Back home in Scarborough. Wow. 4.5 months have come and gone just like that. I've been to desserts in Rajasthan and the Australian outback, snowcapped mountains in New Zealand, castles in Edinburgh in modern beautiful cities like Mumbai, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Aucland, Wellington, Christchurch and Edinburgh. What a fantastic way to spend the last few months. Met some cool people. Had a lot of Amazing experiences and ate some Delicious food.

 

I must say though - it's really nice to be home with people that I've missed for a long time. I can't wait to catch up with everyone and I think I might have a couple final entries still pending on this site. Unfortunately, I can't upoload the rest of my photos because I've exceeded my monthly upload limit for July. So, come August 1 - you will all see the final shots (some of the best ones actually at Milford Sound, Snowboarding at Coronet peak, Christchurch city, London city and the Edinburgh castle)

 

Thanks for coming along on the ride - it's officially done and this site will be officially finished soon too.

 

 

I arrived in London 2 calender days after I left New Zealand but because of the wonders of the date line, I was able to push back time and I literarlly got about 24 extra hours which was REALLY cool. It's like large chunks of that plane journey don't really exist. So, how did I pass the time on the Air New Zealand flights? Well for starters, I watched A LOT of movies. 5 in total. Then, a bunch of tv shows and finally, I played a lot of Tetris. I really can't imagine a long hall flight without your own tv and on demand movies and shows. It just helps the time pass by so much.

 

The weather here is nuts! And definitely a stark contrast from the winter I was experiencing in the Southern hemisphere. Some people were saying it's probably the first time someone has flown from New Zealand to London and exclaimed that the weather in London was nicer than in New Zealand. I went from 5 degrees and sunsets at 5:00 pm to 33 degrees and sunsets at 10:00 pm. I'm not a big fan of the heat and humidity but I'll take the ~16 hours of daylight anyday!

 

I've been in London now for a week and it's been cool cause I've absolutely just been chilling out. Each day, I don't get up till about 9:00 or 10:00 am and then I eat some breakfast, watch some tv, read a bit and get planning on my day. My days have been pretty good and relatively busy. Last week, I finally saw the Lion King musical which was such an amazing show! The colours, costumes, music were all wonderful. I also went to Wimbledon and got some amazing court 1 action where I saw Rafael Nadal beat Jarko Niemenan. Wimbledon is full of so much tradition and it's just such an amazing event - I'm really glad I went and got to experience that. And honestly, live tennis is quite exciting to watch. Oh yeah, did I mention I was sitting in the 5th row as well? Yeah, I did all right with that.

 

On the weekend, Raj, Pari and I went to Edinburgh in Scotland. It's a cheap flight we bought back in January for like £19 or somethign. (As an aside, air travel in Europe is AWESOME). Edinburgh is a charming city with amazing architecture, cool night spots, friendly people and yummy food. You honestly can't ask for much more (other than slightly warmer weather). Over the 2 days, I did a tonne of walking and exploring the castles, parliament buildings, gardens and galleries. We also did a nightime Edinburgh Ghost and Torture tour which was entertaining. Edinburgh actually has quite a dark past from a couple centuries ago with an entire "underground city" below the bowels of the main city core. In the past, all of the homeless and less fortunate souls had to live down there in very undesireable conditions. Most died of disease and famine and if they managed to survive, they were probably murdered by others. It was really a scary past that we learned about. I defintely enjoyed Edinburgh and would love to go back as I just got a taste of it. We stayed in a cosy b&b within walking distance of the city core. I also tried haggis. I won't describe what's inside but if you are extra interested, just click here to be grossed out.

 

Seeing as we bought this flight back in January, we obviously weren't thinking about the World Cup at the time. And it cost us because our flight was at 7:30 pm Edinburgh time. So, we saw the first 25 minutes of the game (both goals actually) at the airport before boarding our flight. Then, once we landed in London - we RAN to the bar on the departures lounge to catch the game (if it was in extra time). Luckily we got there just as Extra Time was starting and we managed to see eveything (including the very unfortunate Zizo/Matarazzi clash). I don't excuse Zidane at all for what he did because he is a captain and a professional athlete and should know better and if he was being insulted, berrated, etc - he should have risen above it. I guess it is easier said than done though. What really sucks though is that a lot of people will only remember this incident when they think of his career. They aren't true fans though and don't totally understand what he has done for the game of football. The sad image of him walking past the World Cup with his head bowed in shame will appear in mind for a long long time.

 

I've had a good couple of days in London since getting back from Edinburgh. On Monday, Sam and I met up for some yummy turkish food for lunch and yesterday, Clara and I met for a fun picnic/siteseeing expedition in the park. I got to see Suhas last night as well so that was GREAT and then a bunch of Raj's mates came over for dinner so all in all, it's been good times with friends and feasts.

