I am sitting on my bed at the Brunswick Hotel (Tassie Backpackers) in Hobart, Tasmania. I’m wondering what I’m going to do for breakfast. Since today is the day before Easter, I’m not sure what is going to be open. McDonalds may be my only option but I need to crawl out of bed and put on clothes and go find something. This hotel seems so old but has so much quirky charm about it.
Hobart is a lovely little city. I really didn’t know what to expect, especially since I did absolutely no research before booking my flight. I got some exploring done yesterday but it was a rainy Good Friday and this means that the city was more or less a ghost town. I tried to go out and be social last night, but nothing was open.
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I went for a walk up a local mountain called Mt. Wellington but didn’t know which road would take me. Found some beautiful houses and neighborhoods, but the road didn’t lead to the mountain sadly. When I returned to the hostel, I asked the desk clerk if she knew what road would take me there. She showed me on Google Maps and printed out the directions for me. It looks like it’s a 4-hour walk (one-way) and so I think I’ll find out if there are bicycle rentals in the city.
For dinner tonight, I was in the mood to eat something a little fancier than the quick Asian cuisine that I’ve been having lately. I grabbed my phone and launched the Urban Spoon app (I highly recommend you download this app if you don’t have it yet- it’s great!) and shook my phone, causing it to pick a restaurant at random. The one that came up was an Italian restaurant called Smolt. It wasn’t too far of a walk, so I gave it a try.
I looked the menu over and ended up ordering the grilled Tasman venison, seasonal fruit puree, quinoa, spices, cauliflower & almond salad with a creamed garlic. I had to make a note of exactly what I’d ordered. It was amazing!
I am so thankful for delicious food! I don’t know if I would consider myself a foodie because I’m not really great at knowing what the chef has put in each dish. I sometimes recognize some of the ingredients by their taste or texture but I don’t think I could recreate most of these dishes at home- I wish I could!
Arron gave me an assignment before I’d left Brisbane. He told me that while I was in Melbourne I needed to go find the brightly colored bathing boxes at Brighton Beach. These are quite the tourist attraction and he told me that they sell for about AU$200,000.
I think they’re fun, but they’re definitely not worth that much money. Maybe there’s a supply and demand thing going on? Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely… I guess I could set up a lemonade stand or some such nonsense. For more info, check out http://www.brightonbathingbox.org.au.
I just got back from my free breakfast upstairs. It was a bowl of Rice Krispies. They may have been the generic version, but I’m not sure. They were good. I’m thankful that the hostel provides it for us.
In less than an hour, the hostel will give a free walking tour of the city. I think I’m going to join them. My driver from the airport told me that downtown Melbourne is 9 blocks by 9 blocks and is 2km by 1.9km or something like that. This means there’s a lot to cover and I’m curious as to what I’ll learn about the city. Since I don’t know very much, I guess anything I learn would be good.
I had a fun night last night- I went on a long walk with one of my hostel roommates, who has a name, but I can’t remember it. He’s from Malaysia and is here visiting a friend who is going to school in the city. My other roommate is from France, also a very nice guy, whose name is Pierre (of course it is).
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I opted to not go on the free walking tour. The boy from France asked me if I wanted to go explore with him. This was his last day in Melbourne before he leaves for New Zealand and he told me that he wanted to walk to the bay. It is such a nice day and we had a great time! We walked out on some pier and took pictures.
A sign told us there would be little penguins, but they must have all been out finding food. We fed some black swans instead. We found a cafe for lunch- he had a salmon pizza and I opted for the lamb. We put in the miles today!
This is the reason I love to stay in hostels- You never know who you’re going to meet. After our walk, I felt like I deserved another massage, but decided not to get one. If you recall my experience in Sydney, you understand why.
Tonight I helped Pierre drag his stuff to the bus station. He was grateful and I’m going to miss him. I gave him an American dollar and told him that he needed to return it to me someday, but it can’t be returned via mail. One of us will have to travel. Kind of a cool idea, if you ask me. I should be spreading out U.S. dollars to everyone I meet. Maybe this will get me to travel more often.
