This past weekend was a holiday weekend for Australia. In the same way that Labor Day unofficially ends summer for the US, ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day does the same for Australia. It is essentially the same as our Memorial Day. While the holiday is actually on the Saturday, Monday is a public holiday and there is no school (although it didnt help me because I already have Mondays off).
We decided to use to the long weekend to head down to the Albany region. Albany is the oldest settlement in Western Australia, beating Perth and Fremantle by three years. It was founded so that the British could claim this half of the continent, as well as become a lucritive whaling station.
Bianca, Kevin's Australian girlfriend, lives in the region and drove us the six hours down south. We arrived in Albany that night after classes on Friday, and we walked around the town at night and ate a delicious dinner. We got to see an old ship The Amity, and walk around it. We explored for a little while, including heading to the top of the mountain to see the war memorial. We stayed in this little hostel by the beach, and the five of us were in our own room.
The next day we got up early and saw a lot of the sights in Albany. We saw Emu Point, where Albany's Bay connects to the ocean, we saw the great beach Middleton Beach, and the landmark Dog Rock. After a breakfast, we headed 2 hours west to see the Tree Top Walk. It is through the tops of the Red Tingle Trees in a national park. It is very similiar to the redwood forests in California, and is one of the oldest forests in the world. We also went through a walk around the forest.
As we drove back towards Albany, we stopped in Denmark (where the forests meet the sea) and also home to the Guiness Book of World Records Largest Barometer (three stories tall).
Back in Albany, we went through the Residency Museum, and headed out to two of the most known geographic landmarks of Western Australia- The Gap, and the Natural Bridge. They are very beautiful. We also went to Whale World. We grabbed some lunch and then drove another 2.5 hours east to Jerramungup where Bianca lives.
"Jerry" has only 600 people. We spent the Saturday night at the Jerry Athletic club where we watched the footy games on TV and had a bar. It was real small town Australia.
Bianca's family is awesome and they made us a ton of great food. That next day we headed south to Bremmer Bay and saw the Main Beach and Fisheries Beach. They were really nice and had pure white sand much like Siesta Key Florida. It was a really nice side trip. When we came back we watched Aussie Rules Football on Sunday with the family and had a boys time. That night we made s'mores and watched the stars at night. It was so clear there out in the middle of nowhere and it was great.
On Monday, we went back to the club and played the sport of Lawn Bowls. It is somewhat like Bocce Ball on a large field, but the balls are curved and weighted and the field long. Its a different game, but very popular in Australia. Following that, we stopped at a park in Jerramungup, and then hit the road. In Wagin we stopped at a park and saw the Giant Ram, a sculpture 9 times the size of a real ram. We then finished the long trip home.
It was a great trip, and a very different tone than the last set of trips. The smaller group was enjoyable and made certain things easier. I am working on posting photos from all of these, so you will have to hold on.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Vacation(s)
I promise that I will post pictures in the next posts, but this is an outline of how I have spent my past almost two weeks. This is the uncensored details of each day.
Day 1-->
I arranged for us to get a cab to the airport that left our dorm at 3:30am. We got through customs and right onto the plane. I found us a great deal that included round trip airfare to Thailand and back, including a flight inbetween the two locations there, for under $400 US.
We flew the six hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, which took about 6 hours, but on a discount airline it was a little uncomfortable. The seats did not recline (in fact the bottoms slid forward instead), and there were no ammenities. We got to KL and easily made it through Malaysian customs, before grabbing a bite to eat and transfering to our next plane. The flight from KL to Bangkok was only about 2.5 hours.
Upon arrival to Bangkok we got cabs to our hotel. There were sixteen of us so we needed four cabs. We checked into our rooms, and got ready to go-- we were supposed to be picked up for a dinner cruise almost immiediately. The problem was that one of the cabs got lost and was very late. The shuttle wanted to leave, but we bribed the guy some money to wait, and the cab got there just in time.
We went on a dinner cruise down the main river that goes right through Bangkok - the River of Kings. We got to see all the sites of interest from the moonlight and lit up as we feasted on traditional Thai cooking on an old Thai boat. It was the perfect way to start the trip.
Day 2 -->
Myself and three others signed up for a guided tour for this day, so we had to get up early. We were supposed to take a cab to another hotel, and then jump the shuttle there. When we woke up at 5:30am, one of the guys going found that he had lost his camera the night before, and it delayed us so long looking that when we arrived we had missed the shuttle. A very very helpful concierge called four or five places and found out where we had to go, and a cab driver who loved to go fast got us there just in time.
