I had a lovely suprise on Thursday night, Immeria, a friend I used to work with at HP in Munich phoned me up for a chat. We had a gossip about what had been going on back in Germany and about what I'm doing now, was great to catch up with her ;o)

I ended up staying in last night, I've been feeling so lethargic all week, not quite sure why, but I just haven't had any energy. I left work early as I'd started earlier and went straight to the gym...I did have to force myself! Then when I got home I watched Big Brother (never seen any of them before, so it's a first for me) actually I can see how people get addicted to it, Sue says it pretty much the same as the UK, although I don't think it's as big here as it is in the UK. Then after that it was American Idol...they're down to the last 4, god I've never watched that before either, how sad am I!! So I was pretty much rested when I woke up this morning so I went for a run, I felt good at the time, but now my legs are starting to seize up and I'm struggling walking anywhere.

I've been a real tourist today, I went to the aquarium down at Darling Harbour, that was pretty cool, loads of different things to see, and you get to go through the walkways and see the seals and the sharks (in different sections of course). There were some pretty big and unusual looking sharks there, and it said on the signs that because of the tunnelled glass the sharks appear 25% smaller than they actually are.

After that I walked through Darling harbour, they are having a Buddha day, so there's lots of celebrations going on there with lots of Asian food stalls. I went into the Chinese Gardens, which were lovely, it was very tranquil in there, just like being in another country altogether. There were a couple of Chinese weddings going on there too, the brides and the bridesmaids dresses were absolutely stunning, they were so colourful.

So that's it so far, I think next stop is the Anzac memorial museum in Hyde park.

Oh, and I think the rat is out of the house, I saw one this morning on the bench in the garden, I thought it was dead, but I looked again a bit later and it's moving slightly, poor thing, it must be the poison giving it a slow death, I feel really sorry for it, it's only a baby one too...then again, I am glad it's not in the house anymore!

Well, it’s no wonder that we are getting animals in the house, Satomi left the front door wide open again this morning! I saw that the rat had eaten some of the poison that we’d left out, so hopefully it will be able to get out the house before it kicks in.
The weather has taken a turn for the worse, it's just started raining and it’s forecast to be like this for the next few days, I’ll probably go and use my aquarium ticket on Saturday if that's the case. The friend that asked me to go out on Friday night texted me last night to see if I just wanted to go round hers to watch DVDs instead, so that'll save a bit of money.
I have been pretty bored at work, I am getting jobs here and there, and I’m really trying to drag them out, but even that doesn’t help always and I still end up sitting here half the time doing nothing. The assistant here makes me laugh (the dragon) she refuses to do jobs people give her, and then she bosses everyone around and tells them what to do (and they put up with it…. mind you, they’re probably to scared to object) She told me earlier I couldn’t go to a meeting cos I had to man the phones, aargh!! never mind, only another 6 weeks to go!!

I’m feeling really tired this week, I haven’t been sleeping very well since Satomi told me that she’d seen a big rat in the house. She saw it on the stairs (which are just by my room) when she’d got up in the middle of the night on Sunday, so I’ve been a bit of a nervous wreck. I keep imagining waking up with a rat on my bed….I have quite a large gap under my door, so I’ve been stuffing a blanket under that, I’ve been checking under my bed with my torch each night and everytime I go out of my bedroom I have to open the door slowly and peek out first to check it’s not there. Everytime I see something move out of the corner of my eye I jump a mile, it’s awful! My landlord has bought some poison now, but the trouble is we don’t know whether it’s still in the house or not (unless of course I see it and then the whole neighbourhood will know!!) I just love living in an old house that all these animals can get in to, (said with a slight hint of sarcasm!) I’d only just gotten used to the cockroaches!

Apart from that it’s been a pretty quiet week so far, I went to Sue and Grant’s for dinner last night, it was nice to see them as it’d been a while since my last visit, had a lovely dinner and some of Jess’s birthday cake.

I’m going to take it easy this weekend, I was invited out on Friday night, but I’ve had to turn it down as I really need to save a bit of money and I need a rest from drinking. I’ll probably go to the cinema on Saturday night, and on Sunday, a Russian colleague of Gavin’s is coming over from India, so we’re going to meet up and I’m going to show her around a bit, she sounds really nice and she’s so excited about visiting here. There’s no shortage of things to show her, so it won’t be too much hard work!

Had another hectic weekend. Friday night I went out for a few drinks with Dave, Simon and a few others, that was a fun night. We were supposed to be going to a birthday party, but Simons date was really late in arriving, so we didn't make it in the end. Then I was up early yesterday, Todd's flatmate Jason kindly offered to take me to the Blue Mountains. So he picked me up at 9.30 and we set off. The weather didn't look too promising on the way there, but it was a 2.5 hour drive so we thought it might get better when we got to Katoomba, also it was forecast to be sunny. Anyway it didn't clear up at all, it was drizzling rain and very very misty, so we couldn't see anything, absolutely gutted :-( We took a walk down to one of the 3 sisters (rock formations) but we could only see that one, it's supposed to be a spectacular view, and we didn't even see the mountains either. There is supposed to be a blue haze which comes from the eucalyptus trees, hence the name Blue mountains, so I was really annoyed I didn't see that. (I've added a link on the right if you're interested in looking) So anyway, we got some food and then set off up the road to go to the scenic railway, which is the world's steepest railway. We decided to walk down to the bottom and then get the train back up as it was a really long way down (very sensible idea). The walk down through the rain forest was great, you had to be a bit careful tho as it was very slippy, I nearly came a cropper a couple of times! When we got to the bottom we had a look at all the coal mine info and then we caught the train back up, I must admit I was a bit scared, I thought the cable was gonna break as it was so steep and it looked really old, luckily it was only a short ride up! We were going to stop off and look at Wentworth Falls on the way back, but the visibility was just too bad so we just set off back home.

Then last night Sue and I went into Coogee to meet Jason and Todd. We had a really fun night, we went to this massive place which had bars on all three floors. There were so many different types of people there, and if you were a girl and you weren't wearing a hat you weren't in at all! I was told the band Scissor Sisters started that fashion, anyway....we went downstairs later on and had a dance, I can't believe how many letchy men there were there, Sue and I were surrounded at all times, it was hilarious, I've never seen anything quite like it!!

Today I felt a bit unsociable so I took the bus to Coogee for a coastal walk. The coastline is so spectacular here, I feel so lucky to have the chance to see it. I walked along Coogee beach, then past Gordons bay. On the way to Bronte there was the biggest graveyard I think I've ever seen, it was quite something, and at the risk of sounding morbid, it's a nice place to be laid to rest as it's right by the ocean....anyway, next stop was Bronte where I had a rest and treated myself to a bag of chips (which were yummy) I sat there for a while taking it all in and watching the surfers, it's so beautiful there. Then it was past Tamarama beach and finally Bondi where I had another rest and a glass of juice. That all took up about 4 hours, I really enjoyed it, but am a bit tired now!

Think I'm going to have a quiet night in front of the TV tonight!

Well, so far it's been a pretty uneventful week. I've been to the gym lots, but that's about it. Actually I was looking forward to finishing work tonight and doing nothing, typical though, I got asked to stay behind to help prepare for a meeting tomorrow, and all those times I've had nothing to do there! It was quite funny, I feel like a real computer techie working there, and that's saying something as I'm pretty hopeless.... they have no clue at all, I keep getting asked really easy things, that they have no idea about, makes me feel good that I know the answers anyway!!

It's been quite noisy at home the last couple of days, they are pulling down some trees in one of the neighbours backyards. The other night I woke up early and found that Satomi had left the front door wide open...luckily there is another iron bar door in front of it which was locked, but still any animal could have got in, or a very thin person. I was waiting outside my room for a while cos I thought I heard some heavy breathing, maybe I was just imagining it, but I was so glad I had a key on my bedroom door! That's the second time she's done that.

Sue is popping round later, I'm looking forward to hearing her news, she hooked up with a guy at the party on Saturday and they went out last night!

I had another great night last night, Sue and I were going to go to some bars in the city but I had a text from Todd in the morning asking if I wanted to go to a party in Bondi, so we went there instead. It was really cool party, the guy whose party it was was Italian, he had a really cool flat and loads of people were there, he even had a dj, so we ended up dancing the night away again! Afterwards Sue and I got a taxi back to the city and had another couple of drinks in the pub around the corner from mine so it was quite a late night, had a brilliant laugh though ;o)

Yesterday daytime I went for a drive with Marie, we drove to Bondi and past all the beaches including Bronte (thats where the shark attack was the other week!) and Coogee, I'm definitely going to have to go back there and take a proper look. We sat on Coogee beach for a while, I really like it there. Marie wants to go to Melbourne at some point, so maybe we will do that in the near future. I'm aching a bit today, I did another new class yesterday morning, was at the gym for a 9.30 body pump class, it involves using a weight bar, I really enjoyed that one although it was hard work, I think I'm gonna do pilates tomorrow.

