Alex's Cycling Escape

Running and running

2010-11-14T02:07:00.006+11:00

This blog started as a travel blog, then it was all about cycling, but now it would be accurate to call it my running blog considering all my recent running activities.

Yes in recent months, in part thanks to my lovely colleague Alejandro, I have turned my attention to running in a big way.

I recently did the Run to the Beat half marathon which was my first proper signed up race.

I have just finished doing the slightly loopy Nike Grid which involved running from phonebox to phonebox across London's 48 postcodes in 15 days. I was never going to compete with some of the large teams of students who collectively managed to win the 'Crowns' in each postcode, but I managed to come 164th out of nearly 3000 runners and scored 9 'badges'.

Today I completed a 10km 'MoRun' in Greenwich Park for Movember, the men's health charity. There were some hilarious Mo's and fancy dress outfits. The hills in the park were punishing so it felt a lot further than 10km! My new ASICS GEL Kayano 17 trainers are proving pretty comfortable and supportive and I'd recommend them to any women with low arches and wide feet who do a lot of running. The synthetic fabrics on these are made from recycled materials, ensuring a more ecologically friendly direction, which is a big bonus.

As well as this, I've been running to and from work whenever I can using the RunKeeper iPhone app. It's only stopped on me once so far!

Does this all sound a bit smug? I hope not. I've always been a runner but now it feels like I've had my eyes opened up to a whole new world of running. I'm still cycling everywhere but there's nothing like a run to ease those stresses and strains and to release endorphins!

Baby Elephants

2010-05-10T04:21:00.001+10:00

baby elephants

I've had so much fun this weekend cycling around central London taking photos of these gorgeous baby elephants.

They are part of a conservation campaign to save the endangered Asian elephant - http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/ - and 258 of the beauties will be making an appearance around London until July.

Tassie

2010-03-31T10:35:00.005+11:00

Tassie - my baby, my love, my dearest friend, my confidante, my beautiful loving dog - died today.

After two nightmarish weeks of worry followed by hope, despair followed by relief, today the illness in her body, which we'll never fully know, got the better of her. And as she drifted away in my arms, I really felt something went out in me too.

My mother and I are totally heartbroken and cannot imagine life without her. How unfair that we must now talk of her in the past, that she is no longer in our present with her delicious smelling paws, her warm soft ears, her beautiful golden coat, always waggy tail and those huge sad brown eyes which could warm the coldest heart.

Everybody loved Tassie. A dog but a person, a family member.

Each day from now will be painful for a while.

Rest In Peace my darling.

Goodbye Willie Booth

2009-10-21T06:59:00.004+11:00

Today I went to Westminster to celebrate the life of The Reverend Prebendary Willie Booth, a much loved friend of many and a significant figure in my own formative years at the palace.

It was a lovely memorial service, full of fond anecdotes as well as many musical and literary delights and this passage particularly struck a chord:

Success

To laugh often and love much;
to win the respect of intelligent persons
and the affection of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics
and to endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give of one's self;
to leave the world a little better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm
and sung with exultation;
to know that even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived -
this is to have succeeded.

attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life meets Death at Wapping Project

2009-10-19T21:29:00.004+11:00

It’s rare that we are actually made to confront death so boldly as we are at the Wapping Project’s Death Drive exhibition where nine evocative photographs by Dean Rogers meticulously capture the scenes of iconic celebratory deaths.

Rogers took the photos on the anniversary and at the exact time and place that Jayne Mansfield, Marc Bolan, Albert Camus, Grace Kelly, Eddie Cochrane, Princess Diana, James Dean, Jackson Pollock ad Helmut Newton met their end. The results are morbidly fascinating and eerily beautiful.

The show, which runs until 1 November also includes a fabulous ‘Crash’ type a-z by Deborah Levy..."a perilous road trip through death, celebrity and the automobile". Then, in the back room is ‘Signal 30’, an Ohio Highway Patrol road safety film for schools made in 1959. Nothing is spared and it’s not for the faint hearted. They’d never get away with it now, although perhaps they should. The horrid waste of it all. More here at one of the most irritating websites ever.

If that sounds a bit too sinister but you haven’t been to the Wapping Project, go anyway. Once a hydraulic power station, the gallery is such a unique space and free to enter, and the spacious restaurant, though a bit pricey, serves really imaginative food. The real draw though is that you eat surrounded by the original pulleys and machinery - a legacy of the building’s past.

I Love My Postcode

2009-09-26T19:45:00.004+10:00

What a clever idea. There are so many different postcodes in London, each with their own character, history and fans.

Now you can share your enthusiasm for yours at ilovemypostcode.com.

Read an interview I did about E1 in the blog.

Autumn in my favourite city

2009-09-26T07:26:00.012+10:00

Days and weeks and months have flashed by and now we are in Autumn.

So many days of sun, friends, fun and cycling around this marvellous city have passed, making it difficult to believe I've been back for over five months.

My new bfcf (best female cycling friend) Vanessa and I have explored canals...

cycled to city farms...

done the (Mayor of London's) Skyride, got stuck in to the Bicycle Film Festival...
and many other wonderful things besides; both of us, in different ways and with individual needs trying to figure out the course of our futures. Sounds serious but is proving a lot of fun.

I have greatly enjoyed working for Stacey and the rest of the bright, energetic, expert Lavish team and am proud to have helped, even just a little, with the development of the new charity arm of the business, Lavish Connect. However, although I have much to learn and would stay there for much, much longer if I could, I must turn to new ventures.

So now it's back to thinking about what I'm good at, what I want to achieve and how to get that message across to potential employers!

In some ways I feel far more knowledgeable about a plethora of creative services, project management and charities but I am woefully lacking in confidence, experience and purpose. I feel unskilled in these sectors, an insecurity which no doubt comes across in the workplace, despite the effort I put it. I feel I am always disappointing.

Having said that, it's apparent that the massive uptake of social media trends such as Twitter in recent months makes it a very exciting time to be in new media and the geek in me knows I will soon find my niche. Meanwhile, Lavish will continue to prop me up while I soak up as much 'inside knowledge' as I possibly can. I am so grateful to them.

So, while I look ahead to the future, I must add that I am loving the present and feel very lucky to be able to cycle around the capital making the most of these glorious, crisp and cloudless days of Autumn. Having decided against buying a new stead, instead I am pimping the old one with these from Bobbin Bicycles in Islington:

Much to my delight, I've also become Newsletter Editor of Southwark Cyclists. Check out my work on The Needle!

July...already??

2009-07-16T22:00:00.004+10:00

Wow. It feels strange to be back on my blog after so long.

Can it really be almost a year since we first arrived in Australia, after all that traveling around Asia?

Have we already been back in London for 3 months?!

Things have been fantastically busy since our return. After several weeks of trying to elbow my way back in to the BBC, calling on just about every contact I still have there, I have decided to retrain in Project Management. I never wanted to be a civil servant anyway.

Stacey, my biggest supporter (aside from my parents) and inspiration, has bravely taken me on and is teaching me the ways of the Creative industry.

I know so little. My interest in all things geeky and tech related goes only so far when it comes to making steps in this new world. She and Mr. Madge are imbuing me with mountains of knowledge, born of years of hard work, and allowing me access to all facets of their business.

It's a very exciting place to be right now, even more so with this recession, and I am grateful to be here.

The weather, an ever-important subject for a cyclist, is erratic but hardly grey at the moment and I can ride in a t-shirt or frock every day and I am truly happy to be back in London.

I will write again soon but for now, I implore you kind friends to yet again sponsor me on a charity ride. This time it's for Leukemia. I promise not to ask again for at least three months!
Neil D'Souza is one of my team mates and he set up the JustGiving page.

ttfn xxx

Please Sponsor Me!

2009-05-25T06:59:00.001+10:00

Photos

2009-05-17T05:51:00.000+10:00

All my travel photos are now on Picasa!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alexecrawford

Bank Holiday in the East End

2009-05-03T09:20:00.005+10:00

I have a terrible pain. I think I have injured myself again. Too much running or cycling or something. Hip in agony and pain spreading down my leg.

So I must force myself to rest. This must be a Bank Holiday weekend of job applications and research and getting used to being in the new flat.

Outside are constant noises; familiar London peeps, sirens, honks, engine rumbles, clip-clopping shoes, screeches, shouts. The flat also has its own weird sounds - creaking pipes, rattles, bubbling boilers, footsteps up above, echoes etc.

These are the early days. I haven't been rejected from anywhere yet so the opportunities presenting themselves seem boundless. The recession has little to do with my life yet while I live in this bubble of hope and while I am enjoying seeing friends, reading the news and contributing (all to frequently) to various social networking sites.

While I was in Japan, Malaysia and Singapore I was on holiday, with a view to becoming a writer. In the Philippines I thought about making films. In Thailand I considered starting a PhD on my return. In Cambodia and Laos, I thought I was losing my mind. In China, I was longing to get to Australia. In Australia I found I was pretty good at finance and law. Now after New Zealand and California I am back trying to be determined, trying to be steady and decisive.

Writing has my heart but I do not have enough focus (or financial means) to write a novel now. Broadcasting is what I am trained to do and the career with which I define myself. The extrovert in me is desperate to put things out there, make programmes, share stories with the world and help others know truth, while the fragile child-like imp is hurt by criticism, stung by knock-backs, consumed by fear and longing to be approved of, valued, given directions and told that everything is going to be OK.

Skydive flash back

2009-05-02T10:45:00.001+10:00

ha ha ha ha - skydive photos

I'll stick the video up too once I have swallowed my pride...

Please sponsor me in the Thames Bridge Ride

2009-05-02T10:39:00.006+10:00

I hate asking for sponsorship and for suggesting that people should give me dosh for doing something fun, if challenging, but this is a very good cause and I need all the motivation I can get after a year out of the saddle (and so far all my 'Spokey Dokes' team mates have raised more than me!).

If you can spare a few squid, please just follow the links here:

http://www.justgiving.com/alexonwheels

THANK YOU!!!

swine flu?

2009-04-30T03:32:00.004+10:00

I have a terrible cold.
Have been coughing and spluttering for days now.
Job hunting is a horrible, boring, soul destroying process.
All I want to do is ride my bike around town and play with my mum's new puppy...

Back in Blighty

2009-04-30T03:29:00.001+10:00

So, we're back in that there London. At first we went to Camberwell and stayed with my mum, sister, brother and new puppy. In the first few jobless, homeless, jet-lagged days I showed Ric around Peckham, Walworth, Dulwich and other parts of south east London – poor thing really had no idea where on the map we were.

At least we have had loads of friends to catch up with in other parts of London.

We also spent a couple of days looking for a place to live and to our surprise found London not half as bad as we liked to remember it. It really looks rather old and charming, even Peckham. Better still, there's hardly been a drop of rain since we got back. We have been blessed with long, warm and sunny days. We quickly found a spacious two bed warehouse conversion in Aldgate East, a place I had only ever been to at night for a curry. The price was good and the central location, a big draw but perhaps we were a bit quick to snap it up as we failed to notice the damp air, the wee stained passage our front door faces in to and the fact that our upstairs neighbours can peer in on us in the bedroom from the skylights.

Now we are here with all our dozens of boxes and my bike and loving it. I have never had so much room for my things! I am so excited about exploring the whole area, the seemingly endless curry restaurants, the markets and the cobbled wharfs and docks just south of us. I can get to the river in five minutes on my bike and Oxford Circus in fifteen.

We still have to find jobs and the place needs some personal touches but we are happy to be here as long as we can get rid of the damp smell.

London here we come

2009-04-10T17:49:00.004+10:00

I can't really believe it but this is the last blog of my year-long travels.

After visiting 14 countries, staying in countless hotels, motels, vans and hostels, making a whole host of new friends and meeting up with old ones, we are finally on our way home.

Tonight we climbed up Westmoor Hill with Ric's cousin and his girlfriend so that we could look out across San Francisco. There we were, just the four of us, high above the city with no fog to obscure the view - we could see everything so clearly. So many little yellow lights. So many people down below.

I am so excited about going home especially since my mum has bought an eight week old black Labrador puppy, but I also have many fears for the future days and weeks and many regrets about the way this year has panned out, specifically, the way I have failed to overcome my demons.

Ah well. Onwards and upwards. I'm coming home!

Salinas and San Francisco

2009-04-08T16:18:00.003+10:00

We're now in San Francisco, recovering from the sensory overload of Vegas and to an extent, LA which I have decided would be far too big, brash and car-obsessed for me to ever live in, despite the numerous vegan restaurants!

We drove out of LA, past Miami Beach along the Pacific Highway and then joined Route 101 to get here, stopping off only at the Getty Villa, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Salinas, the pretty childhood home of John Steinbeck, one of my favorite American writers.

I was charmed by Santa Barbara and could easily have spent a few days there soaking up the friendly, holiday vibes and wandering around the many shops and restaurants which, although mostly hip and modern have an old fashioned sensibility. I must admit that while I once craved spring rolls, stir fries and all things tofu for every meal, I am becoming rather addicted to burritos, cheese and brown rice. I think would easily become very fat if I did move here.

After a late lunch here we drove in to the night until we reached Monterey, a small-ish town on the coast. The only place open for food was Denny's diner right next door to the Motel we crashed in for the night. The only things on the menu which didn't have meat were onion rings and coleslaw, so I had both. I can't wait to be able to cook for myself once again!

Visiting Steinbeck's childhood town was a real treat and, for me, a highlight of our California visit. The Steinbeck Centre was interesting and well done, even for the uninitiated (Ric). From there it was just a couple of hours until we arrived in San Francisco.

I love it here. It's not hot, it's often foggy, there are bums on the street but it has character. It has an edgy, artsy, multi-ethnic (and obviously, mutli-sexual) feel without being too busy or overcrowded. It is very photogenic, has masses of cool places to eat, has fantastic murals and pretty buildings and there are runners and cyclists all over the place!

The city and its residents are so vastly different from Los Angeles that it is hard to believe they exist in the same state. I can't help but liken it to London, well London's best bits.

Last night we walked over to the lively Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to see the resident sea-lions, wander around the novelty shops and sample the clam chowder in a bun offerings. We could just about see the Golden Gate Bridge too as the sun went down.

Today we wandered over to Union Square and mooched around the shops before going to see Monsters vs Aliens at the IMAX 3D cinema. I've never been to an IMAX before and was blown away by the effects!

We then met up with Ric's young cousin John who has lived here for five years and is a non-smoking, non-drinking, vegan cyclist - at last, someone even straighter than me!

He is a real delight to socialise with and tomorrow, on his day off from studies, he is going to take us across the Golden Gate Bridge to show us some of the rural highlights of this region.

On a totally different subject, I have been avidly following the Obamas' European tour and am glad Michelle has proved such a hit in London, especially with the Queen it seems. Doesn't the media just love a Queen story?

With the assistance of some glossy magazines I have also been keeping up to date with poor old Jade Goody's cancer battle and although I didn't particularly like the girl, I was really upset about her sorry tale. I hope it prompts at least a few girls to make sure they get themselves checked.

Viva Las Vegas, and all the other cliches

2009-04-05T12:08:00.005+10:00

Some Las Vegas Photos

As soon as we had booked our hotel in Las Vegas I started thinking about what to expect, based largely on what I had seen in the movies.

I thought of Elvis Priestly, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, fancy casinos, women in ball gowns, Indecent Proposal, strip clubs, tuxedos, rom-coms where the guys go on crazy drunken stag weekends and where ill-matched characters tie the knot in one of the various hotel wedding chapels.

We arrived here at dusk after a five hour drive through almost barren, sometimes desert, landscape (we even spotted tumbleweed on the motorway).

Like a mirage the city seemed to spring out of the dust and before long we were driving down Las Vegas Boulevard gawping up at the vast, brightly lit themed hotels, listening to the music each of their casinos were pumping out and watching the swathes of people bustling past each other on the pavements. Wow.

This was my first impression but I don't think any of this or my movie knowledge could have prepared me for the full onslaught of Vegas' glorious, tacky extravagance. If the USA is known for not doing things by half then Vegas does things by the double.

We are staying at The Paris, a grand hotel complex which includes a replica of the Eiffel Tower (which you can pay to climb!), the Arch de Triomphe, as well as a big round roof top pool, a spa, a plush casino and a large series of undercover corridors full of tempting boutiques, gift shops, wine sellers, bars and restaurants and where it is always minutes before sunset. As we walked to the reception from the car park (we were allowed to self park thankfully - we weren't up for the valet malarkey) we felt pretty overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it all and the hundreds of people wandering about. On closer inspection it was obvious that this place isn't as fancy as it looks - indeed, not only is every thing a replica (thus fake) but also rather cheaply made. The cobbled streets, framed wall paintings, handmade wooden furniture, chandeliers, marble bathroom surfaces etc. reveal themselves to be almost exclusively plastic and plaster and probably made in China. That's not to say it isn't fun. Let's just say it's more mainstream than I expected. And why not? Everyone here looks like they are having a great time, especially where the Margaritas are flowing.

It feels a lot like a Disneyland for grown-ups although there are as many families here as there are wealthy business people. There's obviously a lot more gambling and drinking going on too.

Since arriving on Monday night we have spent three days wandering along the 'strip' and exploring most of the main hotels including the iconic MGM Grand with it's live lion house, Caesars Palace with it's Atlantis show (which run every hour on the hour), New York-New York (we also did the roller coaster on it's roof), Planet Hollywood, Rio, Luxor, ultra tacky Circus Circus, Bellagio and it's spectacular fountain shows, Bally's, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, The Mirage, Treasure Island and the ridiculous but wonderful Venetian which houses its own canals and singing gondoliers. Aside from the casinos and bars which are all quite similar to each other, these hotels are home to a vast array of other attractions including shows, restaurants and shops. Many bars offer novelty drinking vessels such as ceramic Eiffel Towers, guitars, cowboy boots and the more traditional 'yards' and many people wander from casino to casino drinking these as they go. All the way up and down the strip Mexican workers were handing out cards for 'sexy girls' who will come to your door within 20 minutes.

Vegas is fun to explore during the day and there is always somewhere good to go for food (and there is a whole four-level store devoted to M&Ms) but it's at night that the place really comes in to its own. Every inch of wall space on the main strip seems to be covered with neon signs, bright flashing advertisements, water displays or video screens and the pavements are filled with tourists, many with a bottle or an aforementioned novelty glass in hand. There doesn't seem to be a specific dress code here. Some dress up (the clubbers and serious gamblers I suppose) but most are in shorts or jeans. We haven't tried our luck on any gambling games. Somewhere between the Luxor's toilets and the Bodies Show, I lost a lovely brand new bikini which I had spent three hours choosing in the Bikini Bay in the Miracle Mile shopping arcade. That was a loss enough. I went back there twice but no one had handed it in :(

Thinking we'd best see a show while in town, we went to see the comedy magicians Penn & Teller (Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller). Ric remembers watching them on the telly in the '90s and Penn continues to make all sorts of television and radio appearances as a political commentator, atheist, libertarian, comedy presenter etc.

They were mostly excellent and their energetic show involves a lot of witty banter and dramatic tricks. Considering they have been living here in Vegas for years, they seemed very fresh and happy to be there. I wasn't forced on to the stage at any point thank God.

We have eaten a lot of buffets here and they are good but by far the best meal we have had here was at Ah Sin in Paris. I'm glad I didn't read the terrible reviews I have just found on the Internet before I went (crikey)! We didn't order the rather boring and too-good-too-be-true sounding ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI. Instead, Ric had half a duck which he said was done to perfection while I had some green bean tempura, cucumber and seaweed salad, spicy grilled eggplant and an asparagus and mushroom dish. All of these were great. Here are the hilarious reviews though:

http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g45963-d449420-Reviews-Ah_Sin-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

We haven't spotted anyone famous yet but we did pass a very glamorous bride and groom and their entire wedding party on Las Vegas Boulevard.

So that's a little bit about Vegas for you. I would definitely come again but not for a while and perhaps with group of friends for more of a party vibe. I'm just about getting used to the tax and tipping maths one has to apply to almost everything here.

My OCD and eating are bad and I get upset and annoyed with myself a hundred times a day for it, but I am hanging in here and clinging on to the fact that soon will be home and getting back to some sort of routine. I can't wait to see my family and friends again and ploughing my energies in to finding a fulfilling job. Ric has been so supportive during this year away and I adore him for it.

Shopping and Strip Clubs

2009-03-29T21:03:00.002+11:00

We had a great, if bizarre day today starting with a bit of shopping.

I managed to spend $150 on Benefit cosmetics within just ten minutes of arriving at Bloomingdales. Before I had a chance to even look at anything else, I was sitting on the sales girl's stool having my eye brows 'fixed up', my cheeks 'primed', my blemishes zapped with a magic wand and my lips painted pink. I was completely sucked in by these gorgeously packaged, girly, sweet-smelling products which are called delightfully American things like Boo Boo Zap, Brow Zings and Bad Gal and make you feel a million dollars by just looking at them. They became even less resistible when I was told that I qualified for a free gift. As my eyes lit up, Ric's rolled.

But then we went and found him a very smart Calvin Klein jacket so he is chuffed with that. All these brands are so much cheaper here! I tried to find a dress for our imminent trip to Vegas but my interest and patience quickly waned so we headed back to Hollywood (Boulevard - the locals chop off the Blvd, Street, Road etc, part of each address so they sound cooler) and ate an early dinner at a popular but cosy vegan restaurant I had been eyeing up since we got to Hollywood. They have an amazing menu which offers everything from succulent mock chicken and mock peppered steak burgers (with non-diary cheese) to protein salads, tofu and vegetable stir-fries, soups, curries, noodles and shabu-shabu, most of which are served with a bowl of nutty brown rice. And that was just the savoury menu! For once I was totally spoilt for choice and even Ric (who had a burger) said he couldn't fault it.

Afterwards, we had a weird night out. We went to meet Ric's friend (who happens to be a vegan) at a bar in West Hollywood. He'd been invited to some gig there and asked us to join him. We got there first, paid to park, paid to go in and looked around to find Ric was pretty much the only guy in there and that in fact, most of the clientele were gay - we found out later that this was a very popualr lesbian bar. Ric's friend whipped us out of there as soon as he found us and we decided to check out a comedy bar called Improv down the road (ie. a 2 mile drive away). I wasn't sure I coud sit through some bad commedy but we went anyway. We got there and the tickets had sold out so we just hung around the bar for a few hours before it was suggested that we try Jumbos, a strip club a couple of miles east of our Motel which stays open til late. I was assured that this joint was as popular with the girls as the boys and that the strippers don't even take their tops off. So off we went in the car again to watch some poles dancing at 1am. The traffic was truly terrible by now and we couldn't find a free parking spot anywhere but we finally made it in and found Lemmy from Motorhead standing outside the entrance smoking a cigarette. Ric was far more excited about that than seeing the semi-naked ladies. The things they can do in 8 inch heels and half way up a pole are amazing though.

We're learning fast that a night out in LA is nothing like London. First of all, you need to plan it far more precisely with your friends as everything is so spread out and you can't really do anything without driving. Then, because you need to drive, you can't really drink. If you want to park, you have to pay through the teeth. Most bars have a valet service which seems a bit of a joke to me especially when they only park it out the front. The traffic you have to sit in to get from one place to another somewhat kills the party mood too so the whole evening can feel drawn out before you've even done anything. At least there's always some up-beat rock tune on the radio.

