Australia Blog

New Year's Eve in Brisbane

Nick, Chris and I are getting ready to go out for Amateur's nite, I mean New Year's Eve in the city. We are meeting up with some friends before migrating party to party.

Happy New Year from the BootBoyz! 2004.....

Brisbane as a backpackers location

Brisbane, often refered to as a �big country town� 10 years ago has been developing and I like the changes.

Since arriving on the 22nd I have been impressed by the different aspects of the city that would make living here pleasant. These include fabulous weather, not too much traffic ( at least from my point of view ), buildings being renovated and re purposed and the downtown areas that encourage people to get out and enjoy themselves. Getting around is not too difficult with the efficient train system.

Sean and I took a stroll down to check out one of the backpackers. I stayed in a couple of different ones years ago which were mostly small grotty places. The one we checked out, the Palace was formerly a Salvation Army hotel and occupies a great location. These days you will find a ton of companies advertising tours and trips inside the backpackers as well as the place offering free pick ups for guests and ride on their bus. I also spotted a CD copier in the lobby.

If you are travelling around Australia and are planning on visiting Fraser Island and the region to the north then Brisbane makes a great stopover for a day or 2. Definitely not a place you�d dread coming too. I must admit it was very nice to sit in a backpackers bar and order a pitcher of beer, watching the young travelers roll in for their evening meal, reminds me of my former life.

The infrastructure for backpackers is all here in Queensland and Brisbane offers many choices in transport, lodging and entertainment. If you�ve never been to Australia and are thinking of travelling around let me tell you it�s a no stress affair. With so many independent backpackers, you don�t have to belong to any organization or book ahead.

Sean, Chris and I are curently staying at the home of Chris�s parents Bob and Margaret. His auntie Barbara ( Wig ) has been with us too which makes for a jolly time. I am impressed by what great hosts Bob and Margaret are and hope I can treat my visitors the same way. Since being here Australia I also spent a couple of nights over in Kenmore with other friends and it�s the same story there, very cool people.

The weather has cooled off quite well and the cloud cover helps. Here's our 10 day forecast.

In a couple of hours we are going over to a bbq to watch a video of the rugby world cup highlights.�man have Aussies mellowed!

The Woodford Folk Festival

The Woodford Folk Festival is a wonderful cultural event that I�ve been hearing about for some time now.

My friend Jay, an American musician living in QLD has told me I must check it out sometime and this week I did.

Woodford is a small town in southern QLD and for several days at the end of each year its population is swelled by festival goers and performers bringing creativity, enjoyment and money to a lot of people. The festival site is 240 acres, it has 42 food outlets and 10 licenced bars.

I went with Jay and his wife Debbie who performed a half a dozen readings and played a gig while I was there. We were joined by Judy and Ken who offered me a spot under the awning of their combi-van. Our ride from Brisbane was around an hour, maybe a bit more and getting inside was no problem at all. The thing about this festival is that although its is fairly large, the whole atmosphere is low key...no signs, lines or cops.

I bought my ticket on arrival, $77 for a day and night session plus camping. The price seemed steep but when I considered bathroom facilities are all over including showers and the site is well planned out and clean, it didn�t spoil my time. Also the music events wind up at 2am so you can see a fabulous line up of talent all day long at one of the 17 stages.

The streets are covered with pebbles so you don�t get muddy and lined with food and arts vendors. I tell you it really reminded me of the Eugene Saturday Market with the alternative nature of the items on offer which included clothes from Nepal, Morocco, India, musical instruments and healing arts. The good thing for those not too into the hippie culture is that this is not a drug fest, it�s a music festival and there are plenty of great shows.

The first place I went was the Chai tent, which has a super mellow atmosphere and serves a mean chai. While sitting I got to hear a fabulous musician called Rob Longstaff who blew everyone away with his clean guitar playing and soulful voice. I bought the CD.

On arrival the sun was intense and the heat quickly built up to what must have been 100f. I was dreading suffering through that the whole time.

A very nice Guinness bar had been set up and by the time my first pint had been pulled ( about a hour after arrival ) the Celtic muso�s were already whipping up the craic (can you do that?).

