Day to Day

The return to Bucketty never happened last weekend as a result of the brutal weather that we have been having here in Sydney - the area was flooded and they had no power or phone lines. I knew before I came to Sydney that there would be a lot of Irishness about the place but I didn't expect to have the Irish winter weather It has been lashing pretty much for the last 10 days... As a result of the extreme weather there have been floodings, power outages and lots of trees falling down all over New South Wales. Its not all bad though (if you're Australian) because they desperately needed the rain due to the water shortages. It is definitely not making the sigth seeing side of things any easier (haven't even managed to see one of Sydneys beaches yet )

The "kept man" tag is beginning to weigh heavily so I did a ton more job hunting last week.. Still don't have anything but registered with a recruitment company last Thursday to do some data entry / office admin work (follow in Aoife's footsteps..) and they reckon they'll have something for me in the next day or two. I also got offered a job as a hotel manager. The fact that my hotel management skills are zero at best and the hours would be unsociable were not the real reason I decided to turn down the job. It was more the fact that the guy who offered me the job was also cutting my hair at the time and was very very creepy. I was nervous enough about my hair cut when I saw his hair (a dodgy, shiny combover thing) but when he offering me jobs I couldn't wait to get out of there.

We have now moved out of hostels and are currently renting a wee studio apartment just off the main drag of Kings Cross. For those of you who don't know Kings Cross, the first result in a google search describes it thus:

King's Cross has for a long time been known to most Australians as the drugs and red light capital of Australia. Most Australians who have visited Sydney at one time or another have wandered through the Cross, if only for a look at how the "other half" live and play. In recent years, however, this sleezy pocket of Sydney has started to evolve, albeit ever so slowly, into a richly vibrant part of the city. The strip clubs, topless waitresses, adult bookshops and tacky nightclubs are still there, but small, trendy cafes have sprung up on the fringes of the Cross that are attracting a different type of visitor. The Cross is most sleazy at night, when the bright lights come on and the action hots up. During the day it can look a lot less threatening.

We are happy enough with it but glad we won't be staying here for ever! It's not very threatening at all really, it's close to the train station, there are always plenty of tourists and police around, and best of all - its cheap! (half the price of a 10 person mixed dorm in the centre of Sydney). We also have found a decent local that has a free table quiz on Monday night and a free poker night on Tuesday night which is good fun.

Last Friday we began to reap the rich benefits of Aoife working for a toilet roll company (Kimberly Clarke) and got free tickets to a NRL (National Rugby League) match in the Telstra Stadium. For the record it was Bulldogs Vs. Broncos. It was our first rugby league match so we weren't completely au fait with all the rules but we still enjoyed it. Very different from rugby union though (which we much prefer). Wasn't the greatest game ever and the stadium was only half full but the seats were really nice (padded corporate seats no less) - Champagne backpacker lifestyle continues . It was great craic watching the home supporters (Bulldogs fans) getting very very upset at how badly their team were playing but unfortunately it all turned a bit nasty after the match as there was a hug fight and about 10 people were arrested...

On Saturday morning we were to return to Bucketty so we caught the train to Tuggerah where we were to be picked up by Roisin and John and the boys. The train was very delayed (cue the driver ranting and raving about the situation and apologising for "Rail Corps total incompetance" - hehe) which just seems to be the way things go now whenever John and Roisin try to collect us. We were taken to Avoca Beach (yay - our first beach in Australia!) and we had fish 'n' chips and calamari and watched the surfers showing off. That evening two of the neighbours were invited over and we had our first Ozzy BBQ - we even ate kangaroo (which was very tasty - if they still stock it in Superquinn I recommend ye to give it a try) and lots of other tasty food and wine. It reminded me a lot of sunday bbqs at home though because there was loads of us trying to squeeze onto a table and it was even raining. Aoife also taught Jack and Fergus how to play poker (hehe - big mistake!).

On Sunday we awoke to a power cut. Didn't really make any difference to the day as we had planned to play some board games anyway. When we arrived over to the house the boys were all set up to play some more poker. We were minding the boys for the afternoon because Roisin and John had the AGM for the volunteer rural firefighters. We played card games and board games until even Aoife had enough (hours worth!) and watched movies. That evening we had more of Roisin and Johns neighbours over and we had lasagne and home made pizza. All in all another great weekend was had. We were dropped down to the train this morning (very early - left at 5am) and returned to the city this to more rain.