 

All I can say is "Wow, that was quick". I can't believe I'm already back here in London at my brother's place. It doesn't seem like too long ago that I was at his old flat and I had started this blog. That date was February 27 to be exact. And now, roughly 125 days later, I am back here almost ready to go home. Before I get there though, I've gotta have some fun here in the UK don't I?

 

And before I get to that, I suppose I should let you know about the end of my trip in NZ. I told you all about snowboarding on Canada Day which was an absolute blast and once I get onto a highspeed connection, I'll upload a bunch of pics from that glorious day. That night, it was a lot of fun because the gang all went out for some drinks at a couple local bars in Queenstown. I wore my Canada hat and a red and white t-shirt in honour of the day and there were actually several Canadians all around the place. After the fun evening, everyone stayed up because the England - Portugal quarterfinal World Cup match was on at like 3:00 in the morning. I stayed up as much as I could but I'm afraid I just couldn't make it past the 1st half so I went to bed and found out the result in the morning (In some ways, I'm kinda glad I was tired because seeing how pissed off English fans were after that game would have been kinda bad).

 

The next day, I left for Christchurch which was an aboslutely spectacular drive through mountains, over passes and beside enormous lakes. The snow was pretty much lightly dusted everywhere so it was really pretty - especially when the sun would shine through the clouds and sparkle on the finely dusted snow. Christchurch is quite a pretty city with a TONNE of gardens and green space all snaking around right through the city. I enjoyed my day there and did a lot of walking and breathing in the fresh air.

 

Why you ask? Well, I was getting ready for the grueling 24+ flights ahead of me. In total, there were 3: Christchurch to Auckland (1 hour but delayed by 1 hour). Auckland to Los Angeles (12 hours). Los Angeles to London (11 hours). And yeah, you did see that correctly - last Tuesday at around 6:00 pm, I flew right over Toronto and waved at a lot of you. Too bad I didn't get a chance to stop.

 

Overall, I had really good impressions of New Zealand primarily because of the scenery and most of the locals that I met. I found them to be very genuine and hospitable. The scenery absolutely speaks for itself. I don't think I've been on so many scenic modes of transport whether it was flights, bus rides or boat rides. And it was always tough for me because I wanted to capture everything on camera which wasn't always an easy task. There are parts of New Zealand that I missed so I have a reason to go back. Who knows - maybe some day I'll be back in the south.

Sorry about my lack of attentiveness to this site. It hasn't been for lack of trying. It's just that Internet of late hasn't been easy to come by and then when I do find it, the computers are really crappy and coin operated and you can't plug in cameras, memory card readers, etc. So for starters - I've uploaded HEAPS of new photos from my time in NZ so please check those out.

 

I've only got 2 days left in NZ and then it's back to London to spend some time with Raj and Pari and then, home in about two weeks (I can't believe it).

 

The last 10 or so days have been great. Franz Josef was definitely a huge highlight. The downside of the last while has been that I was quite sick (with what I think was food poisoning) for a while... But, I'm much better now and eating everything again. I've met some really cool people in the last little while so that has made it a lot more fun. Two of them were Canadians.

 

Speaking of Canada - today is CANADA DAY so happy Canada Day to all. Guess how I spent it??? I went snowboarding today at Coronet Peak. It was absolutely brilliant. We had a flag on the hill and it was a blast.

 

I'm leaving for Christchurch tomorrow and my 22 hour flight is looming in a couple of days. A belated happy father's day to all out there and also a special shoutout to my parents who have both celebrated birthdays this week.

 

See you all soon!

Hey everyone, sorry that it's been so long since my last post. I haven't been feeling too well of late so I have been resting. Anyway, I feel 100% better tonight so here I am...

 

The East Coast of the North Island of NZ was quite a nice chance of pace. I drank some good wine and had some nice relazing time. I met local NZers and a few local Maori people which was quite nice. The places that we stayed were definitely the highlight though. The first night, we were at a place called the Surf Chalet in a town called Gisborne. I was in a really nice hostel with a huge kitchen right on the coast facing the ocean - got a great view of the sunset so it was awesome. The next night, we stayed in a place called Rangitukia and it was on the far east coast. We stayed at a Maori farm and my friends and I were the first in the world to see the sunrise that day. It was a really cool experience. We climbed up this hill at around 6:00 am to do it but it was well worth it. While at the farm stay, I also went horseriding for the first time which was quite the experience. My horse's name was Brownie and she was really tame and good. Just a little slow - but that's actually pretty good since it was my first time... The final night of our trip was at a place called East Cape where we stayed in a Home stay with a Maori family. They had a hottub right on the beach by the ocean so we could sit in the hot tub and watch the sunset. Actually, it was quite cool cause I ended up seeing the sunrise and set in the same day which was pretty sweet.