LA LA Land

2009-03-28T14:54:00.004+11:00

Bright, brash, frantic, flashy, trashy, kitsch, psychedelic, sprawling, smoggy, oozing with old school and 'nu' cool; we have arrived in LA, California.

After six weeks in the relative tranquility of New Zealand and a twelve hour flight, this heavily populated state feels like a rush of blood to the head and has attitude to boot!

We booked a Dodge Caliber through Thrifty Rentals but much to Ric's delight, ended up with a cool black Mustang which sure has a lot of kick! It's possibly the lowest vehicle I have ever sat in and for the first few hours I felt sure Ric was going to scrape the right hand side of the car off along with me. He's never driven on the right before, let alone in a sports car in LA so thank God we got Sat Nav as I was far too terrified to do any map reading.

The first thing I wanted to do after our long flight and lengthily wait for our baggage, even before finding a hotel was to go for a walk so we headed off to Venice Beach, trusting that our new electronic guide would get us there. The beach is a long and sandy and the Ocean Front Walk is a hive of fun and games which reminded me of Brighton Beach. As we walked along the shore we watched huge pelicans dive bomb in to the sea to catch fish, spotted a few Asian women trying and failing to surf and observed the pinky haze spread out like a blanket from one horizon to the other.

I just kept pinching myself - I'm in America! People here are real Americans, just like in the movies, and they are just as loud, proud, demonstrative and characterful as I imagined. I have lots of American friends but to see so many of them and in their own environment is somewhat overwhelming. Does that sound really weird, or rude?

People here talk loudly on their 'cell phones' so broadcasting their private lives. They get in to full-on shouting matches with traffic wardens. They paint their eyebrows on their faces. They have large, impressive tattoos, drive big cars and run red lights. They eat a lot of tacos, pizza, hot dogs, burgers and sushi and are served BIG portions. They walk around with their tiny toy dogs and some dress up as Superman, Homer Simpson, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp and stand outside the Chinese Theatre posing with the tourists. There are more liquor stores and smoke shops than local supermarkets. There are advertisements on the telly for sex drugs, Catheters and 'Personal Massagers' and some radio stations only broadcast religious diatribe.

We are staying in a motel on Hollywood Boulevard right next to the famous Kodak Theatre (where the Oscars are held) and various other showbiz attractions. We can't quite see the sign from here but it's behind us. This Motel 6 isn't luxurious but after 42 nights in a camper van it is ace and we're got free wifi!

So far we've driven through Bel Air, past Beverly Hills, down Melrose, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica and went to see Ric's friend in Pasedena - all these place I have only ever seen on the big screen! Today we drove over to the J. Paul Getty Center, an impressive museum and research institute which houses hundreds of European paintings, furniture, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts and photographs. The surrounding gardens and buildings which housed the artworks were interesting and impressive in themselves and the view across LA were great (except for the smog).

It seems to take at least an hour to get anywhere and parking aint cheap but we're getting used to that. We're also getting better at asserting ourselves in the traffic and not getting caught in lanes we don't want to be in. It would be good if the Sat Nav gave us a bit more warning sometimes so we don't get spat off the motorways by being in the right hand lane.

All is good really and I think I am growing to like this funny place. I LOVE all the vegan restaurants!

Skydive, Rotorua, Lady Knox Geyser, Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland and Waihi

2009-03-25T11:25:00.009+11:00

19/03/09

Today, after putting it off for several days we did the thing for which we came to Taupo - that's right, today we did a skydive.

15,000 feet!

60 seconds of free fall!

200 miles per hour!

I screamed virtually all the way down but more out of excitement than terror - overall I felt surprisingly calm and so did Ric, although he is complaining that it gave him an eyebrow headache. The worst bit was going up in a tiny plane, packed with ten other people and with your dive-master strapped tightly behind you knowing that the only exit was above the clouds. The first three seconds when you hurl yourself out and feel the rush as your body's fall is accelerating are pretty scary too!

Ric went first. While they were descending Ric's dive master Andrew asked him if he'd seen the viral email and news of the bloke in New Zealand whose parachute failed to open and who amazingly lived to tell the tale whilst filming the whole experience on his head-top camera.

Well, that guy was him! His parachute had only partially opened and he careered to earth saying goodbye to the camera but landed in a blackberry bush and got off with just a punctured lung, concussion and a broken ankle. Fortunately he told Ric about all of this long after the parachute was released.

After our skydives, we succumbed to the hard-selling sales girl and ended up buying the whole package (skydive, video, photos and a t-shirt) so we'll be able to show our friends and family for years to come! Was it worth it? Well it's a lot of money but I'm glad to have done it once.

After that we drove on to Rotorua passing through a bizarre Mud Pool on the way. You wouldn't last long in there! They bottle this thermal mud and flog it in the shops for at least $20 a pop!
It does wonders for your skin apparently.

Ironically, well when you consider than Rotorua is sitting on boundless supplies of natural water, the tap water here tastes more stagnant or treated than anywhere else. Ric is quite a water connoisseur and notices these things acutely.

20/03/09

We finally saw a kiwi today. It wasn't in the wild or anything but at the Kiwi Encounter Centre here in Rotorua where they hatch wild eggs and reintroduce them to the wild once the birds are 1kg. Only 5% of kiwi survive to adulthood because of all the predators (especially stoats) which the Europeans brought over. So this conservation programme, although not an ideal solution, gives them a far better chance.

They are quirky little creatures and we learnt lots about them. If you took away their bill they would look a bit like fat rats. The can't fly as they have dense bones and a totally useless wing formation, they don't have a tail, their nostrils are at the end of their bill rather than near their eyes like other birds, their 'feathers' are really more like fur, they mate for life and once their eggs have hatched the parents naff off and leave them totally to their own devices with just a week's worth of yolk inside them to keep them going.

We didn't spend much longer in Rotorua. The various hot baths and spas are nice but it's not a very attractive town and feels a bit dodgy. I did go for a great massage at one of the thermal spas which is affiliated with a hospital and that was fantastic. Don't understand how Ric doesn't enjoy massages.

The occasional but very strong wafts of eggy sulphur smell all around the town amused us.

After Rotorua we thought we'd squeeze in a couple more destinations so went back south a bit to The Lady Knox Geyser and Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland which is a large thermal park full of truly bizarre geysers, bubbling ponds, smoking earth and colourful rock. It was extremely popular and well worth the $27 ticket price. Every day at 10.30am one of the staff pours a soap-like but biodegradable substance in to the geyser to set it off for the crowd...it goes crazy!

Apparently this explosive characteristic was first discovered by inmates who tried washing their clothes on the site as the prison facilities were so terrible. What a shock they must have had!

22/03/09

Waihi beach was our next stop, the last before Auckland. It is a gorgeous sandy stretch of the Coromandel coastline and was warm and relaxed. The holiday park right next to the beach was by far the best we have stayed at - the swimming pool was opened by none other than the previous Prime minister! We have generally found the Top 10 resorts excellent. So much for roughing it on the road-side!

When we went in to Waihi town the next day we inadvertently stumbled upon a gold mine, a massive pit in the middle of town! So the next day we went on a tour which gave us a bit of background about the place. I never thought I could get excited about a mine but it all looked so impressive - their diggers are huge!

24/03/09

On to Auckland. There really is nothing much to say about Auckland except that it is a big, sprawling city with a tall tower and loads of tricky motorways and raised freeways to navigate. We didn't even bother exploring it before we handed our van back to Jucy Rentals (all in tact thankfully) and flew off to Los Angeles where we would experience the 25th March 2009 for the second time because of the time difference!

Prawn Park and getting in to hot water

2009-03-21T14:43:00.007+11:00

18/03/09

Another busy day today (well, for people on holiday). The weather improved massively so we went off to meet Shawn the prawn and try to catch some of his buddies at Huka Prawn Park in Taupo. I was reluctant to go as I didn't want to catch anything but I tagged along anyway as the riding stable was booked up.

The Prawn Park is a funny place. Ric paid $20 (about 8 quid) to fish all day in the four large ponds. He was given a bamboo rod, a bucket of icy water and some cubed Ox heart for bait and sent on his way. The park keeper said I should do the baiting because female pheromones attract sea-creatures and that once we caught our first prawn we should prize the flesh out and use it to bait the rest - so we learned than the prawn is also cannibalistic creature!

Unsurprisingly, without a rod I started to get bored very quickly. I went off to make Ric a sandwich, then walked right round the park, had a go on the some of the interactive attractions including the 'water bikes' (which were pretty lame), cleaned out the car, and then had a go with Ric's rod, thinking I wouldn't catch anything of course...and then I snagged one!

I felt really confused - elated on the one hand but guilty on the other. I couldn't kill this creature could I? What a bad vegetarian! But it was quite exciting. Perhaps I could get myself a rod anyway to pass the time...

So that's what I did. I became a vegetarian who, when very very bored, is prepared to fish for prawns. I only caught three but one of them seemed to be about to spawn thousands of tiny yellow eggs - I would have put it back if it hadn't died in the bucket straight away. Ric also caught three. There should, in total be enough for a small sandwich.

After a day's worth of fishing excitement we went back to the Spa Thermal Park for a soak. It seemed much hotter than yesterday, and busier - I think a whole bus load of student travelers had been dropped off, with their crates of beer.

Our new hypnotherapist friend was there again and this time with, of all people, his teacher Brian Cattermole who founded the "ZennaE" program and has been treating people with everything from anxiety disorders to cancer for 20 years (when he's not being an electrician). It was a strange coincidence indeed. Reiterating what was said to me the day before, Brian spoke of how in a relatively short space of time he could release me of my problems by enabling me to explore their roots. His theory is that most of us carry unresolved 'issues' or emotions from our early childhood in to adulthood and that by tapping in to our memory we can unleash some of these feelings which can in turn restore good health - or something like that.

So his method is basically to combine theories of psychoanalysis with hypnosis and something 'other' of which not even he can speak.

I didn't want to come across as a cynic and he is an interesting guy who clearly believes in what he does but I have seen a lot of therapists and read a lot of books in my time and he wasn't giving me enough hard facts or evidence to suggest his method would help me. I'm not prepared to place faith in miracles as wonderful as they sound.

It's very easy to sum up the causal factors and believe systems of a typical anorexic, bulimic, OCD sufferer and the like. In a way he was right to say bulimia is largely about self-loathing and a desire to purge and punish but that's not all it is about. Sure, the first seven years of our lives are important in shaping our future, but that's not where all the damage is done or where the answers lie. If I had $240 floating about and wasn't rushing to get to Auckland in a week I probably would have done it out of curiosity, but the more I read and read in to his aphoristic materials and think about what he said, the less I am inclined to take him seriously, especially when he describes cancer as a 'black energy form' and something he can 'squeeze out' of a patient's body. He goes on to say that 'cancer is all about emotions originally suppressed by the child'. I'm sorry but I just can't take this seriously. If you really have found a 'cure' for cancer then go and test it thoroughly and get it officiated!

Once we had boiled ourselves at the thermal river again we went for a bite to eat in town. While crossing a roundabout we were honked at very loudly and for a long time by some scum-bag on our tail. Annoyed by this unprovoked aural abuse, Ric stuck a finger up to the driver and thought nothing more of it, that is until he pulled up beside us when we parked, leaped out of his seat and threatened Ric with all sorts of obscenities, even telling us that he'd come back to get us later.
That was probably the least relaxing dinner we have ever eaten. All was well in the end though.

It's a shame how incidents like that can really put one of place. I don't fancy returning to Manila after that beggar woman mugged me.

Strange and beautiful Taupo

2009-03-19T19:42:00.002+11:00

17/03/09

We're now staying in Taupo which is right next to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It can fit the whole of Singapore in to it! All around us are sites of thermal activity and everywhere you look you can see hot steam rising out of the land or smell pungent gusts of sulphur.

Today, in spite of the onset of rain in the area, we did a 45 minute loop walk around the Craters Of The Moon, a bizarre patch of land dotted with hyperactive geothermal pot holes and craters which rumble and bubble noisily whilst belching out thick eggy-smelling steam. We were warned not to deviate from the path at any stage or wear open shoes because of the hot ground. The only species of flora there were very hardy reeds and heather-like plants.

Then we went to check out the Huka Falls where the entire flow of the huge, clear Waitomo River funnels in to a narrow chasm before shooting down a ten metre shelf in to another pool below at a speed of around 400 tonnes per second. This speed and volume make it look far more powerful than it sounds on paper and the water was so white because of all the bubbles! I'm not sure if anyone has ever tried rafting over it but it looks like a lot of fun!

After the falls we drove a short distance to the Spa Thermal Park in which visitors can take a dip at the point where a fast stream of geothermally heated water meets the Waitomo river. It was quite crowded there and since the hottest areas are those closest to the stream, people were congregated in a fairly small space trying to find a spot which was neither unbearably hot nor too cold. It was a weird experience scrambling down slimy, jagged rocks into what looks like a river but in places feels like a hot scalding bath while being rained on heavily for an hour or so.

It is also evidently a very sociable place. We chatted to loads of people including one intriguing chap from India who told us he lived in Taupo and was a psychotherapist who does hypnotherapy. He told us he was one of only four or five people in the world trained to practise this so-called ZennaE method of treatment and that his master, a nomadic kiwi, had cured his bowel cancer and many other cancer sufferers before. "Oh really?" Ric and I said simultaneously; "So can you help with problems like OCD and Bulimia?". He smiled and threw his head back a bit and proffered that these were two very difficult illnesses to treat (don't I know it!) but then, without doing a hard sell, he had a think and said he'd like to try a quick half hour session there and then to see if I would be receptive to a longer one where he promised I would become more emotional and ultimately happier than ever before. Cynical as ever but fascinated by what he was telling me, I allowed him to do it.

I can't say it was a great experience and I'm a long way from 'healed' but it wasn't bad either. I tried hard to keep my eyes closed and my brain focused for half an hour despite the people chatting all around me and the slippery rocks I had to cling on to. Overall, aside from it being a surreal thing to be doing in an extraordinary setting it was interesting and quite meditative but I would like to know more about his (I don't even know his name!) techniques as he seemed a bit hesitant when asked about its creator and origin and even the procedure itself. All he as said was that in an intense two hour session he can tackle the emotions more deeply than they have ever been tackled before. I would love to give him my unreserved confidence but I don't think I have time left to really achieve anything.

Tomorrow Ric wants to go to Huka Prawn Park (prawn fishing capital of the world apparently) to catch himself some dinner. Gawd.

I must say, the Kiwis are very good at finding multiple sources of income from one main business/trade. This is a functioning prawn farm but also pitched to tourists as a fun family day out where we can meet Shawn the prawn and all his little friends. Ric is really excited. They give you an umbrella if it rains but even if the heavens open again I would rather leave him there and go on another horse trek. I'm sure I will be persuaded in to it eventually though.

Over to the North

2009-03-19T19:40:00.001+11:00

13/03/09

We legged it to Picton this morning to catch the three hour crossing to Wellington along with a ferry load of other camper vans. It was quite windy on the deck!

We were strangely drawn to the $4 mood rings they were selling in the ferry shop and Ric wouldn't leave without us each getting one. I remember having one as a child and thinking then they changed colour according to one's on temperature alone, but they are still amusing things to have! Mine is always a different colour to Ric's.

I don't want to offend anyone and it may well be the capital of New Zealand but Wellington didn't seem particularly exciting and it was damn windy, so rather than hanging around there for a few days to try to get to know it better, we quickly headed north west to New Plymouth which is situated right next to the volcano Taranaki (or Mt Egmont as it is also known), just in time for Womad, a world music, art and dance festival.

Having been sober and without other friends to hang out with for some time, we decided not to bother with the three day ticket and just went for the Saturday instead. It was good fun; the weather couldn't have been better, the music was easy on the ear and the Pukekura Park setting is gorgeous but it was very different from the festivals with which we (particuarly Ric) are so familiar back home. There were plenty of strange looking hippy types so in that sense it was like Glastonbury and there were a lot of people just chilling on the lawns much like they do at Big Chill (and the others when the weather is conducive), but this was moreover a festival for families (with children of all ages) and was about drinking coffee, not beer, about eating gourmet pizzas, not illegal drugs and about flushing loos and wash basins instead of filthy long-drops.

Some of the Maori music was interesting but none of it was especially captivating and we found ourselves feeling restless a few times. I'm sure that if we were locals here it would be much more exciting and we would be a lot more involved. We noticed quite a few mixed race families. more so than anywhere else we have been so far. Aside from the usual coconut hat, jewellery and food stalls, was the more unusual festival offering of a tattoo 'studio' where people (us included) gathered to watch members of the public subjecting themselves to the tattooist's needle (don't worry, I wasn't even a little bit tempted Mummy).

In between the main stage and its audience was a large pond and it was highly amusing hearing the occasional quack and watching the ducks preen themselves, flap about, squabble with each other and/or sleep on the water as if they were oblivious to the several thousand people sitting there in front of them.

Poor Ric; we weren't searched on our way in to the park the first time but on our re-entry (we went back to the van to change in to shorts and flip-flops) security searched Ric's bag and told him he couldn't take his three bottles of beer in. Not wanting it to go to waste he opted to drink them at the gate, much to the amusement of all the ladies doing the ticket checks. I wish I could have helped but that Steinlager tastes foul!

Tomorrow, with just ten days left here in New Zealand, we are off to Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Bencarri Nature Park and Rawhiti Cave

2009-03-09T19:25:00.007+11:00

09/03/09

Brilliant day today, marred only by my persistent OCD madness this morning when Ric went the 'wrong' way around a tap in the campsite and I couldn't get the thought out of my head. God - I need to get on top of my obsessions. At least we can laugh about it, most of the time.

No rain for a week now so we've enjoyed lots of sun and gentle breezes. We're getting up and hitting the road a bit bit earlier too now which means we get more done.

The seemingly endless winding roads in this region do make me feel rather car sick. I can't read many magazines on the road...even looking at the map is a bad idea sometimes.

First we stopped by at the fantastic Bencarri Nature Park (and cafe) which is on the road north to Takaki. The lady running it had all sorts: dogs, cats, donkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, pigs, goats, rams with huge spiralled horns, sheep, cows, a massive Texan Long horn cow, a Highland calf, two vicious emus, llamas, a moody white Shetland pony, guinea pigs, rabbits (some of which were for sale for $25) and some tame eels in the river next door which we fed mince meat to! We were like two excited children and could have spent all day there stroking and feeding the animals, some of which followed us right round the park in the hope of being fed. The emus were nasty little creatures though.

One of the resident cats, Pumpkin, even came to feed the eels with us and seemed totally fearless around them as they writhed about, sliding in and out of the water with their jaws wide open. Ric later told the lady about his virtual eels and she seems rather keen to have a look: http://www.bedroomlab.com/games/eel/

Determined to find more caves in which to make use of our new head torch we then spent over two hours driving around the Abel Tasman region desperately trying to find the badly signposted Rawhiti Cave. When we finally got there, we hopped out of the van armed only with our cameras and torches and set off towards what we thought was its entrance. It was not.

After a long walk across a couple fields, along a dried up river and half an hour of hiking up a very steep, knobbly, winding and narrow forest path we reached it and although we were sweating and dying of thirst, it was well worth it. We just stood there for a few minutes catching our breath and taking in its magnificence. No photograph we took could do it justice as it was so vast and so full of long, intricately detailed stalactites, textured rock and other strange forms of flora. I made a crappy video to try to capture it a bit better...

Here's some info about the cave.

I have observed, during many hours of driving the wrong way down rural side roads (sometimes twice), that the residents of this area often have really ornate, characterful and/or unusual mailboxes- statement boxes if you like. Some depict the family name, others the name of the house, others are brightly coloured, shaped like giraffes and birds or covered with jade stones, If I wasn't map reading or trying to work out where on earth we were half the time, I would have taken some pictures. I appreciate this quirkiness and sense of humour.

We're finally catching the ferry from Picton to Wellington tomorrow. North Island here we come!

PuPu Springs

2009-03-09T18:55:00.003+11:00

Riding, Caving, Kayaking and reading magazines

2009-03-08T22:48:00.003+11:00

Here we are on the 8th March already and we've been all the way up the West coast (well as far as we could, Karamea, before the road became a gravel track-that was a wasted day!). During this stretch and to my great joy, I finally managed to persuade Ric to come on a horse trek around the lovely valleys, rivers and beach at Punakaiki (between Greymouth and Westport, both of which we stopped in briefly but didn't linger) which even he admitted enjoying, possibly because of the three German girls who also came. While in the area, we visited Cape Foulwind, Westport's most amusing and evocatively titled stretch of coastline. Yet again it is Captain Cook, who battled against horrendous weather there in 1770, to whom we can attribute this naming.

From our horse ride we went on to the magnificent, bizarre and aptly named Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Every road we go down seems to take us to yet another site of natural beauty and/or strangeness!

Since then we have traveled right over to the east side of the island again, via the old gold mining town of Murchison, then Nelson, again a pleasant enough port town and apparently the sunniest place in the whole of New Zealand.

Now we are in Motueka, a pivotal point for tourists wanting to explore the Abel Tasman National Park (Tasman was the first European to discover New Zealand even though he never set foot on it for fear of the Maori). The weather is certainly warmer here than further south and there are lots of orchards and vineyards in the area.

After our lousy Kayaking experience in The Philippines where we got caught in a thunderstorm whilst wearing just our swimming togs and spent nearly an hour trying to turn the kayak around, I decided to give it another whirl so today we got up early (7.30am nearly killed us after three weeks of lazy lie-ins) and headed over to Kaiteriteri where we joined Kahu Kayaks and went on a half day trip from Mahahau to Stephens Bay passing all sorts of fascinating coastal scenery including the famous Split Apple Rock, several nesting cormorants (or shags as they call them here), caves and some cute little beaches which have an odd but pretty black and gold sand. With gorgeous weather, surroundings and the aid of a rudder it was a much better experience than the last one! Think we caught the sun a bit too.

Then we drove a bit higher north to the huge and ancient (we're talking millions and millions of years old) Ngarua Caves where we had to have a guided tour. Ric was a bit miffed about that since we've just bought a special head-torch for exploring such caves solo. The caves which remain at 11 degrees celcius all year round, were full of stalactites, some stalagmites and ancient bones of now extinct bird-like dinosaurs. No glow worms though and when the guide turned the lights of we were in total darkness - no amount of staring and squinting could help us see a thing - imagine discovering these caves by candle light! The mountains in this area are like honeycomb and water is constantly seeping through including caves like these making them constantly damp. Would you believe that some nutters have chosen to get married inside them? Chamber orchestras have also played inside the large 'cathedral' area - great acoustics apparently.

With energy still to burn we went to the idyllic (am running out of adjectives for this stunning country) PuPu Springs, the clearest freshwater springs in the world, where we were warned not to touch the water in any way (we weren't even allowed to fill up water bottles) to prevent the spread of Didymo. Seems a bit over the top considering how fast the water comes out of the ground and washes away into the rivers around. I wont tell you if we obeyed the rules...

Despite the books we brought with us to NZ, Ric and I have been devouring magazines, especially New Scientist, Scientific American Mind (and OK - well we all need some light relief occasionally). It's amazing to find even the smallest back of beyond newsagents selling these publications. Ric is rather alarmed by the all too frequent articles in New Scientist about depression, eating and anxiety disorders. This week they write about how people with bulimia have the highest suicide rate of all psychological conditions and many people kill themselves because they feel such a strong sense of failure and shame. There seems to be a lot of interest in that area of medicine, perhaps because these illnesses are on the rise?