Back to reality (sort of) - the job hunt continues and we're heading to the quiz tonight (might even win this time - although we are horribly outnnumbered by most of the teams).

Wahey! Sorry we're SO bloody slow at updating this but its been a busy week! So.... on Bucketty: It was really cool. We went walking, saw local soccer teams of all ages (I'll have a full report for Bay FC - basically I think ye could take 'em), and we went to a house party that turned out to be more "Electric Picnic" type music festival that what I would classify as your typical (or even exceptional) house party. They had those hippie fire twirlers.. and a marquee.. and bands.. and a DRUMMING WORKSHOP.. crazy... Good fun though! (Aoife especially enjoyed some of the people watching.. plenty of scope!). We even managed to get in two board games - and as anybody who is aware of Aoife's boardgame addiction and hyper-competitive "streak" would expect - she enjoyed it immensely. The "grown-up" badgering the kids for "Just one more game of monopoly pleeeeeeease!" is not the usual way of things. We were also fed fantastically on our visit (it was so great to get home cooked food after eating out for 4 months!). We had Kanga-Lasagne (yes - that's what you imagine it is!) and more homebaked goods than you can shake a stick at. Hurray! One of the days we went for a bit of a walk around their back garden to work up an appetite - hunger is the best sauce etc. An hour in we had only scratched the surface of what it had to offer. Luckily we escaped the dreaded leeches - although Roisin not so lucky. She's made of tougher stuff than us though so there was no panic.

We left Bucketty on Monday morning (a neighbour of Roisin and John's kindly gave us a lift to the train station) and got ourselves checked into the Wake Up! Hostel near Sydneys central business district. We then proceeded to look for jobs and go out a LOT with the very nice people with whom we were sharing our 10 person dorm. I managed to lose my hoodie on one such night out - hadn't even managed to put it on me... sigh.. The next morning we were sitting around playing cards and listening to a playlist on my MP3 player with a girl in our dorm (Tina from LA) and on came "Where's me jumper?" by the Sultans of Ping ("Dancing in the disco, bumper to bumper. Wait a minute! Where's me jumper?!"). We were all much amused by the appropriateness of the tune. Tina (having never heard it before) was particularly amused by the line "And my girlfriend will be so so angry". Hehe As ye can imagine - the two activities of going out and job hunting did not mix well. No - I don't have a job yet (although I am meant to be gardening next week for a few days - hehe). Yes - Aoife does though! As an office administrator - yay!

I'm living the dream at the moment - I cook (green curry tonight!), do the washing and take care of all Tadhg & Aoife administrative tasks (which today included flat hunting and picking up our post from the hostel which we have now moved out of).

We are now staying in Kings Cross / Potts Point - it depends which signs you believe. It has a little bit of a dodgy rep but where we are is actually really nice (The Jolly Swagman Hostel - argh! [a la pirate]). We have been lying pretty low to give our (my) old bodies a rest from the boozing and because Aoife is knackered from bringing in the bacon. hee hee.

As for touristy stuff - we have been totally useless (big surprise). It appears that going out a lot doesn't mix with getting up out of bed early enough to see anything. We did manage to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (at night..) - and it was up close too we'll have you know - not just from the train!

We are back to Bucketty for this weekend for another does of Roisin and John's hospitality (and Jack and Fergus too!). We were thinking of driving but we have chickened out and are leaving that adventure for another day

Be in touch soon!

Tadhg & Aoife

Just a quickie update this time. Have been in Australia since last early Wednesday morning. We've spent a very cool and chilled out few days in "The Bush", staying with the Pengellys in Bucketty (Aoife's extended family to the rescue again!). We left Bucketty on Monday morning and have been staying in a gigantic hostel in the middle of Sydney.

We have been searching for jobs for the last two days (no success yet! ) and we're both wrecked after all the walking around we've been doing - hence the short update! Expect a much longer update in the next day or two - have plenty of craic from Bucketty and we will hopefully both have jobs!

