Good Morning, Melbourne!

Whew... Finally reached Melbourne after a 10 hour bus ride and it is not 6 AM! I thought I could spend the night on the bus sleeping, but I ended up staying awake the whole bus ride. I'm gonna drop dead tonight...

The last few days, I spent exploring Adelaide as much as I can since I didn't get to explore as much the first few days... Overall experience? It's a nice little city, but really nothing much to see. Or maybe I didn't explore enough.

I got to experience Mid-Autumn Festival in Adelaide and boy was it better than the ones we have in Boston! Lol... Adelaide doesn't even have that big of an Asian population, but they made it such a big deal! It's like a two week even with theatre shows, musicals, decorations, open forums, art galleries, etc. The main parade was on Sunday night on the Torrens River. People started camping there at 2 PM and the parade doesn't start until 8! Okay... I was one of the 2 PM people. The parade actually got delayed because there were TOO many people that people started sitting on the parade designated lanes. All in all, it was great. A lot of different life size lantern designs for the parade (instead of the usual dragon dance and that's about it)! I left before the fireworks started; first to get out before the crowd, second because I was hungry, and third I didn't want to be a loner watching fireworks because too much feels. Actually, mainly just because of third LOL... Fireworks are meant to be enjoyed with a SO or at least a friend. I was there alone. #5everalone

I ended up meeting a bunch of Asians at my Adelaide hostel! Which was cool I guess. I feel close minded mingling with my own kind lol... Whatever. Friends are friends! I will probably be meeting up with two of them at Tasmania! It just so happened that we were going at the same week, so we can split the cost of my car. I ended up not getting a manual because I changed it to an SUV since we will have 5 people now and a sedan will be too squished. Either way, I'll be driving on my wrong side of the road. Wish me well!

I'm starting to not like YHA hostels... They provided uber slow free wifi and charge you more for better wifi. What's the dealio? The city itself has better free wifi, but I don't want to be sitting in the middle of a park at midnight trying to stream League of Legends. Talking about League of Legends, I can't wait to watch the championship! I just wish I had a better connection for streaming. I'll find a way I guess. I don't know why I'm excited for it since I didn't really care for it until the finals every year lol... I was sitting outside waiting for the Mid-Autumn Festival to start in Adelaide, so I decided to read up on each team that made it to the World Championship and participated in the betting to see who will come out in which place. I don't really care who wins, but I just want to spend some quality me time watching the finals.

Entering Melbourne on the bus doe. The architecture makes me drool! There's a ferris wheel in the middle of the city. hwot? There's so much design in their buildings. I'll sure be taking loads of pictures. I've decided to spend a longer period of time in Victoria, Australia. I'm gonna be trying to get a farm work here or maybe a cafe since Melbourne is famous for their coffee. I want to learn to be a barista! Thank goodness for the time zone though. The 13.5 hour difference in Adelaide was throwing me off so badly. I'm back to the normal 14 hour difference now in Melbourne!

I found out Pokemon Symphonic is coming to Australia. I bought 2 tickets to their concert at Sydney Opera House on November 21, 2015! Can't go alone to a concert... I need to find a date. I also found out that PAX just started one in Melbourne Australia for 30 October to 1 November... But $160 though. That can feed me for 8 days! Too expensive... I'm not into games that much anymore too so I guess I can pass.

I feel like my entry is not making much sense right now and I probably have a lot of grammatical errors right now (and probably in all my entries). I feel so tired right now. I'm sitting at the Melbourne Central YHA, it's 6:52 AM right now, I can't check in until 1 PM, and there's no free luggage storage. I'll probably camp here at the lounge for a bit and get a locker for $3 later in the day which is valid for 4 hours.

I'll be exploring Melbourne for a while! I feel like I'm getting lazy at updating my blog; that and I haven't been transferring my pictures from my camera to the computer so I haven't been uploading pictures. Until next post, peace out!

I miss my "Me" times...

Hey guys, I really appreciate that you guys think of me as a wonderful friend. I really think you guys are also wonderful people too, but I need my me time.

I met Lily and Ruo from the train ride from Perth to Adelaide. They are retired university teachers from China. They think I'm the sweetest guy they've ever met and even started calling me their son.

