German settlers

I didn't know Australia had begun as a prison ... did you? Apparently Adelaide was one of the few towns that began as , well, a normal town without the "prisoner" element, and for that they are quite proud. Many Germans came out here in the 19th century and established both the vineyards and the old towns that dot the coast line. One such place is Hahndorf, a step back into turn-of-the-century settlers land. It is your typical one road town ... everything you want to see and do is pretty much on the main "high street". There's a berry picking farm that makes some darn good jellies and preserves so that was my first port of call, bien sur! I figured I could take some back to my lovely host who has lent me her oh-so-cool convertible car to zoom around the hills while she's at work in the office. This is, indeed, the life of leisure. So I went about my business, tasting jams, buying home-made dark, german rye bread loaves, snapping at the quaint houses and feasting in a local delicacy for lunch: sausage with sauerkraut. I then zoomed off to a nearby winery for a taste of their reds, non of which amazed me and then on the off chance, tried a white pinot gris and bought 2 bottles to bring home. So there you go...that was my day, in a far flung Australian hill town that looked more like a Bavarian outpost on a very lucky sunny day than an outback setting of Crocodile Dundee. Australia sure has some quirky spots, which I do hope to visit soon. In the meantime, german sausages down under it is!

Tea Tree walks

Yesterday I went for a 3 hour, rather steep trek up to Mount Lofty, overlooking Adelaide. It also overlooks the vast wine region that lies around this coastal town. It amazes me how much wine Australia produces and how close it is to where I've landed (... chance or destiny?). When I walked those steep paths yesterday, all I could smell was tea tree oil from the surrounding tea trees. I was not sure what it was at first so I kept stopping and pulling off leaves, branches, bark and all manner of greenery form around me in the quest to figure out what on earth smelled so darn good! Eventually, I came to a trail sign indicating the surrounding trees were tea trees and it all made sense. I did eventually find the bit off the branches that smells like heaven, so I rubbed it on my hands and smelled it all the way to the top. It was so incredibly refreshing and I suppose so was the novelty of being back on my feet climbing heights, which I have discovered is one of my passions. It made me think why I never actually went off climbing or walking back home in Spain, renowned for it's trails and hikes. I guess sometimes one has to travel far (in my case VERY far) to discover things that are perfectly available back home. It's all part of the fun. Today I have woken up aching ... a rarity but I imagine after so many months of recovery and all, I was beginning to turn into hard brick.

The other side of the world

I have literally come to the other side of the planet and the thing that most shocks me is that ... it's all pretty much the same. :-)
Of course, I have been here less than 24 hours so this really is a first impression. I suppose after so much traveling, I feel like I am in a British coastal town I had not happened upon during my years living in the UK. Glenelg, Adelaide, is cute... with it's tram, it is a strange cross between a flat street in San Francisco, and a piece of Brighton beach. Looking outside the window at the houses that line the streets, I realise there's a piece of England, Holland, Austria and Denmark everywhere I look. I love the old tram that takes you from Adelaide to the coast, and at night as in the day, I have experienced for myself the friendliness of Australians. They really are laid-back, very eager to help, and strangely amused at having a Spanish visitor in town. The men are all quite charming and good looking, in a rough rugby-lad kinda way. Of course, the accent has also got something to do with it! I managed to pull a policeman on my first night out (after nearly collapsing in a queue from sleep deprivation). The shopping is also quite good here, although it is strange to find North African art and jewellery all the way out in Adelaide, of all places. It all feels strangely familiar. So after enjoying the first impressions and sights, attempting to catch up with the jet lag and realising I had only achieved 10 hours sleep in the last 4 days, I succumbed mid-day yesterday to what I thought would be a small afternoon nap, and woke up today at 9 AM!!! I think that's if for the jet lag. I am in synch with local time, feeling Australian and ready to go explore the outback!

Water

How did I survive so many hours of flying? The truth is it was all much more bearable than I expected. And the secret is in the water. I have been flying for many years now, and have already done 13 hour flights before. I have read innumerable times how important drinking water and moisturising your skin is, but I suppose I never realised just what a difference it makes if done properly. Note, this also requires an aisle seat for free toilet access every 20 minutes. Down a bottle of water on the hour, every hour of flight has become my rule. This and moisturising so I don't feel like Hulk breaking out of my dry skin has made the flying bearable.

There is little cure for the jet-lag though. I arrived in Singapore at 2 AM local time and could not, for the life of me, fall asleep, despite it being dark out and not having gotten any sleep in flight. I suppose the excitement of being on the go again, of arriving somewhere new in Asia and of my next day's ongoing journey to Australia kept me awake, emailing off my computer until 5AM when I succumbed to 4 hours sleep before waking up again to daylight. I went for a walk on the beach, and a quick, cheap and cheerful eyebrow shaping and lip hair waxing treatment at the salon across the street. I think I've discovered a little ritual of mine: to sample the local grooming services of every country I visit (remember Vietnam?) or maybe this hairy ape just cannot go without it for more than 3 weeks! Anyway, feeling lighter already, I went for sampling of the local food and a much needed foot massage. Ahhh, the joys of inexpensive indulgence. I discovered my kidney point was quite painful (maybe I had overworked it with so much water) and well, mostly my entire body was in pain, so I went off for a 2 hour nap before grabbing my bags and heading out to the airport once again.

