It's been 3 days since I left Australia and somehow it feels really weird being in Thailand. Don't get me wrong. It's very nice here but I do prefer Oz.
What can I tell you. The last 2 1/2 months have simply been awesome. I've seen so much and met so many wonderful people. Most certainly one of the best things I have ever done: packing and leaving. :)
In two weeks I will be in Europe, studying and living there for the first time in almost 15 years. It will be strange but I am looking forward to be creative and work again. I do love travelling, don't get me wrong here but I am no fool and I know it's time to get back to reality and work hard to make a name in the culinary world :)
Alright, lets try to update you on what happened since I left Magnetic Island.
I went up north to Mission Beach, where I spend some lovely days, kayaking, diving and walking Gilly the dog from the hostel.
From there I took the greyhound (for the last time) all the way up to Cairns. On the way to the hostel I met Dagmar from Germany and we decided to "travel" a bit together. We went on a 3 day on board diving trip with Pro-Dive. Yup, I finally saw my first shark when I was underwater and I've seen more when I wasn't in the water... go figure. lol
We became friends with Iain who was staying at the YHA as well and did the 3 day diving trip. :) Yes Iain, I still don't get the whole thing with the camera but I'm sure, when you visit me in Paris, you'll give it another try to explain ;) lol
After the diving tour, I ventured to Port Douglas and went on a tour to the daintree forest from there :) Pretty cool I have to say :)
Back in Cairns, I went on some more one day trips, met up with Dagmar and Iain and hope to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse (of course that didn't really happen as it was pretty cloudy lol, just my luck).
The day after the eclipse, Dagmar and I said cheerio to Iain and were flying out to Darwin. Had lovely dinner and said goodbye the next day, as Daggi was going on a tour and I was heading to Alice Springs by plane.
I decided to send a lot of luggage by greyhound to Melbourne and just take what I really need to the Outback.
The morning after arriving in Alice, I was picked up by Groovy Grape :) OMG what a cool troop we were. Which is lucky as we spend 6 days together in "no-where's-land" :) Waking up at 4AM and sleeping under the sky looking at the stars, sharing chocolate with Max and laughing at Cath running around looking for her moisturizer, just a few memories that will keep me smiling for a long time. ;)
Unfortunately, every trip comes to an end and we had to say goodbye once again. The good news was, there would be a "reunion" with some guys as they went on certain other trips at the same time.
Kangaroo Island was amazing and having some of the boys from the Outback tour on board made it even more fun. :) Same on the Great Ocean Road where some of the Outbackers and some Kangaroo'ers met up again.
It's pretty funny to think, Australia being such a small country, but when you travel, it really isn't. You always meet again. :)
In between Kangaroo Island trip and heading towards Melbourne, I took a flight to Port Lincoln (not Port Douglas - yes Dagmar haha you just laugh). I went on a one day diving trip to cage dive and see the Great White Shark. What can I tell you, the MOST AMAZING ANIMAL ON EARTH! It was super peaceful and they are just sooooo beautiful. Very tempting to touch them. But I behaved. (I guess there's a reason why they put the humans in the cage... simply to protect the sharks from being cuddled to death)
Finally I arrived in Melbourne and had one last trip to go to: Philipp Island. We went to see the baby penguins and believe it or not, I managed to cuddle with a dingo!!! woohooo :)
On my last day, I met up with some Groovy Grapers again and said goodbye to good old Australia.
Ok, you might wonder... all this time, Gali hasn't had one real BLONDE MOMENTS... you just wait.. it was bound to be happening sooner or later, wasn't it? And so it did... at the airport, when I was told, that I missed my flight.
I looked at the lady behind the counter and thought she must have gone mad. Here I am, on the 9th of December at 7pm when my flight won't leave until after midnight. Well... he did leave after midnight.. but ON THE 9th!!! (silly me).... How on EARTH could I not see that.
Lucky for me, they had ONE seat left in business (economy was fully booked) and as I wanted to upgrade anyway, it was not a problem to take the plane on the 10/12/12 at 00:00!!! (gosh I feel so blonde).
What an amazing feeling to fly business... I actually slept!!! The food was awesome and you honestly feel like a million dollar babe. :) Plus... Thai Airways upgrade isn't even that expensive. (Unlike Swiss where they ask for $5000 for an upgrade - no wonder Swissair got bust... geez.. I want to RENT a seat.. not BUY the whole plane!!!) Guess no sleep for me again when I leave Thailand.
Anyways, for now, I am here in Thailand, in Phuket. Going for early runs along the beach (7AM - 25C, 95% humidity) :) 4 pools to have fun in and a very nice spa. Yup I already got a full body wax. :) Smooth like a baby :)
Alright, I guess that's it for now. time to do something productive, like taking a nap. :) And then it's pool time :)
2 more weeks to enjoy before the cold hard reality hits me in the face.