LOST, and other adventures

Before I get to a personal little rant against the LOST finale, I'll update everyone on a couple of cool things I did this weekend.

First, yesterday I went whitewater rafting. I hadn't done anything of the sort in about ten years, and it was simply a blast! We were in the water for about four hours overall, going through all sorts of waters and rocks and rapids up to class 4. I sat at the front of the boat, and I ended up being the only person on the entire trip (about 30 people from my bus) that fell out. I just slipped out of the boat at one point, got my head sandwiched when another boat came through the rapid, and then just hopped in the boat. It was totally worth it. We got to swim through some light rapids as well, and at the end got to jump into the waters off a rock 40 feet or so above the water.

Second, this morning I went skydiving! I did it last year with Kris in California, and I couldn't wait to do it again (turns out I had to wait just over a year to the day). Back home you can go up to 18,00ft, but down here the highest is 14k. Still had an amazing time. Without doing all the video and pictures and such I was able to have some more free time doing flips and spins and turns and all that crazy stuff while in the air. We skydived (skydove?) right over the ocean and had incredible views of all the small islands off the coast and the surf coming up onto the beach. I even got to control the parachute for a bit. We landed right on the beach, swooping in from above the ocean just 100ft before landing. Can't wait to do it again.

Ok, now for LOST. Warning: if for some reason you still have no seen the finale (despite being able to TiVo it or watch it legally on any one of a gazillion internet sights that I cannot access outside of the states) or do not wish to hear what happened, do not read on.

For those reading on....really? Really lost producers (this would be a Really?! session with Seth and Amy from SNL if it were up to me)? I got hooked onto the show after the end of season two and went back to watch the whole first couple of seasons in about three days. I was excited to see where the plot was going and how it all tied together. The producers claimed the show was about the characters, but everyone figured that they would connect everything back together and describe to us why so many things were important.

Nope, we were wrong. The producers failed, miserably. One of the (few) things that I remember from an english class senior year in high school was to never make your story have a beer truck ended. My teacher, Mr. Lester, explained to us that a friend of his once wrote a story and didn't know how to finish it, so he had all the characters killed by being hit by a beer truck. Never do that he said. So what did LOST do? They had all the characters dead. That was the secret. The entire time they were dead, and this stupid flash sideways crap was their "before heaven meeting place." Pathetic. They didn't answer any of the gazillion questions people had (which is ok in some respect because it is their show so it's their choice), but what bugs me is that for years they made a point of certain plots being essential to the island's and show's role. Then they just go an never get back to a certain issue. They just figured hey, if we don't ever discuss the issue again it'll go away. No LOST producers, it just makes everyone hate your show.

I gave up on this show a couple of years ago because I knew they were always creating to many questions, but I followed along out of curiosity to see where it ended (with Jack lying next to a dog, man's best friend, where his father--his supposed best friend--was in the fake heaven....reallllll clever). I was disappointed beyond belief. Sad, boring, and just bad.

Kroombit and the Whitsunday Islands

Hokay, so while I'm not sitting around and getting fat off of Tim Tams (if you have no idea what I am talking about, you're behind a post so see below), I am still making my way up the cost towards Cairns. Along the way there is a lot of middle-of-nowhere territory, and with such places there is a mandatory stop for people traveling along the Oz Bus at a cattle ranch in Kroombit (where I also saw my first kangaroo on the side on the road, hopping along).

I was particularly excited about this stop because they mentioned you could ride horses. I ride each summer with my family out in Wyoming at Lost Creek Ranch, but with traveling I'll miss that this year for the first time in 12 years. So I jumped on the chance to do it here. You have to fill out a waiver, etc, and I wrote that I was an advanced rider. The female wrangler asked me several questions to confirm this fact (How long have you been riding? Do you own a horse? Do you know what you're doing and how to guide a horse? etc) before giving me a horse named Tramp. Good thing she asked all these questions, because we did nothing more than walking. That was not cool.

