Hi,
sadly I am not on a holiday right now, so this blog is discontinued.
You can find me at www.yvopluymakers.com if you are interested. Ciao!
2.8.09
3.8.08
Keep your fingers crossed...
Quantas does not seem to be doing so well these (in Dutch) days. Keep your fingers crossed for QF009 tonight. :)
2.8.08
Leaving Singapore
A big Aloha to you! from Singapore. I arrived here this morning on the nighttrain from Kuala Lumpur and am now in my familiar hostel - Inncrowd, very nice - to upload some pictures and have a shower. Tonight I will be flying back home, it will be a bit strange to be back in the Netherlands again. Hope the weather is any good.
Yesterday I said goodbye to Anna in Kuala Lumpur and then left for Singapore. We had a really cool time travelling through Malaysia. From Kota Bahru we left for the Perentian Island. It was a pleasant drive along the coast for about an hour and a half and then a 40 min boat ride to the island. The island itself was really really nice. We had a small hut near the beach, inhabited by a lizard, a frog, a spider, some mosquitos and us. The first day we spend on the beach, the second we went snorkeling. The snorkling was awesome. The reef was inhabited by many colourful fish, turtles and some sharks. We had a small boat with 5 other tourists to shuttle us around and we stopped at 5 locations for some swimming and the weather was so good.
After that, sadly, it was time to be heading home. We took a plane back to KL (30 euros - 1 hour) instead of the train (4 euros - 12 hours), which was pleasant. In KL we did some shopping and a lot of eating and that was about it. Now its time to go home
I will leave tonight on QF009 to London where I will have 5 hours and 15 of spare time. After that I will be arriving at Amsterdam Airport at 12.55 on BD105. Hope to see you soon...
Oh, photos on Flickr.
Yesterday I said goodbye to Anna in Kuala Lumpur and then left for Singapore. We had a really cool time travelling through Malaysia. From Kota Bahru we left for the Perentian Island. It was a pleasant drive along the coast for about an hour and a half and then a 40 min boat ride to the island. The island itself was really really nice. We had a small hut near the beach, inhabited by a lizard, a frog, a spider, some mosquitos and us. The first day we spend on the beach, the second we went snorkeling. The snorkling was awesome. The reef was inhabited by many colourful fish, turtles and some sharks. We had a small boat with 5 other tourists to shuttle us around and we stopped at 5 locations for some swimming and the weather was so good.
After that, sadly, it was time to be heading home. We took a plane back to KL (30 euros - 1 hour) instead of the train (4 euros - 12 hours), which was pleasant. In KL we did some shopping and a lot of eating and that was about it. Now its time to go home
I will leave tonight on QF009 to London where I will have 5 hours and 15 of spare time. After that I will be arriving at Amsterdam Airport at 12.55 on BD105. Hope to see you soon...
Oh, photos on Flickr.
28.7.08
Kota Bharu
Aloha! This time from Kota Bharu in the North of Malaysia. The weather is really good: sunny and hot. I met up with Anna a few days ago in Kuala Lumpur and from there we took the bus into the Jungle at Taman Negara. We stayed there on the riverside for 2 nights and the forest was really awesome. We did a couple of walks through the jungle and up the mountains. On the downside, we had some rain and that is when the leeches come out. Bleh. When we stopped to check my feet were bleeding, I had 8 bites and 3 of the things still hanging around in my socks. Bleh! The Germans next to us seemed not entirely at ease with it and neither was I actually. Anna was spared for reasons unknown. The next day we decided to skip the walking at took a boat through the jungle back to civilization. When we arrived we took a long train through the jungle up North, where we are now. This morning we visited some markets and had lunch now we will try to find where they make the traditional kites. Hope we will find 'm.
23.7.08
Kuala Lumpur report
Aloha! So here I am: KL. I got up this morning at 5.30 to get myself to the trainstation in time and I found it and I made it. Got on the train and the trip was really cool. Nice jungle style views from my window and the weather seemed to get getter the further I got. At some point I did start to get a bit worried as the train was already supposed to be there, but was not. After an hour I was wondering wether I might have missed the stop, but figured that KL should be big enough that you would notice stopping there. An hour later we arrived and the train apologized for the delay.