I'm feeling a bit worse for wear today, I was out with Dave last night. We were going to meet up just for a quick drink, but you know how that always turns out...I didn't get home until 2 this morning!! Was pretty wrecked and had a really funny evening, as usual. Marie (we went to the Led Zeppelin night with her) came into the bar later on, we were chatting and she asked if I wanted to go for a drive with her at the weekend along the coast, she's got a camper van, so I think we're going to go tomorrow. After the pub we went to another bar to play some pool, not the best idea for me when I've been drinking, I got one lucky shot but that's about it, mind you I didn't get much of a chance, Dave is a brilliant player (he was on my side luckily). I met some more friends of his, one of them, Tamsin asked me to her birthday party next Friday, her little sister is singing there and she's supposed to be really good so I'm looking forward to that.

Work dragged quite a bit today, typical as I had a hangover. Actually my supervisor spoke to me yesterday and she apologised that they were giving me all the really boring jobs, she was worried that I'd end up leaving out of boredom, so next week they are going to sort that out for me.

I met Sue on Wednesday night, we ended up having a really great evening, she's really lovely and we've got a lot in common so we were gassing all night!! I'm meeting up with her again tomorrow night so we'll probably try and find some nice bars and maybe a club.

I finally got my haircut yesterday after about 3 months, it had got so long it was driving me mad. I went to Toni and Guy where an English guy cut it. He was a really good laugh actually, he was a real London geezer and was totally mad. I think I'm pleased with it, he cut some 'funky (so he called them) layers' in it, so it's quite a bit shorter....the real test will be when I try to style it myself. It was really funny cos we'd done so much of the same stuff, and he has family out here that he's staying with and never met before just like me, the difference is he's still living with them!

I've just been to one of my favourite shops here, I'm addicted to going in there, the CDs and DVDs are only $10, which is about 4 pounds, and they're all originals, they don't have the latest releases, but they are quite up to date, it's just too tempting!

The weather has been fantastic still, you wouldn't believe it's Autumn. It's been a bit muggy the last couple of days, but there's always a nice breeze which keeps you a bit cooler. I can't imagine it ever getting really cold here.

Work is getting a little busier again today thank god, I've been so bored the last few days. It's not the most exciting of jobs, but the people are ok and at the end of the day, it's money!

I went to my first spinning cycle class last night...I was asking the girl on the bike next to me about the class and she said you've picked the hardest class, it's a real killer, which didn't really make me feel excited about doing it, so when the class started up I was knackered and out of breath after the first 5 mins, I'm suprised, but I managed the whole 45 mins, obviously I didn't put the resistance up on the bike too much, but it was still really hard, but I felt great afterwards (although very shaky). I got home and Satomi (housemate) had cooked us some Japanese food, it was called Okonomiyaki (like a pancake with vegetables and some sauce) I was a bit wary at first, but it was lovely and I ended up having seconds!! I said to her don't expect me to cook for you though, unless you don't mind baked potatoes and veg ;o)

I was up at 6.15 this morning to go to the gym and do another class, it was the Body combat class today, it wasn't as good as the Tai Bo class I used to do in Germany, but it was still a good workout. I'm going to try and do my gym in the mornings now, then it leaves me the evenings free. Actually I have been in agony this afternoon with my sciatica (god I sound like an old woman!) it just seems worse than normal today. I'm not sure what's causing it cos it's only really started up again since I've been working (I tend not to sit straight at work) and since I've been exercising. But it could have something to do with going to the gym and exercising like a maniac twice in 12 hours!!

I'm just off out to meet someone that worked where Sue (Grants wife) used to work. Sue sent me a mail saying that this girl was here from UK and didn't know anyone so would I like to contact her, she's actually called Sue too. So we're just going to go out for a coffee this evening.

I have now been away for nearly 11 weeks, I can't believe how quickly it's gone, I'm having such a fantastic time, thats probably why! Sometimes I still think wow, I'm really here, it's like a big dream. I'm really trying to see as much as I can...but there's so much here! I've started to plan my east coast trip, looking at my Lonely Planet guide to see where I fancy going.....it turns out I want to go everywhere...arghh!!
I'm really chuffed, Mum has booked her ticket to come over and see me ;o) She's not coming until December, so it's still ages away, and I'm not going to wish away the time, but I'm already really looking to seeing her. We'll stay here a couple of weeks and then head off to New Zealand at the beginnning of January, after a nice Christmas and New Year here.

I decided not to go to the Anzac Day dawn service this morning as I'd read in the paper that it started at 4.30am, far too early, so I had a bit of lie in and walked to Hyde park and watched some of the parade. It was quite touching, there were so many people along the streets cheering on the old war heroes. After that I went and sat by the water at the Anzac Memorial and waited til 12pm for the Commemoration service. I felt a bit bad cos I've never been to anything like that in the UK, but it was really interesting anyway, a lot of hymns were sung and prayers said. I felt really sorry for the young Australian army corps, they had to stand to attention by the water for the whole service, after a while they started dropping like flies, fainting all over the place, bless them.

After that I went to meet Matt so we could go to the rugby. I really enjoyed it, although most of the time I hadn't a clue what was going on! I was asking Matt a million questions! It was the first rugby league match I've seen, but I think I will go again. It was very Americanised, they had the cheer leaders and the mascots and the music whenever the home team scored a try, so it was a good atmosphere and the game got quite exciting towards the end...the away team the Dragons beat the Sydney Roosters 26 - 24.

I saw Beyonce on Friday evening....well I saw her head anyway!! She was signing perfume at Myer (department store) I didn't stay too long as it was really packed and hot and sweaty, but I could see that she looks absolutely stunning in real life. So that was quite exciting.

I had a really good day yesterday, Todd picked me up at 9am to take me to some of the Northern beaches. First stop was to his friend Matt's house, where he cooked us breakfast, then we got in the car and headed out. We went to Summer Bay (where they film Home and Away) actually it's really called Palm beach, it was quite funny going there even though I didn't really watch the program, I still recognised the beach. I think the guys were a bit embarrased cos they had to ask the lifeguards which part of the beach it was filmed, I was laughing in the back at them!! The beach was lovely, there were hardly any people there, and the ones that were were mostly surfers. It was really cool watching them, Todd brought his surfboard, so I was watching him for a while, then Matt went in and had a go, apparently the waves weren't the best though. We sat on the beach for an hour or so and then we drove back down the coast through Dee Why, and into Newport where we stopped at the Newport Arms for a beer and some lunch. It was a lovely pub, and absolutely packed out, we sat overlooking the water which was really picturesque. After lunch we stopped off at another view point, we could see about 4 different beaches from there, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking...this is what Australia is all about!! On the way home we dropped Matt off back home in Manly, then Todd and I walked down to Manly beach, which again was great, there were lots of volleyball tournaments going on, Todd wanted to stop and watch the womens' game, and I wanted to watch the guys!!! So we looked around Manly for a while, then as it was getting late, we decided to head off home to get ready for the nights activities! I had such a great day, I can't believe how many different beaches I've already seen, I'm definitely going back to Manly on the ferry from Sydney harbour, it's supposed to be a really great trip.

So, last night I jumped on the bus to Coogee (where Todd lives) and we went to his friend's flat to have a few drinks before we went out. There was a British couple and a few Aussies, they seemed really nice. After a couple of drinks we headed out to Kings Cross (red light district) so I was a bit wary, but we went to a really cool club called Moulin Rouge. Actually, it wasn't really my kind of place, the music was pretty cool, but absolutely everyone bar me was off their heads on drugs (it was that kind of place) but I kept up with them all by dancing for about 4 hours until 2.30, then I decided I'd done my best, but it was time to go to bed as it'd been a long day!

I actually managed to sleep until 11.30 today....woohoooo...longest lie in for ages and ages, I must have been tired! Actually I spoke to my landlord the other day and nicely asked him to keep the noise down in the morning....he apologised and said he didn't realise, but then I mentioned the hoovering at 9am on a Sunday, and he said, sorry, you'll have to put up with that or go to bed early....charming! I'll have to hide the hoover I think!

I had a lovely day today, I took a walk to Mrs Macquaries Chair, which is an excellent viewpoint to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, I took a few pics there, then I headed back to the Royal Botanical gardens, and I must say they are the best botanical gardens I've ever been to, I was there for about 3 hours, they are massive! There are loads of bats that live there in the trees, I was quite suprised to see so many of them, there were hundreds hanging upside down, and these aren't the small ones, they're massive, they are called flying foxes, I even looked through a telescope to see them close up. I saw 3 different weddings in the gardens, what a fantastic place to have a wedding. On my way back home I was walking past a cafe and I saw Jess (Grants daughter) and Kath, so I went and said hi, they were really suprised to see me, it was nice to see them again.

I think I'm going to take it easy tonight, I'm looking forward to the rugby game tomorrow, and then playing 2 up afterwards ;o)

Ok, so I've gone on quite a bit now, I'll stop talking now!!

