Surviving Sydney

Its been an interesting first week here in Australia. Within minutes of arriving at Sydney Airport, I was pulled aside at the Immigration Office and taken into a small room, where a very friendly but stern lady interrogated me about my plans in Australia. She "noticed" that this was the first English speaking country I've been to for a few months and asked how my funds were holding up. They are incredibly thorough with their immigration checks here! I assured her that my money situation was completely fine (total lie) and that I had absolutely no intention of working during my visit (even bigger lie).

Sydney is a gorgeous city and although I've spent my days trying to avoid spending money (aka, mostly eating off the McDonald's Dollar Menu), perusing Gumtree (Australia's version of Craigslist) and dropping off resumes all over the place, I have really enjoyed my visit so far. Australia reminds me of home in so many ways- its nice to be able to eavesdrop on stranger's conversations on the street; I enjoy blending in, since I could be a local just as easily as I could be a tourist- that hasn't happened since Germany; its nice to get directions somewhere and work with street names like Market Street and Elizabeth Avenue! Also, hearing actual (as opposed to extremely outdated) Top 40 songs in restaurants, bars and shops makes me feel a little bit closer to home. Teach me how to Dougie.

Coogee Beach

At the moment, I'm staying in a 10 person dorm at WakeUp! Hostel in the center of Sydney. I've had a really great time getting to know each of my dorm mates & love being able to say "Oh I was just there!", when they mention where they're from: Germany, Denmark, England, Finland and New York are all represented in Dorm Room 205. Most backpackers seem to have plans to stay in Australia for least six months and most of them (present company excluded) have work visas. I have no idea how the New Yorker got his work visa, since I was told over and over again that its essentially impossible for an American to obtain a work visa. In a nutshell, what I've learned this week is that Australia is shockingly expensive, my funds are dropping to an unhealthy low amount, and finding a cash job has proven to be a much more difficult task than I was envisioning.

Boxed wine = "goon"

But don't feel too bad for me; I have been having a pretty great time here, so far! My friend Ashley from Montreal (who I met while I was in Phuket, Thailand), has been living in Sydney with her awesome boyfriend Joe since July. They both work at an adorable little breakfast/lunch cafe in Randwick, which leaves their evenings available for exploring with me! They have been showing me a great time, including a minor run-in with the Australian police in Coogee Beach. Apparently its illegal to drink beer on the beach after sunset. Good to know! Saturday night, we met up in Darling Harbor for some fish & chips and then drank a box of cheap wine while watching the fireworks show over the harbor.

Fireworks over Darling Harbor

Despite far too many false alarms with employment, I am happy to report that I will be working Friday through Sunday at a Baby Expo at the Sydney Convention Center. Random? Yes. Hourly cash wage? Absolutely! On Monday, I'll head out of Sydney an into either a farm or coffee plantation or yoga retreat. Yesterday, I became a member of WWOOF: Willing Workers on Organic Farms. I was scanning through the listings of available locations and some of them sound so great! If you aren't familiar with WWOOFing, I'll let this article do the explaining:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/good-living/woofing-a-howling-success/2010/01/25/1264267963953.html

My friend Melissa recently WWOOFed her way through Europe with her husband- check out the hilarious and informative blog about their experience! http://nortonsvault.blogspot.com/

I think WOOFing will be a great way for me to experience Australia, without struggling to afford expensive cities like Sydney ($30 per night for a 10 person dorm room? Psh, I'll pass), and I might even learn a thing or two about organic farming! Who knows, I could arrive home and be able to make homemade soap or clean a cattle barn or plow a field! And here I was, thinking I'd have a hard time finding employment in SF. So many perks to traveling, I tell ya!

More later. Its about 90 degrees outside and I have a date with Bondi Beach today. Cheers, mate!

