2006-09-04 Singapore

Ten hour layover in Singapore, but I didn’t arrive until midnight. My American cousin (one of many) Eve met me and drove me into town for a beer off Orchard Road. Oh Singapore, so clean, so efficient, so sweat inducing. Eve and Brian live in luxury, so I had a nice 2am dip in their pool before heading out to explore the city. Yep, I was sweaty in no time again, but good thing it was dark and the city was at its coolest (28C). Found a nice hawkers mart that had some good veggie food for me. There were some very friendly people, more than ready to chat in the early hours, and because it was Singapore, I wasn’t worried about touts. Eventually I got tired and wandered my way back to the Airport for another lengthy (7hrs) flight down to Australia. Crossing the Equator for only the second time in my life!

2006-09-04 Brisbane

To Australia! To the Airport at Brisbane…which is a bit of a sedate place to arrive. Immigration was half the ordeal that food inspection was, but I made it through with my chocolate, peanut butter, tea and coffee. Friendly info people had me on my way using a door-to-door minibus, which was just great. After so much time travel, I zonked out on the bus despite the uncomfortable seats. I only awoke as we were snaking through Surfers Paradise in the dark and rain. The bright lights of Jupiter's Casino flashed and illuminated the hotels around it. It was far kitschier than I had been expecting.

2006-09-05 Gold Coast

Spending my final semester on exchange at Balleman Bond (as I like to call it). It’saA nice, but resorty, small private university on the Gold Coast. Half the students are international, so my immersion in Australian culture is somewhat tempered. There are however buses, trains and planes that can take me to the rest of this grand land.