G'day from Australia

View of Sydney from the plane...

Two wayward explorers enjoying the big city

The first leg of our extended Southeast Asian tour is underway.  It’s actually not in Asia that we begin, however.  It’s Australia – in the city of Sydney.  Originally, we’d hoped to do a longer stint in Oz, but it just wasn’t possible due to our strict budget.  We had reservations about even adding Sydney because we knew it would be one of the most expensive places we’d travel to, but who knows when we’d be back this way?  Besides, it didn’t cost any more in terms of flights (you pretty much have to go through Australia from NZ to Asia) and the city is filled with so much to do, much of it free and low-cost.  

Sunset and the Sydney Harbour Bridge as seen from the Darling Harbour Ferry.

For just $41, we got an weekly pass good for buses, trains and (most importantly) ferries. These boats aren’t just transportation. They are also splendid entertainment for tourists, taking you all over the harbour for fantastic views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, North Head, and Fort Denison before depositing you at places like Manly Beach and Darling Harbour. We’ve done a lot of exploring on foot (blisters to prove it) but have finally begun to master the buses, which is essential if you want to explore the inner city neighborhoods.

 Chinatown in Sydney provides a glimpse of our future...

There are such awesome neighborhoods to explore in Sydney, too!  Each has its own character, quirks and flavours. The big gay area is King’s Cross and Darlinghurst.  Surrey Hill and Paddington are a bit gentrified and upscale. Newtown is an eclectic mix, while Glebe is overrun with uni students and hippies.  Then there’s the beach ‘hoods like Bondi and Manly (which is where I got the Los Angeles / Santa Monica feel) which boast the most amazing public beaches. Walk a short distance from the main centres and you find even more hidden beaches like Bronte with pure white sand and turquoise blue water. Amazing. It made me want to go swimming sooooo bad.  A quick dip of my bare feet into the cold water reminded me that it is techically winter here, so swimming will have to wait until we get to warmer climes.

 The view of Sydney Opera House taken from the Manly Ferry

We swear we had nothing to do with this...

Sydney is truly one of the world’s great cities. I simply don’t have the time (internet cafe rates) or eloquence (writing so fast) to express the energy and excitement that seems to radiate from this metropolis.  It’s like a cross between New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles – all in one – with all of the best (and worst) that humanity has to offer. If ever you get down to Australia, you must see it for yourself.   I am so glad that we came, even despite the slightly lighter wallet.

 One of many beautiful beaches on the Manly Scenic Walkway

 Australian wildlife is weird and wonderful, even in the big city. These are flying foxes (giant fruit bats!) hanging in the trees in Sydney Botanic Garden. There is a population of 20,000 there now!

Tomorrow, we travel to the Blue Mountains, about two hours away from Sydney, to see some of the New South Wales interior and do a bit of nature walking.  Thursday we depart Australia (sadly – too soon) for Kuala Lumpur.  We still have to work out exactly what we are doing in Malaysia while we’re there!  Stay tuned for more...

A New Adventure

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~ Mark Twain

 

About four years ago, Stacey and I traded our relatively secure and stable lives in the U.S. for something more challenging -- moving to New Zealand.  We've enjoyed the opportunity to explore much of the country, and also done a couple of short excursions to Australia.  But while we're in this part of the world, we thought that it might be fun to travel in places that are (by our standards) a bit more adventurous. We decided on a tour of Southeast Asia. Although these countries certainly sound exotic to many Westerners, the truth is that much of the region is quite geared to tourism these days and we'll hardly earn any "intrepid traveler" titles.  Indeed, as the tourism infrastructure grows, it will become more expensive -- yet another reason to go now, while we can. Tourism in SE Asia is set to be one of the fastest-growing in the world in the next twenty years.

 

That timing is right for us on a personal level. Both of our work contracts have ended (in other words, we're unemployed) and there may never be a better time to do an extended trip of this sort.  Ironically, it's cheaper for us to travel in Asia than it is to live day-to-day in New Zealand or the United States. This is going to be budget travel, backpack style.  We're targeting $20-30 a day average, which supposedly is average but sounds incredibly cheap to my ears.  

 

Even with the modern amenities, there's sure to be plenty of culture shock and amusing stories...which is one of the reasons we created this blog.  And to help family keep tabs on our whereabouts. We aren't sure how often we'll be able to update it, but hopefully it will be often enough to provide a good overview of the experience.

Our itinerary is still taking shape, but here's the plans so far...

 

We leave on August 25, heading to Sydney, Australia for a week, and then flying on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We haven't worked out any other itinerary items beyond that, yet, but most likely we'll then head to Hanoi, Vietnam.  Indeed, Vietnam is where we will spend the majority of our time as we intend to explore the country from North to South, with jaunts over into Cambodia (to see such places as Angkor Wat) and Laos.  On our way out, we hope to have the time (and money) remaining to see Thailand.  

 

We'll post more soon.  Until then, here's a link to Luke Nguyen's TV show website - one of the many sources of inspiration that's been fueling our desire to take this trip!

~W & S