Last.FM
Honeymoon
Oct
4
2009
0So we arrived back home today. Somewhat delayed, we were supposed to get back yesterday but there was something of a cock up in the flight booking. It transpired that we did not in fact have a flight from Heathrow to Schipol but a flight from Schipol to Heathrow. British Airways couldn’t (or wouldn’t) help us change the ticket into something we could use so we we wen to the KLM desk to get a ticket a comedy of other things went wrong leaving us with no other option but to stay a night a Heathrow and fly out to Amsterdam this morning. We stayed at the Hilton… which was nice. A fantastic night’s sleep, we slept 11 hours straight.
On returning home I found that the house felt really unfamiliar. It has been over a month since I was here last so I’ve been taking a while to get reacquainted. Strange feeling.
The trip was fantastic and although I have enjoyed it thoroughly I’m really glad to be home now and not living out of a suitcase and using single serving soaps in a bathroom that (however nice) is not quite right. There are a lot of impressions to take in many of which have been shared on this blog.
Back to work tomorrow. I’m quite looking forward to it, if only I can remember what it is that I do…
Oct
2
2009
0
Last night we ate out in a restaurant that boasted 5 different styles of cuisine and 5 different chefs. You could choose any combination of dish from any of the different menus. The food was very special but the restaurant itself was the ground floor of a shopping centre.
It wasn’t any common or garden shopping centre of course. The restaurant “Shook!” was in the Starhill Gallery. This mall is 6 floors of the most disgusting opulence that you are every likely to see. Each floor is themed and all of the heavy hitters are there. Every big label that you may have seen in a posh department store is represented with their own store. We walked around noting famous label after famous label.
After a while it made me feel quite ill. Only a very small percentage of the population could shop here. Most single items would cost 6 months salary for me. It just seemed somehow wrong. However, it was awful pretty.
After that Catriona and I went down the street to have a massage before bedtime. We didn’t partake but many places were offering a fish spa where you dunk your feet in a fish tank and the fish nibble at the dead bits of skin on your feet.
Oct
1
2009
0
So the final leg of the trip starts. We have arrived in KL and are staying in a very swanky hotel called the Grand Millenium. I’m sitting in the lobby as I type this admiring their 10 metre high chandelier and gold fountain. It is like bling was invented here. Although I don’t reckon much to their wine.
Anyhoo we took a ride on the monorail to Chinatown where we swatted off traders. We then went to the Central Market which was full of lovely things.
Kuala Lumpur is a strange mixture of cultures. One moment it is clearly Muslim and then on the next street Chinese and then further still down the road there is a British colonial influence. Where we are staying there is the distinct odour of opulence.
Last night for instance we went to a bar called Sultan which was really something else. It was designer furniture everywhere cool choons from the DJ and more staff than I had seen in a bar for a long time. There was almost a waitress per booth. Cat loved it because it was so pretty. I’ll put a few pictures up soon. Tonight we go for Malaysian food.
Sep
27
2009
0
So we are back in Sydney for a couple of nights. We are staying at the Radisson Plaza, a very nice hotel indeed.
We went to the Orbit bar which is on the 47th floor of a tower block. It is a rotating bar that takes 1hr 45 mins to do a complete turn. The views from that height are pretty amazing but unphotographable with the little cameras that we have.
Still we had lovely cocktails and then headed off to Darlinghurst for another couple. Sydney sure is sleepy on a Sunday night. We ended up back at the hotel and ordered room service. It was a midnight feast that I am still digesting the following morning.
Sep
26
2009
0Our last day in Queensland is much the same as the others. We have nothing planned except to laze around relaxing. We have just cracked open a bottle of wine and are watching the AFL final between St. Kilda and Geelong. This is a good game. AFL is a very entertaining sport, brutal but entertaining. St. Kilda lost the game by the way.
We went into Palm Cove for dinner and then home to pack. This week has been super relaxed I’m left feeling so very chilled. It is lovely to hear the sea beating down on the beach. Sydney tomorrow…
Sep
22
2009
0Been really quiet on the reports of the trip because we have been doing pretty much nothing. High quality, indisputable nothing. It’s fantastic. The apartment in Clifton Beach (just north of Cairns) is excellent, spacious and overlooking the beach.
After settling in we wandered up to Palm Cove where the nearest bars are. We had a mildly disappointing dinner and then a few drinks and a chat with a nice Melbourne couple that we met.
The following morning we had to get up at 6:15 to go snorkelling out on the reef. Curiously Catriona didn’t feel very well and the bus ride into Cairns did nothing to improve her condition. After a lovely cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef we had a good snorkel around. I got to see a turtle and I most definitely found Nemo. It was a wonderful experience. Frankly I would do it every day if I could.