I am getting by but feeling hampered and frustrated every day by problems which I am longing to sort out but scared to let go of. I wish I could pop and pill and rid myself of these endless irrational fears and my love/hate addictive relationship with food. So bored of even talking about them.

We are seeing a lot of Wekas by the way...clumsy looking birds.

Greenstone Carving in Hokitika

2009-03-04T20:14:00.002+11:00

When Ric suggested we go and make our own Maori style bone or jade pendants (you know the ones travelers seem to love) in Hokitika I admit I wasn't particularly enthusiastic:
a - because it would take all day
b - because it might be rubbish and/or tedious, and
c - because I didn't think I'd make something I could/would actually wear because they're too naff.

He was eager to do some thing besides walking though so off we went to Bonz 'n' Stonz, a carving studio in the centre of Hokitika which is run by a lovely warm fellow called Steve (originally from the Solomon Islands) who has been in the business for 18 years. My doubts soon melted away once we got to work designing our own Taongas (Māori for treasured items), picking out a raw piece of Greenstone (NZ Jade) and then cutting, craving and polishing them for the next few hours.

It reminded me of the pottery classes I did on Monday afternoons after school when everyone just wanted to do something with their hands and be free to do what they please. I forget how cathartic focused creative activity can be. We both had fairly ambitious designs but mine turned out fine and I am thrilled with it. Poor old Ric though - his first attempt snapped in half just as he was finishing cutting it so he had to start all over again after five hoours and we didn't get out of there til 7pm. He even had to go back the following morning to finish it off while I wandered aimlessly around the town for three hours and then chatted for a while to Steve about his interesting career history, his emigration story, his marriage to a Kiwi girl and the repercussions of that, and more besides. He seemed curious and deeply impressed by what Ric does for a living - his wife (a school teacher) is addicted to online games apparently and plays them every night, thus depriving her husband of her energies, affection and time.

He was clearly thinking hard about the concept of 'building' these computer games and as he watched Ric work silently, precisely and diligently for hours on end, he kept saying of him 'wow, that's really amazing...to be able to do that', as if his own carving skills were nothing. He didn't give a monkey's what I did but Ric appreciated the consideration.

Ric got there in the end as you can see from the picture above!

Shotover Rafting and Franz Josef

2009-03-03T21:00:00.005+11:00

I would love to share some pictures but Picasa wont let me upload! Here they are on facebook:

Franz Josef: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=224171&id=622595454&l=afb9a

Milford Sound: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=222478&id=622595454&l=1165a

Te Anau/Kepler Track: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220126&id=622595454&l=7dd07

Wayterfall near Homer tunnel: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=223202&id=622595454&l=ed0f6

27/02/09

Great day today. The sun came out and we went rafting 16km down the Shotover River near Queenstown. The bus ride to the start point was probably more hair-raising than the rafting itself as we wiggled along a very narrow cliff edge for 40 minutes, pulling a trailer full of inflatable boats behind us.

It was a varied rafting experience; none of it too strenuous. There were about 5 or 6 boats of seven passengers of all adult ages and nationalities (they seem to like to group us with our own kind which I find a bit of a shame but I suppose it's better for communication purposes), plus a guide for each raft boat. Great scenery all the way down. Pity I couldn't take my camera along.

I had a couple of swims (well, dunks) in the crystal clear, icy water. There were quite a few white water rapids and a 150 metre tunnel to get through but the river was mostly gentle - no waterfalls to jump off or capsizing. That tunnel was originally built to divert the river's water flow to make it easier for gold miners to work around the river. They worked here until the 1990s and the legacy of their often dangerous occupation can be found all along the river whether it be the dynamite-blasted rocks, abandoned instruments or huts.

Our journey down the river also took us right under the ropes of the Canyon Swing, another one of these terrifying activities I'm staying well away from.

We went out of the town a little the next day to find the Routeburn Track (an area where some of the Lord of the Rings was filmed) and we did a good walk there and then went over to Paradise but it was raining and we didn't find either particularly interesting.

01/03/09

The first of March already. I am so behind on UK news it's like being in Middle Earth.

Today we left Queenstown and drove in heavy rain up north via Wanaka through a much greener landscape than previously and along windy roads to reach the Fox Glacier only to find it closed off because of falling rocks. so we ploughed on to the Franz Josef glacier, another major tourist attraction.

I booked us in for a glacier hike immediately and so that's what we did the next day and it was probably the best thing we have done and seen here so far.

There's only one company in town that does these hikes here now as they bought out their competition but the rates were reasonable ($97 for a half day) and the team clearly expert.

There were about 40 people in the group, again of all ages, and once we had all been rounded up, briefed and fitted with (very heavy) boots, socks, cramp-ons, jackets, gloves and the like we were driven over to the start of the track where merely the sight of the foot of the glacier from four kilometres away is breathtaking. The guides then split us in to groups according to ability.

Ric and I naturally chose the fast group (since we rightly or wrongly like to think of ourselves as quite hardcore walkers) and off we went towards the glacier. Just to get to its foot required walking briskly for a good 45 minutes across a long valley of rough rocks (speckled with fool's gold), a bit of rainforest and some streams.

Walking on the glacier itself was an exhilarating and surreal experience and hardly strenuous at all, perhaps because it was just so exciting. The three other groups were huffing and puffing a bit in the bus back to town afterwards but we were on a high.

As we started to ascend the hacked out 'staircase' on the glacier it seemed as though we were just walking up more rocks but as the rubble and grey sediment cleared it became apparent we were actually walking on ice (a lot of it blue and speckled with tiny air bubbles) and then suddenly we were surrounded by it and hiking up and down carved out steps, natural trenches, flats and peaks, then jumping over gaps, looking through holes and gawping at the views across the valley. I really felt as though I was walking in Narnia.

Our guide Dale was pretty relaxed about us meandering off his track slightly to get some good pictures. He also seemed to know a lot about the region so we got a good geography and history lesson thrown in. One of the walkers in our team had the heaviest, longest camera lens I've ever held (he asked me to take some snaps of him and his missus) - fancy traveling wth one of those??!!

I'm glad to have my small compact Sony even though it's beginning to do strange things of its own accord and the zoom still doesn't work. I have certainly put it through its paces in this past year.

Regardless of the photos, I wont forget that glacier walk in a hurry. I'm now looking forward to Lake Taupo and Rotorua and possibly doing a skydive. I am a lucky girl for being here.

That hike followed by a twilight dunk in the luscious local hot springs (cleverly marketed at weary climbers on the backs of the shuttle bus seats ) was definitely the highlight of the trip so far.

Milford Sound to Queenstown

2009-02-26T16:57:00.004+11:00

23/02/09

We drove in the rain to Milford Sound today which took about 2 hours. There were some magnificent mountain views along the way despite the lousy weather. This isn't a town as such as it is within a National Park so we've come stocked up with food supplies. Tomorrow we'll do our cruise (seems to be the only way to see this famous fiord) and go on a few shortish walks. Going through the 50 year old and leaky Homer Tunnel to reach Milford was a bit scary.

This 'lodge' isn't bad but there are swarms of little flies everywhere and if you stand still outside for just a minute you are surrounded by the buggers. Are these the sandflies we were warned of in Te Anau? Thy seem so small to make such an irritating bite. We've just watched a young couple spend an hour trying to 'break in' to their hire car, with the said flies buzzing incessantly around their heads, as they'd locked the keys inside.

The kitchen here is a bit of a zoo, full of young backpackers as well as the older crew, cooking all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions and leaving the most disgusting mess in the process. It was a free for all and we lost and had to claim back several of our bits of equipment while I was standing over the faulty hob trying to cook some Mexican fajitas. One pair of Europeans of indistinguishable dialogue were cooking some foul looking watery baked bean and rice dish, while another was spooning a hastily cooked sweetcorn and meat creation into freezer bags - for lunch tomorrow?? Another couple were boiling several massive lobsters, two of which were sitting in a pan next to their cooked friends, their beady black eyes rolling, awaiting their own sorry demise. We got in and out as quickly as possible and ate our dinner in the van.

Outside a strange almost meowing noise started and we looked out to find what we think was a Kea a large, fat, curious, lolloping member of the parrot family. Then we went on a short glowworm trail near the campsite and saw loads of the funny bugs stuck to the mossy walls in the forest. Ric wants to bottle some up and take them home and start a new colony in the UK. They remind me of the glow-in-the-dark star stickers I stuck on the ceiling above my bed when I was a child.

24/02/09

Today we did our Milford Sound cruise with one of the many companies who offer tours of the fiord (which is technically what Milford Sound is a it was created by the melting of glaciers). The weather couldn't have been better; blue skies and very little wind. The boat, one of the smallest of those at the port, took us out towards the Tasman sea passing vast waterfalls and walls of steep, craggy rock, a lot of which is now covered with flora. We also got up close to some juvenile male fur seals who didn't flinch at the gawping tourists. Seen lots of them now. I can see why tourists flock in their thousands to this particular gem of New Zealand.

Looking around at this magnificent landscape, it's hard to fully appreciate the size of the mountains, to put them in to perspective. I think the only way to really 'know' how huge they are is to try climbing them, which we wont be doing on this trip, although we did hike over a large area of rock to reach the base of the waterfall which is right next to the south end of the Homer Tunnel- that was challenging enough.

I watched The Reader last night. I love Kate Winslet and was moved by her performance but I found film dower, unconvincing and unsatisfactory, perhaps because I found the 'twist' silly and obvious - I struggled to see the point of any of it somehow.

The are a few more younger people here but the scene is very different to the one in Oz. Neither of us are being actively sociable anyway.

Off to Queenstown tomorrow - the hub of Kiwi travelers.

25/02/09

Having been chomped incessantly during the night we woke early today and set off for Queenstown.

Before we went too far however, we did a hike over to the secluded Marian Lake which is on the south side of the Homer Tunnel on the road which leads back to Te Anau. For most of the way there it was a tough climb over knotted tree roots and loose rocks but it was worth it the pain. The lake we eventually reached was truly beautiful - clear, still, reflecting like a mirror the mountains behind, and far enough away from roads or other signs of civilisation for it to feel peaceful. Another memorable experience, marred only by a group of noisy young Israelis who caught up with us a few minutes later and started showing off to their girlfriends by stripping off and jumping in to the lake. What a grandma I sound like.

Throughout this trip Ric has been saying that he sees squished hedgehogs on the roads but I didn't believe him until today when we spotted a live one, did a u-turn and pulled over to have a closer look. Sure enough, it was a proper Mrs. Tiddywinkle. I wonder how they came to be in New Zealand. Every day we also see at least two or three large hawk like birds with massive wing spans flying over the mountains. If only I could get some pictures up on my blog to show you! Web here is sooooo slooooow. I'm such an impatient city person.

Queenstown seems like a buzzing but relaxed place with lot of bars and trendy shops alluding to the obviously much younger, party hard, thrill-seeking crowd here. Lots of nice restaurants too. The outlook over the harbour is pretty and as we drove in this evening there were some fighter jets doing a display over the lake. I can see why some travelers choose to live and work here for a while.

Now...what thrill sports are we going to do here in the home of the bungee jump. The choice seems endless- white water rafting and surfing, lugeing, cayoning, paragliding, sky-diving...and obviously bungee jumping, which in truth, appeals to neither of us.

25/02/09

Today while the sky was clear, we went and did a paraglide over Queenstown and it was great. No scary free falling, just a gentle glide down for about 15 minutes. The instructors really put you at ease, chatting all the way up, and down! Then we went back up the 'Gondola' cable car and did some Lugeing (like sledging but down a concrete track. That was quite enough excitement for us today and now it's started raining. We're still knackered after our hike to Lake Marian yesterday!

However, now we are thirsty for some scarier stuff...we've still got 4 weeks left to go here!

Hikes around soggy Te Anau

2009-02-22T17:35:00.002+11:00

We've now booked our Milford Sound campsite (http://www.milfordlodge.com/) and a cruise (http://www.milfordlodge.com) but have had to spend another day here in Te Anau, which is fine as it's a nice place, if bloomin' wet.

So today, feeling that we need to start getting abit more adventurous we went for another hike along the Kelper track. The rain held off until we arrived back to the start some five hours later. We are exhausted. Most of it was uphill! It wasn't the most exciting walk either as it was in fairly dense rainforest, ie. few views out across the lake. Lots of interesting ferns and mosses though.

We spent the first hour of the walk thrashing out ideas for my novel but had to stop talking when we started sweating and became too breathless! I'm thinking about the Modernists again and wondering how I could do something in their vein, especially Virginia Woolf, Proust and Joyce.

Now we're back in the van with our feet up, the fan heater whacked up to the max and our damp towels and muddy clothes in the wash. Ric has decided that doing this trip 'old people style' is fine by him after all - in other words, he wont be doing any three/four day hikes this time round. Still haven't seen any Kiwi birds...or hobbits for that matter.

I'm trying to not think about what's going to happen when I get back to London.

Lord of the Rings

2009-02-21T21:51:00.003+11:00

Here's bit of info about Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings films locations. Seems the trilogy was shot all over the country including in Wellington: http://www.tourism.net.nz/lord-of-the-rings.html

You can even do the tours: http://www.tourism.net.nz/tours/lord-of-the-rings-tours/index.html

I'll leave that the to truly devoted.

Moeraki Boulders, Shag Point, Dunedin, Invercargill and Te Anau

2009-02-19T20:59:00.007+11:00

17/02/09

So the journey south continues and today we set off for Dunedin via the fantastic Moeraki Boulders on Hampden Beach. They are incredible spherical rock formations located right on the shore. Sadly, a lot of the smaller ones have been removed by tourists over the years so only the massive ones remain. I was leaping over them like a loon and we were both doing funny poses for the camera, just like everyone else. And just like everyone else, trying to make it look as though there was no one but us there.

So that was fun. Then we drove on to Shag Point and Matakaea where there were dozens of fur seals frolicking in the water, honking, play-fighting, sun bathing on the rocks, scratching etc. They are so graceful and agile in the water and yet so awkward and blubbery on land.

We drove straight through Palmerston and some other towns some of which are almost identical in their blandness. We arrived in Dunedin (or Duned In as Ric likes to call it) this afternoon and drove round the scenic Port Chalmers stretch off the coast to the north east of the city.

The Scottish influence of Dunedin is easy to detect, as we expected. The street names, architecture, some of the shops and even the people seem very Scottish. Were too knackered to do anything strenuous or even go to Cadbury's World this afternoon so went and saw 'Marley and Me' at the cinema. It as a good Jennifer Aniston/Owen Wilson flick and often very funny but I bawled my eyes out at the end. Not an easy film for dog owners to watch! I'm still desperate for a puppy though. They are a tie and hard work at first and demanding (as my poor mum knows only to well) but so loving, rewarding, good for one's health and such wonderful companions. I wish I had my dogizzle here right now. She'd love the sea-side walks we're doing.

18/02/09

Thinking that we might be going a little fast on this trip we decided to hang around Dunedin for another day so went to the Botanic Gardens and then over to the Otago Peninsula up a meandering road to Lanarch Castle, the only castle in New Zealand, which is tucked away over in the Otago Peninsula - http://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/index.pasp

The gardens there were very pretty and all the unusual alpine pants were fascinating. The views across the peninsula were amazing too. I could live somewhere round here quite happily I think. Some cool modern architecture - homes with enormous windows and interestingly laid out rooms etc.

That evening, we saw another film I've been looking forward to for ages, He's Just Not That In To You, which was rife with leading actors and had possibly too many characters and story lines and a few doubtful twists in the story but it hung together and was an enjoyable comedy. I have read the book (of course) and it conveyed its basic messages well, though pandered a little to the audience's assumed desire for happy endings and not all the. Some of the women in the cinema found it laugh-out-loud hilarious. It left bitter-sweet taste in my mouth as I identified myself a little too much with one of the less, shall we say, noble characters.

Ric, I should note here, loves these cheesy movies too so don't assume I'm dragging him along just to satiate my chick flick needs. They certainly give us plenty to talk about afterwards. We keep trying to thrash out film and novel ideas but failing to get anything down on paper, yet.

Can't wait to see Milford Sound and the glaciers in a few days.

19/02/09

I keep bashing my head on the ruddy cupboard that hangs down a bit at the back of the van which Ric finds hysterical. Will have a perma-headache soon. The zoom function in my camera has broken too which is super annoying.

Today we journeyed further west along the coast to Balclutha, Clinton, Gore (which has a very funny brown trout statue/mascot welcoming you in to town) and then down to Curio Bay to walk around the incredible petrified forest on the beach. We could make out some of the stumps and logs of the trees which burnt down by a volcano, penetrated with silica and quickly turned to rock millions of years ago. Ric managed to find two loose-ish pieces as souvenirs but I was less successful/naughty.

Then we drove on a little further to Slope Point, the southern most tip of the South Island. It's great to be able to jump out of the van, see what there is to see and then mooch on without having to hang around while a dozen other tourists take their mug shots and fanny about. I sometimes miss my bike and wish we could do some cycling here but then I also feel sorry for the poor sods we pass peddling their way up horrendously steep hills and chugging along long seemingly endless roads on their over-loaded bikes. This van has definitely been the best way to go.

After a long day of driving we finally arrived in Invercargill which, without wishing to offend, was a pretty dull town, like many others we have driven straight through on our journey. With little to do there, we headed off in to the Catlins region the next morning, a much less traveled part of the South Island, so we're told.

Along the way we went to look at tiny Monkey Island, so called because a monkey winch was once used to haul supplies off the boats which could only get so close to the shore. Once upon a time there weren't even dust tracks let alone roads in this area.

Then we checked out the Clifden Suspension Bridge and Clifden Caves which we almost overlooked completely - but what a find! They comprise of a huge dark, twisting, rocky, wet, glow-worm populated, limestone tunnel in the hills which, alas, we were too ill-prepared (and a bit chicken) to venture further than 50 metres in to.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/southland/murihiku/clifden-caves/

We passed through Riverton the oldest town in the Southern Island and famous for it's
pretty Paua shells. We then stopped off to buy a few sausages in Tuatapere, famous for it's sausages. Each town seems to have it's own collection of cute Victorian shops and houses.

20/2/09

We finally made it to Te Anau with its splendid lake, marking the start of our Fiordland adventure. It hasn't stopped raining since we got here which is a shame because it rather puts us off 'tramping' as they like to call it here. Realising that a pair of jeans and wind-proof jacket weren't going to shield me from the elements on these aforementioned treks I have invested in a nice pink fleecy top (I'm endeavouring to break away from my all-black habits) and waterproof trousers. Now I'm all warm and about 95% waterproof. Everywhere in town and even here at the campsite they try to flog you insect repellent to guard against the sand flies which are a real nuisance in some parts of the Fiordlands.

We went for a great rainforest walk along the moss lined Kepler Track today. The rain didn't stop but it wasn't too cold. Ric only has jeans so is rolling them up and wearing his flip-flops. We're beginning to wish we'd researched the area bit more and booked things in advance as it's pretty busy here. Now we 're trying to decide whether we can or should do one of the many three day walking tours around the famous Milford Sound. Another day here first we think.
Lots of older tourists in this town and we've yet to see the Kiwi Experience bus.

I should find out where The Lord of the Rings was filmed and add that the the list of things to see here...

Penguins, seals and other creatures

2009-02-19T20:16:00.006+11:00

I didn't really mention the penguins we saw the other day did I?

They are fascinating little creatures (my sister adores them) and the blue colony we went to see over in Oamaru the other night (but not allowed to photograph) spend the whole day out at see only swimming ashore each evening to check on their eggs and/or nests, preen their feathers to waterproof them and to socialize. Every night at dusk they swim in 'raft' formations towards the rocky shore- safety in numbers before awkwardly waddling, flapping and jumping up to reach the dry nesting territory. The larger yellow-eyed penguins are much rarer as we discovered after waiting over an hour on Bushy Beach only to see two come in.

The New Zealanders are certainly very protective of their rarer animals and unless you pay to join a guided tour it's hard to see them for yourself close up. We've been lucky enough to see a lot of fur seals however on the rocks around Bushy Beach, Shag Point and Matakaea on route to Dunedin.

On the flip-side of this, they regard possums, rabbits and all other wild European 'imports' as a pest and one sees scores of dead animals on the roads here. These could be anything from weasels to possums to ferrel cats to rabbits (and Ric swears he saw a squished hedgehog today), all of which were originally brought over here by humans, as once upon a time only birds and bats lived on this land with a few whales, dolphins and of course penguins in the seas around.

I'm uploading the pics on to Picasa as I type this. I've gone photo-crazy again.

Hello New Zealand

2009-02-18T21:59:00.004+11:00

12 Feb 09
After seven months we bid farewell to Sydney and arrived to a cold, wet and grey Christchurch, New Zealand. It's the largest city in the South Island but still tiny by our reckoning. Felt a bit like a small northern town back home in the UK which is sort of what I was expecting. It was too wet to go punting on the River Avon or visit the Botanic Gardens and besides, having just picked up our Jucy Cruiza camper van we were keen to hit the road.

A little about the van: it's not big but we can stand up in it and has all we need to cook with, space to store our bags and traveling literature (almost the first thing we did was buy a giant road atlas and Rough Guide as we're tired of the Lonely Planet's writing style which makes everything sound good even if it's rubbish), a safe, and crucially, a large foldaway bed so we can sleep fairly comfortably, although Ric got a bad back on the second night and we needed a heater as it's so frigging cold in the early hours and there's a gap in the door where my head rests. It's pretty easy and relatively cheap (NZ$30 ish per night) to pitch up at campsites, plug in to the mains and use the communal facilities they provide. Nothing is fancy but that suits us fine. For now. Navigating this country is also a doddle. I'm glad we didn't cycle now I have seen the hills and long long roads in to the wilderness.

So off we drove westerly from Christchurch to the small waterside town of Akaroa. There are sheep everywhere you look and a very arid and yellow landscape there with an impressive abundance of rolling hills and sometimes mountains. It's strange to drive in a country so sparsely populated. One hardly passes any cars and most of those are fellow camper vans and giant motor homes! Since the Akaroa wss shut by the time we got there at 5pm (we got up horribly late on Friday) we headed to Lyttelton, a port town across the water, where we stayed a night. There's definitely an older more serious kind of traveler in New Zealand. And lots of scary looking, hairy Germans dressed head to foot in tight fitting spandex or thermals with socks and sandals and hiking sticks. Quite a few famillies too and many of them Kiwis (haven't spotted any of the Kiwi birds yet - there are 6 varieties apparently and all rare).

14/02/09
Day three, on through Lincoln (so small and yet it even has a university), Rakaia River and Gorge, then to Lake Tekapo as recommended by my sister who was here only last week. The sun finally came out for us just as we arrive at the beautiful and vast Lake Tekapo. I've never seen anything quite like it what with its bright blue water and mountainous backdrop. This country has a bit of Wales, Scotland, the tropics and Switzerland all rolled in to one. The people are very friendly too, though Ric doesn't think the girls are as hot as the Aussies.

We ate our Valentine's Day (also our 2nd anniversary) dinner in an almost deserted Chinese restaurant in Tekapo town. Ric gave me the most gorgeous gift of an opal necklace which perfectly matches the ones my dad gave me for Christmas. I don't feel worthy of his kindness, love or patience. I'm buying him a fishing rod, when we can find a good shop.

