Rain, and Rain, and Rain

So, here is my continuation.


Thusday was a national bank holiday! Hooray! Happy Australia Day!
I'm not even kidding, that's what it's called. How crazy is that? I know we have St George's Day, but that's not the same as having something like an England Day. Can you imagine the intense outcry that would happen if someone proposed a day so celebrate being English? Forget poppies being burnt - whole cities would go up in smoke.


Well anyway, Underworld Awakening came out in the cinema that day. And guess who bought tickets online to see it? WE DID! BOOYAH! We went into the biggest cinema screen I have ever been in, which was awesome. It had seats layered up so high, and it was just huge. It even had little silver lights twinkling on the ceiling above the screen which was cool. I had the cool idea that the lights should spell out the name of the film, because wouldn't that be cool? To see UNDERWORLD or HARRY POTTER or whatever in twinkling lights before the film begins? If I ever have my own cinema, I shall definitely do that. And it'll also be really cheap, not like the stupid £10 a film they do at the moment.
An adult ticket was $13, which is around £6.50, which is very reasonable. Long live the Australian film industry!


The film was awesome. It wasn't very long, but the effects were brilliant, as of course was Kate Beckinsdale. I did spend the majority of the film either with my head facing Nix and admiring her pretty face, or my hands covering my eyes and peeking through my fingers, or hugging Nic's arm. But what I did see of it, I enjoyed :) Phwoar, that Beckinsdale...


*Ahem* Before the cinema though, we were in Southbank, and literally, the Australian flag was everywhere. On fake tattoos, on real tattoos, tank tops, shorts, shirts, dresses, hats, sandals and sunglasses, little proper flags and huge big flags that people were using as capes. Seriously, you have not seen so much love for a flag in all your life.
Despite the looming rain clouds, there were so many people out. Because pretty much everyone apart from retail staff got a bank holiday, they had plans to go out and enjoy it. The pubs were seriously crowded, we couldn't even get a look in at Max Brenner's, and spent ages cueing for Cold Rock.
Oh. Oho! Cold Rock, do you remember me mentioning that before? Well, if you don't I don't blame you as I write a tonne of ramblings on here, but let me remind you. Cold Rock is like Shake Away and Shakey Jakeys in the way that you choose your own ingredients to make a delicious dessert. Except with Cold Rock, it's ice cream.
My personal concoction was that of two ice creams - Caramel Mud Cake, and Cake Batter Mix. Sounds awesome, right? WELL THAT'S NOT ALL! I also had the girl mash a chocolate brownie into it. Ch'yeah.
The name 'Cold rock' comes into it when they mash everything together on an ice-cold slab of metal, and use wooden spoons to roll it into a ball and smash my brownie to little pieces to mix into the ice cream. Cool, huh? :) (And also, cake batter in an ice cream? OHMYDAYS!) It was quite possibly one of the best things I have ever tasted. That's gonna be my regular from now on.
That night, we watched Madagascar 2, and then Percy Jackson. PJ is an old favourite of mine, and whilst the film is so-so, the books are fabulous. Read them!


Friday was a very slow day. Everypony was at work or school, so it was just myself in the house. I wasn't quite sure what to do, so gathering inspiration from the night before, I found PJ online and spent all day (literally) reading the first book. I did take a break to look at Equestria Daily, and make an omelette though. I discovered that in Australia, Aldi the superstore had started selling My Little Pony cookies! How awesome is that? I love this country :')
Pete came home at around four thirty, and found he needed to go to the post office to pick up the family's new hoover. I went with him, and took another wander through Samford. There's a lovely little gift shop there, but I didn't need to buy any gifts so I left them there. What control, eh?
We went to Brumby's and I bought a bacon and cheese pie, and Pete bought a sausage roll. But the woman didn't tell me that it had beef in it too. As a result, I ate Pete's sausage roll and he ate my pie. Fair trade, eh?
That night we watched an Australian film called Tomorrow - The Day the War Began. It was actually rather awesome :) I really enjoyed it. It's about a group of teenagers who are camping in a remote part of New South Wales when Australia gets invaded by an asian army, and return to find the streets empty, cities ruined and people killed, and how they start to fight back. If you ever get a chance to watch it or read it, I really would recommend it :)


Okay! So! Saturday! We went to Australia Zoo! :D Fun fun times. It is, of course, home of Steve Irwin (may he rest in peace) the crocodile hunter. He was in a program shown in the UK called the Crocodile Hunter Diaries, if anypony remembers. His wife Terri and daughter Bindi were also shown quite often. Well, as much as Oz Zoo is a zoo, it's also a major push to make Bindi a celebrity. Steve's silhouette is everywhere, but you've got Bindi's Pony Trail, Bindi's boot camp, Bindi Books and Bindi DVDs, and she's even got her own clothing range called Bindi Wear. Music was playing as we walked around the zoo, and sounded like a young girl so I'm suspicious there are Bindi CDs as well.
All of this Bindi stuff is a bit frustrating because it's a ZOO for heavens sake! *Raaaaaage*


Well, other than the Bindi-Nonsense, the zoo was quite impressive. A fair few animals that Colchester lacks - namely 14foot crocodiles. There was a Croc display, and when that thing propels itself out of the water to get the fish, those jaws look mighty frightening. You would not want to be on the receiving end of a croc's anger. Also, when it swims it hardly makes a ripple in the water, so if you were swimming in croc territory you would never know it was there... until it was too late. DUN DUN DUUNNNNN.
I also saw my first koalas, which are the laziest things ever, and kangaroos which are so awesome when you have food for them to nibble on :) Yeah, I have hand-fed kangaroos! How awesome is that? I was very impressed that we were allowed to do it.
Also saw Tasmanian Devils and Dingos, which are pretty darn awesome too. We saw keepers taking the dingos on a walk which was trippy, but what a cool job to have :) The tigers were just as friendly as any house cat if you could believe it - nuzzling up to their keepers for affection, liking being stroked and having their fur ruffled. It was awesome to watch. The tigers are so tame that you can pay a fee to go on a morning walk with them, and have your photo taken with one too. How cool is that?! Will consider doing that...
Also fed some elephants which was cool because their trunk is like a hoover, and WHOOSH the fruit is gone out of your hand. Very cool. I never really wanted to do it in Colchester, but seeing as this trip is all about doing new things I thought I really should. Turns out it's an awesome thing to do :) 
It was raining for a fair bit of the day. The family shared umbrellas, but me? I bought a plastic Australia Zoo rain mac! for $4, it offers complete protection from nasty weather, and comes complete with a hood! Buy it now before they run out due to their sheer sexy attraction! (In truth I looked like a complete moron, but then again so did half of the people visiting so it wasn't so bad.)


That was a good day :) Kirsty went off to a party in the evening, and the rest of us watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was pretty cool. Tom Felton <3


Sunday was a particularly rainy day. Well, as was everyday really. Sharon Pete and I drove to Sandgate again, then up through Brighton and reached Redcliffe where their boat is docked. Didn't stay too long because it was chucking it down, so to make up for the crappy weather we stopped at an Aldi's on the way home. I
Aldi's? How does that make up for crappy weather? I hear you cry. Well my friends, the answer lies in the biscuit aisle... Remember those pony biscuits I mentioned? WELL GUESS WHO BOUGHT TWO HUGE PACKETS?!? OH YEAH! IT WAS ME! You even get a 3D sticker in the packet, and there are 30 to collect :) The fun of never knowing what sticker will be in your packet is just immense :) I got an Applejack in the first one, but haven't opened the other one yet. Still pretty excited about it :) You even get pony-shaped cookies which is very cool. Nic had a Twilight Sparkle which I was quite jealous about, so I'm looking forward to discovering them all :D
Nic and I booked our flights to Melbourne that day - we leave on the fourth of February at 5:40  in the evening, and arrive at 9:05. Not a long flight, and a one-way ticket cost me $99 which isn't too bad at all. My cousin Wendy will be picking us up from the airport and taking us to our hostel which we'll stay in for a week. Then Nic will fly back to Brisbane and I'll go stay with Wendy and Geoff :) Really looking forward to it; Brisbane has been conquered, time to take on a new city ;)
We also purchased an unlimited pass to Dreamworld and Whitewater World, two entertainment parks next to each other on the Gold Coast. Normal one-day entry is $80, but we bought this pass for $110, and we can go as many times as we like until December. We also get 10% off of all purchases in the park, 50% off entry for 4 friends on the month of my birthday, 10% off entry for 4 friends on any normal day, and of course we don't have to pay ourselves to get in any more. Score :D
I also had a nice chat with my parents and Maddy that night :) Had a good old catch up, and it was good to hear how things in the UK are. I laugh at their coldness and they get jealous at my warmness, which is greatly amusing for me :D HAHAHA COLD WEATHERRRR! These calls meant I didn't get to bed till rather late, but it was totally worth it to see my English thorns (my parents) and my English rose (Maddy).
Just kidding, mum and dad... or am I?


