Beth's Oz Adventure

After unexpected developments am now no longer heading back to SE Asia and instead I am sticking around in chilly Britain for the forseeable future. So this is goodbye from the blog!

Below are a few of my final pics from Malaysia..




Penang botanic gardens and resident monkeys


2 very hairy caterpillars

My time in Malaysia ended on Saturday as I was London bound for surprise xmas visit. I had been hearing reports of Heathrow chaos and already convinced myself I would be spending xmas at the airport but to my relief there were no reported delays. Anticipating a full to bursting plane had already secured myself an exit row seat (extra leg room) but was not necessary as plane half empty so had pick of the rows! So I settled in and initiated my jet lag prevention strategy & attempted to sleep until morning broke in the UK. After semi dozing for a few hours I awoke & discovered we were 30000 feet above India & got a good view as no clouds, was mostly brown and rugged looking and then turned into the snow covered peaks of Pakistan, then Afghanistan, various middle eastern countries, & green patchwork like fields of Russia and Ukraine. After this the cloud cover thickened and the view of the ground below was lost, but was still bright sunshine above the clouds, which continued all the way over Europe and we began our descent to London. As we got closer to the top of the clouds there was still no view of the ground and as we entered them I felt a mixture of fear (how can the pilots see where they’re going ???!!) and complete admiration at the wonders of the technology that was guiding our descent. Inside the clouds there was still no sign of the ground below then after a couple of minutes we emerged and I caught my first glimpse of UK soil – the M25, which for the first time in my life I was happy to see!

Landed smoothly and was informed it was 5c outside. After my time in Oz my warmest item of clothing was a thin fleece so consequently prepared myself for the UK winter by departing the plane wearing pretty much every top in my possession and my only remaining pair of trousers – a pair of ill fitting jeans that were an emergency purchase after my only other pair died in Oz. I teamed up this bizarre attire with my now paint splattered sandals (I no longer owned any shoes) and my 2 remaining (odd) socks that both had holes in. So you will imagine my surprise when I was greeted not by the fashion editor of Vogue but by the fashion police who promptly arrested me for multiple offences. Luckily they let me off with just a caution this time and I was released. 2 tubes, 3 trains and a taxi later I finally arrived home in Shrewsbury 21 hours after leaving Kuala Lumpur.

My mission for the next morning was to unpack and sort out my stuff. The actual course of events was: 9am, switched on the tv and marvelled at the bbc and people talking in English accents, looked at my bag then flicked over to popworld and marvelled again at hearing NEW music – since 1st Feb my entire musical world had consisted of the 488 songs on my Ipod. 10:30am, went to my bag, opened it and spread the entire contents over the floor then got strangely mesmerised by Hollyoaks and any illusions of maintaining my TV free life slowly evaporated. Midday, moved the contents of my bag from the middle of the floor to small piles around the edge of the room, where they still remain.

In the afternoon I braved the winter and went out to purchase my new bible ‘south east asia on a shoestring’ and became disproportionately excited at visiting such establishments as Boots, Superdrug, Woolies and M&S. And then a productive evening catching up on all the important events happening in Corrie.

So now am fully ensconced in UK Xmas life, watching too much tv, eating too much etc, etc & planning underway for departure back to SE Asia – I leave 16 Jan headed to Bangkok. So until then happy new year and blog will continue late Jan 2007!

Yesterday was island tour day and first stop was batik factory then en route came across some cocoa, nutmeg and rubber trees. We broke open a cocoa pod & had a taste, alas turned out not to be pure lindt inside, tasted a bit like mango and a bit chocolatey. Then stopped to look at some malaysian houses before heading to the snake temple. Definately a contender in the most commercial temple of the year competition, either side of the entrance temple were no less than 6 gift shops where you could purchase everything snake temple related, then inside after seeing a few snakes we had the opportunity to pay to have our pic taken with a snake, and then was into the attached snake farm, aka snake prison ;-(

Final stop on the tour was a German jewellery facory (?!) where we got to see all stages of jewellery making and an opportunity to purchase some extortionately priced items in the shop.

Today visited the botanic gardens here, where not only do they have an amazing diversity of plant life but they also have monkeys!! Then had a tour of the tropical spice gardens....pics of these to follow...

Xmas is pretty much in full swing here, thought i may escape it this year but no, whereever I go the distant sound of jingle bells is all around....anyway seasons greetings!


