Worst idea ever...

Safely arrived in Bali now after a fun few days in Sydney (including partying with Miss Universe, seeing the inside of the Opera House and walking the Harbour bridge). Getting here was not quite so much fun!

My flight to Bali was at 6 in the morning which was too early for both the trains and the shuttle buses. The only way to get there was via Taxi (would have cost about 25 quid) for which i would have had to get up at 3.30, so i decided to get the last train instead. My theory was to arrive at the airport (12ish) get a few hours sleep, and wake up plenty of time for the flight. Well, didn't exactly go according to plan. I got off at the Domestic terminal walked to the end of the corridor and both domestic terminals were shut. No problem, i thought, i'll just stay in the corridor until they open at 4. Not so, the cleaner informed me that the whole domestic area shuts at night and that i had to walk to the international terminal. Turns out that the International terminal is on the other side of the compound and the only way to get there is by taxi (not so easy when there are no taxis to be found given its now about 1am).

I ended up having to walk for about 45mins (with 20kg rucksack) to the other terminal to find it...closed. The only place that was open was about 20m x 20m seating area (all seats taken) and i ended up having to sleep the 4 hrs (not very comfortably) on the floor. Wake i awoke at 4, I found about 100 taxis, and about no taxi drivers. Finally found one to drive me the ten minutes over to domestic before finally boarding my flight. All well in the end, but i shall have to rethink my traveling strategy in future!

Nation of Convicts

As you are aware, Australia's origins are that of a penal colony. Well, 100 odd years later, not much has changed. Their national airline charged me an amazing 120 quid to change a flight that i had already paid for. This is despite STA assuring me that date changes could be made FOR FREE and that JetStar had availabilty out of Sydney on the 23rd March. Apparently with my class of ticket the next available flight out of Australia would have been 26th May and there is no way to upgrade the ticket i have.

I figured that staying an extra 7 days in Australia would have cost me more than that and Bali will be far cheaper so i'm not losing out too much. Has cut a substantial chunk out of the beer fund though!

We are Sailing, We are Sailing....(well sort of)

Just arrived back in Airlie after 3 days on the open sea. Was absolutely amazing, we had pretty much perfect weather so could see all the different colours of the sea, loads of stuff under the sea, a great view of the stars and some perfect beaches.

Our boat was the 'Derwent Hunter' - the last Australian sailing ship built for commercial reasons ( http://www.tallshipadventures.com.au/derwent_hunter.htm ). Was absolutely boiling below deck so i slept above both nights. I also got the chance to try my hand at putting the sails up, cricket on the beach and a fair bit of snorkelling. Could easily have stayed out for a couple more days on board and its definetely given me a taste for it (will have to investigate the possibilty of some boating of the canal back in leeds!).

Next stop Fraser Island, home of the killer Dingoes - hope i make it out safe!

Under the Sea, Under the Sea

Been in Australia for 4 days now, i'd i've left my delightful dorm rooms only twice in that time. I've been pretty fluey these past few days, and spent most of my time in bed accompanied by my ever faithful hooded top. I did decide to venture out in order to have a butchers at the Great Barrier Reef.

I did one scuba dive (think i would have done 2 but the congested sinuses were proving a bit of a problem) and did 2 bits of snorkelling. The Scuba is actually much more difficult than it sounds - the main instruction is just remember DON'T STOP BREATHING - which sounds pretty simple, but as soon as you but your head underwater, the natural instinct is so stop breathing and pull you head out of there. I was managing it pretty well in the end, although it really messes with the ears, and think i may try it again when i get to Thailand.

Half way there...

Well, the second of March respresented the halfway stage of my little adventure. I've got to be back in Blighty, working for the man, by 13th August and i reckon i'll need a good month or so to recover. Reckon by early/mid July i'll be ready for coming back, and i've already made a mini list of what a want to do when i get back:

* The Inn at WhiteWell
* Pint down the King William IV Public House
* Sol in the garden
* Confit de Canard
* 'The Office'
* 4 weeks solid of Football Manager


I can't figure out why no-one has come up with the idea of installing it onto all the internet cafes out here - if ever there were a market for it, it would be here in Australia. Oh well, the 8 month wait before i get to play it will make it all the sweeter when i finally do!