After more than 2,000 miles on the road over the past few weeks I still have not seen any Australian wildlife. No kangaroos. No koalas. No deadly snakes or crocodiles. So today I took matters into my own hands and visited Cairns Tropical Zoo. To get there I took one of the public buses. Trying to figure out which one was a bit of an ordeal. The hostel staff wasn’t sure, the bus company’s website was a joke, its information office was closed and the signage at the transit center was less than helpful. I finally ended up asking a driver on one of the other buses who pointed me to the right stop. A few other people were at the bus stop who also appeared to be going to the zoo. One was a little ... read more

After almost 30 hours on the road I finally arrived in Cairns this afternoon. The rest of the trip was uneventful, with a stop for breakfast and then straight through to Cairns. Along the way, I finished reading another issue of Men’s Health and resumed my reading of In a Sunburned Country, a collection of Bill Bryson’s tales from a few of his trips to Australia. It’s very interesting reading the accounts of his experiences here, especially in places that I can now relate to. As silly as it sounds, one of the more fascinating tidbits was about the Australian flies. I had to chuckle at his description of these stubborn flies that will relentlessly persist in annoying you as I recalled several flies following me throughout Sydney. At the time I had thought that maybe ... read more

After a big night out last night, as well as some lousy nights of sleep and early mornings of late, it felt great to get a good night’s sleep. And I needed it for the day of touring ahead. At 11:00 I made my way down to the city center to meet up with a free walking tour similar to the ones I did in Europe. In fact, I’d later find out that the Australian ones were started by one of the guys that used to do marketing for the Europe tour company. That explained why the brochures were identical, other than the colors and the subject matter. It’s good to know that all those years of banking engrained an ability to recognize font consistency like none other. I was pretty excited for it. This was ... read more

I arrived in Byron Bay this morning after an overnight bus trip from Sydney. I spent most of my time trying to get some sleep, which was difficult but no more challenging than on a plane. When I wasn’t sleeping I read and listened to my iPod while lost in thought. I hadn’t yet written my entry from Wednesday on the Sydney opera experience. As I reflected on my thoughts at the opera’s intermission, I couldn’t help but believe my questioning my good fortune was missing something. Sure, I owe a lot of gratitude to many people, especially my parents for the opportunities they’ve given me. But also to myself for taking advantage of the opportunities that have come my way. And for the sacrifice that was my life for many years: toiling away in the ... read more

Last night I had a terrible night’s sleep. I needed some rest after several busy days but I can’t say my roommates were cooperative. Around 12:30 am, some girl just arrived and flipped on the light switch while a few of us were sleeping, including a guy that just had a long flight from London. Ever hear of carrying a small flashlight in your bag, you ditz? When I looked at her incredulously, she stared back with a deer in the headlights look and squeaked out a “sorry”. What’s worse is with the blinds open and some light shining in, you could see perfectly well even without a flashlight. Around 1:00, the London guy, a heavyset fellow that was out cold, began a heavy snore. But not just any snore. It was a very strange one ... read more