I found it difficult to leave. Alva Beach was probably the nicest location that I had stayed at hostel wise and it was so refreshing to deal with a dive organization that was extremely professional.
But it was time to move on. The bus ride was pretty uneventful, passing through many a town and several stops until we reached Cairns around 8.30 pm. At this point I had no idea where my lodge was so through a series of events I ended up at Ryan’s Rest shortly thereafter.
I had made a conscious decision – due to Saturday’s events on the boat and being a wee bit low on funds that I wasn’t going to be doing any more diving at this point. So nice and early on Day 212 I headed out to explore Cairns. It definitely is a town aimed towards tourists, especially backpackers. “Padi course four days $475!” “Skydive from 14,000 feet!” “Car rentals only $39 per day!” Signs like this could be seen all around the town. It would definitely be hard to decide on where to go.
In the afternoon I headed back to the hostel and got a hostile reception.
It turns out that this establishment rents out to long termers in the lower season.
“Where are you staying?” the guy in the next room asks me, forcefully. I explain next door is my room.
“Well, just so you know, this is my tv and my area!”
Sorry, I think, isn’t this a common area? I mention this later to the owner and her solution is to let me watch tv in the empty apartment downstairs. A stop gap, but not the right way to do things.
I immediately book for a switch of hostels starting two days later, which makes me quite happier. It’s a shame, however, at this point that I have a massive headache as I would have loved to gone to the new hostel’s traditional Aussie BBQ but my cranium can’t take it.
I happily wake up on day 213 and decide that with the rain it might be an inside kind of day. It is cheap day at the movies so I first ride the escalator up to the entrance.
Always stand on the blue feet. Safer communities together.
I decided on seeing The Blind Side. I had thought about seeing it on the plane but I figured my focus wouldn’t be there. I was quite impressed – very enjoyable, and so nice to see a good movie that doesn’t think it has to rely on sex/violence/language/adult situations/etc.
I spent the rest of the day packing and starting to scout out souvenirs! It was near the end of the trip so I needed to start picking things up.
Day 214 and I have spent too much time at the shopping plaza (although its air conditioning is enticing). But first I have to move hostels in the morning which is not that hard as it’s only a block away. Souvenir shopping is next – I really enjoyed browsing around, which included a stop to the “night market” later in the day.
In the afternoon I enjoyed a relaxing day down at the lagoon. Although it was overcast it was still enjoyable. Basically due to the jellyfish population it is unsafe to swim at the small beach so the town created a lagoon.
And even though it was still doing off and on raining, guess what the temperature was?
Not bad, eh?
The evening entertainment was a presentation at Reef Teach. It was really great – in fact something that most people should have to go to before they interact with the Reef. We got to hear all about the fish and coral on the reef and how they deal with everyday situations. There were also some fossilized (sp?) specimens that we were allowed to touch. Loved the leeches.
On the way home I found out something which I vowed to make my entertainment for my final day.
Day 215 was April Fool’s. I really wanted to pull a prank but I figured the timing was off sadly! Not much happened until later in the day but I very much enjoyed running into Guillaume from Rennes. He was very surprised that I just burst into French when I heard his English accent. I always enjoy speaking with native speakers. At around 3.45 pm I arrived to take a flying trapeze class! The funniest thing by far was that I was the only adult amongst a bunch of tweens!
First off you had to practice kicking your legs up. Now I’m not the most flexible person but with a little help of my instructor (who I kicked in the face, sorry Craig) I did get into the right position.
And that was pretty much it! I ended up being near the end of the queue, but as you can see, for the most part, I pulled it off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHOh1pFjmkk
Please understand that due to my stubbornness I did pay for a second swing and did actually nail the backflip, much to my surprise! Sadly I didn’t get that one on video due to space on the camera.
What a thrill that was! I’ve got to find some classes closer to home.
There wasn’t much time to relax so I “Oprah walked” (read: speedwalking) back to the hostel to grab my change of clothes and shortly thereafter it was off to Cableskiing Cairns! For $39 I got two hours of wakeboarding, a bbq and transportation. The best part was that it was limited to 15 people so it was nice and quiet.
As it turned out, the road was flooded, so out we got nearer to the home base!
