Melbourne and Ayers Rock

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  Alice Springs, Australia
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I managed to meet up with my old colleague Kamal from the NAO on my only evening in Melbourne.  Kamal is a pretty happy bloke normally; maybe it's because he gets married next month, but he was exceptionally happy all evening.  Just wait until he's been married a couple of years.  That should sort out his over-happiness problem.  (Special congratulations to all of those of you reading this who have got engaged while I've been away.  I'm sure you'll be very happy).

We went out for a meal on Lygon Street - a sort of Italian equivalent of Brick Lane, where every restaurant has a man outside offering, shouting or opera singing ("Just one risotto; have it from me") discounts and offers at you.  Neither Kamal nor I have the strongest personalities.  So naturally we were bullied into the first place that we came across - even though we got no discount, and only a free bit of bread each

Ayers Rock

.  Still it was a good night - I hadn't seen Kamal in 2 years.

From Melbourne I went on to Ayres Rock (Uluru for those of you who are offended by English names).  I had expected to be disappointed by the rock - I wasn't; it was spectacular, especially at sunset.  I'd also thought that the rock would be all that there was to see around here.  I was wrong.  There's loads of other exciting rock formations around here, for those of you who are interested in that kind of thing.

The hostel was good too.  It had a restaurant attached where they sell you lumps of raw meet for you to cook on the communal barbecue.  This is what Australia is all about.  I went for the "Oz Combo": beef, kangaroo, emu and crocodile.  I wasn't sure whether emu or crocodile might give you food poisoning, so I gave them plenty of time.  I had been told that crocodile tastes like chicken.  It doesn't.  It tastes like charcoal.  As did the emu, the kangaroo, and the beef.

I got on quite well with my room-mate Emily.  At least until the morning when I left for my bus to the rock.  Half way to the bus, I realised that I'd left my camera in the room.  I went back to get it

The Olgas

.  As I opened the door, I saw Emily in the middle of the room.  Naked.  Then I did something that you should never do if you walk in on a naked girl by accident.  I froze, while staring at her.  For a second she froze too, and then dived onto her bed to hide under the sheets.  I think that I heard her say the word "pervert" as I closed the door, but I'm not sure.  I've decided not to invite her to be my facebook friend.

Today, I looked around Alice Springs.  It's a pleasant town, but there's not much here.  I was done by lunch time, which was good because it gave me the chance to plan the next leg of my trip in Kakadu in northern Australia.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's that unlike work, where planning is a waste of perfectly good internet time, while you're travelling, planning is critical.  You don't want to get caught with your trousers down.  Not like Emily.

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Valley of the Winds, Olga Rock Formation

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