So yesterday was Monday, and Nic and I decided to put our passes to good use, and got ourselves down to Dreamworld. Eventually, anyway; Nic's satnav got us lost about five times in the city on the way there, but eventually we turned up safe and sound :) 
We went on pretty much everything; BuzzSaw is a new ride there, and is an unofficial Saw ride. That was pretty scary - when you're upside down at the top, the only thing keeping you from falling our is a thick bar across your stomach. We went on that twice, which I was pretty proud of. My tank top had stretched in the wash, and when we sped past the camera you can see half of my bra because the G-force pulled my top down. The best part of this story is that because the ride is in two carts, everyone who was in our cart stopped to take a look at the photo and saw half of my bra. Whoo! No wonder the guys who were sitting behind us were snickering. Just thank God that I was wearing a bra; there were girls going on these rides just wearing bikinis. They're more stupid than brave if you ask me :P
One of the biggest rides is the Tower of Terror II. This thing carts you backwards out of a tunnel at 161kph, or 100mph in British speeds. Now, let me tell you, that is fast. The thing is, if you watch the video, that is exactly where Nic and I were sitting, so that is exactly the scariest flipping view we got. The tunnel is 207metres long, and let me tell you - it's such an adrenaline rush, like you've never had before. Good times :) We wanted to go on it again at the end of the day but then it was a 45minute wait so we didn't. But that doesn't matter because we have unlimited entry! :D 
The Claw was the first ride we went on, mega fun. Each time we got higher I was like "Nic! Nic! I DON'T LIKE THIS! NIC! NIIIIIIIIC!" but she didn't hear any of it. Then, when we went on it again at the end of the day, I was over that. I just did that maniacal laughter which sort of sounds like a scream? You know? Like, Ha ha ha ha HAAAAAAAAAA! Which is very amusing even to just type out.
Does anyone remember the Wiggles? They are majorly big out here - like, when the old yellow Wiggle decided to rejoin the group, it made headlines on the news. They're that big. Well, because they're so huge, they have their own section in Dreamworld! Yup, you get to ride in the Big Red Car, and get taken through a series of rooms. Each room has a tele in it, with a Wiggle telling you to sing a song with them. If you image someone so insanely high on drugs and decided to make a TV show, you get the idea that this is what the result would be. The music is quite catchy; I had Choo choo chugga chugga big red car! going around my head for ages afterwards.
Cyclone was good fun too - it was the longest ride we went on, and had rather a big drop. It was the first 'big' ride that we did, and all the way up I was like 'I don't like this, I really really don't like this.'
Nic told me to 'Calm your farm!', but that didn't have much of an effect, so instead she started singing the My Little Pony theme tune :) What a star.


So from this, I have discovered that I swear quite a lot when on rollercoasters. 


I also got a temporary tattoo of a pony! :D That was awesome. Didn't expect to find ponies on the tattoo list, but I'm glad I did :)
Dreamworld has animals too - kangaroos, crocodiles, wombats, emus, bilby's, squirrel gliders, a barn owl (why?), a cane toad, snakes aaaaand.... koalas! And guess who got a professional photo holding a little koala? :) It was meeeee! She was so cute it was unreal! Her name was Jesspar and she was 10-11 months old, and so incredibly warm and fluffy. Definitely the highlight of a very good day.


Tuesday I had a chat in the morning with Bestie on Skype :) Told her everything that had happened since my last blog, so all this is old news to her ;) Twas lovely to have a catch up, and talk a little bit about our holiday plans for when I get back from my current holiday, if I'm not completely broke. Just need to decide - Tenerife or Italy? Some research needs to be done for this.


Well Nic and I went back to DreamWorld :) Except this time we actually went to WhiteWater World next door. Slapped some sunny on, got my new bikini on and we headed for the big pool with a wave generator :) The ground was burning, and it was such a relief to get in the water. We swam to the back and I saw this very fit Chinese guy and he smiled and said hello to me, which was lovely :)


We then went on a really fun water slide called the Super Tubes Hydro Coaster, which was my personal favourite of them all. Super steep drops and then highs where you're propelled up the hill by bursts of water. Really fast twists and turns Went on that four times today, and It took us four attempts to get a photo that I liked :P But we did it! 
Right next to that is a ride called the Green room, which has a super great big drop and then you're in this big fish bowl going up and down the sides which is terrifying if you're going backwards (which I did on the third go) but super fun too.


I saw my guy again, and I'm convinced that he was there alone, because I saw him when we walked to queue for the Green Room the first time, and we smiled at each other. He was sitting on a bench at the time, and when we came out the bottom of the slide twenty minutes later he will still there, by himself. That was the last time I saw my guy. Fate is cruel.


We went on this long slide called the Bro - the Big Ringed Octopus, in which you have a mat to lay down on, not sit in a ring like the others. The top is 16metres high, and you can get up to speeds of 50kph, or 30mph. Which is pretty impressive! The thing is, it sends you down head first which is very different to any other ride I've been on. There can be up to eight people going down at a time, so it's kind of like a race. Unfortunately, I came last.


On one of the rides, my rubber ring kept pressing against my shoulder. By the time I noticed what had happened, there were lots of ponies transferred onto the rubber ring. I exclaimed 'Oh no I've left ponies everywhere!' and the girl behind me laughed. I tried to wash it off best I could, but it didn't do much good. Oops.


We had such a good time, it was unreal :) A brilliant way to spend a day. WATER PARKS ARE AWESOMMMMMEEEEEE!!!!

This concludes the other half of my blog :) I hope you've all enjoyed travelling with Merlin Airways. We hope to see you sooooon!

In which I buy a plush Platypus christened Percy

Saturday, something good happened for the family. They have a boat for sale which has been on the market for quite a while, and a family of three came to view it. When they arrived, Nic and I were in the swimming pool tugging Wookie (the dog) around on a surfboard. First impressions are magic, aren't they?
Wookie loved it, and we had a fun time both with him, and trying and failing ourselves to balance on a surfboard.


The family were very impressed by the boat, and the father asked if he could come back at some point when Pete was there so that he could listen to the technical stuffs, which was a very good sign. Yay for having expensive things to sell to give your funds a massive boost! Sharon and Pete are hoping to come back to England for a holiday at the end of June, so the money they could get from boat would cover their air-fares and a lot more.


Well anyway, in the afternoon Sharon and I decided to go for another bike ride. It was an easier ride, physically, than the day before, because Australia (I may have mentioned this before) is rather a lot more hilly than one would expect it to be. Occasionally I did have to stop off to walk the bike up a particularly steep hill, but with biking (and everything in life) the more you do it the better you get.


Sharon and I found a new exercise park in Samford Royal Estate, which as you can guess from the name is an upmarket section of the village. It's basically a large area in a bit of grassland, with various bits of gym equipment in it. Anyone is allowed to use it, and it's totally free. I mean, wow. What an incentive to work out :) If one could get past the embarrassment of working out in plain view of the public, it would be great. You don't get anything like that in the UK.
We also found a new pathway behind the area, but didn't have time to explore it since the two and I had been invited out for dinner.


The occasion - roast. The place - Ferny Grove. The dress code - well, I'm glad I talked to Sharon about it before we left. I was about to get dressed in smart clothes; I mean, when you're invited out to someone's house for a roast, people dress smartly. Whether it's to impress their hosts or just an excuse to dress nicely, I'm not sure. But that's what people do, right?

Well, not in Aus, apparently. This is a casual country, and even when formally invited to dinner one dresses casually. I think that even high waisted trousers, a tucked-in tank top with a white shirt unbuttoned over the top was a bit much, but this was a compromise. Being as British as I am, I wasn't going to turn up to someone's house in a shirt and shorts, so it was the most I willing to do.


Our hosts were Anna, and her parents Barbara and Hans. Anna is the long time girlfriend of Sharon and Pete's eldest kid, Adam. Adam and Anna came to stay with my family just over two years ago in Britain. She is awesome. Totally, 120% awesome, and it was great seeing her again. Adam is currently working up in the mines in North Queensland for months at a time, so Anna is living with her parents for the time being, and that's where we had our meal.