The weather has been beautiful here, well apart from yesterday, I hope it stays like this for the weekend,, we’ve got a long one coming up as it's Anzac day on Monday. This is good in one way, but unfortunately I realised last night, that cos I'm temping I won't actually get paid for it :-(
Apparently everyone gathers on Monday morning for the Dawn Service which is held at Martin Place in the city, they say that normally 20,000 people attend, then it's the Parade where all the ex-servicemen wear their medals and march to the closest war memorial (which as it happens is just over the road from my place!)
After that everyone gets the beers out and gets drunk! It's a big tradition that everyone plays '2 up' involving betting on which way up the coins land (normally this is illegal here, but for Anzac day it's ok)
So I'm going to attempt to get out of bed so I can see all this for myself. Later on I'm going to the rugby with Matt (we didn't make it last week as planned) It's a traditional Anzac day rugby league game between the Sydney Roosters and the St George/Illawarra Dragons, so it should be a good first game to watch.
I’ve just received some info about the boot camp, ohmigod…read this

The instructors will select activities including running, jumping, carrying and callisthenics that will push you beyond your comfort zone to intensity where you will feel you are achieving true results.

I’m really scared now!!
Went to ‘my local’ ;o) after work yesterday, met lots more of Dave’s group of friends, there are some very interesting characters that’s for sure, but they’re all really lovely and friendly.

Nothing much to tell since Sunday really. I made it to the gym last night and did a pilates class which I really enjoyed, then I went again tonight to a step class, but I didn't realise it was going to be advanced....how hard!! the choreography was just too much for me so I bailed out half way through (along with 4 other people I might add!) and went on the bicycles.

My flatmate Satomi has now moved in, she has very strange working hours, so my sleeping pattern isn't getting better at all, it's starting to really frustrate me now....I know you all think I'm moaning, but I need my sleep! I've got him upstairs in the morning, and Satomi late at night...or really early, I can't win!! anyway, enough of my whinging again...thats about all I've got to say tonight....until next time...

I saw the worst film last night, it was called Guess Who, I do not recommend it at all, actually I left before it had even finished... it was that bad! I met up with Todd and his friend after that, I didn't get out until 11pm, but I made up for lost time and had a great evening. We actually went to the same club that I was in last Friday (the one I couldn't remember!) it all started coming back to me after I saw it again!! We were drinking and dancing until about 4am so I'm knackered today, we had such good fun though so it was worth it. My landlord decided to do the hoovering at 9 this morning....aarghhh!!

I went to meet Dave at his flat this afternoon and then we had a nice walk to Woolloomooloo (yes that is spelt right) Bay. We were going to walk through the botanical gardens, but we decided to get some food and a glass of wine instead as I was starving. We had a nice fun afternoon, I was going to use a payphone to phone Mum up, but he kindly said I could use his phone as he was going out, so I've just had a nice long chat with Mum. I'm off back to the flat in a bit and going to watch some TV and relax, ready for work tomorrow!

I'm feeling really grumpy and tired today....as you've probably guessed from previous blogs, one of my pet hates is to be woken up early when I'm trying to sleep, well I have 4 words....washing machine... very early!! I am going to have to say something soon, I thought my landlord would be a bit more considerate on a weekend, obviously not, it was especially annoying as I was out last night till 1.30! not happy :-(

Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest!! I had a great night again last night, I met some of the people who I'd met in the pub last Friday night, then one of the guys, Dave said his friend could get us into a really popular bar down by Circular Quay, they had a Led Zeppelin tribute night going on. I was a bit dubious at first, but it turns out the bands were excellent. We were sat right at the front, but unfortunately it was right by the bass speaker...we had to move after a while cos we thought our ears would start bleeding!! I was telling Dave about all the places I've travelled to and he was really jealous, he's only ever been to Edinburgh outside of Australia (both his parents are Scottish). It actually turned out to be quite a long list, I forgot about how many places I have actually been to...lucky me!!

I've just seen on the news 2 men were shot and killed in a drive-by shooting late last night at the Rocks, which is quite near where we were! Actually in the taxis here the drivers have a sort of screen wrapped round them to stop them getting attacked, they look very strange, I've never seen that before, not even in London.

I also saw there was a shark attack at Bronte beach today (just south of Bondi) the surfer had to fight it off with his surfboard but luckily the shark only bit into the board....sends a shiver down my spine!

I'm just going to go to the cinema I think now, then I may join the others at the pub later.

I've had a really good week, although I'm still glad it's Friday! I got a chance to phone my brother last night, we haven't really spoken on the phone since I left England and it was his birthday, so I was desperate to speak to him!! We had a great chat, we were both talking 100 miles an hour!! It does get to me not being able to phone people when I want, so I hope my landlord sorts the phone out soon.

I met up with Todd last night (friend of a friend) we hadn't met before, only spoken via email. I had a really nice evening, we went to a couple of bars in a part of the city I hadn't been before, so it was great. He's from New Zealand and is a really nice guy, he's invited me to a few parties over the coming weeks which I'm looking forward to. So I was pretty tired at work today what with going out and my landlord waking me up at all hours....I tell you I'm getting a bit annoyed now, yesterday morning it was the washing machine at 7am (it's in the cellar right under my bedroom and you can hear everything) then this morning he was running up and down the stairs to the cellar with a portable radio, I said to myself 'what now??' and I'm not sure if he heard me cos he disappeared after that and I didn't hear a peep, like I said you can hear everything....oops!!

Work is still going ok, I've been kept quiet busy. I was doing my timesheet today (the most important job) and they told me I'd actually gone over the hours I should have done, I was told that it was 9-5 with a half hour lunch break so that's what I'd been doing, but it turns out the agency got it wrong (again) and it should be an hour break. I'm a bit gutted cos thats 2.5 hours less a week to get paid, but then again, it'll make the day go quicker. I can go home too cos it's only a 5 minute walk so I guess I'll save on lunch money.

Had a text from Matthew (Grants son) last night, he's asked me if I want to go and see a rugby league game on Sunday, it's Manly v Canberra. I really want to see if I can get into this rugby lark as it's so popular here....I guess if I get bored I can always go to the beach (don't tell Matthew I said that!!)

I've just signed up for the boot camp...aargh, don't know what I'm letting myself in for...oh well, too late now!!

Work actually hasn't been too bad the last couple of days, I'm settling in well now, and I've been given a variety of stuff to do. They gave me the details of the project I've got to support yesterday, it's to do with the Teacher Quality Awards for New South Wales, it's going to keep me really busy which is great news!! The women there make me laugh (it's female dominated) they're always disagreeing with each other....and the team assistant is a bit of a dragon, makes me realise how lucky my team were at HP to have me as their assistant!!! ;o) I got my first pay packet today, wohooo!! I can pay 2 weeks rent with it just for working 2.5 days, so I'm well chuffed with that...it makes it all worthwhile!

I managed to catch up with my washing last night, I was running out of clothes....mind you saying that there was another reason for that.... I'd been accidently putting some of my washing in my rubbish bag instead of my laundry bag, luckily I looked in the bag just before I threw it out ..I guess I shouldn't leave the bags close together (or I should buy a little bin)

I only just found out that they were filming for the new Superman film at the main train station here over the last weekend, apparently they shut it all down (which is a bit like shutting down Marienplatz) I can't believe I missed it, I could have been an extra or something! Not sure who is playing Superman though.

I went to the gym last night, it was awful, I've never seen somewhere so busy, there weren't even any lockers left in the changing rooms, and it was only 5.30pm, I had to wait for 10 mins, then it was a 20 mins limit on the CV machines, and you couldn't get on the weight machines for love nor money, I'm starting to regret joining now as thats really the only time I can go...unless I do this boot camp of course! I also had time to watch a bit of TV, I saw the OC which I haven't seen for ages....cool ;o)

First day in my new job today, nothing exciting to tell there really! everyone that works there is old, there's noone anywhere near my age which is rubbish and they seem a bit scatty like they don't know what they're doing....I spent ages doing nothing, but suprisingly the day went pretty quick. I found out that the woman I'm reporting to actually knows my landlord!

I had a good night at Sue and Grant's last night, they had the whole family round again, so there wasn't a quiet moment. I was waiting for my bus home with Matt and Sophie when we heard a really loud buzzing sound, then something fell to the floor with a thud, turns out it was a possum, they like to walk on the electric wires and they often get electricuted...poor thing. I actually met a couple of lads from Essex at the bus stop, they have been in Sydney for 2 months and they're off to Cairns on Wednesday, I'm supposed to be going out with them and their friends tomorrow night.

I've just got back from the cinema, Matt and his friend got some free passes for the premiere of The Interpreteur so they asked me to go with them, it was good film, very long though. It amazes me how laid back the Ozzies are, everytime I've been to the cinema here they just chat to each other during the film and noone cares... and there was one guy tonight having a long chat on his mobile phone and noone says anything...it's mad!