The tour took us to Auyathaya, the former capital of Thailand. It still has a summer palace for the current royalty that you can tour around the grounds, as well as many ruins of temples and palaces of past. We made many stops as we made our way back towards Bangkok. When we got close, we boarded a boat and took the same river as the night before towards the city. We got to see the landmarks during the day as we enjoyed another traditional Thai meal. It was a great view of the city.
When the tour was over, rather than go back to the hotel, we decided to walk to Chinatown, one of the largest Chinatowns outside of China. There were many temples, and the outdoor stands and markets were amazing. We saw some shady things as we explored back alleys and ghetto areas, but it was a great way to really see the city. We saw some amazing, but not as well known, temples - some in the slums (best one was the Temple to Buddha built by the woman repenting for running a prostitution ring).
We went back and the entire 16 decided to head to dinner. We had reserved a VIP room at a more Western restaurant. We made a total scene but had a great time. I was, however, sick for the next three days following the meal and I have a sneaking suspicion it was due to eating there. Following dinner we went to the bar. Normally I would gloss over the club scene pretty quickly, but I will mention out of honesty that we had some problems there. Before you make any wild assertions, it was right when we got there, and noone had been drinking at the time of the problems. It was not a huge deal, but made us focus more for the rest of the trip. I dont really want to go into any more details than that.
Day 3-->
I rallied to get up the next morning and we headed out early again, before 7. We decided to hoof it around the city and see everything there was left to see with the same three person group as the day before.
When we got to the city we decided to take a Tuk Tuk (a small motorcycle cart that can seat 4) around to different sites that were farther away. It was great because he took us to a bunch of things that we would not have seen and waited for us while there. Unfortunately he also kept taking us to junk stores and making us go in that we never asked to go to. It was still awesome, though incredibly dangerous the way that traffic is there (totally worth it to see the city).
One of the places that our Tuk Tuk drove was around a barricade and police to go down the street with all of the protesters and rioters. We wanted to see the protesters, but we didn't know that meant litterally driving around a barricade and police and down a closed street overrun wiht people. There was a lot of shouting and yelling and huge crowds while we went down the street and you could tell that everyone was gearing up for a battle, but when we passed they were doing no more than loud yelling and jumping around. We later found out that the full out riots started only two hours after we left this street. Nothing like adding a little excitement to trip.
We got back and then started walking the main strip. It was at this point that a major downpour hit and we got soaked. We kept going and in 100 degree heat we were dry later in the day. We saw all of the major temples and palaces and it is the most amazing things I have ever seen. I am pretty sure that I have never seen anything like it in my life and maybe never will again. It makes the palaces in France and Austria look weak. With out going into too much detail about specific locations, we took the ferry boats back and forth across the river to make sure we saw everything, and the places were out of this world.
We stayed in the city so late, that we barely got back to the hotel in time to leave for the airport with the group. We ate in the airport and took off at about 9:30. We had a problem because despite having a confirmation sheet, they would not let one of our girls on the plane. They forced her to buy another ticket just to make the flight, she did just to advoid getting stuck in Bangkok.
We landed in Phuket only an hour and 10 minutes later, and got to our resort by about 11:45. It was an amazing resort right on the beach and very new. It was filled almost completely with Westerners. The pool had a bar in it, and was overlooking the hotel and path to the ocean. It was closed when we arrived, but we decided to sneak in anyways, and swam in the warm water for about an hour and half before heading to bed.
Day 4 -->
Easter Sunday. And the most different Easter I have ever had. We woke up in Phuket early and went to the hotel breakfast. It is complementary each day, and is amazing with omlettes, waffles, bacon, etc. We had a nice Easter breakfast before heading to take the tour.
It was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. There were only three of us on the tour, but two full time staff with us as well as others who helped at each station.
We started by going ATV 4wheeling it off road in the jungle. We went down rock piles and throught the forests all around. There were not paved roads or anything and most were just rugged terrain. We saw rubber planations, rice farms, and just thick trees and animals. We even went through a waste deep river at one point. I got soooo dirty, but it was great!
Next we rode elephants. I don't mean that I was in a seat while a guy drove, I was all by myself on this big creature, and was around its neck with no harness or seat. I drove it by verbal commands and hitting it on a certain side of a head. We went up and down muddy hills and trekked through the jungle to a river, where we went down before looping back. It was awesome to have no seat or harness and just have to hang on with my legs and arms like a real Thai. (Did you know that elephants have really stiff bristly hair on their heads?)
