It's been well over a week since I've been home. I haven't really gotten around to see anyone (that I really want to see) or did much. I'm just so exhausted. I knew I was coming down with a cold so I just filled myself full of vitamins and other Chinese herbal stuff. But I wasn't prepared for stomach troubles. I've had this before, but that was usually during exams, when I'm really mentally stressed. But I guess a month of backpacking coupled with jetlag plus a busy holiday schedule would bring it down as well. I was really pissed off at my parents for scheduling things the way they did. Yes, I've been busy, busy doing none of the things I want to do. A dinner party (or something of similar nature) every day is just too much to handle for me. I didn't really have a chance to enjoy my jetlag to any degree. And it's not as if I got to see a lot of my family. These people are my parents' friends, they are not family (not to mention I don't even know who they are). How am I supposed to enjoy strangers dragging in their spoiled (rotten!) brats into my house and expected to be a good hostess? So around the 27th, I broke down. My body just couldn't handle it anymore. I still went to the dinner party scheduled for that evening. I gotta tell ya, it sure was fun watching everyone else stuffing themselves full of amazing Chinese food while all I could do was watch. I ate nothing that entire evening since my stomach was a ball of pain. The following day, I got up at 3am just to empty my stomach into the toliet. My condition is improving. My diet is now milk, soup, candy, and other foods composed of simple sugars. Complex sugars (ie: yams) is baaad news. And there is SO much food in the fridge yet I can't eat any of it! Argh! You know what I'm doing for New Year's Eve? I'm going to bed.

Okay, so I asked for a white xmas...but I didn't ask for this much snow, especially when I have to shovel it all! Stupid driveway...

I apologize for the lack of updates. Have been feeling rather tired due to the jetlag(*yawn*) and life just isn't so exciting anymore now that i'm home(thus less incentive to write).
Apparently I got back at a bad time. Mom is in the middle of a bad cold, and she wasn't feeling that well when she picked me up from the airport. On the way home in the car, she had such a blank expression and wouldn't speak to me. And there I was all excited and exhausted at the same time ready to share my adventures with her. Kinda like a cold bucket of water dumped on my head. Then the next day, she could hardly get out of bed, so I babysat my brother. My first day back I get a full day of babysitting! Talk about time getting back to normal....
I think jetlag is coming along well. First day back I got up at 8:15am and finally gave in and had a nap at 3:30. I still wake up at the wee hours of the morning and then a wave of sleep hits at around 9am.

Just got back from my first xams gathering. I got "you are so dark...and you've gained weight, yep, definitely gained weight" repeatedly!

Gee, thanks a bundle!

Current location: Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

I'm feeling rather tired right now.

We got screwed over on our dolphin kayaking trip today because when we called the office this morning to confirm our booking for our 2pm trip, the girl failed to tell us that we'll be joining 30 school kids. So after spending most of the day loitering around Byron bay, we arrived on location at 1:45pm ready for adventure only to receive disappointing news. We'd counted on the 2pm tour and our travel schedule is so tight that we really can't afford to stay another day. Bugger! Christa was very pissed off, I guess I can't say I was happy either. We ended up soaking up some rays on the beach. The weather was just gorgeous today and it wasn't long before our mood improved.

Despite my travels, I'm actually getting kinda burnt out. I mean, I can only take so much of peanut butter & jam sandwiches, long Greyhound bus rides, climbing up bunk beds only to ly on foam mattresses, fighting for floor space for my luggage in hostels, cooking in dirty, crowded, and poorly equipped kitchens, dragging my suitcase up and down stairs, packing and unpacking multiple times in one day, getting temporary lost, being locked out of hostels, lugging my stuff around all day, being charged an arm & a leg for a loaf of bread...

Backpacking sounds fun doesn't it?

I mean, I could avoid all the negative aspects if I only had an unlimited budget. I would stay in 5 star hotels, take taxis to get to places, go eat out all the time, shop until I drop, take extragavant sunset cruises, get a spa treatment every other day...

*snaps back to reality*

Then again, if I had an unlimit budget, life would be as boring as hell and I wouldn't have half the stories to tell.

I just got way off track in my blog entry. Oh well.

Time's up again!

Alright, let's see, where did I left off last time? Oh yes, Hervey Bay, gateway to beautiful Fraser Island.

Triona and Antonia did a 3 day Fraser Island self drive tour that sounded amazing. Well, since Christa and I have been taking our time for the first section of our travels, we found out that we were rapidly running out of time for all the places we wanted to see. We only had time for one day on Fraser Island. It was painful learning that the three day tour on Fraser Island costs $135 while a one day tour costs $105. It doesn't make any sense does it? We really didn't need the fancy lunch at some extravagent resort, but it was included in the price. We had to take it.