 

Got back to Taupo after the East coast trip and chilled out for a few days before going to a place called River Valley for some Grade 5 White Water Rafting which was pretty fun. The hostel at River Valley was literally in the middle of nowhere. There were a bunch of Canadian people working there too which was kinda cool. After River Valley, it was off to Wellington (NZ's capital city) which was definitely really nice. I did an awesome Lord of the Rings movie tour while in Wellington which requires a separate blog to tell you everything I learned. The museum in Wellington is called Te Papa and they have a Lord of the Rings exhitbit there right now too - it's so amazing. I didn't have enough time to properly see it though :o(

 

I crossed the Bass Straight from Welliington to Picton last Monday and now I'm on the South Island. More stories to come...

 

Kia Ora for starters which means hello or welcome or is generally just a nice greeting that maoris give to each other. So far, my time here in New Zealand has been quite action packed and pretty fun. I am travelling with a tour company designed specifically for backpackers called Kiwi Experience. I am enjoying it but at the same time, if someone else was here with me or if I had befriended a couple of fellow passengers before the trip began, I would have preferred to hire a car and drive around myself because then I could just go at my own pace and not have to rush through things or spend too much time in other places.
 
The Maori culture is so alive and thriving in this country. It is actually quite refreshing to see, especially after seeing how the Aboriginal culture is treated in Australia. A lot of the good aspects of the Maori way of life and attitude are generally permeated throughout everything that is done here. I flew into Auckland, which was quite a cute city. I wasn't there too long at all so unfortunately, didn't get a very good feel for it. That said - I think I would enjoy it if I was there longer. However, it was VERY COLD there. I'm pretty sure the South Island of New Zealand is going to be even colder because it's the dead of their winter so that should be interesting.
 
So, while I'm in New Zealand - what is there to do??? It pretty much comes down to 3 things. Lord of the Rings, Rugby/Adventure Sports and Maori Culture
 
1) Lord of the Rings
For this, I went to Matamata which is the home of the private farm that Peter Jackson used to build the "Shire" for the hobbits. Unfortunately, virtually all of the sets are gone now and the only thing left is the "Welcome to Hobbitton" sign. The town actually renamed itself Hobbitton but too many locals or tourists couldn't find signs anymore pointing in the correct direction so they changed it back to Matamata. There might be more LOTR stuff to see on the South Island but all the formal tours are VERY expensive so we'll see what happens.
 
2) Rugby/Adventure Sports
I saw the New Zealand National team (the All Blacks) play an international test match against Ireland last night at Waikato stadium in Hamilton. It was a lot of fun and quite a fun sport to watch live, especially because the All Blacks came back and one the match in the end. I definitely liked watching this brand of Rugby (Union) over the match I saw in Australia two weeks ago (League).
 
As far as Adventure sports go, well I've already done a few and have a few more yet to experience. For starters, I went Sea Kayaking in the Corundal region in a place called Mercury Bay. It was a beautiful afternoon. We got to see some sea lions and enjoyed hot chocolates on the beach (which were amazing especially when the sun went down) And man, when the sun went down, it got COLD.
 
I also tried a relatively new activity. Something called Zorbing. Check out the link. Yep, that's right - I rolled down a hill in a ball filled with water. I did it with 2 other people - a couple of UW engineers that I met on my tour. The cool part is that I went to school at UW with Jess' sister Amanda about 4 years ago but the two of us had never met before.
 
I also did an amazing trip called the Black Abyss in the Waitomo Caves. It included Absailing down a narrow 35 metre cave in the dark (with only a headlamp). I was quite scared during this because you are literally just hanging from a rope the whole way down. Once inside the cave, we got to do some Zip Lining, which basically meant that our harness was connected to a line and we went for a 50 metre ride over the water. Doesn't sound that bad does it? Try doing that in complete Pitch Black Darkness. Absolutely scary but totally beautiful especially with all the bioluminescent glowworms hanging around on the ceiling, The trip ended with us climibing up 3 waterfalls. No ropes, no nothing. Just old school climbing on slippery rocks to get out. Simply amazing!
 
AND TODAY, I jumped off a plane at 12,000 feet above the ground. Yep that's right. I WENT SKY DIVING!!! I experienced 45 seconds of freefall. It was absolutely amazing. I think I built it up in my head to be a lot scarier than it actually ended up being. But wow, it was such a cool experience. Definitely a once in a lifetime thing. Words can't describe the freefall feeling. Once the chute was opened, I was just sitting back and enjoying the view. What a beautiful way to experience the lovely scenery around here. I saw snowcapped mountains, a great lake and amazing greenery for miles and miles.

 

I attended a traditional Maori dinner and experienced first hand the feast called a Hungi and the concert. It was a site to be seen and definitely worth it if you ever come here. As I said earlier, the culture is so rich and beautiful.

