It’s all over now.

Yeah it’s just about over now. I’m in Hong Kong now, and the boarding of the plane will start in a couple of minutes. Deja vu? The flight from Melbourne was a success, I got the window seat, and slept well for most of the time. At the airport I was hungry and thought about getting some noodles, but after helplessly staring at the menu for five minutes, still not understanding half of the ingredients, I figured it wasn’t the time to get something that tastes like chicken and makes your stomach go funny. Eating at Burger King in China seems disgusting to say the least, but I couldn’t help it 😦

Here’s something I wrote yesterday:

About 8 hours left before the plane back leaves. Three months has rarely felt like such a short time… I guess it’s time to round things up and bring the blog to an end. So here are the main points of the trip as of now. Later on they may change…

Rocks:
+ The fact that I overcame my materialism and bought the flights instead of a 30” TFT screen, or something as sweet and expensive
+ The places I’ve seen and the people I’ve met (the crazy, crazy Germans…)
+ Enhanced spoken English
+ The weather for the most part
+ I haven’t been sick (apart from sea-sick, bored sick and morning sick)
+ The few good pictures I’ve taken

Sucks:
– Working holiday visa. Turns out it was total waste of money, total waste of visa, and the only thing it gave me was some stress of not working.
– Exchange rate that really screwed me up. I lost some $400 because of the rate going belly-up…

All-around it seems like a good trip, then. But right now it’s nice to get back to Finland and enjoy the few nice days of the short summer.

Thanks to all readers, also those who never bothered to leave a comment. There’s no way I would have bothered to keep any kind of diary just for myself, and seeing the stats really kept me writing. Now there’s some written stuff about the trip as well as the pictures, so I can read all the blah blah when it’s dark and cold back home.

I think I’ve taken some pictures after the last post as well, but I’ve already carefully packed everything, including the card reader, so no pictures this time. Talking of pictures, there’s still room for 50 shots on the memory card, so overall I’ve taken about 15 GB of pictures. It will take a while to go through all of them and choose and edit the good ones… I may make some sort of gallery of the better ones (this time not edited on a lousy laptop from thumbnail JPG’s), but other than that there shouldn’t be anything coming here anymore. Unless there’s something remarkable on the flights back to Finland.

I may also write either here, or somewhere else, when I go abroad the next time. It won’t happen any time soon though, as I must first get a new passport, and right now I’m totally broke.

The end.

Random..

In 2003 there were 236 kilometers of tram rails and 600 trams in the city… Not all of them are modern. (yet another stadium at the background. The main stadium in Melbourne is the MCG, which has some 96000 or so seats. This one’s a bit smaller and newer.)

Return to St. Kilda beach. 

 

It’s getting remarkably boring. I COULD go see some place somewhere, but can’t think of anything interesting. I’d like to see kangaroos in the wild, but also feel like having a bit of a flu, so I don’t feel like spending too much time outdoors. Maybe I’ll just go sleep some more. Wake me up on Saturday.

Eurovision & other thoughts…

Eurovision song contest has never been as entertaining. No, not because of the songs or stage shows, because those are just the same as any other year, but because of the Australian commentators! In Finland I don’t really bother with the whole event, but here I couldn’t stop watching once I found the channel. I guess it would be about the same if they tried to comment on Finnish baseball, or if Finns were to comment on an AFL match. 

 

The commentators didn’t take the contest or themselves too seriously, which made the whole thing way more amusing than back home. Just to give an idea of their attitude, one of the commentators said “Hmm… I can see how this might be exciting if Australia was in the competition” and the second one agreed. Finnish Waldo’s People were “oh it’s the homeless Finns” due to the flaming barrels, and so on. 

 

But watching Eurovision isn’t the only thing I’ve done, I’ve also been freezing and cursing the weather. It’s silly for a Finn to cry like a baby when the temperature is only +17 C, but after the damp and hot Cairns, the 17-ish weather feels like a bold winter day. Can’t really tell why I feel like it’s winter and keep checking if the footpath is icy, it’s weird.

