April 28, 2009

listen....

The great escape

Finally I have made up my mind where to head next and the destination is Broome and then further on the Darwin. I am starting my trip on Saturday, so I am hanging around in Perth a bit longer than I anticipated. Nevertheless I really like it here. The hostel is a real good place to stay.

Yesterday two English and me went to Fremantle to visit the Prison there. It was quite interesting given the fact that the whole prison was built by the convicts and prisoners doing there time there and that is closed in 1992. Our tourguide was quite entertaining and since we weren´t allowed to ask him any prviate questions, we assume that either he was a ward there or that he was doing time there. I assume it was the first. Anyways, lucky me, I got chosen as a demonstration dummy - that always happens to me somehow - for the body searches. Well, he didn´t do one - TG - I just had to stand at the line and he explained stuff and made some fun. The gallows were the creepiest part of the whole tour. Imagine people actually dying in there. They also offer tours called The Great Escape - on which you can follow some of the most specatcular escapes out of the prison - and the other one is the Torchlight Tour - done by night with only torchlight.... that would be creepy.

Afterwards we had some lunch in a local pub and went to the Fremantle Roundhouse, which was the actual prison before they built the other one. There they also had a gallow and I am not sure what it is, but I was asked by the volunteer there, if I´d like to try it. Yeah, right, so they can lock me in there and I would have to stay here in the end?! Sound not so bad... ;-)

April 25, 2009

Rottnest Island

Today we decided to go to Rottnest Island, which is a tiny island (11 km long and 4,5 km wide) about 35 minutes by ferry away from Perth. It´s like the holiday getway from the city. So, we caught the ferry from Perth jetty up a long the Swan River along villas and yacht clubs. In the years past these mansion were one of the top priced houses in WA, nowadays obviously not, but to me they didn´t look it. After a short stop in Fremantle and a quick flat white, we went on with another bigger ferry out into the Indian Ocean and on towards the island. What a bumpy ferry ride that was. Poor little girl next to us suddenly turned white and then green. We did alright though. The day started out partly clouding but as soon as we hopped on the rented bikes - it´s a car free environment - it started to drizzle. No worries, it´ll stop soon. Well, actually after we almost got drenched, it stopped and the sun came out, so it dried up really quick. We did a 2 hour bike tour along the island with a lunch break at a tiny café for some traditional fish´n chips - brilliant.
The island is not only known for it´s crystal clear turqouise waters, where you can snorkel in from the beach, but also for it´s quoakkas... These little creatures look like a kangaroo-meets-a-rat in small! Sersiously. The jump around on their back feet and have the face of a kangaroo, but the tail of a rat. They are pretty tame and clever, because even despite the fact that you aren´t allowed to feed them, people do and therefore they see people eating and ...puuufff they´re there begging for food. One was really cheeky and as soon as I left the table to get me some tomato sauce, it jumped up on the table to get to my chips. It was shooed away though. It kept sneaking around our table, but then lost interest as it wasn´t getting anything from us. Fortunately they aren´t like the seagulls which just attack you and never leave you alone.

After our bike trip on the island we got back to Perth just in time for the BBQ at our hostel. That was a really nice get together. We chatted until midnight out in the back yard. Today´s ANZAC day and since it´s a holiday nothing is open, so we went for another day on the beach.

This place here is pretty relaxed and you meet a lot of people, like in the morning when everyone crawls out of their dorms, we sit out back and decided what to do today. Tennis has been big the last few days with a group of people, mostly from the UK. So, today we were like five going to the beach and just hanging out there.

Right now, I am trying to get on a tour up north to Darwin. I try to do the hop on hop off thingy so I could spend some days at Coral Bay and finally get my PADI diving license and then stay a few nights in Broome and then on to Darwin via the Kimbererly (most known as the scenery of the movie Australia by Buz Luhrmann). So there´s a lot to come like camping under the stars in the Outback, sandboarding in the dunes, bush walking, swimming with the doplihns and if I am lucky with the famous whale sharks, which are out at the reef this time of year. Keep your fingers crossed.






pcitures by _B, views of Rottnest Island and its crystal clear turquoise waters

April 23, 2009

a backpacker´s life..




this is what I did today.... nothing and chillin´ on the beach with some people I met. Afterwards we went to get some fresh fish and had an excellent dinner with a seafood platter, salad and red wine.... today the weather has actually been pretty nice so we are still hanging out in the back yard talking and drinking and talking.

