Day 8
Upon arriving and spending a little time figuring out the public transportation system, I headed over to my host Mark's apartment in Waverton just north of the harbor. It was still only about 7:30 am when I arrived, but he was up and still in the t-shirt and boxers he slept in. He had a really nice apartment..2 couches for sleeping, a separate but unfinished official Couch Surfer guest room, a gorgeous view of the city, and as he later showed me, a vast entertainment library hooked up to his computer where he was constantly downloading thousands of movies, TV shows, and albums. By far the best part of it all were the two brightly colored lorikeets that came to his balcony every morning for sunflower seeds. I wound up feeding them just about every day.
Another girl, Annette from Germany, was still asleep on the couch when I arrived. She was tiny and looked like a child at first glance, so I had no idea who she was or what she was doing there til she woke up and explained she was also a Couch Surfer. Even after I got a better look at her she still looked like she could've been anywhere between 13 and 21.
Until then it was slightly awkward not knowing whether to talk or to avoid waking her. But Mark and I chatted a little, and he made me some tea before eventually heading off to work. He too went the extra mile to be welcoming, giving me my own key and everything.
Despite my uncomfortable night I wasn't really tired anymore, so I just went online a bit, freshened up, and headed back to the city.
After finally breaking down and getting an Australian SIM card for my phone I started out site seeing at The Rocks, an area on the harbor full of little shops, cobblestone streets, and colonial-era architecture, as well as some excellent views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. After walking around a bit I went to the free contemporary art museum that, like the one in Melbourne, wasn't particularly impressive, then onto the Sydney Opera House to look around in the accessible parts. Inside it still looked very 70s with wood paneling and stone floors. The bathrooms were even cooler and more modern-looking.
After that I wandered around through the Botanic Garden, saw some cool-looking birds, and eventually made my way back to get some groceries for the week. My new daily breakfast would consist of some cereal that claimed to be the "taste of Australia" - basically dried fruit and some mixed grains. Lunch would be sandwiches again with apple, brie cheese, and vinaigrette dressing in Mark's fridge; or Pastaroni-type pasta.
That night, Annette was out so Mark and I went to a Couch Surfing meetup at Govindas, a Hari Krishna vegan restaurant with a theater upstairs.
We met a couple nice girls at our table that came shortly after us - Kate from England and Mira from South Carolina (?). Mira wasn't CSing but was there on a working holiday visa. Kate had the most interesting story I'd heard yet. Her obsessive environmentalism led her to avoid traveling by plane or more conventional means, so she'd set out on a trip around the world by hopping on freight ships from England to South America to the South Pacific, spending varying lengths of time in each location, mostly living off her savings for the year or so that she'd been traveling. She only settled in Australia to find a job once she ran out of money.
After lots of delicious vegan Indian food from the buffet, a few people got dessert, and everyone decidedly needed coffee to avoid the inevitable food coma during the movie. Surprisingly they had cappuccino despite the Hari Krishnas being anti-caffeine.
The theater upstairs was intimate but spacious, and instead of seats there were cushions to lay on, just beckoning you to take a nice nap. Several people did, but shockingly I managed to stay awake for most of the Dark Knight up until the very end. It probably helped that it was one of the few movies we could've seen that would hold my attention for that long. It was a little weird watching scenes of Chicago and being on the opposite side of the world. But it was nice to be able to brag to a new audience about it being filmed in my old work building.
We gave our two new friends a ride home in Mark's unexpectedly girly yellow VW Beetle. He took us on a scenic route pointing out some noteworthy spots along the way, speeding around curves and driving in a sort-of aggressive but controlled way. Compensation for the girly car perhaps?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, 9/16 - Melbourne
Day 7
My last day in Melbourne. I'd pretty much done all I could do in the city without spending a lot, so I mostly returned to areas I'd already been. Part of my mission for the day was to grab a gift for my hosts at the Queen Victoria Market. I'd planned on getting a bottle of organic wine and some gourmet jams for other people, but as luck would have it, those two stands weren't there anymore. This was the first of several things that would go wrong that day. I didn't have many other options for edible things to get them since they were all vegans. I found another wine stand and hoped it was vegan friendly.. Rebecca had mentioned before to my surprise that most beer was not, but I had no idea if wine could be non-vegan too.
