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!
Showing posts with label international travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label international travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011
We took Anders to school, played on the playground with Stefan then Jennifer took me to the immigration office. When you come into the country you can stay 30 days. I arrived on August 15 and am leaving Sept. 29. The experience was similar to going to a government office in Dallas. Although, you probably wouldn't find people dressed in all white with a turban for the men or all black with just a slit for the eyes for the women. Of course, I took my passport with me. There was an Arabic man in white robes in front of me in line with a USA passport.
I went into the first room and there were a lot of people sitting in chairs waiting there turn. So, I went to the counter and asked a man in a white robe where I needed to go first. He wrote something out in Arabic and told me to go to the typing room. Thank heavens their signage is in English as well as Arabic. So I followed the signs and arrows for the typing room.
It was a large room with about 10 people at computers, plus a cashier and a copy person. I asked someone who was being helped where to start and they waved me down the row. One man said he could help me. He said to give him my passport and the note and have a seat. In a few minutes he had me come to his desk, he handed me a piece of paper and sent me ton the cashier. The cashier said it would be 610 durhams. The exchange rate is $3.60 to one durham. After paying the cashier, I went back to the man and he asked me if I had a photo, just the one in my passport. I said copy that one. So he scanned it and then sent me to the next man to have some copies made of the papers. The copy perso then took out the smallest pair of scissors I have ever seen, cut out my picture, stapled it to his papers and asked for another 5 durhams and then I took all the papers to the first guy and I was out of there in record time. And it turns out they sold me United Arab emirates health insurance policy for a month. Apparently, that is part of the fees and requirements if you are here longer than 30 days. But they didn't even ask me if I had travelers insurance which I do. Oh well, I am doubly insured for the next 15 days.
Then Stefan fell asleep in the car so Jennifer dropped me off at the mall, so I could go to the grocery. We were totally out of grapes. And when grapes is all Stefan wants it's a sad thing. The grapes from the USA are the only ones that are seedless. I texted jennifer to find outif she wanted camel for dinner? The answer to that was a resounding NO. When they lived in Doha, Qatar I had camel one night for dinner and it was quite tasty. So I bought ground beef. The meat and fresh fruit and vegetable sections are an international trip. Avocados from Kenya, beef from Ireland, Australia, USA, Brazil, melons from Israel, plums from Spain, Australia, apples from China, mangoes from everywhere and they come in other colors besides the green/red ones we get from Mexico, fruit from Thailand, pineapple from the Phillipines. There is a hairy fruit that you cut open and then it is white on the inside with a seed on the inside of that. It's one of those fruits that makes you wonder how the first person who ate was brave enough try it; it's called a rhombathan and it's from Indonesia.
Today they had kettle potatoe chips and I found flaxseed.
I took a taxi home and it was 5.50 durhams. Last week it was 6 durhams. It makes you wonder why the difference. This taxi driver even helped with the groceries. And then jennifer said to give the taxi driver a tip of one or two durhams. I wonder how long you have to be someplace when you quit dividing the durhams by the dollar to see how much it's costing you?
I am not there yet!
After lunch, Stefan and I and Charlotte watched "Fireman Sam" while Jennifer took a nap. We picked up Anders from school and went back to the play place in the mall. Stefan got his hair cut, we rode the rides. I am extremely grateful Anders is too small for the TILT-A-WHIRL
We rode this boat ride that swirled around and up and back forth for what felt like ten minutes!
Then on to the play ground. Up the stairs and down the slides we went. Through the tunnels on hands and knees for me. I getting to be pretty good at crawling through the tu meld after Stefan. Across the wiggly bridges, around and around we went for about an hour and a half and the it was home again and time for dinner, bath, books and bed.
Another busy, active fun filled day
Jennifer, said I was lucky they were will g to scan my passport so I could use the passport photo. She said she spent the whole day there when she
I went into the first room and there were a lot of people sitting in chairs waiting there turn. So, I went to the counter and asked a man in a white robe where I needed to go first. He wrote something out in Arabic and told me to go to the typing room. Thank heavens their signage is in English as well as Arabic. So I followed the signs and arrows for the typing room.
It was a large room with about 10 people at computers, plus a cashier and a copy person. I asked someone who was being helped where to start and they waved me down the row. One man said he could help me. He said to give him my passport and the note and have a seat. In a few minutes he had me come to his desk, he handed me a piece of paper and sent me ton the cashier. The cashier said it would be 610 durhams. The exchange rate is $3.60 to one durham. After paying the cashier, I went back to the man and he asked me if I had a photo, just the one in my passport. I said copy that one. So he scanned it and then sent me to the next man to have some copies made of the papers. The copy perso then took out the smallest pair of scissors I have ever seen, cut out my picture, stapled it to his papers and asked for another 5 durhams and then I took all the papers to the first guy and I was out of there in record time. And it turns out they sold me United Arab emirates health insurance policy for a month. Apparently, that is part of the fees and requirements if you are here longer than 30 days. But they didn't even ask me if I had travelers insurance which I do. Oh well, I am doubly insured for the next 15 days.
Then Stefan fell asleep in the car so Jennifer dropped me off at the mall, so I could go to the grocery. We were totally out of grapes. And when grapes is all Stefan wants it's a sad thing. The grapes from the USA are the only ones that are seedless. I texted jennifer to find outif she wanted camel for dinner? The answer to that was a resounding NO. When they lived in Doha, Qatar I had camel one night for dinner and it was quite tasty. So I bought ground beef. The meat and fresh fruit and vegetable sections are an international trip. Avocados from Kenya, beef from Ireland, Australia, USA, Brazil, melons from Israel, plums from Spain, Australia, apples from China, mangoes from everywhere and they come in other colors besides the green/red ones we get from Mexico, fruit from Thailand, pineapple from the Phillipines. There is a hairy fruit that you cut open and then it is white on the inside with a seed on the inside of that. It's one of those fruits that makes you wonder how the first person who ate was brave enough try it; it's called a rhombathan and it's from Indonesia.
Today they had kettle potatoe chips and I found flaxseed.
I took a taxi home and it was 5.50 durhams. Last week it was 6 durhams. It makes you wonder why the difference. This taxi driver even helped with the groceries. And then jennifer said to give the taxi driver a tip of one or two durhams. I wonder how long you have to be someplace when you quit dividing the durhams by the dollar to see how much it's costing you?
I am not there yet!
After lunch, Stefan and I and Charlotte watched "Fireman Sam" while Jennifer took a nap. We picked up Anders from school and went back to the play place in the mall. Stefan got his hair cut, we rode the rides. I am extremely grateful Anders is too small for the TILT-A-WHIRL
We rode this boat ride that swirled around and up and back forth for what felt like ten minutes!
Then on to the play ground. Up the stairs and down the slides we went. Through the tunnels on hands and knees for me. I getting to be pretty good at crawling through the tu meld after Stefan. Across the wiggly bridges, around and around we went for about an hour and a half and the it was home again and time for dinner, bath, books and bed.
Another busy, active fun filled day
Jennifer, said I was lucky they were will g to scan my passport so I could use the passport photo. She said she spent the whole day there when she
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