Had a nice meal, and I actually tried some roast lamb which is a big thing for me. It wasn't too bad, but chicken is still definitely the way to go. Caught up with Anna which was nice, and occasionally I'd talk to her parents when they asked me something. Her mum said to me 'You know, you have a gorgeous accent', which was nice to hear but also quite strange because I'm not quite sure how to reply to something like that. But I took the compliment - being well-spoken has its perks :)


The next day was Sunday, and Pete, Sharon, Kirsty and I headed to a place called Sandgate, which is a proper beachy-place when the tide is out. Unfortunately, the tide was in. That, coupled with the fact that Kirsty had work at 2pm, ensured that we did not stay too long.


Sharon Pete and I went on another bike ride when we returned. That made it three bike rides in three days! I told that to Bestie and she said something along the lines of 'Who are you?'. Which pretty much sums up my attitude to exercise. Mind you, things were a lot easier on the third ride, though I was pretty sure I had a seat-shape imprinted on my arse. 
We went to find out where that path that Sharon and I had discovered lead to. Turns out it took us thirty seconds to travel the entire thing. Ergo - not very far. 
Nothing much happened that night, but I did make Sharon and Pete an omelette each for dinner.


So Monday was a horribly rainy day. Like, really rainy. Nic and I were all ready to go to the Gold Coast, but got as far as the bottom of the drive and turned back because the rain was that bad. So what were we to do instead? Well, we nipped to the shops to get some necessities, and we made My Little Pony cupcakes! They were a beautiful creation, and so many of them! They were all vanilla flavoured, except for the Nightmare Moon ones which were peppermint. 
As they were Pony cupcakes, we put icing sugar into several different bowls and mixed in food colouring. It was great fun making purple, I can tell you. We made blue, pink, white, yellow, purple and orange. Oh, and black. Because I'm a brony and also was bored, I wanted to make the cutie marks as well, not just their coat-colour, so cracked open a packet of white choccy buttons and dipped them in food dye to place on the cakes. As you can imagine, my fingers were stained the colours of the rainbow. I also managed to get it on the soles of my feet, though how I achieved that is beyond me. It was amusing walking around with blue feet though.


We watched Ponies, ate Pony Cupcakes and generally had a good day. And still, it rained on...


Tuesday morning was no better, and the house awoke to find that the lake at the bottom of the garden was flooded over, and a little waterfall had been created. So naturally, Nic and I went to investigate. Got a few awesome photos of myself standing in the middle of this mini-waterfall, which was incredibly cool. We then went into the city, with a plan to watch a new movie called The Darkest Hour. Well, it's new in Oz at least - Oz is a bit behind the rest of the world when it comes to movies.


First port of call was food though, and I discovered a bakery chain called Brumby's, which I figure is the Aussie equivalent to the Bakers Oven. I had a bacon and cheese sausage roll which was delectable. Across the way, though, cause all these shops are in complexes, was Burger Edge. Now I didn't care about the burgers, but I certainly did care about the cute guys serving them. So much so, that I went and bought a bottle of Pepsi Max just to get a closer look at them. I love this country.


We never made it to the movie as Nic wasn't feeling too well, but I did find an ADORABLE platypus plushie in a gift shop, and a My Little Pony version of the board game Frustration. It's called Trouble - how cute is that?!


Nic and I arrived home in time to join the rest of the family for pizza at the local pub where they do offers on Tuesdays for half price. It was a lovely meal out with the people who are treating me like family, and I'm very grateful to them for that. It keeps the homesickness at bay.


That night Pete was worried about the dinghy attached to a tree on his flooded lake, so I got into my togs (swimming gear) and went out with him and Sharon in the pouring rain and pitch black to hoik this wooden boat onto a trailer and yanking it up their hilly yard. How awesome is that? Not something you get the chance to do every day.


Wednesday was another city day, this time it was Pete and I. We made a list of hostels in the city and went off to start exploring. We started off at Banana Backpackers, a little way away from Upper Roma Street. We explained that I was a wimpy English girl who wasn't too sure about staying in hostels, and the guy there was very friendly and helpful. He took us to see a room and accidentally disturbed two Danish girls whom they thought were out, but apparently they werent. Anyway, the room was fairly sized, and had two bunk beds in it. Suitcases, bras and clothes were strewn across the room, though it did look cozy.


The guy explained to us things about working, and how he wouldn't personally recommend I do a course in Pub-work, but I had a better chance of getting work than the Italian or Swedish travellers because of my accent, which was nice to hear. He did say that if I spent 3 months fruit picking across various parts of Australia, that I would be allowed to extend my working visa to another year, which would be handy but I don't think fruit picking is for me. I've heard that it's quite intense, and very hard work. Up at 4am, bed at 10pm. Doesn't sound very appealing. I might give it a try, but no way am I going to do it for three months.
The overall impression of Banana Backpackers was that it was a quiet, cozy place where people can get to know each other. Which sounds very appealing, compared to the other hostel we went to.


This one was more central to Roma Street which is the main train station in Brisbane. It's called Chill Backpackers, and is The Lonely Planet's pick out of all the hostels in the city, so it's got rather a good reference. It's around four storeys high, and is a hub of activity. The girl said she couldn't show me a room, but she showed me the facilities. She said a room could be as small as four, or as large as thirty. I'd take the small one, thanks. No, I think there I would feel like a stranger in a crowd. 
I mean it's just me anyway; no one else would be with me. If I want to find a travelling friend a huge place like that is not the way to do it.


Pete and I hung around the city a little longer, and I bought us both a Maccy D's. I also had one of the best milkshakes ever - called a Quake Shake, from Donut King. I had a flake chocolate bar mixed in with mine, and it was AMAZING. Like, milkshake Heaven. Was a bit expensive, but oh so worth it.


Well I'm gonna sign off for today as I'm knackered. Will hopefully get the next lot up on Tuesday :) 

Week twoooo

Monday was a VID. A Very Important Day, as it was Kirsty's 16th birthday! Whoooo! Stepping into adulthood, and I can still remember her as the six year old I knew back in England... :') How time flies.


Well, Sharon had to work that day, so it was just Kirsty, Pete, myself and Nicky until twelve when she had to work. From my family, a nice blue bracelet. She got awesome gifts from her family, including a Samsung Galaxy S2, an inflatable velociraptor, Just Dance 3, a bear you can write messages on as a sort of keep-sake, and other very funky stuff :) Oh, to be sixteen... 


In my house, whenever a birthday occurs we always play Stevie Wonder's Happy Birthday song when presents are being opened. So I loaded it up on youtube and played it, and got some very odd looks for it. It had never really occurred to me before that different households have different traditions - for example, on boxing day Maddy heads to the coast, whilst my family usually does it on New Years. 


Well, Nic went off to work, and Kirsty and I went off to have a work-out; Just Dance is an incredibly tiring and energetic thing. Well, it is for me anyway - I really throw myself into it. Try and work up some perspiration so I can fob it off as exercise. That's what helps me sleep at night, anyway. I'm not exactly the sporty type - neither am I the dancey type. I remember once telling Bestie that when I dance I look like a duck on cocaine, which I think is a fair comparison. Just Dance is the only way I can dance and not look like a complete fool because everyone else does as well.


Well we danced to Nightmare Before Christmas, Japanese Power Rangers, LMFAO, Katy Perry and many others. Kirsty was not-energetically doing the moves, whereas I was going for it with gusto. As such, afterwards we felt that a dip in the pool was required. Armed with her inflatable velociraptor, we had a lovely swim. I'm actually pretty happy - Kirsty has taught me how to dive! I was always a bit useless at that. Dad dislikes water so he doesn't really know how to do it, and thus couldn't ever teach me. Mum doesn't swim often either so no chance of learning it through her. However, Kirsty has managed to guide me into how to dive! Very very happy with that. One of my life's goals ticked off. It's plain sailing from here on in.


For a special birthday treat, I made Kirsty an omelette for lunch. It's the only food I can cook from scratch, so naturally I have made it so many times I've got it perfect now. In return for the omelette, she made me a cheese toastie which was lovely. The only downside to this harmonious exchange of food was that we both burnt a knuckle on the toastie-maker. Which sucked, and was quite painful.


At three thirty, Kirsty went to visit her boyfriend. I had by this time noticed that there was no birthday cake. A birthday with no cake is no birthday at all, in my humble opinion. So, as I had used the last of the eggs to make omelette, Pete and I got some ingredients at Brookside shopping centre. I also got a nail file, and a bottle of HP brown sauce :') Happy times indeed.
On the way home, we decided to do a little tour of the Samford Downs - the rather posh end of Samford. They are houses all in a pretty little row, with pretty little gardens kept inside pretty little fences.
I much prefer Sharon and Pete's house. There's so much more space, and you aren't on top of your neighbours and have a bit of privacy. That sounds much better to me.