Not really looking forward to work tomorrow, I hope I sleep a bit better tonight, last night was a bit restless as I was a bit nervous, also I keep finding cockroaches in my bedroom which makes me a bit uneasy....just when I think I've killed one then the next night another one appears, I'll have to sort that out somehow!

Had a bit of a mad night on Friday....I'm still recovering now! I made myself get dressed up and headed into town, I ended up in a bar, got myself a glass of wine and within 10 minutes I was sitting with a group of Ozzies! There were 5 of them, the guy that came over to talk to me first and then a few other guys and a girl. They were really nice and friendly. One of them was making me laugh, he was so full of it, he'd been there, done that, met U2 etc etc, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff he was coming out with, I started to get a bit worried that I was sitting with a complete lunatic, but the others seemed normal so I stayed with them. After a few drinks, we all went to the club upstairs as there was a band playing, they are an Australian band called Thirsty Merc, they were really cool, I loved their music....and we got in for free too!!

When they'd finished playing we went back downstairs and met a few of their other friends, and then it was onto a nightclub. I've got no idea what it was called or where it was, but it was a great place and I met loads of people, it was worth the hangover yesterday, although cos I hadn't been out like that for ages I did feel really bad, I couldn't get out of bed until about 7.30 last night, I had to force myself eat to something....not good. Actually my landlord figured I wasn't feeling too good and cooked some extra seafood risotto for me, it's still in my fridge though, I couldn't have faced eating that yesterday!! I'm glad my TV is sorted out now otherwise I'd have been really bored, I watched the Royal Wedding coverage last night, but I missed the end of the blessing cos I couldn't keep my eyes open! I've had a couple of calls from one of the guys from Friday, seeing if I wanted to meet up with them this weekend, as I'm off to Grant and Sue's in a bit, I'll maybe meet up with them next week sometime. I'm also going to be meeting up with Todd, a friend of a friend next week, we've written a couple of emails and he seems like a nice guy.

Starting my new job tomorrow, I'm a little nervous, I hope it'll be ok!

So I start work on Monday...booo!! I got the job ;o) it's working for the Dept of Education, it involves admin work and also helping with projects. I didn't have an interview, so I've no idea what the people are like, fingers crossed it'll be ok as it's until the end of June.

I went up the Sydney tower today, I thought I'd make the most of it as it's been a really clear day. They start you off by doing the Skytour, which is basically telling you the history of the country, then you go on a virtual reality ride where you get thrown around on your chairs, the film takes you water rafting, under the water and to the outback. After that it was up to the top of the tower, it's actually one of the safest buildings in the world, it took them nearly 10 years to finish constructing it. The views from it are amazing, the tower takes you 250 metres above the Sydney skyline so you have excellent views of the harbour and all around.....I saw the road where I live too! I've attached the website link on the right so you can have a look if you like.

I had a call from my gym today, I'm thinking of doing one of their boot camps. I read about them in magazines ages ago, and wanted to do one, but I've never seen one until now. It involves getting to the Quay for 6am, 3 mornings a week for 4 weeks, and each session lasts 75 mins...rain or shine! It sounds like really really hard work as it's army training oriented, but the end results should be good and it's also a chance to meet people. I've got until Monday to decide if I want to punish myself with this!!

I had a well deserved day off today...hahaa, just kidding, it was nice to sleep till 9 though!! My work finished yesterday, the day was a bit better than the previous days, but still a bit boring. I actually went for another job interview yesterday lunch time, the agency phoned me this morning to tell me that I was the best candidate for the job and they really wanted to take me on, but they will more than likely need someone for longer than 3 months, which I can't do because of my visa. It annoyed me actually cos the client didn't tell the agency that, so it was a waste of my time, although I guess it's good experience to have the interview, and it gave me a bit of confidence knowing that I was the favourite. Anyway, my consultant told me about another position that might suit me, so I'm going to go for that one, it's even closer to where I'm living too, which is going to be very handy, and also it's only working 9-5 which is great!! I should hear about that tomorrow anyway.

So I finally got to the gym this morning, it was the first time I've been to the one in the city, I felt a bit left out....there were hardly any westerners there, there are so many Asians living here! Had a really good workout and I even had a sauna, it was nothing like the saunas in Germany though, I was in there for 10 mins before I even broke out into a sweat!!

On my way home I walked through Hyde Park and I saw my first possum (well I think it was a possum!) it was in a tree, I hope I'm right otherwise that is going to sound a bit stupid! There are all sorts of weird birds in the park too, they seem a bit scary to me!

I went shopping again this afternoon, I must stop doing that...I ended up buying a bikini....well it was in the sale, and a couple more tops. I've found this really great shop that sells bargain clothes, I must have bought at least 10 tops there already!

I now must plan my travel through Australia, I have to sit down and think where I really want to go. I'm going to work for 3 months, then take off for a while, then come back to Sydney and maybe work for a bit longer...we'll see.

Ooh, I've just remembered, another part of my shopping trip was buying a ticket to see Kylie's concert in May....hahaa ;o) I just had to do it, I'm really looking forward to it!!

Just had to sign on again...I keep forgetting to write stuff. The Japanese girl came round to see the flat again tonight, she's really nice and she's going to be moving in next Saturday, so that'll give me a bit of company.

It was really tough getting up at 7.30 to go to work this morning, I've been a lady of leisure for so long, I've forgotten what real life is about!! What another boring day, it was a bit different than yesterday, but not much better....I had a list of about 300 people to phone asking all of them the same thing, whether they were coming to the launch on Thursday night, half of them I couldn't get hold of, and half of them said they weren't coming. My neck is aching from being in the same position all day....and I was sick of hearing my own voice, I couldn't wait to get off the bloomin phone! I definitely could not do a telesales job. I forgot to say yesterday, the building I'm working at is really cool, we're on the 23rd floor and it's got the best view of Sydney harbour. I have to go back tomorrow too to finish off the phone calls, great, I can't wait!!

I'm settling into my new home now, my landlord says the television guy should come to sort out the ariel on Thursday which I can't wait for...I had to buy 2 books yesterday to give me something to do at night, mind you saying that, the last 2 days I haven't really had much time to do anything, even go to the gym. Also, he interviewed a Japanese lady to move into the other room and she's coming round tomorrow evening so I can meet her, I hope she's my age and we get on ok.

I've just been to my normal internet cafe and the computers are not working, so he sent me down the road...this one is so much cheaper, I think I'll come here from now on (having to watch every penny!)....they're going to regret telling people to come here.

I've just done my first days work since just before Christmas and I'm exhausted! Well it was only 5 hours, but who's counting!! I was phoning up the agencies this morning, and one of them phoned me back with this job. It is working for Austrade, which is a part of the Australian Government, they have a big launch on Thursday night to do with the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games, and they needed someone to help with getting the promotional items organised. It was pretty boring work mind, basically I just had to count all the gear in the boxes like a stocktake and write up my findings, it was quite a manual job as I had to lift all these boxes to get to the next ones! It's only 2 days work, but tomorrow I will be on the phone following up on which people will attend the event, so hopefully it'll be a bit more interesting. The girls there were really nice and friendly so it wasn't a bad day, and the pay was pretty good which is most important!!

oh and it's been raining again all day...this weather is very strange!!

I finally got to Bondi beach today, wahey!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous this weekend, so I thought I'd make the most of it. The beach actually wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but it looked great and it was good to be able to watch all the surfers. I got down there pretty early and it wasn't so busy then, but later on it started to get really packed. At one point I decided to go in the water, but it wasn't as inviting as it looked....it was absolutely freezing, I only got as far as my knees! I started to get a bit restless after a few hours, so I bought an ice cream and had a walk around, it's a really cool place and there are loads of bars and restaurants around, I guess it would be good to go there in the evening. It's really handy to get there from my new home too, it's only 25 mins on the bus....but I guess I'll have to wait until the summer now.

New home....

I moved into my new place today. Packing didn't take too long, even though since I've been in Australia I've accumulated about twice the amount of stuff I originally brought with me!! We got to the house about midday, Grant helped with moving of some furniture (which he got roped into!) I'm feeling a bit jaded today, I just feel like I've moved so many times over the last few months, and it's just something new to get used to again...until the next time. The house is really nice, it's clean and my room is a reasonable size, although I have to get used to sleeping in a single bed again! I'm lucky Sue and Grant lent me their CD player until I'm sorted out, cos otherwise I think I would go out of my mind! The location is great, I'm right in the city next to Hyde Park, and there are shops nearby and even a supermarket that's open until midnight 7 days a week. I've unpacked all my stuff now, and thought I'd venture out into the city tonight. I'll probably only go to the cinema, my landlord warned me about walking in certain areas, so I've got to be a bit careful...it's weird cos I'm so used to living in Munich and not having to worry about things like that. So, yes I'm feeling lonely and missing my family and friends something rotten, but just give me a few days and I'm sure I'll be on top form again ;o) I'm going to Bondi beach tomorrow so I'm sure that'll cheer me up no end....it's really hot, it's gonna be 32 degrees...at last!!

