Arrive Melbun - Dec 20

This morning’s breakfast was not what I expected.  After arriving at two AM into Melbourne (our flight was rerouted to Sydney due to storms) I woke up at 8 am to meet the tourist agency downstairs to see if I could join any tours for the day.  I arranged a walking tour for 1030am and a sunset view of “great ocean road” which looked neat for the following day at 11am.  With 2hours 30min to spare before the walking tour, I decided to try to make it to the beach and get some drone footage.  When I asked directions how best to get to the beach, a random guy walking by said he was going and he would show me.  Along the way this well spoken fifty something guest disclosed that he was a recovering addict, and had been an addict in this area, offering to show me some of the other sides of the city along the way where he “used” but I would probably walk by without knowing what was really going on.  Also along the way he was going to stop and get breakfast and offered me a free breakfast stating that it was pretty good and I’d like it.  I decided that this path had crossed my journey and I don’t really like to avoid realities of life simply because they are less comfortable, so I went for the free breakfast.  What an experience, it was as bad as food in Africa, canned beans and oats with milk.  As if they ran out of food and had to break into the storages in the back that lasted years.  I always wonder why people can’t afford to invest in some darned chickens and have free eggs…  Why does eating eggs have to make me feel so “privileged” when they are practically free?  Even if you buy them from a store you can get perfectly good eggs for relatively nothing…  Yet there I was subjected to canned beans and oats with milk for breakfast at a shelter run by Catholics (bless their hearts for doing it, but see chickens statement earlier).  What a morning.  I got some drone footage and then made it to my walking tour as it was starting.  It took a lot longer due to traffic than two miles seemed like it would take – and taxi fairs are expensive.  I saw an uber driver dropping someone off so I decided to try and hire one but for some reason it gave me a driver 3 miles away instead.  He took forever to make it to me so I just jumped in a taxi.  About the time I arrived to the walking tour, the uber driver finally made it to my marked location – terrible.  The $10 cancellation fee was refunded which was nice, and my taxi was $12 AUD for record.

The walking tour was quite nice, I really enjoyed walking through the city and could easily imagine myself living in Melbun.  As I haven’t eaten anything but oats and beans I was starving, but we didn’t have time to stop and eat anything.  While the tour guide was telling stories he asked if anyone was from this country or that country, and then asked if anyone was from USA but no one raised their hand except me – again the only American.  I actually haven’t seen an American yet on my trip in either Fiji or Australia.  After I raised my hand a Canadian police officer asked me where in America I was from and we got along quite nicely the entire tour.  I really enjoyed conversing with him and learning about his story as well as sharing mine.  I flew the drone at the end of the tour and got some nice videos.  

After the tour, Zac, the police officer and I walked a good distance back together and talked more about life, he told me he met his girlfriend on a pub crawl in Portugal and she was a flight attendant, how they have traveled many places together and how they make it work.  We shared a lot of similar views on things and I enjoyed the talk.  We split ways and I went to the Eureka tower.  Though there were plenty of places to eat, I wanted to get eureka tower done as fast as possible in case there were any hiccups, since I would not have another chance.  There was an hour queue but I was able to knock it off the list.  “The edge” as they call it, was quite neat.  A group of us got into a glass box with steel columns holding the glass together and the entire box was mechanically extended out from the building.  The glass was extremely clouded, so we couldn’t see through it and I was a bit confused until the movement ceased, a loud noise scared us and the glass became clear all at once.  The girls next to me told me they were sisters from Kentucky; the eldest was studying abroad in Townsville Queensland, and the youngest sister went to Clemson (one of my favorite schools as far as people I’ve met that went there) and I think we had a bit of a moment where we were happy to see fellow a fellow American.

After Eureka tower I went back to the room, showered and changed to make it in time for dinner with Joel and Jesse (I had met them on a previous trip in Berlin). They took me to a rooftop bar and another place Joel used to go to often.  It was an after work crowd, they had a couple beers and we chatted the evening away.  I told them about my breakfast, which they teased me quite a bit for, and we caught up on life.  It was really good to talk to them and see a familiar face on the road. 

The walk home from dinner was another great walk.  I really enjoy walking around this city.  It has a small city feel to it, but it is definitely a massive city with around 4 million people.  I’m not sure how they do such a great job of making it seem so small and seemingly safe.  If I ever get a job offer in Melbun (Melbourne is pronounced melbun and cairns is pronounced cans – I’ve been taught) there is a good chance I’d accept based off location at least.  Excited for the great ocean road trip tomorrow.