15/02/09
This morning we got up much earlier than the previous two (ie. 9am as opposed to 11.30) and went for a swim in the local 'hot springs' just down the road from the campsite (not geothermal ones as we'd hoped but heated and chlorinated spring water - so essentially a swimming pool - good enough for me!). Then we went for a hike up Mount John and the Observatory and saw our first snow capped mountains. We're certinly meeting our daily exercise quota. My thighs kill in the mornngs.

Continuing through the MacKenzie region we drove north-westerly to the Mount Cook Region (where Kiwi hero Sir Edmund Hillary once climbed and this tiny town is clearly devoted to him), past the enormous Lake Pukaki.

More huge and quite ominous looking mountains loomed over us as we approached - these ones partially obscured by dark cloud, fog and snow. There are glaciers here too. We did another hike which involved walking a narrow swaying planked bridge to get across a gorge - not for the faint hearted. It's amazing how mountains affect the weather in a place and also not surprising to lern that many climbers have lost their way and their lives in these parts.

We then drove on south to Twizel, a very quaint town built in 1968 as a greenfields project to service the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectricity Scheme. it was intended to be removed once the project had been completed but in 1983 its residents successfully fought to save the town where it now caters for a lot of the Mt Cook visitors. I wonder what sort of money you can make running a camp site? All you need is some space and a couple of make shift kitchens and some toilet and shower facilities. Easy money.
The area boasts one of the world's cleanest, driest and darkest skies, and has long drawn astronomers to Twizel and the surrounding area.

We're swapping music but R' not as tolerant of my 'vagina indie rubbish' as I am of his '70s soft rock. We both enjoy Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and the Kings of Leon as well as the odd smattering of Bright Eyes and Bob Dylan.

16/02/09
Now further south in Oamaru which we reached via several dams and power stations which Ric insisted we pull over to photograph. I can't say I'm blown away by these.

Oamaru is the nicest city we've been to so far and the camp site is next to a gorgeous public park. I am keeping up my daily running. There s some interesting, older architecture here and a great cheese factory where Ric tasted and stocked up on some Whitestone cheeses.

We then went off to see the local blue penguins later that night. No cameras allowed unfortunately. Seems to be getting colder the further south we go and we keep bumping in to the same tourists. Got stuck in a ditch when some idiot parked too close to us so we were in the mud waiting an hour for them to come back and reverse!

We're getting the hang of this camping malarkey, though I can see we'll be sick off it by the end of this 6 weeks. Hope we aren't going to fast. But then that's us - never like to be bored for one minute.

driver's little helper

2009-02-11T23:40:00.001+11:00

I hope I don't find I suffer from this - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=carcolepsy&defid=3702909

hahaha!

Packed up and ready to go!

2009-02-11T23:01:00.005+11:00

Here we are at Charlotte's flat after a frantic few days of farewells, packing, sorting out our ridiculous piles of belongings, binning, cleaning and finally shipping and now we're all set to fly to Christchurch tomorrow morning where our New Zealand adventure begins. Pack and Send were great- really efficient and helpful.

Am I ready then? Well, errr, I'm excited to be moving on even if I don't feel ready to leave Sydney and I was sad to leave our poky flat. It has felt like home. I can't wait to see friends and family back in London though and at the moment just feel very grateful that we've not been caught up in the awful fires in Victoria. The tragic and heart wrenching stories just keep on coming.

The terrified Koala who drank from a fireman's water bottle grabbed the nation's attention particularly today - http://www.jucy.co.nz/graphics/vehicles/42.gif

As for me, 42 days in a camper van will be hardship enough. This Jucy 2 Cruiza will be our home as of tomorrow! - http://www.jucy.co.nz/graphics/vehicles/42.gif.

It should be an interesting and indeed life-changing experience. I hope we don't get bored or drive each other insane! Can't wait to see the glaciers, lakes and spectacular landscapes I've heard so much about.

It was very sad to say goodbye to Dad and Cate last night and I regret not spending more time Mittagong while I was out here. But then I'm glad I came at all and did some good work and got to know Sydney so well. I would definitely come back...will have to see how I feel about London in April.

Argh! Can hardly believe we're off tomorrow! I'm a traveler again!

Got to be really strong and not lets the demons bog me down.

Web access is likely to be limited on this trip, so I'll make the most of it - perhaps start reading some books again and write a novel! I'll be starting with The Kite Runner and maybe a Richard Branson biog. Always inquisitive about other people's routes to success, Ric's very partial to his books.

Until the next time...farewell Sydney!

Last days in Sydney

2009-02-09T20:41:00.006+11:00

Moving home has long been cited as one of the most stressful things we do in our lives, on a par with divorce and bereavement, or for me, breaking up with a fella.

For as long as I can remember, packing up and leaving a home has always proved an especially unhappy drama for me, even if I’m pleased to be starting new chapter somewhere else, and in this case, escaping cockroaches.

As soon as I know I'm never to return to a place my OCD gears in to full swing. Right now I'm not worrying about the paperwork, getting our bond money back, the space in my suitcase, living in a campervan for 42 nights or being homeless in London. I'm fretting about the irrational things. How things are packed in their boxes, removed from shelves, binned, cleaned. It’s hard to explain what it's all about or exactly what the thoughts entail. I mainly worry that the things I do could hurt other people. It's bonkers but it feels so real. Oh that these demons would vanish.

I will pack and leave this flat and nothing bad will happen, and I know that. I haven't even got that much to send away.

I had a lovely (if frantic) final day at work - a great send-off with a card, bubbly and going away present which I managed to use today (it's a generous Myer voucher) with Dad, Cate and Ric in tow! They're in town to say farewell and for some grueling hospital tests. I was pleased to be able to show off my newly set opal earrings. I think my dad is thrilled with them.

Having to give lengthly handovers and be shadowed by two different people within two days (the first girl only lasted a day) was exhausting and difficult. I didn't enjoy handing over my responsibilities, and saying goodbye is always hard. Will I ever find a job where I am valued so highly again? Or perhaps they forget about me in a week?

Ric and I are finally making the most of the beaches here and have been to Bondi and Bronte consecutively this weekend.

The water in the sea is biting cold but you quickly adjust to it and it's fabulous after baking on the hot sand or in a bus on the way there. With temperatures in the high 30s, the crowds were out in their masses. There are more aggressive waves, seaweed (and strangely enough, families) at Bronte. I feel old, pale and fat at Bondi. I'm going to miss these glorious blue skies.

The sea was as crowded as the beaches and swimmers piled on top of each other as the waves crashed down on them. After just half an hour of being bashed about, submerged and dragged along the sea floor it was hard to stay in the water, though I was lured three times. My neck didn't thank me later. Oh, and we got burnt. Fried in fact.

After a blazing hot weekend, it’s grey and drizzly today; which was perfect for shopping and then staying in to pack. I’m trying to do it without thinking. Still got to use up a Kookai voucher tomorrow though which is annoying as all their clothes are for sticks and/or party girls.

We’re using a company called PackSend who will pick the boxes up from the flat adns ship them off to a depot in London.

I've been following the awful news about the bush fires raging through Victoria and NSW. Those poor, poor people. More than 110 dead now. What with the floods sweeping through Queensland, you can never forget overlook that fact that this is a country of extremes.

More on my dad’s visit later. I’ve got the new series of Underbelly to get stuck in to.

Magic Hands

2009-02-02T22:18:00.007+11:00

I wont mention the Sydney heat in this blog since I know it's rather cold in London right now - he he.

I've just discovered that as a result of dallying for so long about whether or not to go, I've missed out on my Glastonbury ticket this year. I'm a bit sad to miss the mud, music and merriness that Ric will be enjoying with our friends but could do with saving the money and my liver will thank me, not that one needs to be intoxicated to enjoy these things :)

For those of you stranded at home by the thick snow in London here's something to while away the hours. My friend E has just directing me to this cute site: WikiHow - another way to come across things you never thought you cared about or needed to know but which are actually rather fascinating.

And as if we didn’t have enough social networking stimulation, Ric’s discovered the wonderfully giddying, ephemeral, spangled world of Twitter, a micro-blogging site, and is twittering away with the best of it's addicts, including Stephen Fry. It really does exemplify the speed of communication we have become accustomed to, the nature of these virtual faceless friendships we now forge with total strangers, and the bathos of human life. Go on, try it if you dare: Twitter

Here in the house of shingles and neck aches, Ric has almost totally recovered and has been busy building new Flash games and downloading all the latest film releases while I've been working as many hours as possible to save up for the the next leg of our trip.

When I told my boss about my neck injury, he very kindly phoned up the family physiotherapist in Bondi and sent me off to her the following day. I resisted at first, adopting my typically prudent ‘I’ll see how things are in a few days’ attitude, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and I’m so grateful for it – boy is she good. Not only did she quickly identify and get to work on the source of the joint injury in my neck but proceeded to tell me all about the ‘knots’ I had in my shoulders and back muttering how old and hard they were, the knots that is, not my body.

With her firm, experienced hands and upbeat, almost motherly tones, it seemed as if she was revealing to me a whole new intricate and interesting world I had never been particularly interested in or aware of; that of my own body! These new shapes, new names for places on my back I couldn’t see without looking in a mirror, new sensations, pains, movements.

There is also something deliciously indulgent about being a fugitive from the office for a few hours to go and lie face-down down on a bed, close your eyes and let the hands of a stranger perform their magic your body. She twisted and pulled, kneaded, pressed, yanked, gave me ultra sound, rubbed minty oil in to my skin and finally, the best part, gave me a brief but deep massage. Bliss. I could get used to a regular physio ‘check-up’. Thanks Mr. C.

Only one week of work left now and in just ten days we'll be in our camper van driving around The Lord of the Rings country. I doesn't seem real. It feels like an age ago that I was wearing my skanky shorts, crocs, $3 bikinis and living out of a stuffed sweaty back pack. I've decided to devise a really good 'capsule wardrobe' this time as I really haven't got much space now and I never wore half the clothes I took to Asia anyway. That's the plan at least.

Above are some pictures of our leaving party at the flat on Saturday. It was also Helen's (29 going on 16) birthday too so it was a double celebration and worthy of a cake. More about that next time...

Sleeping Through Australia Day

2009-01-28T10:42:00.004+11:00

I was looking forward to an Australia Day lie-in followed by some outdoor celebrations on Monday.

Instead I woke at 6am with a searing pain in my neck which made it almost impossible to lift my head off the pillow. After much yelping and writhing around, I decided to go to hospital so I could get some drugs for the pain.

Only I could injure myself whilst sleeping.

We decided to walk up through Surry Hills and along Oxford Street to St. Vincent's in Darlinghurst. We'd never ventured that way before or that early and it was, shall we say, interesting seeing another part of town. It's a leafy area and full of cafes in independent shops but a lot more smelly and grubby too and being 7am on a public holiday, the streets were strewn with gurning pill-heads, drunks who had passed out in doorways and empty bottles and rubbish form the night before. A&E was struggling to cope with the influx of party goers and I was told to try the medical centre down the road if I wanted to avoid a four hour wait.

Within 15 minutes, I was being prescribed copious quantities of Valium, Mersyndol and Voltaren by a lovely lady doctor of Greek/English origin who told us all about her upcoming trip to London, growing up there and playing on bomb sites during the Second World War. She also told me to go home and go to bed for the day. I've pulled a muscle apparently.

Dubious that I'd manage a full day of bed rest I nonetheless popped the pills, wrapped a hot wheat bag round my neck and went to bed with a trashy magazine. Within ten minutes I was out and experiencing the best sleep I'd had for weeks. These drugs are good.

Bondi

2009-01-24T22:32:00.004+11:00

When I moaned to my colleagues back in December that it wasn't hot enough, not what I expected from Australian weather, they told me to just wait until after Christmas. Sure enough, as January has progressed, the temperatures have been soaring and today was our hottest day in Sydney yet: 41°C. Even the breeze feels like a hairdryer on full power.

The flat is like a kiln, in the shade but holding in heat, and we are beginning to wish we'd got one with Air-Con. It was fine when we could open a window for a cool breeze in the evening. Now I can't get to sleep because the air is so hot and humid. But here's me complaining - I'd rather this any day than being frozen to the bone back in London.

When the weather's like this there's only one thing worth doing. No, not sitting on our backsides in the nearest air-conditioned flat, shop or arcade we can find. This is beach weather (for insane foreigners) and so today, with the masses, we caught and train down to Bondi where we enjoyed our first Bondi swim! The beach was predictably packed and blisteringly hot but the water was beautiful - so cold it was a shock when the waves smashed against our chests for the first time but after that a perfect antidote to the heat. The sunbathers, Calippo sellers and life-guards were out in force and scores of swimmers formed a line as they waited waist deep in the water, for the waves to crash in.

As I swam out to see I couldn't help thinking about the last time I swam there, some 17 years ago, when I was 10. We only came out for a week then. Long enough to see the relatives, get burnt, go for a swim and suffer jet lag. Flying here in a jumbo jet with the Queen was a pretty memorable experience too.

As we approach our departure date, I sweat the small and irrational stuff. I fear and hate those things which seem final, like leaving this flat, and leaving the office for the last time. Once we're gone though there's no turning back. Or at least, that is what I tell myself.

a look behind the ego

2009-01-20T16:31:00.004+11:00

A friend of Ric's who lives in Japan and who has had his fair share of trauma and emotional difficulties reached out and gave me some thoughts to chew on recently. It so reassuring to discover that you aren't alone in feeling like you're going crazy sometimes. It moves and amuses me that such profound ideas can be conveyed so charmingly in a small pop up window when you least expect it. These are a few fragments from our facebook chat:

'haha. we're special people...we are all here to help each other.

anyway- i just wanted you to know that i have the same problems as you. - I see random signs on walls that apparently have no connection to me and I follow their advice. Or I get the urge to suddenly sign in to facebook and speak to someone and I think "this must be fate" etc.. and, its fine. and if i'm in a bad mood its terrible and I panic...

but now i have a refuge in meditation and mantra. so every time it happens I bring my attention down to a very fine point. i sit in a quiet room and i repeat the mantra to drown out my egotistical thinking. and in time, it passes. because any sensation that arises will pass, as long as you just watch, acknowledge, and let go.

Don't let thoughts define you. think of them as bubbles arising- they are not yours and they will not remain,

is what i do anyway,

but i'm not qualified to give advice, but i always give in and rant... sorry

by the way- i think all this superhuman feeling comes from having a great sensitivity to the universe, but an untamed ego, which thinks it is "special" because of the sensitivity.

look behind the ego! is what i'm doing...

yeah, take care

have a sexy weekend'

January again

2009-01-12T22:25:00.006+11:00

I've managed to delete a whole blog. It's taken me three days to start it again. Perhaps I'm losing faith in writing this. I'm not sure what I ever expected to achieve by doing it anyway. I suppose I'll be glad of having a 'record' of my year away. I hasn't made me happier though or set me on my way to becoming a writer.

Is it really the 20th January already?! Time is flying by now and soon, as we embark on yet more foreign adventures, Sydney will be just a cluster of memories. Most good, some less so. Just don't ask me if I am ready to leave!

Christmas seems a long time ago now - We've said goodbye to Ric's parents and I've been back at work for a fortnight already. I suspect the next three will fly by too. The first few days were so slow as most of the rest of Sydney seemed to be on their summer holidays still. It did afford me the opportunity to spend one whole afternoon chatting to Virginia, my office manager, about a wide range of subjects including American poetry, politics, women's roles in society, mental health, men and plenty more besides. I will never understand why people warm to me so much as my colleagues have and why I feel I can pour out my heart and soul to those who let me in to their lives just a little bit.

Virginia has been such a huge support to me over the past few months showing such solidarity, patience, good humour, care and even love and I'm going to miss her enormously when I go.
She has told me I can come back to them after New Zealand if I like which is very kind and to be honest, a very tempting offer.

Now the boss is back I hardly have time for a loo break let alone chit chat, so I'm back to my usual frantic paced days, which I actually prefer. I do feel very lucky to have a job now when soon I wont and can't say when I next will! I'm hearing a lot of bleak tales from the UK at the moment.

I met up with Ric in Melbourne last weekend at the end of his middle Australia trip, and saw a couple of old friends who live there. I like the place. It's very different from Sydney; smaller, cooler (in both a fashion and climate sense), more arts focused, alternative, grungy, dirty, plus I've never seen so many cafes! Dear Ebony collected me from the airport very early on Saturday and spent the whole weekend showing us round town. I also met up with an old university friend who is living out here for a couple of years. She made the point that I filled the time gap by writing this blog.

Ric is learning to be a great house husband and often has my dinner ready when I get back from work. He's filling his days by building games, rearranging furniture, killing cockroaches and working on new film ideas, including a possible adaptation of an interesting Kurt Vonnegut short story which was written in 1950 called EPICAC and which my friend Georgie told Ric she is trying to adapt. His idea is to bring this robot meets girl-falls in love-realises he can't ever be loved like a human-dies of a broken heart story to the 21st century where we have avatars, msn, facebook and other internet wonders at our fingertips. Think my friend's a bit miffed that Ric has gazumped her idea and come up with a slicker, more contemporary take on the plot. He has a tendency to do that, albeit unintentionally. I just wish I had more of a film-orientated mind to work on these ideas with him. I feel constantly inadequate and at the moment, uninspired.

I'm excited about seeing New Zealand though and then my mum and friends in London again but also so worried about the future. When will I have the opportunity to come back here? Where will I live? Should I be embarking on fresh travels instead of focusing on thrashing out my OCD and eating problems which I've battled with for so long? Am pretty sick of talking about change now, just need to do it.

Can't believe that I spent a whole morning worrying about the fact that I threw a tissue down the loo the 'wrong way'. People often ask me what I think will happen if I don't act on my intrusive thoughts. Well at the moment my fear is of losing Ric, of him dying because of something I have or haven't done. At this rate I'll lose him not because of cocking up in an OCD sense but because the OCD behaviour will drive him away.

And I think perhaps I need to stop including these gritty personal details on my blog. My friend Dave has some interesting thoughts on the subject of my obsessions and crazy thoughts...see the next instalment.

Right. Back to work.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T18:27:00.005+11:00

So here I am on the first day of 2009 sitting by myself in my flat in Sydney. It's about 34 degrees Celsius outside and the flies are hovering around the balcony, apparently waiting for a chance to get in. The $12 fan we both the other week in Bunnings works a treat - good thing as we've got no Air Con. I wake up feeling groggy a lot at the moment.

Shingles boy Ric is at Uluru on his camping tour. Says it's very hot, swarming with weird bugs and flies and that there aren't any other English people in the group, just lots of nit-picky Germans and Swiss.

I had a great time last night at Charlotte's flat over-looking the harbour bridge. It was a bit strange (although lovely) being there with Ric's family and not him. The fireworks were the best I'd ever seen and we could hear the crowds shouting the count down from the other side of the harbour. Unfortunately my blasted camera has managed to delete all the photos and video footage I took of the occasion. A guy in Dick Smith electricals has said they might be able to do something...

Naturally, as one does at this time of year I have been reflecting on the busy year just gone and the one that lies ahead. Yes I am struggling as ever and enter 2009, like every year before it, with an enormous sense of trepidation, anxiety, fatigue and some regrets but also hope for positive things. Ric will leave me in the end if I don't manage to sort myself out - that's one hell of an incentive but also a lot of pressure. Feeling incredibly confused about what I want, how to achieve it and where I want to be, physically and mentally.

We are due to leave Sydney on the 12th February but I don't feel ready to travel again (plan is to go to New Zealand for 8 weeks and then USA for 2) or return to cold credit-crunch London. Traveling does seem to fire up all my irrational thoughts and bad behaviours and Ric wont put up with it any more. I'm so desperate for things to work. I can do it!

Christmas in Mittagong

2008-12-26T17:43:00.004+11:00

I've just got back from Mittagong where I had a really enjoyable stress-free Christmas Day with my dad, Cate and Sarah. After the busy run-up to Christmas, a couple of days in the country was just what I needed. I love it down there; it's so pretty, un-populated and quiet. It wasn't so hot that we had to turn the air-con on full whack either. Everything was just perfect.

Except me. I wasn't expecting any gifts from Dad and Cate or my mum in London for that matter and didn't get them anything in return, although I did ask what they wanted. Will have to make amends in 2009.

As for food, always a particularly sore point for me at Christmas, everyone was very supportive and didn't force me to eat anything (!) and we had a lovely cold Christmas dinner; delicious salads, some cold roast meat, plum pudding with ice-cream etc. It was my first Aussie Christmas for 21 years! The bulimic urges are still there though.

Boxing Day was spent at my uncle's house in Turramurra with all the cousins. My aunt put on a huge spread; lots of steak was eaten and cold beer drunk. I was even able to use their pool for the first time. It was far too cold back in July when Ric and I first came to Sydney. Have we been here five months already?! It's been so wonderful to reconnect with all the relatives over here and I find my self more and more reluctant to leave.

I do miss my mum though.

Shingle Bells

2008-12-23T18:55:00.003+11:00

An update on the rash - Ric finally went to the doctor today as the rash was spreading, blistering and beginning to hurt. The diagnosis is shingles. Poor thing. He could have it for some time.

As for me, I've finished up at work and am looking forward to having a few days off. I'm so tired.
One of the staff gave me a beautiful bunch of flowers today so the flat now smells gorgeous.

I'll catch the train down to Mittagong tomorrow in time to wrap pressies with Sarah. Still doesn't feel like Christmas. Perhaps it's the heat or maybe I've finally given up on my childhood fantasies!

The week before Christmas

2008-12-21T23:47:00.006+11:00

It's been another very busy week here in Sydney, but a fun one.

Ric and Charlotte have been doing lots of touristy things with their folks while I've been plowing on at work trying to get things wrapped up before we finish on Tuesday. I'm doing well for presents so far what with thirteen bottles of wine, one bottle of bubbly, a panettone, a basket of fruit and a box of cookies. Most of those are unwanted gifts given to the bosses but who am I to complain?

On Thursday we had our office Christmas party on the Chairman's 60 foot yacht which is moored in the prestigious Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutter's Bay. We had a fabulous day sailing round the harbours, eating fine food, pulling crackers (or 'bon bons' as they call them here), knocking back bottles of champagne and wine and avoiding shop talk (for the most part at least). The weather was glorious for nearly all of the sail and only started to turn bad as we made our way back to the club. The huge grey billowing storm clouds which loomed over Sydney were quite magnificent. At the boss' insistence we all had a go at the helm and as you can tell from the photos, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

As the weeks pass and the days get hotter, I grow fonder of Sydney and more attached to my job and know now that I'm going to find it very hard to leave it behind in February.

Yesterday Ric, Charlotte, their parents and I visited the stately 19th Century mansion Vaucluse House, the near-by Nielsen Park and the cliffs and beach at Watson's Bay. It is amazing how one can see sea, sand, skyscrapers, park lands and sumptuous gardens all within half an hour's drive of each other. There are so many parts to Sydney I have still to explore and so many gorgeous houses I can only dream of owning.

