(Can you tell I forgot my address book, and that I'm looking for something to do on my current layover before reaching Samui?)

written by  GoBlue on May 29, 2007 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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Perhaps the best part about the cabin was that it was located on a kangaroo sanctuary, despite being called the Emu Holiday Park... We got up close and personal with some joeys and slightly older 'roos. Will post pictures soon. The crew hopped onto the Great Ocean Road from the Grampians yesterday morning and have just been roadtripping away and doing some sightseeing. Off to do more of it... :)

At the top of the multipitch

Joc all suited up

Dave and Maddy

Hiking to a lookout point

Along the Great Ocean Road

A night of cards in Apollo Bay

Maybe it was just me waiting on pins and needles, after I got off the 4th leg of my 4-hour train/bus trip this morning in a random town in Australia, hoping that I'd find my friends. (As soon as I can, I'll post the picture of the "V/line National Coach" that I rode in from Stawell to Halls Gap. It was actually more like a Vanagon from 1984, not a coach bus.)

I traveled in style with this V/Line (state transit system) "Coach" bus from Stawell to Halls Gap, Victoria

Two quick notes: the campervan idea has been abandoned for a variety of logistical challenges, but we are riding in style in a Toyota minivan. Plus, lodging is at the Emu Palace cabin, where there is a real kitchen. Anyone who knows Dave Chapman's cooking will realize that this is a major score.

Secondly, I saw my first kangaroo today. They are fun to watch jumping around!

Over the weekend, we'll stay out here in the park for some more hiking and climbing. On Monday and Tuesday, we'll drive portions of the Great Ocean Road. And thus, the great adventure continues...

written by  GoBlue on May 25, 2007 from Halls Gap, Australia
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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We safely made our way to the Grampians National park and decided to stay at the EMU holiday park, another great choice. The proprietors rescue baby kangaroos, so we were able to hold a few, pet them, etc.

Also fantastic were the vistas and rock climbing.

In short, awesome time outstide the city, and once again it felt like too short of a visit. I definitely hope to make it back.

written by  GoBlue on May 25, 2007 from Horsham, Australia
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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Both Mike and I had early flights leaving from Suvarnabhumi International Airport, so we did what any self-respecting backpacker would do when faced with a 4 am departure to the airport: we stayed up all night. You would think we'd be pros at this after 2 years at business school, but I admit to fighting the yawns starting around 10 pm.

Luckily, we had lots to do to keep us occupied in the wee hours of the morning. Our hotel pool didn't close until 11 pm; there was a special showing of the AC Milan vs Liverpool finals from Athens, which we watched for a while; and when our bags were packed, there was nothing left to do except play a mean game of travel scrabble until it was time to get the taxi.

Now I'm hanging in Melbourne just for overnight until I catch the national train/coach line out to the Grampians region tomorrow morning. From the Claremont Guest House in South Yarra, it should be an easy subway ride back to the main train station. Although I didn't arrive until 9:30 pm, I did venture out to Chapel Street to grab a late dinner at one of the many cafes. Chapel Street is full of great looking clothing shops and boutiques, so it's probably better for my budget that everything was already closed!

I'm still marveling at the miracles of modern travel. Last night, I was in Bangkok, shopping at the Patpong Soi 2 Night Market and looking for Pad Thai street eats in 90+ degree temperatures. Now, I'm in another capital (Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, I'm told), but here, people speak my language and it's about 40 degrees cooler. I've found friendliness and welcome both places, though... I guess that's what makes travel so fun.

Stay tuned for more adventures of the campervan variety! I can't wait for my dramatic Hollywood reunion with the rest of the Michigan crew. Here's hoping there's an RV waiting for me when I hop off the V/Line national coach on some random street in Halls Gap, Victoria tomorrow. Cross your fingers. :)

written by  GoBlue on May 24, 2007 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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Hopefully you read Viv's account of the rest of our Hong Kong adventures. I can't thank the Chan family enough for their gracious hospitality. I ate, and ate, and ate. (See picture of our Saturday night feast!) And, I got to ride Space Mountain at Disneyland Hong Kong. It doesn't get much better than that.

Next stop: Bangkok, where I am now tearing up the town with Mike. We've seen incredible temples (Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Po, and Wat Arun) as well as the Grand Palace.

Wat Phra Kaew is full of gilded, golden figures

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Po, where "calmness brings happiness"

With temps soaring in the 90s, we loved our rooftop pool at the Rambuttri Village Inn near Khao San Road!

One highlight of our time here was a surprise discovery that classmate Kurt Dorschel's itinerary overlapped with ours, so we met up with Kurt for "One Night in Bangkok" (sorry, couldn't resist). Better yet, we met and dined at Bed, a swanky Bangkok restaurant and club where patrons actually sit in beds to eat and drink. Accordingly, I've posted the picture of myself in bed with Mike and Kurt.

