AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE (7/29)
Trip Start
Unknown
1
8
Trip End
Ongoing
Los Angeles,
California,
United States
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Before providing a good summary about Australia, let me describe the last 24 hours.
Departure from Alice Springs to Cairns was fine. At the Cairns’ hotel, I roomed with the same guy I described a few days ago, which was a happy coincidence. I actually slept for 5 hours, awoke at 3am for my 530am flight to Brisbane (I was literally 1st person through security . . . and I was checked for bombs).
In the past hour, I got off my Brisbane to LA flight. Thankfully, the IFE worked the whole time, and I watched 2.5 movies and whole bunch of TV shows (of special note, I watched all of the 20 minute travel videos that Qantas shoots for major Aussie destinations). Besides that, I did good on this flight and am not as tired as when I went west. There seemed to be a huge line at LAX customs, but it wasn’t an issue.
For my “grand summary,” I will describe these aspects of my trip:
- Air travel
- Contiki (and its hotels)
- Sydney
- Whitsundays
- Cairns
- Alice Springs
- Money
Besides the last topic, everything else worked out quite well. I’m going to walk around for a bit before my summary.
LAX, 7/29, 10am
Now to resume my last entry and discuss the key parts of my trip:
1) Air travel – all I can say is “wow!” I will have flown 9 flights in 17 days. Airports I’ve been at include Miami, LA, Auckland, Sydney, Hamilton Island, Cairns, Alice Springs, and Brisbane. I just calculated that from start to finish, I’d have been in the air for 48 hours on this great adventure. Not including this upcoming flight, it has been fine either at the airport or in the air (except for no IFE on LAX-AKL). I don’t know where I got it from, but I enjoy flying and travelling by air, land, or sea. Being more specific, Qantas gave us meals even on the small 2 hour flights, which I don’t think happens in USA anymore. Ok, that is enough about the fun of air travel – I probably wasted some space, but obviously it was a key component of my trip.
2) I’m going to combine Contiki and money into one topic. Obviously, this trip was expensive. It’s great that Contiki helps provide good lodgings and meeting with a diverse group. However, it’s like I spent $100 a day on touring without accounting for food, souveniers, and the other stuff. Very thankfully, I have cash reserves in the bank, but I took a bigger chunk than desired. The great Contiki tour wasn’t expensive by itself, but other factors cost me a couple thousand dollars. Well, I guess you only live one, enjoy life while you can, and be grateful for what your have (any other clichés?). I still had the time of my life, but money became a more vital concern (why buy that extra coke – example) after extending my trip.
3) Sydney – it seems like ages ago, but I love visiting urban centers everywhere. Sydney was one of the “must” sites, and I was able to enjoy all of its key sites, such as Harbour Bridge, Opera House, etc. It was great doing simple things like walking down a “quiet” street, taking the train, etc. Although the rest of the trip was about physical geography, I have not lost my appreciation of Sydney as one of the most famous cities in the world. My views of and from the harbor will never be forgotten . . .
4) Whitsundays – I enjoyed being there, but every tour has a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the place was a beauty and the pool party was good, but I was struggling to find stuff to do during the day (too cold for the pool). I think my favorite part was just the beauty of feeling so remote on the islands. Also, I got lucky by having such good roommates. I believe the Whitsundays are worth a 2 night visit at right time of year, but it would rate a 6 out of 10 on my “importance” scale.
5) Cairns – this was more about the surrounding areas (reef and rainforest) than the city itself. Due to its proximity to these important physical geographic features, going to Cairns was worth it. Even the city and esplanade itself wasn’t that bad, but it only has population of 120,000. Lots of tours, Contiki and otherwise, go here, but I had never heard of this vital “gateway” until 2 months ago. Going to the Great Barrier Reef was definitely a top 3 highlight, and we got pretty damn close. Besides its location, the Cairns Colonial Club was probably the best out of my 4 lodgings.
6) Alice Springs – I’m so happy that I extended my trip to go to this Outback city. I had read about the region, but to actually experience it awakens you to the different side of Australia. Besides boring nights, I had perfect amount of time there. It was surreal to look at the map to see the nearest major city was over 500 miles away. To this city person, I was in the middle of nowhere, and I loved it. And to think most of Australia is covered by this region . . .
In conclusion for my journal, I had such an enjoyable adventure in Australia! I accomplished what I desired – see Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, and the Outback. Besides the play, I can’t think of anything bad – every activity was either great or not as great. All the Aussies I met, except for quad bike guy, were warm and hospitable. The culture, physical geography, travel, etc will be missed. Being so far away from the west is kind of a blessing for the country. Even something like reading or watching the Aussie news was a memorable experience, but most of the time was in the outdoors (purposely during the winter).
Unlike my other trips, this one was about the outside world, and it truly pleased me to walk more trails than museums. Nevertheless, each country has its unique appeal, and Australia will represent to me a time of happiness and content in my life.
Let me end my journal by saying that I’m eternally grateful to have enjoyed such a wonderful adventure. All of these travels have truly blessed me!