The next activity was white water rafting. We met up with other groups and there were many boats going down the river. There were tons of rocks and we got thrown around a lot, but it was so much fun. We went about 45 minutes before we jumped out and swam around trying to beat the current- very tough. We had a girl get caught and swept down river, and as a strong swimmer I had to rush to go get her and pull her over to the side of the river so our boat could come get us. We went another 30-40 minutes after that--- I have never done that before but it was awesome, so much fun.
Next we left the other groups and went zip lining through the jungle and over a river crevace. I like ziplining and think that it is very fun and a great way to see amazing views, but we had to coax one of our members to do it. When she did though she really enjoyed it.
We had a nice traditional Thai lunch at the base site, before heading up a mountain. We passed many rubber plantations and even a palm oil plantation along the way. We got out and hiked up aways and got to a waterfall. We swam underneath it trying to hang on to slippery rocks. It was beautiful and a lot of fun.
When we got back from the tour, we headed to the resort pool to meet up with the rest of the group. We swam awhile before getting ready to go out. I felt too sick to go out (still bad from Bangkok) and there were fractions that night. I ended up getting room service with a couple other people who felt sick or didnt want to go out. We had a fun night talking and watching bad movies in English.
Day 5 -->
The next day I went to the beach that the resort is on. It is a great beach, and the waves are amazing. I was getting pounded by the waves, but it was a lot of fun! That day was the Thai New Years, which was cool because they have a custom where they spray people with water anywhere, and hit people with paint. It is a fun and cool tradition for the holiday.
After going for a quick final swim in the pool and grabbing my breakfast, we headed to the airport. The flight to KL lasted just over an hour and half, and we quickly got through customs one more time. While leaving Phuket I had trouble because my passport had gotten absolutely soaked and all of the stamps had melted into one another, including my departure stamp from Thailand. After a large hassel I got clearance to leave (one girl in our group got accused a fake passport because hers would not scan, but it was cleared up).
In KL the group split up and some decided to stay, while the rest of us headed for KL. It took about 50 minutes to get to the city and we did not have a ton of time there. It rained harder than any rain I have ever seen when we landed, but thankfully it stopped by the time we got to the city. The Petronas Towers used to be the tallest buildings in the world less than a decade ago, and are still the tallest twin towers. They also have the tallest freestanding observation tower (see Seattle Space Needle but much taller). We got to see those and get pictures and walked through Independence Square, and saw the Supreme Court and National Museum. We saw a few other significant buildings including a large Islamic Temple. I did not realise that Malaysia was only 52 years old as an independent nation. Islam is very large there which was very different from Buddhist Thailand, but the city was much more modern and clean than Bangkok as well.
After our trip to KL we headed back to the airport, and took our six hour flight back to Perth. We left at midnight and got to the terminal by 6:15. Customs and immigration is much harder in Australia than Malaysia or Thailand, but since none of us were bringing anything that needed to be declared to any of the three countries, we were fine at each. We took a cab to the train station, and took the train back to Fremantle.
Day 6 -->
This was our day off back in Fremantle. We tried to catch up on some sleep and repack to get ready from Broome and the Kimberley. We ate out and relaxed for most of the day.
Day 7-->
We had to be on the bus at 4am to head to the airport. It was funny because we had just been there the day before.
After we boarded we were informed that the plane had a serious problem in the left engine and that we needed to disembark. We saw guys with manuals as we left. Three hours late we took off.
When we got to Broome, we were dropped of in the city (if you can call it that) and given a lot of time to wander around and explore (ironically the area of the main city is called Chinatown although it does not have much of anything Asian in it). The Japanese attacked the city in 1942 during WWII.
There is a University of Notre Dame Australia campus in Broome, and that was our home base for the that night. We changed there and headed to the very famous Cable Beach. The water was warm and we swam for awhile on the very scenic area. At dusk we took an hour and half camel ride through the sunset that was really cool. The pictures of that are incredible. We finished and saw the last bit of the sun go down, and we all agreed that it may be the best sunset we have ever seen in our lives. It was so beautiful.
That night we ordered a bunch of pizzas and relaxed in the common room before camping outside in personal pods. Everywhere in Australia there are a lot of things that can seriously hurt you or kill you outside, so these are specially built three feet off of the ground and zip up over you -- kinda like a coffin made of tent material on legs. It was uncomfortable for me because it was too small for someone my height and it was rather clausterphobic, but it was still fun and I am glad that I did it.
Day 8 -->
We got up early and explored the campus (including a trip to the library and one last internet check of news and sports). Following that, we were picked up in jeeps and caravanned by our Aboriginal hosts.