Fraser Island really has it all. Beautiful rainforests, miles of beautiful beaches, purched fresh water lakes, and sand...lots and lots of sand. The going was quite tough on Fraser Island, we were on a special bus designed to handle the bumpy sandy roads. For once, I'm really glad that we were strapped down by a seat belt. As well, it's probably a good thing that we weren't sitting in the very back. The people back there were bouncing up to the ceiling, even with the seat belt on. Thankfully, no one got sick from the bus ride (I think).

The bumpy bus ride took us to the fancy resort for what they call a "comfort stop". Basically five minutes for the toliet and tea/coffee if you are willing to pay for it.

SIDETRACK:
Don't know if Christa's already mentioned this. We've came up with our own pricing system. Basically, cheap doesn't exist. Items either costs "a limb", "an arm and a leg", or "an arm and a leg and your first born child". The most we've paid is "an arm and a leg".

Anyways...

From the resort, we turned the corner and voila, the beach. Swimming is definitely not recommended...sharks in open water + human = stuffed shark and early farewell. Shortly, we arrived at Eli Creek, a fresh water creek pumping litres of water into the ocean every hour. We waded through Eli Creek, carrying our sandals and shorts in our arms. Not going swimming quite yet. Next, we stopped at the famous shipwreck (can't remember what it's call at the moment). Apparently, the Australian Military once used this poor shipwreck for target practice. Only one missle hit it, thankfully, otherwise this nice tourist attraction wouldn't exist. The highlight of the day would be swimming in the sister lake to Lake McKenzie (God, can't remember the name of this lake either). What's really amazing is that the lake formed when leaves sand and other material settled on top of sand, forming an impermeable layer that trapped rain water. Over time, a lake was formed. The sand is 98% silica, and the high purity generated its signature white colour. I remember looking back at the shore (without my glasses on) from the water and thinking...man, I know that's sand on the shore but it really could be snow! As well, the sand is excellent for cleaning jewellery and exfoliating the skin. Christa and I had a very nice scrub all over. Man, couldn't tell ya how refreshed we were. That basically made our day.

From Hervey Bay, we went on to Noosa. And we went surfing! That's right, we engaged in an activity classifed as a dangerous sport in our travel insurance policy. So if we were to break anything, our insurance wouldn't cover it. Luckly, we didn't. In fact, we had a hell of a good time. The weather was shear misery, rain, wind, and more rain but what does that matter? We were in the water. The two hour lesson went by fast! I'll definitely surf again some other time.

Out of internet time again. Bugger!

13 days

Excuse me, could you repeat that?

I have less than 2 weeks left in Australia?

WHERE THE H*** DID THE TIME GO?

Anyways, that's just Ching having a reality check.

Continuing on with the travel report.

Well, after we returned from the blessed day on Whiteheaven beach, we went out with people from our hostel. We started out as a group of six, and by 9pm it was down to Christa, Louis and I. We did some bar hopping, and all three of us were feeling pretty happy after our second beer. At that point, Christa and I decided not to obey the "live is to short to drink bad beer" rule and got bottles of Toohey's New. Then, that song came on. THAT song. The song in the OV Boogie that had the OVs winding their toys. Well, Christa and I decided that since we have managed to make and keep a group of friends by convincing them that we are somewhat normal, some public toy winding wouldn't hurt. We put our beers down, waited for the right moment, and the way we went (in short skirts and all). All I can say is that we shocked the living daylight out of Louis. He was like "Wow, em...I knew you guys were up to something but THAT was totally unexpected. Man, when I met you two I thought you guys were such nice girls. Care to do that again?" He just couldn't get over it. Good times.

From the Whitsundays (Airlie Beach), we went down to Mackay and rented a car for a day at Eugella National park. The rainforest is one place I'll always be happy to visit. Just can't get tired of the place. In fact, it's really hard to describe what it feels like to be here. I felt more alive as a human being because I'm surrounded by a sea of green. Everything I on my mind evaporates and all my senses heighten. I tried to do some sketches of the rainforest and gave up after half an hour. The place is just too complex. I couldn't capture all the interweaving elements. After our walking trails, we were feeling a bit tired so both Christa and I ordered ice coffee from the cafe by the ranger's station. It tasted amazing! I was instantely energized. Then, we did some platypus spotting. At 4pm we went down to the viewing platform and saw one splashing about. We stayed around until 7pm or so and saw three platypuses in total. Waiting wasn't fun but seeing one floating on top of the water was great. Honestly, they are so much fun to watch.

