And now ladies and gentlemen it’s time for Part 2 of My Close Encounters with Australian Wildlife, where I tell the world about the elation and terror of my encounters with Australian animals and how it sometimes ended in tears. Last time, we discussed Spiders and Snakes. This time around, we discuss dingoes, killer jellyfish, kangaroos, koalas and drop bears, among other wondrous creatures of Australia. Read more →
11 Cool Things to Do in Dubai
I don’t care what you’ve heard of Dubai. The fancy attractions, the hotels, the impressive buildings, it’s all well and good. But if you want to see the real Dubai, you want to see the area around Dubai creek. The city was founded here, not really so long ago, in the early 19th century. Until the 1960s the city remained a small fishing village, centred around the Creek, an oasis in an unhospitable desert. And then they struck oil. What happened next is one of the most stunning transformations of a city in modern history. Now a giant metropolis and air hub, Dubai is a convenient stopover on the way from Australia or Asia to Europe. But it’s also worth stopping for a look, despite its huge size, oppressive heat, and obscene displays of wealth and unsustainability, if only you plan your days there well. Here’s what to do. Read more →
My Close Encounters with Australian Wildlife: Part 1- Spiders and Snakes
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote 18 Strange Observations of America (from an Australian Living in the USA). I commented that America has some of the world’s most dangerous animals, including bears, bison, coyotes, bobcats, cougars, and panthers, and that I was far more afraid hiking in the US than I had ever been in Australia. The article has so far been read over 40,000 times, and this point seemed to be somewhat controversial. To be honest, none of the wildlife in Oz has really ever bothered me that much and I don’t think it bothers most Aussies. But it got me to thinking that actually, I have had many encounters with Australian animals and it sometimes ended in tears. I haven’t written much about Australia yet, and I thought these tales might amuse my readers in the USA and elsewhere.
18 Strange Observations of America (from an Australian Living in the USA)
America! You’ve seen it on TV, in the movies, you think you know the USA but you really don’t until you live there. As an Australian who has lived in the US on two separate occasions in two different locations, here are the things that surprised me. Read more →
From a Terrorist Bombing to a Pachinko Jackpot
There was 45 minutes remaining til takeoff as I rushed up into the terminal. As I ran my gaze caught a plasma screen showing the BBC News. The label across the bottom of the screen shocked me- “THE ENTIRE TUBE SYSTEM HAS NOW BEEN SHUT DOWN”. How could this be?, I thought. I had just been on the tube! The anchorwoman was talking about a “major incident” on the London Underground. But I couldn’t stay to sate my curiosity as they were about to close the gate. I jumped on the plane and we took off for Japan. Later that day, shoeless, a crowd of onlookers whooped and cheered as I inexplicably won a major jackpot in a strange Japanese Pachinko parlour. If there’s anything to be expected when travelling, it’s the unexpected, as I found out during a most bizarre 24 hour period spanning two continents. Read more →
The Secret Stasi Prison in the Former East Berlin
The tram is warm and comfortable and the snowy landscape is pretty as it slides past. I begin to forget the sub-zero temperatures outside and secretly want the tram ride to go on forever. But after half an hour or so we reach the stop and I emerge into a cold and windy environment. The tram grinds off into the background. It’s too cold to stand around waiting for another one back into town and to the dismay of my empty stomach all of the little shops and restaurants in the nondescript modern buildings are closed for the public holiday. There’s nothing else for it but to begin walking down the long street that leads to the Hohenschönhausen prison. At first the landscape is suburban, but then the first few old administrative buildings of the facilty come into view and the view becomes grim. If this were happening thirty years earlier, I’d be walking off the edge of the map. This whole area was part of the web of lies, denial and paranoia spun by the former East German Communist Ministry of State Security, the Stasi. Officially, it did not exist. “You are free to take as many photos as you please, even of me,” is the first thing we are told as we enter the prison. To my mind, the message is clear that this man wants the history of this Stasi prison to be broadcast. I rattle off shots but the pace of the guiding is fast, and several times I am left behind and I race down the halls, my heart beating as I try to find where the group has gone and avoid being lost in this god-forsaken place. Read more →
10 Cool Things to Do In Singapore
Ah Singapore, home of skyscrapers, shopping malls, and anti-chewing gum laws. But hold the phone, there’s more! Known primarily as a popular gateway hub due to its geographical location and quality of airport, Singapore is also a damn fine place to stop for a day or three on your way to or from Europe or Asia. With so many friends and colleagues living in Singapore over the years I’ve taken plenty of opportunities to stop on the way home and put my feet up. If you’re there for a good time but not a long time, here’s what you need to check out. Read more →
Top 17 Funny German Words and Phrases
I love German. Not only is the least romantic language of them all (“I love you” in German sounds more like “I will hit you with shovel”) but it sounds great in a deep voice (think Rammstein) and almost everything sounds vaguely sexual (think Rammstein), particularly if you say it with a slight smile. It is the only language to capitalise every noun, which not only wears out Shift keys faster but is deliciously ironic given German people’s reputation for efficiency. Not only that, but every noun is given a gender with often bizarre results- a small girl is neuter rather than female, and the ocean can be either male, female or neuter depending on what term you use to describe it (Ozean, Meer, or See). Mark Twain even wrote of his experience with the German language “surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp. One is washed about in it, hither and thither, in the most helpless way; and when at last he thinks he has captured a rule which offers firm ground he turns over the page and reads, ‘Let the pupil make careful note of the following exceptions.’ He runs his eye down and finds that there are more exceptions to the rule than instances of it.” So without further ado, I present to you meine Damen und Herren, my top 17 favourite German words and phrases. Read more →
Cruising in Alaska
We cruised out of Whitter late afternoon with the water a deep blue sheet of glass. My sister had managed to get me a balcony cabin upgrade and what a cabin it was. I was in cloud nine as the attendants brought me a cheese platter and a bucket of beer bottles, also courtesy of my wonderful sister. I ate and drank watching the mountains, glaciers and the ice as the sun went down. Read more →
Surfing in Rio de Janeiro
It’s a humid morning in Rio, and still cool but with the promise of oppressive heat in the air. My fiance and I wander through the jungle-city streets with our surfboards, attracting only cursory glances from early morning risers and those who are yet to go home after a night of partying. We reach the bus stop and there are a few others standing around I can’t quite help feeling slightly awkward. It’s been years since, as a grommet with no drivers licence, I’d caught buses with my surfboard back in Sydney. But then the big orange surf bus comes thundering down the street with impressive punctuality for Brazil. The see us with the boards and stop. The door opens and the sounds of Bob Marley waft out into the Rio morning. The driver, looking not unlike Otto from the Simpsons, gives us a friendly “Oi” and waves us aboard. Read more →
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18 Strange Observations of America (from an Australian Living in the USA)
11 Cool Things to Do in Dubai
11 Cool Things to Do in Dubai