From Middle Earth to the Khao San Road, via Metropolis

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Leaving New Zealand

I think the only mistake I made in planning this trip was flying out of Auckland, rather than Christchurch. I’ve ended up on the South Island after a month and was hardly likely to do a “figure of eight” tour, crossing the Cook Straight twice. I’ve now had to buy a plane ticket to take me back to Auckland and effectively have lost a day on the South Island that I could have used to visit Milford Sound.

Clare (my cousin) actually lives quite near to Christchurch airport, but as I wanted to post some stuff home planned to go into town first to do this. I realised this was a stupid idea as I spent ages waiting at the bus stop for the No 17 bus into town and it wasn’t arriving. I also realised that there would be a post office at the airport so there wasn’t a need to go into town at all and now I was worried about getting my flight. I asked some workmen where I could get a bus direct to the airport and they didn’t know. I was getting worried I’d miss my flight when the workmen finished their job and one of them offered me a lift direct to the bus station in town.

He was a Kiwi of Croatian extraction and was telling me all about his trip to Croatia and the UK. Came out with some alarmingly racist comments about Somali immigrants in South Wales (called them “coconuts” though I don’t think he understood the subtle meaning of that name). It seemed to sum up a side of New Zealand I saw quite a lot: the people are very friendly and hospitable to strangers; but can be insular minded.

Anyway, thanks to my Croatian friend I got to the airport in good time, posted my excess baggage home and flew to Auckland. I managed to bag a window seat (as I always try to do) but saw why they call this country “The Land of the Long White Cloud”.

It was pleasant to be able to listen to music on the flight. I deliberately have not brought a digital music player with me. I think it would be lovely on long journeys to relax into a lovely world of music of your choice but somehow feel I’d be missing what’s around me. I look forward to music when I get home.

I spent a pleasant afternoon and evening in Auckland. I tried to meet up with my cousin Emma again, but she was busy. So I went up the Sky Tower (and came down in the lift!) Then I enjoyed a very nice dinner on the waterfront, watching the sun go down and eating grilled snapper, roast kumara, cauliflower and prawns with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the harbour side. I really enjoyed New Zealand!

Sydney

There was a bit of a hairy moment at the airport when I was told I didn’t have a visa for Australia! Now, before leaving I’d checked up on all the South American countries I planned to go to (none of them require visas in advance), then New Zealand and then the Asian countries (only India). As New Zealand doesn’t require it, I just assumed that Australia (the most advanced country on my trip) also wouldn’t. Heavens, I don’t even need one for the visitor-paranoid USA. Anyway, the problem was solved by handing cash at the Quantas counter, but this meant that I had to use up the cash I’d saved for the NZ Exit Tax. Still, they were happy to take plastic.

At Sydney, I got a shuttle bus direct to my hostel. I sat next to an old guy who claimed to be an ex-All Black. I didn’t see anything in particular to disbelieve him!

I’m staying at the “Blue Parrot Backpackers” in Kings Cross/Pontts Point. My mate Adam is here and his friend Simon is running the place for a while. I’m stopping over in Sydney for four days between New Zealand and Thailand.

It was raining. I got the train and monorail to the Powerhouse Museum. This is quite an eclectic collection of design and technology - a bit difficult to sum up. There are some thought provoking exhibits but the space section is 15 years old and obviously so!

Then, the sun came out. I went down to the harbour front and admired the amazing views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Kings Cross is famous the world over as being sleazy. The prostitutes are definitely still here, but so too are trendy boutiques, coffee bars and backpacker places. However, unlike London’s Soho, you can get “legitimate” massages. My neck and shoulders had been feeling very stiff, so I went for a Chinese neck and shoulder massage for only AUD16. Felt very much better for it!

I only saw one Aborigine today. There was a woman standing behind me as I queued for a train ticket. I heard her muttering something about “English” and she appeared to be talking about me but I didn’t pay much attention. After she heard me speak to the ticket attendant I heard “Oh English!” I didn’t much see the point of discussing the plight of Aborigines in modern Australia with her. Certainly, I see a big difference between here and New Zealand. There (especially on the North Island) Maori are very visible. We associate Aborigines with the deserts, but when Cook arrived, most lived on the coasts as do most Australians now. There is no Australian equivalent to the Treaty of Waitangi but there have been recent “reconciliation” initiatives. There also seem to be fewer place names of indigenous origin that in Auckland, but what there are sound fantastic: “Woolloomooloo”, “Bennelong Point”.

