Last day in Sydney

Need an update here, if for nothing else, so for myself to keep a track on time.

Friday

Had a walk down to the city centre, and saw the Opera House for the first time. It wasn’t as big as I had expected. To get there, we walked through the Royal Botanic Gardens, which were nice. We saw a bunch of flying foxes (huge, fox like bats) there. Kind of cool, but they seem to be a problem in general, destroying trees and such… We had lunch at a nice pavement cafe thingy, and then we went shopping. I badly needed a new pair of sandals, as the old ones were killing me (giving me a bunch of blisters). In the evening we went to Bondi Beach. It was very nice. We had dinner there as well.

Saturday

We had a very relaxing day at Manly Beach. It was a bit cold, though, as it was blowing, and a bit cloudy. It was nice to take it easy, though…

Sunday

That’s today… We went by the car we have rented to Blue Mountains. Very beautiful! The scenery was amazing! It’s not really a place you can describe with words, you just have to see it. When we got back to the hotel, I didn’t feel well, and had a nap. While the others went to have dinner, I stayed in the room and watched some TV, and then later came down here to the Internet cafe.

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We are heading north to Newcastle tomorrow, where we will be spending Yule Eve. It will be a bit weird, my first Yule Eve, not celebrating and opening gifts. It will be nice though.

Even though I find it weird to be in a place where it’s sunny and warm in December, I am enjoying it very much. It doesn’t feel like December, and definitely not like it’s almost Yule. But, it’s so nice and relaxing! Yay!

Sydney, Australia

Arrived in Sydney, Australia, early this, morning, after a couple of days in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok was wonderful! So different from Norway… We went sort of sight seeing on Wednesday. Paid 10 baht each for being drove around in a tuk-tuk (small sort of bike/car thingy). We stopped by a factory which makes jewellery/gem stones. They are normally not open to the public, but they had sort of a Christmas sale or something, and Wednesday was their last day. H bought me a wonderful ring – silver with an amethyst. I will have to take a pic of it when I come home… We also went to see the golden Buddha (or “The Lucky Buddha” which they called it) where we met a man who told us he was the brother of the Prime Minister of Thailand, the Emerald Temple, and the Great Palace. The Great Palace was absolutely beautiful. It’s definitely a place to visit if you’re in Bangkok. Our hotel in Bangkok was very luxurious. Beautiful and relaxing. It was called the Montien Riverside Hotel. I also bought some beautiful silk and cashmere fabric (purple, 4 meters) at a shop… Temperature in Bangkok was more than 30°C.

Thai food is wonderful! It tastes great, and the menu has a great variety of food. The first evening there, I had fried prawns and cashew nuts. It’s one of the best meals I’ve had. It was a bit spicy, but not too spicy. We were the only western guests at the outdoor restaurant, which I still don’t know the name of. It wasn’t very far from the hotel.

It’s still sort of early here in Sydney. Our hotel room is nice. It’s warm and nice here. Probably about 30°C, or more.

The trip went well. I got my veggie meals at the plane. Not always very good, but eatable. I didn’t get to read as much as I thought. I brought my new Harry Potter book, but have hardly had time to open it.

I am jet lagged as hell. Very confusing. The first night in Bangkok I woke up about two-ish, and couldn’t fall asleep again before six in the morning, and had to get up at eight, as we had a busy schedule… I am quite tired, but will have to stay awake until tonight. Heh. Feeling a bit dizzy too. Looking forward to have a snack. Sort of an early lunch I guess.

One thing is for sure. I do not miss snow and the Norwegian winter.

We are leaving Sydney at Yule Eve, and will go up to Newcastle.

To be continued…