No Worries Mate!

Part One

14,042 miles, 18 days, 5 airports, 8 flights, 3 states, 7 beaches, 12 apostles, 2 rental cars, 1 parachute, and a dazzling array of wildlife….

…just another chapter in the book of the life of Jeni!

This, of course, is a numerical description of my trip Down Under. It tells you the bare minimum, just in case you don’t fancy reading the full story, and here's a token photo of a koala, for the true Aussie image:

And it was a voyage of discovery, surprise and intrigue. Ok, perhaps not intrigue, unless you include the mystery of how Miss Califf and I had so much energy for the whole trip, despite long flights, late nights (or early mornings), and a great deal of walking. We didn’t once drop. How good are we?!

Carol and I were knee-deep in adventures and new experiences before we even made it to the airport. We headed up to Seoul the day before, with plans to find a hotel, take a dander around the city, and then head to the airport with plenty of time to spare. At the train station, I was accosted by one Presbyterian and three Jehovah’s Witnesses, before we spied a Korean man publicly using his girlfriend’s compact to touch up what we can only guess was his foundation, and this all happened shortly before I managed to get stuck in a Metro turnstile with my suitcase and end up buying the case a whole ticket of its own!

As if that wasn’t enough, we spent hours looking for the guesthouse we had in mind. Korea has a nasty habit of being tricky to navigate – probably partly to do with the fact that street names, and thus, addresses, aren’t used very much. So we were wandering around the Sinchon area of Seoul for a good while, looking for the guesthouse, until a Korean man decided to help us. He led us down a number of side-streets (most of which we had already tried) before asking a fruit seller for help, which added another body to the search, which ultimately ended with one of those men asking another man who owned a hardware shop that was practically bursting at the seams. This man got the phone number, called the guesthouse, discovered it had moved (probably why we couldn’t find it), called directory enquiries to get the new number, called the guesthouse, and then invited us in to wait by the heater while someone from the guesthouse came to get us! Which turned out to be about 400m up the road. We wanted to thank Hardware Man, but all we had were some slightly bruised bananas – but Koreans appreciate the gesture, so bananas he got!

The street this all happened on was a regular Korean residential street, with supermarkets and stalls, and folk going about their everyday business. We reckon we were the talk to the street for at least a week; as we were waiting, we could hear snippets of conversation about us. We provided some amusement for them on that bitterly cold day! Let me emphasise the “bitterly cold”: it was minus 11 degrees. And since I had refused to take my big winter coat with me since I didn’t want to carry it around, I was wearing a rather light jacket. So, um, it was a bit chilly! Our dander around the city ended up being a trip to Itaewon (super sleazy foreigner friendly area of Seoul) to an Irish pub for dinner – delicious bangers and mash and possibly the best chips this side of China.

The next day we headed to the airport, a little early…5 hours early. But it’s a lot easier to waste 5 hours in an airport when you’re with someone else. And finally, off we went! A short stopover in Tokyo, some bad aeroplane food and a sleepless overnight flight later, we touched down in sunny Sydney, where we were met by Carol’s brother, Robbie.

Robbie lives in Coogee Bay, which is a positively delightful area of Sydney, quite popular with backpackers. The beach is less than 30 seconds from his front door – literally – and you can see it below. The house is full of Irish folk – including Robbie’s girlfriend, Clare – and, incidentally, I met a grand total of three Aussies the whole time I was over! There’s a massive Irish contingent.

We had a wonderful breakfast of Irish sausages, eggs, beans and toast and then I was off for something I was in desperate need of…a haircut! I had planned it to be the first thing I did when I got there – nice new hair for the holiday, and all that – and although I got a little frightened for a while when the lady kept hacking at my hair, I think it looks quite nice, really. What do you think?

By the time I met the others again, Carol had already started her serious shopping. We went with the intention of buying lots – we can’t buy clothes in Korea, and the washing machines are rough on our clothes, so we needed lots of new stuff to keep us going. So, anytime there seems to be a gap in our schedule, we were shopping! Between us, we bought most of Oz, I think!

