Sunday the 15th, we’d come to realize that we really didn’t have that much more time left in Sydney, and needed to try and see what more we could fit in. So one of the attractions we saw was the Chinese Gardens. Our hostel was located right near Chinatown, so we tried exploring it a bit and came across this really nice looking park. At one of the corners of the park though was this beautiful Chinese building with enclosed gardens. It was like a small walled off sanctuary. Very zen-like. There were tons (or heaps, which is what they would say in Australia) of strategically placed rocks, viewing areas of ponds, isolated sitting areas and plenty of huge fish in the small lake. It was so cool to be in this peaceful garden and see ... read more

Sunday (Feb. 8th), Hillary and I took another little trip to one of Sydney’s more popular beaches, Bondi Beach. In fact, it even has a tv show about it called “Bondi Rescue”, about the lifeguards on the beach and their dramatic lifesaving rescues. We had been introduced to the show during our Orientation with the summary: “it’s a show about tourists who get stuck in the rip tides, and filming the lifeguards who save them”. The beach was nice, the water a little chilly and we made sure not to do anything dangerous that might get us filmed. lol Monday was laundry day. We’d been traveling for a couple of weeks now with a minimal set of clothes (you may see us in our pictures wearing a lot of the same clothes), so it was time ... read more

So we finally made it to Sydney! The flight was a little long, but by now Hillary and I have gotten quite comfortable on planes and fell asleep with little trouble. A little warning Loyal Readers, our blog posts in Australia will not be as detailed (describing every single day) as they have been with England and Thailand. Why you ask? Well, to put it simply, we’ve got a lot of time in the country, so we won’t be doing something interesting every minute of every day. Don’t worry, Hillary and I will still be bringing you the good word from down under, but don’t be surprised if we skip a few days here and there because truthfully, it would most likely sound like “So we got up sometime after noon, did some laundry, took a ... read more

Bright and early the next morning, our van left from our hostel at 7:00am. Along the way, we picked up other hostel/hotel guests planning on making the ferry ride to the islands. The ferry was leaving from Phuket Town, which was on the other side of the island, so it took about an hour to get there. The ferry left around 8:30am, and we were on our way to the Phi Phi Islands (properly known as Koh Phi Phi)! As for their reputation, these islands are infamously known for being the location for heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio's movie, The Beach (or so I've been told by Hillary). The ferry was nice, with plenty of room outside for picture taking or soaking up the sun. And there were free croissants! Yes, that was my favourite part of the ... read more

So back to the Jim Thompson Museum! Jim Thompson was an American architect who was stationed in Thailand during the Second World War. Supposedly he loved the country so much that after returning to America at the war’s end, he soon moved to Thailand permanently. He opened a silk manufacturing business, and made it rich. He enjoyed exploring the country, and the story goes that one day when walking outside (did I mention he had money?), he simply disappeared. His house (which was already open to the public during his residence there) was then turned into a museum because of all the art pieces he had collected over the years, and the overall design of his property and its buildings. Well, it was definitely worth it! Such a beautiful home! It was like a little compound, ... read more