Thursday, February 17, 2011

day 28/to alice springs.

Well, last night was the night that my alarm clock decided that only half the little thingys would show. So instead of just showing 1. 00 or whatever it was a few broken lines. God. Damn.
It also wouldn't show the alarm icon to show if it was on or off.
So I had to guess and I set it for 4 AM in case it didn't work there was a chance I'd wake up. Because, what else could I do?

Thankfully I guessed right and it went off. I'm awake now, I just ate some chips I bought the other day and am just chilling for another 15 minutes or so.

I realized that I left my Pro Dive water bottle at the indian type place we went last night, because we left in a rush. Fucking fuck fuckkk.


I've emailed James & Frances and hopefully it got turned in or whatever and they'll be able to pick it up because I seriously love that water bottle.
Not only is it badass, it's fits perfectly in my bag, holds the perfect amount of water, blah blah blah the list goes on and on. Plus I'm going to pretty much the hottest place ever today and having a water bottle would have been swell.

It's a great bottle. I really stinking want it back. End of story.
---

I went to the bathroom so brush my teeth and fuss with my hair and there was this girl in there who was either really high or just crazy. Or both. And she started talking to me about all the reasons she thought I'd been out so late (this was at like, 4.45)before I could explain I'd gotten up for a flight. She then proceeded to ask me about the drugs I like using and before I could answer with my not very interesting 'none' she answered it herself and told me all the drugs I apparently like using. I clearly look like a bit of a druggie, because the list was not short and included things I've never even heard of, let alone taken. She then continued on to tell me how she personally isn't a fan of dropping acid but she "often takes like, a quarter of a trip and then goes out partying" which I'm pretty sure makes her a fan of it.
She actually made my morning, she was so funny.

Missed the 5.15 bus, so had to settle for 5.30.
Oh well, was still at the airport by 6.
Got checked in and sent my bag on it's way.

Went through security and got randomly chosen for a body pat down drug/weapon thingy and then as soon as I walked away from her I got stopped for an explosives check. Oi vey. I was talking to the explosives guy about it, since they always ask if you've ever been checked before and I allowed as to how I was checked for everything. I sort of casually asked what was with that, since it can't just be "every 7th person" or whatever since I'm chosen 99% of the time. He sort of hesitated and goes "well, we're taught to look out for.... certain things and choose those people as well as randomly choosing them"

I'm not offended or anything,
I thought it was hilarious. He seemed rather pleased I didn't get mad or something.
It does explain so much.

I'm now enjoying a delightful 'long soy flat white.'
Doesn't that sound so much better than 'large coffee with soy milk'?

Yes, it does. I love ordering coffee here.

There's no bloody internet here, gosh darn.
I'm watching the sun come up and it's really beautiful though so it's ok.

I think maybe I should eat some breakfast.
I'm feel toast this morning, I do believe.

--

Ate some toast... like a boss.

Walked around for a while, looked at lame aussie merch and read a food guide to melbourne for a bit. Went to my gate and took a hour and a half nap before we boarded. It was awesome. Got on, I'm in an alright seat for photos but not outstanding. It was the best they had when I checked in this morning though. I'm a little too close to the wing, but at least I'm behind it.

 (I edited all these photos, which isn't something I normally do to them. But they look better when everything's super defined etc. Just a heads up.)


lake.

delta.

river/lake

river.

I'm in the window, no one's in the middle and a crazy person is in the aisle.
Woman, 20-25. I think she's a nurse because she's reading super graphic papers on septic wounds perhaps? or bot flies that have broken the skin or something.
I don't know where she's from, somewhere in Europe. Russian maybe? She's probably just another German girl, but I want her not to be.
But the weirdest part is that she's eating so much. We've been on the flight for like, an hour and a half and she's had (I kid you not. I swear she ate all this) three apples, thee complete sandwiches, a tomato, a fuckton of crackers, some kind of granola bar and some cookies.
It's so weird.

Anyway, I'm currently 28,000 fetes above Australia, somewhere between Melbourne & Alice Springs. Closer to Alice I think.

The view is impossibly beautiful. Everything's reddish and there are these amazing rivers where you can see all the trees/grass along the edges and then where it turns back into desert. There's also just a lot of variation in desert colour. There was amazing patterns in what I'm assuming is lighter sand stuff or rock or something.



this is the only unedited one on here, the ground was the most amazing purple.

so lovely!

