Hi- I am sitting on a boat in the pacific ocean occasionally getting to snorkel on the great barrier reef. I am on live aboard boat with a dive group called pro scuba. This was one of the prime reasons I wanted to come to Australia. I even remembered to bring my dive card. S you might be asking yourself why isn't Jean diving. The answer to that is that I couldn't get my ears to clear when I went diving in The Gilli Islands in Indonesia and when I got to Australia and had paid for the trip and was talking to their staff they suggested that I go see the dive Dr. At the 24+ medical clinic. I did and he checked my ears when I was holding my nose and blowing out and the ear drum was not moving so I have a temporarily unfit to dive problem. Fortunately, their are 5 other people on the boat who are also snorkelers.
Yesterday,the first time in the water I didn't use my common sense. It was apparently on the blink. The water was very rough and I got in anyway. I was very scared. I ended up waving my arm with the distress signal and they came and towed me back to the boat. It was challenging to swim in the rough water, challenging to see anything in the rough water. It was grey, cloudy and raining.
The second time in the water ni stayed close to the boat and was in the water about 10 minutes. The third time, I went out with one of the dive instructors and we went out to the coral and saw some beautiful fish. Some of the same fish we saw in Indonesia. I guess they followed me here.
Now this morning it is raining again and the water looks rough. So I am writing instead of struggling in the water. Pro-Scuba is a pretty professionally run group. They take no more tha 32 people out at a time. If you are a diver or are getting your dive certification you can do it on board. You have the opportunity to dive 11 times, snorkel 9 times. Snorkelers do not snorkel at night in the dark. They check us in as we get in the water and check us out as we get out of the water. There is a lookout on the top of the boat looking out for all the people in the water. This is apparently stinger season and so we are all wearing a full body suit that covers your hands, head, neck, and legs with a strap under your foot. This is really when I miss Jim. He was a great dive buddy. You never dive alone. I would really like to have a snorkel buddy. There is a woman from Germany who is here with her brother who has befriended me. There is another German girl that I might team up with who also got scared yesterday in the rough sea. She doesn't speak as much English as the first one. I don't know anyone's name.
It's a bit like going to dance camp. You have certain times to dive, someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning up and you are there to have a good time. Every body else on this trip is from Europe. Most of them are German, some Swiss, and a couple from Holland and me. Traveling by myself hasn't been too bad. There are some disadvantages and advantages. You canto on the tours you want to but you do t really have anyone to discuss your decisions with.
Showing posts with label Australians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australians. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
australia
Traveling with a cast on your left hand continues to be a challenge. Spent all day tuesday in the emergency room of St. Vincents hospital trying to get a waterproof cast. It is not possible with my break. according to the Dr. can't take this cast off because the break would move and definitely don't want that to happen. It's a struggle to get dressed. Open bottles! Bathe! Cut your food! Open any sort of packet! etc. Put one of your hands in a bag and see what I mean!
I am a trifle annoyed at Intrepid travel. When they notified me that Thailand was cancelled due to flooding, I sent them an email requesting to cancel Indonesia, because it is a lot of swimming, bike riding etc. My part, I should have called and didn't. While, I was sitting in the hospital I saw an email from them saying if I cancelled now I would loose all that money. Red flags for a girl who has money issues. So now am flying back to Indonesia to do that trip. I am trying to go with the flow.
Today i am going to do my laundry. Since i am staying in a youth hostel in Sydney they have washers & dryers. In Vietnam & Cambodia it was easier and cheaper to send it out!
Arrived in Sydney on Sunday/. Monday, I went to the blue mountains, saw olympic park and took a mini harbor cruise. The find of the day though was this restaurant that had steak, salad & chips for $10. And as the Australians say, the steak was "beautiful!" It arrived pink in the middle, tender and tasty. Before I could eat it though, I had to send it back to the kitchen to get it cut up.
Tuesday, in the ER. there are some hospital workers who like to scare the patient. The physiotherapist that first looked at the vietnam x-rays kept going on and on about surgery. Fortunately, hers wasn't the final word. When the orthopedic Dr. got out of surgery, he said cant disturb the cast! It would cause more problems.
Wednesday, talked to citibank because haven't been able to use the card. It was being denied.I talked to them for more than an hour on several occasions before i left the USA about my trip, where I was going, how long I was going to be and changed the billing address. My daughter in Florida is paying my bills. The reason I haven't been able to charge is because I haven't paid because you guessed it, they didn't change the address. My daughter hasn't gotten a bill since I left. Yes, I was annoyed about that. Yes, I realize I could be getting the bills on line and paying them on line but I don't want to.