We've had some great experiences and adventures so far this year but today Ric and I did something which aced all others to date. This morning I was instructed to go and buy a big drawing pad, the biggest I could find, and some pens because as much as we enjoyed going to see Rolf Harris last week, we felt we really should have more of a souvenir. So, off we went back the Opera House where we waited to catch him after his final performance of the tour. There were quite a few people in line (we were second), mainly children and women of a certain age. He looks pretty good for 78 but seemed tired and drew an audible sigh when he saw the fans waiting for him to sign their various CDs, photos, brochures and wobble boards. We were chuffed when he drew Ric a Rolferoo and me a Jake the Peg and were grinning like loons all the way home. We love you Rolfie.

Ric has just developed a bit of a nasty rash on his back and bum - he said I could post this picture - we've no idea what it is as it doesn't hurt yet and we don't think we've got bugs in the bedroom - shingles? It's rather unpleasant whatever it is!

East Coast Break

2008-12-07T18:41:00.003+11:00

After a madly busy week back at work I've only just got round to writing up my two week jaunt around the East Coast with my friend Nicole.

Flying first to Proserpine, which has the funniest departure lounge I've ever seen comprising of just an grassy outdoor pen, we made our way to Airlie Beach. It wasn't the best night to arrive in town as the 'schoolies' (school leavers) were out and the place was crawling with drunk noisy teenagers. This wouldn't have bothered us had we not being staying in Magnums, the cheapest, noisiest and most central hostel in town. We didn't realise this when it was booked for us by the agent in Sydney. I also managed to take the wrong backpack when the airport shuttle bus dropped us off. The driver handed me a bag which in darkness looked just like mine. I only realised it wasn't mine after we'd checked in. What followed was a good hour of running up and down the high street asking in tourist offices and hostels if anyone had lost of handed in a bag. I managed to find the poor Canadian girl whose bag I'd taken but she'd left mine on the bus. I got it back the next day - thank goodness. So that wasn't a good start to the holiday.

After a sweaty and noisy night at Magnum's Nicole decided it wasn't for her so promptly upgraded to a nice hotel down the road the next morning. I didn't want to pay twice for accommodation and can sleep through most things so decided to stay put.

We were heading off on our Pride of Airlie trip that day anyhow so I had time to consider my options but I was inclined to spend my money on some diving later that week.

The Pride of Airlie was a booze focused three day sail around the Whitsundays with two nights sleeping on South Molle Island, some snorkeling and visits to a couple of the Whitsunday islands including the silica sand Whitehaven Beach. There were nearly 70 of us crammed on the catamaran so it was a good job we could get off and sleep in proper beds at night. Not that we did much of that what with all the drinking games, pool parties, dancing til late and getting up early. In fact I was up at 6am every day of the trip, mainly because of the intense heat in the tropics which starts as soon as the sun comes up at 5ish.

As far a social events go, this trip was a lot of fun and I didn't feel too old for it, but I was a bit let down by the snorkeling and everyone agreed that the food was just dire. We had the same tiny portions and basic meals for three days in a row (that's cheese sandwiches and veggie burgers for me) and the staff even rationed our milk and bread! I was worried that if she didn't like Magnum's Nicole would hate this but she had a great to time too!

Upon my return to Airlie I was eager to do some diving so booked another boat trip. This time I really lucked out. I went for the FantaSea Reefsleep, a two day/one night trip to the slightly cheesy sounding 'Reef World' on the Great Barrier Reef, some 70 miles out from the Whitsundays.

What I didn't realise when I booked was that when the 100 or so day-trippers went home at 2.30pm there would be only 4 of us left on the pontoon over night and that we would be treated to extra guided snorkeling trips, first class service from our personal steward and other staff, endless drinks and snacks and a three course meal with wine under the stars. Heavenly. They even threw in two extra dives for me! The other guests were great company. There was a lovely National Geographic journalist who was doing a whistle stop tour of Oz and arrived by helicopter and a couple from Proserpine. The trip was a surprise 50th birthday present for her from her husband- they'd never tried diving or even snorkeling before but were so keen to do everything and were really good! We all kept marvelling at how lucky we were to find ourselves in such an obscure but wonderful location and being spoilt rotten! I didn't really want to go back to the mainland the next day...

By the end of the week Nicole and I were ready to leave Airlie. This was compounded by the fact that I had a panic attack on the day we were to fly back to Brisbane. After months of my OCD getting the better of me more and more I just felt completely overwhelmed by it all. I just kept thinking I should be having a great holiday but was instead being constantly dragged down by irrational thoughts and the resulting behaviour and depression. I went to a local doctor who gave me some anxiety pills and anti-depressants but now I'm seeking help in Sydney. Just can't understand where this all comes from. Ric reckons I have bad genes. I think it's a hell of a lot more complex than that.

Onwards and southwards, we flew to Brisbane where we spent the night with a dear school friend who has settled here. It was a great evening of catching up, discussing natural health therapies (she's training in that field) and some awesome Thai food!

Next it was off to Dingos on Rainbow Beach where our three day Fraser Island experience began. Dingos is a pleasant enough and well organised hostel - you couldn't ask for better management for the Fraser Island tours but it felt a bit like a boot camp especially when you get given your plastic cutlery and crockery in a sack and are told to wash it up after every meal.

We were put in to groups of 11, given a humorous and comprehensive briefing (or three) by a passionate (almost evangelical) tour manager, given our crates of food, booze and a map and sent on our way to Inskip Point where a small ferry took us over. Our group was a mixed bunch comprising three German and three English girls, two Irish lads, a Welshman, Nicole and I. Most of us had a go at driving along the massive expanse of white sandy beach (we were advised to drive close to the water to avoid getting stuck or rolling over). We got on well and made an efficient cooperative team and managed to visit the incredible pristine Lake McKenzie, Eli Creek, the impressive Maheno Wreck, Indian Head and couple of other places besides.

Along the way we saw lots of dingoes prowling for food, we were savaged by horseflies as we emerged from our furnace-like tents in the early hours, but failed to spot any Brumby ponies. I did a lot of cooking which I enjoyed. I even rather liked washing the pots and pans in the sea in the morning. Better than putting tents up anyway. I also swam in the sea each morning even though we were warned of the jelly fish and sharks. How easily I am enticed by the roar and mesmerising movements of the sea.

The evenings were great fun too when we camped with all the other groups - felt a bit like a music festival back home, except it was warm, dry and there was sand in my knickers instead of mud! I was surprised how much there was to do on the island and how little time we seemed to have. We even had to miss out Lake Wabby in order to hurtle back to the ferry pick up point on our last morning. The ferry was due to leave at 11.30am and with drove up at 11.29.

I would happily return to Fraser Island one day - an absolutely beautiful place which fully deserves it's World Heritage status. I just hope it stays that way and that the tourists don't wreck it with their rubbish and toilet areas.

Upon our arrival back to Rainbow Beach the car was inspected for damage. We held our breath nervously for an hour praying that we wouldn't have to replace anything that we may have inadvertently bumped, broken or scratched. Much to our relief we got an all clear - we didn't even lose a piece of cutlery!

Exhausted but elated by the whole experience Nicole and I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before catching our 7pm bus to Hervey Bay that night. We were there for such a short time that we didn't really have a chance to check it out but I did go for a nice long run along the sea front in the morning and was watched by a curious possum as I took pictures of it on the veranda at the hostel!

The flight back from Hervey Bay was easy and quick and we got in to Sydney by mid-afternoon with all the right bags this time! It was quite a shock going back to work on Monday but it was lovely how much they seemed to miss me. I also realise now how much I need to work in order to make me feel settled and happy. It's going to be hellishly busy now in the run-up to Christmas.

Nicole is now in New Zealand and we have just welcomed Ric's parents to Sydney. It's great to see them after all these months. They even managed to sneak some Marmite in which has just been smothered on toast and devoured by their twins.

Another friend gets in to Sydney in the morning and we're all off to see Rolf Harris at the Opera House in the evening!

Unfortunately I lost a memory stick with half my photos on so only the second part of my trip has photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/alexecrawford/EastCoastAustralia2008?authkey=a6re3llUIlE#

Fun with family

2008-11-19T11:40:00.002+11:00

Things were a looking a bit crap and then my cousin came to stay.

The flat is really too small for guests but as long as people don't mind the sofa, the bathroom-connected-to-the-bedroom, the stuffiness and small cockroaches, then all is well.

Oli was a perfect guest. We had a great weekend with him kicking off with an outdoor gig at The Rocks on Friday. The thunderstorm didn't deter us or the Potbelleez but we did get very soggy. The place was packed and a hive of creative activities what with the night markets going on too.

On Saturday we took him over to Darling Harbour and the Fish Market where Ric and he enjoyed platters of seafood. My stomach wasn't feeling up to fishy things by then. In fact, I'm just not getting in to fish at all yet. Tuna's ok, and I like snapper.

That evening we drank in the Opera Bar, met up with some of Oli's doctor friends and found ourselves listening to crap karaoke in a Chinese restaurant. Ric and I intended to go on the The Ivy which is a new uber cool club near Wynyard but I was still feeling too wiped out by my bug to go along. A shame.

On Sunday we caught the ferry over to Watson's Bay where we dined at the famous Doyles restaurant on the tiny beach front. The sun even came out for a while. I love the fact that even the fanciest, most stylish places to eat here have a laid-back, no nonsense feel. This one's definitely a winner and somewhere we'll have to take Ric's folks too.

It was such a lovely weekend, the prospect of work the next day was rather depressing.

Now Nicole has arrived and I feel guilty for being at work and not showing her round town. We've got lots of time to catch up when we go away next week though and it will probably take her a few days to shake off the jet lag anyway.

I don't think she's a fan of the cockroaches, or the sofa.

I am desperately trying to find an outfit for the Australian Chamber Orchestra dinner on Thursday. It's black tie but with 'a touch of Africa' - help! I'm not to fussed about going now but the tickets were $225 each and my boss has told me to go.

I really just want to see Ric in a tuxedo (he's borrowed one from a friend).

Cranky Pants

2008-11-09T19:22:00.009+11:00

All I seemed to do last week was cry and be snotty, fluey, stressed and overwhelmed by everything, or, in other words, nothing in particular. I honestly don't know why I've been this way - I mean, I only caught a chest infection. I can't blame Ric (although I do feel a bit of a computer widow of late and that I'm interrupting his flow of geekiness when I get in in the evenings). I can't blame work as that's a kind of stressful environment I thrive on. I can't even blame my hormones...err...hang on... maybe us girls can always blame those. Well whatever factor is to blame, I've felt like crap.

I have this constant feeling that I'm on the brink of change or something profoundly important and that all the choices I make here are finite but somehow out of my control. I have the strong sense that I am failing to live up to my dreams, whatever they may be. I waste a lot of time with OCD too though this is getting better. More and more I think it would be well worth pursuing some sort of Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) either here or when I get back to London next year.

Ric is being screwed about by agents but seems quite content working on his laptop from the flat.
He's building some cool games: www.bedroomlab.com/novaChain/

The weather here has been rubbish of late and I wonder when this place is going to warm up as promised!

Stockton fun

2008-11-09T19:22:00.007+11:00

I've just returned from a very wet (and wild) weekend on Stockton Beach. Despite the forecast of rain and the onset of a sore throat and head cold on Saturday, I braved the elements and NSW rail and pitched up at Newcastle with Ric and Helen where we were kindly driven to the camp site by our friend's friend (one of many RAF engineers in the group), via a quick stop off at the bottleshop of course.

The beach, which is only accessible via a bumpy dirt track, is un-patrolled, long, wide and dotted with huge sand dunes, thus lending itself perfectly to quad-bikers and 4x4 drivers and all-weather campers like us.

We arrived to find the Hungi pit already being dug out, the shelter erected and yes, the rain drizzling down. But at least it wasn't cold.

One of the party had brought their 12 month old Labradoodle Charlie (see pictures) who was an adorable wool-bag who just wanted to run, dig holes, fetch things and lick everyone. Helen wasn't thrilled about his slobbery attention but I relished the canine love. Ric and I are always talking about getting a dog eventually and this cross-breed is rather special and, it seems, very popular over here.

After a few hours and with the aid of a boot-full of wood fire, the sand in the pit was hot enough to bury our dinner in so the two large and carefully wrapped foil parcels went in to the pit, were buried with sand and then covered with more burning wood where it was left to cook for the next four hours.

Meanwhile, the rain had mercifully abated, allowing us to put up the tents, crack open the beers and commence the games. We played Frisbee for a while (Charlie rather got in the way though) and then cricket on the top of the large sand ridge over looking our campsite. Forgetting that I was once quite a good batswoman, I played a few great hits notching up plenty of runs. It's hard work running in sand though and my thighs are throbbing today after all the balls I had to retrieve, oh, and after long jumping repeatedly off the edge of the dune!

The sunset was truly one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. All we could see for miles and miles was sky, rippled purple clouds, sand and the sea in the distant horizon which was dotted with almost spooky looking enormous cargo ships. The sky became variously red, pink, orange and then purple as the sun went down and every one of us watched in amazement as we were painted pink by its radiant glow.

The rain held off for the rest of the evening and we enjoyed great food (the chicken, pork and lamb all came out of the Hungi cooked to perfection, as did the pumpkin), games, music courtesy of Ric's new speakers and impeccable music collection, dancing and 10 litres of Very Fruity Port beside the camp fire which led to yet more frolics involving running up sand dunes with no clothes on.

Ric escaped that game by virtue of not wanting to stand up by that stage, but he somehow managed to roll in to the fire at about 1.30am at which point I decided it was time to drag him off to bed where we found Helen already curled up in the middle of our three man tent. We unrolled a few borrowed sleeping bags, huddled together and then passed out til 7am when nature called with great urgency and the rain drops started tapping furiously on our tent. In the five and a half hours sleep I had, I managed to strain my neck, wrist and left shoulder - or was that a result of yanking Ric out of the fire?

We dosed for a while longer listening to the patter on the plastic shell (how this reminded me of mornings at Glastonbury), some of us in a worse state than others, none of us fancying facing the bright daylight or rain again. But there was breakfast to be had, mess to be cleared up and tents to be packed up so we clambered out, sand falling off us as we walked.

We were given a lift back to Newcastle and caught the 12.30pm train back to Central so were home by 3.10pm. Ric was a little worse for wear though and had to run back and forth to the on-board loos all the way back to Central. Not so immune to the effects of alcohol perhaps...w

We had a lot of fun though and didn't even dip a toe in to the sea!

Melbourne Cup Day and Obama Win

2008-11-04T22:48:00.005+11:00

When I was invited to GlobeCast's Melbourne Cup Day lunch over a month ago, I can't say I was that excited. After all, how much fun could a long lunch devoted to watching a horse race be? Especially when it wasn't even in Melbourne!

However, as details started to unfold about this event-that-stops-the-nation, including the fact that most of Australia (including our office) takes the afternoon off work (Victoria and Canberra shut down for the whole day!), that men and women in every state wear their finest garb to various Cup related functions and that there would be fine food, wine, sweeps and prizes for the best hats in store for us at the Maitre Karl restaurant in Willoughby, I started to feel more festive!

And what a fabulous afternoon it was, once we got there. We arrived long after the 12pm expected time, due solely to the infuriating habit the bosses' have of overloading us with all-but-impossible-to-meet deadlines minutes before we leave to go anywhere. We weren't too late for the entrees and champagne though or to place money in the sweep. I had never done this before and had no real clue what I was doing when I handed over my $5 note to a chap with an anxious expression on his face in return for a piece of paper with a horse's name on it: 'Viewed' - no one had even heard of it. I reassured my boss (who had placed a large bet on the favorite) that I never won anything. Meanwhile...

The restaurant, which seated about 50 of us, was delightful, managing to be both intimate and homely without being in the least bit twee or cramped. Charming, patient and efficient French waiters served plate after plate of exquisite European cuisine to the spirited crowd even while prizes, presents, races and the dreadful Latino Elvis impersonator were obstructing the way. I wasn't expecting anything special when I mentioned that I was actually a vegetarian (couldn't quite face the scallops and mussels) but the chef managed to rustle up some amazing dishes for me- there were even real truffles in my risotto!

As for the race itself, some of us had high expectations and a fair bit of cash to lose on the horses while others (me included) didn't really understand the form or particularly care what happened - we were just having fun - although the mounting anticipation was contagious regardless of our agendas. When the time eventually came for us all to stop chatting, pause chewing, down our cutlery and grab our sweep strips in order to watch, it was all over in a flash, even ending with a blurry photo-finish. Imagine that, a whole day centred around a five minute race! That doesn't even happen back home. As for me, I had no idea that I was holding the name of the winning horse in my hand until at least 3 minutes later! I had won $55 - I couldn't have been more thrilled! My boss muttered something about the unfairness of me winning and him missing out - "it's just not fair!". What could I say? I made up for it buying buying him a drink or two at a bar in Surry Hills later that day. I never expected him to agree to a drink as he and I have never really engaged in small talk before and The Clock on Crown Street isn't exactly his typical type of watering hole but Bridgitt and I pursuaded him to join us (well I did) and we found ourselves getting very merry with him several hours later!

I'm no political animal and don't want to step in with pithy aphorisms about this week's Presidential Elections but I want to say something about it. After the long and extensively covered campaign, it was a huge relief and deeply moving to watch the votes roll in for Obama on Wednesday. A chill went down my spine when I saw him up on that stage with his family receiving the results in front of thousands of his supporters and many millions more besides watching it through television screens around the world. Whatever he does next and however he copes with the extremely high expectations people have placed upon him to carry out what is arguably the toughest job on the planet, this is such a massive step for America and thus the rest of us too. I hope for everyone's sake that he proves his worth and is given the chance to fulfil his promises.

Ric and I are off to Stockton Beach (near Newcastle) tomorrow for a weekend of camping, eating, drinking, fun and games with some friends who are in the RAF. Unfortunately for our single friend who's coming with us, most of the boys will be spoken for. The forecast isn't too promising - rain and/or drizzle all day (typical!) which means we're relying all the more heavily on there being a tent for us to use, else we'll be sleeping under the stars! There's something very Glastonbury-esque about this plan all of a sudden...

Worse still, I think the 'pom' a work might have given me her sore throat which led to her having tonsillitis and possibly Glandular Fever!! I'm dosing up on vitamins tonight...

Hallowe'en and Festivals

2008-11-02T21:16:00.009+11:00

The sun is going down on another superb weekend here in Sydney.

On Friday I raced home from work with great excitement to transform myself into a racy devil woman for our friend Helen's Halloween Party. I struggled with the false eyelashes (mainly because I'd never used them before and the instructions were in Chinese!) but had no problem slipping the red studded cuffs, collar, tail, belt and horns on over my bargain Valleygirl party dress. I drew the line at the long black stick-on nails I also intended to wear- how would I hold my drinks or reapply my lipstick?! And the £12 wig looked just dreadful but we took it with us, on the off-chance that Ric might just enter into the fancy dress spirit during the party.

It was a terrific party; Helen had decorated the whole flat and put on an excellent spread of food and lethal punch. There were some fabulous outfits too- see pictures...

Then on Saturday once we'd crawled out of bed some time in the afternoon (I know - it's terrible at my age), we went to a food and wine festival in Hyde Park where the only thing left to buy were Dunkin Donuts and wine. My stomach could face neither. We sat under a lovely
Jacaranda tree with Charlotte and some friends as we soaked up the atmosphere.

The Aussies do like their festivals! Today as we set off on our Sydney Open tour, we came across another one next to Central Station, the Cruelty Free Living Festival. It was right up my street and I could have stayed there for at least the morning but Ric it was all to hippy and worthy for Ric who was already 50 metres ahead of me imploring me to hurry up before we missed the houses...

The open house tour was fun, though we didn't visit many places as our energy and enthusiasm for the queues wained. We first went to the Masonic Centre which was a strange place, then the old Sydney Fire Station where I snapped a fireman coming down his pole, the Sydney Water Head Office which was a rather ugly 1930s yellow tiled building, which felt a lot like am old hospital. The highlight of this place, we were told, was the men's urinals - sums the place up well I think! Then we went to The Mint and Parliament House where we were given an excellent tour by a very excitable Education Minister. Ric seemed a bit bored but most people were really into it. I guess it helps to be Australian in these situations. We were able to go right in and sit in the chambers including the The Legislative Assembly or lower house, also known as the 'bear-pit' where the ministers really scrutinise and lay in to each other.

I'm trying hard to ignore my OCD or at least talk about the thoughts I am having, which is making life a lot easier for both Ric and I. Today could have been a nightmare what with all the new buildings we walked around but it was fine. I know it's crazy, most of the time! I'm so tired of worrying about irrational fears.

Anyway, I can't dwell too long on such foolish fears. I've got another busy week coming up. It's the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday so I've got another swanky staff lunch to go. I've just learnt that most offices in Sydney close for the day and Melbourne and Canberra get a public holiday . I might even wear a fascinator.

My holiday to the East Coast with Nicole is all booked up and we're off on the 25th November for two weeks. Have I already said that? Can't wait!

I'm now composing a list of things for Ric's parents to do in and around Sydney, and beyond. I hope we can work out a way for us to combine all our wishes and have a nice break together.

I'm about to book my Glastonbury ticket for next year's mud fest. Am I mad??!!

And finally, if you are passionate about your area of London, I suggest you check out my friend's latest enterprise I Love My Postcode. She says if I give her a year she'll branch out to Oz!

What are we going to do?

2008-10-28T22:57:00.005+11:00

Ric and I have been putting off changing our return flights to London via New Zealand, the Cook Islands and America. Back in March when we booked our round-the-world tickets, STA's system wouldn't allow us to book beyond December even though we are entitled to so we always knew we would have to change them at some stage. With this on my mind and not being able to remember when our flight to New Zealand was I checked this morning. To my horror we were supposed to go on Saturday 25th October - last weekend! We missed a flight! Panic!

That could have meant that we'd forfeited the rest of our ticket. However, after much begging, excuse making and white lying to the nice lady at Air New Zealand she told me that all was not lost and that we could change the flights for $50 per head per flight which STA should cover.

Phee-eew!

The question now is when do we want to go and for how long. Is Ric's suggestion of 8 weeks in New Zealand too long? How long do we want to spend in California? Do I even want to go back?
What will become of us?

Ric is suddenly aware of all his recent spending and has lined up another job interview tomorrow (he thinks the last agency was put off by his travel plans) so we'll wait to see what they say, but the trouble is that he has to tell employers that he'll only be around for another 7 weeks before his family comes over. And then once they and visiting friends have left he wont want to sit in the flat by himself all day again until the lease expires in February. I don't blame him. It will be so hot then too - not nice in without air-conditioning. He'd love to be motivated enough to write his film or code from here but he just isn't. It's been so long since he worked.

It's alright for me. I can stay at work for as long as I like and quite frankly, I don't look forward to returning to London to search for employment with the economy as it is. Neither have I figured out what I'm going to do there.

We went to see How To Lose Friends And Alienate People at our local cinema this evening (cheap Tuesdays so only $10) which was well made, excellently scripted and hugely enjoyable. It included some extremely funny lines, hilarious comedy scenes (some with animals), a great cast, a and a smattering of Englishness (though not a whiff of (Hugh Grant) to keep us Brits happy.

Ric had to see Saw 5 on his own earlier. I can only watch those gore fests from behind a pillow.

I was then treated to a delicious dinner of Teryaki Salmon with stir-fried leeks, beansprouts, tofu and Enoki mushrooms, Japanese style. I didn't think I could manage a whole steak but Ric watched in pleasure as I ate it all. Am just trying not to think of it's little face or eyes. Was very tasty though.

It's raining here again tonight. I amazes me how quickly the weather changes in Sydney. It was scorching only yesterday!