We were first taken to a spot called Minyir Park/Beach in Broome that is a sacred spot to their people. We were talked to for awhile by Mic-Lo who talked about the culture.
Following this, we got in and had a four hour drive north towards the Beagle Bay area in the East Kimberley region. Almost the whole thing was dirt road through desert with scrub on each side. It was incredibly bouncy, and the path would be almost impossible without a 4wd with special rover traction and shocks.
We visited the Beagle Bay Church which is one of the most unique Catholic Churches you will ever see. It is decorated almost entirely by pearl shells and pearls, and is in the middle of an Aboriginal community.
Finally we made it to the camp site. It is very much in the Outback, but is actually not far from the ocean, and you could actually see it from where we were -- although you could not go towards it due to the fact that the mangroves that seperated us from the water are filled with crocodiles.
We set up all of our tents; thanks to an epic rock paper scissors win I had a huge tent meant for many that I only had to share with Kevin.
That night we sat around the campfire and had deep talks with our leaders and then had a great dinner. After dinner we had hot chocolate and cookies and listened to our hosts talk.
Day 9 -->
We were not allowed to bring watches because we were going to be living on "Broome time." We went to bed when it got dark which is around 10 - 10:30. We also then get up when it gets light which is about 6:30.
We woke up and had a talk with Collin, the head of our hosts, about the culture. He was great because throughout the whole trip, no question was off limits and because of that we were able to learn lots.
We went to the coast and toured sacred spots to the local people and met the head elder of the group "Auntie Irene". She is about 90 years old, and has many many good stories about the treatment of the native people.
Following the talk and tour, we went to a bay at One Arm Point where we were going to wade in, but were quickly told to get on the rocks on the side as 6 tiger sharks 7 -10 feet long were in the water only a few feet deep. We watched them for awhile before heading to a local hatchery. They raised sea turtles, native fish, and creatures with amazing shells.
We also visited a local school and made a donation of sporting equipment to the local kids. The principal and teachers there were very greatful and interested to meet us.
It was sunny and 105 degrees out so we went for a swim at a safer beach. Following that we went back to camp and learned how to throw authentic spears.
We had dinner and the same routine with talk around the campfire and a talk with Collin before bed.
Day 10-->
The basic routines of the day in terms of waking up and having talks in the morning and then campfire discussions and talks with our hosts were the same almost every day.
The highlights of this day were going to mudflats by Djerrigin that have aboriginal footprints that are dated to be over 7,000 years old. It is amazing the quality of something so old.
The rest of the day was spent at the living place of one of the other elders. We cut trees and made spears ourselves, and also took logs and carved out boomerangs. All the while we heard stories from all of them. Boomerangs are mens work -- women were not allowed to touch or be around them as the males made them. (the girls did not like that at all)
That night Auntie Irene came back around the campfire to talk that night. And dinner was sea turtle. All of us relished that because it would be illegal in the US to eat it because it is an endangered species. The meat is a red meat that is much like Fillet. It was delicious.
Day 11-->
The highlight of this day was the trip to a resort run by the community that is at an amazing beach at Cape Leveque at Kodjamon. It had been 110 - 105 the whole time we were there, so they gave us a long day at the beach. It was a nice relaxing part to a trip that had been pretty busy.
After that we continued making boomerangs, and having competitions.
We also went to church in a community where the church was 104 years old and made out of nothing but bark and twigs. It was really cool, but simple. After we talked with different workers around the community. Lombindina is a typical town and was an exciting chance to experience.
That night was our final night, and the good byes and stories were very emotional.
Day 12-->
We had to go back to Broome and head back to Perth. We smelled bad and were very dirty in the dark red soil of the trip, and it was nice to get away from scorpions and snakes and bugs for awhile, but I was sad to leave. It was a great time, and very educational. It was something that most will never experience in their lives.
Overall all of my travels were amazing. Very different cultures between the Buddhist Thailand, Islamic Malaysia, Christian/ secular Australia, and Aboriginal Outback. It was very hot in each of the places, and we were gone for awhile, but we saw tons. Ask me any questions you would like by making a post and I will answer it.
Pictures will come later.
Day 1-->
I arranged for us to get a cab to the airport that left our dorm at 3:30am. We got through customs and right onto the plane. I found us a great deal that included round trip airfare to Thailand and back, including a flight inbetween the two locations there, for under $400 US.
We flew the six hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, which took about 6 hours, but on a discount airline it was a little uncomfortable. The seats did not recline (in fact the bottoms slid forward instead), and there were no ammenities. We got to KL and easily made it through Malaysian customs, before grabbing a bite to eat and transfering to our next plane. The flight from KL to Bangkok was only about 2.5 hours.