Once I got home I threw some laundry in and met two ladies from Finland who were also doing laundry, had a nice chat with them, heard their stories which were quite unique and exchanged facebook information should I ever need ideas if / when I visit finland and vice versa.  They new each other back in finland but didn’t know they would meet traveling.  One of the girls met another friend from finland in Australia and rented a camper for 50 days going up the east coast with her childhood friend that she didn’t even know was going to be in Australia.  That is unbelievable to me… how random it is to have a friend from your childhood visiting another continent and then deciding to do a 50 day trip once you meet up together?  Interesting. 

Getting to bed early after a great day touring a great city.  It started off rather weird, but as I expected, it finished strong.  My stomach is not happy with the breakfast I fed it, but the steak for dinner should eventually calm it down.

Leaving Fiji Dec 19

A three mile jog around the smuggler’s cove area in Fiji this morning was really neat.  I ran past a hanger on the water and watched a seaplane take off but the more interesting part was the land around the hanger.  Pristine grass rolling fields with palm trees on calm Fiji water with perfect weather as the sun was rising … truly beautiful.  It really is a laid-back island life here.

Departing Fiji, the taxi driver that picked me up from smuggler’s cove really talked a lot and told me about how they get paid two dollars an hour, how the storm destroyed his house, and the government is corrupt.  How he works 7 days a week and gets 20 dollars a day.  I really didn’t know what to think of it all and couldn’t help but partially think he has his story down for tips.  I wonder how much of it is true, I did notice a lot of the locals showed common signs of not being very well off such as clothes are dirty, nails and feet are really rough, how they treat the children, what their houses looked like of the ones I could see (off the side of the road were shacks), and when I asked the resort staff how long they worked it 35 days on 8 days off.  The good news though is that everyone was happy and the work wasn’t too bad, they lived in paradise and were hopeful, positive people they kept saying.  I really wonder about the different lives we all lead, and nature, nurture, circumstance etc.  That’s a conversation for another day.

At the airport (Nadi – pronounced Nonndy) the public wifi was being a little too good at preventing me from getting another free 30 minutes so I decided to search for the VIP lounges I am always told I have access to due to my credit cards.  Something really interesting happened.  Can you guess what it is?  I want to build some suspense here…  What could it possibly be??  What happens at airport lounges?  How much further can I draw this out?  Are you still reading?

When I went to the first lounge, they were closed.  They had really weird hours, and it appeared to be quite nice so I was sad.  It even had that eucalyptus smell in the air though honestly it would probably just give me a headache after a few minutes.  I went on to the next lounge where the lady at the front door looked like she had a long day and just wanted to get off shift.  She looked at me, and pulling all her kindness together she asked me to please go to the other lounge that will open in 15 minutes.  As she was saying that to me another guest left saying this is crazy – kind of a snobby guest but also probably knew way more about lounges than I did.   I replied “really?” with my most confused and dignified look as if I was a master lounger to test her resolve…  She replied back in a “cut the bs” tone saying “yes, you’ll see” she said the magic words “you’ll see” I thought – alright I sure will.  So I went down the hall as she directed and sat outside the third lounge, which was gated and barred, shut.  The man inside directed me back to the second lounge but I told him in my cut the bs tone that she just told me to come to this lounge.  I offered to make peace and said all I want is wifi, which they gave me access to.  I was happy.  I did notice at the time they were out of the ordinary nice to me but I was starting to think that is just Fiji.

After a few minutes the guy who looked like he was in charge of the guy in charge opened the door and welcomed me in.  He shook my hand quite firmly and then everyone in the lounge was lined up as I walked in to greet me.  I thought to myself, dang Mitty this lounge treatment is amazing.  This was the first time I ever entered a lounge on my own credentials/by myself as truthfully when I go to the airport I’m usually running to catch my flights.  Everyone kept coming up to me saying sorry, and trying to give me stuff like foods, drinks, tell me stories, I had my bose noise cancelling headphones on and really just wanted to get on the Internet.  I was the first person served a drink they said (Fijian punch double checked to make sure it was non-alcoholic), first person at the buffet – everything was SO GOOD  - my first time having Fijian chicken and rice “nonya” (prounounced nun – ya and yes I made a joke – which I was happy that the person working spoke English and understood me as I’m used to people not understanding my jokes in foreign countries), pumpkin spinach soup, free fruits and Fiji water bottle (that’s the first time ever) to go as well.  I did think it slightly odd that they made such a big deal of this every day.  When they asked to take a picture with me and for my email I was really confused.  Apparently, I made history they said, as it was the first day for their lounge, ever, and I was the first guest.  “You’ll see” indeed I thought.  Well, that’s a great first lounge experience if I ever could dream one up!  All other lounge experiences will have big expectations now.  Except the ones where I meet with Stephen, Cecilia and her mom, that was awesome and I miss you all bunches.

