Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Last bit of a day in Aussie land. Last days always suck, but are inevitable. My hotel was kinda different. The Waldorf Apartments....a bit dated but comfy complete with washer and dryer...and detergent. So....I washed me stuff the night before as it was getting pretty lively. All I had to do now was get ready for me flight. Slept great...again and the shower had tonnes of water pressure....felt like Kramer in there (shower episode...Seinfeld funnnyyyyy one) . Worked some kinks out I think in the process.
Either way I was up and hosed off and packed and had some time....so went out in search of a cafe. Didn't tale long and found a bakery and was sipping a latte outside. Caught a great sun rise in the process. Kim, the gal at the hotel was awesome an she booked me a ride to the airport on the shuttle....much cheaper option than a taxi...and no where near the pain level of a bus I am sure. So I ended back at the lobby killing some time and chatting with my new friend. She was filling me in on some of the things that the cockatoos did around the area. Pretty funny....as a tourist that is. So in not time the bus was there, it was a mini van bus...with a trailer attached. The driver was from China .. I think.
Either way....I paid him...hopped in the front seat as the bus was full and for the next 30 minutes was subjected to some form of brutal body abusing massage. I am unsure how the driver was not able to determine that the gas pedal was not an on and off device but more like...a gas pedal. My head was banging against the head rest so hard I think I got double vision for a bit and the rest of me was bouncing and I was kinda wondering how the hell no one could be screaming in the back...I am certain the trailer got air over bump we flew over.
Now I will credit him with avoiding collisions and was quite impressed at his total disregard of other vehicles on the road....as I was sitting on the left side in the front....I could not for the life of me figure out which foot I was to stomp into the imaginary brake pedal I wish I had...so I think both my feet were slamming into the floorboards in some form of placebo act to at least let me think I had some control over my fate.
As my head was bouncing I did manage to look behind and saw that everyone came from probably the same country as the driver....I think I saw fear in one of the girls eyes....but they were all silent...there heads bouncing in unison... either way all I could do was bite my lip and pump my feet. Finally after cutting off the last taxi possible as no other vehicles were now in front of us we caught some more air of the speed bumps in the departure lane and came to an ABS brake testing halt. I was surprised the trailer was still there after I managed to untangle myself from the seat belt and fall out. The driver just looked over at me and gave a toothy grin and was quite proud to proclaim in his broken English how quick of a trip it seemed. No one complained...so it must be okay....
The bags survived and off I went to check in and find the lounge. Got to customs and asked where they film the show (they got a customs show too) and it was downstairs...so was a bit disappointed. I got a speed pass to go through customs and my line consisted of one lady....who walked a bit slow. The line I was avoiding looked like it had a few hundred in it...so I was okay with the slow walk. After weaving my way through the duty free stores....lots of em...I finally couldn't resist getting a bottle Bundaberg Rum. It's the rum down here. I was able to find the lounge in no time. AC doesn't have one here so they use Singapore airlines.lounge...nice. Had a great breaky cooked up...eggs n bacon n beans n mushrooms....so english. So I managed to kill the time I had left to chillax in the lounge and pontificate about the great lil trip I had.
Things I learned whilst here:
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawkes set a world record for downing 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds...obviously a laid back country.
There are more sheep here than people...something like 75 million of em.. and I believe it I saw a lot of em
There are more Kangaroos than people too
They got the longest fence in the world...over 5500 km long, keeps the dingos out ...or is suppose to anyways.
Its the only continent that is a country too
Saudia Arabia import camels from Australia....yup...they got millions of em here...not seen one though
They love apple cider here...and now I do too
The people are great...a lot like us in canuckville..but they do talk funny.
Everyone seems to know right away you are Canadian...soon as you say one word. They are very careful to not call you an American...they said its akin to calling them a Kiwi.
Kangaroos are cool....
Bats are freaky and I do not wish to encounter them at night.
Under no circumstances are yo to ride your bike at night here...and I believe it.
Its a huge nanny state...a lot of laws to protect us from ourselves apparently. So bad that I read in a magazine how one motorcycle cop gave another motorcycle cop a ticket for having a tinted visor the other cop responded by giving the first a ticket for something silly too.
Tons of beaches...someone told me it would take 27 years to visit a beach a day here.
Amazing what you can learn in pubs. The flight was called and off I went. They brought out the champagne whilst I was settling into me pod for the flight. In no time we were pushed back and racing down the runway and in no time...Sydney was no longer visible from my window. Looked at the map and it was a lot of water to cover. When looking across the cabin at a 777 I am so amazed at what goes into the dang thing. while standing in the aisle for a bit I looked all the way to the back and its a long ways back there and its super wide...and now it will carry the lot of us just under 8000 miles on a tank of gas at 40,000 feet at over 550 mph....where the outside temperature is about -47c. All whilst I chomped on lambchops watching a documentary on fish and charging me phone. Stunning.
I managed to occupy myself mostly by consuming vast quantities of champagne....started with it as the stewardess convinced me to keep on with a good thing so I did. Then they broke out the Port....hic. They even redeemed themselves as the lamb chops were super tender so not like the last one I had.
The crossing actually went fast and I stayed awake the whole time. Departing at 11;30 am on Tuesday....I arrived in Vancouver at 7:30am...the same day.....whoooooooo crazyyyyy.back to the future...... Was a bit knackered but capable of thought and without getting into too much detail...I needed to change me flights bad. I was going to toronto and then back home getting in at midnight which made no sense....So I went about to make the change and it was a tough one...ended up out of the secure area and at one point was uncertain I could even get back on my original flight through security as I had a ticket issued from Sydney to Toronto..not vancouver to Toronto. A counter gal finally gave me pity and with a lot of clickety clacks of the keyboard...miraculously what was thought to not be possible...became possible and I had in me hand a biz class seat for 10 am to edmonton. I came to the back of the counter and gave her a biggggggg hug. Was a bit worried about security but thought she deserved it.
Had about 15 minutes to get to me gate and wasted no time in doing it. the flight back was so quick it was great. Then I saw the snow....bit of a sigh. Hard to believe where I was only a while ago. Was quick to get off the plane...and me bags were the first off the carousel...just like Vancouver amazing. Soon I was in a taxi heading home.....
Twas a great trip. Biking on these lil adventures is an awesome way to experience a place and Australia has so bloody much to experience. Cities with vibe, lonely cliff tops with solitude, ocean beaches that you can stare at for hours, outback areas where there is no one...for miles...... , mountain vistas that make you go wow, and twisty roads to match. I only got to see a pinch of it I suspect so I may need to return.....again I hope me drivel kept you entertained and good on ya for sticking it out.
Till next time, Cheers Mate!
.
- comments