Kuala Lumpur seems a nice place. It is less tidy then Singapore and a bit more smelly. But I do not mind. I seems really busy, hustling and bustling and really Asian. I think I like it here. I took a walk through Chinatown where people tried to sell me all kinds of fake Adidas and Rolexes. After that I went to this Thai place that served a really good red curry with the biggest pile of shrimp I have ever seen on a plate. Tomorrow I will go and see the sights and have dinner with Anna to come up with a travelplan for saturday.
No pictures sadly, the computer has no usb and there is no Wifi. - No Wifi?!, yes no Wifi. I am staying at the Green Hut hostel. No Wifi. Keep that in mind, otherwise it seems alright. - Ciao!
Kuala Lumpur seems a nice place. It is less tidy then Singapore and a bit more smelly. But I do not mind. I seems really busy, hustling and bustling and really Asian. I think I like it here. I took a walk through Chinatown where people tried to sell me all kinds of fake Adidas and Rolexes. After that I went to this Thai place that served a really good red curry with the biggest pile of shrimp I have ever seen on a plate. Tomorrow I will go and see the sights and have dinner with Anna to come up with a travelplan for saturday.
No pictures sadly, the computer has no usb and there is no Wifi. - No Wifi?!, yes no Wifi. I am staying at the Green Hut hostel. No Wifi. Keep that in mind, otherwise it seems alright. - Ciao!
22.7.08
Singapore
So, Singapore. It is big. It has many shopping malls. Its seems to consist mainly of shopping malls actually and that makes it a bit of a strange place. Yesterday was my first day here and it was quite rainy. I went outside took look for the trainstation and I got rained upon. A lot, as it rains a lot here. What is amazing is that all the sidewalk here are covered in a kind of bathroomtiles that get slippery when they get wet. This made it difficult to get around .
It was also rather difficult to find the trainstation, I did not succeed yesterday. I also could not really find a tourist information with a staff member occupieing it. This meant I had to make do with the made that I got from the counter. The map shows a few interesting things, but mainly shopping malls. This also seems the main thing that people do here in Singapore. Singapore is excellent for shopping for either clothes or electronics. I have never in my life seen such large and so many malls.
What I like about Singapore is that there are many really nicely coloured buildings. Both big and small. The high rise buildings are made of cubic shapes stacked very creatively which reminds me of soviet buildings, but their colourfull paint makes them look very happy. It is also a very green place, plants seem to grow every where and the city smells remarkalby nice. Oo, and very nice food, everywhere.
In the end I did find the trainstation and got me a ticket to Kuala Lumpur. I am leaving tomorrow at 7.40hrs and will be interested in what I find, I hope. Also, some photos are now online.
It was also rather difficult to find the trainstation, I did not succeed yesterday. I also could not really find a tourist information with a staff member occupieing it. This meant I had to make do with the made that I got from the counter. The map shows a few interesting things, but mainly shopping malls. This also seems the main thing that people do here in Singapore. Singapore is excellent for shopping for either clothes or electronics. I have never in my life seen such large and so many malls.
What I like about Singapore is that there are many really nicely coloured buildings. Both big and small. The high rise buildings are made of cubic shapes stacked very creatively which reminds me of soviet buildings, but their colourfull paint makes them look very happy. It is also a very green place, plants seem to grow every where and the city smells remarkalby nice. Oo, and very nice food, everywhere.
In the end I did find the trainstation and got me a ticket to Kuala Lumpur. I am leaving tomorrow at 7.40hrs and will be interested in what I find, I hope. Also, some photos are now online.
21.7.08
Report from Australia
Hi there, now that I have some spare time I would like to fill you in on my what I have been up to in my last weeks in Australia. I did not really get round to it before. So here we go. As you might have understood I went up to Cairns for a week. I was not really in the mood for travelling, but I really wanted to see the rainforest and the great barrier reef, so I took the easy way out and got myself a fairly expensive plane ticket to Cairns. The trip takes about three hours -2000 km- and then you are there. Cairns.
I assumed that Cairn would be a nice and big city with heaps of stuff to do, but that was a bit of a disappointment. It is small and it is there for tourists. There is not much to do on your own, so you will have to take a organised tour. So thats what I did. The first day I went snorkling on a massive catamaran that speeds out to the reef in about 1.5 hours. The snorkling was awesome, sadly I did not take any photos of fish as my camera is not waterproof. After that lunch is served and you are taken to a second, also nice, snorkling spot. The second and third days I went up to the Daintree rainforst at Cape Tribulation. This is where the rainforest meets the sea and there are some stunning beaches and trees. No swimming though as all the waters are inhabited by crocodiles. Most people that die of crodile attacks are Germans, closely followed by the Japanese. On the route from Cairn to the rainforest we stopped a several interesting locations: a jungle walk - pretty neat, a nice wooden walkway to keep you comfortable -, a river filled with crocodiles - we saw only 2 crodiles and they did not seem that fierce -, a viewpoint from where you could see the spot where Steve Irwin died and Port Douglas - I do not recommend going there -. All in all a nice trip.