Bye for now,

Tadhg & Aoife

We arrived in Singapore last Thursday evening after bidding a sad farewell to Declan & Margaret in Koh Samui. We were picked up by Patrick (Aoife's Uncle) and brought to his pub (Seamus O' Donnell's) where we met up with Helene (Patrick's wife - she doesn't like the term Aunty!) and we were treated to our first pints of cider in a long LONG time

On Friday our main objective was to get chest X-Rays for our Australian Visa application. All was fine and we don't have TB. Phew! We spent most of the rest of the day walking around the shops - Aoife getting her fix... We eventually began to feel guilty about our lack of tourist activity so we walked down to the Botanical Gardens for eh.. more walking. Was a cool place though - we only saw a tiny bit of it (it's HUGE!) but we did manage to see the swans, ducks, fish and turtles in the lake.

On Saturday Patrick and Helene took us to the East Coast part of the island to engage in THE traditional Singaporean pastime - eating! We had all sorts of tasty stuff but the main attraction was Chilli Crab - yum! We then took a walk around Chinatown before heading back to the pub to watch the FA Cup Final. Boo hoo

Sunday we went for champagne brunch (I feel posh just saying the word) in the Shangri-La Hotel. Best. Breakfast. Ever.!!! Seriously, it was deadly! It had pretty much every type of food you could think of - Indian, Chinese, Sushi & Sashimi, roast meats, kebabs, dim sum, a huge seafood section, chocolate fountain and strawberries.... You get the picture. You even get a little box (see photo) to fill with pick-a-mix sweets to bring home for when you just can't fit anymore in! Unfortunately that photo was about as close to my sweets as I got. As I stumbled my way up the escalators after gorging on the feast I managed to rop my box of sweets, thereby spilling my M&M's, buttons and jellies all over the place. The sight of them gathering at the top of the escaltor was upsetting but I kept it cool and managed to escape the building before I incurred the probable fine for dropping sweets on an escalator. Sounds crazy but a fine for "Dropping sweets on escalators" would definitely be a possibility here - the city has rightly earned the nickname "Fine City". No jay-walking, no eating / drinking on public transport, no carrying of certain fruit on the subway, the nlist goes on and on...

Sunday afternoon we went shopping for a new camera as the old one has kind of died We got a great deal so we're well chuffed with our purchase.

On Sunday evening we went to the Night Safari in Singapore Zoo - great place to test out the new camera! It was great - very worthwhile if you enjoy going to zoos at all. Have a few wee videos that I took so I might post one up if I get a chance.

Yesterday we went to the cinema to see "Next" - pretty awful really (especially the ending). If you've seen the trailer save your money and go see something else as you've already seen the whole movie. After the movie we went out to Sentosa. It was kind of like a theme park tropical island. We went for a bit of a wander around, took some nice sunset shots on the new camera, had a paddle in the sea, and got some pizza & Tiger beer. We rounded it off with a quick trip on the monorail back to the mainland. Pretty nice way to kill an evening all in all

Today was spent panicking over our visas. We applied about 10 days ago (I know, I know! should have been earlier!!!) but the whole process was delayed because we need to get those chest x-rays. We got them and they were fine but still no sign of the visa.. We spent the morning in the Australian High Commission sweating over whether we would be able to fly out this evening or not. They sorted us out in the end (and were all very friendly to boot!) you'll all be pleased to hear so the adventure continues. Roll on Sydney

Many apologies again that this has taken so long to update! Following our last post the weather in Koh Chang got a bit nasty.. Still very warm but plenty of big and impressive thunder & lightning storms. We did very little in the way of news worthy stuff on the island. Our big activity during our whole time there was the ill-fated day we decided to hire a scooter and see the island.