I had a good day again yesterday. I went to another recruitment agency to sign up, and they said there is a chance of some work coming up next week. The girls were really nice and friendly there, I think it was the best agency I've been to yet, I even got a good tip on where to buy some 'corporate' work clothes, so of course I went there after and had a look! It was a factory outlet place for one of the good department stores here. I could have actually bought the whole shop, they had some great stuff there and at really good prices. In the end though I had to limit myself...I bought 2 jackets, a pair of trousers and a skirt...all for under 80 pounds...bargain, I'm going to have to go back there sometime!!

When I got back, we went to pick up Sue from work and then went for a quick dinner at an Italian before going to the North Sydney Boys High school (which is where Sue and Grants son goes) to watch a concert. I didn't really know what to expect, but I ended up having a really good night. The school has 3 jazz bands, and the advanced one played last night, they played the first few songs and I was really impressed, the music was really cool. Then their special guest James Morrison came on stage, he's really well known here and has played the Sydney opera house amongst other venues. After the interval the boys band left the stage and James Morrison played with his band. I did enjoy this, but I actually preferred the first half best. Actually the drummer was very good and at one point when he was doing his drum solo he walked off the stage and was actually drumming on the stage, on the walls, and everywhere else, that was very enjoyable!!

It was a bit of a late night last night, and I'd drunk a few wines, so I was feeling a bit groggy this morning. I got up earlyish and went to the gym and did a yoga class thinking it would be quite relaxing....of course it wasn't at all, it was very hard work, but I felt better afterwards. I've just been sat in the back garden all afternoon, it's a gorgeous day, and it's supposed to be carrying on like this for the whole weekend, so maybe I'll get to see the beach on Sunday, at long last ;o)

Wow, what a busy last few days...I don't know where the time has gone!!

We had a lovely Easter dinner upstairs on Sunday evening, there was 10 of us and as usual it was a really good laugh. I've never really had the big family occasions, so it's a really nice experience for me.

The last 2 days I've spent in the city walking from recruitment agency to recruitment agency, it's really hard work I tell you as you spend probably 1.5 hrs in each one having the interviews and the tests etc...and my feet are killing me from walking around! I found out yesterday that it's preferable to have closed toe shoes and a smart jacket if you want to work in the city, which of course I haven't got with me, so I've spent lots of time trying to find those as well, it's not cheap this looking for work business!! I have had a couple of jobs come up, I went for an interview this morning at Woolworths (it's a bit different than the UK one, it's more of a supermarket here) the post was in the legal dept which I was a bit wary about, anyway, they wanted someone with legal experience, which I haven't got. That was a pain, cos I was up at 5.30 to make sure I got to the interview for 8am, feeling a bit sleepy now!! Anyway, I'm not too worried, I've had some more positive feedback from other agencies, so we'll see what happens. I managed to find the strength to go to the gym when I got back this afternoon and I'm aching now!

More news.....I've just spoken with the guy about the flat in the city center I mentioned before... I decided on Sunday I would take it, and I was just waiting for his return call before I told you about it. He has said that he's going to put a phone in so I will be able to make local calls and long distance calls with a phone card, which is great news, and also, he's looking about getting a TV put in there too, so I'm quite excited I'm moving in on Saturday ;o) I'll be sad to leave Sue and Grants as they've treated me so well and been really generous...but I'll still go round and see them lots....if they'll have me!!!

The sun is finally here!!
What a hot day today, this is what Australia is all about!! The family came back last night from their holiday so today I went with the kids to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which is Australia's largest annual event. It celebrates everything from Australia's bush heritage to the latest in entertainment. We saw a few of the shows there for example, pig racing, sheepdog trials, woodcutting and freestyle motocross. The best bit though was the fairground, Jess and I got quite addicted to one of the poker games where I won not just one.....

.....but two prizes!!

I gave Jess the dog, so she was quite chuffed!

So we've just got back to the house now and I'm a bit sunburnt, it was such a beautiful day ;o)

Had another early start today, Kath took me to the supermarket this morning....Misty was running out of cat food! I went into the city pretty much straight afterwards, I had phoned up about another flatshare last night, so I had 3 to see today. The first one I saw was full of hippies, they seemed nice, but the house wasn't very nice and the room was really tiny, plus just 1 bathroom between 4 people.....so onto the next one. This one was just around the corner, first impression it was on a busy main road, so not good anyway, the house was ok, but the guy really creeped me out, I felt so uncomfortable in there on my own with him, I couldn't wait to get out!! so no luck there either. The walk to the houses was quite interesting, I hadn't been to that side of the city before, there were lots of mad people walking about shouting to noone in particular and it's obviously a gay area. After seeing these two places I started to get a bit disheartened, so I didn't have any hopes about the next place, but as it turns out I was pleasantly suprised. It was a Victorian terraced house split into 2 apartments, the landlord has converted the top 2 or 3 floors for himself and the bottom 2 floors are for his tenants. It's all been newly renovated, and is really clean which is good. There are 2 bedrooms which he is going to rent out, there are a couple of downpoints though, as I can't afford to live on my own, I was hoping to get to meet some people through a flatshare, but there is no communal lounge area there, so each room is pretty much self sufficient (apart from the seperate kitchen) so I don't know if we'll just keep to ourselves, also there is no phone or TV, but apart from that it's ok, plus I don't have to give lots of notice when I move out, so I could always move in there and still keep looking. The best thing though is the location, it's right in the city centre, literally a stones throw from the shops and the price is very good too. He said for me to think about it tonight and give him a ring tomorrow, anyway, he may even decide not to give me the room, I'll have to see. So I had a pretty good day, it gave me an idea of what properties in the city are like and what the prices are.

I'm glad something positive came out of it, I was feeling a bit down earlier. I'm really missing my family and friends and my life in Munich, I guess I'm just feeling lonely cos I haven't been out and met any people my age yet, so I'll be glad once I get a job and I settle in a bit. Apart from that things are going great ;o)

The weather has cheered up a bit ;o) yesterday was a really nice warm day (as long as you were in the sun) I was up early to go to the gym for my induction, I then spent about another hour there doing my exercises so I'm a bit stiff today! It's a really nice modern gym (Fitness First), they do lots of different classes, so I'm looking forward to trying those out.

When I got back I spent the afternoon sending my CV off to the recruitment agencies, unfortunately I forgot that it's Easter weekend and they won't be open now until Tuesday, so I'm going to have to wait until I hopefully hear something back.

Today I went into the city again, I thought I would go to the King's Cross area which is where all the backpackers go to stay. I'd heard that they put postings of jobs and flat shares in the hostels, I went into quite a few, but they only share the ads with people that are staying with them...which I guess is only fair. I went into one hostel to find out how much it would cost to stay there long term, the guy at reception was asking me all sorts of questions, like where I was from (he actually knows Bournemouth) then he was asking who did my hair....then he asked if I could sing!! He said he was looking for a singer.....yeah right, I just said, I'll see you then! Kings Cross is a red light area, so as you can imagine it's a bit seedy, I didn't like being there at all.

So I walked back into town, through Hyde park....it's like being in London, all the names are the same! Absolutely nothing was open today, it reminded me of Munich on a public holiday, mind you it wasn't quite as bad as Munich cos not even any of the cafes or restaurants were open which I was really suprised about, well Hungry Jacks (Burger King) was open, so I got myself a veggie burger....I had no choice!!

I had picked up a few leafets on my way through the hostels, so I've just been doing a bit more research on the internet since I've been back. I've actually got a flat to look at tomorrow and a couple more to phone today, so fingers crossed!

Back to the weather, it was lovely this morning, but the wind is getting up again and the skies are black...great!!

Hyde Park

Rain, rain, rain....

We were lucky cos the storm didn't really happen in the end last night, it was pretty windy and very rainy, but I think the coastal areas were affected more. It's funny, this weather is actually making me homesick!

I joined a gym today!! I walked there this morning and got absolutely soaked on the way even though it's only a 10 minute walk. The thing that gets me here is there are hardly ever any pavements in the suburbs, so you end up having to walk in the road! Anyway, back to the gym, my plan was just to do the 7 days free trial and then have a think about joining, but you know what those sales people are like once they get you there! I ended up paying for next month, but I do get a 2 week trial, so I can cancel it if I like and it's a pay as you go, so I'm not obliged to stay for a year. I just really miss doing my exercise after all this time!!

After that I managed to finally get my photos put onto the internet (see links on the right) that took me a fair while to get sorted. Then I walked to the supermarket to stock up. It's so cool how friendly and polite everyone is here, whenever you go in a shop, they always say 'hi, how are you' without fail, like I said before, it's a bit like being in the States!

