March 1-6
The view of Brisbane from the top of our Hostel
We were down to our last two stops in Australia. First up was Brisbane. We flew into Brisbane on the afternoon of the 1st of March, picked up a car and headed into the heart of the city. We had booked a room at the Brisbane City YHA and we were quite pleased when we arrived. Although the room was a bit sparse, the actual hostel had a lot going for it. The location was excellent, it had a little cafe/bar that served decent food and it had a rooftop pool! We checked in and cleaned ourselves up and headed out to the suburbs for dinner with Jen and Andy Collyer.
Dinner with Jen and Andy
Shaun had known Jen for years through the running/triathlon circuit back in the US. Jen married Andy, an Australian who had been living in America, and last year they decided to move back to Australia. Three weeks prior to our visit, they had their first son, a little cutie named Heath. Jen's mom, Paula, was also in town helping out with her new grandson. For both Jen and us it was surreal but fun to be hanging out together in Australia!
Dinner that night was wonderful! Paula cooked up a feast of Grilled Chicken with a balsamic sauce , sliced tomatoes, potato salad and of course, some wine. We spent lots of time talking about where we had been and getting advice from Jen and Andy on where we should go and what we should do while we were in Brisbane. We agreed to meet up on Saturday morning at the West End Markets and headed back to the YHA with parting gifts of a GPS and some maps for us to use on our stay.
The next day we headed about 90 minutes north of Brisbane to a town called Mooloolaba. Mooloolaba is one of the nicest beach towns on the Sunshine Coast and a great place to spend a sunny Australian day. Shaun decided to do some body surfing, but since there were still some jellies around, I took a pass. I had a great book and wanted nothing more than to read on the beach. The Australian sun is just brutal though, so we found a shady spot under a wooden overhang where I could read my book and relax without getting burned.
The beach at Mooloolaba
When we returned from Mooloolaba that afternoon, we decided to go spend some time checking out Brisbane. We walked from our hostel down to the river, over one of the pedestrian bridges and we just started exploring. Brisbane has a really beautiful waterfront. That evening we made it down to the Wheel of Brisbane, their version of the London Eye, a 60 meter ferris wheel that looks out over the city. Just beyond the Wheel, we came upon one of the city markets. There were lots of folks out at the markets and the pubs that evening enjoying the nice weather. After exploring the market stalls for a bit Shaun and I sat down at a little Pub for a beer before heading back to the YHA and to bed.
Shaun in front of the Brisbane Wheel
The next morning we got up nice and early for our trip to the West End Markets. We asked for directions at the front desk and started our journey. It was extremely hot and after about 30 minutes we realized we had missed a turn and had to backtrack for about 20 minutes. By the time we got to the markets we had been walking for about an hour and we were completely spent. Luckily the Collyers were also running late, so we were able to sit under a shady tree and relax for a little while before heading into the markets.
The west end market was excellent! It was a wonderful mix of clothing vendors, produce and flower stands, specialty goods and of course, street foods. We met up with Jen, Andy, Paula and little Heath and everyone got breakfast from the food stands, which we ate on the grass nearby. Pretty much everything was delicious. Paula, Andy and I had some sort of greek pancake, filled with meat, herbs and cheese like a quesadilla. Shaun had a potato Rosti (like a hash brown pancake) that had poached eggs and smoked salmon on it. Jen had a crepe filled with bananas and nutella. And little Heath got milk, although I'm sure he was wondering what all those strange smells were.
We spent a while at the markets, looking at all the local wares and even purchasing a few things. For my part, I was on the hunt for long skirts. In our haste to pack for two and a half months of travel, we didn't read the Southeast Asia information closely enough. Once we read a little closer, we found out that shorts are inappropriate in many places, especially the religious sites. I had a few pairs of pants, but those would be too hot in very humid weather so I was looking for long, light skirts that would keep me cool but cover most of my legs. I found a pretty blue one at the market that was perfect. We also found a couple of light handmade T-shirts that all of us liked. We bargained together with the woman at the stall and Jen, Shaun and I each got shirts. Knowing laundry would probably be scarce in Vietnam, I was feeling good about having a few extra things!
Jen and little Heath relaxing in the grass
One of the flower stands at the West End Markets
After a little more shopping, we said our goodbyes to Jen, Andy, Heath and Paula. It was wonderful to spend some time with Jen and her family and to talk about home a bit. Every time we end up spending time at someone's home, or with their family, we appreciate even more all the people and things we have left behind for this adventure. I know that when we finally finish traveling, we will have whole different perspective on the joys of home, and family and everyday life.
But we weren't done yet! That afternoon we explored more of Brisbane. They have a great ferry system called the City Cat that goes up and down the Brisbane river. It only costs a few dollars for a round trip ticket so we took it just for the fun of seeing the city from the river. By the time we finished our little river cruise, it had started pouring so we ducked on into the Queen Street Mall to get out of the rain. To my delight, there was a Target there! A number of people had suggested Target for cheap clothes, so I left Shaun behind and went shopping. It was perfect. I got a couple of light shirts and a long black skirt that would be perfect for Southeast Asia. It was all inexpensive and decent quality. Now I really felt like I was ready.
Brisbane as seen from the City Cat ferry.
Shaun in the meantime, was sitting just outside the mall where there was a guy named Daniel Champagne doing a free show. He is apparently getting quite a bit of press in Australia, for good reason. He plays the acoustic guitar and sings, but he makes a heck of a lot of excellent music with just a voice and a guitar. I was glad Shaun had something to do while I was at Target! Actually, he was so good that even after waiting for me to finish my shopping, Shaun still wanted to listen to him play, so we stuck around to hear the end of his set before heading back to the YHA.