Over course of the 2 days I got to watch a selection of musical and performing arts including Lindsey Pollock who takes house hold items and plays them ( he even attached a mouthpiece to the bottom of his music stand and played it. With such an abundance of talent my friends and I were talking about how each musician could improve, some being great singers and players, but not being strong in the song writing department. For me I take my hat off to all of them first for being there and second for having most of the picture.

Probably the strangest act I saw was Conan the Bubblemaker who blew bubbles the size of melons using just his hands and sent them into the audience. The finale of his show was playing with bubbles on a light table, quite amazing.

My overall opinion of Woodford is that it�s a great time and people are super friendly. I spent $77 for my first day�s ticket and camping ( somehow forgot to get another one, maybe it was the excitement).

Meals average about $9 and drinks are reasonable with a $3.80 price for Guinness.

The weather mellowed out and it was actually very pleasant, even chilly last night with the stars shining brightly above.

For those without a car you can do the smart thing and hitch hike or take a special bus ($7) from the main gate to Caboolture station which connects with Brisbane ($5).

Planet Radio Woodford 87.6FM provides updates of the happenings.

The Woodford Folk Festival is organised by the Queensland Folk Federation Incorporated, a community based non-profit organisation whose object is to foster the folk movement.

PMB 2 Woodford QLD 4514
Phone 07 5496 1066
Fax 07 5496 3196
Email qff@woodfordfolkfestival.com

Aussie Christmas Aftermath

A Monday morning in Oz and Chris and I are finally back at it. Looking back at these past 5 days, I have a few memories.

1) Drinking from dawn to dusk: Champers, wine, beer, mixed with shrimp, soup and a general grazing for 12 hours or more makes for a great Oz Christmas and Boxing Day.

2) Kids are lovable: Chris has 1 niece and 2 nephews. They are all great. The 6 year old gave me a hug before he went to bed on Christmas day. He just met me a few hours ago. It was very natural as he went around the table saying good night to everyone. I thought it was cool.

3) Cricket is the bomb. Give me more...I wanna see Sammie Sosa and Barry Bonds square up against Brett Lee and Shane Warne. And Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden bat against Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. That would be fun.

4) Nick took off on Christmas morning to hang with his best friend Jay who he had not seen in 2.5 years or so. He is coming back today. The few SMS's I received from him sounded like he was having a blast.

Meanwhile, Chris and I are gonna pound away for a few days before New Year's celebrations...I'll dig up some more pictures here shortly.

Pictorial Recap of Trip to Bali

See the recap here. (Link goes to BaliBlog)

Sydney Cricket Test vs. India: Howzat!

After missing the results of the first two test cricket matches between Australia and India (a draw and an Indian win), Sean and I have really been getting into the third test currently being played in Melbourne. The Boxing Day test is a great tradition and at the end of the third day (out of five), Australia is in a strong position to level the series and make the fourth test in Sydney next week into a significant game for captain Steve "Tugger" Waugh to retire in.

This evening we booked our tickets for Day 3 of the test and if it's tight by Day 4 we might buy tickets to that game as well. It should be a packed house and an incredible atmosphere to say farewell to the world's most successful cricket captain. Melbourne gave him a standing ovation today as he came out to bat and no doubt Sydney will do the same and more.

Sean is definitely immersing himself in the sport and as someone who has grown up with the game it's refreshing for me to hear his perspective and questions. We're both stoked to be participating in a memorable occasion and I'm sure we'll get over the fact that we could only get seats in the alcohol-free seats.

Ging, Hydro and Nick Picture

A leftover picture from the night that Ging hurt her knee and the BootBoyz went out with her.

Getting a Virgin Mobile Phone in Australia

Arriving in Australia a few days ago, Nick and I decided to get local mobile phones for our time in Australia for a few reasons.