What was cool was our task on the horses: rounding up goats. We, as a bunch of goat-rounding newbies, had to drive a couple hundred goats up a hill and then along a fence into the gates. The goats don't respond to the horses, so you have to yell--very loudly--to get them to move. You feel a little ridiculous, but it's fun. After rounding them up we had a goat rodeo. Teams of three: one lassos the goat, another flips it on its side, and then the last person pretends to brand it. I had to lasso the goat (I failed, miserably), so I had to grab the goat by its back leg, then grab the horns, and drag it across the ring. Pretty fun stuff. Then we ate goat for dinner.

Then last weekend I did my sailing trip along the Whitsunday Islands. The Whitsundays are a chain of 74 islands that emerged after the ending of the last ice age with water levels rising 400ft. Captain Cook was the main discoverer of these islands, and we visited Cook Island during our trip.

I was on a boat called Ron of Argyll, and then kept mentioning how Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin had been on it. There were twelve passengers including me and two crew members. We had a nice sail out to the islands (approx three hours), and went to Whitehaven Beach the first day to see it's spectacular white silica sand. The water all around the Whitsundays is just a pure turquoise color. Incredible colors everywhere you looked, and the views of the beach were phenomenal.

Day two involved a lot of snorkeling, which I hadn't done in years. But we saw lots of beautiful fish, including parrot fish, bat fish, and Nemo's cousin (a black clown fish). Day two also gave us one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen. Right over the water, the perfect amount of clouds in the sky, and some of the brightest colors I could have imagined. Check out all these pictures on facebook if you can.

Unfortunately, the last day provided us with zero wind. Like nada. Zip. Nothing. We spent some time on some of the smaller islands, but had to use the motor to get all the way back in. And if you've never been sailing before let me tell you that hearing that motor go for several hours on the way back into the harbour instead of rocking back and forth with the sails flapping is one very disappointing experience. But overall, a pretty fun weekend.

Why I will never lost weight in Australia

So I realized that the blog has become a little too much "I did this, I did that." So I will try and lighten the mood sometimes and post some random things. Also, it's been a while, so there will be a lot of updates coming in the next week. Just think of it as more ways to pass the time at work.

So......ahh, well, right before I left on my journey lots of people were saying that I was going to come back in great shape, be super fit, and just have a good 'ole time. Normally I would agree. On my past few trips to Europe I've lost weight because it seems I've eaten slightly better (maybe not), but mainly because I've been walking around a lot more.

Well that theory seemed true my first week or so here. And then I discovered Tim Tams. Tim Tams are God's latest version of the forbidden fruit, but in cookie form. They are crispy little wafer-like cookies that come in regular chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, mint, and I'm sure other flavors. You can see their packaging here:

http://www.about-australia-shop.com/images/gr200timtams.jpg

I've tried the first four flavors I listed. They come with 11 or 9 in a box, and since I have no one to share them with, I usually eat them all myself in a day or so (read: an hour). They're addictive, and I curse the Irish guy who told me about them. Everything here is also listed in kilojewels, so it took me a while to figure out how bad they are for me (about 95 calories per cookie).

Finally, there is something called the grand slam that I have yet to try. Apparently you're supposed to bite off opposite corners of the cookie, then, while drinking something warm and preferably chocolate, sip up the liquid like the cookie is a straw. Then, sit back, pop the cookie in your mouth, and enjoy it melting in your mouth. Mmmmmm, can't wait.

Fraser Island

G'Day to everyone! Happy Monday. Since I know everyone really enjoys their Monday's at work and never looks to read stuff online to entertain themselves, I thought I'd provide a little reading material for your pleasure.

So this past weekend was my trip to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is one of the two things that every travel agency along the east coasts and anyone you talk to insists is a must-see (with the other being the Whitsundays, my adventure this upcoming weekend). Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island; and being entirely formed by sand the island actually moves about two inches out to sea each year.