Let’s get one thing perfectly straight. I’ve never wakeboarded but was anxious to try. That being said, it was like being on Wipeout as I kept falling over repetitively but I just kept laughing. Kneeboarding I had better success with, made it around the track twice! Here are some pictures of the experience.
I ended up chatting with Carly, the first Welsh resident that I had met on the entire trip! She had also taken some time off of work to travel, so we found that we had similar interests.
I would have loved to have gone out for a celebratory drink to finish off the trip, but my arms and legs determined otherwise!
Day 216 and it was time to wrap up. Eight weeks travelling through New Zealand and Australia had wrapped up. And unlike Europe, when I felt that I just didn’t stop, I boarded the plane in Cairns around 12.30 pm with the satisfaction that I had paced myself better and thus didn’t feel zonked when I left. And talk about a dream trip … it really was!
The flights home were long. Cairns to Auckland was about 4 hours, although I passed the time by watching the Australian film The Castle which was very much enjoyable. And an episode of Glee.
The experience in Auckland going through security (as we were heading into the US) was not the most enjoyable. I often wonder why everyone things that passengers are guilty until proven innocent and not the other way around?
The young lady next to me unfortunately had some items confiscated and she was not pleased so we sat and chat for awhile, just to think about other things. She was from Calgary but is in Toronto quite often so we agreed to meet up for coffee sometime.
The flight itself from Auckland to Los Angeles was twelve hours so I figured I would catch up on some entertainment! In fact due to it being Good Friday they were running an Easter contest. Here’s my submission:
The Decision
by Ryan Vickers
The temptation is too great
But I feel
As the occasion comes
But once a year
That I allow myself
To indulge.
The decision is wrought
With choice.
Do I break it open
Or
Should I poke a small hole
And drain
It out with a straw?
This is not a
Life-altering decision
However I feel I must handle you,
The cream egg,
As unlike your other yellow and white friend
I’d rather not have you
End up scrambled.
And guess what! Inspiration that hit at 2 in the morning netted me a magnum of champagne for second place! Sweet.
As a result when we checked into LAX I had to repack my bags to accommodate the spirits! And once I had finished that I was off to meet up with my friend Alex Purnell.
Alex, like me, is a game show veteran – she’s been on almost a dozen if memory serves! This is the first time we’d been able to meet in person and it was great to sit down and shoot the breeze! I also appreciate the fact that she came in all the way from Orange County to have coffee with me. Thanks Alex!
Following the visit I took it easy in the departure lounge for about 5 hours before boarding the overnight flight… which will be covered in the next installment!
Cheers,
Vick.
It turns out that this establishment rents out to long termers in the lower season.
“Where are you staying?” the guy in the next room asks me, forcefully. I explain next door is my room.
“Well, just so you know, this is my tv and my area!”
Sorry, I think, isn’t this a common area? I mention this later to the owner and her solution is to let me watch tv in the empty apartment downstairs. A stop gap, but not the right way to do things.
I immediately book for a switch of hostels starting two days later, which makes me quite happier. It’s a shame, however, at this point that I have a massive headache as I would have loved to gone to the new hostel’s traditional Aussie BBQ but my cranium can’t take it.
I happily wake up on day 213 and decide that with the rain it might be an inside kind of day. It is cheap day at the movies so I first ride the escalator up to the entrance.
Always stand on the blue feet. Safer communities together.I decided on seeing The Blind Side. I had thought about seeing it on the plane but I figured my focus wouldn’t be there. I was quite impressed – very enjoyable, and so nice to see a good movie that doesn’t think it has to rely on sex/violence/language/adult situations/etc.
I spent the rest of the day packing and starting to scout out souvenirs! It was near the end of the trip so I needed to start picking things up.
Day 214 and I have spent too much time at the shopping plaza (although its air conditioning is enticing). But first I have to move hostels in the morning which is not that hard as it’s only a block away. Souvenir shopping is next – I really enjoyed browsing around, which included a stop to the “night market” later in the day.
In the afternoon I enjoyed a relaxing day down at the lagoon. Although it was overcast it was still enjoyable. Basically due to the jellyfish population it is unsafe to swim at the small beach so the town created a lagoon.
And even though it was still doing off and on raining, guess what the temperature was?
Not bad, eh?
