Hong Kong

Hong Kong is still delivering. It's just an electrifying place to be. I could definitely live here.

The last few days I've spent watching the free laser show over Hong Kong Island (best watched from near the Avenue of Stars on Kowloon - it takes place every night at 8pm, lasts 14 minutes, and is completely free); going up to Victoria Peak to see the fantastic views over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and some of the surrounding islands; and generally eating as much dim sum as my stomach and wallet can handle.

And tomorrow a friend and I are going to Hong Kong Disneyland! I feel like a child, but I'm really excited about it. It's one step closer to me achieving my childhood dream of going to all the Disneylands in the world. Watch out California - you're the last one on my list after tomorrow. It's a ridiculous life goal, but if you don't honour promises you made to yourself when you were eight, what are you doing with your life?

After that - Japan! Dear lord, I don't think I can take this much excitement at once. I've realised I love Asia. I have a real affinity for it. So I guess it's a good thing that I'm spending the next three months here!

Here are some of my favourite shots of the last few days. 

Back to the Asia

I love Hong Kong! I've been here one day, and it's a fantastic city. I find that when I arrive in a new place I get a feel for whether it's somewhere I want to leave the next day, stay for a while, or I could live there. I think I could live in Hong Kong.

I love big cities, I love history and culture, I love Asia, and I love Cantonese food. What more could I need!?

It feels like taking a breath of fresh air after Australia, where I felt my travelling spirit stagnate slightly. Australia is just too similar in culture to the UK, and this year is about learning new things about the world. Hong Kong is a fascinating blend of old and new, Western and Eastern, and modernity and tradition. It's also a good stepping stone for me returning to Asia, as English is widely spoken and most signs are bilingual. Plus it's clean and it works very efficiently. If you're going to China, Hong Kong is a good place to test the water. I've been to Shanghai and Beijing, and that was a big shock at the time, particularly going from ultra-clean, ultra-polite Japan.

Now I say "returning to Asia" because I lived in Tokyo twice, as documented in my other blog, Memoirs of a Gaijin. I've been itching to come back to Asia and experience it again, and even more than that, to go back to Japan and see it after four years' being away. And that will finally happen on Tuesday! I absolutely can't wait.

But for now, Hong Kong is keeping me very happy. I took a trip on the cable car up to the Tian Tan Buddha, which is the world's largest seated bronze Buddha, and there was a very pretty monastery in the mountains as well.

The village you first reach was incredibly contrived, and one of the 'traditional' buildings was a Subway. But the surrounding peaks and the actual temples were beautiful. I was also asked to take photos with two strangers. I'd forgotten that happens! I need to get used to feeling like a celebrity again.

I then came back to Kowloon, where my hostel is, to have a wander through the streets and get lost in the city. I stumbled upon the pro-democracy protesters' camp in Mong Kok, and had a read of their signs and posters. I saw a lot of the students sleeping in tents under handwritten 'No photo' signs. I also saw that they're planning to occupy the British consulate tomorrow afternoon, due to the UK government's lack of response to China's defiance of the treaty both countries signed in 1997. No doubt I'll be reading about that on the BBC news app soon enough.

Now I have four more full days to keep exploring this city, with its British plug sockets, double-decker buses and metro stations with names like Prince Edward, but all the while with the vibrant colours and neon lights that accompany life in any wealthy Asian city. Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend who I went to primary school with, and then Hong Kong Island is my oyster.

The Reef, and my Aussie End

My Australia bucket list came to an end two days ago, with a fantastic day snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. 

Like so much I'm doing on this world trip, I've wanted to see the Reef since I was a child. And it didn't disappoint. I did a one-day tour with Calypso from Port Douglas, but I think that the vast majority of tour operators from Port Douglas and Cairns do much the same thing. 

As an aside, I can't recommend Port Douglas enough. It's small, but absolutely idyllic, and only an hour's drive north of soulless Cairns. Four Mile Beach is perfect. There isn't a lot of budget accommodation, but Parrotfish Lodge is right in the centre, and at AU$15/night, it's the cheapest hostel I've found in Australia. 

