Australia Day 0: Flight and Arrival

As promised (a week or two late but still as promised), here is the first part of The Australian Chronicles (though, really, there are no words to describe how great the trip was for me). Normally, I would start at the most interesting parts to catch your attention so you don't leave (please don't) but I think this time I need to start from the beginning (seriously, please don't leave).

Hopefully this is enough to catch your attention, though it's a story for another post
Also, thanks AbsintheSalon for the picture

And so let's begin. My brother begrudgingly agreed to drive me to the airport and promised to drop me off by 6am, which he delivered because, if you know my brother, time is of no issue, importance, or concern when you drive like a maniac. Though, neither is the safety of your passengers or everyone else on the road but when you've got a deadline, trust me, you'd rather have him behind the wheel than myself. What I haven't told him yet was that the flight was delayed so really, I didn't need to get there until 7am.

The rest of the wait was pretty forgettable. Aurora and I waited around the airport until we could board. My hopes of having an empty seat next to me were dashed once I saw the guy sitting in the window seat (I always aim for an aisle seat on planes). And then came the most dreaded moment of the trip: the flight. Unless you've traveled with me, you don't understand - I rarely, if at all, sleep on planes. No, I don't know why, but it happens often. I just can't sleep. And this is a 10 hour flight. Allow me to emphasize: TEN HOURS! I would sleep for a bit, wake up thinking I've been asleep for at least 2 hours, look at the clock... and only 30 minutes have passed. Around hour 6 I was getting so restless that I would go to the restroom just to stand there and enjoy the change of scenery (because there's only so long I can stare at the back of a chair). An hour later I was making a trek up and down the aisle in coach class and I gotta say, people look weird when they sleep. But eventually the screens started to display that it was only two hours until we landed and the world started to feel alright again. (Strangest part of the flight: that guy next to me didn't get up once. not to pee. not to walk around. he just sat there. all. flight.)

Finally we landed. As is the case on most of my travels, nothing ever starts on a good note and this time was no different as I lost my passport within ten minutes of landing and passing through customs. I ended up leaving it on one of the currency exchange machines and luckily someone turned it in to the Customs Officers so I did get it back. But, like I said, not a good way to start the trip, especially since we didn't even claim our bags yet.

At least I got my money

Then came the wait for Taryn's plane to come in. Luckily, the airport has free wi-fi and a McDonalds. Side note: is a Quarter Pounder really the same when Australia uses the metric system? And when our traveling trio was complete, we took the train out to Circle Quay (I'm still not sure how to pronounce that. Sort of like "key" if I remember). And then came The Ascent. If the flight killed me inside then the walk to the hostel beat me physically. And what's worse is that it was only that particular walk which I hated. It's not like I dreaded every return back to the hostel where we would have to walk the literal uphill battle, just this one. I think it was because of all the luggage. But later we would find shortcuts, either through the use of side-streets and alleyways or by just cutting straight through the lobbies of other hotels (I swear the Shangri-La Hotel staff thought we were staying there).

Also, thank you Aurora, not only for the planning, but also for booking us at the Sydney Harbour YHA. That was a great find. The nicest of the two hostels I've ever stayed at. Clean, private bathrooms, and I didn't worry about getting lice from the sheets. And wi-fi (especially helpful to me since I still don't own a smartphone). Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it but I'm sure you can look it up yourself. And that pretty much concludes the arrival into Sydney. We did do some wandering around the area that night, checked out the view from the roof, and I was sternly threatened to wear those extra strength Breath-Right strips every night.

Oh, and if you're wondering, toilets in Australia do not flush counter-clockwise. Why? Because they are too busy delivering a superior flushing experience compared to their American counterparts

And if you're wondering about the lack of commentary on the video, well, they frown upon you talking loudly to yourself as well as recording videos in the men's restroom at the airport (I told you that I would let you know as soon as I did).