Well when we got home, Sharon was in from work, and I told her I wanted to bake a cake but had never done so before. The most I had ever achieved in the baking department was cupcakes. So she helped me out, and eventually this fabulous looking cake came out of the oven. It had dark chocolate on the bottom, a layer of blue icing, white chocolate on top of that with a milk choccy topping with white choccy buttons spelling out 16. And it tasted amazing. So so happy with it. I totally want to make another one, but don't want to look like a complete pig. So I shall wait for a bit before bringing it up in conversation.


We had taco's for dinner, and the chicken was in this really weird sauce thing, and I didn't like it all too much, so just had cheese and brown sauce in the next one, which was lovely. I can't remember what we did for the rest of the evening, although we were planning on actually celebrating Kirsty's birthday the next day, when Nicky wasn't working.
Nic and I also watched the latest episode of My Little Pony that night. That was a bad idea, as it was centred on Pinkie Pie babysitting two new foals. Cue lots of crying and screaming from the foals, and then from Pinkie herself. Bad idea when you're tired, which we were.


So Tuesday, at around half eleven, we set off for UnderWater World. Which is an aquarium at Mooloolaba. Yes, I did spell that correctly. No, I'm not messing with you, this place actually exists. It was a rather crummy day - raining and raining and raining - which is why we decided to go there. 
They have this really really awesome underwater tunnel there, with loads and loads of sharks floating around overhead. Hammerheads and the like, you know? Scary great big fish that could really do some damage if they wanted to. It was awesome...
That's what I'd like to say, anyway. The tunnel was actually shut. Undergoing maintenance, apparently. Until September. I mean, September? Really? Seems like an awful long time to fix a leak or what have you.


As compensation for their non-existent shark tunnel, they had lowered their entry fee by ten dollars, which was nice of them. Basically, their biggest attraction wasn't open and they knew that if they kept the price the same no one would go visit.
As it turns out Nic Kirsty and I were able to get in as students anyway (I know I'm not one, but I look like I could be, and no I.D was asked for) so that was a bit cheaper for us anyway. I was a concession! I felt so proud. I've always associated concessions with old people, so to be a concession before I actually become a concession (if that makes sense) was pretty cool.


They had the usual fish - nemo's, dory's, star fish, sting rays, manta rays etcetera... They also had a crocodile in a massive tank with some really fat fish. Apparently crocodiles don't eat those kinds of fish, so that was all good. There was only one croc there though, so maybe if they want baby crocs they have to send it to another aquarium/zoo to mate? 
There was an awesome fish I'd never seen before - called a SawFish. Basically looks like it's got a chainsaw attached to its face. Very trippy, and it's actually not a shark, which it looks like it could be due to the large fins on its back. It's a ray, in the manta ray sense, because it glides rather than flaps its fins. Cool, eh?


We had a good look at the otter enclosure, too. They're the most adorable things ever, I love them to pieces :) Along with sealions, they're my favourite thing in the water. They were very playful too, bounding all over each other and running backwards and forwards in their enclosure. They are also incredibly intelligent creatures too, and are now not kept in separate day and night enclosures because they've escaped from their night one so much that the keepers don't see much point in keeping them shut in. Clever little creatures :')


Then we went to the sealion show :D Obviously, being so close to Colchester Zoo, I have been around when shows have been on before. But the thing is at home, there is a viewing platform of a flat semicircle, and the wall around the enclosure isn't clear glass - it's wooden planks with 'viewing windows'. It gets so crowded that you can't hardly see anything at all. So whilst I have seen shows, I have never actually been to one that you can see.
This one was fantastic. There were chairs layered up the wall so that people actually had a view, and there were not wooden planks to obscure the vision. It was all an act in which the trainers explain to the audience how the animals are trained, whilst all the while training the animals. INCEPTION!
It was fantastic though, and I was very impressed. The show alone was worth the drive there.


I have also decided I want a sealion and an otter as pets. But I'm sure some people knew that already ;)


Wednesday was a quiet day - Kirsty was at her boyfriend's place, and everyone else was at work. I kind of went a bit insane - it's one thing to lounge around in your own home, but you don't really want to do that when you're on holiday. You kind of think - I could be doing this in England - and that's not fun at all. I went on Just Dance, took a quick dip and watched some movies, but it's all a little bit boring when you're on your own. Thankfully, Pete got home at around three and he showed me a walk I could go on to keep myself entertained if I found myself home alone. We also adjusted a bike so that I can ride into Samford village if I so desire, which I shall definitely do at some point.


Thursday Nic, Kirsty and I went into the city. Walked around China Town, posted some post cards, then went into a part of Queenstreet we didn't go to before. This included going into a very very gothic-y shop full of blackness and creepy movies, creepy clothes, creepy books, creepy comics and creepy jewellery. Let's just say that Nic or Kirsty were not more than two steps away from me the entire time we were in that shop. I was so out of place there - like a bunny rabbit in a Cattery. Thankfully we didn't stay too long, and made our way to more colourful shops.


We had a Maccy D's, or Maccas as they're called here, and eventually found ourselves at a surf shop called Rush, which was having a closing-down sale. We spent ages in here - everything was $20! Uber uber cheap. We did spend a long time there - at first I was trying to figure out what size swim shorts to buy - apparently, I'm a 10-12 - and then seeing as everything was so cheap, I bought two leather-looking jackets. Actually, I have a feeling that one might be real leather, seeing as it was originally $180. The other was originally $80, and I got two pairs of swim shorts, one which would have been $45, and another that would have been $59. So that's a lot of quality stuff for $80! Nic bought a bikini that would have cost $160, and three denim jackets, and Kirsty bought some bracelets.


I had a little chat with the woman in the shop, and she was very friendly. Covered in tattoos, but elegantly so. She was from New-Zealand, and is headed back there sometime this week. I mentioned that I was over from England, and she said that she could then place my accent (how she couldn't before I have no idea, it's not like it's hard to place or whatever...). I told her of my travel plans, and that I'd eventually be looking for work in retail or bars, and she said that if the shop wasn't closing the branch, she'd have hired me on the spot. Which is really lovely to hear, and very encouraging. I don't feel as nervous about trying to find work now, having heard that.


That night, we watched The Little Mermaid :) Twas nice visiting nostalgia again with it. Though it reminded me that I was disappointed we didn't see any mermaids at Tangalooma... It also sparked conversations that little girls don't tend to have when they watch it - "How do they poop?" from Nicky, and "Well, how do they reproduce?" from myself. A very thought-provoking movie ;)
There's an awesome parody of Part of Your World on Youtube, called I Want a Vagina, or something akin to that. If you guys haven't seen it already, give it a look. It's incredibly amusing and very well sung.


Friday, Pete wasn't working until two, so he and I drove up Mount Glorious, a mountain about ten minutes from their house. And when I say 'he and I drove', what actually happened was that he let me drive his car! It was great to be behind the wheel again. Aussies drive on the left like we do in the UK, so it wasn't all that different at all. Only thing is, they use Kilometres per hour rather than miles, but just do what the speed-signs say, or just under, and you're good.
Pete and Nicky both own Hyundai Getz's. My granddad also owns a Getz, and when I went on holiday with my grandparents to Norfolk I drove their car the entire week, so I was already familiar with the model which was very handy.


Well, I drove up the side of a mountain. It was very very cool :) We went from Mt Glorious to Mt Nebo, stopping off at look-outs on the way. At one point we could see the part of the valley where their house is, but couldn't pinpoint it exactly, even with Pete's GPS on his swish Samsung Galaxy (I swear, more than half of the people here own one of those).


We reached our stop on Mt Nebo; a little coffee shop. Pete bought me a cheese toastie, as I had missed breakfast and he's just a nice guy and does things like that, and got a coffee for himself.
On the patio was a chinese tourist, and what I presume was her husband, or a tour guide or something. The coffee shop provides bird seed, and loads of parrots come and take their fill from the tourists. The most colourful ones were absolutely amazing - called lorikeets - and Sharon always says that if a four year old was given a picture of a parrot and a box of crayons, this would be the result.
Pete was quite happy to put some feed in his hand and have parrots sitting on his fingers eating out of his palm. I, myself, was quite happy to watch. I'm not a fan of things that flap their wings. Or insects. Or frogs. Or geckos... 


That afternoon, Kirsty had work in the village 5:30pm. To get us out of the house, we decided to cycle into the village at 4pm, seeing as I hadn't yet been in the village. There's a fuel station there, a post office, a gem+crystal shop, cafes, a seafood bar, a pub etc. So it's quite a substantial little town. It took us around half an hour to cycle there, going up along a dirt-path. We got a bottle of water, some chips with chicken salt on them (it's not made from chicken, it's just the name) and sat on the Rotary International bandstand eating our chips :) very English of us, I thought.


