Around the World in 34 Days

Well we are in Alice Springs for the day after our trip to Uluru(Ayres Rock). We're here for the day - arrived 10.30am, leaving 4pm. I always loved that book and film of A Town Like Alice, but we decided it really is a bit like Coventry here - the middle of the country but a bit of a dump! Internet cafe seems a way of killing some time anyway.

Ayres Rock was a real change after the big cities of Sydney and Hong Kong. First day we had more grey gloomy skies, and the rock was not that impressive looking, colour-wise. We were in YHA accomodation, a 4 bed room with the toilet block a short walk away. After hoping we'd have the room to ourselves, we rolled in from the bar at 10.30ish to find 2 people snoozing in the top bunks...drat! Plus we both had to get up and get dressed to go to the loo in the night. Louise was snoring quickly, but I was too busy shivering! Absolutely freezing!
Anyway, yesterday we went out to the rock for a guided tour from a ranger. Free so must be good? Nope, this guy was boring as anything! 30 seconds on the geology and formation of the rock, 30 min on bush tucker! The day started with antarctic wind blowing, but by 11am, we were stripping off and trying to get a tan. Beautiful blue skies contrasted amazingly with the bright red rock.
MUCH more entertaining was the sunset camel ride! Me and Louise were on Bendigo, an 11 year old. The guide was excellent, we had a fabulous sunset and they even gave us nibbles and drinks. On the menu was camel! Louise dived in straight away, (always willing to try anything once!) but it took me a while to bring myself to try it. Surprisingly tasty actually - like smoked ham.

Thankfully, we had the room to ourselves last night and out snored each other all night!
Ayres Rock really is an amazing place - very much a natural wonder. Not just the rock itself, but the whole area which is just so open and empty. It would even be quiet but for the noise of each single car carrying for miles! Very glad we came.

[Louise]
Well, what can I say? Nipping to the loo in the middle of the night after a few too many beers wasn't quite so easy. There was lots of giggling while we tried to be quiet putting on our 10 layers to brave the extremely cold night air.

Ayers Rock was just amazing - beautiful by sunset - we never did manage to get up for sunrise though.

Dad - was going to go on a sunset tour of the rock on a Harley, but Cath didn't fancy it so we opted for the camel ride - well worth it, especially the snack at the end - eating the camel you've just ridden on is a little different but very tasty!

Alice Springs? Five hours is too long!

Hi all, Lou again. Yesterday morning while Cath was snoozing, I took a train across the harbour so I could walk back over the Harbour bridge and see the Opera House4 etc. Gulliver and I haad a great time and took lots of pics. Funnily enough, ended up taking lots of pics for other people. ...I see a new job on the horizon Aunty Anne, particularly as someone seems keen on burning down my last place of work. (No, it's not me either Claud!!!)

Today, you'll be pleased to know that I organised a spot of sight seeing round the local churches and Cathedrals.........I'm not joking, Santiago had a profound effect on me and have a disturbing fascination with crypts and reliquarys. St Mary's Cathedral was good - the floor of the crypt depicts the creations story - very pretty with designs taken from the book of Kells thrown in for good measure.

Claud - St. James' church was slightly more interesting - designed  as a courthouse and built with convict made bricks, they decided to change their minds and make it a church - the court holding cells had been transformed into the crypt! You'd be proud of us Aunty Anne, see, we are good catholic girls (and after Cathy's escapades the night before, I thought she might need a 'little time to reflect')!

Didn't make the Blue Mountains - maybe next time???? Off to Alice Spings and Ayres rock tomorrow. Early night planned, but maybe after a couple of cheeky ones (never hurts eh Baggins?) Don't think Cath really fancies it though, I'll have to try and convince her its a good idea, even with the memories fresh in her mind from the last time.

Today was our first full day in Sydney, and the plan was to do the sights. However, last night turned out NOT to be the early night we were planning! We went for a stroll through Chinatown (it was like we never left HK) and to Darling Harbour. VERY pretty by night. On the way back we passed a karaoke pub and thought we'd go in for an hour or so.

Both Louise and I are VERY seasonally confused right now. Our bodies are on Northern Hemisphere season, and especially N Hemisphere daylight hours! Darkness at 5pm is just.....wrong! So what with losing 2 hours from HK and one hours nap in the afternoon, we have no idea what time it feels like.

Anyway, while neither of us sang at karaoke ("there's not enough alcohol in the world to get me to sing!" - Louise) the energy of the singers was infectious, and we had a good time. Too Good! Especially me. Louise might be able to hold her booze, but I am a lightweight I am afraid, and red wine does nasty things to your body when taken in excess! My usual habit of sleeping next to the toilet got Louise a bit worried. I find it just saves time! Unfortunately, our room is one specially adapted for wheelchair users, and has no shower stall, the whole room is tiled and slopes towards a drain. Not terribly comfortable for me to sleep on, plus it amplified my groans, snores and heaves!!!

Anyway, as a result Louise was on her own for the first part of today while I lay in bed recovering. (I did want her to blog today, but she's feeling a bit tired...wonder why???) I did go out to meet her and we strolled around the harbour looking at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Very nice, but the relentlessly grey sky was not the best way to view the sights of Sydney.  Still, the harbour is very attractive - even in the dark and the rain. Yes, not the greatest weather right now. It better not STILL be sunny in Coventry!

Tomorrow is our last day here, and we want to do a boat trip. Let's hope the sun makes an appearance.

Do keep leaving those comments. We love to read them.

Sorry about that abbreviated post from HK. We were in a bit of a hurry to get down from The Peak to the airport. It was the most gorgeous hot day, and Hong Kong had never looked more beautiful. There were amazing views over HK harbour on one side, and down to Aberdeen and across the south side of the island on the other.  I was prepared to be disappointed by HK, but I really loved it there. I even got used to the humidity and the rudeness of people on the street. However, while people would barge you and your old granny out of the way on the street, most who we spoke to were very polite and keen to help.

