They charge for WHAT!?

So someone asked me yesterday if I missed home.  I said not really…but let me clarify.  I do miss my friends and family but I don’t really miss the place.  Yes I love the familiarity and the food, but there’s so much more to experience that’s new and exciting.  But the one thing I did mention was the PRICES!!!  Boy do I miss prices!!  My jaw drops every single time I go out and have to pay for a drink, meal, or even a soda at a neighbourhood 7-Eleven.  It is one thing to pay for an overpriced meal because lets face it, Australia is on the other side of the world and importing goods is just plain expensive and full of tacked on taxes, but it’s another thing to have to pay for condiments.  Say WHAT!?  Yes!!  It’s one of the first things I noticed here when I arrived and tried to get lunch…besides the gorgeous country of course.  I was buying fish and chips, but saw a price sign for tartar sauce and ketchup!?  I can only imagine what this would do to the American people and balance of order if we started charging for ketchup, mayo, or any other condiment we get for free at the fast food restaurants that seem to overtake our daily consumption of calories.  And I know even though you’re a health freak you can’t resist the powerful cravings to have that double bacon cheese burger from Wendy’s or Mickey D’s or if you’re on the West Coast its at an In and Out Burger or Carl’s Jr.  Before you even take a bite out of the burger, most of us add a little extra ketchup and perhaps mayo.  Then you’ve got fries or chicken nuggets to consider…ketchup, BBQ sauce, or the delicious Chick-fil-a Sauce.  Or if you’re not a fan of fast food, but LOVE sushi…what about the soy sauce and the wasabi.  Can you imagine if American’s were charged $.50 or as high as $2.00 for a small container of ketchup or pack of sauce!?   We grab these by the handful without even considering how much they cost.  They’re simply free and take how ever much we want.  I think if the fast food chains of America started charging, 1. The people would either flip out or 2. They would out right stop consuming the condiments. Wonder what our bellies would look like after that trend, eh?  All I know is that my tummy and wallet thanks me for not dishing out the $2 for a bit of ketchup.

Lose Your Inhibition

           It's been a crazy few days perhaps even weeks.  I just moved into a new place and no internet is provided so this is late as usual.  But the other week I went to the evening Victoria Market that happens every Wednesday.  During the day it's just a normal food market filled with the freshest produce this area has to offer, but by night the locals swarm to this market buzzing to check out the live music and the numerous food stands that serve tasty treats throughout the night.  The first time I went I had the opportunity to taste croc, emu and roo and I'll never forget how surprised I was at how tasty those were despite one's first impression.  I also can't forget the cool little craft stands that surround the large market.  From the handmade jewelry, sunny's, eclectic collection of clothing and fudge slices that are just to die for...you could not ask for a more energetic and entertaining evening with your mates. The best part...entrance and entertainment is all FREE!

              As my friend Elaine and I made our way through the hectic crowds, grabbing delicious wraps and a large cup of fresh crisp sangria, we arrived at one of the stages and watched little kids breaking it down.  And if you didn't catch the lingo, "breaking it down" basically means they were on the dance floor and busting the best moves they could.  They were giving the audience quite a laugh with their moves.  The crowd rooted them on and went wild as each of the kids tried to top each other to get approval from the crowd.  You'd think these kids would be older but many were very much under the age of 10.  Some were probably as young as 3 or 4.  An older man in his 60's or 70's even joined them to bust out his own moves.  This moment was priceless!

              I would have to give them mad respect for their confidence to do what they did in front of that many people.  It reminded me of how great it was to be a kid.  To lose all inhibition of your surroundings and just let loose!  I think a lot of people need to let loose more often.  We get so caught up in our work and drama that we forget to have fun sometimes.  You become overwhelmed with this feeling of freedom and peace when you let loose.  And if you think about it...how many of these random people in the crowd (market, bar, or concert) will you run into again!?  Not likely.  So I say kick off your shoes and let the kid inside of you take over...even if it's just for a moment.

