Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Apologies to my fans Days 8-13 Hong Kong (Lantau Island) and Australia (Sydney) Well hello there! Did you think I had forgotten about you? Sorry, so sorry! As many of you have so loving pointed out, I've been a little behind on my blogging…it's not because I haven't been thinking about you. Just been having heaps of good fun and haven't had time to write. No excuses, so I'll try to catch you up on the cliffs notes version of what has happened in the life of Dani since I last wrote. Last days of Hong Kong I spent my final day in Hong Kong touring around Lantau Island, which is home to a Buddhist monastery and the world's largest Buddha…and man, was it large! It took 250 steps to walk up to it! I was rather proud of myself for finding the "local" bus to get there instead of the tourist tram and spending WAY less! Aussie Land My flight from Hong Kong to Sydney was full (and overbooked). I was fortunate enough to get a bulk head seat so I had a bit more room, but didn't sleep at all still. So, it worked out that after meeting up with my friend, Rachel, in Sydney, I slept while she finished up class. I've been staying with her and her 2 Australian roommates and they have all been BEYOND wonderful hosts! My first full day in Sydney, we went to brunch with 2 of her friends at a café on the water. It was beautiful and reminds me so much of San Diego. Later, Rach and I went for a fun and happened upon some private little beaches next to a park. The next day, I stayed around the house and took it easy. Did some laundry, posted pictures, walked into town (and scored some finds at a local Salvation Army) and went for a run at the park. Nice to just lay low some. I also scoped out my metro plans for the following day when I went to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. It was a very scenic train ride and beautiful mountain peaks in a really cute, hippie town called Katoomba. Again, I was proud of NOT spending the tourist money for a bus ride to the lookout point for a hike that took me about 10 minutes and included lovely scenery along the way. On my way back to the station, I gave a one dollar coin (I found it on the train) to a man playing the Digedaroo (sp?) on the street and we got to talking. Turns out he ("Turtle") and his brother ("Croc") are amazing aboriginal artists. We exchanged stories and they gave me their contact information and a feather from an emu. Best dollar I've spent in awhile! : ) At nights, Rach and I have just been watching movies and hanging out, catching up on old times. What a special friendship—since we were 10 years old! We've even spent a night fixing furniture in her room : )
Melbourne After an uneventful flight from Sydney to Avalon, complete with free wine tasting and lovely Skype chats in the airport, I made my way to Melbourne today and am having my first experience as a couchsurfer. I'm staying with 2 guys, Bernard (Mexican) and Aaron (Australian) and they have been wonderful hosts so far. Met me at the train station with another couchsurfer who left tonight (Pelayo from Spain) and we've spent the evening chatting, cooking, and eating lentil stew. Before heading out, Pelayo left me his maps and gave me some pointers for things to do/see in Melbourne, which I plan to do tomorrow. Bernard fixed his bike up tonight so that I could use it while I'm here, shall I choose. Nice guys, have lots in common. Bernard is studying linguistics and cultural anthropology here (TOTALLY up my alley) and Aaron is studying art (wish that were up my alley) so we've had lots of interesting conversations. Looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow and posting this so I can get you all off my back : ) I'll try to be better from now on! As always, much love! : ) dani