Maura the Explorer Down Under

Halfway There

So it turns out, a lot can happen in six months. Two of my oldest and best friends had their weddings. One of my closest friends since sixth grade got engaged and subsequently, relocated from LA to Boston. Another one of my good friends bought her first home with her boyfriend. My sister and The Russian moved into a new house in the Bay Area. My sweet Sadie Lady (my family's dog of fourteen years) passed away. There have also been break-ups, career changes, new boyfriends & girlfriends, fun group vacations and plenty of birthdays since March 16th. This is officially the longest I've ever been away from home. In some ways, it seems like a painfully long time to be away; in most ways, it feels like the months have flown by.

"I met a girl who kept tattoos for homes that she had loved. If I were her, I'd paint my body 'til all my skin was gone." - Something Corporate

Since leaving California, I've been lucky enough to find so many short term "homes that I loved" along the way. One thing I've learned about myself on this trip is that I can get very comfortable, very quickly almost anywhere, as long as I have some friends to play with (and ideally, a beach to play on). There was the Evershine Guesthouse in Goa, where I became instant life-long friends with Cat from England and Alice from Holland. I had an amazing three weeks in May traveling through Thailand with Erin from Australia, who I met as soon as I put my backpack down at the Pineapple Guesthouse in Karon Beach. The highlight of the trip was probably my "home" in Vilnius with Asta and Ramune, where I was so warmly welcomed and driven literally all over the country to meet relatives and see the highlights of Lithuania. And then there was "Sin-ville" with my CCPP cohorts. Similar to the way I still feel about my fellow abroad students from Madrid, a unique and strong bond was formed during that month we had together. I'll always have a smirk on my face when I reminisce about the Cambodian chapter of my trip. =)

While I feel incredibly lucky to have had these mini "homes" along the way, nothing compares to the parts of this trip that included loved ones from my real home. Being able to share this traveling experience with my Mom, Dad, Kate and Jess was more rewarding than I could ever imagine- and I think it made them feel better about my "adventure" as well, being able to witness it firsthand. Also, the generosity of people like Caren in Copenhagen and Liane in Germany allowed me to experience some of the more expensive locations of my trip with someone I already know and adore, without breaking the bank.

I could easily go on and on about what an enlightening, happy, adventurous, fulfilling, surprising, sunny and eventful six months I've had so far, but I think this post will be best summed up with a few of my favorite memories from the past six months. Enjoy!

Celebrating Uncle Jonas' 80th Birthday with a room full of relatives I never knew I had (April)









Fourth of July/Buckets & Paint Party at JJ's in Sihanoukville (July)









Spending the day exploring Gili Trawangan with Jessica (August)









Black Moon Party (August)









Sunset at Angkor Wat (June)









Biking through German countryside with Liane (May)













I hope you've enjoyed reading about the past six months as much as I've enjoyed living it. Next Wednesday, the Southeast Asia chapter of this journey will end, as I head over to Sydney to explore a brand new continent.

One love,
Maura

Six Things I Now Know About Bali

1) They love and I mean LOVE Barack Obama. As the opener to a conversation, most of the locals ask where you're from. America? Every single time, their next word is "Obama!". While Barack doesn't have any blood line relating back to Indonesia, his mother did marry an Indonesian man and I believe he spent part of his childhood in Jakarta. But the way their faces light up when they talk about him is adorable. I'll take that reaction over Bush comments *any day*.

2) You'll never see anything more beautiful than a Balinesian girl doing a traditional dance. Jess and I went to a traditional Fire Dance Show while in Ubud and we were completely blown away by the beauty of it all. The finger poses, the foot movements, the facial expressions, the way she looks like she's floating on air. The make up, the outfit, the hair. Its overwhelming. Without showing too much skin or shaking their hips, these girls can completely captivate an entire audience of parents, backpackers, teenagers and little kids. If you're ever in Bali, make sure not to miss this experience!