I'm off to the East Coast tomorrow for a few days to experience true Maori culture. I'm definitely looking forward to it. And seeing Whale Rider last week has defintiely made me more pumped.

Wow, two months come and go just like that. I can't believe it. I arrived here back in early April and have really enjoyed my time here in Australia. I leave for New Zealand tomorrow morning and I am definitely feeling a little bittersweet. It will be very nice to move on and experience something new but leaving Australia and all the new friends I've made here in Sydney is going to be difficult.

 

Overall, my impressions of Australia are quite good. I definitely think I'll be back here again at some point in the future. There is still so much I didn't see and get to experience. In fact, I missed out on several key touristy things here in Sydney alone like Manley beach, a daytime harbour cruise, touring inside the Opera House and the Aquarium. Well, I guess it gives me something good to look forward to whenever it is that I return.

 

It's late and I'm not as introspective as I thought I'd be so I'll keep this farewell short and sweet. Waiting for me is a new adventure in a really cool country. I'm keen to go to New Zealand - it should be great! By the way, if you haven't seen Whale Rider yet - you should definitely check it out!!! What an amazing movie.

 

Kia Ora!

 

I last spoke with you guys when I was in Hervay Bay, just after my brilliant trip sailing in the Whitsundays and the day before I left for a 2-day excursion to Fraser Island. Fraser is the largest completely sand island in the world. From the photos, you can see that you can do a lot of cool driving around on the sand right by the water. But, you need special 4x4 vehicles because it's difficult to drive in the sand and you can get stuck very easily. I travelled with a cool group of people from all around (Canada, the Netherlands, England and Ireland). We had a lot of fun travelling through the rainforests, seeing Dingos and checking out all the sites (including Lake Birraben, where we did some exfoliating with the sand).

 

On this trip, I've met a tonne of travellers along the way and one central thing is common, they are almost all quite young in the 19 - 21 age group. I'm not saying that I'm an old guy or anything but when I'm talking to these other backpackers and find out that they were born in 1985 or 1986, it really makes me feel like a grandpa amongst them. Oh well, it makes for fun times and I've enjoyed meeting most (certainly not all) of them.

 

From Fraser island, I took an overnight bus to Brisbane and hung out with some familiar faces. First, it was with my cousin Ashwini. She's studying in Brisbane at the moment but it was cool that we got to spend some time together, especially cause I missed her at the wedding in India back in March. We saw some sites, randomly ran into one of the guys (Andrew from Calgary) from my Whitsundays trip on a bus in the city). We also went to the Australia Zoo, home of the famous Crocodile Hunter - Mr. Steve Irwin. That was quite a neat experience. Definitely a bit on the commercialized side with the "Crocoseum" and all but still fun and educational nonetheless. While in Brisbane, I also spent some time with my friend Jacelyn. That was cool and her and I cooked some good meals together so it was definitely nice to get back in the kitchen for a little while.

 

I got back to Sydney last week (May 24) and it felt like I was "home". I think Sydney is quite comfortable for me cause I have a lot of friends there now. I went to this huge Rugby match last week at Sydney Olympic Stadium. It's called the State of Origin. It's a match between New South Wales and Queensland and it's a battle to see which is the better state at rugby. NSW was winning the match 16-0 going into the second half so it was quite boring. Queensland came back and tied it with 2 minutes left and then NSW kicked a single and won the game 17-16 with 30 seconds left. All 76,000 fans left quite excited by the ending so it was definitely a cool experience.

 

I also met up with some friends from Toronto last week while I was in Sydney. I got to spend the day with Bobby on Thursday which was a blast. He'e here right now visiting his fiance and it was really good to catch up with him and that really brought back good memories of home. I also got to see Brenda again and we chilled out and made some good meals too. And I got to see Kulvir who is also working in Sydney. So, last week was a mini Toronto reunion of sorts so that was kinda cool.

 

The last couple days, I went to Australia's capital - Canberra. It is pretty much just like you'd expect a Capital city to be. Kinda boring, a few scenic sites to check out and generally just a place to chill out for a bit. We did a lot of walking. I was there with two buddies, Vik and Niv - both of whom are really solid guys. I'm really glad I've gotten to know them well during this trip. I can see us staying good friends for years and who knows, it looks like there might be future trips down the road... And probably more "man tests of strength" as well.

 

I'm back in Melbourne right now. I came to meet up with a couple friends and check out some parts of the city that I missed last time. I have gotten a good vibe of Melbourne in both of my visits here. That could be primarily because of all the excellent food I've eaten. In these two days alone I've had Mexican, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Japanese. Who knows what tomorrow has in store. Thanks a lot to Erica and Joel who have been such amazing hosts while I'm here in Melbourne.