We set off early (a little wobbly at first it must be said) with a mind to driving the road the skirts the coast of the island. It soon got very difficult for the amateur scooter-ist as there were very hairy hairpin turns and hills to contend with. During one of the steep ascents 15 minutes in we had to stop the bike as it was struggling with the steepness of the slope. I then managed somehow to fall off the edge of the road with the bike into the ditch At least it was only me and I didn't bring Aoife down with me! With both legs and pride bruised we set off again on our ambitious endeavor. It was about an hour later when we were more comfortable on the bike that we managed to hit our top speed for the day - a whopping 40kmph! It was all going swimmingly until I made the comment that I may in fact be the best scooter driver in the world (at that speed anyhow..). We then promptly got a flat tyre plum in the middle of nowhere After getting some friendly advice from some locals (sporting the customary bright yellow t-shirts) we decided to split up. I would ride the bike back to town to get it repaired and Aoife would walk I eventually found a garage and through the use of universal sign language (not one word of english) I managed to get the puncture repaired. Five minutes later (before I got a chance to think "Poor Aoife walking on her own..") Aoife turned up looking remarkably fresh for someone who must either have sprinted about 5 miles in world record time or gotten a lift. She didn't run.
We then set off in such optimism that we forgot to check our fuel gauge. Cue the two of us running on fumes expecting to be stranded in the middle of nowhere again. Luckily we got some petrol in time (and a cornetto - phew!). Again, all was going swimmingly - we had almost completed our circuit of the island when we ran into an unforseen problem. A dead end. It appears the road has not yet been completed around the island!!! Sigh. Looking on the bright side - it cheered up the girls working at the restaurant at the end of the road no end when we asked them where was the rest of the road. How they laughed...
It was very disheartening to turn around and face into another 2 and a half hours back in the same direction we had come. We rolled back into Lonely Beach two very tired and sore back-sided backpackers. We had payed for the bike for 24 hours so we got up early to give Aoife a spin about the carpark on the bike as I had done all the driving the previous day. It wasn't as stylish as she'd hoped - more stumbling foal than graceful gazelle To add insult to injury we then got fined another fiver for a scratch to the side of the bike that must have happened when I fell off the road.. Obviously we tried to deny all knowledge of it but they saw right through us

The only other story of note was that we attended a party at which we got free food, free food poisoning, and ended up buying a drink for the birthday ladyboy Patrick

We've just spent the last 10 days in style as Aoife's parents (Declan & Margaret) have been over visiting We returned to Bangkok to meet them. We spent a few days in Bangkok acting like proper tourists - trying to go to sights (we didn't get into the Grand Palace because the bouncers on the door said that we couldn't come in - "Not in those shoes, shorts or tops"), shopping and eating out. We also made a return to the Paragon Cineplex, A.K.A. the best cinema EVER. This time we did it in style and went for the "Nokia Ultra Screen". When you present your ticket they escort you to your booth for two and ask you to be seated. They then kneel on the ground and open a package from under your chair which contains a silky pillow and blanket. They then demonstrate to you the controls for reclining your, ahem, leather sofa type chair. They then ask you what you would like for your complimentary drink. Upon return you can order popcorn etc that they will bring down to you. Cooooooool. We recommend it

We had intended to catch the train to Koh Samui but it was delayed by a few hours. This would have meant missing the last boat to Koh Samui so a trip to an internet cafe was made and some last minute flights were booked. Then the fun started. We got a taxi from outside the train station. A helpful police man had instructed the non-english speaking driver to take us to the wrong airport (despite us telling him where we needed to go). Luckily we were all watching out for signs and got the taxi turned around without too much damage done. It was a stressful half hour back to the right airport but in the end we were in plenty of time. We touched down in Koh Samui by lunchtime, probably before the train had even left. Aoife has now decided that trains are for plebs

We've divided our stressful lives on the island between relaxing by the pool, relaxing by the sea, relaxing inside when it rains and a little scuba diving / snorkeling. The plan had been for the two of us to do the PADI Open Water Scuba Diving course. It didn't happen though due to Aoife's asthma and it almost complete incompatibility with diving. Muchos disappointment(o). Myself and Declan however got to go out for a days fundive. Aoife and Margaret came along and snorkelled - losers (only kidding... ) I have to be careful not to talk the scuba up too much because Aoife will be jealous but it was the best thing ever ever ever

Today myself, Aoife and Declan partook in "Football Golf" - it does exactly what it says on the tin. Big holes. Great fun. Photos to follow

Anyway - we have to run. We are having our "Last Supper" tonight because we are going our separate ways tomorrow Will definitely be posting again soon - we promise!!

Tadhg & Aoife