The first thing I have to say is that I love this hostel. It’s a prime location in the city and it’s right above a police station- that’s always good! Last night I asked one of my hostel mates about places to go jogging in the city. I decided that I am going to return to Brisbane in a couple weeks and I’m going to be skinnier than I was when I left. I must impress Arron and Brendan. This is my new life-goal.
Here’s the problem- my hostel room has no windows. I thought I was waking up early but I realized that it was already after 09:30! Still, I didn’t lose hope that I would get a decent jog in. Someone told me that the Botanical Garden was a good place to run. There was some charity run for children going on- or such some nonsense. There were so many people in the garden that it was impossible to get moving at all- I did get a fairly decent jog in though.
I am some kind of idiot: I left my camera on the plane yesterday and I was going to just take my iPhone and take pictures with that. Arron told me I needed something better quality than that and I wholeheartedly agree with him- I’ve gotten ahold of Virgin Australia’s lost and found department and they said that nothing had been turned in from my flight but I should check back again this afternoon. This is so frustrating to me! Why am I so scatter-brained that I’m doing things like leaving my camera behind? For now I’ll just take pictures with my iPhone.
Security at the Sydney Airport is ridiculous today! My flight doesn’t leave until 16:00, but I thought I’d better get to the airport early. I waited in line for about an hour, just to check in for my flight. As I lugged my bag through the line, I reached the realization that I need to pack less next time. I packed for two full weeks, but next time I’ll just pack for one week and do laundry more often. The nice ticketing agent was willing to move me to the 14:00 flight. There is also a 12:30 flight but it’s completely full. I’ll just sit and enjoy the airport.
Sydney Day 3: After eating breakfast, it was time to get my hair done. The last time I dyed my hair, I was in Aberdeen, Scotland. I’m trying to make this a “thing” that happens whenever I travel. It’s a blast! I found a little Salon and an empty chair. A boy named Ollie who is an immigrant from Poland gave me a haircut and did the color. I told him afterward that since I was on vacation, he needed to pose for a picture with me. He came from Poland last year and is living with his girlfriend, who is originally from Lithuania. Very nice boy. Feel free to ignore my facial hair because when I got back to the hostel that night, I shaved it all off. I now look blonde… and younger…. ish… but I still have the same amount of wrinkles.
I was looking at the map, deciding where I wanted to go on day 4, and what jumped out at me was a place called Watsons Bay (why on earth would that catch my eye?). Not sure the history of Watsons Bay, but I knew this was going to be my goal for the day. Rather than wait for a bus, I opted to walk… and walk… and walk… and walk. I put in the miles! It was 7.1 miles one way, to be exact!
The walk was incredibly beautiful and when I got to Watsons Bay, I needed some rest and relaxation. I thought I would walk around the park where I was told there was a historic lighthouse. The area was so great- looking to the left, you could see the mouth of the Sydney Bay. Looking to the right, you could see the Tasman Sea. It was incredible!
Now for the fun part: I never thought I’d have the guts to do what I did next. First of all, I knew that if I thought about it for too long then I’d “wuss-out”. After doing it, I sort of struggled with the decision of whether or not I should share this part of my journey. My first thought is that my friends and family don’t need to know EVERYTHING that happens on this vacation.
This is, however, something that I feel is such a milestone in someone’s life that I just needed to share. Before you throw your unrighteous judgment in my direction- understand that I had just walked over 7.1 miles and needed to relax. Nude beach time! I figure that “haters gonna hate”.
The beach was occupied by me and two others. No big deal, right? This goes against my American squeamishness, but it’s not like they’re ever going to see me again. So screw it! Let’s get naked and wet!
I decided that I was going to walk all the way home, rather than try to find public transportation. With all this walking around, I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that I walked about 17 miles by the time I got back to the hostel. I needed to get off my feet bad! I felt a massage was in order.
Near my hostel, I remembered seeing a building that said they offered Thai Massages. Up to this point, I’d only ever had a Swedish massages so I figured this would be a new experience. The massage parlor was located upstairs so when I walked through the glass doors, there was a long narrow stairway leading up to the next level.
I made my way up top and this lady was sitting at a desk. I asked her if any of the therapists were available. She said they were and I wanted a remedial massage- she said this was the closest thing to a Swedish massage. I paid her the money and she called one of the therapists over. The girl smiles and bows her head. Now, do you remember the scene from Big Trouble in Little China where the guy goes in to find a Chinese prostitute with green eyes? This is the vibe I’m getting by this point.