Video coming soon :)
 

Highlight of the day

Apparently I can't keep up with this blog because it's just too much effort to catch up on everything I've been doing these past few months.  I've traveled up and down the coast of Australia as well as part of the west coast.  I've even traveled to New Zealand.  That's a lot of stories, experiences, etc.  I find it easier to post how I'm feeling on Facebook than a blog.  So instead of trying to catch up with the stories and adventures I've had, perhaps I shall try to update every few days with a quick highlight of my day.  It's quick, easy and will probably suite my lifestyle since I work 8+ hours everyday.  I'll also try to post a photo with the daily happenings.  Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow's happenings :)

P.S. Much love and blessings to all of you that have been following me along the way. I appreciate all the prayers, love and support.

Gold Coast Pt. 2 - Rain and No Internet

Day 15, MON AUG 23 - The second day in Surfer's Paradise was not any better because as usual, I brought the rain with me :(  I didn't see much to do in the town besides going to a casino, strip club, bowling, the beach or shopping...none of which appealed to me whatsoever.  I thought I'd catch up on the blog and perhaps edit some photos and post them on the web.  But strike 2...the Inn's internet was not working!  I was so tired of trying to get internet and pay a ridiculous amount for it and decided I would go into the city once the rain died down to see if I couldn't find a cheap pre-paid wireless internet card.  My roommates, Vincent from Denmark and Nikki from Germany, joined me too as they were going to town to use a cheap internet cafe.  After going into several shops, I quickly found out that wireless internet cards were  $50+ dollars for 2GB worth of internet.  Insane!  I missed the free fast wireless internet that was offered in the many of the cafes back in the US...something I will no longer take for granted.  After hassling with the research of wireless internet, I couldn't be bothered with paying that much money so I met up with the new roommates, stopped by the grocery store for lunch and headed back to Sleeper's Inn.  On the menu was a cheap frozen Hawaiian Pizza and Aussie's version of Ramen noodles.  Strike 3...the pizza was terrible and the back up plan of Ramen noodles wasn't great either.   Oh the joy of being a broke back packer...hahaha.  All three of us ended up watching movies on Vincent's laptop for the rest of this grim and grey day.  As the day ended, I was ready for a change.  Tomorrow, I was heading to Byron Bay to meet up with Katerina :)

Gold Coast

DAY 14, SUN AUG 22 – After having seen enough of Brisvegas, I decided it was time to see what the Gold Coast was all about.  I was in search for waves of course.  Put a surfer out of the water for a week and we start to get withdrawals.  I was certain I’d find some waves in Surfers Paradise and booked my chartered bus ride yesterday afternoon. But later that evening before departing on a 2-hour bus ride, a recent visitor named Kate informed me the city’s name is very misleading.  I had already booked my bus and hostel so I thought I’d find out for myself. 

Buut…she was right.  It was far from paradise.  As the bus began to enter the surfer town, it instantly reminded me of the break back home, Virginia Beach, but smaller and dirtier.  It had tall hotel buildings, blocks of bars and restaurants along the coast, and people walking around in colorful bikinis and board shorts.  It was a clear and warm day at the beach and despite the city’s appearance, I was ready to soak in the sun in my bikini.

 The only cool thing in Surfer's Paradise

 Welcome to Surfer's Paradise Marquee

I quickly checked into this typical beach hostel named the Sleeper's Inn which reminded me of the Melrose Place, though not as fabulous.  There was a small swimming pool located near the entrance and the building structure surrounded it.  Luckily my room was around the corner, on the first floor and had it’s own little kitchen.  My bunk bed was located in a private room with 2 bunks.  The others had to sleep in the hallway towards the kitchen and bathroom.  I can’t imagine that anyone could sleep that well in such a high traffic area, but then again most people can sleep through a hurricane and not budge.  But regardless of my surroundings, I dropped my bags, changed into my shorts and bikini, said hello to the British girls staying in the room and started to make my way towards the beach. 