Upon arrival to Bangkok we got cabs to our hotel. There were sixteen of us so we needed four cabs. We checked into our rooms, and got ready to go-- we were supposed to be picked up for a dinner cruise almost immiediately. The problem was that one of the cabs got lost and was very late. The shuttle wanted to leave, but we bribed the guy some money to wait, and the cab got there just in time.
We went on a dinner cruise down the main river that goes right through Bangkok - the River of Kings. We got to see all the sites of interest from the moonlight and lit up as we feasted on traditional Thai cooking on an old Thai boat. It was the perfect way to start the trip.
Day 2 -->
Myself and three others signed up for a guided tour for this day, so we had to get up early. We were supposed to take a cab to another hotel, and then jump the shuttle there. When we woke up at 5:30am, one of the guys going found that he had lost his camera the night before, and it delayed us so long looking that when we arrived we had missed the shuttle. A very very helpful concierge called four or five places and found out where we had to go, and a cab driver who loved to go fast got us there just in time.
The tour took us to Auyathaya, the former capital of Thailand. It still has a summer palace for the current royalty that you can tour around the grounds, as well as many ruins of temples and palaces of past. We made many stops as we made our way back towards Bangkok. When we got close, we boarded a boat and took the same river as the night before towards the city. We got to see the landmarks during the day as we enjoyed another traditional Thai meal. It was a great view of the city.
When the tour was over, rather than go back to the hotel, we decided to walk to Chinatown, one of the largest Chinatowns outside of China. There were many temples, and the outdoor stands and markets were amazing. We saw some shady things as we explored back alleys and ghetto areas, but it was a great way to really see the city. We saw some amazing, but not as well known, temples - some in the slums (best one was the Temple to Buddha built by the woman repenting for running a prostitution ring).
We went back and the entire 16 decided to head to dinner. We had reserved a VIP room at a more Western restaurant. We made a total scene but had a great time. I was, however, sick for the next three days following the meal and I have a sneaking suspicion it was due to eating there. Following dinner we went to the bar. Normally I would gloss over the club scene pretty quickly, but I will mention out of honesty that we had some problems there. Before you make any wild assertions, it was right when we got there, and noone had been drinking at the time of the problems. It was not a huge deal, but made us focus more for the rest of the trip. I dont really want to go into any more details than that.
Day 3-->
I rallied to get up the next morning and we headed out early again, before 7. We decided to hoof it around the city and see everything there was left to see with the same three person group as the day before.
When we got to the city we decided to take a Tuk Tuk (a small motorcycle cart that can seat 4) around to different sites that were farther away. It was great because he took us to a bunch of things that we would not have seen and waited for us while there. Unfortunately he also kept taking us to junk stores and making us go in that we never asked to go to. It was still awesome, though incredibly dangerous the way that traffic is there (totally worth it to see the city).
One of the places that our Tuk Tuk drove was around a barricade and police to go down the street with all of the protesters and rioters. We wanted to see the protesters, but we didn't know that meant litterally driving around a barricade and police and down a closed street overrun wiht people. There was a lot of shouting and yelling and huge crowds while we went down the street and you could tell that everyone was gearing up for a battle, but when we passed they were doing no more than loud yelling and jumping around. We later found out that the full out riots started only two hours after we left this street. Nothing like adding a little excitement to trip.
We got back and then started walking the main strip. It was at this point that a major downpour hit and we got soaked. We kept going and in 100 degree heat we were dry later in the day. We saw all of the major temples and palaces and it is the most amazing things I have ever seen. I am pretty sure that I have never seen anything like it in my life and maybe never will again. It makes the palaces in France and Austria look weak. With out going into too much detail about specific locations, we took the ferry boats back and forth across the river to make sure we saw everything, and the places were out of this world.
We stayed in the city so late, that we barely got back to the hotel in time to leave for the airport with the group. We ate in the airport and took off at about 9:30. We had a problem because despite having a confirmation sheet, they would not let one of our girls on the plane. They forced her to buy another ticket just to make the flight, she did just to advoid getting stuck in Bangkok.
We landed in Phuket only an hour and 10 minutes later, and got to our resort by about 11:45. It was an amazing resort right on the beach and very new. It was filled almost completely with Westerners. The pool had a bar in it, and was overlooking the hotel and path to the ocean. It was closed when we arrived, but we decided to sneak in anyways, and swam in the warm water for about an hour and half before heading to bed.
