Travel blog 1!!!!

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Trip Start Apr 24, 2006 Trip End Aug 28, 2006 Next
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  Sydney, Australia
Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Hmm... where to start! I am very slightly drunk at the moment, as i have had a few drinks while chating to people in our hostel bar, but i wanted to write the blog anyway, as it has been a week already with no correspondence!!

Well, hopefully you have all read my introduction, know who I am, and care about what I have to say! It seems to be that the thing to do these days is go traveling, so i decided to join the band wagon and go traveling too. I also copied the idea of emailing people about what you are up to- to make the m jealous that they are not where I am! lol. T he general plan is to travel around Australia and New Zealand for 2 months and then go to America for 2 1/2 months, but lets start from the begining...

On monday 24th April, Rob, Adam and myself made my way through security, and boarded a plane on our 11 1/2 hr flight to Hong Kong where we had not sorted out accomodation or planned anything for the 3 days we were due to be there. So you can imagine our situation as we stepped off the plane at 7am the next moring with our heavy rucksacks, having had no sleep, and attempting to walk the humid, smell, overcrowded streets of Mong Kok ("Ming Kok")in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Eventually, after being offered many 'copy' rolex's and handbags from street tauts, we found decent accomodation in part of a huge block of flats, shops, hostels, and even the occasional sweat shop. It was pretty scummy, but we had our own beds, and air con, so that was all we cared about at the time.

Adam raving on the Dance Floor

Next on our to-do list was learning how to say hello/thankyou to the Hong Kongians, but that pan flopped when our Indian hostel owners told us that they didnt speak chinese! How can you run a hostel in Hong Kong and not speak chinese!

Next on our to-do list was to find a place to watch the 2nd leg of the champions league semi finals- Arsenal v Villareal at 2.45am! I was secretly hoping Villa would score to make the game more interesting, but oh well, they wont win the final so its all good! The next day, we were on a mission to find internet, and when we finally did, we were time restricted by a fat woman that wantewd to go on, and then once we were finished, she just carried on sitting there eating cheese cake- some people!!! (reminded me of Alex K actually)!!! That night , I decided that I didnt like Hong Kong when we were sitting there with a 5 pound pint watching old english men chatting up 20 year old chinese girls, and listening to a random chinses girl trying to hit the high notes in Robbie Williams 'Angels' on a Kareoke machine. It is humid, smells of either swimming pools, stale chinese food, or indians, and there were no backpackers our age. Nothing much else to tell about Hk apart from the fact that we went halfway on the worlds l ongest escalator and then got bored and got off- its only an escalator- there is a limit as to how much fun you can have on a 3mile long escalator. We also went up the tallest building, and saw fish b eing chopped up and gutted in the fish market - and then people were buying them to eat!!!- Rank!!

We were a bit more organised when we left HK for Sydney, as mike (who had been there for a few days before us) had booked us accomodation for the night so this time, we arrived in a country at 7am with our heavy rucksacks, and all we had to work out was where the hostel was, how to get there, and what time we were going to meet mike - all in decently hot and sunny weather.

Adam trying to fit in with the rest of us

Once we achieved all of that we headed off on another long walk to the sydney harbour bridge in beautiful weather (btw, what is the weather like at home?! lol) when we got back, we went to meet our room mates- they were a bunch of germans who didnt speak to us!- Good times!!!

The evening tho was the most random night I have ever had in my whole life!! We decided to go for a jewish friday night service at Chabad House in sydney (a small Lubovitch Jewish community). After being inter ogated at length as to our Jewishness,and having our bags searched, we were allowed to enter and meet the Rabbi, his kids, and other members of the congregation. There was me, without being able to speak a letter of Hebrew, and knackered after having been awake for 35 hours, in a Lubovitch (very religious) service surrounded by frummers. At the end of the israeli dancing, and dovening, we awkwardly hung around 'chatting' when the Rabbiinvited us back to his house to eat friday night dinner with his family- HOW AWKWARD!!!

But actually, on the walk to his house with their family and friends, the awkward ice was broken by a druggie woman that had collapsed in the street- and none of the frummers could call an ambulance because of shabbat! I told you the night was random!! When we got there, we chatted away about religion and travel ing, and even had a lessoin and taster session from the Rabbi about fine single malt scotch wiskey! We got told a few short stories complete with religious morals, and helped the rabbis wife dish out the gefilte fish and chicken soup.

At the airport

It was all so homely and welcoming that we were completely settled by the time we had to go , and the Rabbi's wife even told us that if we ever wanted some Kosher meat, all we have to do if email, and she will send us some vacume packed food to wherever we are- lol!! I had a bit of an embarrasing moment when we were leaving and saying goodbye tho- because while we were shaking hands, I forgot that the wife might be Shoma Nagilah (she cant touch any men apart from her husband) and went to shake her hand too!! Also there were a few momemnts when I almost brought out the camera for some Kodak moments. LOLOL!!!! oh well, tis done, and we had a quality night! Then we went to a bar for a pint, or a schooner as they call them here. By the time I went to bed, I had been up for 39 hours! crazy!

The next night was our fisrt big night out, when my cousin sara came to our hostel backpacker bar with her boyfriend Graham. It was a good night- me and Adam won T-Shirts saying ' Dont drink and drive, fide a bike and get smashed'- quote the Dutch Queen! Pretty jokes! Ten on Sunday , we moved to Bondi Beach and my cousin took us on the 6km walk between Bondi and Coogee beach, complete with an Aussie Barbie by Bronte beach, and a drink on Coogee for Sunset. On route, after the bbq, mike innocently whipped out his sausage and offered it around to everyone- advertising it as 'warm, soggy, and wet'- the source of many further jokes ! It was soo good to see Sara in her new home, clearly very happy to be there.

The next day, we climbed the bridge when the sun was setting in the west, and there was a bright rainbow in the east- giving an unimaginable orange glow to the whole of Sydney!! At the moment were planning to move to Byron Bay tomorrow night, having just come back from a trek in the Blue mountains. I can feel this blog tappering off towards the end as I get tired of typing, but it is important to tell you that I have spent a good amount of time on the beach, and the Weather is fantastic!

Thats all for now , sorry for the length and the spelling mistakes, but i felt it was necessary to write soo much in my first blog to make you feel bitter that you arent here with me!! Hope everything is good back home, and as they say in Australia... Aufwiederzen!!!

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

At the bar	Harbour Bridge	HK at Night	HK island at night
Hong Kong Island from the ferry	Illiterate Hong Kongians	Me and Mike do laundry!!!!!!!!	Meeting Mike in Sydney
Mike carrying the Centre Point Building	Our hostel block in Hong Kong	PwC 1 : Deloitte 0	Rob and Adam on TV!!
Rob in a waterfall in the Blue Mountains	Sara and her boyfriend (with out the beared guy)	Sara and her boyfriend, and some ugly fat guy	Sunset at shelly beach
Us in front of the Opera House

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