I can't wait for Helen's Halloween party on Friday. I've invited a couple of girls from the office and have gone overboard with my outfit - even bought some glittery false eyelashes today!

I have drifted in to the pattern of going to bed too late again. Must stop it.

Bands, birthdays, booze and a snazzy new bag

2008-10-25T00:59:00.003+11:00

I've had a great week at the office this week. I've crossed lots of tasks off my list, had a giggle with V and B and got the whole team helping me find a fancy dress costume for a Halloween party next week.

Yesterday Danny, the company's caterer, shopper, driver, handy man etc., even drove me to an out of town shopping centre to find my ultimate costume. We didn't have any success unfortunately but it was nice to see something new. I must add, since she is now reading this blog, that V took me to Lincraft the day before but it was a bit crap as it was closing down.

I ended up finding the perfect outfit in the absolutely brilliant Chinesey 'everything store', Hot Dollar in World Square, 10 mins walk from the flat! They really do sell everything you can think of, from hair accessories to coat-hangers, kitchen utensils to art and craft supplies, slippers to sewing kits, candles to Christmas lights and even loo roll. I love it in there even though you have t wade through the crap and push past people as you go down the tiny aisles.

I wont spoil the surprise by revealing my outfit yet but let's just say i was be very red and very devilish.

I also bought my first Crumpler bag this week; a little treat to myself for working so hard and with a view to using it on my next holiday and of course as soon as I get back home and on my bike. I just love everything about this brand and the bag is going to last a life time, so they say...

It was the boss' birthday on Wednesday so today we all went out for a meal at the totally gorgeous Catalina's in Rose Bay. We enjoyed an exquisite four course lunch and didn't leave until 5pm! Any anxieties I had about consuming so much food at lunch time soon dissolved as I tucked in to my goats cheese and spinach risotto, hand made pasta and floating islands with Cointreau parfait and creme anglaise followed by petits fours. I couldn't move. Check out the menu.

Tonight I was taken on a blind date (sort of) by a flying nurse (what a cool job!) to The Forum near Fox Studios to see the excellent Bamboos who are an Aussie funk/soul/hip hop outfit. I don't usually go in for this genre of music but I'm always game for someone to have a go at converting me from Indie and I'm so glad i went. They were in themselves a great way to round off the week with their snappy suited look, positive lyrics and boundless energy. They even wowed the crowd with a Kings of Leon Cover. However, nothing prepared us for what was to come (we hadn't bothered to read the tickets). I didn't know what to expect as Roy Ayers and his band came on dressed in an unusual mixture of baggy suits, Africa robes and T-shirts and placed a xylophone in the centre of the stage. I was soon jumping up and down like the rest of the crowd as Roy's smooth voice filled the hall and each band member had their 5 minutes of soloist glory. What made the evening for me was definitely the drummer who did the most incredible 15 minute set I have ever seen or heard. He drummed one-handed, backwards, cross-handed, fast, slow, loudly, quietly, broke a few sticks, jumped up and down, and at the end he even left his stool and started running round the stage drumming the floor, speakers and every other surface he could find. He didn't even break in to a sweat. Amazing.

After a week of rain and cold, the weather is much better today and we're off to a beer festival in The Rocks tonight. I'm sitting here in my running gear trying to muster the will to go out. I usually do three laps of the park at the weekend but perhaps I'll just do one and get a paper and coffee on the way back...

Spring comes to Sydney (or is trying to)

2008-10-18T19:14:00.012+11:00

Hello! I haven't given up on the blog yet. Have just been busy.

I had a pretty difficult time without Ric but he returned after 5 weeks of travel up the east coast and now we're together again in (mostly) warm and sunny. He's definitely got the nomad bug now and is keen to do some more, soon. As for me I've loved hearing all his traveling tales and think it's great he's done it but feel it's been great for me to have the opportunity to stop and be settled for a while and make some dosh, even though neither of us anticipates staying here beyond January when the lease runs out.

Sydney has grown on me and it's an easy place to live. China Town is on the doorstep so I've been cooking mainly Asian food when I get in late from work. Another thing that happened while Ric was away, partly out of my desperation to make our lives easier and better on his return was that I stopped mucking about with food. I really have had a breakthrough with it. The use of Charlotte and Paul's pool has been a real God-send too. So relaxing after a day in the office. As for the OCD, things are much improved and I'm nothing like as irrational as I was on my travels and even just a few weeks ago. Both of us worry it could flare up again when I start traveling again but I at least I know what to do about it if that happens and Ric wont be with me when it does this time!

I have also been having a bit of fish. I know! Why couldn't I have started in Asia??!! I'm not a fan of sushi mind you- slimy, tasteless, stinky - but cooked fish is fine. Ric made me a delish tuna bake the other night.

Other news...the job is going well, so well in fact that they seem not to want me to leave at Christmas. I will miss it. Well I'll miss Virginia my Office Manager. I have really enjoying the varied nature of my role. Funny to think how long it's lasted considering I was only supposed to be there two weeks.

I could say more about the rest of the team but I'll leave that for another time many months from now, or another continent!

I enjoyed a lovely family reunion the other week in honour of my uncle's 50th. It was so good to be there with all my cousins, uncles, aunts, dad, sister and even my grandmother.

I am getting very excited about going away with my friend from school at the end of November. We're going to do a mini version of what Ric did; ie. a ten day jaunt, skipping out everywhere except Fraser Island, the Whitsundays, Rainbow Beach, Hervey Bay and possibly Cairns. Plus, the fact that we are short of time and are classy ladies who don't fancy roughing it to the extent Ric was prepared to, means we'll fly as much as possible (I know, I know, not very 'green', but this place is HUGE).

I also really looking forward to seeing Ric's parents in December as well as our friend Jas who gets here around the same time. I've missed my morning runs around Brixton with him and on a rare wet day in Sydney (today is a shocker) I even feel a little homesick.

I hope we can all go away together if our schedules, budgets and desires are an accordance with each other. For the time being, though this is subject to change every day, Ric's inclination is to look for work. Hurrah! This makes me a very happy girl indeed.

I think he's realised how beneficial it might be stop here for a couple of months (as we always planned to) and to meet some new people here in Sydney, as well as earn some money for the next leg of our travels next year. New Zealand and America wont be nearly as cheap as Asia after all. Ric has also found that he's pretty out of practice with his coding so wants to brush up again; get back to his geekery though I do worry how long it will last. After all, I alone can't create the fun engendered by hanging out with dozens of backpackers.

We don't have a madly busy social life by any means but things are also a lot better between us now that we've had a break and more specifically, now I am so much calmer and better with my eating. That makes us both happier.

Today we went baby clothes shopping for our friends Andrew and Chris who are expecting their first born in December. We spotted an AC-DC hoodie some months back and couldn't resist. Well the child will be going to Glastonbury at 6 months old after all. Speaking of which, we have registered for tickets. Something to look forward to next year.

Tomorrow we are getting up early and going on a 'Wobbly Wine Tour' to the Hunter Valley. As the name suggests we will be cycling AND sampling wine. Crikey! Not sure how we'll bring it back if we decide to buy any. The weather has been glorious today and will hopefully remain so tomorrow. The place is supposed to be beautiful. Can't wait.

Although these are worrying times for the Aussies, we're enjoying the fact that the exchange rate has jumped so much. Our £ is worth AUS$2.5 today! Time to shift some dosh over. I just hope it goes down again when it's time to move my hard-earned money back.

Yes, I am missing certain things back home in London now. My mother, my dog and my friends AND all the weddings and new babies. Just wish it was a bit warmer over there and that both my parents lived in the same country.

Birthday escape

2008-09-27T21:42:00.002+10:00

Phew. I've escaped Sydney for a night. I missed my train to Mittagong earlier though (by literally 10 seconds...I nearly cried as I watched it roll out of Central station) so it ended up me taking four and a half hours to get here.

Part of that was a two hour wait in the scorching sun at Campelltown (a bit of a dive with a few dollar shops and Asian clothes stores). I found a park to sit in though and my dear friend Ebony called, saving me from death by boredom.

It's probably good for me to have to stop for a few hours anyway. I've been so frantic at work. And I do love the rough red gumtree speckled Australian landscapes one sees from the train.

Anyway I'm here now and we've just enjoyed a lovely birthday dinner for Dad at a new tapas place in town. For the first time since I've been visiting him here, I haven't been cold (though I have turned the electric blanket on for good measure).

My sister looks well and brown and is playing Nintendo games next door as I write. Everyone says I look good too but I am tired.

Ric said he'd call but he hasn't. He'll come back soon hopefully.

I'm getting an early night (this place always makes me so sleepy) and will extract myself from this rural haven and return to Sydney tomorrow.

Small steps to global domination

2008-09-25T20:50:00.006+10:00

A quick update from Sydney.

Ric is still away and has now reached Cairns, having picked up new friends along the way. I feel very left out but am glad he's having fun.

Meanwhile, I have continued to work flat-out. In fact, things are going so well that they got a temp in today to do the work I was originally supposed to do but which has been deemed beneath me. After a day like today though (10 hours, non-stop) I kind of miss making the tea.

I worked so hard and late that the Chairman himself ended up giving me a lift to Martin Place so I could meet my godmother on time. It felt a bit uncomfortable sitting next to him and trying to make small talk as he Bentley as he drove the Bentley through the city.

His PA is off for a few days so I am filling in. I don't know how many letters and emails I've had to type up as he dictates from his car. It's mostly very interesting work though.

A contract is still on the cards but I'm holding out for a bit longer and have in the meantime, rather cheekily perhaps, asked for a pay rise and some time off in November so I can go away either with my sister or my school friend Nicole.

One more day and then the weekend; vital for catching up on sleep (I can't get to sleep at the moment and toss and turn for hours before getting up at 6am) but not so good for my mind which tends to dwell on how much I miss Ric and fantasise about what he's up to. On Saturday though, I'm off to my Dad's to celebrate his birthday and get the low-down on the Blue Mountains where he took my sister this week.

If I can get out of the office for a few minutes tomorrow, I'm going to buy some shoes. I've seen a snappy pair of heels which would look great around the office. I've also got to carry an iron and ironing board home...it's about time I started ironing my shirts.

A busy week and sunny days in Sydney

2008-09-17T20:32:00.006+10:00

I've been up to my eye balls with work this week, clocking up almost 50 hours! I am surprised to say I love it. Well, not all of it (making Vegemite toast (no crusts) for the exec. director and being clicked at by the chairmen when he couldn't remember my name aren't highlights) but in general I am enjoying the work and learning fast. I don't mind how early I have to get up (6am at the moment) or how late I stay (usually 6.30ish) as it stops me moping about the flat, or shopping, plus I'm being paid by the hour for now so I'm delighted for it to all add up.

In between the daily dramas, people panicking over deadlines, mislaid documents and the like, as well as the occasional moment of friction, we have a laugh. The longer I stay there the more at home I feel. And it seems management agrees - we were discussing long-term contracts again on Wednesday...what shall I do?!

As for Ric, he's having fun up north and is apparently becoming immune to the effects of alcohol. Either that or he's just a bit drunk most of the time. He's now finished sailing off the Whitsundays (there wasn't much wind apparently so they just drank beer continuously) and says he'll probably come back in a week or so. Fantastic!

He's getting very brown on his travels ('losing my programmer's tan'), meeting people, seeing lots of beaches and semi-naked girls and is happy but I was rather alarmed to read the following from him:

'I was out at an Irish pub the other night and I was punched in the face by
some drunk Aussie bitch for no reason. She waltzed over to me and
smacked me. Then a bit later her mate hit me as well so I poured the
rest of my Guinness over her head. At this stage they got chucked out
the pub but she managed to throw a pint glass at me which bruised my
chin. I then got thrown out the pub as well. These Aussies are nutters.'

He assures me he didn't do anything to warrant this attack. Poor Ric! If only I'd been there to give them a piece of my mind...

Sydney is a fun place to live and even more pleasant now it's getting warmer. It was a roasting 31c today (by spring standards) and the forecast is for even hotter weather on Monday so tomorrow we're off to the beach to (carefully) soak up some rays. Coojee probably.

There are festivals and outdoor events happening everywhere it seems - it's the marathon tomorrow. Paul and Charlotte can watch the runners going over the Harbour Bridge from their sitting room.

a few recent snaps

2008-09-14T11:54:00.004+10:00

Living alone and going back to work

2008-09-12T22:58:00.009+10:00

I've not been writing much this week, partly because I've been working from 8.30am until 7pm most days and partly because I'm not very happy. Ric has been gone for two weeks now and I miss him dreadfully.

He's had the time of his life on Fraser Island and the photos convey a paradise, albeit a pretty drunken one. And onwards he goes. Every day a new journey with fresh beers to be drunk and bikini-clad girls to photograph.

Meanwhile, I feel like I've lost a part of me and hate being in the flat by myself night after night with hardly any friends to call or go out with. He says he's missing me too and will return once he has 'done his coastal thang' but I am living in a constant state of anxiety wondering if, when, under what circumstances will he come back. Will he meet someone else? Will he decide to go right around Oz without me? All I can do is sit tight, get on with my job and keep busy and not let on how crap I feel!

You can never really tell what that boy's next move will be so there's not much else I can do. He seems to have no compunctions about leaving me on my own and in the lurch which makes me seriously wonder what else he might do to hurt me.

I am trying to socialise and even took myself off to a local music festival today. We are celebrating Paul's birthday tonight too which will be fun.

It's not all doom and gloom here. I started work proper on Monday and by Wednesday they had all but offered me a full time job which would involve helping to manage the office and the company finances and looking after one of the two directors who has taken a shine to me. Apparently he doesn't usually bother to learn the junior staff's names, let alone the temps' but he took mine on board immediately and I have been sorting him out all week.

I have said I'll think about it. It's hugely flattering and just great to be wanted so much and praised so highly. It's not where I imagined working at all though!

It's a fabulous building to work in and I like all the team but it's no walk in the park working there as the big cheeses (father and three sons) are incredibly old-school and demand a hard working team. At this stage I don't mind it a bit though and I have thrown myself in to it. I find it fascinating and a great distraction from other concerns. I should join a class, a sports team, write etc. but I'm so exhausted when I get back each night I just want to go to bed!

Who knows how long I can stick it here without Ric though. It's tempting to go home to England sometimes especially when Ric says he's having the most fun he's had all year - yes - more fun without me there. At least I'd have friends around me in London and wouldn't have to go over to Charlotte and Paul's for a sob. I know he'll come back eventually but it would be nice to know when.

The end of the grumpy woman rant.

A visit to Canberra

2008-09-05T22:43:00.005+10:00

The clouds were only just holding their rain as we set off from Mittagong for Canberra early yesterday morning. It was grey and cold and even more so when we arrived in the capital two hours later, reflecting and exacerbating the austere 1970s concrete buildings which the city is mostly comprised of.

It ain't a pretty place, that's for sure and I'm sad to say that although I have learnt to make my own mind up about places it felt as barren and soulless, if clean, as others had told me it would.

I can see why people might chose to bring their children up there though as it feels like a safe place.

We packed a lot in to our two day visit. First we went to the War Memorial Museum which is extensive and fascinating and overrun with school parties! We didn't need a guide as my father gave us the ultimate tour, knowing as he does so much about military history.

We then drove (you can't walk round Canberra with ease since it's all so spread out- but there are a lot of cycle paths!) to the new Parliament House where we sat in on a session of Question Time. It was extremely entertaining watching all the MPs and Prime Minister Rudd bicker, refrain from answering each others' questions directly and take the mickey out of each other. It didn't appear that they were there to achieve or resolve anything, just have a go at each other for the sake of the audience. What a pantomime!

I'm not sure I like the Parliament building's architecture and minimalist style decor but it isn't fusty and creates a somewhat calm ambiance. The colours are very neutral, reflecting the grey-blue-green of gum trees. The views around and across Lake Burley Griffin of the High Court, the Government buildings and the National Museum, Library and Gallery are impressive.

After Question Time, it was on to the National Gallery which is home to a modest collection of Victorian, Impressionist and more modern works by mostly Australian artists. I'm afraid I've rather maxed out on museums and galleries already this year so my mind wandered...hmmm...yes, OCD was getting the better of me and I'm missing Ric's level head and humour.

After that, with our legs beginning to feel slightly weary with all the walking, we headed to the hotel to dump our stuff.

We stayed in an unusual business-y hotel (and I thought I'd seen everything in the world of hotels!) called The Pavilion which housed a jungle in the middle! Well, alright, it wasn't that big but a huge area in the centre of the building was full of tropical plants. We enjoyed good food in the restaurant and I had a King size bed just for me. Sarah rinsed the supplies of tea, jams and Vegemite at the breakfast table this morning.

Today we went to the National Museum which displayed a lot of indigenous artifacts, art and some natural history. It's a very good place for Australians to visit and for school children doing projects but it left me a bit cold. Then we hit the shops in the Civic area where my gait was observed, my weight distribution assessed, my feet measured and finally fitted with a 'perfect pair' of running shoes in the rather unfortunately named 'Athlete's Foot' store. I also got another blouse for work, it's my new addiction - shopping for corporate work attire. Yikes - I don't want to think about that tonight.

Finally on our way back to Mittagong today visited our old house in Lyneham. I couldn't believe how familiar it looked even though I haven't seen it for exactly 20 years. The shrubs in the garden have grown up a bit but I'll never forget the garden's long shape and the big living room windows. It made me sad to see it again, trespassing as we were on someone else's property to catch a glimpse of our former lives. Happier days in my mind. 'Don't look back' said my Dad. I do all the time, I thought, such is the nature of my ever confronting and questioning OCD addled brain.

Seeing Canberra again has stirred me deeply. I hadn't remembered the greyness or town planning (well I wasn't even 8 years old when we left in '88) but I do recall the cold from my time there in the mid 1980s, as well as other fragments of my childhood: days spent playing in the grass and bark chips of our bungalow's long garden, the spiky black slugs writhing about in a hissing cluster on the garden fence, the neighbour who showed my brother and I a tiny bird he had caught flying around his living room, the pale blue of the local swimming pool, protecting my brother from the big boys at Sunday School, being told to 'stop looking so serious Alexandra' at school, drawing, painting, cutting and pasting for hours at our little table and chairs, the rose gardens outside the Government buildings, my mother's long floral print skirts and tissues in her handbags, always fighting to claim her free hand, hiding in my father's wardrobe to surprise him when he got home from work, dreams about saving my brother from certain death by ginormous rubber trumpets or ant hills (don't ask), my baby sister being brought home for the first time, going to see princess Diana and my first 'boyfriend' Liam Baker whose lap I sat on once while he patted my back. All these memories and so many others have flooded back to me since I started thinking about this trip and particularly now that I am here.

It doesn't feel like home yet though and perhaps never will but I feel I have at least claimed something of my Australian self back in recent weeks which makes me feel so much older suddenly but also like a child as I pine after my mother, worry about my father, learn about my family's past, recall my memories as if things happened yesterday, and now settle down and forge a new-ish life and in some ways identity for myself in Sydney. I learn something new about myself, my relatives and this intriguing multi-faceted country almost every day and the more I get to know it the more I'd like to stay.

Ric is still on his way north. He visited to Australian Zoo today having escaped Surfers Paradise. I'm trying to leave him in peace but am missing him dreadfully and cry every time he sends me one of his silly texts.

Tomorrow I am meeting my step-sister and her husband for the first time and then going back to the flat where I will find out if I left the straighteners on over the weekend. Yikes!

My school friend Evie Wyld (also half Aussie) has just told me that she has literally just found out that her first novel is to be published by none other than Jonathan Cape!! I am so thrilled for her. What an inspiration! Well done girl! Read this for a taster.

Going back to work and being on my own again

2008-09-02T22:34:00.006+10:00

I had my first day of work yesterday. Everyone in the office was very smart but warm and helpful and I think I'll enjoy my time there, if not the hours (8.30 - 5.30 at the earliest).

The Judges House is a really fascinating old building, a cottage really, on Kent Street (and about a 15min walk from our flat!). I felt a million dollars in my suit and was glad I dressed up since everyone at the office looks immaculate. I was kept busy and they seem to like me. It feels very strange to be working again!

I don't have to go back now until next Monday which is a bit boring but it gives me a chance to hop on a train to the country to see my dad, Kate and Sarah. I'm looking forward to escaping the city for a few days.

We'll also go to Canberra to see where I spent my early school years and the war memorial museum.

To my delight, my father has just given me a copy of his freshly written autobiography. I haven't been able to read it thoroughly yet but it makes for a compelling read and is a very candid, detailed and sometimes brutal account of his life thus far. It truly is a testament to his character and his voracious mind and I will treasure it.

Ric reports that he has been diving (though it wasn't that enjoyable being cold and disorganised) and is now avoiding the teenage stoners in Nimbin. He has been offered work at an excellent web agency here in Sydney so he now thinks he'll do some work after all when he gets backs from his trip. This pleases me no end!

It's lonely here without him, the television is dull, I can't concentrate on my books and I'm not enjoying my own company any more! The temptation to abuse my food is also great which frustrates me no end, so I'm eager to rejoin my family ASAP. At least I have my wombat (above) to cuddle tonight.

Work!

2008-09-01T08:22:00.004+10:00

Yikes! It's Monday morning and I'm off to work for the first time in over four months!

I got up at 6am just to make sure I had enough time to run, dress, put slap on and fix my hair.

Now I'm killing time as I don't have to be there for another hour. Another cup of tea...

Why do I find it so hard to find shirts that fit me? They are either too tight around the middle or the bust or the arms, and gape open revealingly but a bigger size always look stupidly baggy. Argh! Perhaps I need to get one made up. Perhaps I'm literally not cut out for this office malarkey.

It all feels somewhat ridiculous anyhow considering my mission to get away from the rat-race and do something true to my creative instincts. The things we think and say when we're on deserted sandy islands in Thailand hey? Ah well. It's not forever.

Ric has gone diving today, lucky sod. I don't think he is a fan of surfing and found it cold and difficult yesterday. I'd love to be in the sea right now.

Ric goes surfing and I get to work

2008-08-30T18:31:00.007+10:00

We have been busy here in Surry Hills. My sister arrived on Wednesday so I've been showing her round town and visiting the sites. Taronga Zoo, where I fell in love with wombats again, and the Aquarium at Darling Harbour are fabulous! They really put Beijing's concrete prison to shame and the views from within the zoo are fantastic. Lucky giraffes!

Seeing the fishies today made me long to go diving again, or at least get some pet ones. I'm looking in to dive sites around Sydney as we speak.

Due to my eagerness to get back to work I decided to go down the temp route and consequently registered with a few agencies while Ric bought a bus ticket for the east coast. He left in the early hours of this morning. I miss him so much already but I wont call...

Fortunately, I wont have much time to dwell as I have a job starting on Monday! Hurrah!

It's not exactly the broadcasting job of my dreams and I'll probably be bored senseless answering the phone and pushing pens around my desk all day but it's better than sitting at home while I wait for the ABC to come up with something. I'll be working for a rather high-profile client and his family, 'very corporate...a good name to have on your CV' and dealing with 'highly confidential matters'. Sounds intriguing!

I'll certainly enjoy meeting people and having some pocket money. I just hope the massive red spot on my face vanishes before Monday morning!

