City at Night II

The weather in Brissy was mild, mid 80s with an acceptable level of humidity. The City Backpackers was packed as usual. After checking in, I took a short, fulfilling nap and then journeyed into the city to do some much needed shopping for Fiji. I find my tropical wardrobe a bit wanting, or at least it was but is no more (thanks to some deals at Target). My roommates were three guys from the UK, all solo travelers, and all just beginning their trips. I thoroughly enjoyed giving them my tips on New Zealand and the rest of Australia. Again I am convinced that half (or probably more) the fun of traveling is talking about it later.

City at Night I

I struggled to stay awake tonight, the last few nights of poor sleep obviously taking its toll. I’m starting to rethink the benefits of red-eye flights. That and I hope that I heal up before my Fiji adventure.

What I Learned Today: There was a certain feeling of familiarity as I came back in Brisbane. A level of comfort associated with knowing the city, the trains, and the hostel. Prior to this trip I would have said that this comfort is the root of our problems, the reason that we all fall into boredom and bad habits. But now I know better. Feelings of familiarity and comfort should be enjoyed and welcome; however, they should not be depended on. Nor should they be our singular goal in life. Every now and then (more for some of us and less for others) we need to mix in a bit of discomfort, some unknown, perhaps a trace of novelty and uncertainty in order to grow and change.

written by  exumenius on March 4, 2008 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Fremantle Streetscape

The afternoon was all life maintenance; booking my Fiji adventures, doing laundry, catching up on this journal and repacking for my late night flight to Brisbane.
I want to take this opportunity to extend my dearest thanks to Sue, Den and family for their overwhelming hospitality over the past week. I felt welcomed into their home and I am very grateful for it. If/when they ever come to the States I hope that my family can show them the same sort of hospitality.

What I Learned Today: That the George Carlin theory of personal health (more germs = better immune system = better health) has actually been vindicated by medical research.
Though it doesn’t appear to have helped me at the moment.

written by  exumenius on March 3, 2008 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Rottnest Island

Today I tackle Rottnest Island. The first ferry leaves Fremantle at 7:30am, and due to the overpromptness bred into me by my early bird family I arrived at the C Shed terminal well before check-in opened. The ride out to Rottnest, just under 30 minutes in length, was a rough one as the winds whipped up a serious chop. After arriving, I claimed my rental bike, grabbed a map and set off to explore. A bit of history first. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s Rottnest was used as prison colony, mostly holding aboriginals and the worst of the worst white criminals. Its strategic location caused it to be transformed into a military base during WWII. Since that time, the island has blossomed into a tourist destination for both daytrippers and weekenders alike, as the old barracks and officers houses have been turned into accommodations. A number of townhomes have been built in Geordes Bay, as well. The main allure of the island, next to its nearly infinite number of small coves and beaches, is the almost entire lack of cars, a few maintenance vehicle and the police aside. As such, it is a haven for bikers who can take advantage of the many miles of roads built during the military days.

I was one such biker today. After landing

Rottnest Beach

After lunch I biked up the lone hill on the island to the lighthouse. From there it was all downhill to one of the secluded coves for a nap and a swim in the ocean. My ferry departed at 4:30 and the ride back was much choppier than the ride there. The swells were approaching two meters and the workers were scurring about handing out vomit bags to needy passengers. I calmly watched a cricket game on the television, enjoying the rough seas like a veteran sailor. I am convinced that in a previous life I was a first mate on a ship with the likes of Vasco de Gama or Leif Erikson.

Again I went down to the beach for sunset. This time it was a cloudless sky and I added one of the essentials that I had forgotten from last night; the bottle of wine. Apparently beautiful girls are a bit harder and most expensive to come by.

What I Learned Today: Why haven’t I read more Timothy Leary?

written by  exumenius on March 2, 2008 from Fremantle, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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On my morning walk I came across a youth softball tournament, a friendly reminder that baseball season is right around the corner. It was so very nice to people swinging proper baseball/softball bats and not those flattened logs that pass for cricket sticks. After reveling in the supremacy of American sports for a bit, I returned to the 12:01 Backpackers and gathered up my things for the train ride to the beach.

I caught the 10:30 to Fremantle, a half an hour ride. Fremantle is Perth’s port, like a Long Beach to Los Angeles or a Galveston to Houston. Some would say that Fremantle is just another suburb, but I disagree. It is

The Freo YHA

Indian Ocean Sunset

I killed much of the afternoon wandering the markets and numerous good used book stores. It just dawned on me that, as my trip is nearly over, I might need to start picking up a few souvenirs for the family. Later on I hit South Beach up for a quick dip in the ocean. Returning to town at 5:05, I soon found out that all the grocery stores in town close at 5 on Saturdays so I was forced to have a below-average kebab at one of the stands in town. It was Bather’s Beach for a superb sunset (the pictures of which I’ve lost). The clouds through up a panorama of red and orange, the wind blew, the waves crashed....the only things missing were a beautiful girl and a bottle of wine.

My cold appears to be getting worse before it gets better.