 

(Click for big)

 

Went to the Shrine of Remembrance. It reminds me of Uncle Scrooge’s money silo thanks to its cube-like appearance, impressive size, and central location on top of a hill. Free entrance 7 days a week, and everyone in Melbourne should definitely go see it. Not because of it’s yet another place with “lest we forget” written everywhere, but because of the balcony that runs around the building. 

 

 

Luna Park. The worst fairground I’ve ever seen – and that includes the one in Prague that seemed abandoned. Even the roller coaster is actually called “scenic railway”, which pretty much wraps up the lameness of the whole place. The most exciting thing is the entrance, and even that isn’t as much “exciting” or “scary” as it is plain disturbing.

 

Over and out. Remember to comment!

Last pics from Cairns…

First some bla bla from Wednesday…

 

I don’t know if I’ve earlier mentioned it, but there are loads of Toyota Prius hybrid cars on the roads all over the country. Anyway in Cairns they are also largely used as taxis. Now I hope it isn’t a huge surprise to anyone that the current, “1st gen”, hybrid cars aren’t really an answer to any of the ecological challenges the car industry faces… With that said I’m also sure that they still are a hell of a lot better choice for the environment than the Toyota Camrys used elsewhere.

 

The other note from the day was the bullshitness of the public transport to and from airports. It just makes me wonder who’s stealing my money when I have to pay $16 from a trip that would cost under $4 if it wasn’t for the airport-factor. That combined with the fact that the airport shuttle tickets don’t work for other means of transport, you’ll be looking at atleast $20, if the central railway/bus station isn’t where you’re trying to get to. That’s over five times the price of a normal 2 hour ticket that works for suburban trains, trams, buses… Seriously, what the hell? Whose fault are the prices? The airport’s? I guess so, and here’s a new idea for you guys: add road toll on the boarding tubes! This way you could charge people for walking from the terminal to the plane. Practical.

 

And then on with the pictures.

 

 

The weather on Tuesday was pretty much perfect. Would not have mind having the sunshine on the day of the reef cruise, but it was good enough still having one last sunny, warm day of the holiday before heading to the cold south.

 

 

Also got a better shot of the Ocean Free… Too bad the sails were already down by the time the boat was close enough for a picture.

 

 

And the last shot from Cairns, the Woolshed. After hearing about it and seeing Woolshed t-shirts all around the place, I asked the bartender at the hostel bar “what is it with the Woolshed” “Oh you haven’t been there?” “…No?” “You should see it, it’s crazy”. Another night he told someone else that “Personally I recommend the place, but you just can’t go there for as long as you can see straight”. Normal backpackers bar, then.

 

 

Watch out for the horses… And also for the ones with a rider! I don’t know if drivers in here are really stupid enough not to understand it without two different signs, or if it’s the “slippery when wet”syndrome again…

 

 

I successfully ran away from the autumn for close to three months, but arrival back to Melbourne proved that the autumn happens whether I’m there to see it or not. The weather in Melbourne is still fairly OK, if cool at 10 – 17 C, but the dead leafs and naked trees seem familiar enough. (I have no clue why the locals like birches – in summer time they require way too much water and in winter they have no leafs…) If I have any luck, it will be about as warm (or cold) in Helsinki when I get there… Hopefully even a bit warmer.

Yay pictures!

It’s been way too long since the last pictures, but here comes!

I guess I mentioned old wooden buildings some time before? Well here’s Hide’s Corner – part of Cairns since 1895

Small crabs with ridiculously large and colorful clamps… Pretty bad picture maybe, I wouldn’t know as I edited the shots on the terrace in too bright sunshine and couldn’t really see anything but the histogram.

Cilligan’s. Backpacking is a huge thing here, and some of the backpacker places are huge and very, very commercial. Cilligan’s includes about three restaurants and a couple of bars and night clubs… Just so you wouldn’t have to leave your hostel during the stay! Not my cup of tea.

THE sailing boat. It seemed larger in the ad…

When the sun was shining, the Green Island really seemed like a proper paradise island…

Even I couldn’t help being deeply impressed and delighted… And still feeling like crap after the trip, which explains the certain lack of enthusiasm in the impression.