I met John from Adelaide Central YHA. He's a great guy from Perth that's traveling around Australia for the past 10 months. We have a lot in common and often times find ourselves talking into the night until 2am since Sunday (and now Wednesday).

I feel so overwhelmed. John has a lot to talk about and genuinely a great guy. My days have been spent talking with him. I feel like I have not been getting anything done and I have not been getting enough time to explore the city of Adelaide. The two teachers has been messaging me to get all the plans set for our trip from Melbourne to Tasmania. They have been stressing out that I have not been on top of booking things that they keep spamming my WeChat asking what I am up to. I reassured them that I will get it all sorted out and let them know, but they keep worrying that I might mess up.

I grew up being the only child. I had my times when I lived in a bubble away from the outside world. I grew to like my "me" times at times. I enjoy being alone, peace, and quiet. I have been able to get these times on my normal life routine. But now all of a sudden, I have been seeing John every single day and possibly even single hour of the day except when I sleep or want to take a quick nap. We eat breakfast together and talk into the afternoon. We eat lunch together and grocery shop into the night. We eat dinner together and talk into the night; for the past 3 days. Then there's these two teachers messaging me throughout the day asking me for updates on my planning. It's exhausting. I want my time alone... I genuinely appreciate their liking for me, but this is too much! Maybe that's why I'm afraid to make new friends. ><" I'm such an anti-social person! I don't know how I'll ever get marry and settle down. I'm gonna get so sick of seeing my family everyday and no more me time lol... I feel terrible for feeling like this because they genuinely thinks that I'm a great person and I'm really not that great of a person. That's just me.

This planning for Melbourne to Tasmania has been really stressful. The two teachers can only stay for 2 days and I think that's a total waste of money just to come to this island for two days because there are A LOT to see. I literally JUST finalized the plan.
28 September - Take the bus from Adelaide to Melbourne (train seats all booked out) 10 hour ride
29 Sept - 9 Oct - Melbourne Central YHA (I hope I make a close friend so I don't spend my birthday as a loner!)
9 October - Take night ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania 10 hour ferry
10 October - Get to Tasmania Devonport, hire a car, day trip to Cradle Mountain, 2 hour drive to Strahan YHA for the night
11 October - 5 hour drive to Port Arthur, day trip at Port Arthur, 2 hour drive to Hobart YHA for the night
12 October - The two teacher leaves Tasmania to fly to Sydney, I stay and make a day trip to Mt. Wellington, Hobart YHA for the night
13 October - Check out of Hobart YHA and 3 hour drive to Coles Bay for a day trip at Wineglass Bay, stay at Coles Bay YHA for the night
14 October - Drive to Hobart and return the car, day strolling around Hobart and stay at Hobart YHA for the night
15 October - Check out and catch a flight from Hobart International Airport to Melbourne at 8:15 PM

See how complicated it looks??? @_@; But in the end, getting every booked was relieving and kind of fun to have to plan some complicated shit.

I plan on staying in Melbourne and look for a farm job around the area. I keep hearing all these great things about Melbourne. I think I'll like it at Melbourne. If I end up liking Melbourne, I'll make an effort to stay there until December. As for Christmas and New Years, I don't know if I want to spend it in Melbourne or Sydney. I definitely don't want to be alone for those holidays! I might meet some good friends in Melbourne to spend the holidays with in Melbourne. I kind of want to go back to Sydney for those holidays just because, but I probably won't know anyone there if I want to go back at the end of December. I could meet up with Jianing's cousin's family. Kenny's friend will be spending her holidays with her family in Amurica. But December is a long time for me to start planning so I'll worry about it later...

As for Adelaide... It's a cute little city, but kind of boring. It might be because I've been spending a lot of time in door talking with John lol... But I can't wait for Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival to start tomorrow night! I love pretty lights in the night time! Adelaide seems to make this a big deal because it's a two week thing as to other city only having it for the weekend. :) Plus lots of cute girls around for me to stare at and forever wander what it would be like for me to be with them. LMAO, #loneralert

Anyways, it's late. I'm peacing out!

Welcome to Adelaide!