I decided to book this trip on my own, which ended up being one of the best decisions I have made in a very long time. About 99.99% of people my age traveling through Australia all do the same (read: cheapest) trip to Fraser--a self-4WD trip over a couple of nights. Such trips consist of 8 people squeezed into the back of an old Toyota 4Runner with someone in the passenger seat and a driver. These drivers usually learn how to drive these cars during a 10 minute orientation the day they leave. While on Fraser you're driving right on the sand by the water, and going up to 50mph.

I thought that all sounded a little crazy, especially after all the disaster stories I heard about (a six deaths in the past year due to accidents on the island; another dozen people left paralyzed; over 150 people helicoptered off the island due to other various injuries). These groups also had to find their own camp ground, cook meals (which anyone knows is always risky coming from college-aged kids), and figure out their own itinerary and where places were).

For only $50 more, I met up with a group who had a tour guide who knew everything about this island, doubled as our experienced driver, and allowed us to stay at their campground that had warm showers, tents set up for us, and all meals prepared. The best part: my guide, a dreadlock-wearing Australian guy, was about the funniest, coolest, most experienced guide I could have imagine. I couldn't have asked for more. Better yet, while half of my group consisted of an older couple from Australia and some people from Germany and Switzerland, the half of the group that traveled in my car consisted of American college students who are studying at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. Two guys from Rutgers, one girl from Penn, Princeton, Brandeis, Conn College...you get the idea, we all got along well.

So day one consisted of taking the ferry onto the island and exploring Lake McKenzie. This lake is made entirely out of rainwater and is as clear as lakes come. It's absolutely beautiful and boasts the whitest sand I have ever seen (also good for exfoliating your skin). After a quick dip we all ventured into the rainforest that provided the picture you see above. After a nice dinner, we all enjoyed huddling around the campfire as the temperatures dipped into the 40s.

Day two was our big day. We started at Eli Creek: a freshwater creek bubbling up from the center of the island that pumps out over 2,000 liters of water an hour that eventually leads to the ocean. Perfectly clear water, and tasty too. We stopped by the Moheno shipwreck, washed up on shore almost 70 years ago after its tug rope broke on its way to Japan. We relaxed in the champagne pools (not actually champagne, wouldn't that be nice) that overlooked the ocean; and then headed to Indian Head, the highest point on the island for spectacular views up and down the beach.

Our final day had only a short trip to another lake (where, eerily, a man had drowned in only 48 hours previously...why do people try to swim when they know they can't?), and then we headed back to Rainbow Beach. The entire island is simply beyond describable at times, so please check out the pictures on facebook to get a glimpse of what I saw. Besides the scenery we spotted tons of wildlife, including 10 dingos! Sadly, I will not be bringing one home.

And that was Fraser Island! This week is a big travel week: came up to Hervery Bay today, off to 1770 tomorrow, Kroombit on Wednesday, and finally Airlie Beach on Thursday where I leave for my Whitsunday sailing adventure. Exciting times, so more updates coming soon!

The Oz Experience Bus Tour

So, it has been a week since I started this bus tour thing, and when it began I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was this bus that was going to take me way up north, but I wasn't sure about all the little things and wasn't sure how it was going to work out. Luckily for me, this experience has been pretty good so far.

For those who have no idea what this thing is (which is probably all of you), it's basically a cheap and easy way to travel all the way up and down the east coast of Australia. You can start in any of the cities they pass through--most people start in Sydney if they are traveling north--and you hop on and hop off the bus as you like. There are about 18 stops all the way up the coast, and once you have paid for the pass there is no limit as to how many stops you want to make. The passes are good for 6 months, so you can take your sweet time if you like.

I started out in Byron Bay last weekend, and ended up staying for an extra night because the bus I wanted to take was full. No worries, I just went online and changed my schedule, just like that. It's really that easy. Better yet, my extra day in Byron Bay let me wander on the beach to a lookout I didn't see the day before and at the top I could see dolphins surfing with the human surfers. Dolphins can definitely do better tricks in the waves.