3) Young Thai women are to foreign guys as young Balinese men are to foreign girls. Perhaps its due to the "Eat Pray Love" phenomenon going on here, but it's almost unbelievable to me how the Balinese men flirt with the backpacker gals. The guy who I've been "renting" a lounge chair from on the beach each day keeps insisting on "we go dancing tonight?". No. We don't go dancing tonight. And that's not only because I've seen you ask the other three girls who are here alone. It might sound more bothersome or creepy than it is, but overall, Balinese men seem anxious to show foreign girls a good time. I'll pass.

4) Each morning, I have to carefully watch my step to avoid crushing one of the hundreds of "canang saris" on the ground. Actually- they're not limited to the sidewalk. I've seen them on windshields, motorcycle seats, on the steps of a temple (that one seemed least out of place) and even on the seashore. Hindus in Bali believe that spirits exist in all objects and elements of life, hence the seemingly random placement of the canang saris. As you can see below, the base is a square shape, made from a banana leaf. Inside, you'll typically find fresh flowers, a small portion of rice or fresh fruit, holy water and a few burning incense sticks. These offerings are a sign of gratitude for the gift of life; placing the canang saris out each morning (and sometimes again mid-day) is both a duty and an honor for the Balinese.


5) Kuta is Australia's Cancun. Sure, there are stretches of gorgeous white sand beaches and plenty of luxurious resorts with upscale bars and inviting swimming pools. But there are also packs of Australian teenagers, drinking 40oz. Bintangs for breakfast and hundreds of vendors, selling the same ten pairs of fake Ray Bans in their shop. However, there are always pros and cons to visiting a tourist trap like Kuta; there tends to be an ample supply of low priced accomodation (huge plus for yours truly), and you can always rely on plenty of Western style food in a town overrun by tourists. Thanks to the incredibly authentic and very affordable California-style burritos at Mojo's Flying Burritos, I'm willing to let the pros outweight the cons in this case. Plus- what kind of surf mecca would this be without a killer burrito spot?
(http://www.mojosflyingburritos.com/)


6) You'll never sit next to a Balinese person on the beach. You might see them walk by or they might offer to sell you a bracelet or cold beer. But they are not into the beach one bit; ironic, considering the Indonesian coastline holds some of the world's most spectacular beaches. Perhaps its because *every day* is a gorgeous beach day for them. Why rush out to enjoy it, when you know it'll be there again tomorrow? And every other day for the rest of your life?

BFFs in Bali

I jumped out of bed (well- the top bunk in an 8 bed dorm room) with a huge grin on my face on August 29th. In only a matter of hours, I would meet Jessica at the Denpasar Airport in Bali. Christmas morning had arrived. One ride on the KL metro, one hour long airport shuttle and one AirAsia flight later, I was still beaming with excitement. At Customs, I paid the $25 US for the 30 day Indonesian visa, took my receipt and got in line for the stamp. Only one hour until Jessica's flight lands and then its best-friend-time all-the-time for the next two weeks. Too good to be true. Next thing I know, the Official who is supposed to be stamping my passport is telling me that there's no more room on any of the pages and that he cannot give me a stamp. Talk about a mood change. My perma-grin was instantly replaced with a racing heart beat and tears welling up in my eyes. You're joking, right? After all of this, you're not going to let me into the country? My mind was racing- ok so I'll just wait here for Jess and we'll tackle this together? Or... I'll talk to someone immediately about getting an additional page sewn in? Ya right- I doubt they do that at the airport. But this kind of thing must happen all the time... right? I quickly grabbed my passport from him and started scanning the pages. Not only had I completely neglected to realize that, in fact, most of my pages were pretty close to full, but I also had no idea that the Indonesian Visa needs an entire page. Eventually, the guard's superior gave him the approval to only give me a stamp, but we finally agreed on a small corner on one of the pages where it would most likely fit. Right after he stamped, I gave a huge sigh, and homeboy whispered "Ok, I help you. Now you help me?" What?! He's asking for a TIP now? I explained that I only had $5 US dollars left and didn't have any Indonesian Rupiah in my possession yet. He seemed pissed and threw my passport on the counter while giving me a "you're useless, now go" sweeping hand motion. Welcome to Indonesia...?