SOME ASSHOLE STOLE MY TOOTHPASTE RIGHT BEFORE I LEAVE PERTH! WTF >:(
I woke up at 5:30 to prepare to go to The Pinnacles. I didn't want to be a jerk walking back and forth out of the room and wake everyone up, so I decided to leave my toothbrush and toothpaste outside on the communal sink while I go eat breakfast and pick it up after I'm done. Yeah, I forgot about it and left for the day. I didn't noticed that my toothbrush and toothpaste went missing that night when I wanted to go brush my teeth. I found my toothbrush on the lost and found shelf, but the toothpaste is forever gone. I barely used it for two weeks and it was a full tube. Jerk. It's my fault, but why would you steal other people's toothpaste?! Ugh. Luckily, my mom suggested that I bring two tubes so I have a backup... Plus a travel size one. That's why I can't have nice things. It's the start of my losing streak where I lose everything by the time my year is up.

The train from Perth to Adelaide was for 2 nights and technically 3 days, but I reached Adelaide at 7 AM, so it's kind of like just two days. Sleeping on a chair is worse than I thought it'd be. The longest plane ride I've ever done in one go was 10 hours, so it wasn't so bad. But sleeping on a chair for 2 nights? It was painfully uncomfortable. At first, I thought it'd be okay since the chairs can recline to about 45 degrees; which is better than airplane seats. Nope, didn't help at all because my legs just felt weird hanging around. We're not allowed to sleep on the floor and the arm rest in between two seats cannot be lifted. 2/10, would not do again. The only good thing about taking a train is the different experience and being able to see the kilometers and kilometers of desert and dry trees! It was fun I guess. I also met these two awesome university teachers from Chongqing and Chengdu, so it's good; I guess.

When I boarded the train, I found my seat and the woman in the seat over had her stuff on my seat. I said, "Hi, I'm seat 11." She gave me a disgusted look moved her stuff onto the floor. I started looking into the back of the train and kept saying to me about why are they putting all the people in the front of the cart instead of spreading us all over. She wandered if we were able to sit at the empty seats. I said, "Maybe... If it doesn't fill up by the time we start moving. My name is Henry by the way." She just said yeah. When the conductor said we don't have much travelers that day so we can move around and spread out if we wish, she immediately picked up all her stuff and moved to another empty seat... What?

I'm still being shy and all. Don't know how to start a conversation with people even though I just finished reading this book called The Art of Small Talks. I'm super noob. There were these two Chinese women that was sitting in the seats behind me and I first assumed that they were complete fobs because they blasted music and spoke obnoxiously. Me and my bad judgmental habits. Turns out they were university teachers from Chongqing and Chengdu! One of them was an English teacher and the other one was from a Economics and Finance school. Well educated, smart, and super nice! But they're still old Chinese women (like my mom, can get annoying at times)... They're super nice to me and even started calling me their son; which I appreciate. But I finally realized that I much rather travel on my own and I love traveling on my own most of the time. Like I said before, I like to be able to move at my own pace (go when I want, relax when I feel like it, slack off when I feel like a lazy day). I went to Port Adelaide to visit them and just so happened that it was International Pirates Day this weekend. Port Adelaide is a freight port and there was a good history about pirates so they had a big festival where people dress up and celebrate the event around town. I wanted to just sit around, relax, and watch the little pirate children run around, but they were so eager to go to museum and once again I felt obligated to be their company. The Adelaide Maritime Museum turned out to be good and interesting, but you know what I mean. I'm glad that the day turned out pretty good and I ended up cooking dinner for them. It feels great to be able to cook for others and they appreciate my cooking!

Edit: I got sidetracked and ended up continuing this blog entry on 21 November night.