 

I must say though - the best part of travelling is the food you get to enjoy. A close second is the people you meet. The stories you can share and the things you learn. It's really neet cause everyone has a really cools story. I've met probably close to 30 or 40 people who quit there jobs to go travelling. They've bought around the world tickets and are just doing similar things to what I'm doing. They are from all walks of life and varied ages (most are in their early to mid 20's). And the careers that people have are so cool too. I've met lawyers, doctors, restaurant owners, musicians, costume designers and actors.

 

That's it for now.

I'm off to New Zealand next week so that should be a blast!

 

Last week, I was at that point of my trip where I was starting to get a little home sick. 2.5 months have passed and now, it's officially the longest I've been away (more than Asia 2002). That said, things have changed and I am now feeling rejuvenated.

 

Cairns was my stop after my tour in the Red Centre. Cairns is a huge tourist trap with tonnes of info centres and tour agencies trying to tell you where to go and what to spend your money on. There are so many options and it's downright confusing (on purpose I'm sure). The bad thing is though that Australians generally are not very helpful. As an aside, the service industry in this country stinks. Whether your getting some coffee, lunch or trying on some clothes - no one really cares and NO one will ever go that extra mile to help you out or be accomodating for a slightly different request. Cairns reminded me a lot of Miami actually with the water close by and because it's the starting point for so many different activities. It also has that seedy nightlife and lots of not so savoury characters.

 

I tried to minimize my time in Cairns but while I was there, I took in a few sites. Notably, me and some friends from my Uluru tour rented a car and drove up to Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas and Daintree National Park. Cape Trib was really cool and we stayed in hostel right in the middle of the rain forest. That was definitely a very neat experience. Getting to that hostel (Cape Trib Beach House) was a whole other story though. When we arrived, it was pouring rain and pitch black. The street signs were terrible and trying to figure out where to go and how to get there was basically impossible. We also didn't want to get into any trouble in the rental car and some of the roads were so muddy and steep, we weren't sure we were gonna get through them okay. In the end, it all worked out but I was definitely stressed and I had to do all the driving because I was the only one over 25 in the car. Port Douglas was a really cute little city with a great vibe to it. I definitely enjoyed it and would love to go back some time.

 

Once back in Cairns, I made a couple day trips. First, to Kuranda where I saw Barron Falls and rode on the Skyrail and Scenic Kuranda railway. Kuranda is a cute little village but it is just about as tacky as Niagara Falls when it comes to touristy stuff. Next, I went to Green Island for my first snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. I think I've solidified it now that I am not a very comfortable diver or snorkeller. I think it's the salt water that gets to me most. I just don't like the taste at all and when I swallow even a tsp full, it's too much and I start coughing and spitting everything up. I saw some fish but definitely not as much as I would have liked but I'm told the conditions weren't that great so I'm not too upset.

 

From Cairns, I went down to Townsville and took a ferry across to a place called Magnetic Island. While there for a couple days, I met a bunch of Canadians (a guy from Victoria and two sisters from Edmonton). Magnetic Island was a pretty chilled out place. I was sick of doing the hostel thing so I decided to splurge a little and stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. I left Magnetic and got to Airlie Beach on Saturday the 13th.

 

Sunday the 14th is when my trip took a nice turn upwards. I started my sailing adventure in the Whitsunday islands. It was such a great experience and I'm so glad I did it. It's definitely one of my highlights of this trip so far. The weather was perfect. The snorkelling was pretty good (and I was feeling a lot more comfortable underwater). The food was yummy too and all the peeps I met were pretty cool. We even got to sail through really horrible rainy weather yesterday on our way home so that made the experience more complete. The sea-sickness pills I took helped as well since I didn't feel any symptoms at all so that was great.

 

I'm in Hervey Bay right now, the gateway to Frasor Island. I'm heading to Frasor on a tour for the next couple of days. Then on Saturday, I'm going to Brisbane to spend a couple days with my cousin Ashwini. Time for some dinner. I might go for some Indian food cause I'm craving...

 

Finally, a belated Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. Especially Sharavati, Jennifer and Gina, some of the most recent moms.

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I decided to go to Uluru, the Olgas and King's Canyon on a tour. It was with a company called Outback Safari and the tour I went on was a 3.5 day camping trip around the outback. It was a really great experience and I met some pretty interesting people from all parts of the world. There were 7 English people, 2 South Koreans, 6 Germans, 1 Japanese, 3 French, 1 Italian and myself on the tour and it was a blast. Our guide (Mika) was quite knowledgeable because he's originally from Alice Springs and he's 1/2 aboriginal so he knew a lot of the history and reasoning behind certain practices and customs.

 

The major highlight of the trip was definitely climbing Uluru. It is frowned upon by the local Aboriginal people because it is a sacred site and only certain people are supposed to climb it. I decided to do it anyway because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and more importantly - I disagree with the ruling at present. Basically, the local aboriginal people DON'T want non-Aboriginals to climb it but at the same time, they won't close it completely to tourists. Instead, they still give us that option. Why you ask? Because of these - $$$$$$. If they closed it completely, they would face a sharp drop in tourists and then what could they do? So really it's a catch-22 situation for sure.

