The Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

This takes place on Day 449, February 19, 2012

Australia is expensive. Very expensive. At least in terms of a backpackers budget. After the insanely cheap living I was doing in South East Asia, Australia was a massive shock. Even knowing that it would be expensive did not fully prepare me.

And so, I began really looking for anything to do that was awesome and free. Thankfully, searching Google for “free things to do in Sydney” brings up a host of options, including probably the most popular option I found: the Coastal Walk between Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach.

A Sunny Day in Sydney

Days 445-446, February 15-16, 2012

The distance between Canberra and Sydney is only about 4 hours, so even though there is no train between the two cities, the trip doesn’t feel all that bad. During the bus ride, I ended up befriending a girl seated beside me long enough to get her to let me borrow her laptop so I could work on a few blog posts. The plan for being back in Sydney was pretty simple: meet back up with Steve who would be in town for work.

And because he works for a large company, his hotel room was being paid for. A two bed room overlooking the famous Hyde Park in the Sheraton On The Park Hotel. Cost: AUD$390/night.

Holy hell.

My room – photo via Sheraton.com

Political Capital

Days 443-444, February 13 – 14, 2012

The Australian Capital of Canberra is not really a tourist hot spot. It’s not near any beaches, and the city itself isn’t laid out in a very helpful manner. And beyond the Parliament and typical Capital City monuments to wars past, there’s not much to see. And with so few touristy things in the city, affordable places to stay are few and far between.

But that’s not to say, that in-between the consular work I had to do, that I didn’t enjoy myself. In fact, I found the full day there to be quite illuminating in a couple aspects.

Landing in “Bali”–AKA Sydney

The plan has been in the works for weeks, if not months. When it became obviously clear that I would not be in Melbourne for Christmas or New Years to spend those holidays with my good friend Steve from Stevivor.com, I decided on getting there for his birthday at the end of January. I got a hold of his amazing boyfriend Matt and found out the date for the birthday party: February 4. And so, a plan formed. I would lie through Facebook, Twitter, etc. by giving the impression I was heading to Bali when in actuality I was heading to the Land Down Under. The only people in the know were travelers I had told in person, Matt, and my good friend Mick who I would be staying with for the first few days in Sydney.

NOT the Bali Airport. Guess my flight was diverted?

What A “Hue” to Get Around

A long, and rather gruelling, 14-hour overnight bus ride from Hanoi brought me back into Hue. The last time I was here I only stayed for a day and a half as I was with Frank and Po at the time. This time I was alone, in a private room hotel. As I had already seen the Citadel the last time around, I decided to skip that, rent a bicycle for a few days, and take in the Royal Tombs that lay just south of the city.