1) It's fun
2) We can text each other and people we know
3) Easy to stay in touch and arrange meetings, etc than land-based lines
4) It's cheap

Coming from the US and our mobile plans, I was unsure of how it works here...but Chris sorted us out on a Virgin Mobile "pay as you go" plan that he is one. All we had to do was:

1) Buy a SIM card from a Virgin Mobile Dealer for $29AUS. (This included $29 of credit on our new phone numbers)
2) Insert the SIM card in our mobile phones
3) Call the free number that Virgin provides to activate the number

Once we bought the SIM card, the whole process took no more than 20 minutes and I was quickly texting Ging, Chris, and folks in Indonesia, for pennies per message. Very convenient and handy. I would recommend to any traveller to Australia to make sure you have a mobile phone that SIM cards work in so you can stay connected while on the road (most US mobile phones will not allow you to do this withbout jumping through many hoops).

If you want my Australia number, e-mail me: sean at bootsnall dot com and I will send it along. Yahooooo!

Random Thoughts on BootsnAll in Australia

As usual, Nick does a great job of the what happened in what order, so I'll try to avoid repeating.

We are currently working in our makeshift Brisbane Office. The rotating fan and overcast skies are keeping it cooler today than the past few.

I meant to be more active on the blogging front the past few weeks, but only managed a few posts. Not sure why, I just wasn't inspired to write and share much during our meetings. Which, when I look back it, is fine. The time Nick, Chris and I had in Bali was for us and to take time away from the normal tasks and things so that we could look at our goals etc in a new light. I hope we did that.

Looking forward to celebrating Christmas with the Heidrich's family. Cheers and Happy Holidays to you all.

Re-discovering Brisbane

We're into our third day here in Brisbane and I'm feeling pretty good after a 48 hour period of no energy.

Last night we got to meet up with Ging, a first for me. Arriving at the Normanby pub we ran into Jeanette Bergmann (also known as Ging) who was holding court, and a pool cue with several men. She was well into her holiday celebrations and we joined her, myself alternating between Coke and Rum & Coke after the wine the previous night. The Normanby is a handy place right there on the busy main street and has inside and outside drinking areas plus restaurant. Everyone was good vibes and I managed to lose a game of pool with one of Ging's friends against some other blokes.

Heading downtown we visited a streetside beer garden and a couple of other bars finishing late at the GPO, a bar that was formerly a post office. Ging manged to slip on a wet patch and twist her knee which she's had trouble with in the past. We shared a taxi home dropping her off in Greenslopes and then carrying on to Taringa.

My observations of the nightlife in Brisbane are that there are many new places that are designed to attract a hipper crowd and more females. I remember 10 years ago going to many pubs where you'd find 10 men for every girl, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, at least in the places we went. Also hairstyles are different, no more mullet and center parting, now it's the gelled messy look or short blond streaks (what's Australia coming too!!!).

I'm not used to paying for things in Aussie dollars and am more used to rupiah or $US. Prices seem inflated. Bob, Chris's dad, was showing us a magazine for beer and wine and I couldn't believe the prices for beer, it's not cheap here.

Another highpoint of last night for me was eating at Fatric's streetside cafe. Sean got a chicken sandwich and fries (about a pound of fries!) and I got a pumpkin and feta cheese pizza which was very good for $15. So pleasant to sit outside in the evening and enjoy socializing.

We're thinking of taking a trip to the coast today to visit my buddy Jay.

In Chris's basement in Brisbane Australia

As most residents of QLD already know its stinkin' bloody hot.

Sean, Chris and I arrived from Bali yesterday and were brought to Chris's parent's house in Taringa, a western suburb of Brisbane. Chris is expecting something like 22 relatives over for Christmas and his mother Margaret and her sister Barbara are busy preparing the special food items.

I am recovering from last night's wine and beer, suppied by Bob, Chris's dad. I'm not up to speed with drinking anymore and feel like a zombie. Anyway we're hiding out, Saddam style in the basement where we can pound through email and not disturb anyone else.

I'm looking forward to taking a trip to the coast and visiting some relatives I have on the Gold Coast.

Its good to be in Australia again.

The Missing Links

For some reason, in my reply [below] to Chris, these links weren't embedded?

So, as I was saying, I first met Sean in Brisbane earlier this year, then just three days later, Ant in Seattle; Chris in the middle of the year; and now finally, Nick, then, as the rule seems to be, in a few days time, in Bangkok, the travelling lovebirds, Ant and Claudia...