Day 4 -->
Easter Sunday. And the most different Easter I have ever had. We woke up in Phuket early and went to the hotel breakfast. It is complementary each day, and is amazing with omlettes, waffles, bacon, etc. We had a nice Easter breakfast before heading to take the tour.
It was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. There were only three of us on the tour, but two full time staff with us as well as others who helped at each station.
We started by going ATV 4wheeling it off road in the jungle. We went down rock piles and throught the forests all around. There were not paved roads or anything and most were just rugged terrain. We saw rubber planations, rice farms, and just thick trees and animals. We even went through a waste deep river at one point. I got soooo dirty, but it was great!
Next we rode elephants. I don't mean that I was in a seat while a guy drove, I was all by myself on this big creature, and was around its neck with no harness or seat. I drove it by verbal commands and hitting it on a certain side of a head. We went up and down muddy hills and trekked through the jungle to a river, where we went down before looping back. It was awesome to have no seat or harness and just have to hang on with my legs and arms like a real Thai. (Did you know that elephants have really stiff bristly hair on their heads?)
The next activity was white water rafting. We met up with other groups and there were many boats going down the river. There were tons of rocks and we got thrown around a lot, but it was so much fun. We went about 45 minutes before we jumped out and swam around trying to beat the current- very tough. We had a girl get caught and swept down river, and as a strong swimmer I had to rush to go get her and pull her over to the side of the river so our boat could come get us. We went another 30-40 minutes after that--- I have never done that before but it was awesome, so much fun.
Next we left the other groups and went zip lining through the jungle and over a river crevace. I like ziplining and think that it is very fun and a great way to see amazing views, but we had to coax one of our members to do it. When she did though she really enjoyed it.
We had a nice traditional Thai lunch at the base site, before heading up a mountain. We passed many rubber plantations and even a palm oil plantation along the way. We got out and hiked up aways and got to a waterfall. We swam underneath it trying to hang on to slippery rocks. It was beautiful and a lot of fun.
When we got back from the tour, we headed to the resort pool to meet up with the rest of the group. We swam awhile before getting ready to go out. I felt too sick to go out (still bad from Bangkok) and there were fractions that night. I ended up getting room service with a couple other people who felt sick or didnt want to go out. We had a fun night talking and watching bad movies in English.
Day 5 -->
The next day I went to the beach that the resort is on. It is a great beach, and the waves are amazing. I was getting pounded by the waves, but it was a lot of fun! That day was the Thai New Years, which was cool because they have a custom where they spray people with water anywhere, and hit people with paint. It is a fun and cool tradition for the holiday.
After going for a quick final swim in the pool and grabbing my breakfast, we headed to the airport. The flight to KL lasted just over an hour and half, and we quickly got through customs one more time. While leaving Phuket I had trouble because my passport had gotten absolutely soaked and all of the stamps had melted into one another, including my departure stamp from Thailand. After a large hassel I got clearance to leave (one girl in our group got accused a fake passport because hers would not scan, but it was cleared up).
In KL the group split up and some decided to stay, while the rest of us headed for KL. It took about 50 minutes to get to the city and we did not have a ton of time there. It rained harder than any rain I have ever seen when we landed, but thankfully it stopped by the time we got to the city. The Petronas Towers used to be the tallest buildings in the world less than a decade ago, and are still the tallest twin towers. They also have the tallest freestanding observation tower (see Seattle Space Needle but much taller). We got to see those and get pictures and walked through Independence Square, and saw the Supreme Court and National Museum. We saw a few other significant buildings including a large Islamic Temple. I did not realise that Malaysia was only 52 years old as an independent nation. Islam is very large there which was very different from Buddhist Thailand, but the city was much more modern and clean than Bangkok as well.
After our trip to KL we headed back to the airport, and took our six hour flight back to Perth. We left at midnight and got to the terminal by 6:15. Customs and immigration is much harder in Australia than Malaysia or Thailand, but since none of us were bringing anything that needed to be declared to any of the three countries, we were fine at each. We took a cab to the train station, and took the train back to Fremantle.
Day 6 -->
This was our day off back in Fremantle. We tried to catch up on some sleep and repack to get ready from Broome and the Kimberley. We ate out and relaxed for most of the day.
Day 7-->
We had to be on the bus at 4am to head to the airport. It was funny because we had just been there the day before.
After we boarded we were informed that the plane had a serious problem in the left engine and that we needed to disembark. We saw guys with manuals as we left. Three hours late we took off.
When we got to Broome, we were dropped of in the city (if you can call it that) and given a lot of time to wander around and explore (ironically the area of the main city is called Chinatown although it does not have much of anything Asian in it). The Japanese attacked the city in 1942 during WWII.