What I Learned Today: Don’t leave your calling card in a payphone booth, it won’t be there when you get back.

written by  exumenius on March 1, 2008 from Fremantle, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Five straight days of at or above 100 degrees I come down with a cold (dehydration is likely the culprit)….Anyways, being that today is the strangest of all days and that it is the end of another month I will take the liberty of waxing poetically a bit about the overall state of my existence. I am tired. Not physically or mentally, but socially. If this sounds strange, I understand as I didn’t know such a condition existed a mere five months ago. What do I mean when I say I am socially tired? Social exhaustion can best be described as talking to different people about the same thing for weeks on end. Where have you been? How long do you have left? What was your favorite place? Where are you going next?...It is widely accepted that maintaining relationships takes energy, I’ve learned that starting new ones usually takes even more (in those instances where it doesn’t lies true bliss). I say all this because I’m coming to realize that I’ve all but stopped trying to openly engage people. This is partly due to the fact that my trip is quickly coming to an end but also because of the aforementioned social exhaustion. At the moment I desire to talk to the same people about different things and not the other way around. How about a rousing argument with friends over the merits of ERA vs WHIP, or Badgers Football, or I-5 traffic, or American Politics or who from high school is getting married, or how drunk we were that one night in Fremont/Tucson/Stevens Point/Vegas/Duncan’s Barn. This is no knock on the trip as whole, it has been amazing, but rather just an indication that it is ending exactly when it should. I’ll stop with the self-reflection right here and save the rest for the Epilogue.

So what did I do today? Real life called and I

The City from Kings Park

Kings Park

What I Learned Today: I have very calm eyes…at least according to the woman at the monastery.

written by  exumenius on February 29, 2008 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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At Cottesloe

Cottesloe Beach

Cottesloe Beach was absolutely packed, on account of the teacher’s strike all the schoolies decided to hit the sand. Sue only stayed for a bit and then headed back home for some music appointments. I stuck it out all day (the Annas bailed on account of hangovers and high temperatures), hiding in the shade for most of the afternoon. Though the Indian Ocean is the warmest of the big three, the water was refreshingly cold and made for joyous swimming.

At night I ventured up to the Anna’s house in North Perth to chill out and have some dinner. I suddenly realized that I am going to be in Fiji in less than a week and need to get something planned.

What I Learned Today: I couldn’t possibly fathom working with teenagers on a day to day basis.

written by  exumenius on February 28, 2008 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Perth Skyline

After landing at Wellington Station, the central hub, I just sort of wandered around downtown for awhile, getting lost in the numerous underground shopping arcades and pedestrian malls. Post lunch I struck out

The City from the South Bank

My Foster Family and I

What I Learned Today: Never live within walking distance of your mother-in-law. ..and preferably not even in the same city.

written by  exumenius on February 27, 2008 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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After this brief disappointment, I called up Sue, the ex-foreign exchange student of my mother’s family 30 years ago who I was

My Foster Home

I spent the better part of the afternoon reading on the pack porch, in the shade of course as the temperatures approached the upper nineties. In the evening the rest of the family came home, Simon from his second day at Curtin University, Jemma from high school, and Den from a day at the golf course. Along with the neighbor boy, Max, we had a nice family dinner on the porch discussing the differences between American Football (gridiron as they call it) and Australian Rules Football (Footy). Simon, Max and I went to shoot some pool and have a few drinks at the neighborhood bar.

What I Learned Today: You know you are from a small town when you are looking at a high school yearbook from twenty years before you graduated and all the last names are the same as those of the kids in your class.

written by  exumenius on February 26, 2008 from Perth, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Disappointed from my walking tour, I wandered into the Parliament and State Library building, mostly out of desire for some air-conditioning. Having no interest, nor probably not the clearance to saunter into a session of the Northern Territory parliament, I headed for the library. Of minimalist, spacious design, the library was primarily being used by backpackers for its free internet. I offered no exception to the trend. Few and far between are the times one finds free and fast internet in this part of the world, so you best take advantage.

My airport shuttle bus was due to arrive until 10:10pm, so in order to kill some time I stopped at the cinema to catch a movie. I had missed No Country for Old Men, so I settled for Jumper. I would have been more entertained had I given my $14 to a bum and watched him get drunk. It was likely the worst movie I have ever actually paid to see in a theatre. Seriously, it was that bad. How can any director or studio representative watch this at the end and think, “This is a good movie”? All the airport activities went as planned and I boarded my cheap, but less than direct flight (I fly through Melbourne to get to Perth – not exactly a straight line) just before midnight.

Note: I gave my camera a rest these past two days and took exactly no pictures. Not that Darwin is all that photogenic in the first place.

What I Learned Today: The hidden benefit of red-eye flights when backpacking is that it saves you the cost of a night of accommodation. On the flip side, you often don’t sleep very well on the plane and end up wasting the next day trying to find a decent place to take a nap.

written by  exumenius on February 25, 2008 from Darwin, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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Disappointed from my walking tour, I wandered into the Parliament and State Library building, mostly out of desire for some air-conditioning. Having no interest, nor probably not the clearance to saunter into a session of the Northern Territory parliament, I headed for the library. Of minimalist, spacious design, the library was primarily being used by backpackers for its free internet. I offered no exception to the trend. Few and far between are the times one finds free and fast internet in this part of the world, so you best take advantage.

My airport shuttle bus was due to arrive until 10:10pm, so in order to kill some time I stopped at the cinema to catch a movie. I had missed No Country for Old Men, so I settled for Jumper. I would have been more entertained had I given my $14 to a bum and watched him get drunk. It was likely the worst movie I have ever actually paid to see in a theatre. Seriously, it was that bad. How can any director or studio representative watch this at the end and think, “This is a good movie”? All the airport activities went as planned and I boarded my cheap, but less than direct flight (I fly through Melbourne to get to Perth – not exactly a straight line) just before midnight.

Note: I gave my camera a rest these past two days and took exactly no pictures. Not that Darwin is all that photogenic in the first place.

What I Learned Today: The hidden benefit of red-eye flights when backpacking is that it saves you the cost of a night of accommodation. On the flip side, you often don’t sleep very well on the plane and end up wasting the next day trying to find a decent place to take a nap.

written by  exumenius on February 25, 2008 from Darwin, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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