Thursday, February 25, 2010

"Car park soccer"

Tonight I met up with NCS (Newcastle christian students) a local club at the university. They had an introductory BBQ dinner (much tastier than the stuff at school) and took everyone out for a walk to the lighthouse to catch the sunset. I was able to make friends with a couple of aussie guys who invited me to play car park soccer, a game of madness!
After meetings, some of the NCS students head over to the campus parking structure for car park soccer. There are two decent size colums that serve as goals, the rest of the structure (fences, walls, ceilings, colums) are fair game. People show up and leave when they want, randomly pick a side to be on, and jump into the mix. Last night about 40 people got together to play, the game resembeled something like an 8 year old AYSO game, every player chasing after the ball and kicking wildly. This was an amazingly fun way to spend the evening

Monday, February 22, 2010

Australia is hot

Contrary to foolish belief, Australia is hot, really hot.

Today was the first day of "O-Week" (orientation week) and things went well. I was about an hour late into the international orientation due to poor planning and getting lost. Luckily I didn't miss much and was able to copy notes off of Nina, the other exchange student from my university. During o-week there is endless amounts of "Free BBQ", this is misleading. The BBQ is actually some form of sausage surprise, lamb is definitely involved. This mysterious meat leaves the eater with an awkward look on their face, on one hand it isn't good, on the other, it's free.

Other points of interest:
In getting directions to obtain a student ID, I was told to walk through "the bush" (awesome).
I signed up in a few student groups, looking forward to meeting some new people and exploring the city/territory.
Water fountains are called "bubblers"
Bus tickets for the time I'll be here will cost me a minimum of $700, I might look into a cheap car instead?

My goals over the next few days are to:
buy a fan for my room (I'm having trouble sleeping it's so hot!), look for used surfboards, and figure out my schedule.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The first few days of Oz

The next chapter in my year away has begun, I’m finally in Newcastle. The hostel I’ve been staying in offers plenty of free or low cost activities for its residents (like free food on some nights, 2 for 1 drink specials at local bars ect) which has been wonderful as everything here seems to be twice the price it would be in the states.

I met the realtor I’ve been hassling online for the last month or two, everything is in order (for those familiar with the subject, my wire finally went through!) and I’ll be moving into my own room tomorrow. The property is a boarding house with about 45 residents sharing bathrooms, a kitchen, a large dining/study room, and common room. The rooms are on the small side but I brought next to nothing so that works out just fine. It’s a 7-10 minute walk from my doorstep to Bar Beach, an excellent stretch of coast flanked by towering cliffs, and containing (from what I’ve read) the best surfing in Newcastle. I walked along the coast for about 30 minutes today, this is going to be a wonderful year.

I met a few other international students who were checking out the boarding house, they said there are loads of tours/activities that the international department is putting on for the new arrivals, I’ll hopefully find my way into some more free food tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Day 28, Bangkok

I've spent my day reflecting on my travels around SE Asia, I feel incredibly blessed in having this opportunity. SE Asia was nothing like what I expected, the people are friendly and understanding, the scenery is unlike any place I've seen, and the food is delicious and inexpensive. I've eaten the majority of my meals from street vendors without getting sick, I've walked the streets of Thailand and Cambodia late at night, alone, and I've never felt threatened. I've eaten the fried bugs, experienced the temples, rode the elephants, watched the Muay Thai fights with the locals, and dove the Indian Ocean. I have no reservations of my time spent here, this trip has been amazing and it's something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

My flight for Oz leaves tonight, the next adventure, the next unknown, and I'm excited.

In the meantime I'm going to head off for a little alley five minutes away from the hostel, this is where I'll celebrate my last night in Bangkok by stuffing my face with an assortment of food I've never seen before.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Day 26, Koh Phi Phi


Today was the last day on the islands and I got up and went for a hike to get a better view of the island, pretty awesome.

Day 23-25, Koh Phi Phi















Scuba certification time!
Over three days we learned the essentials of diving and went on several open water dives. To become certified we had to read, study, and take a test, all of which seemed cruel and wrong when considering our location.
The dives were incredible, the water was about 85 degrees 30 feet down, it was like diving in bathwater. The water was crystal clear and the fish and divers shared a mutual curiosity, allowing for great close up examination. Over the dives we saw black tip reef sharks, moray eels, giant sea turtles, dozens of huge puffer fish, clown fish, and of course fish of all shapes and sizes in every color of the rainbow, fashioned with a neon radiance.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Day 22, Koh Phi Phi

Today we commissioned a long boat to tour the surrounding islands of Koh Phi Phi.














The first stop was Monkey Beach, a 100m stretch of beach surrounded by dense foliage and a several dozen wild monkeys. After our stint with the Cambodian monkeys, we felt confident and ready for interaction. We were warned that these monkeys are extremely aggressive and will attack if you run from them, "no problem" I thought, "monkeys love me". Like a proper tourist, I shuffled over to their congregation, armed with my camera in one hand and pineapple in the other, I had grin that suggested questionable intellect.



I wasn't alarmed when four monkeys surrounded me, I had pineapple and the aforementioned grin. The tides turned when another tourist, who was less versed in monkey business, sprinted away from a monkey she was tormenting with an empty beer bottle. Her flee overtook the surrounding monkey's primal instinct, the closest one grabbed my leg and gave me crazy eyes. I held my ground and he decided to bite me in the knee (didn't break skin thankfully) which caused me to let out a strikingly masculine yell. Back to the boat.



We then did a bit of snorkeling













We traveled to a secluded cove














And finished our tour on Maya Beach, the famous location of "The Beach" starring Leonardo Dicaprio. Even with the hundreds of tourists that flock to experience the beauty and grandeur of this cove, the scenery hasn't lost any of its magic.










After about an hour of marveling the unnaturally soft sand, clear waters, and captivating cliffs, we jumped back on the water taxi and enjoyed the setting sun on the way back to Phi Phi.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Day 20, Koh Phi Phi


I woke up before everyone and decided to find myself a nice plot on the beach and take in the scenery. I warned my travel companions to take it slow the first few days so that we wouldn't get burned, I thought I was playing it safe by dousing myself in SPF 50 (several times) but it turns out the sun here got the best of me and everyone else. With a stunning red countenance and an endlessly sweaty brow, we sat down to eat some local food and indulge in fruit smoothies.

I'll be hiding from the sun the next few days, this could be a good opportunity to get dive certified!

Day 19, Koh Phi Phi


After traveling by a series of dodgy trains, buses, tuk-tuks, and taxi's, the plane ride to Krabi was a relief. The ferry from Krabi to Koh Phi Phi took us through smooth blue waters surrounded by dozens limestone spires, all covered with lush vegetation and untouched by man. As we pull into the cove of the Phi Phi islands, one can't help but be in awe of the clear green and turquoise waters, the towering cliffs, and the seemingly unending white beaches. We'll be staying here for 9 days, moods are high.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Day 15, Siem Reap















Today was dedicated solely to Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous Wat in the region. After wandering around the center region with what felt like half of China, we shuffled off the beaten path and found the beauty and tranquility you'd expect from such a place.

This immense structure demands awe and inspires curiousity as you're left wondering how they built any of this without power tools and the latest caterpillar line up.