Coogee
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2007
1
16
Trip End
Jan 22, 2008
Sydney,
Australia
Sunday, December 30, 2007
As I'd gone to the southern hemisphere, it was now summer so the sun was shining brightly. Jo came to collect me from the airport. I was amused to tell her that I only found out about her not-so-new man Hamish from my cousin's girlfriend Emma, who has never met Jo and has only known her for a few weeks via Facebook.
Hamish is the evil twin of Dermot O'Leary (he that silly Big Brother's Little Brother programme) and if I had a picture of hamish (for some reason I don't but I'll get one) I would demonstrate this to the world. Now, when I say evil, I don't mean quasi-futuristic clothing and demands for one million dollars but more a great sense of humour which involves mad, staring eyes and a penchant for foreign accents.
The first evening's entertainment involved going to the park by the beach, where they have signs indicating that no alcohol is permitted after sundown. Sure enough, swarms of police showed up at the allotted hour and demonstrated (British police take note) that it is possible to be a policeman and have a sense of humour. So we moved across the road to their local, the Coogee Bay Hotel, which was a cross between a Wetherspoons and a cattle market. Now why anybody would choose to book a room at this hotel is beyond me as it has five bars which are open from 9:00am until 5:00am. Still, it was an introduction to traditional Aussie beer, which is basically like icy cold, flavourless Seppo* beer but with a bit more alcohol in it. However, earlier in the park, Matt (knowing I like good beer) had shown up with some very fine James Squire Golden Ale, I think he did this so that I didn't get the wrong first impression from the pub. He also showed up with some cracked ribs and scabby arms but I'll let him tell you how that happened (don't give him any sympathy - it was all self inflicted!). Chris Smith, who I know from Woking was also there and also Jo's parents John and Chris so it was a fine reunion.
A thought about pubs and stuff. I've always liked boozing a bit more than is healthy and also to have a few smokes while I'm doing it (not every time though and only ever when drinking). However, something strange happened in Delhi. I lost the desire for both things. I thought it would come back once I was well after that last bout of Delly Belhi but it hasn't. So now I don't want to drink more than a moderate amount and have absolutely no desire to smoke while doing so (and out of curiosity I've tried smoking a couple of times and it just doesn't do anything any more). Even on the last boozy night in Korea, I didn't actually drink very much and was suffering the next day due to Korean chemical beer and lack of sleep. Now if I could work out how this change happened, I could make a fortune (or at least help a lot of people). Any suggestions welcome...
Anyway, back to Sydney.
Buggered if I know what happened on the 30th. Apart from a barbeque at their friend Charley's. Jo seems to have a large group of friends who all live within a couple of blocks, which is all very convenient. Oh yeah, and Jo took me shirt shopping as I was getting fed up of looking like a scummy traveller type. Not exciting but there you go.
These first couple of days back in a familiar culture with a load of friends around were really relaxing and the energy I'd been lacking in Korea had come back. Just in time to celebrate new year in style...
* Seppo: Aussie slang for Septic^
^ Septic: short for Septic Tank¬
¬ Septic Tank: rhyming slang for Yank°
° Yank: if you don't know what this means, you're beyond help
