How ya goin mate?

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Well hello from down under! Never imagined I would be living and working in Australia, but guess who is a working woman again? Yup, me... and now I remember very clearly why I quit working for other people. Or quit working in the restaurant industry maybe. Or to really break it down, working in a restaurant where people don't tip. Canada definitely has one up on Aus for service! It is basically non-existant here.

So, before I get on a rant about the lack of service in this country, I'll rewind a bit because I have been off the radar for far too long! I suppose I avoided blogging more about my experience in Cambodia because I only had a week, and the last few days there were so heavy. I left Siem Reap, which is where the ancient Ankor Wat ruins are located. Wow! I have seen my fair share of ruins but this one scores top 3. Just the sheer size of the ruins is overwhelming. It goes for miles and is so obvious that the people who used to live there were extremely intelligent. Speaking of intelligence, I was smart enough to team up with other travellers and hired a rickshaw to take us around. Best decision I could have made because we would pass by hot, super sweaty, tourists who looked like they hated every moment but were trying to appear to be happy being on a bicycle. Nope, they weren't convincing anyone that peddling in 40 degree heat for 5 hours was making them have more of a cultured experience!

I then went to Phnom Phen, the capital city of Cambodia. If you don't know any recent history of Cambodia, that is one country I would recommend even taking 20 minutes out of your day to read about what has happened in the last 40 years. Basically, it was a massive genocide and roughly 2 million people were killed for no reason (and the population was only 8 million at the time). So, now they have several sites set up to honour the dead, and to show how brutal it was, in order to remind people to never let it happen again. Probably one of the saddest, most horrifying days during my travels. I went to a place called The Killing Fields, which it is exactly what the description implies. Thousands upon thousands were brought to this field and just slaughtered. I apologize for writing about this, but it made a pretty big impact on me. I just walked through the field with tears streaming down my face, and the energy and emotions there were unlike any I have ever felt before. Just so much tragedy and grief, and so now if you ever go to Cambodia, you will notice there isn't very many old people. And the ones you do meet have a lot of sadness behind their eyes. Still though, that country has prospered so much and something about it just got to me. Of all the countries in Asia, that one struck a cord in me.

Annnnnnd onto a lighter topic now! I left there, had a marvellous stopover in Singapore. Best airport yet! They had a movie theatre, foot massage machines, sunflower garden, butterfly garden, entertainment centre...all for free! Winning! I honestly wish my flight had been delayed for another 5 hours or something. I should be careful what I wish for though, because so far, all of my flights (14 I believe) none have been delayed or canceled. That is pretty decent odds I'd say!

I arrived in sunny Perth, took a look at my bank account, discovered how expensive Australia is, figured out my next destination, and realized I needed a job! I have a working holiday visa for Australia, so I figured I might as well use it! On a side note, you can only work here if you are under 30, and considering I just turned a wonderful 28, I doubt I would use it anytime later than right now.

This may sound silly, but I decided to stay in Perth and use my coins to travel in Europe rather than Australia. Seems like a waste to not go check out Sydney or the Great Barrier Reef, but to be honest, I'd rather go see Rome and Italy for an example. Oh and did I mention how expensive Australia is? Never have I gone into a pub (yes, just a dingy pub), ordered a salad (no meat in it, no bread, just a garden salad) and paid a shocking amount of $20. Yes... that is correct. Well, could I eat unhealthy and get a burger or something? Na, because that is even more money. How crazy is that? It is something I still don't understand. Oh and a bundle of bananas will cost you about 1.50 PER banana! K, I might be going a bit overboard with this rant, but I still have to pick my jaw up from the floor whenever I leave the grocery store.

I have come to appreciate the simple things in life though (even though I already appreciated them). Things such as owning your own car, or having a house to call home. I managed to find a fabulous 33 year old bicycle speaking of transportation! I love that thing! It is old, rusty, wobbly, but it gets me from A to B and I arrive in style (not really, because I am sweating profusely and am not a very good rider. I can't tell you how many times I have almost run into a wall or a post. So far, only one battle wound...more to come!).

I love living near the ocean and having sunshine everyday! Australians are really nice in my experience and I have no complaints at all. It is weird to be working and meeting people who aren't travelers, because I know I will leave soon, it has reminded me of how 'normal' life feels again. Give me another month, and the travel itch may need to be scratched, but as of right now, I'm loving being somewhat settled. I even made dinner tonight and just sat on the couch (of an amazing house I am living in), and couldn't be happier! I hope everyone who reads this takes a moment to appreciated the small things, because those small things are what make up your life.

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