There is a University of Notre Dame Australia campus in Broome, and that was our home base for the that night. We changed there and headed to the very famous Cable Beach. The water was warm and we swam for awhile on the very scenic area. At dusk we took an hour and half camel ride through the sunset that was really cool. The pictures of that are incredible. We finished and saw the last bit of the sun go down, and we all agreed that it may be the best sunset we have ever seen in our lives. It was so beautiful.
That night we ordered a bunch of pizzas and relaxed in the common room before camping outside in personal pods. Everywhere in Australia there are a lot of things that can seriously hurt you or kill you outside, so these are specially built three feet off of the ground and zip up over you -- kinda like a coffin made of tent material on legs. It was uncomfortable for me because it was too small for someone my height and it was rather clausterphobic, but it was still fun and I am glad that I did it.
Day 8 -->
We got up early and explored the campus (including a trip to the library and one last internet check of news and sports). Following that, we were picked up in jeeps and caravanned by our Aboriginal hosts.
We were first taken to a spot called Minyir Park/Beach in Broome that is a sacred spot to their people. We were talked to for awhile by Mic-Lo who talked about the culture.
Following this, we got in and had a four hour drive north towards the Beagle Bay area in the East Kimberley region. Almost the whole thing was dirt road through desert with scrub on each side. It was incredibly bouncy, and the path would be almost impossible without a 4wd with special rover traction and shocks.
We visited the Beagle Bay Church which is one of the most unique Catholic Churches you will ever see. It is decorated almost entirely by pearl shells and pearls, and is in the middle of an Aboriginal community.
Finally we made it to the camp site. It is very much in the Outback, but is actually not far from the ocean, and you could actually see it from where we were -- although you could not go towards it due to the fact that the mangroves that seperated us from the water are filled with crocodiles.
We set up all of our tents; thanks to an epic rock paper scissors win I had a huge tent meant for many that I only had to share with Kevin.
That night we sat around the campfire and had deep talks with our leaders and then had a great dinner. After dinner we had hot chocolate and cookies and listened to our hosts talk.
Day 9 -->
We were not allowed to bring watches because we were going to be living on "Broome time." We went to bed when it got dark which is around 10 - 10:30. We also then get up when it gets light which is about 6:30.
We woke up and had a talk with Collin, the head of our hosts, about the culture. He was great because throughout the whole trip, no question was off limits and because of that we were able to learn lots.
We went to the coast and toured sacred spots to the local people and met the head elder of the group "Auntie Irene". She is about 90 years old, and has many many good stories about the treatment of the native people.
Following the talk and tour, we went to a bay at One Arm Point where we were going to wade in, but were quickly told to get on the rocks on the side as 6 tiger sharks 7 -10 feet long were in the water only a few feet deep. We watched them for awhile before heading to a local hatchery. They raised sea turtles, native fish, and creatures with amazing shells.
We also visited a local school and made a donation of sporting equipment to the local kids. The principal and teachers there were very greatful and interested to meet us.
It was sunny and 105 degrees out so we went for a swim at a safer beach. Following that we went back to camp and learned how to throw authentic spears.
We had dinner and the same routine with talk around the campfire and a talk with Collin before bed.
Day 10-->
The basic routines of the day in terms of waking up and having talks in the morning and then campfire discussions and talks with our hosts were the same almost every day.
The highlights of this day were going to mudflats by Djerrigin that have aboriginal footprints that are dated to be over 7,000 years old. It is amazing the quality of something so old.
The rest of the day was spent at the living place of one of the other elders. We cut trees and made spears ourselves, and also took logs and carved out boomerangs. All the while we heard stories from all of them. Boomerangs are mens work -- women were not allowed to touch or be around them as the males made them. (the girls did not like that at all)
That night Auntie Irene came back around the campfire to talk that night. And dinner was sea turtle. All of us relished that because it would be illegal in the US to eat it because it is an endangered species. The meat is a red meat that is much like Fillet. It was delicious.
Day 11-->
The highlight of this day was the trip to a resort run by the community that is at an amazing beach at Cape Leveque at Kodjamon. It had been 110 - 105 the whole time we were there, so they gave us a long day at the beach. It was a nice relaxing part to a trip that had been pretty busy.
After that we continued making boomerangs, and having competitions.
We also went to church in a community where the church was 104 years old and made out of nothing but bark and twigs. It was really cool, but simple. After we talked with different workers around the community. Lombindina is a typical town and was an exciting chance to experience.
