On this journey of mine, I made it a personal goal to visit three countries that I've never been to. The Czech Republic was my first (highly recommended) adventure, and now Australia is my second, while India is still slotted in as third.
Now, I knew that Australia was pretty isolated and far from civilization, but check out these killer flight times:
KL-Syndey: 8 hours
LA-Sydney: 14-15 hours
London- Sydney: 21.5-23 hours
You read right. It was an EIGHT hour flight from Malaysia, which, may I remind you, is one of Australia's closest neighboring countries... But can you imagine coming from London? I mean, add on a couple of hours of packing ,driving to the airport, security checks etc and you're awake and cranky for at least 30 hours.
But let me tell you, Australia is worth all the stale peanuts and crappy movies on 4 1/2 inch screens. Let me plead my case with three images...
Exhibit A: The Sydney Opera House. The first time I saw the Opera House from across the harbor, it took my breath away. Like an armada of silver ships upon the water, the performing arts venue is honestly one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. (For my lovely following of dorks out there, check out the cool new Symphony the opera house is going to put on...)
Exhibit B: The Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunset... I'm actually thinking about doing the world famous bridge climb, but isn't that so beautiful?
Exhibit C: Sydney's skyline is sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing. I love Sydney because they try so hard to be pretentious, but end up failing miserably because it's just not in their blood.
For example, a girl in the post office line ran after me after I left my wallet on one of the counters (not my best moment). While another time, a random guy bought me coffee as we listened to this great street musician playing beautiful music on a crazy looking guitar. (Starbucks no less!) So Sydney is a beautiful city by the water, and I would recommend you spend a few days strolling along her harbor front and enjoying her beautiful parks.
While in Sydney, I've been able to catch up with some other Jakarta International School friends, which includes the Nolan's. Here's Rachel Nolan and I on the first weekend out...
Ben, (Rachel's little brother) and I were in the same class... Although we never hung out in high school. I asked him if he wanted anything from Indonesia (while I was there visiting my mother) and his only request was some cheap Indonesian instant mocha-coffee stuff. I found it amusing and picked up 5 boxes per his request.
Anyway, below are a few of the first videos I've been able to upload. I'm sorry I haven't been posting many videos from Asia - its just that the bandwidth hasn't been big enough. Australia though, seems to be alright.
Alright, that's it for now. I have to get dressed for a night out with some Aussie Aussie Aussies.
Much love from Sydney,
Riani
Now, I knew that Australia was pretty isolated and far from civilization, but check out these killer flight times:
KL-Syndey: 8 hours
LA-Sydney: 14-15 hours
London- Sydney: 21.5-23 hours
You read right. It was an EIGHT hour flight from Malaysia, which, may I remind you, is one of Australia's closest neighboring countries... But can you imagine coming from London? I mean, add on a couple of hours of packing ,driving to the airport, security checks etc and you're awake and cranky for at least 30 hours.
But let me tell you, Australia is worth all the stale peanuts and crappy movies on 4 1/2 inch screens. Let me plead my case with three images...
Exhibit A: The Sydney Opera House. The first time I saw the Opera House from across the harbor, it took my breath away. Like an armada of silver ships upon the water, the performing arts venue is honestly one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. (For my lovely following of dorks out there, check out the cool new Symphony the opera house is going to put on...)
Exhibit B: The Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunset... I'm actually thinking about doing the world famous bridge climb, but isn't that so beautiful?
Exhibit C: Sydney's skyline is sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing. I love Sydney because they try so hard to be pretentious, but end up failing miserably because it's just not in their blood.For example, a girl in the post office line ran after me after I left my wallet on one of the counters (not my best moment). While another time, a random guy bought me coffee as we listened to this great street musician playing beautiful music on a crazy looking guitar. (Starbucks no less!) So Sydney is a beautiful city by the water, and I would recommend you spend a few days strolling along her harbor front and enjoying her beautiful parks.
While in Sydney, I've been able to catch up with some other Jakarta International School friends, which includes the Nolan's. Here's Rachel Nolan and I on the first weekend out...
Ben, (Rachel's little brother) and I were in the same class... Although we never hung out in high school. I asked him if he wanted anything from Indonesia (while I was there visiting my mother) and his only request was some cheap Indonesian instant mocha-coffee stuff. I found it amusing and picked up 5 boxes per his request.Anyway, below are a few of the first videos I've been able to upload. I'm sorry I haven't been posting many videos from Asia - its just that the bandwidth hasn't been big enough. Australia though, seems to be alright.
Alright, that's it for now. I have to get dressed for a night out with some Aussie Aussie Aussies.
Much love from Sydney,
Riani
