Aaahhh...English Speakers.....

  Sydney, Australia
Saturday, March 10, 2007

We survived a long overnight layover in Bangkok, then boarded a Thai Airways flight to Sydney. After all the luxurious long haul planes we had been on (777's, 747's) we had to downgrade to a plane without TV's on the seatbacks and other bells and whistles. We were able to finally see that dancing penguin movie and Deja Vu was the second film on the flight. It was very exciting, a typical Jerry Bruckheimer flick. The whole plane was watching the nail biting ending, a gun pointed to Denzel Washington's head, him pleading for his life. All of a sudden the movie flicks off and an announcement comes overhead that the plane is landing and please pass in your headphones. Harumph. No one was happy about that.

In Sydney we were met by a friend of Julius', a fellow Tanzanian named Fineas. He has lived in Australia for seven years after getting a degree in Belgium. He and Julius were in e-mail contact off and on during all that time, commiserating on being in new countries and the challenges it can bring. He has done well, running a company with another Tanzanian and he is now engaged to Trang, a woman who came from Vietnam to Australia as a child. They even did an a trip similar to ours this summer, visiting Europe, Asia and Africa over 2 months. We had a lot to talk about and Fineas kept us laughing with his very funny observations on Australia and the different people living there.

   They were great ambassadors for Sydney, taking us to all the hot spots. They even took us out for Mexican food. Julius commented that it was probably the first time we have had Mexican food not cooked by a Mexican chef. It was good, so maybe the guys in the kitchen did some studying in the Americas.

On a few days we headed on our own to the big sites of the city. The botanical garden was excellent, despite the very large bat colony living there. They stayed in their trees. We took far too many photos of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House, along with all the other tourists. The weather was very warm. Australia is hotter than most people expect, very much a Southern California climate. 

Coopers is Australian for Beer!

We were glad that it was autumn was already on because it was plenty warm for us. Sydney was also a terribly expensive city. It wasn't just the shock of coming from Asia to a country with Western prices. Things were far more expensive than in the states. Some of the gasp inducing prices included Frappacinos at Starbucks that were equivalent to $6 US and Krispy Kreme donuts that were about about $1.75 if converted to US dollars. McDonalds extra value meals were about $7 with a small fry and small drink. Internet was ridiculous, our hostel charged $10 an hour.

We did manage to find some cheap eats and activities. The Maritime Museum was free and the old man giving tours there managed to keep our young group riveted with fascinating and funny stories. With Frappacinos out of our budget we went to 7-11 slurpees for a cheap refreshment.

On Saturday our new friends Huong and Trong, who we toured Halong Bay with, invited us to their home for a family potluck. They came from Vietnam as children and are now Australian citizens. We took the ferry to Manly to get to their place in Dee Why. We met a lot of aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters and Huong's grandma and dad.  

With Huong, her sisters and Grandma

 All of the older generation came from Vietnam so they were curious about what we thought of their home country. They were pleased that we enjoyed South Vietnam as they are all from there. The food was great, as we knew it would be. We even got to walk on Dee Why beach. It was fun to be at a big family gathering as we were missing so many fun family gatherings at home while away.

When we polled some Australians tourists that we had met on our trip, many suggested heading to the South Coast, as it would have the best weather this time of year. We took their advice and flew to Adelaide.