Last nights flight was about 8 hours overnight to Sydney. Sounds like a good idea to sleep and be ready for a new day in a new country? NO! We didn't sleep a wink (not totally bowled over by Qantas as an airline yet..) and after 90mins or so queueing through customs and immigration, we wanted sleep! Unfortunately, we couldn't check into out room at the Sydney Central YHA til noon (although they let us in at about 11 in the end.)

I've not stayed in a Youth Hostel before, but we have a nice sized room, it's just lacking in some of the comfort of a hotel ie no TV! However everyone seems helpful so far. And NO humidity! Actually it's quite chilly, time to unpack the jumpers...
Louise is in charge of the plans for things to do here (I just gave her the book and left her to it!) I think she has roller blading across the harbour bridge in mind!
Frances, thanks for mentioning things to do. The Blue Mountains seem to be mentioned quite a bit on leaflets in the lobby here. Will have to look into it.

We are in a nice "Free Internet Access" Coffee Bar on The Peak (and have just lost all the text I typed!!!!!!) Needless to say it was a long description of our Hong Kong experiences and you've missed it now..

Hot day, flying out in a few hours, Macau a dump,(mainly), are now on first name terms with the bar staff at Delaneys Kowloon! [Note to Claudine, "excellent crypt at Ruins of St Pauls in Macau, reliquary city!!"]

Next stop Sydney!!!

Glad some of you appreciated my efforts yesterday (by the way, it's Lou!)

Today got off to a slow start as we spent most of the night watching a fantastic light show across the harbour - no lasers this time - at half four this morning there was a spectacular thunder storm - once again, the rain was of monsoon proportions and to cap it all, there was sheet lightening.

Anyway, we didn't manage to get up at half seven as we had planned to go to the Peak for fantastic views over the harbour.Instead we were very contented to see the insides of our eyelids til about ten óclock! So, you'll be pleased to hear we did some more shopping - no weight restrictions Claud - and then headed to Hong Kong Island for a ride on a traditional Junk round the bay. Cath didn't throw up thankfully, the sun was out for once!

A quiet day....tomorrow....Macau??? (if we manage to get up as we're off to Delaney's for a swift half or a few cheeky ones!)

Cath has allowed me to have a go at writing the diary for today. Well, it started with us sleeping in and waking up to the pitter patter of gentle raindrops splashing against the window....

As it was too late to go to Macau as we had planned, Cath came up with the great idea of going to Ocean Park - a bit of a theme park / zoo/ scary ride place. Saw some of the local wildlife, pandas, fish, sharks, sealion/dolphin show (very cute) and bought some pressies and souvenirs.

OUR favourite bit was the "Dragon Rollercoaster" - the longest rollercoaster ride in Hong Kong! Not only was it completely terrifying as it plunged over the cliff edge, but half way through the brilliant sunshine we had been enjoying moments before turned into a raging monsoon!!!!! We got off wringing wet, with everybody who was waiting to get on laughing at us. Sounds terrible, but it was great fun.

We got drenched again waiting for the cable car ride back down the mountain - also a little scary with the wind blowing the car dangerously from side to side - more of a white knuckle ride for me than the Dragon!

(Cath pulls the keyboard from Louise's hands...!!)
Yes, a fun day. Yesterday we went to Stanley which is on the same side of Hong Kong Island as Ocean Park. Went to the Prison, where my mum was interned during the war. Couldn't get in, but saw the Museum of Correctional Services, which had a few old photos.
Stanley Market and some shopping was next, and we both went with the "spend, spend, spend" policy! Although actually, while $500 sounds a lot, it is only about 36 quid!
Went to a local restaurant for dinner but didn't try the chopsticks! Delaney's Irish pub rounded off the evening (they even had a pub quiz, which I wanted to enter!)

Having a great time, wish you were all here (not really....)

Well we got here. We are sitting in the Hard Rock Cafe, who have lovely FREE internet access! LOOOONG flight, and totally jam packed so we were no where near each other. Probably a good thing! The YMCA Salisbury has fantastic views of Hong Kong harbour. Gulliver has settled in nicely, out of Louise's cleavage!
Exceedingly hot and humid here - thank God for air conditioning. Tomorrow we are planning on a trip to Stanley and parts of Hong Kong Island.
 
Keep posting those messages for us...

So with a few days before we leave, it's packing and panicking time! Hopefully a few of our friends and family will be following this weblog over the next few weeks. Please do leave us comments, it's VERY easy. Just click where is says "comments", read what others have written, scroll down the page a bit and type in your name and your comment. You can leave the "e-mail" and "www" boxes blank.
 
Now, how many pairs of knickers do you need for 38 days??!

Not sure about the bungee jump. Hmmmmm....
As for wanting to do the tandem sky dive??? I've seen the video of Ken - not so graceful. However..
As many of you have said, if Cath can do the tandem skydive, so can I...(famous last words)! Can't believe we go in a couple of weeks - still not really thought about it too much. Thank goodness Cath is there to sort all the important stuff out for me like flights and accommodation! If it was up to me we wouldn't be anywhere near ready - Cath has put me to shame already by having schedules and lists of what she needs to take. I've started to prepare; got a suitcase last week. Just been round to check that it'll fit in Caths mini. But as for real preparation all I've done is try to organise the bon voyage party to get us started on our way. Well, that's important too!.... have also organised the welcome home party. Don't think Cath is finding that particularly helpful.

Well Cath, I guess you're wondering what you've let yourself in for. It'll be fantastic - thanks for organising everything, I can't wait. We'll have a fab time and plenty to talk about when we get back.