There were also some small sharks. Impossible to take a good picture, though 😦

And then there’s a quick shot of the lunch… Took this one just for mom! I’m sure it’s the most important thing of the cruise as far as she’s concerned.

Yesterday I went to the Botanical Gardens. Not much to shoot there, but on the way back I saw yet another crocodile-warning, which gave me an idea: Mangrove-hide’n’seek! The rules are like usually, only the winner is the one who gets found in one piece, and the loser is the one who never gets found. Wanna play?

Many have seen the reef…

…but not many have been blind enough not to notice the darn thing before hitting their knees on it! Yeah it was the day I went to see the Great Barrier Reef.

I already know beforehand that the weather would most likely suck, and that combined with having to wake up at 6 AM on holiday meant I had pretty mixed feelings about the whole day. Indeed right from 6 AM it was raining. Boarded the boat, had some terrible coffee, and just wanted to get to the reef already. Just about here it’s worth mentioning that the cruise I choose included a 15-meter sail boat, also known as yacht. Compared to larger vessels, catamarans, planes and helicopters, the small yacht would show if there were any waves to be noticed.

And so the trip began. The sea got gradually rougher as we left the marina. As far as I know the wind was blowing at 30 km/h (7 m/s), which doesn’t sound like a great number, but there aren’t really anything to stop the Pacific waves either. As the ship started going all over the place and the sea water splashing over the deck, it was actually just a pleasant experience. Over time the soaked t-shirt and shorts didn’t turn out to be the right clothes to wear, but it wasn’t until the rain started when it got truly freezing. The sea water was 27 C warm, but somehow the rain drops felt freezing. Time to head to the cabin.

And this where the problem emerged: sea sickness. I didn’t remember I’d had problems with motion sickness, but how wrong was I. For as long as I had to stay indoors, it felt really, really bad. I didn’t throw my breakfast over board like some did, but then again, that might be because mainly I couldn’t afford to, more than because I didn’t feel bad enough 😉 At this stage I was really wondering how the hell had I ended up sailing on an ocean in a very small boat, and promised never to enter ocean in a vessel under 200 meters again. I was also wondering if I would get a helicopter lift back to the continent if I got stung by a jellyfish…

Finally we came to a stop a couple of hundred meters from the Green Island, and suddenly everything seemed worthwhile again. The sun started shining and the island really seemed like a paradise. Soft coral sand beaches, thick green forest, stable land and even a cold drink. I didn’t really know what to expect, but definitely it wasn’t a 5-star tropical resort and a crocodile farm…

Back to the boat! Nothing better than a couple of salads to choose from, served with some greasy salami and baton. After the lunch it was time to hop over board and see the reef. The idea of trying not to drown in the waves didn’t seem too tempting, but then again, I guess it was the whole point of the cruise, and I was already soaked, so why not.

Taking a scuba dive would have cost 75 AUD extra, so I choose to just snorkel. Bad eyesight and zero snorkeling experience were already signs that this could only end well… To be fair I must add that the instructors made it clear they’d pretty much carry everyone individually to see the reef, but looking others go I just figured “how hard can it be”. After all the point is just to float, breath through the pipe, and relax. The main problem in my water sports history (or lack of) is the totally irrational and scared-shitless-attitude towards deep water, and I just don’t see how that would be something to just snap out of, with the helping hand of an instructor.

“Hop”, “Slip!”, “Ei perkele…”. Yeah at first attempt the fins were too large. The second attempt was more successful, and I headed towards the other snorkelers…. Until I hit my knee on something. Shit. Quick look, and indeed I saw the reef, it was all under and around me. And just as I’d heard about the rock fish and other little buggers just waiting to cause you serious pain, injury and most preferably death. After that I just floated around, but couldn’t really see anything. Well, atleast I’ve now been there, done that and can be happy ever after.

