Australian Recap

Jason and I spent the last 12 days in Australia. It was a nice break from Singapore weather but we are very happy to be home.

Our first stop was Sydney. We stayed on George Street, which were all the action is. I spend a lot of my time walking around, shopping, and taking pictures. We visited the Opera House and ate at several nice restaurants. It rained a lot and the weather was much cooler than we were used to, so it was a nice excuse to shop. In Sydney, I felt like I was in New York. Everyone was dressed up nice and in black and there was a certain hustle and bustle in the air.

Our next stop was in Adelaide. It rained a lot while we were here too. I found a nice shopping area where I spent hours and got my nails done. This is also were I found my first Australian Gaming Room. I played the slot machines and only came out losing $5. Not too shabby. Probably would have been a lot more if Jason didn't step in. LOL!

Next, we went to Geelong. We stayed at a nice hotel right next to Werribee Open Range Zoo. That was literally the only thing to do since we were in a remote location. I went to the zoo but you probably already saw that post. It was a lot of fun, but I was very happy to move on to Melbourne.

Melbourne was our last stop. I might have to say that people-wise, Melbourne was my favorite. Jason, Mike and I went to dinner at Sammy's Italian Trattoria. We made friend's with Sammy, the owner, and had some wonderful Italian cuisine. After Sammy's, we made friends at a stop light when we forgot to push the button to stop traffic so we could walk across the street. An hour or so later we ended up at the same bar as our stop light friends. Kathryn (stop light girl) and I became instant friends and danced the night away to 80's music (it was 80's night). While in Melbourne, I also saw two movies and we went Rockstar Bowling. This was also were our water fight occurred.

All in all, we had a blast in Australia. Although it rained a lot, we had a fabulous time. I hope to go sometime during their summer because I hear the beaches are phenomenal. I can't wait!

P.S. Here's some Aussie slang I learned on my trip:
1. A ranger is another name for a ginger or a redhead
2. If you want to bum a cigarette, you ask to scab a cigarette
3. When in the bathroom, people ask if you are in queue, not in line
4. If you are pissed, that means you are drunk, not angry
5. Chips always mean french fries
6. A jumper is a sweater
7. You right? is asking if everything is ok
8. No worries means no problem

Water fight!

Jason and I got into a huge water fight yesterday morning (our last day in Australia). I was sipping on my water when he decided to take the bottle out of my hand and dump it on my head when I was sitting in bed, watching TV. I immediately retaliated and refilled the bottle and poured it all over him, and the hotel room in the process. I think I lost- oh well. Gotta love rainy days stuck in the hotel. ;)

Werribee Open Range Zoo

We are in AUSTRALIA! We've been here for several days now and it is winter here, yuck! We went from 110 degrees in Singapore to rainy 55 degree weather here. At least I had a nice excuse to go shopping! ;)

Yesterday, I went to the zoo by our hotel. I took 385 pictures... oops! Although I went by myself, I had a ton of fun. The zoo is an open range zoo, which means that all of the animals run around in one big cage. Part of the zoo you take a jeep and go on a safari type ride to see the zebras, giraffes, rhinos and such. The other part of the zoo you can walk through and animals run around right by you. I got chased by an Emu. Go figure! I was the only person in the walking area of the zoo. I didn't have a phone and was praying I wouldn't get eaten, as no one would have known. In case you were wondering, I made it out alive! Pheewwww

My Dad's favorite animal in the whole wide world is the rhinoceros. I took a bunch of pics for you Dad! I'm obviously not going to post all 385 pics that I took, but here are some of my faves! Enjoy!





Here's the Emu that chased me (after he finally turned away!):






















I think he's telling me to kiss it ;)



Our hotel:



View on my walk back to the hotel after leaving the zoo:

Fire!