Katerina decided to join me for the afternoon to have our usual Sunday sesh before she had to see her friend’s performance later that evening.  Luckily our different chartered buses arrived closely at the same time so we could enjoy the sun together.  The winter sun in Australia quickly runs out of steam as soon as 3 or 4 o’clock hits, so it was a limited beach day as Katerina and I both arrived around 1pm.  We met half way and made a pit stop at McDonald’s because I was craving an M&M McFlurry.  I took the first bite of that delicious treat and instantly felt I was in a familiar place; home…on the corner of 21^st Street and Pacific Avenue.  There were many people on the beach, many of which were backpackers.  I knew instantly because a large group was squatted on the sands with their bulky backpacks.  It was as if bums were living on the beach…hmmm sounds familiar.  Brazilians were playing sand soccer, girls in the tiniest bikini’s, a few people playing catch, and even fewer surfers in the water.  It was chilly with the Arctic wind blowing from the coast and waves were small and choppy.  I was definitely in Virginia Beach.

After soaking in the UV rays, Katerina and I made our way back to my hostel to change for evening festivities.  Before leaving we asked the reception desk to see which restaurant was best for dinner and a good place to go for Sunday Sesh.  We walked towards Billy’s Beach Bar and Grill as suggested to us, but decided it was too early to go there.  We ended up at an Irish pub, similar to the one back in Sydney and repeated the Sunday Sesh tradition.  We ordered a pint of beer, our meals, and paid for it at the bar.  I find it quite convenient that most places in Australia requires you to order and pay first so you don't have to deal with waiting for the bill to come.  Tips or Gifts and Services Tax (GST) is always included so you don't have to calculate a tip either.  Although convenient, customer service is limited to say the least.  Katerina enjoyed a large meal of fish and chips as I decided on a burger.  I’ve had many burgers, but this one takes the cake on the largest or at least the tallest stacked one I’d ever come across.  I stared at it for a moment and debated whether I could even fit the thing in my tiny little mouth.  I even took a picture just to prove how big this sucker was.  (SN: and no…that’s not what she said!) But I was hungry and thought why not, doesn’t hurt to try right?  I cut it in half first thinking it'd be more manageable but it really wasn't.  I could barely take my first bite.  As soon as the tiny bite hit my mouth, a rush of rich flavor filled my mouth…it was so delicious.  Enjoying our meal, an older man began to set up on the stage beside us and began to play cover songs with his guitar while the melody of the song played low in the background.  His first song was Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” and I knew then it was going to be a good night.

 Sunset view of the beach from the Pub

 BIG BURGER!!

We left after devouring our meals and walked over to give the Billy’s Beach Bar a try.  It was still early as only a handful of people were in the bar, but we went in anyway before Katerina had to catch the last bus back to Brisvegas.  We sat outside near a heat lamp and ordered drinks by the pool.  This was the life, I could only imagine what this place looked like in the summer as the pool was heated and a large truss system hovered the empty pool.  As we finished our round of drinks, a few Irish men decided to come talk to us.  We quickly got bored with their conversations and hoped they’d leave us alone, but one was persistent even though his friends had left him stranded.  We were too nice to say no and although Katerina was hinting at leaving, I failed to read between the lines.  That was a big mistake! This one began to tell us his life story and how he gambled for a living.  Even worse Katerina had to suddenly leave, as she had to catch the last bus.  I thought oh no…do not leave me with this guy!!!  Luckily, I got rid of him quickly and safely made my way back to the hostel.  Other hostel guests were headed back to this same bar later in the evening around 10pm, but I was not sticking around for the late night crowd.  After the creepo, all I wanted to do was call it a night.  As the other travelers in my room headed out to the bar, all I heard was silence and went to bed peacefully.  Tomorrow would be another day in Surfer’s Dump.

Slow Down

Hello to my fellow followers.  I apologize again for the lengthy break in between these blogs.  I find that blogging is more difficult than I imagined.  I've been traveling so much I've barely had time to take a breather.  But finally things are slowing down.  I have yet to tell you about the rest of my adventures in OZ and my recent trip to New Zealand.  Besides having limited access to internet, the number of pictures to filter through is just an undertaking I haven't had the urge to tackle.  Now that I have 3 days off of work and the Thanksgiving/Christmas season coming I'm sure I'll be able to fit in a few sessions of quiet time to sit down and write about my adventures.  Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog by the end of the week :)

Love and Blessings to you all!