After accomplishing that feat I went down to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) at the recommendation of one of Rebecca's friends. It was a big, angular building in the middle of an open lot.. kind of confusing at first trying to find the entrance. The inside was very modern looking with bathrooms just as confusing as the rest of the building and doors that blended with the wall. There were only a few exhibits - a video installation, some kind of light/glass sculpture, and a room painted with multi-colored stripes. I kept looking around corners and such trying to figure out if there were other rooms or hidden staircases, but that was it. No wonder it was free.
I'd already done everything I'd planned for the day, so I wound up going to the free Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square. It was full of work exclusively by Australian artists, past and present. There was actually a lot of good stuff there, so I looked around til they closed at 5.
I went back to Rebecca's to pick up my bags and leave on the 7pm bus to Sydney. I'd planned on having enough time to go back, get my stuff, maybe eat something quick, and return to the bus terminal. But of all days and times, I accidentally got on the express train that ran several stops past mine. So by the time I got back I just grabbed everything and left, fortunately making it just in time for the bus. Since I had no time to eat my dinner on the go consisted of chips from the vending machine, a small cookie I got from the market earlier, a piece of plain white bread, and 2/3 of an apple I had to scarf down upon finding I wasn't allowed to bring on produce because of potential agricultural threats to certain regions we were passing through.
I spent part of the ride looking up things to do in Sydney in my guidebook. The driver put on a DVD of Unbreakable, so I watched most of that.
We had a stop in Albury after about 4 hours of driving so I was able to get a "second dinner", a mediocre bacon & egg sandwich and watery hot chocolate. The driver was talking to the cashier when I went in, and upon hearing my American accent, he was very friendly and offered me advice on places to go on my trip.
After that, attempting to sleep on the bus was tricky. I'd wake up every 20 minutes or so because of being either cold or uncomfortable. Sitting up, lying down, sitting stretched out - nothing really helped.
When we arrived in Sydney early the next morning the driver made good on his promise and offered plenty of tips. Apparently he was also an experienced diver and told me good places to learn, warned me of dangers like box jellyfish and stinging trees. I'd heard about the jellyfish, but the more he talked about diving and the more I thought about doing it realistically, the threat felt all the more real and it kind of started to freak me out. Between the jellyfish, stinging trees, poisonous snakes and spiders, crocs, and sharks, it's is a hostile environment.
My last day in Melbourne. I'd pretty much done all I could do in the city without spending a lot, so I mostly returned to areas I'd already been. Part of my mission for the day was to grab a gift for my hosts at the Queen Victoria Market. I'd planned on getting a bottle of organic wine and some gourmet jams for other people, but as luck would have it, those two stands weren't there anymore. This was the first of several things that would go wrong that day. I didn't have many other options for edible things to get them since they were all vegans. I found another wine stand and hoped it was vegan friendly.. Rebecca had mentioned before to my surprise that most beer was not, but I had no idea if wine could be non-vegan too.
After accomplishing that feat I went down to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) at the recommendation of one of Rebecca's friends. It was a big, angular building in the middle of an open lot.. kind of confusing at first trying to find the entrance. The inside was very modern looking with bathrooms just as confusing as the rest of the building and doors that blended with the wall. There were only a few exhibits - a video installation, some kind of light/glass sculpture, and a room painted with multi-colored stripes. I kept looking around corners and such trying to figure out if there were other rooms or hidden staircases, but that was it. No wonder it was free.
I'd already done everything I'd planned for the day, so I wound up going to the free Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square. It was full of work exclusively by Australian artists, past and present. There was actually a lot of good stuff there, so I looked around til they closed at 5.
I went back to Rebecca's to pick up my bags and leave on the 7pm bus to Sydney. I'd planned on having enough time to go back, get my stuff, maybe eat something quick, and return to the bus terminal. But of all days and times, I accidentally got on the express train that ran several stops past mine. So by the time I got back I just grabbed everything and left, fortunately making it just in time for the bus. Since I had no time to eat my dinner on the go consisted of chips from the vending machine, a small cookie I got from the market earlier, a piece of plain white bread, and 2/3 of an apple I had to scarf down upon finding I wasn't allowed to bring on produce because of potential agricultural threats to certain regions we were passing through.
I spent part of the ride looking up things to do in Sydney in my guidebook. The driver put on a DVD of Unbreakable, so I watched most of that.
We had a stop in Albury after about 4 hours of driving so I was able to get a "second dinner", a mediocre bacon & egg sandwich and watery hot chocolate. The driver was talking to the cashier when I went in, and upon hearing my American accent, he was very friendly and offered me advice on places to go on my trip.
After that, attempting to sleep on the bus was tricky. I'd wake up every 20 minutes or so because of being either cold or uncomfortable. Sitting up, lying down, sitting stretched out - nothing really helped.