Daniel Champagne doing his gig at Queen Street Mall
That evening we kept it low key. We were heading to Sydney in the morning and we needed to be up by 4AM so we spent the evening packing up and doing a little reading and writing. It was "steak night" at the hostel, so instead of going out or cooking we just ordered two $13 steaks for dinner and a glass of wine and then headed to bed early.
The next morning came early. We were on the road by about 4:45 and at the airport by 5:15AM. When we got to the airport, there was a weather system coming in so Virgin put us on an earlier flight. We ended up landing in Sydney by 9:30AM. We had picked another YHA for lodging, this one right by the train station for easy access to both the city and the airport. We bought two tickets to Central Station and jumped on the train. Four stops later we were at Central Station. It was too early to check into the hostel, so we paid $4 for a locker upstairs and stowed the bags for the morning.
There was a Tourist Info site right by the station so we headed over there next. We explained that we were there for two nights and talked about what we wanted to do and the TI guy told us we should buy a MyMulti card for the day. For $21 it got us bus, train, light rail and best of all, ferry transportation. He suggested we take the Ferry out to Manly beach for the afternoon before the weather turned. It sounded like a great plan to us, so we changed into beach gear and took the train down to Circular Quay.
From Circular Quay, the ferry to Manley Beach takes about 40 minutes and it is an absolutely beautiful ride. I would have been happy if we had just taken the ferry out and back, but it was much too nice for that! We ended up spending most of the afternoon there. I rented a beach chair for $5 and Shaun rented a surf board for $15. I think I got more for my money out of the beach chair. The waves at Manley Beach were particularly rough that day and it ended up being way more difficult to catch a wave than Shaun had imagined. After a great afternoon, we headed back to the YHA and checked into our room. By that point we were so exhausted from our long day we could barely get the energy up to get dinner. We ended up ordering just ordering some food from the cafe in the lobby of the YHA and heading to bed.
The Sun and Sand at Manley Beach
The next morning when we woke up, we were both still pretty beat, but Shaun seemed like he was in a particularly bad mood. Usually a workout will fix what ails him, so he ended up going for a run, while I took the light rail out to the Sydney Fish Market. The Fish Market was great. Besides the fish stalls, there were little cafes and shops throughout the market where you could get just about any type of seafood, cooked any way you like it. I wasn't starving yet, so I ordered a brochette of grilled shrimp and then headed back to the YHA. I thought Shaun had to see this!
When Shaun got back from his run he showered up and we headed back in. We ordered up a big plate of grilled fish to split and a half dozen ridiculously fresh oysters. The meal was great but Shaun was still admittedly in a bad mood. I suggested we split up for the afternoon to do our exploring of Sydney and he agreed to it. That was definitely a sign since Shaun doesn't usually like to hang out alone. So we parted ways and agreed to meet back at the hotel at 7.
Just one of the fish stalls
A whole heap of yummy grilled fish! We split this of course.
I had a wonderful afternoon. After we parted ways, I took the light rail a few stops up to Darling Harbour, the second best known Harbour in Sydney. I was planning to take another Ferry ride out into the harbor, but when I saw a sign for the Chinese Garden of Friendship I decided to make a detour. I'm so glad I did! The Chinese Garden of Friendship is a little slice of tranquility in this busy city. It was initiated in 1988 by Sydney's local chinese community as a celebration of Sydney's relationship with sister city Guangzhou, China. Lots of the stones in the garden were actually reclaimed from ruins in China for use in these gardens. It was so lovely. I could have spent all day there, but I had more exploring to do so I headed back up to the ferry at Darling Harbour.
The beautiful Chinese Friendship Garden in Darling Harbour
I saw my first Kookaburra at the garden!
Lizard!
Just so peaceful
My initial plan was just to take the ferry back over to Circular Quay but once we started going I realized that the Ferry route was taking us across the harbor first. That meant we would be on the other side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge- so there was only one option. I got off the Ferry at Milson's point, walked up the hill until I came to the pedestrian entrance and walked across the Syndey Harbour Bridge! It was a very long walk, but so worthwhile. The views were amazing and I didn't mind the height at all. In fact, I couldn't stop taking pictures because it was just so lovely.
The view of the Harbour from Milson's Point
And the Syndey Opera House as seen from above on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
By this time it was getting late, so I headed back to the YHA. When Shaun got back he was feeling better and he had come up with a great idea for dinner. He knew I liked to watch a TV show featuring an Australian chef named Bill Granger so he did a little research and found out that one of his restaurants was right near us. We made a reservation, showered up and headed to Bill's for dinner. It was just what we needed; a nice romantic dinner with great food, great wine and great company. Shaun was back to his old self and we were both happy and tired when we headed back to the hostel.
This dessert was ridiculously good! Ginger cookies with vanilla ice cream and caramel inside.
The next morning we took the train back to the Airport. We were leaving Australia and headed to Southeast Asia. Our flight that day was taking us from Sydney to Bangkok and then on to Vietnam where we were starting our tour. I consider myself a pretty seasoned traveler, but I must admit, I was pretty nervous about this portion of the trip. We were going to be spending three plus weeks in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand; places that were completely different from anything we had experienced thus far. The food, the lodging, the environment and the language would all be wildly different than what we were used to. Luckily, we had each other. No matter what the next three weeks brought, we would experience it together. So we stepped on board the Thai Air flight and buckled in, nervous but excited for this crazy new adventure!
The view out the window of our flight to Asia
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