Any closet Brisbane BnAers, get out and join us!

Integrating Ging

Homeward Bound

It's been a fantastic couple of weeks in Bali, but the BootBoyz and I head back to BrisVegas tonight. Looking forward to spending Xmas with the guys and my fam and no doubt we'll be getting together with a few BootsnAll members at some stage as well.

Fantastic Find

Omigod I had the best meal in my life last night and I have to plug this place. It's only been open 4 weeks and will surely gain momentum, but it has to be said.

It's called Dulac; it's in a prime location in the valley - nextdoor to Ric's. I noticed it last week when I was having a beer at Ric's; I noticed it'd changed from the Indian place it used to be. I noticed it because it would've been perfect for my birthday the week before. I was looking for a tapas/Turkish place and k'bang, it's both! The decor is very Turkish-looking, long wooden tables outside [which dammit, also would've been perfect!], curtains and cushions and candles... It's small, cafe-like; a very funky little place, aesthetically.

Now, the service. Fan-freakin'-tastic. Sure, they're starting out so have to make a good impression, but just fabbo. The waitress greeted us immediately, handed us menus saying, 'it'll be easier to read these' [than the huge board], take a seat, I'll bring you some water and the drinks menu. We sit, she comes back with 'Indian rose water', saying, 'if you don't like it, I'll just get you normal water'. The rose water is a refreshing change... The waitress knows the wine list off by heart, types and prices... We order 2 Chardies and... the food... Omigod...

There's mezes or individual tapas [$7 each]. A vege, seafood or carnivore meze, the latter two both coming w vege stuff also. The seafood's $30, so we share that between 2.

We sip our wine, chat and long enough to know it's 'fresh', but not too long [and we were both fangin'!] out comes the platter. It's huge. Presentation is simple [a mountain of food!], but fab. Okay... there's grilled/barbecued prawns [big, fuck-off king prawns and I mean, BIG!], oysters [2], mussels [several], both of which taste SO fresh, massive rolls of calamari in a pesto/yoghurt dressing [yum! v. homemade], 2 grilled fish [big sardiney looking things - head/tail still on - like you see in street markets in Asia], more 'succulent' white fish [yummy!], and that's just the seafood element, unless I missed something?! Then there's the vege stuff - the most divine, grilled haloumi [my fave cheese], roasted aubergine/eggplant [done perfectly! crispy, not soggy!], roasted peppers/capsicums, chillis, courgette/zucchini, tomatoes, celery [the only thing we don't eat!] and the most scrummy flat mushrooms I've ever tasted [and I love mushies]... Then of course, there was shitloads of Turkish bread w of course, hommous, chilli and pepper/capsicum dips...

Oh my... Halfway through, we look at each other and say, 'this has gotta be $30 a head'. It was huge, gorgeous, perfectly prepared and absolutely no scrimping on quality...

A manager/chef [?] also came out and asked how our meal was, replacing our big bowl of shells w another to start all over again... all the staff smiley and relaxed... in a laidback cool kinda way...

We were stuffed, didn't get through all the bread and a 'few' things were left on the plate. We go to pay and omigod, it's $40 for everything for two people, including the wine...

That meal had ALL my favourite things on one plate, cooked to perfection...

Yum. Bo.

Cuisine Ging

Terror Backpacker

Backpacker found carrying explosives

What I want to know is what country this idiot is from, how he gained possession of the explosives, and what exactly he was thinking of doing with it. I could think of a few choice places to stick it, but I'm curious to see what he was thinking.

Thx to Joe E for sending this along.

Melbourne's Brunswick Street

I didn't do much sightseeing while I was in Melbourne for a couple of days. Just met up with a couple of old, old friends. One from high school and another from my drunken days in merry England. But before I left I'd asked an acquaintance who had lived in Melbourne for a few years where I should go if I just wanted to walk around somewhere cool for a few hours. She had recommended Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and independently my friend decided to take me there to show me a slice of Melbourne.