 

The major lowlight had to be the flies. I just can't imagine how bad the flies would be if it was summer and +40 degrees out there. Those fly masks worked from time to time but definitely didn't do that great a job.

 

We slept outside in Australian sleeping bags called swags. It was brilliant cause we were under the stars for three days. There was absolutely no light polution. It's too bad I don't know much about the sky in the Southern Hemisphere - I would have really liked to know what we were looking at. Each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we cooked together and prepared our meals as well so that was quite a lot of fun.

 

After the tour concluded, we headed back to Alice Springs and stayed one night. Alice Springs is quite a boring little town but for one night/day I guess it's okay. I definitely wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time there. One funny thing happened to me at our hostel... They ran out of rooms and couldn't offer me any other dorms, so I got my own bed in a private room (apparently, it's called the "Romance Room". Needless to say, I had a good nights sleep.

 

The next day, after receiving a text message from Qantas at 5:00 am telling me that the flight was delayed, we visited the Baby Kangaroo Rescue Centre which was an absolutely brilliant thing to do. The kangaroos are so cute and I learned a lot from the guide. He used to work in zoos and now, he does this full time and nurses young orphaned kangaroos until they are ready to be released to the wild. Also, people can "adopt" them but they have to take care of them for the whole time. They take them home, bring them to work - basically like a little kid - they have several needs.

 

Got to the airport late and made our way to Cairns to begin my journey down the East Coast.

 

Well, my week in Adelaide is now finished and tomorrow morning (in about 8 hours), I'm flying to Alice Springs to start my Northern Territory adventure. From there, it's up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

 

Just a quick recap of my last 9 days. After Melbourne, I drove along the Great Ocean Road with Brenda. We had a really good time getting to know each other and seeing all the scenery. Both of us were pretty good with our driving skills as well so I guess that was a good thing. AT times, it's a bit of a treacherous drive cause you are pretty much going along a cliff but the views are breathtaking especially for the passenger. And, since it's right side drive here - and we were driving west, the passenger always had a great view. The first stop along the way (actually before the Great Ocean Road) was Bell's Beach. That's the place where the last scene in Point Break was supposedly filmed (where Patrick Swayze goes to surf the 50-Year-Storm, a weather pattern that yields 200-ft high waves). There was a Rip Curl surfing competition going on but I think we just missed it. We stopped in Apollo Bay for a music festival. I was quite amused b/c tourist operators in Melbourne were making me think this was some huge festival with road closures, etc like Live 8 or Woodstock or something. Turns out that it was pretty rinky-dink but all the people in town were pretty excited. The 12 Apostles (actually there are only 7 of them now) were a pretty cool site so that was nice to see them. We spent the night in Port Fairy at a really nice B&B and had dinner at this local seafood restaurant. Brenda and I shared the Captain's Choice - $90 of seafood goodness (prawns, oysters, calamari, fish and chips, bugs, scallops and salad). It was A LOT of food but in retrospect, probably not a wise $90 spent. In any case, we enjoyed it and pretty much rolled back to our room tired and drunk.

 

Sunday morning came and after a nice breakfast in our room overlooking the bay and the sound of the crashing water on the beach, we started the drive for Adelaide with a stop in Mount Gambier for lunch. This drive was less scenic although by mid-afternoon, we did end up going through the Coonawara Wine Region and we passed Wolf Blass, Lindemens and some other vineyards.

 

We arrived in Adelaide at my uncle's place that night and hung out with the family before hitting the sac. The next day, we had to get up really early to catch a cab into the city for our bus tour to Kangaroo island. At 6:15 am, we sat waiting for the cab driver. No sign of him. My uncle got up and we were a little frantic trying to figure out what was going on. Turns out that there is a 30 minute time differnece b/w South Australia (the state Adelaide is in) and the Eastern states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria). So, we were actually early by 30 minutes. Actually, we had lost out on 30 minutes of sleep - that's the other way to look at it.

 

Kangaroo Island was a pleasant surprise and it was really great cause we saw a lot of wildlife including kangaroos (if we didn't see those, that would have just been silly), koalas, seals and even little penguins that do this march from the beach to their home every night at dusk.

 

The rest of my week in Adelaide was quite relaxing with my uncle's family. It was definitely nice to just chill here for a few days and enjoy the luxuries at this beautiful house. I had a lot of fun and it was great to spend time with family.

 

Now, the rest of my journey begins...

Wish me luck.

 

Folks, I'm in Adelaide right now - tired and frustrated.

The trip is going really well but technical difficulties are really starting to annoy me.