April 21, 2009

somebody switch on the light...

and then ... blinded by the light! Having landed this morning at 5:50am in Perth, Western Australia it still was pitchblack outside. But after being in customs, immigration and baggage claim for about two hours... no worries, mates... it was blinding outside. Sersiously, the light down here is way different than at home. It´s brighter! So, having arrived at my new home for the next few days I was so exhausted. This is a cute little place called the Witch´s Hat... and no wonder, it looks and feels like it. Pretty old building, but very neat. Since I couldn´t get into my dorm, I went to the CBD of Perth to run some errands already. So, now I am ready to go. New mobile number and postal address, to which mail will be shipped accross Oz. Then in the supermarket to buy the essentials for the next few days.... finally oats again! :-)
And right now I am in the TV room on my own laptop, with which I can log on to the local wireless here. Hurray! The others - mostly French again - are watching some stupid movie.

Now I have to decided what will I do next... or WHERE will I go next and when and .... decisions decisions.... let´s wait and see.

Oh, and some selected pics are already up loaded to facebook - some others will get the link via mail asap.

April 20, 2009

Good day Australia




Sayonara Japan, nice to have met you, but I need to move on down under! I´m sooo excited now. Another 10hrs flight and I will arrive in Perth, WA at dawn. Let´s wait and see what awaits me there.

April 19, 2009

are you manga?

Sitting at a huge internet-book-comic-manga-cafe in Shibuya, I find some time to post again. And after 10 minutes the girl even understood what I was trying to tell her, that I just only like trying to tell her, that I just only like to use the internet. Thanks for sign language. However they are really friendly here, even if they don`t are really friendly here, even if they don`t have a clue what here, even if they don`t have a clue what you are saying...and vice versa. On my first day, when I didn` t have the hang of the tube system here. The machine kept refusing my day pass and like two seconds later there came up this guy, who actually could speak good english and he went to the station officer with me, to find out the reason for this whole thing. Well, I should have known that I just drew a day pass for the Tokyo Metro Line and not for the other train company. Ahhh. Now I figured it out. And once you got the hang of it, and know which exit to take since there are twenty at least to choose from, it` s quite easy.

The last few days have been packed with activities in and around Tokyo. What I have done so far.... running around like crazy, I think I might hit the 1,000 miles asap. :-)

Yesterday I went to Kamakura, a small city 50 minutes south of Tokyo to see some chinese buddhas, shrines and temples there - supposedly five of the most important temples are located there. I have seen them all. The journey of getting there was quite an adventure as well, I knew that I would need to take the train to get there, but which one, I had no clue. So I looked it up online very quick but by the next day I already forgot the name of the JR Line. So I just went up to the ticket counter and told the guy where I want to go. He looked at me and left his desk. OK. So after ten minutes he came back and he had neatly written down in latin letters -that` s why it took him so long I believe- where I want to go and which station I would have to take the train from, which line etc.! Wasn` t the train from, which line etc.! Wasn` t that nice! After that it was no big deal. The city is really neat, but overloaded with tourists - mostly Asian. This is also what I found out, the only foreigners that I come accross are French and a few Americans, but that was it. Not a lot actually. I thought there` d be more.

The day before I wandered around Shibuya and Harajuku. This is what I always thought Tokyo might look like. Crazy stores selling the most ridiculus shirts, the tiniest miniskirts and the highest high heel you` tiniest miniskirts and the highest high heel you` d imagine. Loud and mega busy all day long. Well, just like out of the blockbuster "lost in translation", I'd say. You all probably picture this huge crossing, when thinking about that city... and the truth is, it`s that crazy for real. Every few minutes a thousand people are crossing this six-street intersecion while above huge billboards are blarring out the newest advertisings.

After Shibuya I went to Harajuku, which I perfered more. Hidden in an alley behind the Omote-sando Street are tiny streets with lots of individual, independent stores and small cafes. Really neat. It feels like a small cafes. A little further up is the famous Yogogi park where the more famous cosplay-zoku meet up. These are the girls dressed up as their favorite manga character or like those Gothic-loitas as they are know. There weren` t a lot of them out there. But they look really sth.!

