To the U.S.A.

Today I had to leave behind the big green parks, the multicultural splendid cities, white beaches, Victoria Bitter beer, kangaroos, other strange creatures. And no more 'cheers mate' and 'no worries'. But after six weeks in Australia, it was time to move on. Although there are many parts of the country that I haven't seen (most notably the west, north, south and middle areas haha), I think I have seen enough of Australia to really get a feeling of the country and the way of life. Although the beaches were nice to spend a couple of days, it were the cities that I liked the most. Specifically Melbourne and Sydney. Which one is 'better'? I honestly cannot decide. Although Melbourne has a bit less snobby vibe, Sydney has some amazing scenery through the city and surroundings that is unsurpassed. I enjoyed both cities equally well.

Ofcourse the best way to spend your last night in any country or continent .. is just partying! The ideas was in short this: I would drink a couple of beers, get a dance, go to bed late so I would be really tired. And then sleep on the 13-hour flight that was ahead of me. I succeeded in the former. In fact it was so late, I decided not to sleep at all. But the plane turned out to have this amazing, state-of-the-art, video-on-demand, high-quality featured super-cool entertainment console. Obviously I didn't want to wast my time sleeping when I can watch al the latest movies (like The Queen, The Departed, latest simpsons episodes, etc) all night long. Needless to say, by the time I arrived at my hostel in Los Angeles my eyes were twitching in an attempt to go to sleep.

But it was 7 a.m. in the morning. Whereas I departured 10.50 a.m. from Sydney. So I actually went back in time and arrived before I departed. Now that is a neat trick. After getting some well deserved rest I decided to go out and walk around.

I quickly figured out that LA is huge. Imagine a population that surpasses the population of a small country (for example say The Netherlands), divided over hundreds suburbs in bungalow styles, wide lanes in between in a nice evenly designed grid. That is how most of LA looks like. Massive, but not very interesting. Fortunately my hostel is situated in the middle of Hollywood. Within 5 minutes you are walking either on Hollywood boulevard, or Sunset boulevard. The former is dedicated to the art of moviemaking, whereas the latter is the place to be when the nightlife takes off. Ofcourse, a big part of this is one big touristic sight. But walking the walk of fame, bearing the names of 2000 hollywood stars, and the hollywood sign in the background tells you: yes, this is Hollywood. And I am in the U.S.A.

Leaving Melbourne: back to Sydney

My apologies for the lack of logitems lately. I guess the main reason is that I have not been travelling that much in the last two weeks. And although I really enjoyed myself in Melbourne, there was not much to tell about it for you guys. I spend some afternoons playing soccers in one of the numerours parks, readings books in the botanical gardens or along the Yarra river. Chilled out on a free african music festival. Drank beer in the most dodgy metalcafe, and ordered cocktails in the finest R&B clubs in town. And everything in between. I watched free comedy shows on federal square, and went to the cinema's. One day I would visit a museum, the next I was jogging on the Melbourne F1 racetrack. I met a lot of nice people at the hostel to hang out with (for some reason a lot of germans) to spend the evenings playing cards, watching a movie or just having a chat. In short: I had a great time in Melbourne!

But it was time to move on, so last night I took the night bus to Sydney. Where I have already spent a couple of days upon arrival in Australia. Did you know that the cost of flying here in Australia is in many cases comparable or even cheaper than taking the bus or train? For a trip from Melbourne you would pay AUS$77 for the bus, AUS$79 for the plane and AUS$124 for the train. No wonder flying is so popular here! However I chose the bus option, since you save money on accomodation and shuttlebuses. And time is something I can afford to waste. And ofcourse it more environmental friendly (ha).