Sooo... I woke up at 8am for the hostel's daily free pancake for breakfast! I was cutting up a kiwi to put on my pancake when this guy walked up to me and made a comment about my kiwi on my pancake and asked where I was from. He's John and he was born in Perth, traveled all around Australia and a lot of other places! He lives in Perth and just doing some traveling! I got caught up talking with him into the night and we even split the groceries and I got to cook for another person that appreciate my cooking! Oh man, we talked into the night and lost track of time. I ended up going to sleep at 2am! It feels great to be able to connect with someone and he feels great to be able to meet me. We have a lot in common except our age. He said he's not so confident in himself, but he has met a lot of people over his life and even keep in contact with people from years and years back even when these people live in different part of the world. I hope I can be like that; to be able to meet life long friends all around the world and make an effort to keep in contact with most of them. He legit been all over the world and knows a lot. He's the first person that I've met on this trip that I feel the connection and he's so interested in getting to know me and have a lot of interesting stories to talk about. I have a feeling that he might be one of those that I might keep as a life long friendship; or at least I'll make an effort to! Lol... I'm terrible at that and everyone knows that.

Today, I ended up strolling around the city to check out the University of Adelaide, art museums, and a bunch of other museums. Things repeat at times, but I enjoy seeing them. :) Yesterday, John brought me to Adelaide's Chinatown and I saw a bunch of cosplayers hanging outside a PC cafe dressed up as Sona and Prestigious Leblanc. I was hungry, so we went for food and I forgot to go back and get pictures of them. I went to Chinatown today and it was deaddd lol... I guess it's a weekend thing. I ended up extending my stay in Adelaide to Monday morning because there's a Lunar Festival event (中秋节) happening in Adelaide on Sunday and their promotion has a girl that looks like Miku! I'm convinced lol... I looked up Lunar festival around Australia and it didn't seemed like other cities make it as big of a deal as Adelaide do. I see promotional posters all over the city. So I'll stay until Sunday and catch the Monday train from Adelaide to Melbourne. So far, I've been to the outskirts of Adelaide (Port Adelaide and Hahndolf) which turned out to be okay... I like the architecture here, but it doesn't seem like there's much to do here... Maybe I need to meet a locate that can show me around. So far, my favorite is probably Perth because I got to see so much stuff there (Rottnest Island, The Pinnacles, King's Park). Sydney has a lot going on, but I don't know. I do like the Blue Mountains though and I'll definitely go back. I want to see how Melbourne turns out and go from there. I hope my trip will only get better and better! :)

Until next time, peace out!

Quokkas! And more!

My life is finally complete. I can now die happily. Sorry ladies, but I'm taken. Please form a line right behind the quokka please.

Haha, the quokka didn't really kiss me. She was sniffing my face for food! They are so adorable!!! Even though the ferry and the bike hire (rental) was 114AUD, it was totally worth it to go to Rottnest Island! The island was beautiful! It was kind of like Huangshan where motor vehicles are not allowed except the island allows official vehicles (buses, government vehicles, etc,) as to Huangshan doesn't have any vehicles at all beyond the entry point. I was kind of sad that the ferry didn't get to the island until 11AM and I have to make it back to the port at 4PM to catch the last ferry at 4:25PM. I only had enough time to see a quarter of the island because I keep stopping to take pictures. When I first got there, it was really cloudy and cold. For a good hour, I didn't see any quokka at all! I thought I wasn't going to see any of them because it was so chilly and they are nocturnal animals. But I biked a little longer and saw this couple hanging out in the middle of the street. I went over to check it out and turns out that they found quokkas! The above shot was with one of them; which was one that also has a baby in her pouch! They're so super cute! I spent a good 15 minutes before taking off to see more of the island. The island was so quiet early on that it was getting kind of scary because I was checking out the barracks and the old bomb shelters that were built there for World War II. I felt an eerie feeling whenever the wild blew over because I was picturing spirits and ghosts around! Ahaha... I could bike for a good 10 minutes without seeing a single person because I went deep into the island. The day turned out really nice and good all the way up to when I had to leave. Love the place and if I have the money and chance, I would definitely go back! I ended up spending more than I intended on postcards and mailed them out to people back in the States.