The next day, it was raining again! I was told this was highly unusual but that they really need the rain here. Hmm, great timing! I was still determined to get out and see stuff so got the ferry to Manly. This is the famous boat trip that gives you great views over the harbour. As we left, the sun came out: my faith paid off!

Apparently, Manly Bay was named after some Aborigines who Cook’s expedition saw from the water and whom they felt looked very “Manly”. It’s almost as crazy as Doubtless Bay in New Zealand: named from a diary entry of them sailing past (“Doubtless, that’s a bay!”). Today, Manly beach has beach volleyball and surfers; and lifeguards with painted faces.

I see a lot of similarities between Sydney and Auckland. They are both cities set in fantastic natural harbours. Sydney even has a Sky Tower which Auckland has recently copied (and surpassed in height). But it’s obvious Sydney is the larger and richer relation. Here, they have extensive shopping areas: the biggest I’ve seen since London and indeed this is the biggest city I’ve visited so far in my travels.

I walked up from the ferry to the city centre. On a junction of Pitt Street, I saw lots of cars stopped and it appeared the area had been blocked off and I saw policemen. At first, I thought there had been an accident. However, people were sitting quite calmly. Bizarrely, someone was spraying water onto the road! Then, I noticed something strange about the car numberplates: instead of saying “New South Wales”, they said “Metropolis, New York State”: I realised I’d walked into a film set! The “policemen” were wearing New York uniforms and I could see right-hand drive cars and some cute billboards advertising the “Daily Planet”. Seemingly, a new Superman film is being shot at Rupert Murdoch’s big studios in Sydney.

I stayed a while and watched. The crew were fine about this as long as we didn’t use flash and indeed, there was quite a crowd. Seemingly, there were two explosions down either end of the street (electric lights flashing on queue) and people had to dive out of their cars and run when the director, on his loudspeaker, told them to.

Almost as surreal, was the Christmas tree outside a public building further up the road. It’s summer here and I can’t get my head around Christmas being on its way. I’m not even sure if this tree’s lights work as it gets dark so late.

It was good to meet up with Adam! He arrived just a day before I did but has been on the road a lot longer than me. We’ve been to most of the same places and swapped South American and New Zealand tales. I’m jealous as he got to walk the Inca Trail AND shear a sheep in New Zealand! He’s looking for some casual work as he’s nearly out of cash.

The next morning, guess what? It was raining again. This time, I went to the Australian Museum. Despite the name, it’s more of a natural history museum that the history of this country: lots of skeletons, rocks and stuffed animals. There is also a section on Aborigines whose inclusion in this kind of museum (I assume) originates from less enlightened times.

I found the Aborigine section very informative. Firstly, you have to be careful now about the term “Aborigine”: the museum used the term “Indigenous Australians” to cover “Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders”. I learned about aboriginal beliefs, the Dreamtime and legends of snakes that crawled along the earth, creating mountains, valleys and lakes: similar to the Maori, they had some amazing creation myths. The Aborigines come from a completely different lineage and have lived in their land for thousands of years, not just the 1000 years of the Maori. They are incredibly diverse and speak many different languages.

Then we dealt with the difficult issues surrounding these people today: the “Aboriginal Embassy” of he 1970s and the recent legal ruling overturning the concept of “Terra Nulis” which was used by British colonists to justify taking land “because nobody actually lived there” or at least “didn’t use the land in a civilized way”. It’s still to be seen what the consequences of the overturn will be. This is a lovely country, but it does have a dark past. It will take time to come to terms with it, but it does at least seem like the process is starting.

I got to see the London Natural History Museum Wildlife Photograper of the Year exhibition, which was nice as I didn’t miss it by not being in London. The museum also liked to play the sound of “laughing” kookaburras, ubiquitous to Sydney housing estates. Think I’d go potty if I lived here...