When we arrived in Sydney early the next morning the driver made good on his promise and offered plenty of tips. Apparently he was also an experienced diver and told me good places to learn, warned me of dangers like box jellyfish and stinging trees. I'd heard about the jellyfish, but the more he talked about diving and the more I thought about doing it realistically, the threat felt all the more real and it kind of started to freak me out. Between the jellyfish, stinging trees, poisonous snakes and spiders, crocs, and sharks, it's is a hostile environment.
Monday, 9/15 - Melbourne
Day 6
Today was the chilliest day since I'd arrived - rainy and windy, and I didn't really have adequate clothing for it. I spent the day at Federation Square and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), which had some amateur short films and video games. Next door at the Design Center there was a poster contest with a "Power of Numbers" theme that had some pretty decent work.
After that I went to the library to try to use the free internet, but since there was a huge line I went to the upper floors to check out some exhibits of antique books and the history of Victoria.
After killing some time at the internet cafe I found a payphone to call Ai, another Couch Surfer who'd offered to hang out. Talking to him on the phone, my first impression was that he should do voiceovers because of his almost alarmingly soothing way of speaking. He picked me up from the train station and he took me to a place where I could try Malaysian cuisine for the first time. I got some amazing curry laksa, a kind of soup with coconut milk, various types of meat and seafood and veggies and all kinds of good stuff. I was kicking myself later for leaving the leftovers in his car, especially since every meal was so valuable when I had little money and was mostly eating microwavable junk.
Ai turned out to be a really interesting guy as well, and an excellent conversationalist. He was another who'd been traveling for a long time - he'd just returned from a 2 year stint working in the US for the Australian government. He had lots of interesting stories from that time, including randomly meeting a bunch of pro wrestlers (one of whom later went on to become a murderer) and eating with them at Denny's, and another time getting to go to some Hollywood dinner party with a Couch Surfing friend where he got to sit next to Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn.
After dinner we went to another place he liked for dessert - I got a coconut hot chocolate and we split a really good piece of berry cheesecake with ice cream. Here I finally discovered that you don't have to tip, and that it's typical to have to go up front to pay rather than them bringing you the check. Thankfully I hadn't eaten out on my own yet so didn't have the chance to make a fool of myself and reveal my ignorance.
Near the dessert place was a large movie theater with a full-service VIP room. We didn't see anything but the ticket guy let us in just to take a look around. We sat in the comfy VIP chairs for a minute and went outside to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Wall-E and Eve.
Today was the chilliest day since I'd arrived - rainy and windy, and I didn't really have adequate clothing for it. I spent the day at Federation Square and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), which had some amateur short films and video games. Next door at the Design Center there was a poster contest with a "Power of Numbers" theme that had some pretty decent work.
After that I went to the library to try to use the free internet, but since there was a huge line I went to the upper floors to check out some exhibits of antique books and the history of Victoria.
After killing some time at the internet cafe I found a payphone to call Ai, another Couch Surfer who'd offered to hang out. Talking to him on the phone, my first impression was that he should do voiceovers because of his almost alarmingly soothing way of speaking. He picked me up from the train station and he took me to a place where I could try Malaysian cuisine for the first time. I got some amazing curry laksa, a kind of soup with coconut milk, various types of meat and seafood and veggies and all kinds of good stuff. I was kicking myself later for leaving the leftovers in his car, especially since every meal was so valuable when I had little money and was mostly eating microwavable junk.
Ai turned out to be a really interesting guy as well, and an excellent conversationalist. He was another who'd been traveling for a long time - he'd just returned from a 2 year stint working in the US for the Australian government. He had lots of interesting stories from that time, including randomly meeting a bunch of pro wrestlers (one of whom later went on to become a murderer) and eating with them at Denny's, and another time getting to go to some Hollywood dinner party with a Couch Surfing friend where he got to sit next to Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn.
After dinner we went to another place he liked for dessert - I got a coconut hot chocolate and we split a really good piece of berry cheesecake with ice cream. Here I finally discovered that you don't have to tip, and that it's typical to have to go up front to pay rather than them bringing you the check. Thankfully I hadn't eaten out on my own yet so didn't have the chance to make a fool of myself and reveal my ignorance.
Near the dessert place was a large movie theater with a full-service VIP room. We didn't see anything but the ticket guy let us in just to take a look around. We sat in the comfy VIP chairs for a minute and went outside to take a picture with a cardboard cutout of Wall-E and Eve.
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