What more to tell. Could I live in Australia? I certainly could for a couple of years. Although it didn't capture my heart, there is something unique and refreshing about the easy-going lifestyle, a real multi-culture living environment (far more than in the Netherlands) and the joy of having great nature and wildlife on the doorstep of a cosmopolitan city. That said, in Australia it is still not happening. There is this sense that you are far and remote from the other western countries (which is true). As a global economic player, it has little importance. The influence of Australian music, movies or arts in the world is small. Maybe that is why the australian people are so focused on sports. In which they excel, having won relatively by far the most olympic medals in the world. All this is not surprising, ofcourse, since the total population of Australia is only a mere 20 million people. Barely more than in the Netherlands. But where the dutch people have a modest view of their small country's role in Europe and the world, Australia need in some way to compensate that justifies the occupation of a whole continent! Austrlian people are proud of their country. They make their own cars (Holden) and have their own fastfood chains. There is not a product or shop here that doesn't say 'Proudly Australian Owned' or 'Made of 100% Australian products'. Even on products where it highly unlikely that no other countries were involved in the production. And even then, who are australians? A population that has such a rich mix of people all over the world, now spanning from first to third generation, and still so young is difficult to just approach them by their common denominator: australian citizenship. The influences of all these cultures and foreign people is too important. I still do not really understand where this ozzie patrionism comes from.

I will stay in Sydney until Sunday the 22nd of April. On that day I will depart to Los Angeles. I am looking forward to go to the states. But still need to figure out the best way to travel there, and where to go to. I have spoken quite a few people that have been in L.A. and actually none of them really likes it; they all say I should go to San Francisco instead. So I will probably travel to there as well. There is not really a backpacker culture as here in Australia, so it will be a bit harder to get around and travelling. Maybe I can team up with somebody and hire a car for a couple of days. I figure that is the best way of getting around, as here in Australia.

I have been very lucky with the weather in Australia during my last six weeks here! Except for a couple of chilly nights in Melbourne, the sun was shining every day with good temperatures and most importanly almost no rain! Which is a good thing for me as a traveller, but a major problem for Australia where they face big drought problems this year. But not as extreme as back home, though! With temperatures hitting almost thirty degrees in mid-april... I am almost getting jealous!

I uploaded some new pictures as well. See the right side of this site.

I hope you are all doing fine! And enjoy these lovely mid-spring days coming to you.

C ya,

Bas

36 can play that game

The other day I went to a match of Australian Rules Football (AF). For anyone outside of australia, where this game is practically unheard of, let me explain. Some hundred years ago, the game of cricket was imported from england and played everywhere in Australia. How to play that game, is still unknown. What was apparant, though, was that the game was very slow and could took hours or even days; a typical match may take up to four days. So the australians looked at this huge circular cricket field and they felt there had te be more to it than just playing cricket on it. So they invented australian football. A game now very popular in the Melbourne region (Victoria state). Some interesting key facts:

- The game is played on a regular (huge) circular cricket field

- Each team has at any time 18 (!) players in the field

- At any time there are 4 referees in the field

- Tactics are given to players by sending people into the field, during the game (dodging the balls as they come)

- The same for the people that bring water or refreshments to the players

- If a player is injured; the game goes on anyway

As you can maybe tell by now, this is a very hectic game! And played totally different than rugby, or american football. The main play is something about this. Get the ball, punch it forward to teamplayers (no throwing), or kick it. Catch the ball withing 50 yards of the 'goal' (two large poles), which is a mark. As a reward you get a free kick from the spot where you caught the ball, to shoot the ball between the big poles. Goal!!

For me personally, I had never heard of this game before, but I actually kind of liked it. At least compared to cricket is a million times more exciting and fun to watch!