That night we headed to the local, the Coogee Bay Hotel, to meet more friends and to experience the Australian nightlife. In Sydney, they’re incredibly strict with drunk people, and if you look slightly inebriated at all, you’re asked to leave; so they apparently don’t often have trouble with drunken brawls. We were luckily enough, however, to be there for one of these rare occasions! And when we left (at around 3am, much to the amazement of all the people who had expected us to collapse in exhaustion by then) there were a good few police hanging around outside. And since Carol and been told that Aussie police are very laid back and will happily pose for photos, she decided she wanted a photo…not the best idea, however, to ask the two policemen who were in the middle of questioning someone, and the one she asked next was actually still on the phone, but that didn’t stop her:

The next evening, we dressed ourselves up and headed into the city, for a gander at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge at night, and a few drinks in fancy places. When we were around the Opera House, Carol and I simultaneously realised that everyone around us were in couples…and then there was us! Ah well! We went to a bar in an area called The Rocks, and were confronted by something I positively detest…cockroaches. They had a wooden deck outside, and it was crawling with the nasty little aliens. Horrible, dirty, unnatural things. Disgusting I tell ya! Once we got away from the nastiness, we had a good night – a late one, but a good one! The only problem I had with people was my sunburn. We had sat out on the beach for a while earlier that day, and I got a little bit too much sun on my back – I had factor 30 sun-cream on!! And Australians are very sun-aware – all over the place there are ads about staying safe in the sun. So this means they make a big deal of anyone who has sunburn. In this one night out, I had maybe seven different people comment on my back, in the patronising “oh, look at the silly Irish girl who doesn’t know how to be careful in the sun!” tone. But I had factor 30 on!

The following day was more shopping and a bit of relaxation, and the next day we started into a bit more proper sight-seeing. The day started off with a coastal walk from Coogee Beach to world-famous Bondi Beach – a walk that takes about an hour. I’ll give you a tip for free: don’t walk it in summer if you’re wearing jeans. It’s just too damn hot! But it was enjoyable – the path goes through other beaches and bays along the way, so it gives a nice perspective of the Sydney coast.

Later, we wandered around the Opera House area, through the Botanical Gardens, and took lots of snaps of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It was a beautiful day, hot hot hot! Unfortunately, because of the rapid change of climate that we had gone through (from minus 11 to 30-ish), Carol and I both had nasty colds for the first we were over, and I was knocking back cold tablets and cough syrup. But we were determined to do everything nonetheless!

That night we headed to the cinema…but this was no ordinary cinema! This was an open-air cinema, located in the Botanical Gardens, just across the water from the Opera House. It was a beautiful evening: there’s a bar and a restaurant tent selling lovely, if pricey, food; we arrived when it was still daylight and watched as dusk fell and the city lit up; and when the sun had set, a massive screen rose up in on the water’s edge, and the film began. (We saw The Prestige – good film.) It was a fabulous setting, just idyllic.

The next day, we were up and off to Melbourne! And that will come in Part 2. Sorry this will end up being so long, again! But here's a taste of Part Two...

Stay tuned for Part Two!

Normal service will resume shortly...

Hi folks, terribly sorry to report that my Australia Adventures will have to wait another few days. To be completely honest...I've been lazy! Got back to Korea safe and sound on Monday, did a few things I needed to the next day, and since then, I've been procrastinating. And planning a weekend trip to Seoul, which I'll be leaving for in about 30 minutes.


I'm off to this nation's capital to do some proper sightseeing - an action-packed itinerary is prepared - with the lovely Charlotte, and I'll get Part One at least written when I get back next week. And the good news is, my computer is finally letting me add photos to my blog, so it will cease to be a solid, boring block of text!


Until then, I would like to say a huge thank you to my dear Roberta, who sent me many Easter delights on which I am now feasting! (In moderation, of course!) The woman herself is currently trying to keep warm in Finland. Whereas this is me, a few weeks ago, on a beach in Australia:

Til next week, cheerio!

Greetings from Down Under

So here I am, in Australia, with a rare moment to sit and think! Just thought I'd post a little teaser photo - when I get back, I shall have lots to write about! We're doing as much as we possibly can, so it's a bit of an action-packed holiday! This photo down here is myself and the folks I be travelling with, at the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road, just west of Melbourne. Nice, innit??