When I got back I did not really feel like staying in Cairns for the reasons stated above. I thus decided to go to Magnetic Island near Townsville. The Island I really nice with forests and beaches where you can actually swim. I visited a Koala village and also managed to see some Koalas hanging from the trees. After that it was time to get back to Sydney again. When I got back there I met up with Megan for a weekend in Port Stephens. Port Stephens I a nice and quiet village about 3 hours North of Sydney by bus. It has some nice beaches and walks through the forests. Supposedly it is possible to spot dolpins and whales at Port Stephens, which is something I would have liked. This is either a lie, or I just had bad luck, I did not see any. It was a pretty nice getaway anyway.
The last days in Sydney were a bit sad, as I spend most of my time saying goodbye to many nice people. I have also been looking for a graduation project to start graduating when I get back home which is starting to get somewhere.
See some photoos on flickr
I assumed that Cairn would be a nice and big city with heaps of stuff to do, but that was a bit of a disappointment. It is small and it is there for tourists. There is not much to do on your own, so you will have to take a organised tour. So thats what I did. The first day I went snorkling on a massive catamaran that speeds out to the reef in about 1.5 hours. The snorkling was awesome, sadly I did not take any photos of fish as my camera is not waterproof. After that lunch is served and you are taken to a second, also nice, snorkling spot. The second and third days I went up to the Daintree rainforst at Cape Tribulation. This is where the rainforest meets the sea and there are some stunning beaches and trees. No swimming though as all the waters are inhabited by crocodiles. Most people that die of crodile attacks are Germans, closely followed by the Japanese. On the route from Cairn to the rainforest we stopped a several interesting locations: a jungle walk - pretty neat, a nice wooden walkway to keep you comfortable -, a river filled with crocodiles - we saw only 2 crodiles and they did not seem that fierce -, a viewpoint from where you could see the spot where Steve Irwin died and Port Douglas - I do not recommend going there -. All in all a nice trip.
When I got back I did not really feel like staying in Cairns for the reasons stated above. I thus decided to go to Magnetic Island near Townsville. The Island I really nice with forests and beaches where you can actually swim. I visited a Koala village and also managed to see some Koalas hanging from the trees. After that it was time to get back to Sydney again. When I got back there I met up with Megan for a weekend in Port Stephens. Port Stephens I a nice and quiet village about 3 hours North of Sydney by bus. It has some nice beaches and walks through the forests. Supposedly it is possible to spot dolpins and whales at Port Stephens, which is something I would have liked. This is either a lie, or I just had bad luck, I did not see any. It was a pretty nice getaway anyway.
The last days in Sydney were a bit sad, as I spend most of my time saying goodbye to many nice people. I have also been looking for a graduation project to start graduating when I get back home which is starting to get somewhere.
See some photoos on flickr
20.7.08
In Singapore
Hi! Arrived in Singapore last night in the middle of the night. The flight from Australia to here was good and I think I will miss Sydney. I will now go and explore Singapore and hope to upload some photoos, also from Cairns one of these days. Ciao!
2.7.08
To Cairns and beyond...
After many days of bumming
around Sydney I am finally
moving again. This time up North,
next friday, as they are saying
it will start raining in Sydney.
I will fly with my trusted
Quantas airways to see
the Great Barrier reef and the
Daintree rainforest. I'll try to
take some photos for you
people at home. Details below.
YOUR ITINERARY AND TRAVEL DETAILS:
QANTAS AIRWAYS QF0167 ECONOMY CLASS (M) CONFIRMED
DEPART 04JUL08 SYDNEY 0805
ARRIVE 04JUL08 CAIRNS 1110
DEPARTS FROM:TERMINAL 1
ARRIVES AT: TERMINAL I
NVA 31DEC
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE: 20 KILO
------------------------------------------------------------ -----
QANTAS AIRWAYS QF0921 ECONOMY CLASS (S) CONFIRMED
DEPART 11JUL08 CAIRNS 0545
ARRIVE 11JUL08 SYDNEY 0845
DEPARTS FROM:TERMINAL D
ARRIVES AT: TERMINAL 3
NVA 31DEC
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE: 20 KILO
------------------------------------------------------------ -----
27.6.08
And in Sydney?