Kirsty then had work, so I started cycling back. Two minutes in, fine. Five minutes in, fine. Ten minutes in, I'm beginning to think that nothing looks familiar. I figure that because I was following Kirsty on the way in, I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings so nothing would look familiar. I carry on. Twenty minutes in, I realise I'm a tad lost. 30 minutes in, I phone Sharon and this is how our conversation went...
Me - Do you know where Bygotts Road is?
Sharon - Yes...
Me - Have I gone wrong somewhere
Sharon - Oh darling, yes you have.
Me - Oh.


So, after dragging this bike up a grass verge, realising that it was a 'no-way-through verge', dragging it back (all the while a horse in the field next to it is laughing at my stupidness), then carting it up a stupidly steep hill and nearly falling into a ditch, I called in the cavalry and Sharon came and picked me up. In addition to that, it's also illegal to ride a bike without a helmet in Australia, so I'm apparently a criminal now too. Wunderbar!!


To round off my day, we watched Titanic. Now, I'm a wuss, okay? I can watch the end a film for five minutes and cry at it. So myself plus Titanic equals around 15-20 solid minutes of crying. All in all, an exhausting day both emotionally and physically :P

Nearly a whole week

Well.Well well well well well.
Tuesday was my first day here, and I have to confess that I slept most of it away. I didn't get up till about half past twelve, which was a bit surprising. But then again, I had been up for longer than 24 hours with the plane journeys and such, so I was completely knackered. Well anyway, after getting up and waking myself up a bit, I spent a happy half hour dangling my legs in the pool and adjusting to the 33degree heat. I found that I needed a Uk-to-Australian plug adaptor for my electronics, plus some toiletries so Nicky and Kirsty took me to a small town called Strathpine where Nicky and Sharon both work, and there is shopping complex or mall. 


I don't think I was expecting Australia to have so many of the same brands (and some shops) as the UK. I saw a GAME, Subway, McDonalds, KFC, and there were items such as Palmolive, Dettol, Rimmel London, Pantene and others. When we went into a supermarket called Coles,  Heinz sauces were available, as were McCains chips (or fries, as they're called over here) and Quorn food which is apparently a fairly recent thing in Oz. 
Well anyway, I got my travel adaptors. Once I leave Oz I'll put them on eBay or something, but they shall serve me well for my time out here. I also managed to find a (you'll never believe this) My Little Pony beach towel! Yeeeaaaaah boy! It is beautiful. Apparently ponies are bigger in Oz than they are in England - that's how it looks anyway with all the merchandise available. I really had to restrain myself from buying Pony stuff unnecessarily, but I managed to do it. Bestie, you should be proud :')
There's a national bank holiday coming up called Australia Day, where people celebrate - you guessed it - being Australian. As such, they have got the flags out - literally. You can buy loaaaads of stuff with the Aussia flag on - I got myself a pair of flip flops, which are called 'thongs' out here, for $2. That's about £1.20. Crazy much? I also bought myself an Aussie bikini for $16, and an Aussie tank top for around the same. Bikinis are quite cheap over here, whereas I bought mine in the UK for around £20. Which is maybe $45? So you can tell that stuff is pretty good value over here.


Also, there is a pet store at this shopping place. Which is fine, and everything. BUT! THEY SELL PUPPIES AND KITTENS AT THESE PLACES! How insane is that? You could literally walk in, and then walk out with a puppy. So bizarre.
We got a McDonalds each, and then made our way back home. Had a lovely meal of barbequed chicken, chips and baked beans. Very English :) 
After that, Kirsty needed to be driven to her pole-fitness class which she attends every week, and whilst she was there Sharon and I went shopping at WOOLWORTHS! How awesome is that? One of the main supermarket chains is called Woolworths :') How that brings back memories.


That night, we watched Tangled. Yes, I know that I watched it on the flight over, two days before, but Nicky and Kirsty hadn't seen it! They had been put off by the trailer, which made it look... 'lame'. Well, their tune has certainly changed now! Pascal is a hero, and Maximus is a HILF, apparently... I don't know how that works, but hey. When Beauty and the Beast comes out in cinemas in 3D later this year, there'll be a Tangle short movie before it, so we are definitely going to see that :) Killing two disney stones with one bird, or something like that...


I only got three and a half hours of sleep that night. I think it was because I hadn't yet adjusted to the time difference, but for whatever reason I was up at 5 o'clock. So I got myself up on Skype, and found that my parents were online :D So I phoned them and had a lovely 50 minute long chat. After I'd hung up with them, Maddy was online :) So I phoned her and had a lovely 40 minute long chat. After I'd hung up with her, Bestie was online :) So I phoned her and had a lovely hour long chat. I was pretty busy that morning.
According to Bestie I have a bit of an accent already... I am ashamed to say that the one I was using was completely fake and totally forced.


Nicky, Peter and Sharon all had work that day, so it was just Kirsty and I in the house. It was 36.9 degrees that day, so we basically just lounged around the pool as it was too hot to do anything else. Coloured in some Pascal origami (ohhh yes!) and had a very chilled out day. We watched Bolt, which I hadn't seen before. It's very good, the only thing I disliked was Miley Cyrus voicing the lead girl. But she is the VA they picked, and no matter how much I dislike her nothing is going to be done about it.
I ended up lolling around on my bed after that, at around four o clock, and  fell asleep. Slept till around nine pm, and as such missed dinner. Nic, Kirsty and I had also planned to go to the cinema that night, but as I was sleeping that didn't happen.
Grabbed myself some toast, and then we settled down in the living area and watched Scott Pilgrim VS the World. It's a very nerdy comedy, and I rather enjoyed it :) I don't think I'd buy it on DVD but I'm glad I saw it.


Thursday Kirsty and I went into a part of Brisbane called Southbank. It was a 40minute train journey from Strathpine, and the train was very squeaky. In Australia they have a train ticket system called a Go Card. You buy a card, load it with money, and then swipe it on a electronic reader. Get on a train, get off at your destination and then swipe it there so it knows where you've gone to and from. Only thing is, we forgot to swipe our cards, so they fined me $10. It's okay though, I have a phone number I can ring to hopefully get reimbursed.
Southbank is beautiful - very green and lush. Lovely parks, with free swimming pools lining the path that runs along-side the Brisbane River. And they weren't shoddy square tiled pools that we get in Britain - they were curvacious, lined with rocks and boulders, with fountains and water shooting out of the ground, and innovative play devices to encourage fun. And it was entirely free. I couldn't believe it. They were absolutely beautiful; how could they be free? Alas, my British eyes did not believe the sight before them.
We didn't go swimming, but enjoyed walking around the pools, and I may have ogled a few life guards as we strolled. We eventually made our way to a little shopping area, and found a sweetshop which sold English sweeties. Naturally, I bought $3.10 worth of peardrops. Gotta keep a bit of home with me! 
After that, we went across the road to a restaurant called Max Brenner. Now, this place... Only. Sells. CHOCOLATE!
Yes, my little ones. We were at a chocolate restaurant. How insane is that?! Max Brenner clearly is a genius. There's nothing like that in England that I know of! Well, as tempting (and expensive) as the menu was, Kirsty and I opted for a little something off the 'Extras' bit of the menu. We each got a Chocolate Lick, which is just a pot of pure melted chocolate, with four melted white choccy buttons in it. As an extra to our extras, we both got a scoop of ice cream and a hot drink with it. Kirsty had milk chocolate, and ordered a cappucino, and I had vanilla and ordered a white chocolate mocha. 


My friends, you have never lived until you have eaten at a chocolate restaurant. It was pure heaven, let me tell you. Southbank is now one of my favourite places of all time, mostly because of that restaurant. Everything was amazing. Seriously. And I think the fact that I don't eat chocolate all that often made it that much tastier. I really think they ought to branch out to the UK. They'd be a big hit.


Well after our little taste of Heaven, we went and bought some postcards and stamps, but on the way we stumbled across a little dance troop. Now apparently this isn't odd in Australia, but what was odd was that a kid dressed as a carrot - face paints and everything - rocked up and starting dancing with this crew. What a way to attract attention, eh? As if the dancing alone wasn't enough, they had to have someone dress as a carrot.
The music that was playing in shops in Southbank really tripped me out - it mostly out X-Factor Failures. It would seem like Australia has adopted Cher Lloyd, One Direction and The Wanted. Apparently One Direction are the biggest boy band in the world at the moment. What?