Also, checking in to the airline, the lady was rather unusually kind to me, and said “sir would you like extra leg room?”  Naturally, I said how much?  Because Fiji has indeed charged me for everything.  She said “free!”  So now as I sit on the plane taking off, I have massive amounts of legroom and the entire row to myself.  Apparently they had extra premium seats available and just wanted to give them to me.  I love the little things!  Jesse is helping me find a sim card that will give me data throughout Oz, and hopefully grabbing me from the airport (aka stoops from my berlin slideshow), I love OZ!!  (and I’m not even there yet)

It is not normal for me to have this burning excitement/happiness when I think about heading somewhere (Melbourne - wish I had more time).  I also wish I could go to Adelaide and can’t wait for Sydney.  Just the names call to me much like Buenos Aires does (and I loved BA), but I just don’t have time.  I’d have to cut out New Zealand entirely to go to Adelaide.  Perhaps I should??? No, New Zealand also calls… I feel like this trip is going to be amazing even if absolutely nothing happens – though that is impossible.  One way or the other, this trip is going to produce massive memories, without a doubt.   I am super excited to see what awaits and can’t remember ever feeling this way before a trip.

The Virgin Australia flight is taking off (I love the name “Virgin” and indeed they’ve been really nice, but come on, no plug ins, and no entertainment! Ahhhh).

and THE REAL VACATION BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!

Sydney…. Just the name appeals to me so much.  Can’t wait to be in the harbor flying my drone probably breaking all the laws.  Hope I don’t get into too much trouble ;)

Four days in Fiji

Flying over Hawaii and landing in Fiji was a first for me.  The airport was as small as I expected and I was through customs in about 20 minutes.  Since boarding the flight to Fiji, everything was about 10-30 minutes late.. (Fiji time).  I took a 20 minute taxi ride for $20 usd and arrived at Denarau marina at around 7 am for my 830 ferry to yasawas.  With no one around I found it an opportune time to take out the drone and checked out the area.  Something about being in the middle of the pacific really made everything I saw seem a little more awesome than perhaps it should be.  The drone footage was average due to rather gloomy weather at 7 in the morning with heavy overcast but it was Fiji and I wanted to get it documented. 

With a grade and some test scores pending, I wasn’t fully on vacation yet, anxious to hear if my hard work paid off or if some decisions I made in prioritization worked against me.  I took some gambles and felt like I pulled it off but wouldn’t be sure until I saw the results; when I put that much work into something, I don’t easily forget it, even if I am in Fiji.   Receiving my grade set my vacation up well, I finished community college with a perfect transcript in engineering and comp science for my applications!

My ferry ride impressed me a great deal, I highly recommend if you are ever in Fiji to take the tour around the islands by boat.  Perhaps it was the fact that I just finished finals, but the islands really made an impact on me.  I had this huge smile on my face the entire time just fascinated by the visuals Fiji provided.  I conversed with another passenger and he said the same thing… in fact everyone I talked to (very well traveled people) said the same thing– very rarely do you get everyone in agreement that where we are at is one of the best places in the world.  Fiji is just truly unique from anything I’ve seen and I can only describe it like a chunk of Ireland in paradise.  Ireland had some magnificent views that made me really happy just to see them, and Fiji kind of had that same feeling, but the weather is absolutely perfect and the water couldn’t be better – hence the chunks of Ireland in paradise.

Fiji is extremely slow, and could be considered boring depending what you’re looking for.  Since I wasn’t looking for anything, I found exactly what I was looking for and then some.

Arriving at my resort with a few other guests was a lot of fun.  A polish woman and her newlywed from England on their honeymoon, a German woman that had been traveling for a year and myself got a quick briefing and shown to our rooms.  I grabbed some snorkeling and checked out the reef right in front of the resort – amazing.  They say it is one of the best snorkels in the world, and I believe it.  Manta ray season was over by about two months, but they said 20 foot wide manta rays can be seen when they are here… something I want to make it back for.