That was Sunday. Today, I woke up at 5:30AM AGAIN to make it to the bus stop at 6:30 to catch the bus to The Pinnacles. I originally want to go on my own, but there was no public transportation to the place so I had to book it with a tour. So far up to now, I've only experienced with Chinese tourist groups and they kill the mood when the guide brings us to jewelry shops or Chinese delicacy shops where they sell shark fins and stuff like that so they can get commissions. So I didn't want to experience something like that again because those are so annoying. But today turned out to be really nice! I was the first one to be picked up at the first pick up point and I ended up sitting in the front seat with the tour guide Richard. Super nice guy. The trip was a day trip and I was really glad to be sitting next to him and having a talk with him. I think it made my trip A LOT more exciting and better. Instead of just meeting the other people on the trip, I got to know the tour guy too and he has a lot of stories and experience about the trip. He has been all over Australia and had a lot to talk about. I got a few tips from him too in terms of trying to get a farming job or just a job in general and where is the best places to go around Australia. His trip was really fulfilled; included light breakfast with Australia jams, smoked kangaroo and emu meat, sandwich for lunch, and we stopped at three places -- Yanchep National Park, some small town where we did sand boarding, and finally stopping at The Pinnacles! The AU$145 was totally worth it in my opinion.

EDIT: I ded. Got too tired to complete this blog. I'll finish it later!

So I ended up extending my stay in Perth for one extra night because my train is not until Wednesday. My Tuesday was spent being lazy. I did laundry, hung out at the lounge, and spoke with a couple of people. You know, some people are really easy to get along with. One of us just need to take that initiative to start a conversation. I'm working on it, but I'm still really bad at starting a conversation. I keep reminding myself that there's too many people in this world to be worrying about one or two people judging me, but I still can't get my courage to start something. I just keep thinking to myself that, "Oh that's a stupid question and it will never lead to anywhere!" Haha... I'm so dumb. I'll work on it. Anyways, it has been a relaxing day and I can't wait to catch the train to Adelaide tomorrow. I know it'll be a good trip. Maybe I'll get my courage and just go speak with a random stranger. *shrug*

Peace!

Another Day at Perth

BUGS! I hate bugs! I got like 4 mosquito bites at King's Park the other night and it's itching like crazy! Also, I think I got some bed bug bites back at Bounce Sydney... I've never had bug bug bites before, so I didn't know what was it like. They looked like rashes and I kind of just ignored it. Today, one of my roommate and I saw one of my roommate with A LOT of red splotches on one side of his body and we were like O_O What's wrong there? He said it must have been bed bug bites and that they have switched beds for him. Then I started to freak out and thinking what if mine were indeed bed bug bites? What if I end up carrying them back home?! But then again, they should die on the plane ride because it's like 28 hours long on a plane up in the air in the negative degrees.

So I went around town to see if I can get a sensor cleaning kit because I fked up my sensors. Turns out a lot of the camera shops don't carry them or they're REALLY REALLY expensive. I ended up finding a place where they will professionally clean it for $55. I managed to negotiate the price down to $40 and they ended up cleaning out the lens for me too. When I came back to my hostel and looked through my pictures, I saw another recurring speck of dust! Stupidly, I tried blowing into the sensor with my mouth and ended up making it worse... I'm so bad at this. I should just stick with point and shoot camera or my phone. -_- Every thing in Australia is so freakin expensive and so is shipping if I buy stuff online. Like a GTX 980 Ti graphics card. They're less than $700 in the US. I met a friend from a hostel said he bought it for 1,200AUD.... I went to a Sony store and they were selling my camera for 1,000AUD when it goes for $400 in the US. Damn... I guess I'm just going to buy the expensive cleaning kit and do it myself because I get so paranoid about dust specks on my pictures. I can't keep spending $40 getting it cleaned. That's what I get for being unprepared! :T *noobie*

I've been walking like 5~8 hours a day and Google Fit tells me that I've walking like over 10 miles a day, but my big belleh is still here! HOW DO I LOSE IT?! T_T Maybe I should stop cooking with butter... I've been too lazy to buy cooking oil, so I just buy a block of butter and cook with that because it seems easier and cheaper... Talking about cooking, people started commenting on my cooking and the look of my finish product saying I'm so healthy and it looks so cute. hwot? I don't like making a scene or attracting attention, but my cooking is not that great. It only looks nice! I spend like an hour just to make udon with a bunch of veges and diced meat. I guess I do put too much effort into cooking. But I kind of enjoy it haha... Maybe it's because I'm not coming back after a long day at work and just want to relax for the rest of the night and play some League of Legends. I'm eager to come back after a long day of sightseeing so I can try to cook something new! This is weird. Maybe if I keep this up, I might end up liking to cook and actually put the effort into cooking yummy stuff. Just maybe.