Every now and then you'll see a farm, which is giving me a new perspective on the word 'rural'. Suddenly Lunenburg is feeling mighty close to stuff.

---
Speaking of Lunenburg I was thinking yesterday how hard it's going to be to go home. I mean, I am exited to because I really miss my family but it's going to be weird to give up the total freedom I have here. Not that my family's imposing at all, I mean, they did let me come here by myself. But it's just here... I'm completely an adult, I don't do anything I don't want to do and if I want to go see or do something I just do. No one knows my family so I'm treated as my own person all the time.
I think it's going to take some getting used to being back in a rural (yes, I see the irony of saying that right now) place after basically being in biggish towns or cities for 6 weeks. No more popping out to see some new art opening or browsing vintage clothing stores for fun. I'm dreading it a little to be honest. Even though, like I said, I am actually looking forward to it too.
---

We're flying over this series of amazing lakes now, water is so pretty from the air. I think I'm going to have to stop typing and document these, I love them.

---

Turns out crazy girl was German. And not a nurse, she's just backpacking. Which means she just reads shit like that for fun? I dunno, she started talking to be and wasn't bad. She was probably the nicest person I've sat next to on a plane yet actually, which just shows how low the bar currently is.

---

Well I've been in Alice for about 2 hours. It's the weirdest place.

I'm staying at the YHA, which I officially hate. I chose it because I knew they'd have room and I didn't feel like emailing back and forth with anyone about reservations.
But even with my YHA membership card it's still costing me $29 a night. Bastards.
And it's not that nice to be honest, it's clean, but yuck.

The only redeeming feature is that it's a block and a half from the town centre. So that's awesome, even though there's not lots there.

I discovered that really the only way to see Uluru is to take a tour, which I guess I'm not against. But the only one that looks like any good is going to cost me $320. And I'm having trouble dealing with that right now. I'm also so annoyed with half the shit I have with me. I can't decide if it's worth it to send shit home, since I only have three weeks left. But if I go on the tour I'm going to have to buy some cheap boots or something closed toed and I really don't have room for that in my pack.
Hlhavgclmfckvgmhfgl,ckmv.

---

Went out for a little bit. Had some pretty decent veggie curry at this place that doesn't seem to have a name. But everyone was really nice and it's open air and stuff.

I bought some $30 boots, because I know I'm going to end up taking a tour of some kind because I am certainly not hanging around Alice for a week.

I really want to talk to my family, but it's like 1 in the morning there. So none of that for a while.

--

Alice is so strange, there's a crazy weird disconnect between white people and aboriginals.

---

Well I talked to this asian girl for a little whole then slept from about 3 until 7.30, otherwise known as now. I think I'm going to go grab dinner from somewhere then just crash again since I'm still terribly tired.
I've been told not to go outside by myself though, and she was terribly paranoid about it so I'm not exactly filled with confidence that I won't just be axe murdered or something. The people at reception were warning everyone too, not just girls. So I may die.
I'll just carry all three of my knives and hope for the best.

ha.

--

Well, I lived.
I ended up having to go to a pretty fancy italian place since it was the only place that had a kitchen open past 9. I actually think it closed at nine too, but I got there about 10 past and they let me sit. Had this dip plate thing with pesto, smushed up beet root, sun dried tomato something & olive paste something. Everything but the tomato stuff was absolutely delicious, but it's not really what I was looking for. Oh well.
I only saw one other person walking by themselves and they were a fucking giant, I dunno, Romanian man. Or Turkish. Something like that. I saw a few couples but mostly groups of 3 people or more.

There were a fuckton of police around though, which actually made me feel less safe. Had some dunk aboriginal guy yell at me, but I got drunk people yelling at me in the cities too. So that didn't exactly make me shake in my little boots.

It was a really not-so-nice vibe out there though, I don't think I'd go for long walks around Alice at night. I mean, I only walked two blocks or something.

When I came back pessimistic asian girl told me she really didn't think I'd ever come back and that I was the bravest person she's ever met in her life.
All I did was walk two blocks, 99% under streetlights to get dinner after dark!

Everyone's so scared, they need to all relax a little.



I've decided to definitely leave for a three day tour thing on Saturday morning, getting back Monday night. Then I'll have all of tuesday & Wednesday to do nothing and wish I want somewhere else before I leave on Thursday. On the Ghan, suckas.

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