It is nice to be back in Sydney. I met up with some friends from university for a birth celebration on thursday and went to see the Sydney Biennale with Megan yesterday. Both were really nice. The Biennale is an fairly large arts event in the city and yesterday we checked out one location: Cockatoo Island. Getting there by a free ferry was fun and the Island in itself was an awesome place to visit. It used to be a Australian navy base, but has been abandoned since and now hosts the arts festival. It has cool cranes, buildings and tunnels all over the place and the art was quite nice as well. In the evening we went to see a theatre show in Surry Hills, which although I am not much into theatre, I must admit was very cool to see.
In my house in Leichhardt things are becoming quiet as most kids are now leaving for their parents for the winterholidays. This is a bit sad have come to enjoy living with them. Today or tomorrow I hope to come up with a plan to travel around Australia a bit more (North is warm) and I will let you know where I am going asap. See you!
Ah, and there should be photos on Flickr yet again.
In my house in Leichhardt things are becoming quiet as most kids are now leaving for their parents for the winterholidays. This is a bit sad have come to enjoy living with them. Today or tomorrow I hope to come up with a plan to travel around Australia a bit more (North is warm) and I will let you know where I am going asap. See you!
Ah, and there should be photos on Flickr yet again.
Melbourne report
Hi, for those who were wondering what I was up to in Melbourne: here is a short report, to keep you up to date. As mentioned before I went down to Melbourne with Guido, my Italian friend from across the hall. Sonja cooked us a nice dinner and dropped us off at the busstop from where we took the nightbus. Though the night bus was cheap, the ride was hell. The ride was long (8hours) and uncomfortable. In the middle of the night we had a short stop at a rather depressing truck stop.
At 8 am in the morning we finally arrived exhausted in the city. We took up residence in the All Nations backpackers. A typical dodgy backpackers that would do fine for a couple of days. We decided to explore the city by the free circle line tram and after we went for wine in the Black Cat in Fitzroy. During the week the Black Cat turned into our favorite midnight hangout and their Cabernet Merlot turned into our drug of choice.
Melbourne is a very cool place to visit. Everything is closer together then back here in Sydney and the shopping is ridiculously good. Got myself a new pair of Onitsuka Tigers and trousers. There are a lot of arty things to see, but the nicest thing about Melbourne would be the bumming around in the many coffee and wine bars. Good times were had right there.
Should you be around you should definetely visit the Victoria National Gallery, maybe the best arts museum in Australia?, Federation Square - lots going on there, we saw the GAME ON video game expostion at the ACMI - and the Royal Botannical Gardens were quite awesome as well. We also went to see a game of Aussie Rules Football, a combination of rugby, soccer, basket and volleyball at the MCG, but that did not quite work for me. Could not figure out the game, but seeing it was an experience in its own.
See the photoos on Flickr.
At 8 am in the morning we finally arrived exhausted in the city. We took up residence in the All Nations backpackers. A typical dodgy backpackers that would do fine for a couple of days. We decided to explore the city by the free circle line tram and after we went for wine in the Black Cat in Fitzroy. During the week the Black Cat turned into our favorite midnight hangout and their Cabernet Merlot turned into our drug of choice.
Melbourne is a very cool place to visit. Everything is closer together then back here in Sydney and the shopping is ridiculously good. Got myself a new pair of Onitsuka Tigers and trousers. There are a lot of arty things to see, but the nicest thing about Melbourne would be the bumming around in the many coffee and wine bars. Good times were had right there.
Should you be around you should definetely visit the Victoria National Gallery, maybe the best arts museum in Australia?, Federation Square - lots going on there, we saw the GAME ON video game expostion at the ACMI - and the Royal Botannical Gardens were quite awesome as well. We also went to see a game of Aussie Rules Football, a combination of rugby, soccer, basket and volleyball at the MCG, but that did not quite work for me. Could not figure out the game, but seeing it was an experience in its own.
See the photoos on Flickr.
Melbourne photoos online
Hi there, just uploaded a set of photoos of my trip to Melbourne. Check m out if you like it on Flickr. Details might follow tomorrow...