I finally saw kangaroos! They're not real, but it's a start ahahah... Australia is famous for their kangaroos, ostrich, and koalas but I have yet to see any without having to go to the zoo. I don't want to see zoo bred ones! I want to see one in the wild, on the streets, the ones that people ride to school or something... You know what I mean? I can't wait to go to Rottnest Island on Sunday though! Quokkas! After contemplating, I think I'm going to book a trip to The Pinnacles too. It is $145 and I thought it was quite expensive so I didn't want to go. But after thinking about it, will I even come back to Western Australia? So I think tomorrow, I'm going to book a trip to the Pinnacles for Monday to see a bunch of sand pillars in the middle of the desert! I'm also thinking about making a trip to Darwin before going to Melbourne before I want to check out the Ayer's Rock. But I don't know; I need a longer term address so I can receive my expecting mails. I'll see what happens once I get to Adelaide. But quokkas!

That's all I guess. Until next time, peace!

Perth's famous Bell Tower. Looks even cooler lit up, but they only light it up during special events. Poo.

The Life in Western Australia: Perth

It's pouring outside, so I'm stuck inside getting things sorted out for next week to Adelaide! :) Just booked 1 week at Adelaide and then I will have to go to an agency to book a train ride from Perth to Adelaide for 2 nights 3 days. Fun fun funnn!

So far, I feel like the best part about this trip is figuring out my way around things as I go. Such that I landed in Sydney without knowing how to get to Bounce Sydney Hostel. Turns out the train station was under construction so there was a free shuttle to town. I landed in Perth at midnight and had nowhere to go because I can't check in until noon time and there's no bus running into town until 5 AM-ish, so I ended up sleeping at airport arrival area. Seems like it's a normal thing since a lot of other travelers were also doing the same; except they all chose a corner so they're not obstructing the arrival area while I chose a random pillar in the middle of the place so I can charge my electronics haha! The most scary part was that I landed in Terminal 1 and there's no bus that takes you to town. I looked around and started walking in every direction only to find highways after 30 minutes of walking. I Google Mapped my way and it told me that the bus is on the other side of the airport which is a 3 hour walk if I do decide to walk which is also not safe as there's only highways. I refused to take the taxi because the City Perth Backpackers Hostel website indicated that taking a taxi from the airport could cost up to 50AUD. Ain't nobody got money fo dat! There was nobody around the airport since it was early in the morning. It wasn't until I saw a flight attendant getting off work that I asked her how I can take a bus into the city. @_@ Apparently, there's a shuttle at Terminal 3 that goes to the city. There were no signs until I get to the free shuttle station that takes you to Terminal 3. The total cost to get to the city ended up being $4.50 ahahah... While on the bus, I met this couple from Spain that was also traveling around without things planned. They just left Indonesia and plan on going to New Zealand and South Africa after Australia. They were pretty intense though; more so than me. It didn't seem like they had a phone so they didn't have a clue how to get to the city at all. The guy Jeff even told me that they haven't booked a hostel yet. They're just going to wander around the city until they come to a cheap hostel where they can spend a few nights. I can't do that. I might not be a good planner, but I need to know that I have a roof for the night and not sleeping on the streets; be it at the airport or somewhere that I can feel safe while I'm asleep. I try to plan 2~3 days ahead of time in terms of how I will travel and where I'm going to stay. As for exploring, I do that along the way since I have my phone for guidance. And the best of all, this is a solo trip in a country where I don't know anyone!

Then my phone ended up dying. I got to my hostel at 9AM and the receptionist said I can't check in until noon. I went to a cafe and had breakfast. My phone said I have 15% battery left. I ignored it and it turned off itself at 10%. I tried turning it back on and it said it was out of battery. I started charging it with my battery pack and it would turn back on, but the screen just goes black. I can hold the power button and a prompt will show up to turn off my phone, but the screen is just black and no screen. I waited until I got back to the hostel, checked in, and started looking into it. Turns out this happens to Moto X phones quite common. The only way to fix it is to do a factory reset. Luckily, my pictures are auto-uploaded onto Dropbox. I was like, "If my phone dies here, I'm gonna have to travel without a phone or a GPS!" which is kind of scary to me even though I think getting lost is the fun part of traveling. I'm a princess, I can't sleep on the streets! Ahahah... I ended up spending about three hours and gave up and just did a factory reset. The rest of the day was spent going out to get groceries and cooking zzz...