Yesterday was kind of cloudy and hazy and was designated a resting day. So we did just that. We ordered a pizza in an watched TV. Lovely.
Today we booked flights back to Sydney. We fly out on Sunday spend a couple of nights there, then one night in Melbourne and then off to KL. The highlight of today was that I wagered $50 that Cat could not finish off her big plate of potato wedges as well as her salad. ’twas a foolish bet in the extreme. Slowly but surely she polished off the spuds but was barely capable of speech afterwards.
We have no real plans for tomorrow, there is a kind of lazy vibe in the air. If we can muster the energy we might go on the Skyrail into the rainforest.
Sep
20
2009
0
Yesterday we walked to Bondi beach. It didn’t look very far on the map. Funny that. However, it took a good hour and 3/4 to get there. It was in fact a nice walk, in beautiful weather; it just longer than I was expecting.
When we got there we had a nice picnic. Relaxing was a little difficult as behind us there was a gang of youths teasing a beach bum. (Gang of youths?When did I start to sound like an old man?) the poor fella was getting really agitated. Someone had to intervene in the end.
Then the clouds came over and it started to spot with rain. So up we got and packed our stuff away. By the time we had done that the rain had stopped. We had a little walk along the beach to where there was a skate park. There we saw the funniest thing. A small boy of no more than 3 years was skating along with the rest of them. The little lad had absolutely no fear at all. All of the larger skaters were speeding around him an he was blissfully unaware. He was beaming from ear to ear, having a great time.
We got the bus home for an early night. Early flight to Cairns… ugh.
Sep
19
2009
0
We slept in a bit this morning. However, we managed to make breakfast. I had the slightly surreal experience of having an Irish breakfast in a Turkish cafe at 1pm.
After that headed off down Oxford Street, where parties were still going on from the night before, to the Paddington Markets. Along the way Catriona found some shops that sell pretty things. Sometimes the shiny things of the shops can be a distraction.
The Paddington markets were also full of shiny things. Not like the tat that we found at the Victoria market in Melbourne, this market was all goods aimed at folk with money. Gourmet dog food, expensive hats, high quality signs for the toilet door and so on can all be found here if you look hard enought. If that is your bag.
We headed off back down Oxford street to the Opera House where we were meeting up with Catriona’s cousin Anne and family. After a couple of drinks and a chat we headed back to the hotel to change for dinner.
Tonight’s feast was Lebanese. It was nothing special, a fairly ordinary plate of falafels served with some of the restaurant’s legendary homos (sic) and a beer.
After dinner we went to the Internet cafe next door to book a hotel in Cairns. It looks like we have somewhere nice but more of that later. I also checked the flight time for Monday. 8:40 ugh!
Sep
18
2009
0
Today (Friday 18th) we wandered from our hotel down to the Circular Quay. We had a poke around the Opera House. The place is amazing. What is weird is that the building is not as white as it appears in pictures. The way that light reflects off the surface is quite magical and unpredictable. It was quite wonderful.
What was remarkable was that we were sitting in a place that seemed familiar, because it is such a famous location, and yet it was at the same time unfamiliar. It was a strange feeling.
After that we went to the Botanical Gardens to have a picnic. We sat in this beautiful space for a while and then pottered around the gardens. It is huge and stunning. One if it’s biggest surprises was the large pack (?) of flying foxes that hung in the trees. There were so many if them hanging there like fruit.
After a quick stop back at the hotel to shower and change we went back to the Opera House to watch a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado”. The show was great fun, brilliantly realised in terms of performance, costume and scenery. An excellent night out.
Sep
15
2009
0
Yesterday we went on a tour down the Great Ocean Road. Travelling in a small six seater coach we went from Melbourne to Torquay and then along the coast road until we got to Port Campbell. Sadly we didn’t get as far round as Peterborough. It would have been cool to visit the place named after my hometown.
Along the way we took in some breathtaking views. We failed to see any kangaroos. I don’t see how they can be so much of a pest as they seem to hide very well. We did however see quite a few koalas. We saw one with a baby. Sadly it was not very close up as the trees they live in are pretty damn tall.
It was a pretty tiring day being driven from 8am until 7pm although we did manage to get some good sleep in on the way back. I’d say that this trip would be better done over a few days because you hardly get a chance to take it all in.
On returning to Melbourne we met up with the Christensens for cocktails in this mental bar called Der Raum in Richmond. None of the cocktails were recognisable. Catriona had something that was served in a small whiskey bottle in a brown paper bag. Someone else had a cocktail that involved a jam jar, a sherbet pill and a syringe. Mental place.
After that we went home and watched Seven Pounds. It was an entertaining movie and all but we only counted six.