The australian way of life

Sorry I had you waiting such a long time. But here it is, the story continues..
For not apparent reason I can think of, but me and horses never seem to get along. Ever since I was a kid they didn't like me, showing it by nervously kicking around, and I did not like them. Showing it by mainly avoiding them, or for that matter any other animal which head is bigger than mine. So I was a bit nervous on my way to a real australian farm, located some 150km inland from Rockhampton, where I would ride a horse around the cattle for a few hours to experience that real australian-cowboy-outback-farmer-feeling. Fortunately I got a horse named 'Abba', which was as sweet and easygoing as the famous swedish musicband. Although she did not really act to pretty much any order I gave out by kicking and pulling, I got around and made it to a safe end. My anxiety for horses has at last been challenged! The stay at the farm was great. The farms are huge and so you have to go around on horses or motorbikes. They grow cows on that farm (not breed them), and in Australia this is a very good business. I finally got to see kangaroos in the wild, and toasted my breakfast above a big fire. Although I stayed only one day, I really enjoyed seeing this part of australian life after visiting all those beaches!
If one travels up the eastcoast, one has to do the Whitsunday Islands. Or so they say. So off I went to Airlie Beach, the small touristic beachplace from which you can take one of the numerous sailing trips around the islands. I went on a one-day trip one a small family owned boat, which was great since the group of people is therefore also small and you get to know eachother better. We sailed around and snorkeled near a beach. I have done quite some snorkeling before, but this spot at the Great Barrier Reef was by far the best I have seen! You can spot over a hundred different kind of fishspecies, and many different types of coral. The broad colors, from black via bright purple to white is the finishing touch!
But after seeing all these beaches and beautiful nature, I was ready for something different. So I decided to rush a bit up to Cairns, stay there one day and fly back to Melbourne. That day in Cairns I decided to take the leap and went bungee jumping for the first time in my life. I can tell you this.. it's much scarier than skydiving!! My scream, which was a mix of fear and joy, could have caused a small tsunami..
Next stop was Melbourne. I decided to slow down my pace of travelling, and to settle here for a longer time (some two weeks). Which will not be that hard, since there is a lot to do here! Melbourne thrives on vintage shops, bars, pubs, live music, cinema, comedy, festivals, food, etc! I am now staying a great small hostel with some nice people to hang out with and just explore the city. I just got back from my 2-day trip along the Great Ocean Road, a scenic freeway along the south-west coast of Australia. I will tell you more about this and australian life next time!
Catch ya later!

Ozzie Ozzie .. beaches and dingos

Hi there mate!

I left the reader behind last time in Byron Bay. Supposedly the most famous, most relaxing and most beautiful beach and surfing place in the east coast. Within a small local community that uses alternative medication and herbs as a way of life and effectively kept out McDonalds it is a place surely different than the usual commercial beachtowns you'll find. Surfing and chilling on the beach in the daytime, having a party in the nighttime. That is in short the biorhythm down there. Because I stayed in this huge filthy 16-bed dormitory, I decided not to stay a night longer there. So I checked out. Which was a bad mistake because no accomodation could be found in the entire town for the next night. So after one night I was forced to go to Brisbane. Which is a big city just across the border in the provence of Queensland.

The funny thing about Queensland is that when you enter it, you actually go into a different timezone, even you are travelling straight from south to north. So upon arrival I had to set back my clock by an hour. Brisbane does not have a lot to offer for the backpacker or tourist traveling through. But is a nice city to work and live in. A lot of backpackers end up here doing work to make some money. The hostels here are filled by people staying there for weeks, or even months. Not for me, though, so after a good saturdaynight party and some sightseeing (the parks there are amazing, as in Sydney) I decided to travel up north to Noosa. To actually take my first little steps on a surfboard. And against all expectations I actually managed to stand on the board on my very first wave ride. And proud of it. Actually, it was a lot more fun than I expected! (It seemed quite boring: paddling, watching for wave, stand on board, fall, paddling, etc).

The next day I went hiking in the local natural park where there are supposedly many Koala's. Three hours and many miles later I still hadn't spot anything being near a Koala. So that is one I still have on my wishlist :)

What is not on my wishlist anymore however, is the dingo. For those who do not know the dingo, it is a typical australian wolf. But maybe looks more like a dog. And though there are not too many of them, I have spotted a few on Fraser Island..