25.6.08
Back from Melbourne
Hi there! It has been a while and a lot has been going on. University ended two weeks ago and I think everything was handed in succesfully, so I should be fine. Now I need to get started on looking for my graduation project, as all courses have been completed. It is a strange thought.
Just as I was enjoying my sparetime and considering finally backing up my pictures and documents, my computer crashed last week. The thing got stuck in a vicious Windows update loop. It keept booting, configuring 0% and restart - shutting down and again. It could not be persuaded to stop doing this so I has to bring out a linux boot cd to rescue my documents and now I have got a brand new Vista running on a otherwise empty harddisk.
When the Vista ordeal was over I went to Melbourne with Guido, the Italian from across the hallway. We took a cheap night bus to get there and that took 8 misrable hours. Once there Melbourne was pretty pretty cool. It has nice and big centre and exels in shopping, coffee - and wine drinking facilities. We also saw some cool expositions in the ACMI: GAME ON a retrospective on videogame design and the National Gallery of Victoria was showing the works of Alfred Stieglitz and Otto Dix among many other things. I'll try to get some photos and maybe more stories online soon, but now I have to go and check on my laundry. See you soon...
Just as I was enjoying my sparetime and considering finally backing up my pictures and documents, my computer crashed last week. The thing got stuck in a vicious Windows update loop. It keept booting, configuring 0% and restart - shutting down and again. It could not be persuaded to stop doing this so I has to bring out a linux boot cd to rescue my documents and now I have got a brand new Vista running on a otherwise empty harddisk.
When the Vista ordeal was over I went to Melbourne with Guido, the Italian from across the hallway. We took a cheap night bus to get there and that took 8 misrable hours. Once there Melbourne was pretty pretty cool. It has nice and big centre and exels in shopping, coffee - and wine drinking facilities. We also saw some cool expositions in the ACMI: GAME ON a retrospective on videogame design and the National Gallery of Victoria was showing the works of Alfred Stieglitz and Otto Dix among many other things. I'll try to get some photos and maybe more stories online soon, but now I have to go and check on my laundry. See you soon...
23.5.08
Cardboard house
Ha! Here yet again a story from Sydney. This months posts on my blog are definitely going better than last month. As promised I have been spending a lot of time at university this week and some progress at meeting the deadlines is being made. 1.5 week left to go.
Last Monday I handed in my architecture model which turned out quite nice. It is a cardboard house showing my plan for a pavilion in the park next to the Central station here in Sydney. The pavilion should provide shade and water for visitors and has a small pond in the middle of the structure. I made it like a big wall so it can be used to separate the park from a big road and a nasty looking parking lot. And night it should be illuminated by light coming from the pond. See for yourself below.
The whole thing took the most of the previous weekend to make and is about 110x60x30 cm big. While I was taking it to uni on the bus a guy almost stepped on it. Holy crapola. But in the end all was well and it got me a "high distinction". Which is nice. The grades here in Australia are different, they range from fail, to pass, to credit, to distinction, to high distinction.
Besides that I went to the world press photo on Wednesday, which was awesome and in the evening I watched "the State of Origin", which seems to be the biggest Aussie Rules footy match in the year. It is similar to rugby. New South Wales (where I live) played Queensland (neighbours to the North) and won. Good times. See you again soon!
Last Monday I handed in my architecture model which turned out quite nice. It is a cardboard house showing my plan for a pavilion in the park next to the Central station here in Sydney. The pavilion should provide shade and water for visitors and has a small pond in the middle of the structure. I made it like a big wall so it can be used to separate the park from a big road and a nasty looking parking lot. And night it should be illuminated by light coming from the pond. See for yourself below.
The whole thing took the most of the previous weekend to make and is about 110x60x30 cm big. While I was taking it to uni on the bus a guy almost stepped on it. Holy crapola. But in the end all was well and it got me a "high distinction". Which is nice. The grades here in Australia are different, they range from fail, to pass, to credit, to distinction, to high distinction.Besides that I went to the world press photo on Wednesday, which was awesome and in the evening I watched "the State of Origin", which seems to be the biggest Aussie Rules footy match in the year. It is similar to rugby. New South Wales (where I live) played Queensland (neighbours to the North) and won. Good times. See you again soon!
17.5.08
From the News...