Calypso picked me up from the lodge and we set off. We were going to Agincourt Reef, which makes up part of the Outer Reef, so it took almost two hours to get there. There were complimentary drinks and biscuits, and the AU$200 price tag included morning and afternoon tea and lunch, as well as three dive/snorkel sites. 

I went snorkelling in Florida about ten years ago, but I hadn't done any since then. It took a while to get used to the plasticy taste of the snorkel in your mouth and not bring able to breathe through the nose, but once I was comfortable I loved the whole thing. I want to do it every day. 

I saw coral of every shape, size and colour, giant clams that close up when you approach, clown fish, Dory fish, big fish with huge staring eyes, and thousands of tiny fish that follow you around. I didn't see any sharks or turtles, but I also didn't see any jellyfish or saltwater crocodiles. So swings and roundabouts. 

I rented an underwater camera from my hostel for AU$50 so I swam my way around each site armed with that, and I got some surprisingly good shots. I definitely recommend hiring a camera if you don't have a Go-Pro. Go for one where you can keep the SD card afterwards. 

Calypso were very good. Friendly staff and good food. I'd go with them again, and recommend them to others doing what I did.

That day was definitely a highlight of Australia, and of my trip as a whole too. Speaking of my trip, as I write this I'm lying in the sun by the pool in a hostel in Cairns, getting ready to leave the country in the wee hours of tomorrow. 

It's the end of my five months Down Under, and it's been a time of much variety. From living with my aunt, uncle and cousin in suburban Melbourne, to having a busy social and work schedule while living in the centre of Melbourne's nightlife, to going back to solo travelling and seeing some incredible things, I'll never forget my time living here. 

But I have three months to the day before I return to the UK, and I have big plans for Asia. First stop: Hong Kong! 

Lightning and Uluru

A few days ago I ticked off my second Australian icon from my list - the controversial-among-travellers Uluru (Ayers Rock). 

Is it worth all the money and bother of going to the middle of nowhere to see a rock? My conclusion was: yes. It's much more impressive in person than in photos, and walking around its base to see the contours and caves, along with aboriginal drawings that are tens of thousands of years old was fascinating. It opened my eyes to the indigenous peoples' culture, which is something that you don't get in the big cities. It showed me a different side of Australia. 

Having said that, it's undeniably expensive and bothersome to visit. I flew in and out, and booked a tour with The Rock Tour to see Uluru at sunset and sunrise, and Kata Tjuta (pronounced Kah-tah Jew-tah). You can save money by taking the Greyhound bus from the coast, but with only two weeks to see Australia, I didn't want to spend a day sitting on a bus. 

My Uluru experience was somewhat unconventional. First I ended up having to do a one-night tour instead of the two-night that I booked with The Rock Tour. This was because I was the only person doing the itinerary on that particular day, so they had to move things around. 

Then on the first day, after a blisteringly hot base walk around Uluru in 42C heat, it started to cloud over, and we were inundated with a massive electrical storm during sunset. So I didn't get to see the rock changing colours as the sun goes down, but seeing fork lightning flash across Ayres Rock is something I never thought I'd see. 

We were meant to sleep in swags under the stars, but in the middle of the desert, where it doesn't rain for months on end, it poured all night. Thankfully there were pre-erected tents in the campsite that we could use. Unfortunately halfway through the night I woke up covered in ants and had to fight them out of my sleeping bag. Our 4am start that day turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it meant I could just escape the amassing hordes. 

We had breakfast outside and watched the sunrise behind Uluru. That was a gorgeous sight, and the rain stopped for us to see it. 

As soon as the sun was up the notorious Red Centre flies came out to play with our eyes, noses, ears, mouths... They're not fussy. 

We then did the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta, and I have to say that while Uluru is the popular sibling, Kata Tjuta is the one who got the looks. Made of the same beautiful sandstone, it undulates and twists around itself in a much more interesting way than Uluru. The walk takes you through scrubland, desert woodland that seems to be lifted straight from Africa's savannah, through canyons and over steep passes between sheer red cliffs. 