Last night, as I was dreaming peacefully in our hotel in Sydney, Australia, the fire alarm went off. It happened at around 5am. It took me a minute to figure out what was happening. Jason asked me to turn on the lights, since the switch was by me. Half asleep, I tripped over my luggage, stumbled into the window, and attempted to open the curtains. Even if I did open them, it was still dark out so I am not sure what I was thinking. Anyway, Jason turned the lights on and we rushed to get dressed and to put our shoes on. When I finally figured out what was going on, I was pissed. We walked out of our room and saw some firemen walking in the halls, checking things out, while other hotel guests were hanging out in the hallway. After waiting about 20 minutes, an anouncement finally told us that it was a false alarm. Deep down, I did not really wish for a fire but I was even more upset because some fool pulled the alarm and disturbed my slumber. It took me forever to fall back asleep and by the time I did, I practically had to wake right back up. It's always something, isn't it?

Attack of the Monkeys

Preface: Jason and I went to Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace in Thailand. Outside of the palace, there is the following warning:



Note #3: Do not tease or provoke the monkeys. They may attack you.

When we first arrived, I took a picture of this warning because I thought it was funny. Cute little monkeys attack sweet little me? Not gonna happen.

As we were walking around, we noticed that monkeys were everywhere. I got very excited because they "were" my favorite animal. Jason was taking a million pictures and I was watching the baby monkeys run around and play. I didn't think I was too close but apparently mama monkey did and she sprinted towards me, showing her teeth. And boy what big, sharp teeth they have! I started to run away, screaming (nearly in tears) because this monkey was trying to attack me. When I though I got far enough away, another money popped out at me and showed it's teeth too. And so it went. I think it was my shiny purse or something but these monkeys did not like me. Just me. They didn't bother Jason or anyone else. Just me. As I was running from the first monkey, a police officer saw me in near hysterics, running for my life, and took his sling shot and started shooting at the monkey, making it leave me alone. He was my good Samaritan of the day and I think he saved my life. Needless to say, I am now deathly afraid of stupid monkeys and they are no longer one of my favorite animals.

Here is a picture of the culprit. Notice the death stare.

This Is Not Normal

What is that you ask? That, my dear, is not a normal toilet. I nearly cried when I went to the restroom, already having held it as long as I could. Me? Squat? No sir! To the left, you will notice that there is no TP. That is problem numero uno. Then you see a water nozzle, a basin, and a bucket. In order to clean out the toilet, you fill up the bucket and pour water into the toilet until the dirty water weighs down the stopper and the water washes away. That, my friend, is how you flush the toilet. As I mentioned, there is no TP, so you can imagine how gross it was. As I walked out of the stall, I thought it was over. Nope. I tried to wash my hands and of course there is no soap. From now on, I will be carrying tissues and hand sanitizer. Dear America, I miss your simplicities like your toilets. Love, LC

Water Market

This past weekend, Jason and I were in Thailand and went to the Water Market. It was one of the most interesting experiences we've had while we've been overseas.






When we arrived, we got onto a little motor boat. We decided to pay a little extra, which was the right decision since the boat came with a roof for shade. Boy was it HOTTT out! The other boats are row boats usually rowed by little Thai ladies and they have no cover for its passengers.





The boat took us around the canals where the shops were, dropped us off at a market off the canal, and dropped us off at a Buddhist temple so we could take some pictures.





The shops on the sides of the canals had all sorts of things to sell. They had everything from dresses, photo albums, and necklaces to fruit, handbags, and wind chimes.






At the Buddhist temple, we were given tiny gold sheets of paper that we were to place on the Buddha statue in the back of the temple. We also bought bracelets that were made by a famous monk and that meant goodluck.





On some of the canals are homes that some Thai people live in. They are tiny houses with only one room that several people live in. They did not seem to have running water (since we saw a man bathing in the canal with soap) and definitely no air conditioning. The people do not have much money at all. It was a very humbling experience to see them work so hard for such little money. But, they were the happiest people. It really showed me that money can not buy happiness and to be thankful for what I have.







Overall, we have a wonderful time experiencing the Thai culture. If any of you have a chance to go to Thailand, I definitely recommend making a trip to the Water Market.