Kirsty and I went back to the paths next to the river, and there is a little section of rainforest in the park (don't ask me how or why). We went inside and merrily strolled along until we came across a random buddhist temple (again, don't ask). It's not funded or looked after, but there's no graffiti or vandalism on it at all. I have noticed that Australia is a very clean country - you don't see gum or litter on the streets, no cigarette butts lining the paths, and no engravings on seats.
Well we marvelled at the temple for a while, and then made our way up the paths, and crossed a big bridge to get to another part of the city called Queenstreet, where all of the shops are. Got totally ripped off at a foreign exchange place - I gave them £20 and they gave me $23, and it should have been nearly double that. But I won't complain too much as I now have a totally Aussie-money purse which is a lot better for me. I still have some Malaysian and English coins because they only took notes, and nearly gave some to cashiers at souvenir shops (thankfully they know their own currency very well), but I feel much better having just dollars, than sterling and RM too.


Well we did a bit of shopping, and I bought a new pair of high-waisted denim shorts on sale for $10. That's about £4.50, I think. I also bought another tank top, and this cute polka-dot-waist-coat-thing-that-ties-in-a-knot-over-a-tank-top-thing. Bestie, that's in honour of you! Since I know how much you love that style, and I thought it was very you :) I'll have to show/lend/give it to you when I get back :) 


We hung out for ages, and it was amazing that even at 6pm in January it was warm enough to be comfortable in shorts and t-shirts. In an open space, we parked our bums on a bench and there was a huuuuuuuuuge tv screen hanging off the edge of an open bar, showing a cricket match. Cricket is the biggest sport here, with football (they call it soccer) coming up as a close second.


Nic came up on the train after she'd finished work, and we met at a cinema, planning to watch the film we couldn't see the night before due to my sleepyness. Unfortunately, Happy Feet wasn't playing in the evening so we just went and chilled on Southbank parklands. Kirsty and I bought a Subway (they don't have brown sauce out here - I am disappoint), and Nic bought an ice cream from Cold Rock, the Aussie version of Shake Away. Basically you choose an ice cream from loads of different flavours, and choose something to go in it. So Nic had a cake-batter-mix ice cream (it tasted AMAZING!) with bits of fudge mixed in :') Next time I see one I am soooo trying that.


On Friday, we were planning to go out on the Williams' family boat for the weekend. This involved packing on friday afternoon, although I forgot important things such as pyjamas. I also forgot a spare set of clothes. Idiot. 
Well, I mulled around writing some of this blog on friday afternoon, and in the evening Sharon and I took the dog to one of their friends' house for the duration of our trip. The door was opened by a young, very fit lad dressed only in shorts. Well, I tell you... If all young men in Oz open the door dressed like that, there's no way I'm getting on a plane back to the UK. 
Went shopping at Aldi's for food for the boat - we bought lots of lemonade and bacon and stuff, and the guy at the till sounded slightly Irish, which I found quite amusing.


We spent the night on the boat in the marina, and set off for Moreton Island on Saturday morning. Because their boat is a sailing boat, it's not particularly designed for speed. As such, it took us around four hours to get there. Mum, I tried steak and actually liked it! It was a proud moment.
On the way, we saw two dolphins out in the distance, which was quite cool :) As we got nearer the island, the sea got bluer and bluer, and when we got quite close, you could see where there was sand close to the surface because it was more of a turquoisey-green colour. 
Well eventually we rocked up at Tangalooma on Moreton Island around quarter past twelve, and didn't waste much time getting into our swim gear and heading out on the dinghy to some old shipwrecks where fish gather and congregate.


Maybe one of the most courageous moments of my life was when Sharon said "Right, so who's going in first then?" to which I promptly back-rolled off the edge of the dinghy into the water.


We had snorkelling gear on, and after we fixed them to not-leak, we were off. Well, nearly. Where we jumped in, the current was too strong, and we nearly got swept away. Cue some tough swimming to keep ourselves from not being carted off by the tide. Thankfully Pete and Kirsty's boyfriend were still on the dinghy, and they threw us a rope to hold on to. Thus, we were dragged around the shipwrecks by a dinghy, whilst holding onto a long rope. We were snorkelling pretty much the whole time though, and it was awesome. So many cool fishies down there, all inquisitive and such :) If you floated long enough, they'd gather some courage and swim very close to you. 
There were lots of schools of very little fish, and I spent a few happy minutes simply swimming along behind them as they darted around the outskirts of the wrecks. We even saw an octopus which was very cool. Kirsty saw a parrot fish, which I missed, and two other snorkellers saw a turtle but we missed that too.


We spent ages there, but after swallowing an unhealthy amount of seawater it was time to very very gracefully and elegantly get back into the dinghy. Cue a lot of laughter as I failed miserably.


We then headed to shore, because at seven o'clock, wild dolphins come to the jetty to be fed. We waited at a good spot on the jetty, and sure enough six wild fishy-mammals rocked up :) They are amazing. So elegant and intelligent. I mean, they figured out that if they turn up at a certain place every night, they get free food. One of them has been going there for (I think) around fourteen years. That's a long long time. It was absolutely incredible.


We hung around for a while, watching the hotel-people feed a fish to the dolphins, and then made our way back to the boat. We had a lovely meal of potatoes, beans, chicken and sausages (isn't it amazing what can be cooked on a boat when you're way off shore?), but being at knackered as we were we went to bed pretty sharpish. It was strange trying to get to sleep with a boat rocking and swaying the entire time, but I got an alright nights kip.


In the morn, we left Tangalooma at around quarter past nine. It was lovely, as just in shore we could see two dolphins swimming about. But then something even more amazing happened - there was one swimming in front of the boat! It was absolutely magical - I've never experienced anything like it. It was on it's back, on it's side, and I know it wasn't but it looked like it was looking up at me at one point. Truly a memory worth keeping.


Unfortunately the ride back to the main land was not as smooth as the ride to the island, and me, Nic and Kirsty all got a bit seasick. Typically, I was the only one that was physically ill. That wasn't too fun. I blame part of it for swallowing so much salt water, and the rest for not having sea legs. Just thinking about it now makes me queasy. I'm actually still rocking, if you can imagine that. My mind is swaying side to side and it's quite off-putting.


We got back at around midday, and I've been slowly writing this blog ever since. It's half past ten at night now, and I think that's all I have to say :) I'll post another one next Sunday, I should think. Adios!

Plane twooooo

Bloggybloggyblog.


Been on the second flight for a while now. It's an eight hour flight, and we have five hours 20 mins to go. This plane is far far nicer than the other one - it's more spacey and light, looks more posh and the seats are more comfy. No sitting opposite the kitchinette for me this time! It's much better. What's even nicer is that the televisions actually work on this thing! Not only that, but they're touch-screen too. I have already enjoyed Tangled and plan to watch either the Lion King or Beauty and the Beast next. 
Instead of being on the right hand side of the plane, this time I'm in the middly-bit. It means I can't look out the window, but I appreciate the luxuriousness of this plane so I'm not really complaining. The guy I'm sitting next to is more friendly than the other two as well. So happy times all around. 
It wasn't difficult to navigate KL, and everything proceeded smoothly and without hitch. The food is nicer on this plane too - I had a plain omelette this time, although there was this weird kind of ckicken-sausage-thing that I had a bite of but disliked. Another french-bready-thing, a glass of orange juice and I was sorted. Still got my Starburst, Skittles and Twix in my bag so wont go hungry any time soon. You get a blanky on your seat as well which is handy as my thighs are cold. I'm glad I've got long travel socks on though, they're keeping my calfs warm :)
Still got this rotten cold though. I've been sneezing for ages, and I'm very glad I forgot to give Dad his handkerchief back. 


Oh yeah, and at KL I had a quick Skype call to my mum and sister who were still awake at silly o'clock. That was nice, and I think it gave them piece of mind to see that I was still in one piece and a complete Merlin still. I'm glad thing Netbook has a webcam, it'll make things far less stressful.
So Nicky and Kirsty are gonna pick me up from Brisbane airport tonight. Arriving at around 7:50pm, and apparently it takes about an hour to get through the departure lounge. I just wanna grab my bag and go, but I don't think I'll be that lucky. I also have some Malaysian currency that I need to change to Aussie dollars - I had to give the Starbucks girl a £20note, and felt very guilty that I didn't have anything smaller seeing as it only cost £3. I got RM31 back from that, so I guess 31RM = £17.  I asked the girl at Harrods about coversion rates, and apparently £1 is equivalent to RM4.4
So at the moment we're flying over the Bali Sea, just beneath some islands with the names Denpasar, Mataram, and Raba. That means nothing to me, but people can Google them once I put this online later. I might even do that myself.
I just put a Pony sticker on one of the keys on my Netbook keyboard :D Now I has a happy Twilight Sparkle instead of a boring Windows flag. I clearly know how to live. On the subject of Ponies, because no blog is a proper blog without mentioning them, I have asked my sister to make sure that she continues to buy the magazines for me. She's under strict instructions not to do the colouring in, and not to remove the free gift, and not to do the puzzles either. They is to be in mint condition for when I arrive back home :) I do believe the next one is available from the 27th of January, O lovely sister of mine! Ta.
Right. Gonna blog off now and pass some more time with a Disney film :') I love being eighteen and a child at heart.