On returning to the hostel, I popped into St Mary’s RC church. It was a very interesting contrast to those I saw in South America. I’m half way round the world, but could be in the UK.

I went out for a couple of beers on my last night. Australian beer is rubbish! In the UK, the country is known for Fosters and Castlemaine XXXX - generic fizzy lagers which are hardly a great advert. Over here, you scarcely see these. Instead, they take something called “VB” which actually manages to be worse! It’s funny, as New Zealand produces some excellent beer. For my second pint, I had to break the “no imported beers” rule that I follow when travelling; and drink a pint of Irish beer brewed on the other side of the world. It’s also funny to see InBev licensing Stella Artois in Australia: I think the locals will love it! Still, Australia does make excellent wine.

On my last day, it started out raining again, so I went up the Sky Tower. It looks like something out of Dan Dare: from a 1950s drawing of a “city of the future”. They also had a slick, but slightly tacky AV presentation on Australia. I’d love to come back to this country and see more of it.

Australian and New Zealand bank notes and coins look almost identical. They must be made in the same place. They’re plastic and even have transparent parts: quite impressive! It’s interesting that Queen Elizabeth II (the head of state of both countries) appears on only one denomination each and even then in the same place as local heroes such as Sir Edmund Hillary, but interestingly without her name appearing.

A six hour plane journey then ensued. I’m getting used to these now: the time flew by! I flew British Airways and after Bangkok the plane went to London. It felt almost like I was going home.

Bangkok

I arrived at midnight in Bangkok. Walking out of the airport, I smelled the faint whiff of sewage and felt a warmth you don’t get at that time of night outside the tropics.

I got a bus to Banglamphu: Bangkok’s Backpacker-Central. I shared a room on the Khao San road with a girl called Becky who I met on the bus. Becky’s just finished a working holiday in Australia.

This is my first visit to Asia! I’ve put my trainers away and put my sandals on: won’t need them again for a while. It’s disconcerting not being able to read Thai writing - I really feel like I’m abroad now: Australia was too much like home!

Got up early in the morning and had breakfast. The Khao San Road is full of “Farang” (as they call us Gringos here - or “Falang” in Laos) men with Thai women hanging off them in a way that spoils the appetite for my “Banana Pancake” (the main type of Farang food).

It was just one night in Bangkok and I couldn’t hang around because I had to get to southern Thailand. I packed, and then got a taxi to the bus station (I found out later of course that I’d been ripped off). Traffic in Bangkok is really bad (and it’s the biggest city so far on my trip: beating Sydney). Sitting at traffic lights, a flower seller came round. I thought he’d be targeting the tourist but my driver bought a garland of flowers which he placed on his rear view mirror. I arrived in time to get a bus south and another eight hour journey ensued.

It was quite a comfortable journey actually. A waitress brought us snacks but the aircon was turned up really high so it was actually a bit chilly (very common in Thailand as I found out later) and there was a TV on which they showed a rubbish Thai action movie filmed in Sydney of all places.

The bus is a little bit small for a Farang. I kept bumping my head and the seat was not high enough. At lunch, we stopped at a little roadside café and had a proper sit-down meal (all included in my ticket). I was the only Farang on the bus and the Thai words I’m frantically trying to memorise went completely out of my head as I tried and failed to make conversation.

I spent the night in the Ban Don Hotel in Surat Thani. The bed is strangely hard and when I asked reception for a blanket, they pointed to what I had thought was a towel.

I had a knot in my stomach due to worry. My Rough Guide describes Surat Thani as “uninspiring”. The main reason tourists pass by here is to get ferries to the island of Koh Samui but I wasn’t headed there. So what on earth was I doing here? I was wondering the same thing. Was I really going to go through with what I’d planned all those months ago?

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Photos

Run!
Some "explosion" down the street.

Adam and I, with Friend
King's Cross, Sydney

Bangkok: Khao San Road
Early in the morning

Comments

[ItchyAdventurer]

nice blog at last!
Well I'm still gracing the streets of Kings Cross and now Bankstown 4 months later - seems like I've been here an eternity. Anyway, what on earth happens next, and what was this mysterious plan that you made for Surat Thani? That's what I call a cliffhanger!