Welcome and First Impressions

Welcome everyone to the blog about my summer (winter?) spent in Australia in 2010.

The Flight

So the flight to San Francisco I wouldn't really count as part of the trip, things get rolling when I take off across the Pacific ocean. The flight was 14 hours 30 minutes. The longest flight I'd been on prior to this was about 6 hours. Overall it went smoothly but it felt a little like a nightmare towards the end. It got hard to remember that there was ever a time when I wasn't on that plane. But it finally got in and I got through customs and took a cab to my hostel.

The First Day - 10/06/2010

Thats not October, its June, I'm going to date these posts like the Aussies and Brits, day month year. So the first day, the plane got in at 6:15 am and I got to my hostel a little before 8. I'm told check in is 2:00 technically but I can use my room after about 10:00 when the maid is done. So I leave my bags except my laptop bag and set out to walk around the area. I decided on the spur of the moment to walk to the University of Sydney. Which it turns out is about 3 km one way. I stop and have some breakfast on the way. Overall a nice walk, I got to see a lot of the surrounding area and a little of the university campus, which is huge.

On my way back I set up my bank account and get a prepaid phone. The phone rates are 80 cents a minute for local calls (with Telstra, maybe not the best choice). Then check out my room. Overall the hostel is ok, but its cold, a little run down, and the internet connection sucks. And the internet isn't free. Because of having shitty internet I have a hard time getting my phone set up, but finally do late at night when no one else is online. Also on the first day I went on a fruitless search for flip flops to wear in the dorm-style bathrooms. I didn't think to bring any unfortunately. I couldn't find any in a Target and the first chemist (pharmacy) I checked, but then a 2nd chemist had some.......for $50. Did I mention everything is expensive here? Its hard to get a meal around this area for less than $10 unless you get fast food which doesn't have much vegetarian options. I got a 10 ride bus pass which cost $26. First day was a bit rough but things got better on days 2 and 3.