------


Okay, it's now 11:36pm on the 9th of January. I have arrived. Been at the House of Williams for two hours and a bit, I suppose. By God is it hot. Apparently it's the hottest day of their summer so far. It's sweltering. It's like, you know when you walk into Leisure World? And the humidity there is just like PHWOOM? Well, it's like that. Only with extra phw. Had a tour of the house, and it is loveeely. Been introduced to the swimming pool (only put my feet in, need to be able to experience it properly with lots of time to kill), and also to Wookie, the dog. He's very very friendly, and apparently takes a liking to lots of strangers. He wouldn't make a very good guard dog, bless him. He'd probably lick the theifs to death.


Just unpacking some stuff now, but thought I'd write this whilst it's fresh in my mind. My head is literally all over the place, so I don't know whether I'm coming or going yet. I think the fact that I've been awake for over 24 hours is a good thing, because it means I'm knackered now and am ready for bed, so I shouldn't hacve too much trouble adjusting to the time difference. Once I find out the connection key for the network, I'll pop this blog up. 


The flight was much more enjoyable than the first one. I did indeed watch Beauty and the Beast, some Big Bang Theory and an episode of the Smurfs. As such, it went much quicker. Although the landing wasn't as pleasant - my ears really flipped out and got all painful as we started descending, and now even three hours later one of them is still not right and makes a stupid noise every time I swallow, which is very annoying.
Getting out of Departures took forever because I'm too polite to push my way in front of people. Because of this, I was one of the last twelve or so to go through the desks, and Sharon, Nicky and Kirsty were beginning to wonder if I'd been on the flight at all.
Everyone has gone to bed now, and I shall too after I finish unpacking some necessities. Adios, amigos.

First Plane Blog

Oh. My. Gosh.
I have just witnessed the single most beautiful thing in my life. Seriously. Breaking the cloud cover was just breathtaking. It looks like a vast artic tundra, it looks like Olympus, it looks like Cloudsdale, it looks just amazing.  WHAT WAS I WORRYING FOR? This is incredible! I'm on the plane at the moment, about 26729ft in the air (and climbing), about 8210metres high. Going at 571mph, and the temperature outside is -9 degrees celsius. 
Before I start ranting about how gorgeous it is up in the air, I'll get my head out of the clouds and back on the ground to fill you in on the busiest week of my entire life.
Monday. My mum's birthday. I will not say how old she is because she will never forgive me, but she doesn't look a day over 40. Which she is. But she doesn't look it! My presents for her came in the form of a Sting and the Police CD, and a nice-smelly-reed-diffuser-thing. She got a lot of things from my sister and dad too, and did very well! Well done mummy! You do not look a week older than 49. Oops.


Tuesday, my sister and I had to take down the Christmas decorations.  (31003 ft high now!). That was a mammoth job in itself. Especially as our tree is about as high as the ceiling in our house, and we had to wrap it in binbags and then cart it up the stairs and then the ladder into the loft. We were knackered by the time we'd finished, which was well into the afternoon.
That evening, I went to meet a friend at a bowling place around 30-40minutes drive away. We got milkshakes, fries, and then a single alcopop (because I was driving) each. We didn't actually bowl, although I did play two games of pool with him. Needless to say, my sheer awesome talent shon through, and my raw abilities guaranteed me a win. Also needless to say, I lost the second game.


Wednesday I cancelled my place at University, and rang my car insurance people and the car tax-man-company to see how I would go about my car whilst being away for six months. After I'd dealth with all of the automated people (I hate those, spent around 5minutes pressing numbers and listening to his monotonous droll) I finally got through to a real person and got information I needed. Yay! Success. I am clearly a whizz and very capable of sorting myself out... yeah right.
That day we also went and sorted out my money for the trip, which was stressful. But everything is fine now and I have all the money I need to be able to get into the country, and not have them boot me out for having a Working Visa but being too poor to fund myself. I'm now able to check my balance online and make sure I'm not underspending. Err, overspending. That's what I meant, yeah...
After sorting that mini crisis out, I popped in to see my Nan and Grandad. Spent a happy few hours threre with them and talked about what I might expect when I'm there, who to say hello to in the family and what they were like thirty years ago... (we're now flying over Amsterdam, at 11:49AM, and the clouds still look amazing at 30999ft!!). Which was happy, and we talked about how Nan and Grandad met, and what jobs they'd had. They worked in this company called Woods, and I never knew this but they each made parts of a fan for... well, fans. Nan put the engines together and Grandad did something equally as interesting but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. But I enjoyes spending that time with them, and stayed until I had to go meet a friend at another bowling alley.
Sandy and I had a few games of bowling (apparently being a student gets you Unlimited bowling, which actually only allows you three games. Pish), although the keypad on the 'Enter your name' bit wasn't working very well so we ended up with names such as BES4T444QQQ, and QMQWQQEE which was very amusing for us. After some abysmal bowling from both of us (I cleraly have no future career in bowling, despite earlier blogs), and a suitable amount of catching up we had a game of Pool and then went to the legendary McDonalds for some munchies and more chats. All in all a good end to a very busy day.


Thursday I had a bit of a lie in. YAY! I swear, I haven't had a good night's sleep since before christmas, so you can tell how tired I am. As such, I'm prone to emotional over-reacting at the moment.
Anyway, I tidied my room up a bit, and then went to meet Malice at 3pm at Sloppy Joes. Now, the only time I'd been there before was on fireworks night with that awful Bacon Bonanza pizza. This time I was determined to make a good choice, and I'm pleased to report that their margherita pizza with jacket potato and beans is a much much nicer meal. They have redeemed themselves. I believe I have also mentioned before that, because it's American, everything is triple the size it should be? Well that definitely happened again! I ordered a Chocolate Brownie Sundae, and I'll attach a photo of it later so you can see for yourself just how insanely humongous it is. I put it next to a salt shaker so you can compare sizes. It's that insane.
We stayed till around half five, and then Mal went home, and I went to a college awards evening thing. Two and a half hours of 'Betty Jones was described as a delightful student, always a pleasure, and has received a STUPID amount of rewards! Personal achievement, Most Improved Athlete, the Cedrics Coaches award for Business studies (no, seriously!). And they now go to Cambridge where they are studying LAW! Oh, WELL DONE BETTY! *CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP*'
Yeah, it was baad. Bad, and boring. And they even got my details wrong! I don't expect them to know that I'm travelling to Australia, but they knew I was taking a year out and then going to uni (that was the plan at the time). So to just get "And Canterbury Christ Church is where Merlin (insert proper name here) has ended up, studying Primary Education!" was a bit frustrating. Especially as I was one of the last people to go up. Raaaaargh.


(Plane engines are very noisy. I think I may have a headache by the end of this flight. Still got eleven hours-ish to go of the first leg. It takes elven hours and forty-five minutes to get there. I just hope that I can finish my blog before my netbook battery dies. It wont last me the whole entire flight, thats for sure.)
I took Maddy home with me that night, and she stayed over. We chatted and gossiped and I possibly did a little bad-mouthing (gotta do it sometime!), and had a very nice evening. I showed her an application on my netbook where I can have ponies running around my desktop, entertaining me as I work :) She was quite impressed, and I tried to reinforce the fact that ponies rule and she should watch it. WATCH IT! (I has a filly Fluttershy on at the moment keeping me company). In the morning she helped me paint the other half of my suitcase. I now have a kangaroo, a boomerang, a kookaburra (i did that bit), a PONY!, a snake and other things decorating it, not including what Bestie and I had already done. It looks fab, and is very me. (32996ft at 12:15PM, 577mph) Been in the air for an hour - we didn't take off till quarter past eleven.