I had a mail yesterday from a Kiwi guy I met in Munich last year, he's given me a contact of a friend of his here, apparently he wants to teach me to surf....well that could be interesting, will have to give that a try!!

I'm going to open a bottle of wine now and watch a film (free films are one of the perks of the gym!)

Oh, and I had a breakthrough with Misty the cat last night, she jumped up on the sofa and fell asleep on my knee...and I thought she didn't like me!

Yesterday was pretty quiet, apart from me spending about 4 hours getting through all the shops in the shopping mall up the road! I picked up some really good bargains too, I think I've got most of the things now that I need to get me through the next few months.

Last night I went to Kaths upstairs for dinner, her nephew had arrived earlier in the day. She cooked Flathead fish, which is an Australian fish, it was delicious.

Today I went into the city again with Richard (Kaths nephew) we started off by going to Darling Harbour and we took a walk through Chinatown, which didn't take long cos it's not very big. Then we got on the monorail and did a circuit of the city, it was good to see it from a higher viewpoint. We got off at the city center as we wanted to go up the Sydney tower, but by the time we got there the weather had taken a turn for the worse so we decided we didn't really want to spend all that money and not be able to see much so we didn't bother with that.

We had some lunch in one of the many food courts before walking down to Circular Quay. By this time it was really raining quite badly, so we thought we would go to the Opera house and do one of the guided tours. Close up the outside of the Opera house was not what I expected, the roof is covered with ceramic tiles (1 million of them) and the buildings are actually all separate above ground level. The tour lasted about an hour, within that time we sat in the concert Hall (the largest interior venue there) before we went in there I was thinking that the inside foyers were not all that impressive, I expected it to be more luxurious, but when we got into the concert hall I was very impressed! It is actually designed primarily for acoustic performances. The floor and the ceilings and all the chairs are made of wood so the acoustics bounce off of it, there is a massive organ at the back with something like over 100 pipes (the biggest of its kind in the world) they have seats all the way around the stage, so you can even sit at the back of the orchestra when they play. I'm definitely going to try and book a ticket to see a performance whilst I'm here, it's just got to be done. After that we walked next door to the opera theatre, that was a lot smaller than I expected, the acoustics there are designed for operatic perfomances. Next was a visit to the Uzton room, which is the first interior designed by the original architect Jorn Uzton (he was kicked of the project just after the shell of the building was completed because of going over budget and over time) he only recently designed this room, and it's only been open for 3 months.

So that was a good rainy day touristy thing to do, we then caught the bus back home. I've now just fed the cat and she promptly threw it all back up again!! I couldn't clean it up myself, everytime I went near it it made me feel bad, so I had to go and ask Kath to help me! I felt a bit silly, but I just couldn't do it, luckily she's used to it cos the kids always get her to clean it up for them!!

I've been invited for dinner again tonight, so I'm just off up there now.

I"ve just listened to the news, they're expecting 125km per hour winds and storms in Sydney tonight, I can't believe this weather...in fact noone can, apparently it hasn't rained here for about 12 months!!

Well, the last couple of days I haven't done so much as I've been sick, must have been the drop in temperature, anyway, I'm feeling a lot better today. I'm here on my own now, the family have gone to New Zealand for a week, so it's just me and the cat, Misty. It's ok looking after her, the only thing is she keeps waking me up at 6.30 in the morning by scratching on my bedroom door, not sure if she's trying to get in or if she wants her breakfast, I feed her anyway!

Misty

Today I was up early, the weather is now not so cold and it's stopped raining which is great. I caught the bus into the city. It's a nice journey as the bus goes over the Harbour Bridge and you always get to see the Opera House. Everytime I see it, I'm amazed I'm actually here! I walked down to Circular Quay, which is where the Opera house and all the ferries are, I jumped on a ferry to Darling Harbour and took some photos on the way (sorry they're a bit wonky, the boat was up and down!)

sorry, I went a bit mad with pics of the opera house!!

So my first stop after that was Paddy's market, which is a very large indoor market, I walked around there for an hour or so, didn't really buy much though, apart from 3 pairs of socks and some cashew nuts....exciting!!

After that I walked back into the centre to the Queen Victoria building. It's a really amazing building (built in 1898) which has been turned into a shopping centre, it has been described by Pierre Cardin as the most beautiful shopping centre in the world! It's so big, so I took ages looking around there, the clothes here are quite nice, and the prices aren't too bad. I'm really desperate for some new clothes as I've only brought a limited supply with me cos of my travelling beforehand! I did manage to find a couple of tops, I also got myself an Australian SIM card for my phone, which will help me to be contactable in my job hunt.

I have got my CV up together now, I've just got to send it to some agencies and see what comes up, I'm planning on working for a couple of months and then heading up North for a few weeks when winter arrives in June. I'm also looking for a flatshare in the city as I have to stand on my own 2 feet at some point, it'll be good though cos I'll hopefully meet lots of people.

Sue's mum (who lives upstairs) has just been down to tell me that her nephew is coming over from New Zealand tomorrow for a week. He's never been here before so we'll probably go and see some sights together, so that will be a bit of company for me.

I bought some potatoes today, so I'm just going now to make myself a nice baked potato, mmmmm.....

Travel update
so far I've flown 16,253 miles

Sydney harbour bridge in the rain

more photos on the way......

Had a nice evening yesterday. We started off with drinking a bottle of wine at home (my kind of people!) Then Grant, his wife Sue, her mum and Jess took me to their local Italian restaurant for dinner, I had my first BYO experience (bring your own bottle) apparently it's really common to do that here.....we took 2 bottles of wine. It was a really fun evening, they are all very nice people and I had a laugh with them.

I was so tired later on that I had to go to bed just before 10. I managed to get a good nights sleep, but unfortunately I woke up with a stinking cold :-( It's quite cold and rainy here at the moment, it's supposed to be like this for the next 5-6 days (it's only 21 degrees, which is cold from what I've been used to for the past 5 weeks) so that might be why I've come down with something. Anyway, Grant took me on the bus into the city center, it only takes half an hour to get there which isn't too bad, he says they hardly ever venture into the city. We saw quite a lot there, I got a really good first impression of Sydney. Lots of cool shops, I saw the Harbour bridge, the Opera House, and lots of other parts of the city, we were walking around for over 3 hours, trouble was it was raining all day, so we both got a bit wet!! We saw lots of people spilling out of the pubs celebrating St Paddys day. It hasn't really sunk in that I'm here yet, obviously seeing the harbour helped a bit, but it all seems a bit surreal somehow.

It reminds me a bit of America here, there are shopping malls everywhere, and cafes, restaurants, loads of take away food places with the most loveliest looking foods, theres no way I'm going to be able to lose any weight whilst I'm here. Mind you saying that, I picked up a leaflet today for a 7 day trial at the Fitness First gym, so I'm going to go there next week. Grant and his family are off to New Zealand for a week tomorrow, so I'm going to have to fend for myself, but that's a good thing really.

When we were at the shops yesterday I saw loads of Easter eggs, I actually hadn't realised it was Easter next weekend, that's how out of touch I've been!!

Australia- Sydney, finally here...
I'm finally here in Sydney after a couple of pretty scary flights. The first one from Bangkok to Singapore was awful, it was so bumpy, I was almost in tears (I'm really not a good flyer at the best of times) The mistake I made was I didn't take my tablets to relax me, so I got myself in a right state, plus I was a bit poorly maybe from something I'd eaten, so it really wasn't nice at all. The second flight was a lot smoother, but still really bumpy in parts, apparently it's like that a lot when you fly in the tropics, at least now I haven't got to fly again for a while!!
The landing was quite spectacular, about 30 mins before we touched down just above the dark clouds we could see strips of orange, yellows and blues, and then we saw the sun coming up whilst flying past the Harbour bridge and the Opera house, that was quite an experience, it made the flight all worthwhile.
So I was picked up at the airport by Grant, the flight came through a bit early so he wasn't at the gate right away, I did panic a bit cos I wasn't 100% sure what he looked like! Anyway, we found each other in the end. I've met his son and daughter now, it's funny meeting family that I've never seen before! They are all really nice and friendly and have made me feel really welcome. I had a sleep for a couple of hours, then we went to a shopping mall for some groceries, I'm looking forward to going back there and spending a bit more time (and money!)
We're going out for dinner tonight, we're eating Italian which I haven't had for over a month so I'm looking forward to that.

A few hours and a dream is realised...

Australia... woohoo

SMS message

SMS from Vikki (Arrival in Singapore GMT + 8.00) - Next stop Australia...
Hiya in Singapore now, what a horrible flight, was so bumpy, just about to board, don't want to fly again! x.
(received Tues lunch 13:00 GMT+1)

Last day in Thailand :-(

I had a really good day yesterday, I met up with Ric in the morning, he looks really well, he's got a suntan and he's lost a lot of weight. Was nice to see him, he sounds like he's really enjoying Thailand...I can't blame him!