Jennie, Mike, and Kurt in bed at Bed (a Bangkok nightspot for dinner and drinks)

We have one more day tomorrow of sightseeing, market shopping, and street-food eating tomorrow -- and though fried bugs are a delicacy here, I doubt we'll be that adventurous.

This lovely young girl was enjoying an after-school snack of some sort of fried bug or worm

The manyth in a series of umpteen photos of Jennie and Viv trying to masquerade their way through SE Asia

More to come... :)

written by  GoBlue on May 22, 2007 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
tagged Bangkok
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Melbourne is an interesting city. I think two activities largely capture the scene: sports and shopping. The city is chocked full of sports arenas and shopping centers. I thought it was a great city, well worth visiting and appealing in its own ways, but not as inviting as Sydney (it was also 10 - 15 degrees colder than Sydney; 55 vs. 70). Overall, glad to have been there.

A few highlights of our short 1.5 days in Melbourne revolve around food. The first night we went to a great old church (or civic buliding--couldn't really tell) that was transformed into an Irish pub--great setting for a few drinks. The second night we were aggressively courted by a number of restaurant managers to dine in their establishments. We finally settled on a restaraunt that gave us 3 bottles of wine and an appetizer for free, and a song and dance about this woman's mother being the cook in the kitchen who makes fantastic lasagna (we found out later this wasn't even remotely true--still, the wine and app were good!).

Overall, great time in Melbourne!

written by  GoBlue on May 22, 2007 from Melbourne, Australia
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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After days of shopping (ask Jennie about her new winter coat...yes, Hong Kong is in the tropics...), some time up in Victoria Peak - highest point in Hong Kong - via a tram dating back to 1888, a 25 minute cable car ride to visit the largest Buddha structure in the world, a trip to the Hong Kong Disneyland, and did I mention lots of good eating (?), I dropped J-Mac off at the airport train this afternoon and off to Bangkok she went. I'm sure she'll have a lot more to say about her time here in Hong Kong when she gets back online...yup, another case of viv-laziness. ;)

I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow afternoon on a red-eye through Singapore and will be catching up with Carl, Joc, Dave, and Maddy. I bet they'll be really excited when I burst into their rooms at 7am and start jumping on their beds... J-Mac will join us in about T-4 days.

Some pictures...

Riding the cablecar

Big Buddha

Big Buddha in all his glory

Dieties around Buddha

J-Mac bathing Buddha...

Trying on some space suits in Tomorrowland

Visiting Cinderella

Rainy day in Disneyland - ponchos to the rescue

Suffice to say, this place continues to be awesome. The Chapmans arrived on Friday to a spot of bad weather in the morning. It was upper 50s and rainy for a few hours, but has otherwise been in the low- to mid-70s and sunny. Regardless, we used that day to walk around The Rocks, Circular Quay, Sydney's Opera House and the Royal Botanical Gardens. It is a very vibrant part of the city filled with both modern beauty and history. One of the highlights is the Botanical Gardens, filled with Cockatoos, Fruit Bats, Spiders and amazing plants (for more pictures, etc: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/royal_botanic_gardens). Friday night we then went to a great Italian restaurant in Durlinghurst. I know I am getting old now that I am spending my days sightseeing in lieu of going out at night . . .

Anyway, Saturday was yet another great day. We traveled from Circular Quay by ferry to Taronga Zoo for a few hour tour. It is one of the nicer zoos I have visited, especially interesting because of their emphasis on Australian wildlife. We then went to Bondi Beach, which reminded me a lot of life in Southern California. One of the highlights of the day was the 1.5hr walk along the cliffs and beaches from Bondi to Coogee. It was amazingly beautiful. We finished Saturday night by making dinner with Chris in his flat in Coogee.

Yesterday we spent the day on a Wine/Reptile Park tour north of Sydney. The day was off to an interesting start when three of the four belts on the bus's engine burned up. Our driver, Robert, thought everything was OK so long as he drove without any headlights or other "extraneous" power drains (he was telling this proud fact as we were driving into Sydney well after sunset, using other vehicle's lights to guide us. Its great to travel in other countries . . .).

Anyway, the wine tour was great, but probably the best part of the day was stopping at the Reptile Park, believe it or not. We got to pet a Kuala Bear and Kangaroos. The Kangaroos were awesome. We even were lucky enough to see one of the Kangaroos buck back onto its strong tail, grab a goose's head with its front paws and kick its back legs into the goose's body during a squabble over some food. They look pretty powerful and not to be messed with, which is exactly what Chris' friend Matt thought while attempting to play patty-cake with one of them later (http://youtube.com/watch?v=CQdC4vWIxDw).

We finished last night with another great dinner in Darling Harbour, and then we headed to bed earlier in preparation for a big day today. We are traveling to Manly Beach for some hiking, beach time and surfing followed by the airport so we can make our flight to Melbourne. Until the next update . . .

written by  GoBlue on May 20, 2007 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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