On the way back some more lunch was served, as well as fruits, cheese’n’crackers, wine and finally some pastries. Also on the way back the sun came out again, while we were sailing along, and that really made me appreciate the whole stuff again. With seasickness-pills kicking in I couldn’t be arsed to get the camera, so no pictures of the return trip either. Overall Ocean Free scores 10/10 from everything, all the negative points are due to weather an me being me. Anyway here’s some points:

If you get easily motion sick, do NOT pick the smallest boat, it WILL sway
If the weather is bad, and you get motion sick, do NOT pick the smallest boat, it will sway A LOT
Don’t be an idiot when it comes to diving
Sailing and small groups (20 in this case) might still make choosing the small boat worthwhile anyway

And if you choose the small boat and the weather is harsh, take some clothes that will keep you dry. All of the clothes will be soaked in sea water, so you may not want to take the new and expensive thing with you

Instead of pictures I introduce you this fine graph that shows how much it sucked/rocked as a function of time:

Reefcruise.png

Rainy days…

It started raining again, I got back to the hostel, and finally bothered to edit some pictures. But before showing the shots, here’s what I’ve been up to:
Yesterday I decided that it was time to see a tropical beach, so off I went. I’d already figured there are no proper cycle ways to be found, so I took a bus instead. Palm Cove Bay sounded tropical enough, so there I went. Walked on the beach, which, as it turned out, was called the Four Mile Beach. It was not the kind of day when normal people go to the beach, so I pretty much had the whole beach to myself. Not much to take pictures of, though. Eventually it started raining, and I had to rush back to the bus. Bus sounds like a nice, dry haven when it’s raining outside, but it was freezing in there! I really, really HATE the way how these people just can’t adjust their freaking air-cons! Hopping to the bus from the rain, it really felt terrible and I was pretty sure I’d be ill the next day… Just stupid.
On the way to the beaches there were some sugar cane fields, and a couple of tourist attractions, that fail to attract me. The sugar fields made me once again aware of how much to see and film there would be all around. It’s such a huge place and there are such stunning views,  but reaching most of the places is simply impossible without a car, so it doesn’t really matter if I know or don’t about the views, I can’t reach them, atleast not when I’d like to. For example a sunrise over a wet sugar plantation must look nice from some angle, but getting to some nearby hill before sunrise just isn’t going to happen. Same applies to remote beaches… It would really suck to later notice I missed something that was easy to reach and affordable, but I don’t think I’ll feel bad about missing the remote stuff, because it was impossible anyway.

And on with the pictures:

“Weather station” that shows the daily forecast and the level of UV. Would be nice to know how the “Extreme” compares to the scale used in Finland 🙂 BTW I still haven’t burned, which is starting to seem like a miracle of some sort. Maybe my reef cruise will change that…

A guy helping the dog repair an overboard engine? I could imagine the dog going “NO! Not that one, you moron!” “Now look what you did, you dropped the screw again!”…

Of course I also had to take a night shot of the seaside. Most of the city is just 1 or 2-store high buildings, with the exception of the hotels. There are also a bunch of really old (19th century) wooden buildings in the center.  (Blah blah ofcourse I’m bored, it’s raining!)

Just a random shot of the loooooong beach.

Warning included crocodiles, jellyfish and falling coconuts! Dangerous place…

Also I noticed how damn freezing it is in Melbourne! The forecast ranges from 10 to 17 C daily… Atleast it will be  pleasure to get back to Finland after that!

Ding.

I finally managed to buy new shoes, which made me surprisingly happy. The breakthrough in finding the right kind of shoes happened when I walked under the burning afternoon sun to the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) shopping center some couple of kilometers outside the city. The walk was almost as boring as today’s post will be, but getting $210 shoes for $120 was easily worth it. Then again a trip to an ATM was quick to ruin the mood.

All things considered I’m pretty happy of how my budget has held, though. The things to consider include the fact that beforehand I planned to work during the trip, and was pretty sure a night in a hostel  wouldn’t cost much over $20, and would atleast include a breakfast if it would be much over 20… Turns out the cheapest night I’ve had was $26, most expensive $30, and the breakfast has only been included in two places out o six. This brings me to the conclusion that book stores selling travel guides over a year old is immoral at best, budget ruining at worst and atleast there should be large warnings of not looking at ANY of the prices.