And then there's the other problem, my attire. Despite my sister bringing out an entire suitcase full of dark clothes, my wardrobe still looks like a backpacker's, albeit a fairly discrete one. So with clothes panic in motion, I trawled some of the cheaper shops in search of my new corporate look. I soon gave up on that idea however and went to David Jones where I bought a very swish three piece suit. I spent at least an hour in the fitting rooms frazzling the assistant and trying various garments on. I'm used to wearing scruffy shorts and T-shirts to work so the look is hard to get used to. I quite like it though, especially with my new heels and fitted blouses (not sure about the ruffle one). Since I can walk to work I don't think I'll get a bike just yet. I've yet to see a single female cyclist in Sydney and there aren't nearly as many commuter bikers here which I suppose is hardly surprising when the drivers are so hostile and the streets so hilly. I find that such a shame when the climate lends itself to cycling!

I'm sleeping on the sofa tonight to give my sis a good night's sleep before I pack her off to Mittagong tomorrow. Then I'm on my own with a stuffed wombat, a pile of unread books, a drawing pad and a notebook entitled 'Alex's Novel' for company. I also have a copy of Grazia magazine, the weekend edition of The Sydney Morning Herald and a 7inch telly for distraction.

The end of the weekend and the Beijing Olympics

2008-08-24T01:48:00.004+10:00

It was a lovely sunny day today and the city looked beautiful with its rich blue sky.

Ric, Charlotte, Paul and I went for a walk around the harbour, the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens (which weren't hugely interesting at this time of year although very green) and sat basking in the sun on the edge of the water.

I love the fact that all this is just a short walk away from our flat. Another ten minutes stroll brought us to China Town for a late lunch (it was like being back in China except cleaner and with English menus!) and then to Darling Harbour for some early evening drinks.

Now we've settled down to watch the spectacular closing ceremony of the Olympics and the handover to the UK while I apply for yet more jobs (or are they the same ones as last week? They all seem the same now!).

I'm also conversing with my mum and sister in London about which of the items I stuffed in my ginormous suitcase back in April can be left behind when she comes out next week. She was allowed to bring two bags then. Now it's only one. Nightmare!

Having to decide between my GHDs, potions and perfumes, my converse trainers and stilettos, my LBDs and cycling shorts is not an easy business let me tell you!

We were very sad to watch the story of the baby whale unravel this week. There always seems to be a whale or shark story in the news here.

Ric is going to book his bus ticket tomorrow (watch this space) and I'm off to buy him some new underpants (at his request).

I'm still simmering away inside. That's a good way to describe how I am at the moment in this limbo period of no work and no sense of belonging here. I spend the day just off the boil, achieving nothing much beyond chugging round the park a few times, sending a few emails, writing a list or two, tidying, food shopping, cooking, more tidying. By 9pm, with tiredness framing my every move and desperate for the sweetness of forbidden treats, I am ready to boil.

But I must not. I can not. Sydney is a great place, we have a sweet little flat and our time here has only just begun. I know that as soon as I have a job and a few friends and some warm weather I will wonder why I was so impatient.

Settling down or taking off?

2008-08-23T17:01:00.004+10:00

Things are looking up a bit here in wind-swept Sydney - ie. Ric isn't leaving me just yet.

I haven't found a job and am bored applying for ones I don't even want (in PR, Sales and Advertising mainly) and I haven't decided if and when to go off traveling but Ric has changed his mind again and decided not to disappear immediately or if he does, I will meet him in Cairns in a few weeks.

In fact, after my initial panic about being abandoned, I've decided to encourage him to go as he's never been away on his own and we could probably do with some space. Plus it would give my sister and I a little more room here in the tiny flat for a while. I also don't much fancy the idea of bussing round Oz. I did enough of those long journeys in Asia and they weren't fun. I know it's a bit of a cop-out to miss out on the in between bits but I can live without seeing various sheep farms, ranches and vast expanses of outback en route to the northern coast.

So there we are, no major fall out after all. Neither of us wants that really and for the most part we get on fantastically. Who knows what he'll feel after a few weeks on the road with out me and my funny eating and all those 'bang tidy' gap year girls...

We've finally got Internet in the flat which has revolutionised our evenings. I realise that sounds a little pathetic but we were about to go out and buy Scrabble or a jigsaw puzzle. The telly is really rather bad - a mixture of budget adverts, British dramas and sport.

We're off to a house party later. It will be good for us to go out as we've done it so little since we got here. I wish my wardrobe was more stylish and smart. I'm quite tempted to bin all the scruffy clothes I traveled in. If I get an office job I might well have to buy some suits!

We've enjoyed the coverage of the Olympics but wish they'd shown a more diverse range of events and we could have done without the endless overtly patriotic Coles supermarket advertisements. Well done team Great Britain! Again, the coverage of their successes was minimal as is news from the UK in general.

We have discovered a very funny website on which you can 'yearbook yourself' - bored? us? never!

Bomb Shell

2008-08-21T14:56:00.004+10:00

Hello from George Street. Failing to get web in our flat yet, Ric and I have been using this large internet cafe every day to look for work and pass the time (I simply can't buy any more shoes). It's a shame the management insist on playing crappy 90's dance tunes all day long.

We've been in the flat a week now and although I'm prepared to have a stab at living here for a while, Ric seems to have decided to up and leave ASAP. He's bored, a bit sick of my company and doesn't want to work for less than he does in London. That's quite a blow and I'm not really sure what to say or do in response. I'm shocked and mortified.

He reckons he is here to see the country, not settle down. We have always known that I need to stop and work for a while before I travel again, for my mental state if not financial.

Hmmm. What a terrible blow. How dreadfully I will miss him. Will he even come back? How much will we lose if we have to get rid of the flat? I can't imagine him not being around after all this time we've spent together. I experience separation anxiety if we are apart for more than 3 hours!

Things are quite up in the air still. He may change his mind again this week. So might I, I suppose. Would I, could I, stick to my guns here? Should I stay and work and more importantly try to conquer my demons alone or with the help of a support group? I have really enjoyed being more settled and it's been good for me. I don't fancy yet more traveling just yet.

Meanwhile, my little sister gets here in a week so I'm not going anywhere before then. I am widening my job search, sending my CV off left, right and centre, joining numerous temping and media agencies and hoping Ric will decide that I, if not Sydney, am worth staying for.

I just wish I had some more friends here else I am going to feel desperately alone if and when Ric goes. I can't rely on Charlotte and Paul exclusively!

What are we going to do?

We went for a nice walk from Bondi to Coogee at the weekend (see pics). It was hilarious how many posers there were power walking in their Lycra all along the pathway. Every other person seemed to have a dog too.

I just love the salt water swimming pools they've built beside the beaches. What a great idea when the sea is too choppy to swim in!

Settling in to Foveaux Street

2008-08-15T15:41:00.004+10:00

After 14 weeks of backpacking across eight Asian countries using trains, planes, boats, Jeepneys, Tuk Tuks and every other imaginable mode of transport, a restful week at my dad's in frosty Mittagong N.S.W. and two more in the plush basement billiard room of my kindly family's pad in leafy northern Sydney suburb Turramurra, Ric and I have successfully moved in to our own significantly more modest abode in (the reputedly) hip, trendy and 'gay' Surry Hills.

Hurrah!

As documented here previously, it was an absolute pain in the back-side looking for a place, getting our deposit in on time, waiting for the approval checks to be done on us and then trying to organise the $4000 bank cheques (for the bond and rent deposits) without yet having bank accounts here. 'Why can't we pay with cards or in cash' we asked, exasperated?! The bureaucracy with which seemingly everything here comes is bewildering, time consuming, often costly and means that essentials including mobile phone accounts, renting properties, visas and health care are so difficult to sort out. It's also highly embarrassing to have to borrow off my family when I can't access my UK money! Today I was told that in spite of proof of my new address and my Aussie passport I am not allowed to register with Medicare until I have proved I lived in the UK before now. Funnily enough, I have neither an NHS Card, a tenancy cancellation letter, work cessation letter or Tax form here. I might have to wing it without.

The Internet here is also very expensive. Almost twice as much as back home. We were meant to sign the lease two days ago but realised (almost too late) what the financial consequences might be if we decided to cancel a 12 month lease with the agency. So we asked them if the owner would agree to a 6 month rolling one instead. Thankfully he did.

Having only arrived in Australia three weeks ago it's just impossible to say where we want to be in 6 months! This is a big country after all and one with many faces. Besides, we have got a round the world ticket, so New Zealand, the Cook Islands and America are still on the list of places to visit before next April.

It's not grand in any way this flat and it needed a good clean once we'd got in, but it is an adequate size, contains the basic large pieces of furniture and the city and Central train station are a short walk away. Better still, we are surrounded by cafes, pubs, restaurants and fashion factory outlets. There is also a fabulous cheap Thai Cafe right on our doorstep for when we are feeling lazy as well as a small park round the corner for when I'm feeling fit. Today as I did my laps, there were about 30 Asians doing beep tests in there jeans. As the name suggests, it sure is hilly round here. Fortunately we are situated near the bottom of a very long, very steep road. I hope our guests (my sister is coming in just two weeks!) wont mind having to reach the bathroom via our bedroom. It's not an ideal lay out!

We decided to find an Ikea as there were lots of things we needed including ALL our kitchen utensils, cutlery, crockery, bath towels and bedding. It turned out to be near a place called Homebush (where the Olympic Park is) and not Moore Park as the Yellow Pages suggested, so we ended up traipsing round for hours before we found it. Ric's sister Charlotte gave up on the mission long before we got there at 5pm. It was strangely reassuring to be back in the store experiencing the oh-so-familiar love-hate feelings towards it as we pushed our trolley round with all the other couples, choosing once again between the cheap, simply designed and oddly named items we have both become so accustomed to during our time in shared houses and student digs. We have taken this cheap-skate stance as we don't want to spend much on things we might have to leave behind eventually.

Two hours, two hotdogs and $650 later we escaped the place and in spite of a rude and stupid taxi driver dropping us off at the wrong station we somehow managed to haul our huge bags on to a train and get back home. If we've forgotten anything, I'm going to a local KMart!

Now all we have to do is stock the kitchen cupboards, repair the hob, dishwasher and bathroom light, sort out the electricity supplier (all seem to be government regulated which is good), organise the phone and Internet connection, direct debit our rent, perhaps buy a hardy pot plant and then have a housewarming party to which all our friends (4 to be precise) will be invited. Rock on.

I also want a bike as I miss cycling!

Now we have visited the family and have started paying rent in a flat, my holiday remorse has properly kicked in. In Asia, where it is the norm to see people just hanging around with their paunches hanging out, lying in hammocks and generally not working much at all, one doesn't feel too guilty for doing very little in a day. Here on the other hand, I've been surrounded by suited city workers and commuters and by my relatives going to their respective offices, schools and universities and I am feeling the need to be part of that, pronto. More to the point, it's cheap to live in Asia - not so here, though it's probably on a par with London!

Shopping has lost it's appeal even for me and Ric is also itching to put his mind to more productive pursuits. I am going to have to keep an open mind about what I do as I feel very out of the radio and media circles I was once in back home. It's also been more than three years since I went for a job interview. I'm fairly confident I'll find something I can enjoy, although thus far the jobs advertisements haven't exactly been calling out to me from the careers section of the paper.

If only I had web this week it would make life so much easier! Patience, patience. I just hope at least some of the better jobs here are advertised externally, else I'm not sure how to get a foot in the door. I might have to temp for a while or even take up the offer of a job in the stylish cafe/restaurant/gig venue next door. The manager offered me work this morning when I went in for a coffee in my sweaty running gear. It's tempting.

Meanwhile, we have been checking out the city, sorting the flat and various accounts out and huddling under our new duvets to watch the telly. Its all about the Olympics here. Every time we turn on our wee box Stephanie Rice seems to have won another gold in swimming or is being interviewed about her successes. Ric thinks the green and gold colours of the Aussie team are pretty unflattering. It's hard to see how the Brits are doing in the games unless they happen to be competing in the same events.

The Chinese are doing well. They are an impressive race. It's a shame the Australian press doesn't stop moaning about the poor air conditions in Beijing. Give them a break I say! I was sad to hear that the little girl who sang in the opening ceremony was actually miming as the real singer was deemed not pretty enough just minutes before she was due on stage. Imagine how that would feel for a five year old! The predictable censorship continues. They have blocked the news of the miming girl scam, a bus crash and on the news now we are learning how a British ITN news reporter was arrested for reporting a pro-Tibet protest.

As for my OCD, mood and eating, I'm afraid to say the mental wranglings continue. I vacillate many times a day between fleeting bursts of pleasure and extreme happiness and almost overwhelming depression, heart-stopping fear and a sense of loss and loneliness.

As we start to settle down here I am still feeling very much in limbo and I find myself questioning my identity as a London-raised half Australian like never before. It is an unusual and sometimes painful thing to have two dearly loved parents living on opposite sides of the world. There's also no escaping the stark culture and personality clashes between myself and Ric and my young sports-mad cousins which has heightened my feelings of separation from this place which was once, a long time ago, my home. That's not to say I don't like it here. Sydney is an easy place to navigate around and the people are friendly and bubbly, it's just too early to call it home.

Perhaps it's not surprising that I am clinging to the security of my old routines and bad habits. I am so disappointed in myself though for simultaneously yearning to quash the demonic desires and craving the comfort of my sugar binges and obsessive rituals. Ric says I seem far more on top of things which is good to hear.

Ric made Tacos last night and we'll be hosting Charlotte and Paul later. We just love having our own kitchen in which to cook meals as we like them and not having to order food, be waited on, sit in a restaurant with fussy tourist or have to decipher foreign menus!

Bonds, bank cheques, boring bureaucracy

2008-08-09T22:16:00.006+10:00

We have been given the go-ahead for the flat and can move in on Tuesday!

That is, if we can find a way to turn $4000 of our dosh in to two bank cheques for the bond, 6 weeks rent and the '$15 lease prep fee', since the real estate agency wont accept cash or our UK bank cards. We've already given them $410 which we'll need to reclaim or remind them about.

We've been pulling our hair out trying to think of a way to get the bank cheques before Monday afternoon when we go in to the office to sign the lease. We don't have Aussie bank accounts yet, so are having to call upon my family.

A quick look on the UK money advisory site Fool has revealed a few cheapish ways to transfer money in to foreign accounts.

Tranzfers seems to be the best for us and only charge £7 for a transfer.

So now we are holding our breath and hoping the money hits the right account in time and doesn't end up in the wrong hands or 'disappearing' in to cyberspace.

We reckon that we found and secured a place quite quickly here in the end (I'd been told some real horror stories by friends) but we just can't believe the amount of bureaucracy or how costly it is just to get on the lease. Our next concern will be how long the lease has to be. Can we get a 6 month rolling one?

And now it's Sunday so there's nothing we can do until tomorrow, except watch the Olympics which seem to be on six different channels here - wasn't the opening ceremony impressive?

It'll be worth it in the end though I'm sure!

The wait continues...

2008-08-07T20:25:00.004+10:00

No news of the flat yet. The agent seemed to be off work yesterday and today. The cheek of it!

Today Ric, Charlotte and I felt we should do a bit of sight-seeing since we're not yet working or able to furnish our homes. We went to The Rocks, a pleasant area by the Harbour Bridge, where the ferry terminals are, and we visited the so-so Museum of Contemporary Art (which reminded me of the Tate Modern in its frontal appearance and wacky contents - I felt like I'd seen and failed to appreciate it all before somehow) and then we went to the Observatory (good for 8 year olds on a school trip but not all that exciting for us!) and park which seems to be a haven for exercise nuts doing all manner of wacky races. We lost count of the number of lunch-break joggers, people doing sit-ups, press-ups and there was even a group doing boxing. The sun was out for a while as we sat on a bench on the hill over-looking the water, watching the boats and chatting about jobs and flats. It was even quite warm for a while, in the sun.

Then as we polished off our sandwiches, it went icy cold as a massive black thunder cloud crept across the sky and lashed rain down on top of central Sydney (and us) for the next hour or so!

My aunt reckons when it's as icy cold as this, you can guarantee that it's snowing in the Blue Mountains. So far she's been absolutely right!

Ric and I are so eager to have our own place. The fatigue of living out of a back-pack and in hotels or other people's abodes (gorgeous though they may be) has well and truly kicked in. As has the apathy we now feel towards most touristy activities and new places, though we are confident this will pass in a few weeks when we are sat behind desks staring out of windows. Nevertheless, we are anxious, for various reasons, about what the next few months will bring.

Will we like living here, together, in a one bedroom flat? Will Ric find something to do that pays well enough for his liking and/or satisfies his creative geeky mind. Will I find something I can stick to and enjoy and that will satiate my own creative urges? Will I be able to stay on top of my OCD and eating problem and not start abusing food if the new job proves stressful? Will we find interesting friends and pursuits outside work and those which don't involve each other?

I hope to be able to answer yes to all off those eventually. It just might take a little while longer than I planned.

Must remember to take some photos tomorrow...

Still waiting...

2008-08-05T22:20:00.003+10:00

Thanks for the notes of encouragement from my readers!

We're still waiting to hear about the flat. Shouldn't be long now. We'll be so upset if we don't get it. The latest news is that my checks are fine (thanks to my dad and uncle for glowing references) but they need more from Ric's accountant.

We haven't done much today except buy up the local supermarket and cook a Mexican dinner for the family.

Either we're getting used to the cold or it's getting warmer.

I have been staring blankly at the dead lizard in the pool. It's been there for a week now.

Watching the telly for any length of time here is a pretty soul destroying experience unless you like sport. So much of it seems to be crappy British exports and budget adverts, though there are some rather good cable film channels. I don't mind at all that we wont have a box when we move in the the flat.

I have an Aussie mobile phone at last! Now I need to get my Medicare and tax numbers. That is, after I have mopped the laundry room floor which flooded this morning with my load in it. 'What's that you say Ric?...Someone left a tissue in with the darks?!'

Lordy day...

Fingers crossed...the house-hunt might be over

2008-08-03T22:45:00.005+10:00

We might have found somewhere to live!

I don't want to tempt fate but we have secured a cute little flat in Surry Hills with a deposit and all we have to do now is sit tight and hope our checks are OK. All being well, we could move in this week! It's a good size, in a great central location, only $410 per week and it's even furnished!

Fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed! Then we have to persuade Charlotte and Paul to come and be our neighbours...or otherwise get a place with a gym and pool so I can use it.

Now, just as I start think about getting myself a bicycle for commuting, my dad has sent me this cautionary piece of press from the Sydney Morning Herald. Yikes. I thought London drivers were hostile. I will not be deterred, although the slopes of Surry Hills and other parts of Sydney are somewhat off-putting...the clue is in the name I suppose!

House-hunting blues

2008-08-01T21:44:00.002+10:00

Hello. I'm still here and not going in to hibernation!

I'd love to say I've had a great first week here in Sydney admiring the harbour views, knocking back beers, basking in the sun and watching some of the live sports on the box while Ric tends to the barbecue but it hasn't quite panned out that way. It is great to see my family again; they are being so kind to put us up, and now Ric's sister Charlotte has joined us here with her boyfriend which is fantastic, but all the same, we're not having a lot of fun yet.

Sydney hasn't yet lived up to my few but fond childhood memories of it or the rave recommendations friends (those who don't live in Melbourne that is) and the media have variously given it. So far, all Ric and I have had is bad weather and bad luck. Not even my lovely family have been able to lift our ever-plummeting spirits as we delve deeper in to the gruelling business of house-hunting. Sorry. I do sound rather glum.

Perhaps my expectations were excessively high and somewhat squiffy but I thought that after week's worth of looking we might have found a place by now. I thought hunting for a flat in London was hard work but here it's a nightmare! Long gone are the days when you could rock up at an agency, give them a few details and get them to drive you round to show you what they've got on offer or even call you up when things become available.

Your best bet here now is to get up early, have your phone at the ready, fire up your computer and scan the real estate sites all morning until you secure some viewing slots. Most of these seem to take place on Saturday mornings, are just 15 minutes long and involve a scrum with up to 30 other prospective tenants, all of whom are as desperate as each other to find a place to live and are often willing to offer more than the asking price just to ensure they do. Then there are the registration forms, character references, proof of identity, residency history, employment records, amongst other off-putting legalities. Yes, if you want to rent in Sydney you have to be determined, focused and very well organised! Tomorrow we have just two hours in which to madly zig-zag across the city to see four different flats with four different agents. If it wasn't for Ric and his trusty compass I'd wouldn't have a hope of doing it.

On the plus side, we seen a fair bit of residential Sydney now, as well as the busier commercial districts, although we haven't yet been to Bondi, and I've been so busy thinking about flats that my OCD has been temporarily shunted to my mental side-lines, although I am still panicking a lot more than I was back in London (I'm still confident this will change once we've settled in a bit).

I like certain things about this place very much already, including the fact that it is smaller and therefore more walkable (if hillier) than London, that many of the major stations have a mini shopping arcade in them (very useful), that the trains are fairly cheap and clean (although quite errtic at times when you get out to the suburbs) and that even on a weekend night in the busiest areas of town there don't seem to be nearly as many people, specifically the drunken idiot types you find staggering round in certain parts of London. Oh and the fact that I can always find falafel and hummous when I 'need' it.

Sydney in Winter

2008-07-27T20:54:00.005+10:00

With black clouds looming and ice creeping across the Southern Highlands, Ric and I have said goodbye to Mittagong and escaped to the warmer climbs of Sydney, which is a crisp 7-9°C. Not at all cold by English standards but bloody freezing for us at the moment!

We're staying with more of the Crawford clan, my uncle and aunt and their five - yes five - offspring at their gorgeous house in the leafy suburbs north of the city. They are kindly putting us up while we search for a flat.

I haven't seen any of them for about fourteen years and I'm finding it hard to resist the temptation to tell them all how big they've grown!

As lovely as it is here and as wonderful as it is to see my family again, we don't want to outstay our welcome and are longing to unpack our grubby bags once and for all, so the pressure is now on for Ric and I to sort ourselves out. We've been thumbing through the rentals listings in the weekend papers and emailing agents and tomorrow we'll head in to town to register with a few estate agents.

I ain't cheap here that's for sure; probably about the same as London. We're fairly confident we'll find a nice flat somewhere though, despite the waiting lists we have been warned about. We don't need a palace to make us happy! A swimming pool and gym would be nice though...

Depending on Ric's level of patience, I will also be on a mission to find pair of long woolly boots (yes, perhaps even Uggs), some warm trousers and a couple of jumpers since I have arrived woefully ill-prepared for the Aussie winter which wont last long but long enough to warrant at least one shopping trip! My cousins are finding it hilarious that we, the Londoners, are walking around the house wearing scarves, gloves and rugs over our shoulders!

Lavish Lounge

2008-07-26T00:08:00.003+10:00

Always keen to flag up fabulous female blogs, I'd like to draw your attention to Lavish Lounge, written by my most geeky-but-sexy girlfriend Stacey who runs a creative services consultancy in Central London. I can honestly say that my short working relationship with her and Lavish was the best thing to come out of my stint at SPZ Music last year and we only ever met each other twice!

Not does she have the ability inspire even the least geekily orientated people (like me) but she has radiated such warmth and positivity and been such a massive support to me as I set off around Asia and now embark on a new life Downunder.

What a great read her blog is! I wish I had my finger in as many creative pies as she seems to right now!

I don't care if this sounds rather gushy - Stacey, you're a star!