 

1. MSN Spaces has an upload limit for photos and I've exceeded it so I have to wait till next month (May 1) to continue uploading photos. I managed to get some of my Tasmania photos up but that's it. Also, I deleted a bunch of older photos from my early India albums (Rajasthan specifically) because I thought I needed to make room since it wasn't letting me upload photos.

 

2. I have typed this blog entry 3 times now and this PC I'm on keeps turning off on it's own and giving me the wonderful Windows Blue Screen of death so that is not a good thing at all.

 

Anyway, let me try to briefly outline what I had already written. For starters, my departure from Tasmania was a bit of an adventure. I was taking a ferry (the Spirit of Tasmania) from Tasmania to Melbourne. Sounds easy enough right? Well, I was in Launceston and had booked a bus ticket to take me to Devonport (where the boat departs from). I got to the bus station about 20 minutes early and was just chilling waiting for my bus. All of a sudden, I realize that it's past 5:30 and I never got called for my bus. I went to the counter and asked the lady and she said "I made a call for passengers 5 minutes ago - where were you???" I didn't hear her. Anyway, the bus had already left the parking lot so I went running after him and managed to flag him down at the next intersection. I got inside because she called the bus driver in the mean time to tell him that someone had missed the bus. Wow, that was quite a stressful way to start my journey.

 

In Melbourne, I stayed with my buddy Quincy from high school. He's working as a teacher out there. I had a blast hanging at Quincy's place so thanks a lot for your excellent hospitality man! Melbourne itself is a really great city. There seems to be a huge arts and athletics culture which makes it have a really nice vibe. Melbourne is a really tourist-friendly city too with an AMAZING visitor's centre and great maps/signage all round the downtown core. For me, whether it was hanging out at Queen Victoria Market, Federation Square, Flinders Station, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, touring MCG or checking out a Footy match, I had so many great experiences. Melbourians (at least that's what I'm gonna call them) really love their footy. The obsession is definitely like hockey is for us back home in Canada. Overall, I got a really good vibe from Melbourne and I think I'd love to go back and check it out again in more detail sometime.

 

On Saturday the 22nd, Brenda flew into Melbourne and I picked her up in our upgraded rental car. We started the Great Ocean Road drive that morning... So plenty more to come in the next little while.

 

It's so quiet in the house now. Why? Well, my parents left this morning to go back to India (via Singapore) and in a few days, they'll be back in Toronto. My bro and Pari left this morning too and headed to California for a few days for a mini-honeymoon before getting back to London next Tuesday.

 

It's hard to believe that all the wedding festivities are over. It feels like it was all a blur. With all of it coming to an end (until the Toronto reception of course), now the other part of my trip can begin. I am starting the solo part of my journey. And it begins tomorrow morning when I fly to Tasmania to spend Easter Weekend searching for a Tasmanian Devil. From there, it's off to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road and then Adelaide. Along the way, I'll be seeing/travelling with some familiar faces so I'm looking forward to seeing Brenda and Quincy.

 

Time for bed. I've been packing way too long tonight. By the way, my Australian mobile number is set up. The number is 04 0669 1223. I'm not sure what the country code is and what you have to dial to call from Canada or elsewhere but hopefully you can figure it out... (I do think you have to drop the first 0 though when dialing).

 

 

Hi everyone, after much delay, the wedding photos are finally up. They are a combination of mine and the profesional photographer that we had in Pune. I think you'll be able to tell which are his and which are mine.

 

Also, it seems as though my Australia plans are slowly coming together. I leave Sydney on Friday (the 14th) and I'm going to Tasmania for the Easter long weekend. From there, it's off to Melbourne, then the Great Ocean Road followed by Adelaide (where my uncle lives). Then, I'm gonna explore the interior (Ayer's Rock and Alice Springs) and then make my way north to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. Following that, it's down the Gold Coast stopping wherever I feel like... In total, I expect that to be about 30 - 40 days so I think I'll be back in Sydney by about the middle of May.

 

On Sunday, I played cricket with full gear. It was a blast! By the end of it, I was kinda getting the bowling technique but man, it is difficult when you've been playing baseball all your life. I definitely want to play again and might try to may more when I'm back home in Toronto.

 

 

Hi everyone. I'm in Australia now. I got here 4 days ago and so far, it has been a great experience. I've already met so many wonderful people - especially within the Marathi community. They are such a close knit and tight group here. Everyone is so helpful too. Tomorrow is Raj and Pari's wedding reception here in Sydney. It's a 5 hour boat cruise around Sydney Harbour so we'll be able to see the famous Harbour Bridge, Opera House and a host of other sites I'm sure.