Grabbing lunch, I realized the food here is amazing (though for some reason there were one or two people that didn’t like it so I have to include that into this honest review)  I’m really impressed with the chef, as it is the only food I’ve had in Fiji I can’t speak about the food in general, but the food here at the resort is top notch (as I’m rereading this and editing it, I stayed at another resort on the last two days and it was not anywhere near the quality of food at Manta Ray).  The resort has scheduled times and course meals to eat.  There is a bar where you can buy snacks and pizza (which I had to try) but for the most part I just go to the community meal times.  Diving the following day was conveniently timed to be right after breakfast and returning before lunch ended. 

Isabella, the German woman was a certified scuba diver and I wanted to dive with her so I had to convince them to let me go on the more advanced dive, which they agreed to do.  I haven’t been diving in a while but remember diving really deep with a friend in the q course as well as scuba diving several times on excursions around the world.  We ended up doing a 40 minute dive at 18-20 meters and a 52 minute dive at 15 meters along a beautiful reef and in very clear waters.  They took us snorkeling off an island where I was able to track down a shark and pick up a supposedly deadly shell animal on accident.  I knew the rule about don’t touch but it looked so harmless and pretty…   Shame on me.

The dive group became well acquainted as we took photos and videos of each other, bonding over an experience unlike anything I’ve had before.  The dives were literally five minutes away from our resort and world class.  Fiji naturally provided us with more beauty than we really needed or I asked for. 

After the dives I was a bit worn out and burnt – decided to relax and fly the drone a bit as the weather was fantastic.  I’ve been doing my best to keep up with writing in this blog while also transferring go pro and drone footage (which takes forever due to micro sd).   After dinner I started compiling videos and distributing them to the other divers, we got some really good film and even the most experienced diver was amazed at the drone footage and gopro footage we were able to capture.  One thing I did not know was that I needed a dive house for my go pro, apparently if you go down 20 meters the stock case has a small chance to malfunction and gopro won’t fix it – since I was on the beginning of a long trip I decided to leave my go pro behind when Liam offered to let me use his case.  Really nice of him and I was able to film underwater.  Everyone was really nice at this resort, and it really made the trip feel like home (which is their quote in Fiji, “welcome home”).

I haven’t had time to drink alcohol with all the studying I’ve been doing, and honestly I don’t have an urge to drink now that I’m on vacation either.  I have a lot of things I would like to get done, such as documenting travel and I’d love to get the video edited during my trip as it is an arduous process and I expect to have tons of videos.  Just the first two days in Fiji I had over 500 photos and videos to process.  During my photo editing I was sitting in the main common area down by the beach and the staff grabbed us all together to play games.   We did limbo, some dancing thing, and a type of simon says game, it was fun.   I met five female law students from Norway and Denmark studying in Australia, a swiss teacher on a five month dive trip in the pacific, a few people from the Netherlands, and one person from japan.  As usual the conversations were really high quality and I just thoroughly enjoy meeting other travelers even though I don’t really go out of my way to talk to anyone, conversations happen, it’s a part of traveling and I always accept it happily.

Right now I am on day 3 (and now I’m on day four waiting for my plane as I edit this), laying in bed taking it easy.  The weather is gloomy again and I am enjoying relaxing.   I’ve met some good people, added them to facebook and will move on in a few hours.  I’m headed back to the mainland where I hope to relax more and possibly work more on these videos I have to process.  I feel like I’ll be doing more siteseeing than I want to do on this trip, so I am trying my best to do absolutely nothing whenever I can.  Technically my trip hasn’t even started yet as I wasn’t even planning on going to Fiji.  I hope to get the videos and pics posted as I go in case I lose my electronics on the way I don’t want to lose all the pictures I have taken.

 

Update, on day three I transferred to the main Island, stayed at smugglers cove, and enjoyed a sunset dinner on the beach, of which I will hopefully be able to post a picture. --->

I went for a morning run, did a very brief workout, and finished editing my video/uploading it.  I’m enjoying a desk in my room with stable internet and taking it easy as I wait for my plane to Melbourne.  As great as Fiji was – truly unbelievably beautiful and so happy I went – I really want to get to Australia!  So excited to land in Melbourne for some reason….  And Sydney, and EVERYWHERE else…  I have never even googled Australia, so I have no idea what I’m going to find but I just have this feeling from other’s experiences that I’m going to enjoy it.  Plus I really enjoyed my last group travel experience I did with the company I’m meeting in Sydney.  Stay tuned for more from Australia next!