Let me tell you a bit more about Frasers Island, because it is quite unique in the world. Imagine Australia as one big island in the pacific. Like any island the currents in the water will move aroumd sediments (sand, minerals) and in some places where for some reason the current is less, the sediments get the change to settle down. Imagine the sands of the eastcoast of Australia being transported by the ocean to a single spot. For millions of years. You'll get a lot of sand, right?! Well, that turns out to be Fraser Island. A huge quantity of sand deposited onto a volcanic bedrock (100km length, 15km width). It is now a natural park and you can only get around on four wheel drives, since everything .. everything is sandy there. Expect sand to be everywhere, in your shoes, bags, cars, tent, shirt, underwear, shorts, wallet, etc. Although the island has a large beach on one side, you are unable to swim there because of the jellyfish (ned: kwallen) and the sharks swimming around. But that is not a real problem since there are incredibly beautiful and incredibly clear freshwater high altitude lakes. In these lakes you will find fresh rainwater, filtered thoroughly by the sands. Swimming there is like swimming in your local swimmingpool, or bath tube. I can say it is one of the best places in nature I have been to so far. I spend three days on Fraser Island, with a guided tour. And it is during these three days we have spotted a few of the dingo's (wild dogs) that live there.

I have just returned when I am typing this. Tomorrow I will probably go to Rockhampton, a couple of hours up north.

I am a bit less on the internet here, because it is more expensive, but I will try to regularly keep you updated. Because this computer is heavily restricted I am not able to upload any new pictures, but I will as soon as I have the chance!

Cheers!

Bas

Blue Mountains and Byron Bay

Hi there mate! How are u doing?!

Well, one of the first things you'll learn in Australia is to actually kinda ignore this question. No, they are not really interested in how you are really doing. Just trying to be nice. Which is allright, although at first I felt like I had to answer this question. Untill I found out most australian people actually do not even reply to this, so as one step further to become a real ozzie I neglect it too now. But don't take this mistaken as being a weird or bad attitude. Actually the way Australians talk to each other is in a very amiable way. Always say 'mate' to somebody, even if you don't know, or like the other person. Ask how it is going, and speak in a cheerful way!

After spendings two days in Central Sydney, and two days in King's Cross area of Sydney (the sleezy drinking hole area), it was time to move out of town. So I went to the blue mountains, about 100km out of Sydney. This area is named after the blueish haze that is visible in the valleys. The vapor of the gumtrees below collide with the sunlight to create this color. It is a great place to do some hiking and jogging. The place I stayed at was a nice small hostel, with only about 10 guests present. Quite a difference compared to the huge hostels in Sydney, where I stayed over at the 11th floor! Here I did some hiking in the forrest, which is the home of many many different kinds of birds and parrots. And even for a unknowledgable biologist like myself, it is easy to spot the difference between the nature life here and in Europe. Ofcourse this is because Australia has been a seperate continent for millions of years, and in the course of time has developed it's own unique nature life. Not only in the remote mountains, but also the birds in the streets of Sydney are very different from what I am used to see in Holland!

But hey, this is Australia, and it has coasts in every possible winddirection. So it doens't take long before you end up on a beach. And I ended up in Byron Bay. Which is about a 14 hour busride north of Sydney. In this small town (about 17.000 inhabitants)you will find many tourists, families, backpackers and surfers! Actually there is not much to do here besides going to the beach and enjoy the waves. But hey, for many people that is all there should be to life! I have not yet done any surfing yet, but I am definitely going to. And this area is one of the best places to do it. (Or up north in Surfer's Paradise, which is an hour ride from here)

A bit about the traveling. It is quite different from what I was used to in Asia. A big factor is the audience In most guesthouses in Asia where I stayed most people were travelling around and stayed at one spot for one up to three nights. Sometimes up to a week on the islands. In Australia, however, people tend to stay around much longer at the same spot. Some stay for weeks of months, enjoying life and ocassionally doing some work for the money. I have met people that have been in Australie for five months, but only been to Melbourne and Sydney.

Second, it is still high-season and very busy. This means that many hostels are fully booked when I enter a new town. This makes it harder to travel freely, since you have to pre-book accomodation via the internet. Ofcourse there are some that go around this problem by buying a car or a camper. Which is a good way of travelling around in Australia for a longer time. However, for the few weeks I will be in Australia, I think it is not worth the fuzz.

I will travel up north to Cairns from here. Next stop is Surfer's Paradise, where I will be heading to tomorrow.

Cheers!

p.s. I put up some new pictures. And yes, I dyed my hair to black in Hong Kong :P