Well anyway, I drove Maddy back to her house 25miles away. Got stuck behind a flipping lorry for most of it, and was reduced to 50mph on a road where even 60mph is irritating. I was feeling pressed for time because I was also meeting Bestie back in my town at 2:15ish. But that didn't stop Maddy and I having a great big ol' good-bye hug outside her house. I haven't yet decided if six months is a long time or not.
I'm pleased to announce that I made it on time for Bestie with some fast driving on the way home. We went to Starbucks and had a coffee each and a catch up, and generally had a good time. Bestie was taking me out for dinner but she didn't even know where we were going. So of course we ended up at Pizza Hut. Can't go wrong there. It's a good thing we did too, because as it was we had trouble finishing one pizza between us, let alone going to a restaraunt and having a main course each. It was so filling we didn't even have room for dessert.


(Just has what I suppose constitutes as lunch. Some kind of weird lamb, in the shape of sausages? It came with small roast potatoes, gravy, some strange tomato purree stuff, and runner beans. Mum, you will be proud - I ate the lamb thing! It was a bit rough but otherwise not too bad. ANd now you will not be so proud - I left the beans and the puree, and the cheesecake (i presume it was cheesecake; it was hard to tell. Just looked like jelly on cream.) and the prawn thing with some creamy gunk on it, and red onions. I even picked the raisins (I think they were raisins) out of the bread before eating it. Some things will never change.)


Anyway, back to my evening with Bestie. She came back to my house after Pizza Hut, and we were just chatting some more. Girls have lots and lots to chat about, it would seem. None of it was very thought-provoking as we were both quite knackered, because we both had colds and felt a bit ill, and I was definitely feeling my eminent departure. I packed my case whilst Bestie was there, and I'm grateful she was because I think she helped stop my mum from getting too stressy. I think my parents should adopt her in my absence, and have told them this many times. (9hrs 55mins to KL, -30 degrees celcius outside).


When she left, I was crying quite a lot. Fortunately, I'm over-emotional-enough for the both of us, and she's as hard as nails, so there were no tears that I saw coming from her. She drove off into the sunset, and I went inside and wept :P But we have agreed a time to skype each other every week, so it wont be like I've gone, really... That's the plan, anyway. 
So yesterday (Saturday), I saw Quinn for the last time. Just for half an hour before she went to work, but it was lovely to see her. Nan and Grandad came over, and I had a teary goodbye with them, before  I cancelled my tax and insurance, packed an overnight bag, said goodbye to Shadow and we headed to Heathrow to stay in a Hotel overnight.
Compared to the Travel Lodges I'm used to, this Hotel was lush. It even had marble floors in the foyer, marble counters, marble columns - you name it; in the foyer it was marble. Apart from the carpet. That wasn't marble. We even had a bell-boy take our cases to our rooms. It was quite swish. Last night we played Scrabble, and guess who won with 137 points?! Oh yes! It was me ;) fun fun times. 27 of those points came from the word PONY, which I managed to get into the corner and make a TRIPLE WORD SCORE out of it. Mega impressed with myself there.


Got in a taxi at 7:20am, checked into Zone C at the airport, told them I was quite nervous and asked to have air hostesses check on me during the flight. Thankfully, she's been checking quite a bit so far. Her name badge tells me she's called Rowindy, and although she spilt some wine on me earlier, she's quite nice. (We're on the east border of Warsaw at the moment).
Back to this morning, and after check in the four of us went and sat in Cafe Rouge for an hour or so, before we said our quite tearful goodbyes and I made my way through Departures, and through the security bit. Went to WHSmith and bought two books for my flight - My Love, I Wanted to Tell You, and Something About Tiffanys. No idea what they'll be like but they're not the type of genre I usually go for so we'll see how that goes. Talked a little to the two guys next to me - they're going back to Brisbane after a six week holiday going all around America and Europe, and said they had a grand time. Now we're just trying to figure out how to get the tvs in the back of the seats to work. Rowindy said she was gonna reset our seats or something, but nothing has happened so far. I'll keep you posted.
It's now 1:16PM, we're flying at 33000ft, at 552mph, just crossed the border into Ukraine. Got 9hours and 37minutes flying, gonna arrive at 6:54AM KL time. 5608miles to go, 1143 travelled already. I'm gonna sign off now, and do another blog maybe on the next Flight.


Okay, hello again! It is now 6:14pm London time, and I'm still on a plane. Now, I'm bored. It would appear that the only three televisions that don't work on the plane are that of myself and the two guys I'm sitting with. Oh Joy. I can't even read a book as the cabin crew wont switch on the overhead lights for us. So all I can do is play Dragon Quest on my DS, listen to music, rest my eyes, and blog. I'm also getting quite hungry. I have another Twix in my bag, so may have to munch on that, some Starburst and some Skittles to keep me powered up. I'll stock up again at the airport I think. We're not due to arrive at Kuala Lumpar for another four hours and forty minutes, so I'm gonna go a leeeettle bit mad. I can't really sleep either, which is sucky.


Also, my hand luggage is massive. There's too much in my bag, really. I may buy a cheap carrier bag for the next flight because there's not enough room, and I can't find anything easily. Rage at that. 
My seat is right opposite the little kitchenette-area that the cabin crew use, and this guy, whose name badge reads J.K THEN (not kidding at all), dropped something, and as such I had a perfect view. I was pretty shocked at what I saw. I mean, I told the girl at the check-in desk that I was nervous, and she had told the staff which is why Rowindy kept checking on me, but what he dropped was a carbon-copy of my ticket with the seat number circled in BIG ink. Then, in block capitals it said 18 YEARS OLD. FIRST TIME FLYING. VERY NERVOUS.
I mean, wow. Soooo was not expecting that. Crazy much.


I mean I'm just so darned bored. Surely it's down to the crew to make sure everything is working before takeoff? Because they haven't offered a reason why it's not working - it's just 'not working'. Earlier Rowindy said I could move to a seat up ahead where there was a tv. I may go check it out, cause Tangled was on the list and I AM SOO BOORED.
It's strange to think that people at home are eating dinner now. What am I doing now? I just flew over Pakistan. But I think I'd rather be having a sunday roast now. Mmm nom nom. I wonder if people are tracking my flight? I'd like to track my flight, but apparently as I have no internet that's not an option. People must think I'm crazy being on a laptop as it is; it's not like they're used much comercially nowadays for anything other than internet usage. All I can do is type and watch Ponies. But Ponies drain the battery more, so I'm just typing at the moment.


Ugh I have another journey just like this one after I get off this plane. I shall definitely have to make up for missed movie time by watching lots and lots of films. Among the list were Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Marley and Me, Contagion, Homecoming, Polar Express, Puss in Boots, 27 dresses... I think I'd be alright. Thing is, movies are such a good way to pass the time because you become so engrossed in them. At the moment, I'm looking at a screen on the ceiling every few minutes to see how much time we've got left. I. AM. BORED! I can't even look at the clouds anymore, because it's dark now. It's around half two in the morning in KL time.
Ooh, would you look at that. There's New Delhi.


Well, I'm at KL now. Bought a rucksack for my too-big-hand luggage, which came to RM199. I don't even know what the currency is here, but I desperately needed a bag so I coughed up. thankfully they accept Sterling. I also found a Starbucks! Wahey! And am sitting with a mocha as I write this. I also managed to spill some at the table so spent an embarassing moment clearing coffee from the floor...
What struck me about Malaysia when we flew over was that everything was so flat. I mean, flat and green! There's like an entire forest/wood/thing surrounding the airport (which is so much quieter than Heathrow, it's amazing), and the tallest buildings I've seen are at the airport itself. It's really quite a beautiful country, and I didn't see much of it. Maybe someday I can come back and explore it properly. It's around twenty to one in the morning London-time, which means I've been awake for quite a while. Think I'll try and sleep on the next plane rather than doze. If I'm not too busy watching movies on a working (hopefully) tv.


Oh, but I wish they'd decide what to do with the lighting in the plane! It was on/off/on/off for absolutely ages. Most of the time they were off, so we couldn't read and stuff, and it was like being in nursery school or something because they expected us all to be sleeping or whatever. Then around two hours before we landed, they randomly came back on and the cabin crew burst out from wherever they'd been lurking and said 'Good morning! Would you like the tomato and cheese omelette or a disgusting chicken thing?' Or words to that effect. Naturally, I went for the omelette and picked all the tomato out. I also ate one of those french-bread-things shaped in a semi-circle. It was quite nice. After 'breakfast' at elevenpm London-time, I started reading a new book but didn't get far as they turned the lights off when I was about twenty pages in. So I think we were meant to be sleeping again? I really don't know.
Oh, and the toilets in Malaysia are really weird. You quite literally sit on the floor. It's disturbing.
Well I'm gonna catch up on some stuff online. I'll do another bloggy bit during the next flight.