Batik making action

Rubber tree
View across the island
Some nice flowers
cocoa tree
inside cocoa pod

Some more nice flowers

Outside malaysian house


Snake temple & snake temple retailing opportunities

Close up of a very sad snake

Arrived on Sunday night in Malaysia after 8 hour flight from Melbourne. Stayed first night in the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur where I was met by a wall of humidity. Accommodation was in the city in a HOTEL! Yes when travelling in south east asia no room sharing is required. After all those weeks in oz sharing a room I rejoiced in the luxury of having my own room and bathroom. Next morning I ventured into the restaurant in search of brekkie where I discovered a selection of various noodles, sausages, baked beans and boiled eggs. I went for the beans and egg option which turned out to be cold beans and lukewarm liquid egg. Luckily I then spied the bowl of watermelon shining like a beacon of light on the other side of the room to save me from the salmonella horror in front of me.

I then escaped the city of terrible breakfasts as I was bound for the island of Penang. Food options on the plane were instant noodles or chicken porridge (yes, that's chicken porridge). Arrived safely and am staying just out of Georgetown in a big hotel by the beach. This time not only do I get my own room but I get 2 beds, a bath, a tv, a sea view and a cupboard with a light that switches on when you open the door (yes I am easily amused). Day 1 involved venture to local shopping centre and the hotel restaurant for dinner. I was delighted to find a range of vege options and ordered the ommelette with a little trepidation after my breakfast experience and vowed that day 2 would be the day I sample some traditional malaysian cuisine. Luckily when the food arrived not only was it cooked but cost the equivalent of 1 pound 50p ( if I loved the exchange rate in oz, in Malaysia I want to marry it and have its children).

Day 2 involved a lie in (the joys of being a lady of leisure), followed by another trip to shopping centre and a bit of relaxing on the beach (culture shock ruled and hadn't quite plucked up the courage to go into Georgetown).

Today is day 3 and made it to Georgetown, where I succeeded in finding my way around, and at lunchtime I fully immersed myself in traditional malaysian cuisine in the form of a toffee nut frappuccino and salt and vinegar crisps from starbucks. Also succeeded in booking 2 tours, purchased a mobile sim card and got on the correct bus home!

En route to malaysia


Georgetown
Nearly my newest travelling companion, a tiny ginger stray kitten I met this morning

Well after 317 days my time in Oz ended on Sunday. To mark my departure I retraced my steps back to Philip Island on Thursday to see the little penguins again before I left. As before, at sunset they all paddled in and came onto the beach in groups of 10-20, and after a hesitant start waddled up the sand dunes to their burrows. Boardwalks around the dunes let you get really close to them and within a very short time we were surrounded!

Then on Friday spent a day back in Melbourne for a final shopping frenzy. Then somehow managed to pack everything before leaving Sunday afternoon. Very mixed feelings upon departure as so sad to leave but looking forward to exploring SE Asia.

Final reflections on oz below....

Another reason to love oz - Gisborne Station, 8:30am, rush hour, on Thursday....

Baby penguins in burrow

Possibly the worst picture of penguins ever! was taken undercover as photos not allowed. Is the penguins coming in from the sea.



Bourke St, Melbourne

Things i'll miss (and won't!)
There are many things I will miss about Oz, the unspoiled beauty of the national parks and beaches, swimming in the sea, the sunshine, the best mangoes and avocados i've ever tasted, a feeling of safety (I didn't encounter any crime) but most of all i'll miss the people & the (mostly) friendly and laid back Aussie attitude. I was amazed and delighted time and time again by the generosity of those who included me as part of their family or community. Without a doubt my best experiences in Oz were those when I was wwoofing, spending time in places off the beaten track and sharing experiences with others whilst working towards a common goal.

But it wasn't all a bed of roses. At times I felt my heart was breaking being so far away from family and friends, particularly missing out on seeing my nephews and neice growing up (tho regular home videos helped ensure I did not miss out entirely). There weren't many things in Oz that made me happier than the arrival of a home vid on dvd.

There are also a number of aspects to travelling in oz that I have happily left behind, in particular sharing a room in hostels with multiple strangers who...snore / decide it would definately be appropriate to have an all night rave in the next room / come in drunk at 2am, make loads of noise and switch on all the lights / use alarm clocks with enough decibels to wake the dead, usually at 5am / utilise every inch of floor space leading to a middle of the night trip to the loo turning into an episode of the krypton factor* (*delete as appropriate). Also successfully producing a meal in a kitchen being simultaneously used by 10 other people requires speed, agility and total dedication.