Perth is quite beautiful at night! Especially the view from King's Park over viewing the small little city of Perth. King's Park is supposedly the 6th most beautiful park in the world beating New York's Central Park. The park is HUGE, so I only got to see a little bit of it which had a lot of plants from all over Australia. Australia is still in the Spring season, so most plants and flowers have not bloomed yet, so there was not much to see either.

Edit 10PM:
So I ended up going to at around 2:30 PM because the rain has slowed down a bit so it's just drizzling here and there. I ended up going to some of the free museums around the place; just like how there's free museums every where around Australia. One of the museum was Institute of Contemporary Arts... It got me starting to think... Art doesn't have to be something with perfection. As long as you can make some story up for the artwork, it can be something awesome! I saw some project that just blew my mind on how it can be some kind of special artwork. Strips of paper hanging from the ceiling with a fan blowing on them while projecting ocean waves? A picture of three teenagers facing away from the picture standing in a body of water? A room filled with transparent plexiglass with lights shining from different directions to create abstract reflections. It can't be any more simple. I mean, it's something anyone can do but just because they did it first, it's some special artwork? I'm not trying to bash on them, but it seems like art is all about expressing what you're aiming to get the audience to see; even if it's just one dot on a piece of blank paper. For all I know, from all the pictures that I've taken, one must be artistically awesome worthy of millions of dollar! But I gotta make a catchy phrase first.

On the topic of art... I fucked up my camera sensor. :( The other day, I was taking pictures and notice a huge dust on my picture. I took off the lens and tried to clean the sensor with my shirt LMAO! Since it's a mirrorless camera, there's nothing obstructing the sensor so it's there bare. I got annoyed and started wiping it with a micro fiber cloth! When I got back to the hostel, I used a Q-tip! I've done everything that could go wrong at cleaning a sensor... I didn't know until I YouTube'd it and people say NEVER touch the sensor! Just use a blower to blow the dust out. I don't want to spend $$$$ on getting it professionally cleaned, so I'll try to figure something out. It better be soon because it makes my picture look so ugly with all those dust on it now. I'm terrible. :(

I also bought tickets for a train from Perth to Adelaide! 349AUD with a YHA membership. It'll be a fun experience! As for now, I'm going to call it a night. I hope it's not going to rain for the next few days as weather forecast has indicated. I want to be outside and seeing things! Can't wait for Rottnest Island on Sunday though!

Until then, peace out!

Peace Out, Sydney! Hello, Perth!

I can't believe my 9 days here are up and it is time for me to move on to my next destination. A lot has happened these nine days, but one thing is for sure -- My license is not here yet nor do I have my Tax Filing Number or my Westpac Debit Card PIN! Such a headache now that I have to have my hostel forward the mail to my new hostel which I only booked for another eight days before I move on again! Maybe I should have spent a extra hundred bucks to have someone take care of all that for me before I got to Australia... Lol, maybe not. I'm too cheap!

Talking about being cheap.... I already blew like a thousand AUD... =_= I have no idea how, but I did. I have to cut down on the out with people all out drinking and eating.

I also finally feels how it's like to be unemployed. On days that I feel like traveling, it's all good. But on my down times when I just feel like staying in and relaxing, I feel bored and wasting time because I could be working and earning money! Oh well! It's nice to relax once in a while!

