This is a travel blog telling the story of my return to Oz. I´m going there to do a semester of my degree in nursing. Firstly I wanna have some fun. As girls do. The main reason for my stop over in London was the fact that Jack Johnson and his friends were playing in Hyde Park. And what an experience! All photos and videos from this night are on my phone-so nothing to share yet. BUT photos from my day in London from yesterday is in the album.

So what have I been doing in London?

Went to Harrods. . I had to get something. So on a student budget with no ability to buy a LV bag or Dior sunnies, I splurged out on decadent chocolate and loved it! It served as a dessert to my dinner tonight which included cheeses, breads and wine from the local grocery shop. Btw: When I arrived at this hotel I really thought I wasn´t gonna be able to stay another night here. The food smell of the floral patterned bed covers were to strong. But-hey, just by removing them, and discovering that the room has a small kitchen and a fabulous bath redefined my impression of cheap English hotels.

Recommendations for a perfect day in a big city:

comfortable shoes! It´s a kliche, but almost not being able to sleep due to sore feet and an aching back after standing at a concert for hours should make me learn. Which it did. I put on my totally-tourist looking sneakers today. Ah what a feeling! I can actually stand on my feet at the end of the day!

Get a hop on-hop off bus tour pass. Mine gave me a free (short-yet interesting) cruise on the River Thames. And I got to know the city I was in

My next day in London started at breakfast-as it normally does. I met up with the other Norwegians staying at the tiny hotel-a dad&his son. Norwegians are everywhere, even people from your hometown. But-anyways-they had found this american family of 3. So did I and we all ended up at the Tower of London. Incredibly touristy. Yet interesting. After leaving the party of 5 behing, I made my way over to Hyde Park. The O2Wireless festival was on and I sat down right in front of it with my dinner, consisting of a sandwich and a couple of Stellas. Yum! Music made it worth it. Beck was on stage. mmm

For my last day just killing time before my flight to Bangkok-I went to Portobello rd markets. The largest markets I´ve ever been to. People were everywhere. Lots of stalls and stuff to buy. (Lucky I´m on a budget AND already have a 25k´s suitcase....) Saturdays are good for this market. Got my tube to Heathrow later that night and got through check in drop of luggage ok. :) Then-I caught up with my friend Caroline from Norway who´s going to Adelaide as well. She happened to be on the same flight. Which was great-because she ended up with 3 seats to herself-and I was welcomed over. Made a HUGE difference to my trip-the first option was a seat squeezed in) between a man spreading his albows across to my seat (you know the type...?) and a young child which already smelled of poo. So Carolines 3 seater really made my trip!

Sunday/Monday

I was back in Bangkok for the first time in what must be 5 years. The airport is brand new and beautiful. There´s even a really nice Spa where I got the long awaited shower and a ONE hour massage. Fantastic! And it was 20 punds! Mmmm. I realised just before boarding my next flight that the airline was Jetstar. Which happens to be a cheap way to fly. And guess what? I thought for a while that all I get for the duration of the flight is a water bottle. And that´s it! Everything else has to be purchased... hm. Could´ve been a long trip this one. Ah-well. I needed the sleep! Waiting for the boarding to complete I sat there checking out my fellow travellers. Kids. Kids and more kids. Just great! I remember thinking that if one more family with kids came along to get on my plane-then I was gonna scream! I was terrified that I would end up next to one of this crying monsters for the whole 9 hours of flight. BUT-I must have great karma. Due to the fact that I had booked my flight with Qantas-I firstly got a meal on board. I even got a blanket that I didn´t have to pay for. AND I ended up with two seats to myself! Hooray! No screaming kids in sight!

Getting in to Melbourne was rediculous. I had just under two hours from plane landed until I had to check in with all my bags that I also had to clear through customs first. My plane was due to take off at 1110. At 1020 I had still not seen my bags on the baggage belt. mmmm... Only minutes away from being too late-I got my luggage, threw it on a trolley thingi and ran like crazy. Jumping the que a few times (thanks to kind people at airport!) I managed to check in 5 mins before it closed. Ah!

Got in to Adelaide at 1200-a driver was waiting! In a really nice car. It´s the way to travel, I reckon. My own driver. mmm. He even carried my bags in the rain. All courtesy of the University of South Australia. Nice! Cold showers in the city. Freezing as hell. But-slept for a bit and had dinner. Totally jet lagged and lacking of sleep Caroline and I spent the last couple of days organising an Australian bank account and getting mobile phones. Hooray for civilization!