The Wonderful Land of Oz

After 6 months in Asia, we have made it back to civilization...not really, but back to Western civilization that is. Let me just break down Alex's first exchange with an Australian as soon as we arrived in Sydney.

Alex: "Hiya."
Aussie: "G'day."
Alex: "I'll just take these two small bottles of water please."
Aussie: "That will be $9.80 please."
Alex: a very long silence...more silence...a bit more silence..."I'm sorry, I think I was just hallucinating. How much?"
Aussie: "$9.80, please."
Alex: "No thank you, I would rather dehydrate."

Then, she came and told me what happened in the shop. Let me just break down my reaction to this discussion.

Mel: "Where is the water?"
Al: "Two small bottles of water cost $9.80 so I didn't get any."
Mel: a very long silence...more silence...a bot more silence..."I'm sorry, I think I was just hallucinating. How much?"
Al: "$9.80!"
Mel: "I think I just pooped in my pants Alex!"
Al: "Well, let's go clean you up then."
Mel: Said with a bit of a quiver in her voice..."Ok...we're not in Asia anymore Alex."
Al: Said with a bit of a quiver in her voice..."I know Mel, I know."

So, as you can see there are also culture shocks when one travels to Western countries, as well as when travelling through Asia. Gone are the days of $5.00 rooms between us...rooms that come with cable TV, air conditioning, private bathrooms...gone are the days. We are now in Australia and it is expensive. After we slept due to our 24 hour trip from Cambodia to Sydney with layovers and flights, we woke up to begin to work through our shock regarding just how expensive this place is. Our first stop was to the pamphlet area in our very expensive 18-bed shared bathroom hostel with roaches to gather all the brochures that stated the word "free" on them and began locating where we could get anything for free. So far, we have gotten 1 free bag, 5 free apples, 3 free pens, 1 free paper fan, 2 free key chains and a few pieces of free candy though I tried to push a 4th free piece and was brutally rebuffed, but list keeps growing. As we continue our search for free stuff, we have found ourselves wandering around this gorgeous and amazing city of Sydney. Seriously, I can now see why so many people emigrate here and we have only been here for 1 day...the weather is amazing. Not a cloud in the sky and it is hot in the sun and cool in the shade...no humidity whatsoever and there are so may beautiful buildings and monuments and artsy statues. I have been in such a great mood since the moment we steeped out of our roach motel...and even when we were inside of the roach motel I was happy. Something about this place just makes me feel so happy and alive...everyone is in workout clothes and seems so fit and active and there is so much space to move around in and no litter. It's like a dream come true really. We also walked around Kingscross, the dodgy area with drug addict and prostitutes roaming around and I even loved it there! Due to the fact that this is the most expensive place we have travelled to thus far, we have had to make some fast and furious plans regarding what to do in relation to travelling around and also sleeping arrangements. It does not help matters that we are here over Christmas and New Year's, as well as the fact that the Ashes (The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is international cricket's most celebrated rivalry and dates back to 1882...Wikapedia) is being played here in Australia this year so there are virtually no places to stay and the ones that are available are ridiculously expensive, even roach filled hostels for backpackers. So, after much delineation, we decided to rent a caravan and drive around Australia in true road trip fashion for 50 days during which time we will travel up the East coast and through the centre to see Ayers Rock. We decided to go with a bit more upscale Caravan from a company called Jucy, as this provides a bit more comfort and was not that much more money than renting a station wagon, which is just very cramped and not nearly as cool! So, tomorrow we are off on our road trip adventure to Ayers Rock through the centre of Australian outback in our bright green and purple caravan...it's very Priscilla Queen of the Desert!