The clouds were apparently celebrating our triumphant arrival at the top of the walk, because it started to rain quite heavily. Our guide was ecstatic - he'd never seen rain there. The best part of the weather was that the rainwater ran off the rocks in waterfalls. A very rare and captivating sight. 

Overall my experience was quite different to the average visit to Centralia, but I was blown away by the natural beauty of the area. I feel there are plenty of other things to keep you occupied in Australia, but for me it opened my eyes. Not to mention I got those picture-perfect photos! 

A Desert Rose

I've decided I like deserts. Which is very odd, as I'm a city kid through and through. But there's something about the colours of deserts that makes me happy. The pure blue sky over a barren landscape littered with shrubs and the occasional tree. Deserts are beautiful.

Australia's Red Centre is quite different to Chile's Atacama, but they both have the vast expanses of nothingness and cloudless skies that I seem to love.

Although I pretty much baked in the 42C temperatures all through my day trip out to the McDonnell Ranges today, I love the dry heat. Give me this over humidity any day!

The tour I did was with Emu Run, and the guide was really good. We visited a lot of great sights, including chasms, waterholes, camel farms... All the essentials. Including a public toilet crawling with bugs and spiders. I spotted a redback on its web above the door, and that was me done. I waited for the next toilet stop.

I have a week left in Australia, after spending five months here. I was wishing away my time working in Melbourne to get back to travelling, and now I wonder if I might miss my life Down Under.

Damn that green grass.

Arrival in Alice

I flew into Alice Springs this morning, with the clock jumping back an hour and a half (it's like an alternative universe between two realities). I wasn't sure what to expect. Old Spaghetti Western film set? Two shacks in a deserted valley? Bustling town with no hints that it's hidden away in the outback? 

It's actually just a normal village. Traversable in 20 minutes, it's made up of just a few main roads, but with supermarkets, KFC, McDonald's, Subway... Everything you need to survive in Australia. 

But boy is it hot. Like, seriously. The mercury hit 40C today, and is meant to stay this way for the whole time I'm here. The water in the bottom of the toilets is hot. Everything is hot! 

The sun is intense, but I love the dry heat. There's not a lick of humidity in the hot desert wind. My lips may not thank me, but I'm enjoying it. Which is not to say I went out in it for very long. I don't hate my skin. 

I'm booked onto The Rock Tour on Thursday-Friday where I'll take in Ayres Rock, Kata Tjuta and the surroundings, but Kings Canyon's main walk is closed because temperatures are above 36C. 

I had a bit of an issue with The Rock Tour, because originally I booked a three-day tour leaving tomorrow. Two days ago they rang me and said that nobody else was doing that itinerary so they'd have to move things around. So I'm doing a day trip to the Ranges tomorrow, instead of doing day one of three, and then leaving for a two-day tour the following day. But they gave me good customer service throughout trying to sort everything out, and I still get to see the main events - sunset and sunrise over Uluru. 

It better be worth it! All told, I've spent over £500 on coming out here, as it's not really on my way to anywhere. But it was on my list of Oz highlights, and camping in a swag under the stars will be an experience too. 

Being in the desert again reminds me of northern Chile, but Alice feels more civilised, and surprisingly less touristy. And speaking of touristy, the sun is going down and I want to walk up the one and only hill to catch sunset. Will update on my outback adventures soon! 

The Big S

So Sydney's sexy. 

I've been here three days, and apart from a wander through the CBD this afternoon, I keep gravitating back to that Opera House. I may have seen it on several occasions now, but each time it blows me away. 

Not only is it a beautiful building, but it's Australia. Along with Ayres Rock, nothing else means Down Under in the same way. 

The rest of Sydney's centre is very clean, modern and white. The city gleams in the sun, and every day I've been here the sun has been out to play. It's spring, and the days are warm and the nights chilly in the wind. But when you're watching the sun set on the fins of the Opera House, you can live with that. 