Hi, here again, live from Sydney. I do not read the newspaper much here in Australia, but when I accidentally do there is usually something good. This week I got hold off the Daily Telegraph and I found a bit on the second page which I would like to share with you. And I quote:
"Chair sniffer denies quokka abuse"
"CHAIR-sniffing Liberal leader Troy Buswell says there is "absolutely no substance" to report he once did something inappropriate to a quokka. Mr Buswell, who has admitted to sniffing the chair of a former Liberal Party colleague and snapping the bra of a Labor staffer, was questioned on the rumours yesterday. ... Asked if he had done anything inappropriate to a quokka, Mr Buswell replied: "No". ..."
Taken from the Daily Telegraph, thanks Daily Telegraph, on the 15th of May.
Should you wonder what i quokka is: it is a small furry creature, a bit like a very small kangaroo. They can be considered cute and I do hope nothing inappropriate has happened to any of them. I regret that we do not often have these stories on politics in the newspapers at home.
Besides this there is not much to report from this faraway country right now. I celebrated my birthday with my house last Thursday with pizzas and some drinks. Besides that all I have is a lot of deadlines coming up and I will be spending a lot of time getting them sorted out. After that all will be good again with the winter holidays coming up.
"Chair sniffer denies quokka abuse"
"CHAIR-sniffing Liberal leader Troy Buswell says there is "absolutely no substance" to report he once did something inappropriate to a quokka. Mr Buswell, who has admitted to sniffing the chair of a former Liberal Party colleague and snapping the bra of a Labor staffer, was questioned on the rumours yesterday. ... Asked if he had done anything inappropriate to a quokka, Mr Buswell replied: "No". ..."
Taken from the Daily Telegraph, thanks Daily Telegraph, on the 15th of May.
Should you wonder what i quokka is: it is a small furry creature, a bit like a very small kangaroo. They can be considered cute and I do hope nothing inappropriate has happened to any of them. I regret that we do not often have these stories on politics in the newspapers at home.
Besides this there is not much to report from this faraway country right now. I celebrated my birthday with my house last Thursday with pizzas and some drinks. Besides that all I have is a lot of deadlines coming up and I will be spending a lot of time getting them sorted out. After that all will be good again with the winter holidays coming up.
13.5.08
Itinerary update
Today I changed my flight back home. My return to the Netherlands will be a bit later than previously planned. I am staying in Australia for a bit longer, and will go to Malaysia for about two weeks. Because I am not allowed (?! Damn you, Qantas and British Airways) to go to Kuala Lumpur directly, I will be stopping over in Singapore. From there I am planning to take, a hopefully scenic, railway into Malaysia. I will be back in Delft on the 4th of August. My new flight schedule is listed below. So, I will you in a few months...
Sydney - Singapore: Qantas flight QF31 on the 20th of July 16.55, arriving the 20th 22.45
Singapore - London: Qantas flight QF9 on the 3rd of August 23.05, arriving the 4th 5.25
London - Amsterdam: British Midland flight BD105 on the 4th of August 10.4o, arriving the 4th 12.55
Sydney - Singapore: Qantas flight QF31 on the 20th of July 16.55, arriving the 20th 22.45
Singapore - London: Qantas flight QF9 on the 3rd of August 23.05, arriving the 4th 5.25
London - Amsterdam: British Midland flight BD105 on the 4th of August 10.4o, arriving the 4th 12.55
12.5.08
Cars Go By...
Hi! I was just playing with my roadtrip photos in this program called "Photoshop". I like the result, as the gray has now gone from my photos. Nice! See you around, maybe.
11.5.08
Goldcoast
Aloha, yesterday I got back from the trip to Sonja's parents. They live in Tweed Heads on the Goldcoast. Sonja wanted to visit for mothersday and Guido, the Italian, and I could come along. In a straight line the trip would have been 650 km, thank you Google Earth, but on the road it comes down to about 850. That's quite a trip.
We left on Friday after lunch and arrived at Tweeds Heads round 01.00 at night. Trip was pretty long, about 12 hours. If you want to compare: from Amsterdam to Berlin would be 570 km, Amsterdam to Paris would be 430. Driving this long in Europe would get you from Amsterdam: either half way through France, or to Switzerland or maybe just to the Czech Republic. Here in Australia it gets you to your parents' house.
The trip was really cool to do though. Not only does it put travel in Europe into perspective, we also got to see a lot of Australia that I had not seen before. We stopped at some beaches and had a nice Subway sandwich. When it got dark we passed the Big Banana and the Big Prawn. Australia makes up what is lacks in culture in two ways: 1) Sports, 2) Making Big "things" and putting dodgy entertainments in them. Or so it seems. Because it was dark I can't show you any photo's of my own, but follow the links to check 'm out.