My thirteen days with Jessica were, as she would say, "money". We had the MOST amazing time together; basically, I'll refer to that vacation together as our honeymoon. I mean, after living together for nine years and still coming out alive as the best of friends, we deserved something on the honeymoon-level, right? In true "Jessica" fashion, she arrived with enough Sephora products & samples for me to open a mini beauty store here (Jessica works at Sephora's Corporate Headquarters in SF). Face masks, toners, body scrubs, body butter, perfumes- I hit the at-home-spa treatment jackpot. And speaking of spa treatments, during our first few days in Ubud, we hit the spa twice. My only other spa visit was with Kate, when I treated myself to my first pedicure on Koh Tao. We found rave reviews for Zen Spa (http://www.zenbalispa.com/) on TripAdvisor and treated ourselves to the two hour Mandi Lulur Treatment. A traditional body massage followed by a body scrub with turmeric, sandal wood and rice powder, an exfoliation of yoghurt to eliminate toxins, and a fragrant blossom bath. It was absolute heaven, and it was less than $20 US. Win. We went back to Zen again the next day, where I treated myself to yet another pedicure & Jess enjoyed a foot massage.



From Ubud, we took a minivan and then a speedboat over to Gili Trawangan. Out of the three Gili Islands (Air, Trawangan, Mino), we opted for "Gili T", since we heard it had better nightlife and a pretty good backpacker scene. We ended up at the lovely little Sunrise Pondok Homestay; the walk down to the beach was on a small dirt road, usually swarming with overgrown bougainvillea, roaming chickens & roosters, stray dogs and adorable little Indonesian munchkins. During the day, we biked around the island and found secluded beaches, cozy little restaurants and usually stopped at a happy hour on our way home. One day we went on a snorkeling tour, which was a blast- we found Nemo AND spotted an adorable and slow moving turtle! For the most part, we opted for movie nights in our room more often than beers at the loud Reggae Bar down the street, but we did manage to meet up with Vanessa Reid! Vanessa is a fellow '01 Paly Grad who is taking her "bar trip" before joining the legal working world in the Fall. New total is FIVE random run-ins with Paly grads while traveling. Go Vikes.


Jess and I ended up staying on Gili T for seven nights before heading back to the mainland of Bali to tackle the Waikiki of Indonesia, known as Kuta. Unfortunately, our "three and a half hours" of speed boat + mini bus turned into eight long hours of waiting around and then sitting in traffic. Be warned, if you arrive in Kuta during high season, book ahead. We walked around town for over an hour (with our backpacks on- ouch!) asking for a double room at every hotel we saw. Finally, we settled for a room that was so grimy that I even refused to use the shower. There were strange smells and odd stains on the wall and Jessica insisted we find better for our last night together. Just like she did for our first night in Ubud, Jessica treated us to a gorgeous hotel for our last night in Bali together, and we spent most of the day lounging by the pool and planning the rest of my trip together.

The good news is that we had an absolutely perfect trip together. The bad news is that it's over. When I said goodbye to Jess, the reality set in that I won't see another friend from home (unless there are more Paly kids on the loose in Southeast Asia, hah) until Kathryn arrives in Sydney at the end of October. Que triste. On the bright side, I think I'll head to Sydney in a week or so, and I have a few friends from my travels who are currently stationed there. Familiar faces! I'll take it. Once I arrive in Australia, I'll find a room and a paying gig and actually have a chance to stay in one place for about two months. I'm both thrilled and devastated. I love moving around and seeing new towns and beaches and people all of the time. Will I go stir-crazy in Sydney or am I about to embark on the most exciting part of this adventure? Only one way to tell, right?

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,
Maura the "I'm so legit, my passport is full" Explorer