We started off by getting the bus into the city centre, I wouldn't have dared getting on a bus on my own, but he obviously knew where he was going. We spent some time walking around there, it was absolutely packed and sooo hot there, but it was good to see. We went to this massive shopping mall and spent ages walking around there, they have so much tacky stuff to sell it's unbelievable.

After we'd been there we met up with Ric's Thai friend, Nong, she is visiting from Chang Mai. We both wanted to do a river cruise along the Chao Phraya river, so we booked a long tail boat and spent 2.5 hours sailing along there. I was so amazed at how many houses there are along the river, some are really nice, but others are not so great. All the families were waving at us as we went past.

That was our day spent, so after that Ric took us to a Thai restaurant on the pier, I got to try some food I never would have tried before which was a good experience, my mouth was burning for ages after I can tell you!! When we'd finished dinner, we went to The Shamrock!! (nothing like the one in Munich!) they had a live band playing, so we had a couple of beers and watched them. We had good fun, Nong's English was excellent, she's a really nice girl, it was nice to meet a Thai person. I've learnt a bit of Thai too, only Hello, Thank you and Cheers, it's taken the whole time I've been here for the words to actually sink in!! I'm really sad to leave here, but I'm definitely coming back in the future where I hope to see some more of the country.

So, I'm just off to meet Ric again, he's coming to the airport with me as he's got a friend that works there. I've got a couple of things to do before I leave, got a little bit more money to spend!!! so until next time.....

Back in Bangkok....

I've just stuffed myself with spring rolls and Thai curry...yum!

I arrived in Bangkok early this morning, I left Koh Phangan yesterday at midday. The journey was pretty uneventful, although I met lots of people again. Dídn't sleep too well, there were a few snorers on board!!

I saw the Orient Express today, it was in the train station when we arrived, it looked really posh, would have loved to have gone and had a look inside, it was headed to Singapore.

I booked a hotel room at the same place as I was when I first came to Bangkok, I just couldn't resist their yummy breakfasts, and I thought I'd treat myself to a nice place as I'd been slumming it a bit over the last 2 weeks! I've been put in the new wing this time, so it's even nicer than my room before, and I've got a double and a single bed in there. Mind you saying it's nicer, I was walking down the stairs earlier and I saw a massive rat scuttle across the floor...that made me scream I can tell you!! Luckily I'm staying on the top floor, so hopefully no rats would venture up that far!

Today I thought I'd do a bit of shopping, I picked up a couple of skirts, a couple of tops, a pair of flip flops and a CD. I probably only spent about 7 pounds for the lot, still not sure how I'm going to get them in my rucksack mind, but I'll worry about that on Tuesday! Got my laundry done again too.

I had a message from Ric and I'm meeting him tomorrow morning, I hope he'll show me some good sights. I really want to go to the Patpong area, just for the experience, maybe I can persuade him to go tomorrow night, I want to go out with a blast as it'll be my last night here...off to Sydney on Tuesday, I can't wait ;o)

SMS Message

SMS from Vikki (Currently in Thailand GMT + 7.00) - Back in Bangkok
Hi, just arrived in Bangkok. In a room with air con and hot water... bliss! Speak soon xx.
(received Sun Morning 00:00 GMT+1)

Had another great night last night, I started off by having dinner and watching a film (you have to do that as noone goes out till late) I met an English guy who was sat on my table, so we went down to the bars on the beach and had a few more buckets of vodka!! I bumped into lots of people I'd met the other night so it turned out to be another good night, I was home about 5ish again!! Its funny, I haven't actually met many females yet, they don't seem to travel on their own and they stick to their groups.

Just spent today relaxing on the beach (again) although it was far too hot to sit directly in the sun, I was sat in the shade most of the day. I've just treated myself to a pedicure (my feet look really pretty now!!) and an hour long Thai massage, well I had to whilst I'm here!! It was not what I expected at all, it was actually quite painful sometimes, they manipulate different parts of your body....they even use their feet to apply pressure! I must say though now I'm feeling really loose and relaxed, but I can imagine I might be a bit bruised tomorrow!! It only cost me 4 pounds for the lot, I might treat myself to a manicure when I get back to Bangkok (what a life eh!!)

I'm leaving Koh Phangan tomorrow morning, getting the ferry to Surat Thani and then the long train ride back to Bangkok. I can't believe my time in Thailand is nearly over, I'm going to be so sad to leave, I just love it here!! I've been away just 4 weeks now, it feels a bit like forever, but then again it's gone really quick too (if that makes any sense)

Quiet night for me tonight....well thats the plan anyway!!

What a brilliant night last night! I take it back what I said about it here, it's actually really cool. I took a walk through the town after dinner and I found all the bars put tables and chairs out onto the beach and thats where everyone goes. It doesn't really kick off till 11pm, but I'm really glad I stuck around. I met loads of people there, firstly I was talking to an American guy then he took me over and introduced me to all his Aussie mates, we had such a laugh, we were drinking whisky, coke and Red bull from a bucket, don't know how many we had, but needless to say I got quite drunk! Then we started dancing and I met even more people, everyone was really cool and friendly, I'm so glad I came here. I didn't get to bed till 5.30 this morning, I'm absolutely knackered now, I only had 5 hours sleep, wanted to get up reasonably early so I could get down the beach. Today was a scorcher, not really the best conditions for a hangover but I struggled through, I must have gone in the sea a million times to try and cool down. I stayed on the beach till 5ish, it was quite funny just before I left I was watching the little crabs poking their heads out of the sand and then looking around and then scurrying back in the sand again, was quite cute!

I'm just going to watch a film at the restaurant tonight, no buckets of alcohol tonight!!
I can't believe I saw those Israeli guys here last night, they arrived here on the same day as me, it's funny how you see the same people around and about, they've just walked in the internet cafe now actually, keep seeing them everywhere!

Koh Phangan - Another day, another island...

It was an early start yesterday to get to the pier for the 9am ferry. I managed to get a songthaew (local taxi/pick up truck type thing) I met a couple of Phillipinos who were really chatty, they were working at the resort just up from where I was staying. When it was time to get on the ferry, I thought, is that it??! it was very small, luckily the sea didn't look so rough so I thought it would be ok...little did I know that once we were a bit out of the harbour, the sea would get a lot rougher. That was another scary 45 mins, the boat was rocking all over the place, I had white knuckles from holding onto the seat so tight. I don't think I want to get in another boat ever, but I have to get the ferry back on Saturday, I'm dreading it!!
So anyway, I got another songthaew (I managed to get the price lowered too...I am getting good at this bartering) it was only a 15 min drive, but it was quite hairy, its a really hilly island and the roads aren't finished yet. After a couple of attempts, I found myself a bungalow (again for only 4 pounds a night) It seemed nice and big and clean, so I thought I'd take it....I'll come back to that later!
Took myself to the beach for the afternoon, it's quite a narrow beach which I was a bit disappointed about, but as the day went on, the tide went further out, so by the end of the day there was quite a lot of beach. I'm not quite sure what to make of it here yet, it's very touristy (which I don't really like) and it seems to be full of posers and hippys... not really my cup of tea. I decided to come to this resort as I'd heard it has one of the nicest beaches, but I found out it's a really big party town (I sound like I'm getting old don't I!) but I'm sure it'll grow on me.
So after the beach I went back to the bungalow and read for a while, then just as I was getting ready to go out I saw a lizard pop down through a crack in the ceiling and then pop back out again... well I didn't like that! It was only then that I noticed the ceiling tiles have not been fitted properly and there are lots of cracks and holes. I started to have a bit of a panic, so I grabbed the toilet roll and spent the next 30 mins stuffing paper in all the holes! Then I had to try and put my mosquito net up somehow (there was nothing above my bed to hang it from) so I did a bodge job and managed to stick it under one of the ceiling tiles, then I tucked it under the mattress as tightly as I could. They're not going to get me whilst I'm sleeping if I can help it!
When I sorted that out I just had a quiet night at the resort restaurant. I ate Pad Thai (recommendation from Alison, thanks Al) which was really nice. I watched a couple of films they were showing, National Treasure and Starsky and Hutch. Most of the restaurants show films each night, but they're the dodgy DVD copies. They play them in English with English subtitles, I tell you, that was funny in itself, the way the Thais have understood what the characters are saying, hilarious, especially Starsky and Hutch, I found reading the subtitles funnier than watching the film!
I managed to get some sleep last night, although what with worrying about the insects and the noisy men next door (I've never heard people talking so loud) I woke up god knows how many times, they were talking (well shouting) practically all night, I even heard them at 6.30 this morning, hope its better tonight otherwise I'll have to find my earplugs!
Spent today sunning it again, I'm slowly getting browner, although I'm going for the longlasting, slow tanning approach, but another day of using factor 30 today and I've decided to go down a couple of factors, the thing is I can't rub the stuff in, I just get white streaks...and I can't even wash it off properly cos I only have cold water...what I wouldn't give for a warm shower!!
Anyway, I think I've gone on enough, time for dinner.