On Saturday we had some time to spend on the Goldcoast. In the morning we went to the beach and after that we went for lunch twice. Nice. After that we went up the coast stopping at some nice beaches and enjoying the weather. It is always nice and warm on the Goldcoast. We went up to Surfers Paradise, which was a bit of a let down. It consist of mostly big and nasty flats on the beach and a massive mall. When we got back we went for dinner with Sonja's parents, which was good.
Sunday we had to go back to Sydney, but went shopping first. We went to a Australian mall outside of the town. While Sonja was being outfitted by her mum, I got myself a new pair of trousers, a pair of new Hawaianas and a new wallet. I am quite happy about that. On our way back we stopped at Byron Bay where there were no whales about, but we did see some kangaroos in the sunset later on. We arrived at home in Leichhardt at 1.30. Quite the trip, for some pictures go to my Flickr site by clicking here.
We left on Friday after lunch and arrived at Tweeds Heads round 01.00 at night. Trip was pretty long, about 12 hours. If you want to compare: from Amsterdam to Berlin would be 570 km, Amsterdam to Paris would be 430. Driving this long in Europe would get you from Amsterdam: either half way through France, or to Switzerland or maybe just to the Czech Republic. Here in Australia it gets you to your parents' house.
The trip was really cool to do though. Not only does it put travel in Europe into perspective, we also got to see a lot of Australia that I had not seen before. We stopped at some beaches and had a nice Subway sandwich. When it got dark we passed the Big Banana and the Big Prawn. Australia makes up what is lacks in culture in two ways: 1) Sports, 2) Making Big "things" and putting dodgy entertainments in them. Or so it seems. Because it was dark I can't show you any photo's of my own, but follow the links to check 'm out.
On Saturday we had some time to spend on the Goldcoast. In the morning we went to the beach and after that we went for lunch twice. Nice. After that we went up the coast stopping at some nice beaches and enjoying the weather. It is always nice and warm on the Goldcoast. We went up to Surfers Paradise, which was a bit of a let down. It consist of mostly big and nasty flats on the beach and a massive mall. When we got back we went for dinner with Sonja's parents, which was good.
Sunday we had to go back to Sydney, but went shopping first. We went to a Australian mall outside of the town. While Sonja was being outfitted by her mum, I got myself a new pair of trousers, a pair of new Hawaianas and a new wallet. I am quite happy about that. On our way back we stopped at Byron Bay where there were no whales about, but we did see some kangaroos in the sunset later on. We arrived at home in Leichhardt at 1.30. Quite the trip, for some pictures go to my Flickr site by clicking here.
8.5.08
Possum
Hi! So what's new? Not much, but I did see a possum yesterday night. I say one in the zoo the other day, but now it was in the "wild". Or in the city actually. I just sat there when I walked out of the rowing club. At first I thought it to be a cat, but then I noticed its awkward shape, small paws and big pink nose. It did not seem interested in me as I walked up to it, even when I got close. I thought about picking it up, but remembered people telling me that they are mean and vicious, will not hesitate to bite you and smell bad. So I decided not to.
Besides that I have been to the NSW Art Gallery where there was a Bill Viola show on accompanied with at talk by the head curator which was was pretty nice. The curator man did not tell me much more than I had already seen as he was just describing the work, but I least I had seen it right. I also had a Cold Rock icecream, which seems to be quite something around these parts. The concept is that you can choose you ice and you can choose your add ons (sweets, candybars, fruits, nuts, etc) which will then be thrown on a cold board and crushed and mixed together. It was good.
So I am supposed to be off in the car, going up North to the Gold Coast. I'll try to take some pictures for the folks at home. See ya!
Besides that I have been to the NSW Art Gallery where there was a Bill Viola show on accompanied with at talk by the head curator which was was pretty nice. The curator man did not tell me much more than I had already seen as he was just describing the work, but I least I had seen it right. I also had a Cold Rock icecream, which seems to be quite something around these parts. The concept is that you can choose you ice and you can choose your add ons (sweets, candybars, fruits, nuts, etc) which will then be thrown on a cold board and crushed and mixed together. It was good.
So I am supposed to be off in the car, going up North to the Gold Coast. I'll try to take some pictures for the folks at home. See ya!
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