Wednesday's tours. Bought a ticket for the hop on hop off bus. The ticket seller gave me the senior rate which was a saving of $10. So I saw all the general sights of Sydney from the top of the bus. While on the bus, I bought a discounted ticket for the aquarium saved another $8. So I saw in depth the fishes of australia without having to get wet. Walked around the Sydney Opera house and went inside. I passed on the tour. I didn't really want to know how much it cost to build it or any of the other details. Then i decided to go to Bondi Beach. So hopped on another bus and went out there. Walked in the sand, walked in the surf and picked up a few shells. The water is a pretty aquamarine color. It was cold. I think it's the pacific ocean. Got back on the bus at 5:15, arrived back at the Sydney central YHA where I am staying at 6:15, just in time for $5 pizza night. So had a pizza for dinner. It's expensive here in comparison to Vietnam & Cambodia. Double what we were paying for food. And you know I don't do well on nothing! They show a movie every night and last night it was Gulliver's travels with Jack Black.
Thursday-so far update the blog, take a shower, get dressed! Now am off to breakfast, do my laundry and talk to the travel experts down stairs!
I am a trifle annoyed at Intrepid travel. When they notified me that Thailand was cancelled due to flooding, I sent them an email requesting to cancel Indonesia, because it is a lot of swimming, bike riding etc. My part, I should have called and didn't. While, I was sitting in the hospital I saw an email from them saying if I cancelled now I would loose all that money. Red flags for a girl who has money issues. So now am flying back to Indonesia to do that trip. I am trying to go with the flow.
Today i am going to do my laundry. Since i am staying in a youth hostel in Sydney they have washers & dryers. In Vietnam & Cambodia it was easier and cheaper to send it out!
Arrived in Sydney on Sunday/. Monday, I went to the blue mountains, saw olympic park and took a mini harbor cruise. The find of the day though was this restaurant that had steak, salad & chips for $10. And as the Australians say, the steak was "beautiful!" It arrived pink in the middle, tender and tasty. Before I could eat it though, I had to send it back to the kitchen to get it cut up.
Tuesday, in the ER. there are some hospital workers who like to scare the patient. The physiotherapist that first looked at the vietnam x-rays kept going on and on about surgery. Fortunately, hers wasn't the final word. When the orthopedic Dr. got out of surgery, he said cant disturb the cast! It would cause more problems.
Wednesday, talked to citibank because haven't been able to use the card. It was being denied.I talked to them for more than an hour on several occasions before i left the USA about my trip, where I was going, how long I was going to be and changed the billing address. My daughter in Florida is paying my bills. The reason I haven't been able to charge is because I haven't paid because you guessed it, they didn't change the address. My daughter hasn't gotten a bill since I left. Yes, I was annoyed about that. Yes, I realize I could be getting the bills on line and paying them on line but I don't want to.
Wednesday's tours. Bought a ticket for the hop on hop off bus. The ticket seller gave me the senior rate which was a saving of $10. So I saw all the general sights of Sydney from the top of the bus. While on the bus, I bought a discounted ticket for the aquarium saved another $8. So I saw in depth the fishes of australia without having to get wet. Walked around the Sydney Opera house and went inside. I passed on the tour. I didn't really want to know how much it cost to build it or any of the other details. Then i decided to go to Bondi Beach. So hopped on another bus and went out there. Walked in the sand, walked in the surf and picked up a few shells. The water is a pretty aquamarine color. It was cold. I think it's the pacific ocean. Got back on the bus at 5:15, arrived back at the Sydney central YHA where I am staying at 6:15, just in time for $5 pizza night. So had a pizza for dinner. It's expensive here in comparison to Vietnam & Cambodia. Double what we were paying for food. And you know I don't do well on nothing! They show a movie every night and last night it was Gulliver's travels with Jack Black.
Thursday-so far update the blog, take a shower, get dressed! Now am off to breakfast, do my laundry and talk to the travel experts down stairs!
Friday, October 21, 2011
India, Vietnam
Hi
I have been without an Internet connection since leaving Jennifer's. Kathryn & I spent 2 weeks at an ashram. Up at dawn for prayer, meditation,chanting, yoga for two hours, lunch, sitting on the floor, eating with our hands just like the natives. Lecture at 2, yoga for 2 hrs. Dinner, ending the day with prayer, chanting, singing, etc. And a little sweet. I was sure I was going to starve to death but in actual fact managed to gain 3 lbs eating vegetarian. We went on 4 field trips. Went to the elephant preserve, bathed, fed, and rode the elephant. Went down to the southern tip of India, and saw where the bay of Bengal, Indian ocean and Arabian ocean meet. Then the next week we went to see the lions and a jungle hike. The high light of the jungle hike was, leeches, boy are they disgusting and a fabulous waterfall and pool to swim in. After the ashram we flew to Delhi and got in a car and saw 4 cities in 3 nights. Agra, Jaipur and old Delhi. We saw the Agra fort, the amber fort and the Taj Mahal. Rode an elephant again and took a lot of pictures of the taj, and various forts. In Jaipur, there was every kind of vehicle youcna imagine, camel pulling carts, bicycles pulling carts, women carrying sticks on their heads, tractors, cars, scooters, motor bikes, donkeys. The only thing I didn't see was a motorized wheel chair.