SMS message

SMS from Vikki (Currently in Thailand GMT + 7.00) - Arrival in Koh Phangan
Hiya. Got here ok, was a bumpy ride! Found a decent bungalow and just sat on the beach now. Cu
(received Mon Morning 9:00)

Koh Samui - washing day...
Not much going on here really. Last night was a bit strange, most of the pubs were closed, and the ones that weren't were not selling any alcohol, apparently it was because of the local election day....so my Saturday night wasn't very good at all!
Today wasn't much fun either, I was a bit poorly in the middle of the night, so I didn't sleep very well. I felt much better this morning so I managed to get up early to catch some sun, but it was really cloudy and windy and then it started to rain again a bit in the afternoon. I heard there was a boat accident near Phuket yesterday and 40 people died, I'm not suprised as the sea has been really rough, I'm heading off to Koh Phangan tomorrow, which is about an hours ferry ride, so I'm a bit dubious about that, I hope the weather calms down a bit, don't want to have another boat trip like Friday.
I managed to get my laundry done this morning, it only cost me a pound and it's so nice to have lovely clean clothes (it's not the same when you have to wash them in the sink!) I feel really fresh again now!
Well, I've got an early start tomorrow, so I'm going to have a drink, then off to bed.

Rainy days...
I was rudely awakened this morning by a massive storm and torrential rain, typical, I was just saying yesterday that I hadn't seen any rain for over 3 weeks!! I'm really bored today, theres not much to do here when it's raining, I can't even get my laundry done cos it won't dry, I'm running out of clothes! Actually it was quite good that it was raining cos I managed to get a lie in.
I've just been for long leisurely lunch at one of the restaurants, a guy I met a few days ago walked past and decided to join me, so that wasted an hour or two. Now I'm at a loose end so thought I'd come back to the internet cafe.
I met up with Riggs last night for some food, I walked past a place that did baked potatoes and I just had to have one with lots of cheddar cheese, it's been over 3 weeks after all and I was getting cravings! It was worth the wait. We went to a couple of bars after, it's such a funny experience going to these places...the amount of girls that work behind every bar goes from about 7 - 15 and the Western men just love them. The girls call them over and pay them loads of attention, and you can play Connect 4 or Jenga with them, then most of the time the guys take the girls home with them...it's so funny to watch. The amount of old men I've seen with young Thai girls, in fact lots of young guys have them as girlfriends too. We had a couple of games there and then went to the Friday night foam party, I'd never been to one before so that was funny, I had to go home pretty soon after that cos I was shattered from the days tour. I had fun with Riggly though, it was nice to see a friendly face again.

Koh Samui - Sea Safari
What a great day we had today. It was an early start again, we were picked up at 7.45. After we picked everyone up we headed for the pier to get our boat for the day where we had breakfast and headed on our way. First stop was Ang Thong National Marine Park, we got off the boat there and walked up lots of really high steps for ages until we got to the top view point, and what a view it was, it overlooked the Emerald Lagoon, which was every bit as green as the name suggests, I hope my photos come out ok.
After that we hiked back down and had a well deserved dip in the sea. Next was canoeing along the coast of Mae Ko Island. What a laugh that was, I was sharing with Riggly, we all set off at the same time, the idea was that we canoe into all these caves and crevices, anyway, we were absolutely rubbish at it, I don't know which one of us was rowing the wrong way, but we kept ending up going around in circles, we just couldn't seem to get in a straight line!! Needless to say, we were way behind everyone else....then the wind started up and we were rowing and rowing with all our might and we just weren't getting anywhere, it was hilarious, I was crying with laughter it was so hysterical, and that made me lose all my energy even more!! Eventually all the guys came back through a cave and saw us still in the same place, they thought that was extremely funny. We decided to swap places after that and Riggs got in the front and we seemed to make a bit more headway, and we actually managed to go through a couple of caves...about time! I haven't laughed so much in ages, the guy from the main boat even came back to see if we wanted to get taken back there, but we were determined to do at least something! So when we finally got to shore we did some snorkelling, I was quite disappointed though as the water wasn't clear at all, so we could hardly see anything, and it was my first time too :-(
After that adventure it was time to head back to Koh Samui, which should have taken us 1 and a half hours, but in the end took us over 2, the sea was so rough for the whole trip, the waves were massive, I tell you I was pretty scared at first, the front of the boat kept crashing against the waves and we were getting pushed all over the place, that lasted most of the trip back, it was mad! I'm still feeling now like I'm on the boat and it's over 3 hours later, not a nice feeling...I'm so glad the crew had some sea sickness tablets, it was pretty awful! As you can imagine I was really relieved to get back onto dry land.
The last stop was to do some elephant trekking, that was pretty cool. We fed them bananas, that was a funny experience as they kept spitting over our hands when we fed them.
So it's been quite a long day, I'm off to meet Riggs now for some food and a few drinks, he's heading off to Pataya tomorrow, but we might meet up again in Bangkok before I go.
I hope this going up and down feeling goes away soon!!

Koh Samui - Island tour
Today was a good day, got picked up by the tour bus at 9am where I met Riggly. The tour of the island was really worth doing, we got to see most of it. We started off by going to Wat Plai Leam (temple) it was only built last year though and it wasn't really very impressive. Next it was to visit Big Buddha, which is a massive gold statue that overlooks the sea, it's supposed to watch over the people of Koh Samui and bring whoever visits it good luck. We saw a monkey show where the monkeys are trained to climb up the palm trees and throw down the coconuts, that was pretty cool, plus we got to have our photos taken with the monkey on our arm!! They gave us some fresh coconut and some coconut water which was yummy, I also bought some coconut oil, it smells gorgeous but I think I've got a long way to go to get enough of a tan to be able to wear it on the beach without burning!!! We also saw a mummified monk, apparently he was 80 years old when he found out he had a vision was going to die within a couple of months so he asked for his body to be mummified... this was 32 years ago, was a bit creepy actually. We saw Grandmother and Grandfather Rock by the sea, the brochure nicely calls them 'Unusual stone formations' but basically they look like the male and female genitalia, was quite funny to see them, and you can imagine I got a few funny photos of Riggs with them! After that was the Namuang Waterfall and then our last stop was the Nathon town for a quick look around. Was a cool day, I really enjoyed it, we've just booked another tour for tomorrow which I'm really excited about, so watch this space....

Koh Samui - a peaceful sunrise...
Had a fun night again last night, I met up with all the guys and we had a few drinks together. They were having an earlyish night cos they had to leave early the next morning, so Riggly and I went off to watch another ladyboy cabaret. Got some great photos, was a really good laugh!
I actually managed to get up at 6.15 this morning to watch the sunrise, that was pretty cool to see, the beach was so nice and peaceful at that time, there were Thais already up doing the fishing on the shore. After that I had to go back to bed for a couple more hours!
Spent yet another day relaxing on the beach, mind you I didn't go in the sea today as it's been pretty rough the last couple of days, I attempted it yesterday, but just got knocked around all over the place!
Just been to meet Riggs, we had some dinner, and we've booked an Island tour for tomorrow, it's about 6 hours and the bus takes us to all the landmarks, so got an early start!

Koh Samui - It's a small, small world...
Had a great night last night, I went to a really nice restaurant and decided that I had to try some seafood while I'm here, so I went all out and had a prawn cocktail and a prawn green curry...was absolutely delicious, as you probably know I'm not a massive fan of spicy food, but it was definitely worth it. I was a bit silly though and didn't order any water, so I had to wash it down with wine when it got too hot... not a good idea. I started chatting with a couple on the table next to me, they were from Northern Germany. We had a great time talking for a couple of hours and they kept filling up my wine glass so I wasn't complaining!! After that I left them with the intention of finding a phone to call my Mum...anyway, I was just walking past a pub and saw a guy, I thought, I know him... it turns out it was Riggly!! (for those who don't know he used to work in Murphys in Munich) how suprised were we, he had to do a double take too. I knew he was travelling about the same time as me, but I had no idea that I would actually bump into him, I just couldn't believe it! So we had a drink then we went to this cabaret bar where all the lady boys were putting on a show, was great to watch (trust Riggly to take me there!) we were trying to tell if they were all guys as some of them look amazing. I even won a poster of them all in the raffle so I had a real close up of them when I had to go on stage to get it. So after that we went to another bar, and the second shock was that we saw someone else that we both know who used to live in Munich...Richie from Birmingham!! we were all pretty flabbergasted I can tell you. He was there with some of his mates, one of them called Mally who used to live in Munich too, I've heard of his reputation, but I don't think I'd met him before, by all accounts he's a bit of a mad one! So we had a few drinks together. I was planning on getting up to watch the sunrise this morning, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed, probably won't make it tomorrow either cos we're all meeting up again tonight!! It's really nice to see a couple of familiar faces, but how spooky!!
So sorry Mum you didn't get your phone call!!!