This is most definitely a fantastic place to wander through. It's a mix of very cool and funky, alongside really old and shonky looking stores. The warehouses in the side streets are being converted to apartments and the second hand stores are becoming expensive vintage boutiques. There's a fantastic bookstore called (bugger, I can't remember right now, but I think it starts with "P"), that you just have to go inside to get the full idea. I won't sell them short by trying to describe it.

There's also tons of cafes and pubs with tables on the footpath, and while it would be a great place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon reading the newspaper and hanging out, it seems as though folks do just that any day of the week. I was also able to get a fantastic breakfast at 3pm in the arvo.

A great mix of people wandering around as well. Dudes in suits, young professionals doing their best to look dishevelled, older blokes down on their luck, flash punks cruising around in their rice rockets. Apparently the area also has one of the highest percentages of the population on the dole. Kinda strange since it looks like it's starting to be invaded by people with cash.

Anyway, I highly recommend going down there hungry &/or thirsty, wandering up and down the street and then settling in for awhile and watch the show unfold in front of you.

Final Countdown

Coming down to the last couple of hours before I leave for the airport. Just about fully packed (besides the laptop) and I don't think I've forgotten to do/pack anything (touch wood).

My backpack is looking pretty full, but I will be able to dump some stuff off in Melbourne, and I really could have done a much better job of packing it. Not packing too many clothes since everyone in my family knows they're getting something cheap and crappy from Bali for Christmas.

Last thing to do (after packing up the laptop) is to give this room a bit of a clean, especially my desk. By the time I get back, Sean will be here and we'll be sharing this space and right now it's a bloody mess.

It's pissing down rain here at the moment, so it feels like I'm leaving at the right time. Hopefully the weather in Melbourne is better (ha!) and when I'm in Bali I just won't care.

A little bit of linguistics

This may have more to do with a Kiwiblog than an Ausblog, but if you're ever confused between the two accents, this should sort you out! Your guide to Kiwischpeak:

1) Milburn - capital of Victoria
2) Peck - to fill a suitcase
3) Pissed aside - chemical which kills insects
4) Pigs - for hanging out washing with
5) Pump - to act as agent for prostitute
6) Pug - large animal with a curly tail
7) Nin tin dough - computer game
8) Munner stroney - soup
9) Min - male of the species
10) Mess Kara - eye makeup
11) McKennock - person who fixes cars
12) Mere - Mayor
13) Leather - foam produced from soap
14) Lift - departed
15) Little crusps - potato chips
16) Ken's - Cairns
17) Jumbo - pet name for someone called Jim
18) Jungle Bills - Christmas carol
19) Inner me - enemy
20) Guess - vapour
21) Fush - marine creatures
22) Fitter cheney - type of pasta
23) Ever cardeau - avocado
24) Fear hear - blonde
25) Ear - mix of nitrogen and oxygen
26) Ear roebucks - exercise at the gym
27) Duffy cult - not easy
28) Amejen - visualise
29) Day old chuck - very young poultry
30) Bug hut - popular recording
31) Bun button - been bitten by insect
32) Beard - a place to sleep
33) Chully Bun - Esky
34) Sucks Peck - Half a dozen beers
35) Ear New Zulland - an extinct airline
36) Beers - large savage animals found in U.S. forests
37) Veerjun - mythical New Zealand maiden
38) One Doze - well known computer program
39) Brudge - structure spanning a stream
40) Sex - one less than sivven
41) Tin - one more than nine
42) Iggs Ecktly - Precisely
43) Earplane - large flying machine
44) Beggage Chucken - place to leave your suitcase at the earport
45) Sivven Sucks Sivven - large Boeing aircraft
46) Sivven Four Sivven - larger Boeing aircraft
47) Cuds - children
48) Pits - domestic animals
49) Cuttin - baby cat

'Gung'

Last Minute Stuff

Coming down to the wire somewhat before I leave Brisbane for a couple of days in Melbourne and then a full two weeks in Bali. I have a full to-do list, but I'm feeling confident I have the time to do everything I need/want to.

One of those things is a birthday dinner for Ging tonight in West End with about 20 of her closest friends. I'm too much the gentleman to reveal her age, but anyone reading feel free to leave your birthday wishes below.

Happy Birthday, mate!