AUSTRALIA

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I WENT TO A LAND DOWN UNDA'
I bet you were all hoping that you wouldn't be seeing any more e-mail updates from me in your inbox, right? Well, lucky for you THIS is my last entry....tear. It seems that since arriving in Sydney, Australia I have succumbed to the "no worries mate" attitude and completely lost all sense of time, direction and money hah...not to mention keeping in touch with you all (sorry pop pop!). No energy to write the play by play from these past two weeks so here are my highlights.

First off, did you know there are two airports in Brisbane, Australia (this is the city where we were to catch our connecting flight from KL, Malaysia to Sydney). Well there are! And when booking flights from North Hollywood, CA the airline does not distinguish this so let's just say Mr. Wallet was not a happy camper.

One domestic flight, train and ferry ride later WE MADE IT with 5 hours left until 2009!!! Just in time to grab a quick bite to eat at Hungry Jacks aka Burger King, watch a guy knock himself unconscious on the floor next to us, shower, make some sangria and head out to the oldest pub in Manly, The Boatshed, to watch a live band play. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Now a little background. We are staying with Tara's sister, Deirdre aka Dee Dee, in Manlay, a quaint island off of Sydney (about a 20 min. boatride from Sydney Harbor). She's 1 block away from the beach, which by the way is AWESOME. We didn't let it go to waste by any means....swimming, snorkeling, boating, surfing, hiking....you name it. Everything we have done involved the outdoors in some form or another. That also means the White Devil isn't so white anymore, woo hoo! But the sun out here is so strong ...SPF 400 for me.

We explored all of Sydney with Tara's brother, Richard, aka itchy (it's a filipino thing), in one day. Got to see the Opera House, Dahling Harbour, Chinatown, Luna Park among many other sites. The city is so clean and easy to navigate on foot. I must say though, I've had enough of cities on this trip so I'm glad we're staying in Manlay. Plus, all the friends we've made here work in hospitality so Tara and I were fortunate enough to wine and dine at some fancy places. So much for keeping our Asian figures haha.

I think the most random day was when we went with Tara's aunt Paula to her work. Apparently, Paula is an amazing artist because she is currently painting the carriage that is being constructed as we speak for Queen Elizabeth II. She lives in England by the way for all you history majors. We got to meet the builder and take a few shots of the carriage. It's taken 4 years and has cost over $400,000 so far. Pretty cool to get a behind the scenes look.

I'd have to say my best day here was when we went boating with Goff, owner of the Boatshed and looks/acts exactly like actor Bryan Brown from the Tom Cruse flick "Cocktails" (you would appreciate him bro). Sippin' on some $7.00 champagne (keepin' it classy), beach hopping and some more cliff jumping the day was just one of those times where you sit back and say, DAMN! THIS IS A GOOD LIFE. I thought I would make it that much better by doing some gymnastic routine on the loading dock. All you need to know is that this genious didn't have to get stitches.

And so here I am at a lonely internet cafe hidden in some supermarket at 11:56pm after a long day of surfing, swimming, grog and feed (australian for drink and food). What an incredible month and a half it's been. To end in the land down unda' was simply a vacation from my vaction. People here understand how to enjoy life and not get wrapped up in the day to day nonsense that tends to consume a lot of us...work does not define the aussies I've met and it certainly does not distinguish their status. At the end of the day, if you have some friends to share a laugh with then it's been a success. Likewise, Asia really threw me into so many different cultures and experiences that you just can't appreciate until you have lived it. Though I will not miss shoulder high shower heads, holes in the ground for toilets and being looked at as a circus side show, in all seriousness, I truly believe asia knows the meaning of family and respect. Whether you're their daughter or just a friend, they take care of you. Not because they have to but because family is a way of life. I mean, what could be more important than that?

And so before I turn into a Lifetime movie here I just want to say that I've had a blast writing to you about all my crazy adventures. Hopefully I've given you some entertainment and perhaps even persuaded yah to do some traveling of your own. You won't regret it.... SIGNING OFF FROM AUSTRALIA and Back to the U.S. TOMORROW!!!!

All my love,
Lindsay

***“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”~George Moore***

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