Eating, Sleeping and Wrapping Up Warm

2008-07-24T21:26:00.008+10:00

Hello. I'm still here, blogging.

Ric and I have been sleeping in late, padding about in slippers and woolly hats and stuffing our faces for three days now here in Mittagong. We will have to replenish the shelves before we leave here on Sunday!

We've not been complete Sloths though and have done some activity, even braving the cold weather. Yesterday we went for an 8km hike to see some local waterfalls and returned home with red cheeks, runny noses and sore thighs! There was no one else in the woods, only the animals. Kookaburra's squawked at us from high up in the trees and other birds (or maybe snakes and lizards?) rustled in the undergrowth around our feet.

We saw some stunning scenery including huge brown rock formations, brilliant yellow blossoms, towering silver trunked gum trees and of course the waterfall. It all feels very familiar to me even after all this time.

We are actually quite pleased it isn't too hot at the moment as these activities would be horrid in the summer heat.

We bought an Australian animal spotter book today which should help us identify species from now on. The flora and fauna is so different here and everything seems so colorful even at this time of year. We've seen a few dead wombats on the road side but no koalas yet!

After lunch we went in to nearby Bowral to watch the new Batman film The Dark Knight. It was entertaining, slick and glossy but very sinister and drawn out, not to mention sad to watch Heath Ledger in his last movie.

Tomorrow Dad and Kate are dropping us off at the top of Mount Gibraltar (we'd be floundering without Kate's chauffeur service this week - makes me feel like a teenager again!). We will then find our own way back with the aid of our trusty compass! It's not a huge mountain but if it is a clear day we should see for miles.

And yes, we are procrastinating about finding a place to live. It's impossible to decide where we want to be - near the beach, near the city, near the best restaurants, near Ric's sister Charlotte, in the suburbs? - and it looks as though flats generally come unfurnished here which means we'll have to dash around one of the cheapo home-ware stores too at some stage. We hear there is an Ikea in the city. Yawn.

At the moment, Paddington gets our vote. It sounds like it has a good mixture of things to suit people our age, with our interests and budget and it is central. I'm told most of the radio jobs are in Melbourne but I'm coming round to the idea that writing is my true calling, if there is such a thing for a fickle creature like me. All I know for sure is that I don't want to rush in to anything and having traveled all this way for a fresh start I am reluctant to compromise.

I come from a land downunder, sort of

2008-07-23T22:33:00.005+10:00

Hello from Australia. I thought I'd carry on with the blog for a while longer...

We have arrived in wintry New South Wales, bypassing Sydney on our arrival and going straight to tiny, rural Mittagong which is two hours south and where my father lives.

Men at Work were playing on the radio at the airport - would you believe it?

Our long overdue reunion was emotionally charged to say the least. The sheer anticipation and then relief of being here at last, a country I hadn't lived in or even visited for over 16 years and as seeing my dad for the first time in years was almost overwhelming. We haven't stopped talking since we got here.

The temperature is about 25 degrees less than Ric and I have become accustomed to over the past three months and there has been a biting wind but the sun shines brilliantly here, even in the coldest months and the blue skies, red earth, gum trees forests and miles of gently undulating landscape make for spectacular views.

There isn't a huge amount to do here except go for walks, potter about the town and eat cake in the numerous local cafes. It feels strange to suddenly stop still like this after so many weeks of diving, mountain climbing, flying, sightseeing, eating out, haggling and moving around using all modes of transport, but we are tired.

Ric says this place reminds him of Hale Barns where he grew up (a good thing I think!) and I think I'm still in shock. Not only am I spending time with my father who has changed so much and conversing in the most honest, detailed and adult way, but I am now faced with the prospect of finding a place to live, a job, friends and a bike. How I miss my wheels.

Yesterday we went for a stroll around town and then Lake Alexandra which is just down the road from here. Today we went on the Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk a few miles away and saw some fantastic views across the gum tree forests and Lake Illawarra. Then Ric enjoyed his first meat pie, followed by Violet Crumble (like a crunchie bar but better, naturally) and even a Lamington cake! Tomorrow he'll be getting his first Aussie steak. It's so cold that I've been getting my daily jogging fix on my Dad's electric treadmill in the garage to avoid frost bite.

Already we have trawled the few local shops to purchase the best Merino, Cashmere, Angora and even possum woolens to protect us from the elements and I have been proudly introduced to all the local shopkeepers who seem to be on first name terms with my Dad.

My Dad also took us down to the local booze warehouse earlier and we stocked up on an array of local beers for Ric to try, though sadly he can't drink them himself.

So, another three days here before we head to Sydney where we will stay with my uncle and his family of seven and try to sort ourselves out.

Australia Here We Come!

2008-07-20T00:31:00.005+10:00

We went to the city Zoo today. The main draw are the pandas who have by far the biggest and most interesting enclosures - which doesn't say much. Some waddled about which pleased the crowds, while others tried in vain to hide and get some sleep. I felt sorry for them. Fancy having all these people staring, shrieking and bashing on their windows all day long! And yet, I myself was there so shouldn't be a hypocrite. I resisted buying one of the numerous Panda souvenirs on sale though. The Chinese certainly love the creatures! There were Panda hats, pens, toys, key-rings, balloons, slippers, back scratchers - you name it!

The rest of the zoo was pretty grim. It felt a bit like I imagine a 1970s built prison does. None of the animals had nearly enough space or variety of scenery and most of the monkeys and birds were housed separately in dingy, smelly, concrete boxes. We wandered around for most of the day but found it depressing.

However, it was a good way to pass our last day in China. Now it's our last night in Asia! I can hardly believe it. At times it felt like we wouldn't last another week on the road or with each other but now the last three months seem to have flown by and the prospect of finding a job, securing a flat, making friends and settling in Australia fills me with a mixture of excitement and fear.

It's been a long time since I saw my father and much has happened in both our lives since we were last together. I have been fantasising about our reunion for months now and sometimes in my dreams. Even Ric is quite apprehensive about it or at least curious to meet the man who produced such a nutty girl.

Tomorrow will be a long day consisting of two airports, two flights and a lot of hanging around in between. No doubt we'll find some WiFi to kill some of that time.

A video or two!

2008-07-19T13:49:00.005+10:00

Here are a couple of very short videos I made on my camera when we were climbing the wall the other day. It's pretty awful camera work and the wind makes quite a crackle but you get a good sense of the place!

Partying Beijing style and searching for the Games

2008-07-18T22:09:00.006+10:00

After a relatively sober three months, last night Ric and I went out to experience some drinking and clubbing, Beijing style, with our new Liverpudlian friend who lives in Shanghai.

I was limping after I managed to get speared by a meat skewer that was lying on the ground that morning. Don't ask me how it happened but it went in at an almost perfect vertical angle! Felt odd pulling an inch of stick out of my foot. Was it a freak accident or a 'tourist trap'?

First we went to a very fancy, luxuriously decorated cocktail bar located within a swanky shopping plaza (not uncommon in Asia) which had surrealist paintings hung on the ceilings, glass cabinets full of random items including jars, model hands, fake jewellery etc. a soul singer and the mot exquisite loos I think I have ever used. People were queuing just to have a look at them. Even the Queen doesn't have facilities like these. Fact. The service was dire with inexperienced and stressed staff who didn't have a clue about working in a bar, but that in itself was entertaining.

I wish I'd had a decent frock to wear. My cheap Thailand halterneck beach dresses didn't really seem appropriate. Still, once I'd slapped on a bit of eye liner and thrown a shawl over my shoulders I was ushered in despite my shorts.

What rather surprised us was that roughly 80 per cent of the people in there were gay expats from all over the world, and my goodness was there a lot of love (an lust) in the room! Perhaps I'm just really out of the drinking scene but I felt quite overwhelmed by the loud, bright, smokey atmosphere and the swooning, overtly demonstrative body language on display around me. There were a lot of cravats, square framed specs, tight jeans and pointy shoes and not many girls!

Afterwards, we headed off to a dark little club called White Rabbit on Lucky Street, a very cheesy strip of themed bars and restaurants. Again, we were completely outnumbered by schmoozing gay blokes of all shapes, sizes and races. Ric quickly changed his mind about dancing after someone made a pass at him. I would have have had a boogie had my foot not been so swollen up after the skewering incident earlier. Made a good horror story though.

Instead we talked loudly over mediocre techno music, watched the crowds trickling in, and drank a lot of neat spirits (a very Chinese thing) until the early hours. It was good to let our hair down after so long.

We have tried to get up close to the Olympic Stadium which is rumoured to be surrounded by rocket launchers half covered by camouflage netting. For what purpose you may well ask?!

We got to within 50 metres of the giant angular structure which was close enough for us. We're quite glad to be away from here by the time the Games start on a few weeks although there are far fewer people here than we expected there to be by now.

It required quite a lot of time, effort, our friend Rod who speaks Chinese and some luck to find the place. I wonder how on earth spectators are going to manage when the signage is so poor and so few people speak English. Taxi drivers tend to overlook foreigners too of they think they wont be able to communicate!

It's fun to be here but to be honest, all I can really think about now is Australia and seeing my dad again. I can't believe I'll be there just a two days!

What on earth are we going to do with ourselves when we get there?

Summer Palace and Great Wall

2008-07-16T23:43:00.008+10:00

The sun has shined brightly on us here in Beijing for the past two days and yesterday we cycled over 20km to the Summer Palace which is surrounded by gorgeous settings. The huge lake was full of pedalos and sightseeing boats and the palace itself was also pretty, if swarming with tourists, mainly Chinese.

I'm in two minds about these palaces. They are certainly impressive in size and with their large open spaces, as well as their detailed ornate paint work which is mainly dark red, apparently representing the red of the Chinese flag. However, they are all rather similar, not especially interesting architecturally or in their craftsmanship and seem to require constant touching up, not something you'd find necessary in the smart stone work of our own English castles and Palaces. The miscellaneous artifacts the curators put behind the windows in various rooms for visitors to look in to aren't all that special either. Most are even quite dusty! Bloody hell - I do moan!

You'd have to be in a bubble, or staying at the Grand Hyatt perhaps (where they serve the best Peking Duck in town apparently) not to realise that Beijing will be hosting the Olympics in a few weeks. In the two days we've been here we've spotted literally dozens of indicators including advertisements at bus stops, on shopping bags (which only two weeks ago China started charging customers for - hrrah!), count-down clocks in public squares, video campaigns on road sides, decorations in shop windows, Tee shirts, flags, Coca Cola bottles, 'Beijing 2008' branded tissues, milk and other household essentials, official souvenir shops, huge floral displays on the main roads and groups of people errecting all sorts of other decorations. People everywhere are renovating shops, fixing and painting lamposts, gates and even bike racks!

I wonder to what extent the buzz we can feel here is due to the anticipation of the games. The people seem so genuinely excited about it! Are they just happy for the extra income they are receiving from the tourists and government? Or is this place always this busy and fun to be in?

If the people here are poor you wouldn't know it from their behaviour or expressions. Looking around one sees a lot of smiling faces, laughter, people singing to themselves, friends hugging and holding hands, intense games of Mahjong being played on short stools and boards laid down in the street, adoring fathers playing with their babies, women feeding their children mouths wide open like baby birds, with bowls of noodles and steamed buns before they can go off and play again with their friends in the street, old women being gently escorted across the road by younger family members.

I don't like the business of spitting however, which the men here do with such gusto and sound effects it is stomach turning.

In fact one chap we met today commented on the Chinese Olympics as expats know it: Spitting, Fighting and Shouting. They are good at those, it is true!

The same guy, a Liverpudlian who teaches in a university in Shanghai also extolled the various virtues of having a Chinese girlfriend. He reckons they are generally much more innocent, eager to please and subservient. Ric thinks I should take note.

He has amused us no end with tales of students. Many have too give themselves English names and he teaches lots of Skies, Angels and others chosen straight out of Manga comics. He has one called Irine who decided to add a copyright symbol to her name when another girl picked the same one!

Another calls himself Hamburger and an Evangelina became Durex because she got the idea that it meant 'sexy girl'. They are now trying to pursuade her to stick with her first choice without embarrassing her!

Today we joined another tour and drove for three hours to the 'Secret Wall', a part of the Great Wall which isn't crawling with tourists.

It was fantastic! The hike was fairly hard work but not completely exhausting and we had perfect weather for it; sunny but with a light breeze. Our guide was a sweet old man who seemed far to frail to be hiking up mountains every day but then I have seen how nimble Asians are now. Cheeky sod didn't speak any English but managed to convey that he wanted a tip from us all at the end.

The view from the top of our hike was spectacular; blue skies, heather-like flora, lush green hills and valleys could all be seen for miles around with the crumbling Wall rolled out like a fat writhing worm across it.

Tomorrow I will be dragged along to see pickled Mao.

Temple of Heaven and other tourists

2008-07-15T01:13:00.009+10:00

I think I caused quite a bit of concern by writing about mine and Ric's minor feuds. Rest assured, all is well really and we reckon since we've got this far, it'll be plain sailing from here, touch wood!
I can't wait for Ric to meet my dad and other family! We're getting very excited now.

We decided to change hostel today since the one we were in last night only had one room left for us and this opened directly out on to the noisy main communal area thus preventing us from sleeping properly or being able to draw the curtains! There was also no partition between the bed and the bathroom. Again, Ric and I are close but do need some privacy. We couldn't stay there for the rest of the week!

We moved to the very popular Leo Hostel just around the corner. They all seem to look and feel the same now. Sitting in the cafe, you could be anywhere - Bangkok, Singapore, Europe - all with aphorisms, names and love notes scrawled across the walls, 'chill out' music, fridges of cheap beer, Western-Asian restaurants, heaving third or fourth hand book shelves and packed Internet rooms.

I had been told by a fellow cyclist that it would be foolish to ride a bike in Beijing these days, now that the Chinese have the means to buy cars and drive them so badly, but today Ric and I hired a couple of large rickety framed hybrids and set off around town. I shrieked with joy as I whizzed down the widest bicycle lanes I have EVER come across (wider than four car lanes), marvelled at all the traffic lights for bikes and rejoiced when I saw the array of parking facilities. The traffic wasn't so bad either and the buses even gave me right of way! Oh that London was like this. I also love seeing people of all shapes, sizes, ages and dress on their two-wheelers. None of this Lycra-clad machismo I am so accustomed to back home. It has rained non-stop today which is a great relief. It gets so hot here when the sun comes out.

We went to the National Museum but found it closed for refurbishment for three years! Only when we read the sign at the front did we look up and notice that the only thing left standing was its front wall.

So then we cycled to The Temple of Heaven Park. This impressed and interested me much more than the Forbidden City which we admittedly saw when we were knackered and not really able to appreciate fully. The rain and faint mist made for an even more evocative atmosphere even though there were a lot of other tourists there. The surrounding 267 hectares of park is very green and pretty and reminded me of stately rural gardens back home with its tall trees, long neat paths and lawn.
While climbing the steps to the Echo Wall, a Chinese girl next to me moaned loudly in English to her Chinese boyfriend that there were 'so many foreigners here'. Bloody nerve! What does she expect to find at one of China's biggest tourist attractions?!

I am aware that I have been moaning a lot about other people of late but I like to think my observations are amusing to others and not just me and Ric. Today we encountered yet more classic examples of terrible tourist behaviour. The first was at the hostel this morning when a young Mancunian student (not that I have anything against Northerners) went up to the receptionist and asked in an accent as thick, loud, slow and grating as you like whether she could use 'juust the computuur - buut not the intuurnet' and whether that would cost less than the usual 1Yuan per ten minutes (about 7 pence!). It is a wonder the poor girl behind the counter refrained from either smiling or smacking her. I mean - talk about stingy stereo-types! It was embarrassing.

Then just now in the restaurant we went to for dinner, an American family came in. Before they even sat down they spent a good ten minutes studying the 'English, we need ENGLISH menu' with several members of staff, discussing where to sit, what they could drink that was 'safe', how hygienic they thought the place was and establishing that 'we need quality meat - is it quality meat?' as well as whether they could make sure it was all 'steamed not fried?'

Again I find myself asking 'Why do people like this even bother going on holiday??!!'

Mind you, sometimes we all have our moments and as Ric hit his head for the umpteenth time on a low door frame today, he only just managed to rein in his diatribe against the Chinese, so that only I was party to his cries of 'f**k these short arsed f**king chinks'. Tut tut Richard.

I've decided that I probably shouldn't start writing a book until I have a clearer idea of its plot. Radio beckons again. We are also concerned that we'll need jobs in order to secure a property in Sydney. I can hardly believe that we'll be there in less than a week now!

Tomorrow we will hire the bikes again and go to the Summer Palace. Ric also wants to visit Mao's preserved body over in Tienanmen Square. Hmmm- I think I can live without ticking that one off my Things To Do list.

Last stop, Beijing

2008-07-13T20:37:00.008+10:00

We have arrived in Beijing, our final destination before Sydney!

I think it only becomes apparent just how vast China is when you travel in a train for a whole night and find you've still only covered a fifth of its height by morning.

Ric was able to sleep well last night but the best I could achieve was a light dose. We were on the top of some very high bunks and although tiny and too near the roof for us to sit upright, they proved surprisingly cosy. Much to my dismay, the lights went off before 10pm so I had to stop reading the novel I'm engrossed in: yet another emotionally fraught, slightly depressing read. Also a bit of a 'chick-flick' one might say, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. It's an engaging and profoundly moving yarn but often overly sentimental and emotionally charged for my liking, resulting in me not so much sympathising with the characters and their respective senses of guilt and loss but being frustrated by them. I still haven't read War And Peace!

A small child wailed non-stop for a couple of hours before he finally exhausted himself with his cries, leaving the long carriage quiet except for a few muffled snores. The train rattled out a steady beat as it cut its determined path along the tracks through the dark landscape, occasionally groaning and squealing when it turned in to a bend.

Ric and I reached our arms out to each other in the wee hours as we drifted in and out of sleep, full up on the yoghurt, cheese and crackers we'd stocked up on earlier. In my dreamy fug, this small gap between the bunks seemed to me to be something of a metaphor for the gulf of secrets, lies, fears, opposing desires and very occasionally silence that has sometimes felt so apparent between us on our travels and yet one that we have always bridged and that seems perfectly natural. In some ways we have never been so close or such a strong unit.

We arrived at 6.30am and by nine o'clock were traipsing round Tienanmen Square and the
Forbidden City in the scorching heat, marvelling at their huge size and the numbers of tourists who'd beat us to it. There were literally hundreds of us. It wasn't much fun what with the heat and crowds and I don't think we saw nearly as much as we could have done!

I get a bit fed up with the amount of pushing and shoving the Chinese seem to feel is necessary to get by and the queues at the palace were no exception. Ric, however, loves getting stuck in!

We've become used to being surrounded by at least five or six waiting staff when we sit down to order in a restaurant. They are generally extremely helpful, patient and good natured towards us and even a little curious. A few are bloody rude and have no idea what constitutes good service. We've just enjoyed a great meal at a lively (and noisy!) place close to our hostel where Ric had his first Peking Duck. I wish I was tempted but its little cooked head made me feel so sad.

We'll get up early tomorrow, stock up on water, slap on the sun block, hire some bikes and go and look at the Temple of Heaven.

Falling Out

2008-07-12T14:47:00.005+10:00

A rather unfortunate situation developed this evening when we went for dinner in the packed Muslim Quarter.

Ric and I fell out, something we seem to be doing more and more recently, and we ended up unintentionally losing each other in the crowds and bright lights of the market. While Ric headed straight back to the hotel, I got totally lost, as is my way, and ended up on the opposite side of town. I finally found my way back an hour or so later; tears streaming, ice-cream dripping from my hand.

We've started niggling and taking things out on each other as well as picking up on each others' bad traits and weaknesses. I always assume everything is my fault too which doesn't always help matters as we are usually both culpable and both become grumpy, stressed and miserable. I regret that I become so defensive when Ric confronts my OCD or occasional bad eating habits. He's always so spot on. Truths I don't always want to hear.

Why is this happening to us? Is it a simple case of spending too much time alone with each other in these unfamiliar surroundings and sometimes daunting circumstances? I trust so. We both hate it when we aren't getting on and it frightens us. Maybe it's the Chinese grumpiness rubbing off on us or the fact that we haven't been sleeping too well as our bed is like a diving board and we have an Air Conditioning system that feels like a jug of cold water pouring on our heads all night.

Aside from the above, China has been a great experience so far, interesting, surprisingly easy to get by in and welcoming to tourists. I don't find it very pretty and it's certainly not clean but then I suppose that's only to be expected in these newly developed cities. I'm impressed by their big buildings, their unlikely fusion of tradition and ancient knowledge with the new, by their uptake of technology and certain facets of Westernisation, by their food, by the fact that they have managed to almost perfectly preserve or restore their ancient relics.

We've got a long train ride to Beijing ahead of us this evening and we're just praying to get bottom bunks although I think we'll have to jostle for these with all the children returning home for the weekend from boarding school!

Here are a few extracts from Louis-Ferdinand Celine's Journey To The End Of The Night which I like and wanted to share:

When you're young and you don't know, you mistake everything for love trouble...It's a mania with the young to put all humanity into one backside, just one, the dream of dreams, mad love.

There's nothing terrible inside us or on earth or possibly in heaven itself except what hasn't been said yet. We wont be easy in our minds until everything has been said once and for all, then we'll fall silent and we'll no longer be afraid of keeping still. That will be the day.

A time comes when you're all alone, he you've come to the end of everything that can happen to you. It's the end of the world. Even grief, your own grief, doesn't answer you any more, and you have to retrace your steps, to go back among people, it makes no difference who.

We grow old quickly and whats more irremediably. You can tell by the way you start loving your misery in spite of yourself. Nature is stronger than we are, no two ways about it. She tries us in one particular mould, and we're never able to throw it off. I had started out as the restless type. little by little, without realising it, you being to take your role and fate seriously and before you know it it's too late to change. You're a hundred percent restless, and it's set that way for good.

Scaling City Walls

2008-07-11T20:23:00.005+10:00

It has been a little overcast here today which was something of a relief as we cycled round the enormous City Walls earlier on a couple of hybrid town bikes. It is still very hot though and when Ric did his usual trick of speeding off without me, I admit I got a bit stroppy. I miss my own, properly fitting bike!

We did the full circuit in an hour. There weren't any especially good views but it was a novelty place to go cycling! By the South Gate afterwards we found an arts and crafts market so wandered round there for a while, resisting all temptation.

Dog off the menu

2008-07-11T13:29:00.005+10:00

Check it out! According to the FT, it looks like Ric might have to abandon his quest to find dog meat. Pity.

A few grumbles:

I've just been scrolling through this list of influential female bloggers. Ive clearly got some work to do on mine if I am to get more people to read it. I don't think I'm nearly geeky enough though and what will I write about when this trip is over? I can't waffle on about my OCD for ever.

I am being bitten a lot here in China and for the first time my skin is reacting. I reckon there must be different type of mosquito here. Interesting. No lizards here either, live ones anyway.

A final grumble - I just can't understand why people go on holiday if they can't afford it. I am surrounded by Moaning Minnies here who are talking about their budgets, how expensive their $1 meals are, how they are skipping lunches to save up, how they will miss out on the tours to save dosh and other costs, etc. etc. Go home and get a job for Gods sake and come back when you can afford to enjoy yourself!

OK. I've had enough of the Enya now. Need to slap on some more Tiger Balm .