I finally feel the excitement of traveling. I've been starting to meet people; slowly but surely. Although people come and go in hostels, it's really awesome to be able to connect with people even if you're only going to see them for a little bit. I started hanging out with a group of Japanese travelers (Shuhei, Tsuzuki, Saki, Yui!). One of them was my roommate and he met a few others. I was just eating my cooked dinner and they decided to come over and sit next to me and started playing cards. Even though they spoke Japanese to each other, they didn't mind inviting me to play cards with them and even go out for drinks with them. They even taught me their version of Big 2 and finger guessing game and had a few laughs about it. Really nice people! I also got a roommate that was definitely in his late 30s and he was from Melbourne. He seemed really interested in talking with me and he's a really interesting guy. Really laid back and love meeting other people and hearing their stories. Too bad he was only there for the night because he was heading to Brisbane. But we went out with the hostel to a bar and had a great night. I guess I shouldn't have to worry whether or not I will see them again. There's a different excitement in meeting people just for the fun of it and not have to keep in contact or even see them ever again but to hear their stories and experience traveling together. This made me really glad that I took this opportunity to make this trip happen.

What truly intrigues me is the cultural difference between different countries though! Two restaurants that I went to, even though after the waiter/waitress clean up my plates, they don't bring over the check unless you ask for it. I asked a friend about it and they said "Yeah.. Aussies are chill like that. We like to just chill and talk for a bit before asking for the check." They also won't come over to collect the bill. You go to the register when you're ready. I guess in a way, that's pretty awesome. In the States, when the waiter/waitress collects our plates, they ask if we want dessert before getting the bill. They'll bring over the bill and tell us to take our time to pay and comes over if we're paying with a card. In some ways, I guess that could make people feel rushed. Either way, it's really interesting and I can't wait to go to Melbourne because people say they're even more chill there.

Along to trying to improve myself as a person, I also feel like I'm improving in photography and cooking! I cheat with photography though using guide lines hehe... But I cook stellar meals now! Being in Sydney is expensive, it I decided to start buying food and cooking at the hostel because it's cheaper and I guess more healthy. This forces me to cook more and experiment with different way of cooking. I feel like my cooking is getting better; maybe to me at least! A friend walked over and saw my cooking and said oh! We have a little chef over here! Ahahah... Maybe this trip will make me like cooking. I don't know. I like cooking and there's no distraction like playing League. I feel like being able to buy my own groceries and cooking what I want makes me more eager to want to make my next meal. At home, my mom would get all the groceries and bring home the veges that she has grown. Often times, she overstocks the fridge and I felt obligated to eat certain things at certain times before they go bad. Here, I buy what I want to cook and I cook whenever I want to eat it. If I were to even settle down and get my own house, I'm gonna have to buy a house next to a market! I'll buy whatever I feel like eating for the night so I don't have to stock up for a week or two and have food go bad in the fridge!

I think I covered most of the things I want to blog about. It's been a busy week traveling, sightseeing, and trying things out of the ordinary; even things that should not be spoken about! So I won't speak of it! But after dropping by Blue Mountains, which is a gorgeous place for hiking 10/10 would go back again before I leave, I also tried a Japanese bath house nearby as it was the only one in the New South Wales region! We were all in bathing suit, so it was all good! I don't know if it's the same experience as a legit onsen, but it felt pretty good. I even got a legit massage for the first time. Best feeling ever but I don't feel any different afterwards haha... I guess I don't have tight muscles or knots in my muscles that bothered me. I'm still young and healthy~

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Welp, I'm tired and I have a flight to catch tomorrow. Peace out Sydney, hello Perth! Until next time, I'll be back!

First Night Out with Friends?

Well, I've been in Sydney for three days now and I was finally invited to go out! Lol... I sound like such a loner, but Cameron is cool. He's from Melbourne and he really likes to take that extra effort to make everyone feel like they're part of a group of friends. He was actually one of the roommates that I had that is really chill and don't mind talking to other people. Was I at the right place at the right time?

I just came back to my room from applying for my Australian driving license and opened a bank account with Westpac. Quite a day running errands and I was in my room sorting my things out. Cameron came back to the room and invited me to join a group of people to go to a hidden roof top bar. Of course I'd want to go! I mean, I've been wanting to make friends since the day I left Boston. Unfortunately, I was the only one that doesn't smoke, but I didn't mind hanging out with them and they didn't mind having me being part of their company. They were all great people from all over the world. Some of them were here for travel; some were just like me seeking for something new. I'm glad I'm settling in quite well. I was doubting my choice of coming to Australia, but I need to keep reminding myself that there are awesome people all around the world too and I just need to be patient. Thank you for an awesome night, guys!