 

To me, Sydney seems to be a cross between Vancouver and London. So far, Aussie people seem similar to Britishers (but maybe that's just the accent more than anything). I'm probably wrong though cause most people say that in terms of mentality, temperment, general outlook on things - Aussies are much closer to Canadians or (at times) Americans. From a city geography and demographic standpoint, Sydney is a lot like Vancouver with all the parks, the water and the different ethnic diversity you see all over the place.

 

I really haven't had much of a chance to expore Sydney yet but once the Wedding reception is done tomorrow night, I'm sure the adventure will begin. Instead, I've been doing a bunch of errands and generally just living day to day life. It's funny cause I feel like I'm at home. For instance yesterday, I was on the phone for nearly 3 hours with Big Pond trying to set up high speed internet at Pari's parent's place (where I'm staying). I must have spoken to about 6 different people and I heard so many differing stories. It was just super frustrating but I persevered and finally, it got done. I also set up an Australian bank account here today so now, it will be much easier to use ATM's and Debit transactions and I won't get hit with enormous service charges. I just have to set up my mobile phone and then I'll be set.

 

Over the next few days, I've gotta figure out my Australia plan. I wanna see Sydney, Melbourne (a buddy lives there), Adelaide (uncle lives there), Brisbane (2 friends there), Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Alice Springs, Ayers Rocks and possibly Tasmania. Time for some shut eye - tomorrow is a big day.

 

By the way, I've uploaded some photos and the wedding photos are next. You can probably understand that there are MANY so it's taking me a little time. 

Wow. Wow. Wow.

 

All I can say is Wow. The last two days of Wedding celebrations was so much fun. I will definitely write more soon. But for now, I just wanted to let you know that everything went great. Raj and Pari are now happily married and the both families have had so much fun over the past couple days. Weddings truly are great times for the entire family to get together and being here in India has really been special. Especially because my mom and dad are both the babies in their families so this is their first wedding and now they are mother and father-in laws! I am getting teased left right and centre about me being next but for now, I am just soaking it all in. Can't wait to show you all the pictures.

 

Speaking of pics, I've updated a couple albums (the Mount Abu/Udaipur album) and added some new ones going until March 24 (stuff from Mumbai and Pune).

It's about noon on Wednesday March 29. Tomorrow is Raj and Pari's wedding. All the planning. All the time spent preparing. And now, the big day is almost here. I can't believe that the big celebration is already tomorrow. It is gonna be so much fun! I think it's gonna be tough to just sit back and soak it all in. But, we'll do the best we can. I think we'll be smiling all day.

 

And the other crazy thing is that my time in India is almost over. I'll be leaving in less than a week. And then my Australia/New Zealand expedition begins. India has definitely flown by. I think I might need to come back sooner rather than later cause there is just so much to see/do here. And I've been meeting so many great people.

 

Raj and Pari arrived last Saturday and since they got here, it's been a mix of family outings, eating, shopping, eating, a little sleep, eating and more shopping. So many clothes, jewelery, etc to buy for the next couple days. I've picked up some nice kurtas and we are still looking for a couple sherwanis. Pari, her mom and my mom have all gotten some really nice saris as well. On Saturday night, the Gokhale side (my dad's brothers and sisters and all their family) had a big "Kelvaan" for us. Basically, it's an engagement party/pooja where the whole family comes together to celebrate. The food was fantastic and it was just so great to be with so much family. There were close to 40 people there and all the kids, grandkids were running around - just a blast. After, we hit the nightlife of Mumbai. Found a couple lounges/dance clubs and had a really fun evening. It was just like partying back home except it was primarily hindi music but it was just so fun and the vibe was great.

 

We are here in Pune now and this is where all the wedding celebrations will be going on. Pune is still quite Marathi so it's good cause I can communicate with shop keepers or rickshaw drivers (although they can tell I'm not a local as soon as I speak). Pari has almost all of her family here in Pune so there are tonnes of people to hang out with and they have all been so nice and hospitable. In Pune, there are tonnes of students cause there are a few universities here. Thus, there are lots of coffee shops, cafes and nice restaurants. I actually had pizza the other day (from Pizza Hut). It was almost like back home except they didn't use as much sauce so it was quite dry. Last night, Raj, Pari, Nav and I went to some place called Not Just Jazz by the Bay. It was a cheesy TGIF-style place with a Karaoke bar - definitely very entertaining.

 

Unfortunately, I have gotten sick over the past couple days. Have a sore throat and a slight cough. I am gonna try to rest up this afternoon cause tonight and tomorrow are gonna be quite busy. The other crappy thing is that my camera is slightly broken. It accidentally fell a couple weeks ago. I can still take all my pictures but the toggle switch to go from photo mode to movie mode to display mode is busted. So, I can't take movies or view my pictures after they have been taken. I am gonna try to get this fixed but I'm getting the run around here in India so I might wait until Sydney. We'll see how it goes. I do need to upload a bunch of photos soon though. I owe you guys plenty of snaps.