P.S. Here's a peek of one of the places I stayed at in Surfer's Paradise.  Hilarious advertisement if you ask me.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

DAY 13, SAT AUG 21 – No not really lions, tigers and bears, but sounds exciting right?  Exploring and taking in the nightlife, culture, and city got old fast so today I thought it was time to really see what Australia has to offer…their magnificent wild life!  In the afternoon I headed for Lone Pine…The worlds first and largest Koala Sanctuary. I was excited to see these cute little creatures.  I read in the brochure that there were other wildlife to see like kangaroos (aka joeys), emus, wombats, birds, dingoes, and gators.  It was going to be an action packed day. 

The bus ride took about half an hour or so but after this visit it was well worth it.  I quickly made my way to the entrance to get a closer look at the koalas and hopefully get to hold them.  Sadly I missed the koala talk, BUT not the feeding time.  Rangers were placing fresh eucalyptus branches for the koalas to eat.  Boy, did they get excited.  They climbed and hopped around, quickly making their way to the nearest branch.  While I took photographs as they ate, some of them winked at me a few times.  SO cute!  If they could talk, I imagined they were saying…oh yea that’s the stuff.  And after eating said…that hit the spot.   And although they probably winked because they were finally relieved to eat, I’d still like to think they were winking at me and saying hello.  I walked over to see if I could hold one, but when I read a sign it cost $39 to hold one and take a picture, plus the cost of a photo package.  I later found out that it only cost $15 to hold one and take the picture.  So sad I missed this experience.  But no worries, I won’t leave this country until I get to hold one!  Also I find it interesting to know that eating the eucalyptus leaves places the koalas in a sedated state…equivalent to being high on marijuana I suppose.  Funny association, but that’s what someone told me.  The leaves are the only things the koalas can eat because their bodies require the nutrients available only from the eucalyptus plant.  Despite this fact, I thought that this is the life…eat, sleep, and be merry.  No stress, work, or drama.  Oh wait…that’s what I’m doing J I know it won’t last too much longer but I’m going to make the most of it for as long as I can. 

After taking a lot of pictures, I walked over to the kangaroo area.  I walked around observing them in their own element and soon found out that you can feed them.  Oh lord…now this is going to be a real treat!  Not only do I get to see them up close, I can actually come up to pet and feed them.  I was SOO stoked but nervous too.  I heard that joeys kick and that’s a little intimidating because they have really strong legs.  But as I slowly came up to them they were nice enough to let me pet them, but some also ran off.  Hahaha. BUT a few were hungry enough to eat straight from the palm of my hand.  They’re tongues were a bit slimy but didn’t leave too much of their slobber behind. Lol.  I couldn’t believe I was in Australia feeding these joeys! 

Besides all the roos there were Emus too.  But before I began to feed them, a small boy warned me that they would knock the bag from my hand so hold on tight or hide the bag.  I didn’t believe it, but they were aggressive and were not scared or shameful of coming up and pecking at my hand.  Although it was fun to feed them, their swift pecks began to hurt my hand.  I quickly ran away from them before they could eat all my feed or my hand for that matter.  I made my way to the other side of the park to feed the rest to the red joeys.  There were so many hopping up to me and were more willing to eat the feed because they hadn’t eaten yet.  SO fun!

Once all the feed was gone I walked over to the parakeet park.  There were certainly A LOT of them.  They were going nuts during the feeding time, chirping loudly and flying swiftly past me in the air.  Many guests were holding the feeding wands while the birds landed on their shoulders and on the wand.  It was a bit scary for me, as I’ve been attacked by a bird before.  But I braved my fear and came very close to the feeding area to take photos of their colorful feathers. I tried to get up the nerve to hold one of the wands but they made me too nervous, even though I knew they wouldn’t attack me.

Next, I visited the other areas of the park where more birds were located (thankfully in cages though ironically I don’t like animals in cages.  But like I mentioned I’m a bit scared of birds flying over my head), a gator, huge lizards, farm animals and the Tasmanian devil.  The Tasmanian devil definitely didn’t look like TAZ the cartoon character, but still great to see one in person.  Lastly, I was completely surprised when I saw a sign for a platypus tank.  I never thought I’d actually see this creature in person, much less all the other ones I did get to see.  It was really cool to see the platypus swim in the murky looking water.  I definitely felt blessed to be in the presence of such beautiful and unique wildlife.  It’ll be an experience I’ll always remember.