Now I am in Hanoi, Vietnam. Lots of people. There is a book called the Lonely Planet. I think it might be a misnomer. There are so many people in india and Vietnam it is unreal. The traffic is horrendous. The Vietnamese ride scooters. The women wear gloves long sleeved shirts that have an extra piece to cover theirnhands, and lots of people wear face masks. The air is terrible here. They wear a mask so they are not breathing the air, ourguide says it's mists that is causing the haze but in think it might be pollution as well. We have seen factories for shoes, glass and cannon printers. Last night we spent on a junk in Ha Long bay. Pretty spectacular landscapes. This trip is basically an Australian experience. 9 Australians, 1 American, and 2 Germans. We went to see the prison today where they imprisoned American pilots during the Vietnam war. I think during the war they called it the Hanoi Hilton and today there is a 5 star hotel named the Hanoi Hilton. That is where our taxi driver took us in the beginning. One of these days i will figure out how to add pictures. Actually I know how to add pictures, but for some reason when I trynto, the add picture is Greyed out and son there is no way to add them.
We are off on the train tonight. We have all bought a sleeping bag sheet to sleep on on the train. I hear it is going to be quite an experience.I hear that the worst part is the bathroom. I bought some hand sanitizer, and have some toilet paper, and 3 bottles of water, a baguette and some cheese. I am sure I won't starve. In the 4 & 5 star hotels we stayed in india there Internet came at a fee, in this 3 star hotel in Vietnam, the I tenet is free.
I have been without an Internet connection since leaving Jennifer's. Kathryn & I spent 2 weeks at an ashram. Up at dawn for prayer, meditation,chanting, yoga for two hours, lunch, sitting on the floor, eating with our hands just like the natives. Lecture at 2, yoga for 2 hrs. Dinner, ending the day with prayer, chanting, singing, etc. And a little sweet. I was sure I was going to starve to death but in actual fact managed to gain 3 lbs eating vegetarian. We went on 4 field trips. Went to the elephant preserve, bathed, fed, and rode the elephant. Went down to the southern tip of India, and saw where the bay of Bengal, Indian ocean and Arabian ocean meet. Then the next week we went to see the lions and a jungle hike. The high light of the jungle hike was, leeches, boy are they disgusting and a fabulous waterfall and pool to swim in. After the ashram we flew to Delhi and got in a car and saw 4 cities in 3 nights. Agra, Jaipur and old Delhi. We saw the Agra fort, the amber fort and the Taj Mahal. Rode an elephant again and took a lot of pictures of the taj, and various forts. In Jaipur, there was every kind of vehicle youcna imagine, camel pulling carts, bicycles pulling carts, women carrying sticks on their heads, tractors, cars, scooters, motor bikes, donkeys. The only thing I didn't see was a motorized wheel chair.
Now I am in Hanoi, Vietnam. Lots of people. There is a book called the Lonely Planet. I think it might be a misnomer. There are so many people in india and Vietnam it is unreal. The traffic is horrendous. The Vietnamese ride scooters. The women wear gloves long sleeved shirts that have an extra piece to cover theirnhands, and lots of people wear face masks. The air is terrible here. They wear a mask so they are not breathing the air, ourguide says it's mists that is causing the haze but in think it might be pollution as well. We have seen factories for shoes, glass and cannon printers. Last night we spent on a junk in Ha Long bay. Pretty spectacular landscapes. This trip is basically an Australian experience. 9 Australians, 1 American, and 2 Germans. We went to see the prison today where they imprisoned American pilots during the Vietnam war. I think during the war they called it the Hanoi Hilton and today there is a 5 star hotel named the Hanoi Hilton. That is where our taxi driver took us in the beginning. One of these days i will figure out how to add pictures. Actually I know how to add pictures, but for some reason when I trynto, the add picture is Greyed out and son there is no way to add them.
We are off on the train tonight. We have all bought a sleeping bag sheet to sleep on on the train. I hear it is going to be quite an experience.I hear that the worst part is the bathroom. I bought some hand sanitizer, and have some toilet paper, and 3 bottles of water, a baguette and some cheese. I am sure I won't starve. In the 4 & 5 star hotels we stayed in india there Internet came at a fee, in this 3 star hotel in Vietnam, the I tenet is free.
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