From Mackay, we took an over night bus to Bundaberg and arrived bright and early at 6:45am. The bus ride was long and miserable. First, our assigned seats were taken and we were shuffled to the back of the bus, where it was blistering hot. Meanwhile, other people took up two seats so they could lay down with their nice and comfy pillows. The seats were uncomfortable and Christa and I didn't get any shut eye until the driver finally turned up the air conditioning and another set of seats became available so both of us could ly down. During the day, we had a lovely and educational tour of the Bundaberg distillery---home of the infamous Bundy rum. Then we met up with Antonia and Triona and we had the pleasure of seeing seaturtles laying their eggs with one of the local families, thanks to Triona. The weather decided to be miserable and the night was dark and stormy. None of us brought rain coats so we all ran to the store and bought what's called emergency rain ponchas. They were bright orange plastic bags. Very fashionable indeed. The wait was quite long and miserable because several seaturtles got startled by lightning and headed back into the ocean instead when they are coming up the beach. After a good two and a half hour wait, it was our turn. Since turtles are sensitive to light, we had to walk down to the beach in almost complete darkness. I couldn't really see where I was going, luckly, I made it okay by keeping my eyes on Christa's bright white thongs (aka flipflops) in front of me. Seeing a seaturtle laying her eggs was amazing. We all huddled around the lovely creature in a circle while several scientists buzzed around her like bees and took down data. The turtle we saw layed 112 eggs ( I think, I have to double check that number).

We are now in Hervey Bay and we are headed to Fraser Island tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Yeah, another update!

Currently typing in an internet café in Airlie Beach, North Queensland.
Let’s see, where did I left off last time? Yes, Cairns. Well, we spent our last day in Cairns browsing the museums and galleries, and basically loitered around. From Cairns, we moved on to Mission Beach. The change in atmosphere was fabulous. The laid back feel is so addictive. Our hostel, The Beach Shack, truly lives up to its name. Imagine a large house with high, open ceilings, comfy couches scattered around, an open-air lounge on the second floor, bright ocean themed décor, and tanned bodies scattered about;). The most impressive thing was the toilets. There were only two, but they were massive and clean. Too bad our stay in Mission beach was short, but we’re on a schedule. We couldn’t really go on the rainforest walk due to the lack of transportation, so we had to scratch off cassowary spotting off our travel to-do list.
We then moved on to Townsville. The late bus ride was quite miserable, since both Christa and I were dead tired from the day already. What’s even worse, our hostel in Townsville didn’t offer late pickups, so we had to wait forever for a taxi at the Greyhound bus terminal after midnight. After we arrived at the hostel, I had to drag my heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs in order to reach my bed. Needless to say, we slept like a baby that night.
The next day was a day of exploration and relaxation. Townsville is a pretty decent looking city. If it didn’t have the ocean front however, it’d be a pretty ugly city. Cooking and cleaning was just disastrous at the hostel simply because their facility sucked! Okay, so maybe the beds were really nice, and the rooms are clean. But we are backpackers and we don’t have the budget to eat out, and the state of the kitchen was way way below sanitary standards. The sinks in the bathrooms were ¼ of normal size; I couldn’t even wash my face properly. Taking a shower wasn’t that pleasant either because the small room was so humid due to the lack of air flow that I’m already sweating like a pig 30 sec after my shower was done. So much for showering!

Still, we had some quite pleasant adventures away from Townsville. Our day at Billabong Sanctuary was amazing. This place is definitely more than a zoo! I cuddled many native Australian animals, including two snakes. Imagine me with a snake stretched across my shoulders, sliding down my arm, and me going “oh, you are so pretty”. Yes, Christa’s definitely robbed off on me since my fear of snakes had completely vaporized. Don’t know what she’s going to do to me next.

Our last day in Townsville was the best one, because we headed to the magnificent Magnetic Island. Originally, we only planned to stay for one day, but after a 30 minute bus ride across the island with Christa and I orgasming at the breathtaking scenery, we decided to change our travel itinerary and stay an extra day on the island. This place is tropics at its purist form. We slept in huts, and the many local birds, including the notorious Kookaburra, provide the entertainment. That’s even funnier is the fact that tourist enter the island by busloads everyday and yet, I easily have an entire beach all to myself. Amazing!

From Maggie’s (aka Magnetic Island) we moved down to Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsundays. Our ocean rafting trip to Whitsunday Island and surrounding islands yesterday was pure indulgence. I had to pinch myself every 2 minutes while gazing at the surreal ocean views. This is real right? Well, we do have pictures to prove that we were there. Unbelievable, it really is.
Ack! Time’s up for internet.