The therapist tells me her name but I’m kind of freaking out so I don’t remember it. She says, “Follow me, please.” Only she says it in a very thick Asian accent and I have to ask her to repeat herself so that I can understand. She bows and motions with her hand for me to follower her down a dark hallway to a room.
We enter the room and she tells me to take off all my clothes but leave on my underwear. I’m laughing to myself wondering what the hell I’m getting myself into. I always leave my underwear on when I’m getting a massage because if something happens (fire drill or whatever) and I have to exit the building fast, at least I have underwear on. So she motions to the table and tells me she’ll be right back.
Ok here’s one key difference with a massage in the states (at least with the massages I’ve had up to this point): They always ask you to cover up under the top sheet and wait (usually on your stomach). Then the therapist comes in and starts. Here’s the problem I’m faced with. There is no top sheet. So I strip down to my underwear and am laying there on my stomach, stressing out that I might be doing this wrong.
She comes back into the room and asks me if I’m relaxed. I tell her I am, even though I’m just trying to convince myself that I am. She then proceeds to pull down the back of my underwear and I’m thinking “ok it’s just my butt crack- everyone has a butt crack. No big deal.” She slathered this oil all over my back (and upper-hiney) and starts the massage.
Ok, this feels amazing and in no time I’m feeling relaxed. I was hurting so bad that I really needed this work done. The slight uneasiness I had when I first got here has now melted away.
Next, she climbs up onto the table (I’m not even kidding) and I’m wondering what’s about to happen. I am also wondering how many steps it will take me to be out of the door if needed. She kneels on my feet and is moving up the back of my legs slowly. The back of my calves are killing me, but she’s working them deeply! It was horribly painful, and when I told her to back off a bit, she laughed and kept working them.
She gets to my gluteus maximus. I can feel her feet on the back of my knees now. This sounds weird but it felt really incredible. She kept working up my back until her knees are on my shoulder blades. She hops off and re-oils my back and goes to work on my neck and shoulders, more of Swedish style.
I just reread this entire story and I am laughing at myself. Some of the other people in the hostel are wondering what’s so funny. I just read them the story. I’m pretty sure they think I’m a moron. They laughed though- so at least I’m a funny moron.
Sydney has been a blast! Yes, I do miss Arron and Brendan. I wish they were here. How dare they continue to live their lives without me! Arron dropped me off at the airport early enough that they were able to put me on an earlier flight. I didn’t know they’d do this free of charge- one point for Virgin Australia! This was my first experience flying with them. I’ll be sticking with them for the rest of my domestic flights, while I’m here.
Sydney seems to be a lot more spread out than Brisbane was. It seems to have more foreigners than locals- at least downtown. This didn’t seem like the case in Brisbane, however. I’ve met some nice locals outside of downtown however. I spent my first afternoon here just getting familiar with the city. If I had a dollar for every Thai restaurant in this city- I could die a very wealthy man. There are so many! I’ve eaten at a few and I think I’m over Thai… at least I am over it until I get hungry again. That curry seems to just drag me in.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to see the Sydney opera house- in fact, the only thing that would be better than seeing it would be to sing in it… one dream at a time. I’ll focus on the easy goals first. On my second day here, I grabbed a street map from the front desk and they pointed out where there was a great place to see it and take some pictures.
After dark, I went to a pub to sing karaoke but there weren’t very many good songs to choose from. Still, it was fun to watch people pretend to be singers. Nothing is better than karaoke!
I failed to mention dinner last night. This was the perfect end to a perfect day! I can now officially say I’ve had an Australian meat pie! When I ate at Pie Face the other day, that was technically official, but that’s something that I could find at my local grocery store, in the states. No offense to Pie Face, but it wasn’t anything special- in fact, it wasn’t the best tasting meat pie I’ve had.
Arron, Brendan and I walked to a nearby tavern to order some dinner. My dinner was extremely delicious! Not only did this one taste much better than my last experience, but it was topped with mushy peas! I’m pretty sure this came from the United Kingdom because I remember eating mushy peas there. All I can say is that it was a great dinner!
The next morning (4.5) we went to some sort of nature preserve called Walkabout Creek. This was a nice spot that had a little bird enclosure, a couple kangaroos and pademelons, which is like a mini-kangaroo of sorts. I would have loved to pick one of them up, but they weren’t accessible. I don’t think they would have appreciated my jumping into their pen to grab one.
After this, we headed up the mountain to take a look at the D’Aguilar National Park. I took a short video of the singing Bell Birds. At first I thought something was squeaking in the trees, but Brendan told me about these birds. The birds down here are so different. Even the birds at the house have the most interesting calls.
We drove to the nearby Mt. Glorious (I think that’s what it is called) and walked down this long trail that led us to a scenic (but small) waterfall. This was one of my favorite hikes that I’ve been on in a long time! I don’t think Arron or Brendan could even comprehend how much I love being outside and how much I love hiking! There’s a lot of hiking I’d like to do in the future, and this was just what I needed!
We were hiking and all-of-a-sudden, Brendan stops and looks into the thick growth near the boardwalk. He said he caught it moving out of the corner of his eye. Brendan is a regular Man vs. Wild type.
Later that evening we made it back to the house and it started pouring down rain. It didn’t rain for very long, and thank goodness we weren’t still hiking. They had some friends over for dinner. A great group of guys! This was the first time (or at least the first time I can remember) that I’d ever eaten a kangaroo. It tasted like beef, but gamier. Not too gamey, mind you- just a tad. It was very good! One of their friends made a delicious dessert from scratch. I need to learn to cook… or bake… or whatever it was.
The next morning I went for a walk by myself. The guys had to work, even though I asked several times if they’d just quit their jobs- they wouldn’t. On my walk, I decided that I would go see a matinee at the cinema but first needed to find some grub. I found a diner called Denim Co. and ordered waffles. First off- they were so small that there was hardly any waffle to eat- I’m so trained to eat like an American (i.e. gluttony)… secondly, they were served with ice cream! I guess that makes up for the small size. Small but worth it!
While I dined, the birds finished up the food that was left on the table next to me. It was cute, but it dawned on me that they may be about as clean as a rodent. It was gross but cool.
I later grabbed lunch at Vapiano again. This is the Italian restaurant where Arron had brought me on my first day. I ordered the exact same thing as before. It was a great pasta dish called chicken spinaci and I was craving. Arron gave me a hard time for not venturing out and trying something new.
I met Arron in front of the city hall and we walked back to the plaza so I could try one of the brownies at Pie Face. He told me that most “American” brownies here are more “cakie” and less like an actual brownie. After knocking the Pie Face meat pie, I feel that I need to let you know that they totally redeemed themselves on the brownie side of things. Not as good as my mom’s recipe, but a good treat still.
We went to see historical Ft. Lytton, which is a fort that is near where the Brisbane River empties into the Moreton Bay. We walked around but I have to admit that Arron and I weren’t as into it as my dad would have been if he were visiting. My dad is a history buff and would have no doubt imparted tons of random facts about Ft. Lytton, I’m sure.
We met Brendan and one of their friends for some laser tag and I kinda suck at it. It was a fun game, however, and we all got a great workout. This is funny because one of the activities that Arron and I did on one of our “Dav Night’s” in Baltimore was laser tag. This is how I’ve managed to not work out over the last week or so- how I justify or rationalize or whichever of those words I’m talking about.
Brendan and one of their friends joined us for dinner and we went to Bird’s Nest Yakitori and Bar. This is a Japanese restaurant where we all ordered 6 rounds of skewered, charcoal-cooked chicken. I didn’t know you could have chicken so many different ways. But the meal was good and the company was great!
The next morning, Arron took me out to a late breakfast at a great restaurant atop a cliff that overlooked downtown. I had some french toast and Arron had some kind of pea-fritter with sausage… if that’s what it was. It looked disgusting, but I’m guessing that it was good. We had a good walk along the cliff top afterward and a really great chat. Even though I would have liked to stay longer, I knew that he had to get to work and I had to go catch a plane to Sydney.
I started my day with Vegemite on toast. I’m not quite sure why Aussies love this stuff so much. It wasn’t bad- but definitely an acquired taste. I’ve learned that I’ll willingly try most things once. It mostly tasted like salt. Perhaps I need to give it another go. Arron made some eggs with cheese and some fresh green herbs… not sure what the herbs were, but it was a delicious breakfast!
We knew we’d be spending quite a bit of time outdoors so next came the all-important decision of what hat I was going to wear. Since Australia is so far south, and there’s still a hole in the ozone layer, it’s very important to cover up when you’re out and about. I had gotten a little bit of sun the previous day and didn’t want to start worrying about a bad sunburn. Arron told me that Brendan is a skin cancer survivor. I can only imagine that this came from the strong down-under sun. Here were the options available to me, and I chose #3.
The Winner
The first one looks too much like “Driving Miss Daisy” and I’m not a fan of the brand name on the front of the second one. The third one was just right! Now I was wearing the perfect outfit for a day spent at The Australia Zoo!
Aussies are obsessed with big things. Arron made sure we made one stop so that I could get my picture in front of a big mower. I was moderately impressed. A few minutes later we would come across a big chainsaw and later I was able to get a picture with a very big pineapple, but you’ll have to wait for that exciting picture.
The Australian Zoo was operated, for the most part by the late Steve Irwin. I learned that his fame and popularity was so much bigger in the states, thanks to his show, The Crocodile Hunter. He was known in Australia but seems like he hadn’t really been upped to a celebrity status until after his death, a few years back. Brendan told me that when he was young and they’d drive to the beach, there was a smaller roadside attraction that had crocodiles that later would become the location for the Australia Zoo. It wasn’t all the impressive but was more to draw in money from tourists.
After spending a few hours at the zoo, Arron and Brendan took me to a very beautiful and old forest called Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, on our way home. This forest here has never been cut down and so it was very, very dense. This looked as though you could easily hide a body and totally get away with it! Note: I’m really not looking for places to hide bodies.
This is a picture of Brendan leaving the trail and climbing on a tree after he decided to ignore the carefully placed sign that asked him not to leave the trail. I thought I’d keep it in case I am ever asked to testify against him in an Australian court of law.Behold, the Pineapple
This morning I woke up at precisely 04:08 and laid in bed for about half an hour, waiting to see if I was actually going to sleep some more. Thankfully, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until just before 07:00. Does this mean my body is adjusting to the new time zone? Not sure, but I’ll keep setting my alarm in case.
This morning I woke up at precisely 04:08 and laid in bed for about half an hour, waiting to see if I was actually going to sleep some more. Thankfully, I fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until just before 07:00. Does this mean my body is adjusting to the new time zone? Not sure, but I’ll keep setting my alarm in case.
Yesterday was an incredible day. Arron had to go to work for another half-day, and Brendan felt that he needed to catch up on some rest. After a late start, I ventured out on my own, back into the city, as I had the previous day. The rail system here, like most cities, is straightforward to understand and use.
I went back to Brisbane central and stopped at the Apple store once again. I wanted to price some things to see how much more expensive they’d be to purchase here than they are in the states. I looked at some excellent Bose QC15 headphones and discovered that it would cost me considerably less to buy them in the states. If I lived in or frequently visited Australia, I could start a side business of flying back to the United States, buying tons of electronics, shipping them back, and selling them. This is probably not legal, but I remember that the customs officials in the Brisbane airport didn’t ask about electronics. Just food and drugs. I didn’t end up buying anything but did convince myself to look into getting an Apple T.V. someday.
I explored some of the city by walking in a massive circle around the train station. By doing this, I figured I couldn’t get too lost. The problem with Brisbane is that the streets are at a diagonal. I’ve grown so used to using north, south, east, and west to understand directions, and Arron told me that I needed to totally change that way of thinking. They rarely give or even understand given directions in that manner. Instead, Australians will say something like, “Go toward (insert the name of a nearby town or landmark) or walk toward (some kind of known landmark).” As a tourist, however, I don’t really know where these towns and places are located.
After walking around the city for a few minutes (I may have been lost most of this time), I saw a small restaurant called Pie Face. I remembered that Wes, one of my crashpad roommates from Australia, told me that I needed to make sure I ate a meat pie before I came back to the states.
They are very delicious, and it was one of the things he missed about his home country. I remembered that Arron had told me that Pie Face had the best brownies, and I figured I’d try them out. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I shouldn’t have ordered two. They were pretty good, however- only slightly larger than a Marie Calender’s pot pie back in the states.
I wanted to get out of the city and see a bit of nature. Arron mentioned going to some kind of park later in the day, so I thought I’d stick with a nature theme from here on out. There are a lovely botanical garden and a walking area near Brendan’s work on the Brisbane River. I notice that all the active runners were very, very good looking. I wondered if there was some sort of audition that you had to look so good to work out there. I’m sure I fit right in, what with my high levels of sexiness and all.
Arron and I had arranged to meet for a late lunch at 13:30. I ventured back into the city to see if I could find our chosen rendezvous point. I soon found the city hall clock tower and camped out for about an hour, just watching people come ago across the square. I’ve always loved people-watching, and the fact that I was in Australia made it all that much more intriguing. I love to size people up and try to figure out what their personal stories are. Who are they? What is their relationship to the person who is with them? Where are they going? Fascinating stuff!
Arron soon showed up, and we walked to a nearby restaurant called the Melange Cafe. The setting was absolutely beautiful! It was on the edge of a huge garden/ park called Roma Street Parkland. The cafe was more like a vast open space with a permanent roof… an outdoor/indoor thingy (sorry, I don’t really know the words to describe it) with massive chandeliers overhead. Arron ordered a very posh-looking salmon dish, and I opted for a Thai salad. The food was very delicious!
After lunch (I only made it through about half of my salad), we walked around the park and gardens. The land was teeming with dozens of giant, wild lizards called water dragons. They were cold but scary. They tended to scurry away when we got closer, but one of them stood his ground long enough for me to get a cool shot. They ranged in size from my middle finger’s length to ones that were longer and thicker than my arm. I want one. I would name it Jubjub.
The gardens were beautiful, and part of the park was dedicated to some guy from New Zealand who had been a very popular gardener on Australian television. I don’t remember his name, but he died in 2012. It was a garden of Eden.
When I saw this kangaroo statue, the first thing I thought was that Arron needed to spoon it. This is one of my favorite qualities about Arron- he’s very suggestible to random madness! He’s a great travel buddy! It reminds me of our “Dav Nights” we would have back in Baltimore. Any excuse to head out a play in Baltimore, really.
We next met up with Brendan and went for a drive up to Mt Coot-tha, and I ate an Australian desert called lamington. It was chocolate on the outside and had a lighter inside (maybe it was vanilla, but I don’t really know), and it had coconut on the chocolate. I do remember that it was very delicious!
In a way, I feel kinda bad that Arron and Brendan have been so kind to me. I didn’t want them to have to change their days around, and since I’ve arrived, they indeed have. I thought they’d just give me suggestions of things I should see and do during the day, and then I’d possibly meet up with them for dinner or something like that. Arron has been paying for most of my meals, and whenever I object, his response has been that I’ll have plenty of time to spend money when I travel beyond Brisbane.
Later in the evening, Brendan went to a birthday dinner for his sister. I again felt terrible that Arron was obviously changing his plans for my benefit, but instead of the birthday dinner, he took me on the City Cat, which is a Brisbane River cruise. It was a perfect night, not too cold, with a slight wind, but not enough to make you miserable. The boat took us downstream, and it was fantastic to watch the sunset.
We ended up at what I can only describe as the swap meet version of a food court. The place is called Eat Street Markets (www.eatstreetmarkets.com), and it was much like the atmosphere of a carnival or a county fair. There were food tents and booths everywhere! There was also live music, and instead of tables and chairs, they set out a bunch of crates in the middle of the walkways, and we just planted ourselves there and ate. Even with all of the different kinds of food, I opted for a spicy sausage with mustard and sour kraut. For dessert, Arron made me try my first gluten-free donut. It was pretty good- definitely not bad like I was expecting.
Later, Brendan rejoined us for bingo and karaoke. We had a fabulous time, and I would go every night if I only had the strength. I sang Evergreen by Will Young. Great song that reaches my upper range, and the locals told me I did a good job.
DavTravels 