The evening entertainment was a presentation at Reef Teach. It was really great – in fact something that most people should have to go to before they interact with the Reef. We got to hear all about the fish and coral on the reef and how they deal with everyday situations. There were also some fossilized (sp?) specimens that we were allowed to touch. Loved the leeches.
On the way home I found out something which I vowed to make my entertainment for my final day.
Day 215 was April Fool’s. I really wanted to pull a prank but I figured the timing was off sadly! Not much happened until later in the day but I very much enjoyed running into Guillaume from Rennes. He was very surprised that I just burst into French when I heard his English accent. I always enjoy speaking with native speakers. At around 3.45 pm I arrived to take a flying trapeze class! The funniest thing by far was that I was the only adult amongst a bunch of tweens!
First off you had to practice kicking your legs up. Now I’m not the most flexible person but with a little help of my instructor (who I kicked in the face, sorry Craig) I did get into the right position.
And that was pretty much it! I ended up being near the end of the queue, but as you can see, for the most part, I pulled it off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHOh1pFjmkk
Please understand that due to my stubbornness I did pay for a second swing and did actually nail the backflip, much to my surprise! Sadly I didn’t get that one on video due to space on the camera.
What a thrill that was! I’ve got to find some classes closer to home.
There wasn’t much time to relax so I “Oprah walked” (read: speedwalking) back to the hostel to grab my change of clothes and shortly thereafter it was off to Cableskiing Cairns! For $39 I got two hours of wakeboarding, a bbq and transportation. The best part was that it was limited to 15 people so it was nice and quiet.
As it turned out, the road was flooded, so out we got nearer to the home base!
Let’s get one thing perfectly straight. I’ve never wakeboarded but was anxious to try. That being said, it was like being on Wipeout as I kept falling over repetitively but I just kept laughing. Kneeboarding I had better success with, made it around the track twice! Here are some pictures of the experience.
I ended up chatting with Carly, the first Welsh resident that I had met on the entire trip! She had also taken some time off of work to travel, so we found that we had similar interests.
I would have loved to have gone out for a celebratory drink to finish off the trip, but my arms and legs determined otherwise!
Day 216 and it was time to wrap up. Eight weeks travelling through New Zealand and Australia had wrapped up. And unlike Europe, when I felt that I just didn’t stop, I boarded the plane in Cairns around 12.30 pm with the satisfaction that I had paced myself better and thus didn’t feel zonked when I left. And talk about a dream trip … it really was!
The flights home were long. Cairns to Auckland was about 4 hours, although I passed the time by watching the Australian film The Castle which was very much enjoyable. And an episode of Glee.
The experience in Auckland going through security (as we were heading into the US) was not the most enjoyable. I often wonder why everyone things that passengers are guilty until proven innocent and not the other way around?
The young lady next to me unfortunately had some items confiscated and she was not pleased so we sat and chat for awhile, just to think about other things. She was from Calgary but is in Toronto quite often so we agreed to meet up for coffee sometime.
The flight itself from Auckland to Los Angeles was twelve hours so I figured I would catch up on some entertainment! In fact due to it being Good Friday they were running an Easter contest. Here’s my submission:
The Decision
by Ryan Vickers
The temptation is too great
But I feel
As the occasion comes
But once a year
That I allow myself
To indulge.
The decision is wrought
With choice.
Do I break it open
Or
Should I poke a small hole
And drain
It out with a straw?
This is not a
Life-altering decision
However I feel I must handle you,
The cream egg,
As unlike your other yellow and white friend
I’d rather not have you
End up scrambled.
And guess what! Inspiration that hit at 2 in the morning netted me a magnum of champagne for second place! Sweet.
As a result when we checked into LAX I had to repack my bags to accommodate the spirits! And once I had finished that I was off to meet up with my friend Alex Purnell.
Alex, like me, is a game show veteran – she’s been on almost a dozen if memory serves! This is the first time we’d been able to meet in person and it was great to sit down and shoot the breeze! I also appreciate the fact that she came in all the way from Orange County to have coffee with me. Thanks Alex!
Following the visit I took it easy in the departure lounge for about 5 hours before boarding the overnight flight… which will be covered in the next installment!
Cheers,
Vick.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment