I stopped off at Himeji - site of the oldest preserved castle in Japan. It really was like stepping back in time as it had all been preserved for about 400 years and the views from the top were fantastic. This was another place in Japan, and I gather the Far East in general, that insists on you taking your shoes off. It”ll feel strange to be able to visit a museum or tourist site with my shoes on in future!

Another 5 hours on a train and I made it to Nagasaki and the pouring rain. It turned out the hostel room I had reserved was in the guest house owned by the hostel parents so it was a wee surprise when I saw I had a TV in my room and therefore a chance to keep up with the football. Nagasaki is a pretty little down at the south of Japan and was an A-bomb victim. It’’s remembrance of the bombing is more low-key than Hiroshima but they made up for it with their gruelling museum which really holds no punches. This town was also the first opened port so there’s a definite european flavour about some of the buildings, none more so than Glover garden - home of the western buildings and once a Scotsman. I only had a day in Nagasaki but it was a pretty good one rounded off with a bowl of Champon - seafood, meat and veg with noodles served in a soup, delicious!

The next day was pretty much spent on a train from 10am right through until 730pm. It felt good being back in Tokyo, almost felt like home, certainly the most comfortable place I”d felt in Japan. I”d love to go back and to Tokyo in particular and see more of the sprawling metropolis.

The next day I had to ammuse myself for a good few hours as my flight out wasnt until 8pm so I went to Ginza and Shibuya to see the shops. The place was jumping - like Argyle Street on a Saturday blown up 100 times! HMV and Tower Records were pretty impressive and I managed to get a listen to the new Keane album there! Outside Tower they were selling tickets to Fuji Rock - Japan’s version of Glastonbury and the lineup looked amazing! I spent the last few hours at Ueno park in the sunshine, almost getting stung many atime by these huge wasps!

The airport isn’t much to write home about and the flight was pretty much uneventful. The plane has seen better days mind as my armrest had massive cracks in it and the guy in front’s headrest came clean off the seat! Good ol’ Qantas!! I touched down in Melbourne at around 730 and got through customs 40 minutes later after they’d scanned my stuff for foodstuffs and soil. Reminded me of the Simpsons where Bart unleashed his frog on the country! My family came and got me and took me to their house in Laverton in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.

We rested for a while then went to Albert Park and did a lap of the course - was strange as I could visualise the circuit just without the kerbs, adverts and barriers! Then we stopped off at St Kilda for a few hours and back for dinner. It’s a quiet part of the city and a big difference from where I’ve been staying up til now.

Monday night was the Neighbours’ quiz night and a chance to meet up with Gary and Lesley. For those who havent spoken to Gary he’ll be home on Friday. I think we came 5th overall in the quiz and met Janelle, Boyd and Max from the show. Boyd waxes his legs and Max still has those awful sideburns and is a bit arrogant. Also, according to Gary, Harold is an utter sleaze and asks girls to sit on his face - nice!

Wednesday night was Gary’s 19th birthday so we headed out in St Kilda. Me, Gary, Lesley and her flatmate Tracy started off in the Espy - apparently its Melbourne’s version of King Tuts. I failed miserably at pool, knocking over Gary’s pot of VB in the process! We headed on the Vineyard then to another bar where we got Jaegerbombs - Red Bull and Jaegermeister, really nice! I had to head after that as the last train home is at midnight.

The family all left me behind on Friday as they went on their holiday to Thailand, leaving me with the house to myself… Saturday was my first proper venture into Melbourne city centre. It’s a really nice place, if a little cold! I started off at the Melbourne Visitor Centre on Federation Square where I armed myself with some maps and day trip information. After that I went shopping for a winter top as its really quite cold and I didn”t have enough room for two jumpers in my backpack.

At around half five I met up with Lesley who showed me some of the interesting places around the city centre before having dinner at a Greek pizzeria on Lygon Street - the start of Melbourne’s Italian district. After that we made the walk to the Southbank and to the Crown complex - a casino, restaurants, shops, cinema and hotel all-in-one! There was a fire show at 8pm, warmed us right up! We finished off the night in PJ O’Briens, an Irish pub in the Southgate Centre before she had to work.

Sunday and Tuesday I used to relax, watch the World Cup and catch up on some sleep! On Monday I went to the Melbourne Public Baths to have a swim. I need to get back in the water as my diving course is next month and I don’t really want to drown!! On my way home I stopped into Safeway and bought the last bottle of Irn Bru!

Today I collected my rail pass and booked my tickets for my onward journey to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. I”ve also begun the world tour section of my website where I will provide a more comprehensive record of my trip - look out for it soon!

Yours from the cold,

D