Air Time

I have been traveling for 3 days on an airplane. What sort of crazed human being agrees to this anyway? The funniest thing is, I seem to have only lived through 2 of those 3 days... there are 24 hours in there where I guess I went missing cause I crossed the date-line, time-line, whatever-line somewhere in the Pacific and disappeared for a while. (Man, this diet really works!) Anyway, I don't think I have ever stepped foot on so many countries and cities within the space of 72 hours; Detroit, Tokyo, Singapore, Perth, Adelaide ... and done so little. Highlights? here they go:

Spent 15 minutes waiting for a toilet in Detroit airport. I think the woman was scrubbing away dead skin cells in there while I prayed not to pee in my pants. It was disabled toilet I was waiting for because I was in a wheelchair myself. Meanwhile, I observed the overhead electric train that runs from one end of the terminal building to the other overhead. Now, why have I only seen this in Detroit?

The flight to Tokyo was on a jumbo jet, those once awe-inspiring machines, (with their twirling stairwell up into 1st class) now tatty and obsolete, at least in the face of the new Airbus 300 series with their freaky silence, power outlets in every seat (remember I am sitting in economy), individual screens with on-demand entertainment, comfy seats with the tilting head-rest sides to hold the ever-snoozing head, halogen slow-on, slow-off reading lights, superbly clean and flashy toilets... I got to fly on the A-300 for the first time on a flight from Madrid to Miami and actually saw how the airplane took off because it's tail had a camera transmitting the view into the screen before me. That was pretty cool. Anyway, back to the jumbo jet. I sat next to a Detroit couple who were on their way to China to adopt a baby girl. It had been a very tough 2 years for them and they could not believe the moment had come. I don't normally talk much when I fly but the girl, Laurie, seemed eager and provided good conversation. Amongst her parenting books and magazines I also spotted the 2 latest "People" magazines, which reminded me I had not purchased any gossip entertainment before boarding this 13 hour flight. I did have my computer, 5 books, my iPod and 3 movies aboard the flight, but in my mind all I wanted now was to shuffle through the mags so began devising ways in which to ask to borrow them politely. This is what long air travel does to you .. well, does to me. I seem to hoard entertainment options and then never do half what I intend to accomplish in flight. I suppose it is the survival of boredom instinct, particularly when 2 of the 3 movies on board you've already seen and the coach section does not supply power outlets for you to juice up your computer. I did eventually ask one of the crew if they could find me a power outlet in one of the 3 empty business class seats. A quick aside here - what is up with not upgrading people into these empty spots? I mean, even if just for the look of sheer gratitude and joy on their faces, and to know you will have made that person's day, and possibly a devoted future frequent flyer? Anyway, I got a very nice crew who actually did find me the plug (in spite of the Pursar's disagreement) and together with my neighbour voluntarily offering me the People magazines, I became a happy camper.

I landed in Japan with subdued excitement, nothing like what I thought I would feel back in 1996 had I gotten the scholarship for my semester abroad over there as part of my Japanese degree. I began thinking of the underlying reasons why I still had not gotten out to Japan this year given my personal history with the country and it's language. And thoughts of entering the JET teaching programme entered my mind for the umpteenth time. Part of me realises I am no longer fluent in this language, like I once was, and facing and owning up to the lack of follow-through after so many years of effort is somewhat difficult to come to terms with. I did manage to have a brief exchange with the ladies at the duty free whilst asking about some souvenir sweets to take to my hosts in Australia. The flight was promptly boarded just as I began kicking myself for how many things I no longer remembered how to say. And so, off another 7 hours to Singapore, where I would thankfully get a good night's sleep on a flat surface (at this point, any flat surface would do).

The adventure continues....

For those of you who doubted whether I'd ever get my butt off my family's comfy sofas and hit the road again... I got news for ya! I am off again!!!! There will be new lands to explore and old ones to re-visit. The money is starting to run out and yet, money comes and goes so one better spend it wisely... or decadently... or on a whim. For me, this time of my life means spending it in all the above mentioned ways and more! I have to mention I bid for my flight online ... and won!! I got a pretty sweet deal from www.skyauction.com. Hoping it is not a complete scam, I should be making it out to Singapore by Jan 18th and then jumping on another flight to Australia the following day. I will miss a much desired stopover in Tokyo, but maybe when the coffers are a bit fuller (or I get sent off to update Japan's Lonely Planet issue) I will return. As for New Zealand, I have promised to make that a trip in itself with a deserved 6-8 weeks MINIMUM. I will pass by my beloved Chiang Mai for a few days and then return to the Philippines... and see whether I can make a living there at all. Wish me luck and please keep reading the blog!

kid's joy!

My Mom has been planning this holiday for over 2 years now; to take my 5 year old nephew to Disney World. My parents took me there when I was 6 and despite what people may say, I do remember many things (that are not sparked memories from photographs!). I remembered it being an assault on my senses, an unbearable excitement, a dream I never wanted to wake up from! Much has happened in the last 30 years and many other more modern parks have opened up around the globe. However, Disney maintains a certain charm even for adults (despite many rides being a bit dated). This year, just watching my nephew's eyes light up in joy, amazement and surprise made it all worth it again. I've attached a picture so you can see what I mean! Oh.... and of course, me being unemployed and all that, and traveling with what my parents call "jeta-credit" (i.e. they pay for it all) made the experience even more sublime! Thanks Mom & Dad for a great New Year's gift!!