Again no pictures as I spent most of the time doing laundry, waiting for it to dry, lifting shirts back to the lines after they fell, and then walked to the DFO and back. Here’s the last shots from Brisbane instead.

Spectators’n’backlight. People watching the Buddha’s Birthday -stuff at Suncorp Plaza.

The shows included mainly dance, but luckily there was also one martial arts-show. Tried to caputre some action shots, but there wasn’t enough light 😦 Also as a funny detail the sound track included Darude…

At the Brisbane International Airport at 5 AM tthere didn’t seem to be too many people with the notorious swein flu. Or many people at all… Got pretty hard trying to stay awake when all the stores were closed and there were just a handful of people waiting to board the same plane.

Day 2..

Yet another public holiday! What’s wrong with these people.. The only shops open were the Chinese ones that sell Chinese souvenirs to Chinese tourists, and ofcourse the bottle shops. There indeed are lots of asian tourists, and souvenir superstores, selling all sorts of things that say “Australia” and “Great barrier reef” on it. And ofcourse boomerans made in China, which is already a bit too thick. The bottle shops being open on all holidays just goes to show how seriously locals take beer and drinking…

With everything else closed and showers coming down every now and then, I headed to the Lagoon, which is a large swimming pool, filled with salt water and surrounded by parks and BBQ-areas. Pretty similar to the one in Brisbane… Warm water as well. The overcast weather and dark clouds made the setting remind me of some views in Norway… As long as I managed to look past the weather and the palms. No pictures, as I couldn’t find a good lookout, and there were always some power lines on the way.

I still have some Brisbane-shots as well as pictures from Cairns un-edited on the computer, but once again I’m too lazy to do anything about it. Maybe tomorrow.

And as for future plans, I’m planning on hiring a bicycle and cycling up the coast to some of the picturesque tropical beaches. Or somewhere else, it all depends on the routes available. A trip to the nearest of the beaches should be around 20 km, which isn’t too bad as long as I take enough water.

Touchdown!

Yeah after spending the night in the airport, I managed to stay awake until I got to the airplane, and successfully made my way to Cairns. It was before 9 AM the plane landed, but the weather was.. well.. tropical. In Brisbane the mornings were freezing, so there was a certain difference to be noticed straight away. Also the night at the airport was freezing, so getting somewhere warm felt like christmas all over again. (Btw the plane left Brisbane at 6:10 in the morning, and understandably there were plenty of free seats. Nice.)

Compared to the hostel the airport had some nice upsides:
It was easier to find a seat with a power outlet for the laptop
There was a coffee machine
Nobody turned off the lights when I was trying to read

The hostel in Cairns was actually one that my mom (thanks!) found and told me via Skype-call last night. Turns out it was a good hint, and as of now there haven’t been real downsides to this place. The WLAN is only free for 30 minutes every day, but that should be enough as long as I write the text ready before starting the counter.

Northern Greenhouse

+
In the center of the city (hah, 100 000 people, damn town)
Spacious 6-bed dorm room
Atleast some free online-time
Not really the hostel’s reason, but due to the steady 20+ degree temperature, the outdoor area is pretty exotic
Some sort of breakfast included
Close to Coles

–
Bathroom in the dorm (also good, but not so much when everyone wants there in the same time)
Bar (no own (cheaper) beers and most likely some noise in the evening)

Spent most of the time walking on the beach and trying to find out which of the endless reef-cruises is the best. The Cairns airport(s, both domestic and international) are surprisingly busy for such a small city. I guess this is due to Cairns being the easiest/cheapest to reach from Asia… On the east coast, that is.

Saw my first crocodile and jellyfish warnings. Seemed kinda out of place during the low tide. Or maybe there are some extremely dangerous ninja-diles that can also crawl un-noticed to the shore with no water? These are the questions that keep me up at nights.

Talking about nights, I’ve been up for closer to 36 hours and feel just about ready to hit the bed. Good night!

Oh and it already rained a bit! And it seems like it will keep on raining. I don’t care, as long as it’s warm!http://www.weather.com.au/qld/cairns