My first night here I restarted proper travelling with a bang, by climbing the Harbour Bridge. I didn't realise it's such a popular thing to do, but they have a lot of tours each day, from dawn to night. I chose a night walk, because it was cheaper, but I also wanted to see the city lights. It was expensive (over $200), but worth it. 

I gathered fearlessness to climb to the top of the magnificent arch by telling myself I'd done a skydive. But when it came to it, I didn't need courage. It was just fun. Not to mention I was preoccupied with the view. A big orange moon rose as the last of the sun's light faded and the skyscrapers of Sydney's waterfront lit up, reflected in the water under the glowing Opera House.  As a lover of cityscapes, it took my breath away. 

Yesterday I did a day trip to the Blue Mountains, so called because in the sun's rays the haze from the eucalyptus trees has a blueish tinge to it. 

They're only two hours from Sydney, and you can go by train and then take a bus to the major attractions, the most famous being The Three Sisters rock formation. This was my plan, but the train line was closed this weekend for maintenance, so I booked myself onto a tour, and it was only $20 more than the train/bus combination ticket anyway. 

There were some very impressive views, and I paid $35 extra for Scenic World, which includes a cable car and a ride on the world's steepest train down to the rainforested valley floor, but I didn't feel that was worth the money. 

Then today I met an old friend who I haven't seen in four years. I only found out she was in Sydney last week when she saw on Facebook that I was travelling again. The power of social media, ey? We walked round the bay through the botanic gardens to find the best view of Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It was exactly the postcard-perfect vista I was looking for. 

We also went to a British chocolate shop in Darling Harbour, and I bought Salt & Vinegar Walkers crisps for $1, because their sell-by date was yesterday. All in all, rather a good day. 

I have one day left here in The Big S, and then my plan is to go to Ayres Rock on Tuesday. I have ten days left to see my highlights of Australia, so I need to make the most of them. 

I'll sleep when I'm dead. 

Goodbye to Melbourne

The last few weeks have been exactly how I like my life to be - crazy. 

I finished work on Friday night and then filled my time with trips, goodbye drinks and nights out, trying to see everyone I want to see before I leave my Melbourne life behind. I've been surprised how rooted I've become in just four and a half months. 

I squeezed a couple of day trips in while I was still working 45 hour weeks (moneyyyyy!) so I ticked off a trip to see the penguin parade on Phillip Island and the Neighbours studio tour last week. Then on Saturday I did a bus tour along the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles. And with that I've completed my Melbourne bucket list. 

Amongst the fun, I've been trying to plan the last leg of my trip. I only have two weeks to see the rest of Australia, and then three months in Asia. I'm actually slightly depressed the end is so close, after being away for almost nine months. But there's so much to see and do, I just need to make the most of it. 

My original plan to hop over to Fiji while still in Oz fell through, because STA Travel didn't have suitable dates for me to change my flights to leave Australia. I tried to change my flights to two weeks later a month in advance, but they didn't have availability. They did for my later flights, thankfully, so now I go home as late as possible, exactly a year after leaving for Rio Carnival in February. That feels like ages ago. 

So to soften the blow of not being able to island hop through Fiji, I booked a sojourn to the Philippines from Tokyo. I'm going to spend a week in Cebu, and the beaches look absolutely divine. The only thing is it's the end of rainy season so I'm really hoping the weather is good. Fingers crossed! 

I have so much excitement coming up in my future. Seeing the highlights of Oz, Hong Kong, going back to my old home of Tokyo after four years, the Philippines, Christmas with two old friends in Bangkok, New Year on the Thai islands, and then a month travelling with two of my best friends from home. 

But first I need to say goodbye to Melbourne. I have a farewell dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousin tonight, which will be nice. Then I'll go back to my friend Anna's house for the night. I've been staying with her and her housemates in their student house for the past few days. It's so nice to see real Australian life, and also to feel like a student again. 

And tomorrow... Roll on Sydney.