Hello from another continent...Asia!

It feels really strange to be somewhere different after 3 months (half of my entire trip to date!) in the land of Oz. Leaving Australia was very sad...I completely fell in love with it and didn't want to leave, even more so because of the friends I had there, both old and new. I'll update you on the last couple of weeks in Oz (I have also uploaded [pics for you to look at) but will leave Singapore until I've left here. Have some great zoo pics from yesterday for everyone to see.

Zoe and I left Byron Bay late at night on the overnight bus to Sydney on the 18th of Feb. It was a long journey but it was worth it to save on accommodation costs! We woke early on the 19th, just before crossing Sydney Harbour Bridge on the bus, very exciting indeed! It was strange getting off of the Greyhound bus for the last time after a brilliant 5 weeks using it to get from place to place. We were greeted by Lee and Kathryn and then we went out seperate ways as Kathryn went with Zoe to their apartment in Bondi (which was gorgeous!) and Lee showed me the way to our apartment in Darling Harbour. It was so nice, despite 3 of us being crammed in one room! It was refreshing just to be in an apartment with a place to lay my stuff and a TV to sit and chill in front of (especially good since I was short on pennies to go out and enjoy myself!). The other 2 girls in the flat, Laura and Lucy, were a lot of fun too.

That day all of the apartment headed for Coogee beach. It was lovely there and the sun shone all day, something which it hasn't apparently been doing in Sydney lately. Afterwards we headed back and got ready to go out for a mini A Team reunion! We went to a gig which Martin (the crazy German guy!)'s girlfriend was singing at. She and her band were amazing and we all had a really good night.

The next day was Kathryn's birthday night out and we headed out to hit some posh bars, it was a nice change although I did end up spending quite a lot. It was worth it to be in a gorgeous bar overlooking Darling Harbour though. The day after was Kathryn's birthday...she wanted to spend it at the Tropfest short film festival so we headed there early evening and had a great time chilling on our picnic blanket having a mini birthday party!

The rest of the week had to be a bit quieter owing to how much money I've already spent whilst in Sydney! I managed to get round some of the sights of Sydney including manly Beach (again!), the Botanic Gardens and the Opera House. Really enjoyed wandering around Sydney and chilling out, it's such a great city. I also had to balance this with figuring out what I was doing when I got to Singapore...bit of a waste of time considering I still haven't figured out my next move! I had a great last evening in Sydney so was very sad to leave the next day...but excited about the next part of my adventure! My last day also marked a big milestone in my travels...6 months away from home! I still can't believe I have now been away for more than HALF A YEAR!!! The day I left Sydney I was treated to a quick lunch in the beautiful Watson's Bay by a guy from Portsoy who has been living in Sydney for 8 years. His dad was my doctor a long way back and we have a mutual friend so it was great to catch up and hear all about his life in Sydney. He kindly gave me a lift to the airport too so that saved a lot of lugging my rucksack around!

It feels really strange being on my own as I haven't really been alone since I took the big step and flew up to Cairns solo around 6 weeks ago. I'm staying in a nice, chilled out hostel and it's good to be able to catch up on sleep so I've made sure not to rush around too much. I went to the zoo yesterday (feeding the giraffe was a highlight!) so today I'm spending planning my next move. I'm looking to leave in the next couple of days, either for Borneo or up through Malaysia. Those of you who know me well will know that decision-making is definitely not my strongpoint so will appreciate how hard this is! However, I have lots of time to spare until I get up to Thailand so I think I'll make the most of it and do something different while I'm here.

Anyway, on that note, better get cracking and book my next move.

Lots of love,
Rach x