I then made my way up to Surfers Paradise (actually the name of the city). I'll save everyone a trip there: it is EXACTLY like West Palm Beach. A long stretch of beach, with lots of tall hotels and apartments for old people, and canal ways with tours. I felt like I had gone down to visit my Grandfather in Florida. The one cool part about that city was the Q1 Tower. Erected just five years ago, it's the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere and is the 20th tallest building in the world. 77 stories high to the viewing level. Amazing views.

(Side note: I will post those great photos along with others I have gathered after the weekend. I'll explain below).

Next came Brisbane, the third largest city in all of Australia. I stayed in a great hostel, and there is tons to do in this city. They have a great outdoor mall with tons of places to eat and shop, a giant ferris wheel like the London Eye (which, when I went on, I was the only person in it; seriously, just me for 12 minutes on this giant wheel), and even a Museum of Modern Art that had works by Picasso, Matisse, Rodin, and others. I ate some really good food, got to wander around a lot, and just enjoy the city.

Last night I stopped in a town called Noosa, aka Sunshine Beach, which is basically a small upper class town for older people taking holidays. Nothing too special, but it was worth the trip because there was the most incredible view of the stars and the milky way. Now I'm at Rainbow Beach where tomorrow I will be taking a tour of Fraser Island, the world's biggest sand island. Google it, it's incredible. I'm taking a three day/two night guided camping tour, which should be a blast. Clearly I won't have internet access over the weekend (and the hostel I am in now doesn't have wireless and only crappy, slow PCs), so I will send out another update in a few days and will post some pictures then.

And as a little preview, my plans for the rest of this Oz Experience include making my way up to see the Whitsundays (google them too, more amazing than Fraser Island), whitewater rafting and skydiving in Mission Beach (mom, I promise not to die and I;; call you after to let you know I'm ok), and learning how to scuba dive in Cairns and diving along the Great Barrier Reef...even though my mom said I shouldn't (sorry mom, I promise I'm not out to worry you to death during this trip).

Ok, clearly this update was long enough, but a week has gone by so I wanted to catch everyone up while I had a moment. Again, I'll send out another update when I get back from Fraser and will upload a bunch of pictures then. Have a great weekend everyone!

File this under the "Oops, I probably shouldn't have done that."

So throughout my travels there are bound to be times that I do something maybe a little on the stupid side for the sake of trying it out or possibly being coerced into doing something maybe a little too adventurous. Maybe the risk will pay off, maybe it won't. In any case, I'll file them under "Oops I probably shouldn't have done that" and relay the stories to you all.

First, let me give a quick wrap up of Surf Camp. The last couple of days unfortunately were not at warm as the first couple, but they were still fun. And by cold I mean low 60s, but with the wind and our time in the water it was quite a bit chilly. I was standing up on my board more each session, and on the last morning we woke up at 5:45 to make it out to the beach for a sunrise surf. Amazing experience. The rest of the photos are up on facebook, but here's one photo of me trying to look remotely athletic and surfer-like.

After our last session of surfing we packed up and headed back up to Sydney while stopping for ice cream at a great local place in Gerrigong. Part of the Surf Camp experience is getting some free pizza and beer at a local bar back in Sydney before catching the overnight bus to Byron Bay (can you see where the bad idea part is coming in yet?). So since we had about three hours to do lots of drinking before the bus left, that's what we all did. We ate a little bit of pizza, and all started buying pitchers of beer for each other. There was a great game of "Never have I ever" and at one point one of the girls said let's do Tequila shots. I wasn't THAT stupid, so I stuck with vodka.

What I wasn't expecting was how rough a bus ride it was going to be. It was a Greyhound bus, but it was still pretty rocky. And I was in store for a 12 hour ride. So, lesson learned: ice cream + pizza + lots of beer + shot of vodka + rocky bus ride = a really upset stomach and thoughts of just wanted to chop my head off. Of course, any bus ride that long is never comfortable and at the end you just want to shower. Luckily, that's what I was able to do once I got to the hostel.

