August 2004 Entries
Friday 27th August Well today started off well ! The road leading off to work is a couple of k's up a nice hill. Just at the bottom of the road there was an accident. Quite spectacular actually, a taxi was embedded in the side wheel of a bus, but this meant we had to walk ... I had my backpack with all my gear plus a bag with 2 computer books. Ah well, good practice for when I have the full pack on .... cant be as bad as a guy I see around here quite regularly who carts fridges on his back using...
I'm finally getting my act together and doing a few things on the site. Most of you know how nuts I am about my music and I before I left I dedicated a song or two to some special people. ie. let the songs speak for me, because they can say it so much better than me. Sound a damn sight better too .... I was going to get the lyrics to them, but ran out of time before I left, so I have included them as articles. The most important one is La Mar by The Beautiful Girls. This for my sons. By a stroke...
Thursday 26th August Ah life is settling in now and just another day ... Went off to 'web page training' which is a euphamism for teaching them (badly) how to use Frontpage to edit static web pages. Got to go in a public bus for the first time, now that was an experience, Nepali's can beat any college in the 'how many people can we fit in a vehicle'. Add the 'play chicken' style driving and the rough roads and yep, quite an experience. The buses are a good cheap way to get around, but I'm not game...
Tuesday 24th August At last !!! Seems like I've finally got this thing under control. Pretty whacked, but at least I can start to move around a bit. I decided to test my new found mobility by registering at the embassy this afternoon. It just happens to be waaaaaaay on the other side of town, but its done and bugger, bugger, bugger ... looks like the regular weekly Aussie does are on hold because of the 'security concerns'. PS Vicki, you will be very happy to know that my ciggie case set of the security...
What a great way to start. I've only been with Tewa for a week and I'm already having sickies. Slowly getting better, and still very frustrated and bored with staying in my room. I'm trying to be sensible about this and not pushing myself. I usually always try and do things too early, but with all the added stresses to the system of late, I know I better take it easy. Looks like another couple of days just sitting around :-( LOL, but I'm a patient person now, so shouldn't be a problem ... Had a lovely...
Saturday Lesson #3 A nice dinner and wine do not go with an already stressed stomach. I know this and I should know better, but oh well, thats life. Managed to get up and have a shower and pop in to the shop (luckily its next door) and stock up on water. I couldn't find any lemonade, but suprise suprise, I got some Golden Circle Raspberry Cordial which seems to be helping. ( Its a very well known Australian brand for the non aussies ) Today is declared a day of rest and recupuration ... Sunday Woke...
Lesson #2. Don't send all your clothes to the laundry at once .. as much as I hate doing my washing, there are no facilities here, all your clothes get sent to the laundry. ( I'm not sure which of the 2 options I prefer ? ) I sent off a batch on Saturday and then again on Sunday. Usually they come back the next day, but no clothes here on Monday, so I thought, OK it was the weekend I should see them on Tuesday. Tuesday morning I sent off the last of my clothes and when I got back .. no clothes ....
Alright, alright .. I know I wasn't going to post everyday, but this is special. I got a room with a fridge !!!!! When the cleaners are doing the rooms they leave the doors open to air them. Off in the corner I spied a lot bigger room with a little fridge. I asked this morning if there would be any price difference and I would say because I haven't yet committed to staying the whole time here yet, they let me move in for the same cost. Unfortunately the power point is in a bad spot and I'm going...
Moni had to cancel so I decided to actually go and do some shopping and get some suitable clothes. First things first, I seriously had to get some money. There are quite a few ATM's around now ( the one down the road translates this to 'Any Time Money', had a giggle at that one ) , so off I trotted and put in the good old credit card. Just to make sure nothing happens, there are guards and/or soldiers with guns protecting you at the ATM's. Quite an unsettling feeling. You just shouldn't let a girl...
OK guys, I know its a bit hard to read, but I'm being slack and doing the old copy past thing from OpenOffice ... Heres the excuse, once I get a decent connection will clean it up and make it easier to read. PS .. And yes my maths sucks
Starting to get the hang of this. Didn't wake up till 6 today. Lolled around till 8 and decided to try the place directly across the road for brekky. Was sitting there looking around and would you believe I notice that the providers for broadband wireless access are right next to me. Shows how much there is to take in, I've been right next to them and didn't even see it. Theres dozens of dishes up on the roof .. Doh .. guess who I'm going to see on Monday ?? In the meantime, I finished brekky and...
This going to bed early is just not for me. Woke up at 4am and only had 5 ½ hours to kill before I got picked up for work. The working day for Tewa is 10am to 5pm, so the bus picks me up at 9.30. Did a bit of reading, vegged around, had a shower and went across the road for some toast and coffee. I'm still severely hanging out for a decent cuppa ... Tewa is located on what would appear to be the outskirts of Kathmandu. Its a beautiful location and they are in the process of building a new...
Woke up early after a pretty good nights sleep and decided to head off to Thamel. This is meant to be the most popular area for trekkers and backpackers to stay. Its in the taxi for some more obstacle course work, it should be scary, but I think because the speed is relatively slow, 20 – 40 k's it's a blast. Just lean on that horn and push your way through. I think everyone here is in a permanent state of carbon monoxide poisoning, you just wouldn't believe the smog. Lots of people walk around...
Day 1 Wow, what a day. Left Melbourne midnight last night, who knows how long ago that was as I have completely lost track of the time / time zones. The flight to Bangkok was very uneventful and managed to slip in a couple of hours sleep. Bangkok airport was quite an eye opener, definitely tourist orientated, but shoppers paradise it is. Luckily I wasn't in the market for shopping (oh it is a sad thing to say :-( )... so I exchanged the $40 Australian that I had for baht and managed to slip in the...
Seeing as I haven't had a reliable net connection this is the first chance I've had to update the blog. I love Melbourne !! What a beautiful city. Hotel Bakpak was my first venture into the backpackers scene and even though I nearly ran out of there when I first saw the room, I'm glad I stayed. It ended up being a great time. Met so many interesting and lovely people. Special mention has to go to Mel who manages the bar there and Ash and Cat. I know I said I was going to get some sleep in Melbourne...