That night was our final night, and the good byes and stories were very emotional.
Day 12-->
We had to go back to Broome and head back to Perth. We smelled bad and were very dirty in the dark red soil of the trip, and it was nice to get away from scorpions and snakes and bugs for awhile, but I was sad to leave. It was a great time, and very educational. It was something that most will never experience in their lives.
Overall all of my travels were amazing. Very different cultures between the Buddhist Thailand, Islamic Malaysia, Christian/ secular Australia, and Aboriginal Outback. It was very hot in each of the places, and we were gone for awhile, but we saw tons. Ask me any questions you would like by making a post and I will answer it.
Pictures will come later.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Pre Fall Break Post
Yes it is true that I have not written in awhile. There is a combination of good reasons for it- I have had school work including some midterm stuff to do, lots of travel prep, etc. but I have also been a little bit lazy in this regard as of late- so here is a quick update.
I really have blitzed the city of Perth now and feel as if I have really covered the entire city pretty well. Nicole and I went to the Perth Mint, which was pretty exciting to see gold be created. I also went up the Swan Bell Tower where I learned that rining bells is very difficult, but the lady was very impressed when I could ring two bells at the same time and told me that if I practiced I could be one of the few people in the world who could be a world class bell ringer of two bells at the same time (I promise its not as easy as you are thinking it is).
We also went to an Professional Australian Rules Football Game at the large stadium between Perth and Fremantle. There are two professional teams based in the stadium, one for Perth (the West Coast Eagles) and the other the Fremantle Dockers. We saw Freo play, to a crowd of about 45,000. It was the first game of the year and we had pretty good seats in the first row. The game is pretty exciting, but the Dockers lost 141-94.
This past weekend four of us went to participate in an archaeological dig about 20-30 minutes from Fremantle. It is one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia. While digging and brushing in plot, near the hearth of a home, I discovered a brandy snifter from the 1820s. I also found some smoking pipes and a few other things. It was pretty neat to actually see the plotting and sifting take place for a real dig and be a part of it.
The Sacred Heart girls have been gone for a couple of days now, (they are up in Broome now)and the dorm really is a lot quieter without them. It is strange, however, and gave everyone sortof a somber preview of what the end of the semester will bring.
Here is the upcoming schedule:
Thursday morning at 3:30am we leave for the airport for a 6 day trip that will include Bangkok Thailand, Phuket Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. I am excited about my first trip to Asia, and also to see the Buddist influenced Eastern culture. KL should also be fun because it will be a compare and contrast as it is an Islamic culture.
The day after we get back we take our trip to Broome, the outback, where we will camp in tents with aboriginals for 5 days.
The next two weeks should go by pretty quickly, and it most likely will not be until then that I post again.
I really have blitzed the city of Perth now and feel as if I have really covered the entire city pretty well. Nicole and I went to the Perth Mint, which was pretty exciting to see gold be created. I also went up the Swan Bell Tower where I learned that rining bells is very difficult, but the lady was very impressed when I could ring two bells at the same time and told me that if I practiced I could be one of the few people in the world who could be a world class bell ringer of two bells at the same time (I promise its not as easy as you are thinking it is).
We also went to an Professional Australian Rules Football Game at the large stadium between Perth and Fremantle. There are two professional teams based in the stadium, one for Perth (the West Coast Eagles) and the other the Fremantle Dockers. We saw Freo play, to a crowd of about 45,000. It was the first game of the year and we had pretty good seats in the first row. The game is pretty exciting, but the Dockers lost 141-94.
This past weekend four of us went to participate in an archaeological dig about 20-30 minutes from Fremantle. It is one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia. While digging and brushing in plot, near the hearth of a home, I discovered a brandy snifter from the 1820s. I also found some smoking pipes and a few other things. It was pretty neat to actually see the plotting and sifting take place for a real dig and be a part of it.
The Sacred Heart girls have been gone for a couple of days now, (they are up in Broome now)and the dorm really is a lot quieter without them. It is strange, however, and gave everyone sortof a somber preview of what the end of the semester will bring.
Here is the upcoming schedule:
Thursday morning at 3:30am we leave for the airport for a 6 day trip that will include Bangkok Thailand, Phuket Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. I am excited about my first trip to Asia, and also to see the Buddist influenced Eastern culture. KL should also be fun because it will be a compare and contrast as it is an Islamic culture.
The day after we get back we take our trip to Broome, the outback, where we will camp in tents with aboriginals for 5 days.
The next two weeks should go by pretty quickly, and it most likely will not be until then that I post again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)