Even better, the beach here in Byron Bay is incredibly beautiful. The sky in Australia just seems to go on forever, more so than anywhere else I've ever been. The ocean also seems saltier here, but that's probably just me. All of these amazing views have been pretty inspiring, which helps a lot especially as the first bout of homesickness kicked in the past day or so. The euphoria of being in a new country has worn off after about a week, and the longing for my nice little spot on the couch while watching the NBA playoff sounds very welcoming. But I know things aren't that simple and at the same time I've having an incredible experience down here. The beaches are beautiful, the people are super nice, and it's sunny.

So tomorrow I hop on the Oz Experience bus tour. I begin here in Byron Bay and will be making stops all along the eastern coast heading up to Cairns. I have no set time table and can stay in any location for as long or short as I like. I hop on and hop off as I please. So I should be visiting some interesting and amazing places over the next few weeks along the coast and should have some good stories to share as well. Hopefully it just won't be too soon before having another "oops..." moment.

Sydney, Surfing, and more!

Hello from Down Unda! So a lot has taken place in the past 72 hours, so this post may be a little on the long side.

So I flew in to Singapore first, and was luckily sitting on the side of the plane where we could see the sunrise (the picture here). Amazing. So beautiful. I slept most of the way there to try and get on Sydney time, which kind of worked in the short run. Then it was off to Sydney, which was another nice flight around 8 hours and this time I happened to sit on the side of the plane with the sunset (same plane, same row, just from one window seat to another).

So I landed in Sydney, and here were some of the first things I noticed:

--First thing I saw were McDonalds golden arches.

--The first song I heard was a Coldplay song.

--A saw a sign for curb spelled kerb

It was almost like I hadn't left home, and that Sydney spelled things almost as poorly as I do. Also, when going through customs, the guy in front of me was this scraggly teenage-looking kid, who said he had no idea where he was staying that night when they asked him. They mentioned how in America if you say that you get deported, and then I was right there to say "Go America." They gave this extremely awkward laugh. Welcome to Australia!

So I got to the hotel and crashed, and spent the next day walking around the harbour and enjoying the sunshine. I saw the Opera House, and noticed that it's not really as white as it always seemed to me on tv and movies. It's more of a tan/beige color. But still a remarkable piece of architecture. The rest of the harbour was nice as well, lots of people out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and I just wandered around, getting lost, just seeing if I could eventually make my way back to the hotel.

The next morning, yesterday for me, was the first day of my adventures. Surf school! I got up extra early to make my way to the meeting place to make sure I could find it, and ended up walking too quickly and being 40 minutes early. And then the bus/van came 20 minutes late. So I was super early, but we all piled into the van and headed down the coast for two hours to Gerroa. To show how small a world it really is, the makeup of our group of 8 people (which includes me) is:

--Two guys from Belgium, who didn't know each other before the trip

--Two sisters from the UK

--One guy from Austin, TX (we bonded over how Austin is a liberal paradise amongst a state of dumb hooligans)

--One girl originally from Singapore, grew up in DC and went to Washington International School (WIS) and her brother went to Sidwell friends) and then Duke (but she hated it) so now she lives in Melbourne

--One guy from Luxemberg

--And one of the surfing instructors used to live in Frederick, MD!

Crazy how small a world it really is. Anyway, surf school is amazing. It's in this tiny town where mainly people who have retired have come. We surf twice a day for four days, which is plenty because surfing is so physically demanding. I can already stand up on my board after one day, and we are learning how to turn this afternoon. The food is great, every stereotype you can think of about a surfer seems to be true, and we just relax and chill and watch surinf videos in our free time. Should be a great next couple of days.

Ok, thats the main update. A couple of little things. First, phone stuff. If you happen to text me (for free, on the +44 number) and then I respond, the number it will show up as is a 213 area code. That is my US number. You can respond to that number as well and it should still be free and I will get it.

Also, I've decided that it is easiest for me to just put pictures on facebook instead of trying to do everything through flickr. I think basically everyone has a fb account (except my parents). If you're not friends with me, friend me. I can also email photos to people as well.

Ok, that's all for now. I'll send an update in a couple days when I'm back up the coast. Until then, hang loose!