Peru/Santiago/Buenos Aires/Rio/Iguazu/El Salvador

It has been a while since I've posted...

And even longer since I've written in my own journal.

But another trip is fast approaching........

Life seems like it has gone by a mile a minute since that moment I stopped writing somewhere after Macchu Pichu.  I thoroughly believe in writing while traveling, though something happened to me in those mountain top villages and train rides through the lost valley.  My life was changed in some way that I can still feel, and I also just stopped writing.  I even stopped site seeing for the majority of the rest of my trip.  I didn't think anything special of the trek to MP, but somewhere on it I changed.  I even remember looking at macchu pichu thinking, why do people take all this trouble to see this place, when it looks just like the dang pictures?  I was underwhelmed.  But perhaps the reward is in the journey, as I've heard several times, for surely something hastened my growth during that endeavor - and what a pain it was to get there, financially and logistically.  As I don't often plan ahead, believing if I'm supposed to go somewhere, I'll get there, MP is the one place you should plan ahead - NOTHING else to do, and tickets sell out, leaving you to develop your creative bargaining skills.
 

Aside from every taxi driver heavily advertising less than gentleman-like establishments, Peru was awesome.  It really had a small town feel, there was amazing food, great people, lots of tourists, it was cheap and those mountains were really beautiful.  I wished I had more time for Lake Titicaca and Bolivia, some day I will go back.

Santiago was a standard major city in Latin America, very modern, a bit pricy.  I really laid low and stayed in the city, visiting major industry areas and good restaurants, local markets and took some jogs through the city for views.

Buenos Aires really lived up to the name that was ingrained in my brain since I was a child.  Something about that name calls to me every time I hear it.  My friends have spoken highly of it, and it really delivered.  Something about the people there really attracts me, the city is beautiful, nothing major I can write about, just a lot of little things that make it feel rather beautiful to me.  I put a lot of thought while I was there whether or not I would like to move there, and I came to the conclusion it would be very hard to get me to leave America, but if I did, that would be among the top of the list.  Coincidentally, as soon as I got back, I began a friendship with a local argentinian woman in my physics class, and she really made a huge impact on my life.  Life sure has surprises.

Rio was as advertised, some kind of naturally amazing landscape with a Miami vibe to it.  Rio is just Rio, and you've got to go there.   I probably will not return alone, but I would like to go there again with friends some day.  Sao Paulo was rather run down and I was surprised flying in and driving from the airport.  I decided to skip it because it just didn't draw my attention.  

Cataracas de Iguazu or whatever they are called, the big waterfalls were amazing.  That little town I stayed in was amazing too.  I had so much fun!!!  Made friends with the hostel and we just had a blast in the little pool out back, the dinners they serve the group, the little night clubs they had and the shenanagans we got into when we made our own fun.  Really was a blast.

El Salvador was really small, and my brief stay was all I needed to see the majority of the country.  Conversations with locals exposed a serious corruption problem, or at least they made it seem that way.  Not sure their interest in lying, but it seemed about right with the lack of economical mark I felt should have been there.  I kept wondering why people haven't developed the country more as it reminded me a lot of California.

All in all, I met so many great people, traveling is such a blessing as I think back and a year has already passed, I haven't even had time to digest that trip yet another is starting...  

I just finished my subject tests.  I wasn't planning on taking them but something in my gut didn't feel right not even applying to MIT (even though I am pretty sure I won't get in).  I'm trying to go the extra mile and really not leave any chances out.  I had no time to study and I was afraid that trying to take these tests would overwhelm me even hurting my grades or UC apps as the only time to take the tests occurred right before finals and the day after UC apps were due.  Let's just say trying to catch up in electro/magnetism physics while studying three other physics, going back to study precalc thoroughly while learning differential equations after finishing all the calculus series, assembly language, tutoring C++, writing and rewriting essays summarizing my life into words for the first time, while also on numerous volunteer committees and on top of that being diagnosed with vertigo making me dizzy all the time...

my brain feel like this:

This past month really was tough for me on a number of levels, but I really feel like I learned a lot, grew in many ways and am quite excited about the future.  I think that everything I've worked hard for is finally approaching my grasp, and it is better than I thought it would be, but I still have a lot of work to do.  It is rather perfect then to take this next trip, and in two weeks I'll be in Fiji, hopefully I'll write then.