Other things I wont miss are
- tomato picking in the rain (enough said!)
- overnight bus journeys (no you don't get used to them)
- mozzies, leeches and things after your blood in general
- the heat of north west oz
- bank charges (in oz banks charge for everything)

But on the whole the good stuff far outweighed the bad during my trip and am already looking forward to going back someday.

Favourite places
This is a tricky one as there are so many to choose from. I would say the most breathtaking sights I saw are..

1) The great barrier reef (the most amazing thing I have ever seen)
2) Kakadu national park
3) The penguins of Philip island
4) Blue mountains
5) Great ocean road
6) Wollongong buddhist temple
7) The rainforest & beaches of North queensland (in particular seeing the harvest moon rising from the ocean (huge and bright red)
8) The flying foxes of Sydney botanic gardens
9) The abundance of wildlife in Yuragir national park

But when all factors are taken into account (people, location, food etc) these are my all time favourite places in oz...

1) Bundaleer (fantastic on every level, turned out I saved the best til last)
2) Sanctuary, Mission Beach (lovely people, great food, in the rainforest)
3) Kakadu national park (totally breathtaking)
4) Blue mountains, Katoomba (ditto)
5) Philip Island (adorable penguins :-)
6) Margaret river (where the streets are paved with chocolate and cheese)
7) Merimbula (stunning beach, chilled out little town, lots of pelicans!)
8) Magnetic Island (an island paradise, well the bits which weren't a building site anyway)
9) Coral bay (yet another amazing place by the sea)

Stuff I learnt
I learnt many new skills including gardening, painting & decorating, furniture assembly, entertaining small children, dog looking after & how to make a perfect coffee, amongst others. Other lessons learnt...

- There are many things in oz that can kill you, but most wont
- Expectations are a very dangerous thing
- First impressions are almost always decieving
- You most often find the best things when you don't look for them and least expect it.
- Always use the correct pen when writing on a CD and have a backup copy of pictures!
- Always pay full attention when deleting pics from a digital camera (as I learnt to my cost that fateful day in Sydney when trying to delete a pic whilst simultaneously crossing the road and being blinded by the sun. I erased all 250 pics instead ;-(
- Little old ladies with wheeled trolleys may look innocent and harmless but they wield a terrible power against unprotected toes.
- When an Aussie refers to an english person the word pom is always preceded by bloody
- Never discuss cricket, rugby or football with an aussie male (especially the Ashes!)
- Never jump off a step wearing flip flops in an area where building work is taking place (nail thru heel, ooooouuuccchhh!!)

And most importantly...

ALWAYS, always, always have a plan B!

Hope to keep blog going in Asia but not sure how often will update....

Completed 2nd week looking after cafe, all good and busier than last week. My coffee making skills are improving and I also now have another new set of skills...dog bathing! Luckily for me Zack is the kind of dog who doesn't try to jump out mid bath so was a relatively trauma free experience!

Many bush fires are now raging here in Victoria and I was a little alarmed this morning when I went outside to discover that what I thought was fog was actually smoke, tho luckily none of the fires are near enough to here to be too much of a worry at present. V v hot too, today reached 37c, rain on the way soon hopefully, the landscape is getting browner by the day..

Now only 7 days & 21 hours left in oz...the countdown is on!

A soggy zack

My best sophisticated lady impersonation...having afternoon tea in the garden

Smoke from bushfires this morning

Still here at Bundaleer and been looking after the tea room this week as well as Zac. So far all been pretty quiet on the tea room front, baked a few cakes & do lunch every day. I thought my biggest challenge would be looking after zac, but no, making the perfect coffee is both a science and an art. After much practice involving the coating of everything within a 10 metre radius with hot frothy milk I have kind of mastered the coffee machine (emphasis on kind of).

Looking after Zac initially proved problematic, the 1st night comprised much wailing & door scratching from the living room, and I was also the lucky recipient of both solid and liquid messages on the carpet the next morning. Then to my surprise and great joy there was no more wailing or messages (thought sleepless nights would last all week), and am even liking having him around.

Weather warmer now too, yesterday was the first day of summer and also 10 months since I left UK.

I am here for 2 more weeks then the Oz adventure will be coming to an end! To be followed by the Asia adventure....1st stop Malaysia on the 17th Dec (possibly with zac in my rucksac).




Salad & coffee making action

This week's sweet creations

If you wait long enough it is actually possible to grow a dog from seed