Right on the border of the Yoyogi park is the magnificient Meiji-Jingu with its gardens. This Shinto shrine is supposedly Japan` s most splendid. No need to say, that it was crowded this afternoon. I had the chance to catch the striking yet subdued wedding proceedings of a couple in full-on, kimono-clad regalia. couple in full-on, kimono-clad regalia. That looked like sth out of a movie set. Most of the wedding guests wore kimonos as well.

That was a wrap up of the last few days of my short stop over in Japan. It has been a great trip so far, but I need to say that I personally favor Hong Kong to Tokyo. I am not really sure why, but I thought that HK is a bit more authentic Asia that I have on my mind. It`s a bit more buzzling and huzzling going on there. Tokyo is an awesome place as well, but if I had to choose one place over the other, I` d say HKis the place to go.

Tomorrow night I will be bound to down under on an overnight flight to Perth, Western Australia. I seriously am really looking forward to talk and being understood again. It` s kinda frustrating sometimes when all you can say is hello, thanks and goodbye. That`s one of the downsides traveling alone in a country you are not speaking the language at all - as well as actually reading it.

April 16, 2009

konichiwa tokyo

ths is my second day in tokio. this is an awesome city. I love it. This is gonna be really short since I am currently in the local apple store since my own macbook is low on battery and i don't have an adapter for japan. also very unfortunate is that here they also use a different mobile network than anywhere else in the world, so i am with no internet and no mobile - completely lost in the real world!

what I ve done so far. I had to kill a lot of time after arriving here in the morning, because check in wasn t until 4pm- dead tired and exhausted from the long flight - but hey, lucky me on my flights east - i got two seats for myself again. yeah! at least it was a bit comfy. my hostel sits in asakusa right next to the temple senji, which i visited yesterday afternoon. it really is amazing. unfortunately they are renovating part of it, so it s a lot of scaffolding going on. i took the chance and draw myself my jap. fortune out of one of the zillion little drawers. no need to explain that it took me like forever to match the japnese writing on the stick to the one on the drawers - and i chose the one spot with the least amount of drawers anyways! :-) hhmmm, my personal fortune.... it wasn t that superb, but as it says in the end everything will turn out to the good. wonder how long that will be, but let s be positive and believe, that my tying the fortunate thingy on the rack at the temple. I might choose another one before I leave, i guess.

so today after having slept about 12 hours last night, i took the water taxi to Odeiba to see the statue of liberty there, crazy ... why they built it like the orignial one, i cannot say since the signpost was in japanese only - as is most of the signs and stuff here. but I keep guessing and asking. so right now I am in ginza walking around here and later I might go to one of the parks to see the cherry blossoms which are still in full bloom. very nice.

that was it for today there is soo much more to talk about but i have to go now.

April 14, 2009

goodbye germany - hello world



I´m finally outta here. Farewell everyone and Sayonara Japan!

Follow me on my way down under via Tokyo.

Talk to y´all later.... I will keep you posted...

April 13, 2009

let´s get the party started

Traditionally our group of friends meets three times a year to party. Christmas, Easter and the Gäubodenvolksfest. Yesterday it was time again for the Easter meet up but this time no easter hunt but a farewell BBQ at my place. That meat delicious food, lots of drinks and tons of laughter with plenty of old and still silly stories of our wild youths! :-)

Guys, it´s been a blast as always.




April 12, 2009

happy frequent traveler

Some might think it´s just me traveling the world. But no, there is another little fella who travled approx. 5,000 km in her 6 years already. Meet Happy! From the zoo store to Deggendorf to Straubing to Hamburg to Munich and many trips inbetween those destinations. By car, by train on a bike whatever you like... except on thing she didn´t do yet... the plane. And since we want to spare from that expericience she won´t go down under with me. Nevertheless they alrady have a rabbit invasion down there anyways, thanks to the intelligent emperor who thought it was a great idea to take a male and a femal rabbit down under. Mmmhh.

Anyways a little sidestep today.






April 09, 2009

make a wish

This little super cute necklace was given to me by my colleagues on last weeks dinner. This is sooo awesome. I always wanted one. Thanks a million again, ladies!

I already made a wish and am wearing it.


April 08, 2009

perfect in-flight outfit

I think I found the perfect inflight outfit for my long trip to the other side of the world. Real compfy and not that out of style either. Hhmm, I might exchange the striped shirt and the vest though, that´s a bit too dressed up for sleeping on a 14 hrs. flight. ;-)






vest, shirt, trousers: H&M Trend
necklace: Topshop