Definitely not driving in this country... Indonesia

So it is the last night I am in Bali, Indonesia. This week has been more about just relaxing (and not spending too much money). Tomorrow we are flying out to Singapore! Like it says in the title, I will definitely not be driving in this country. Their lines on the road are more like suggestions here, drivers typically disregard them. Most drivers are also on scooters or bikes and I have seen too many almost get hit! Another reason I wouldn't drive is because there are a lot of stray dogs that just roam in and out of the streets. I usually hold my breath in the car because I am scared that they are going to get hit. Breaks my heart to see all these dogs just walking around, looking through trash for food, and being able to see their bones due to being so skinny. Unfortunately it is not just the dogs that are hungry, but people too. It puts life into perspective and makes me really appreciate everything and everyone I have in my life.

I did take the opportunity to visit the Elephant Safari Park here in Bali. These elephants are rescued from one of the other islands of Indonesia. They currently have 30 elephants, which include their 3 baby (more like toddlers) elephants. I also took the chance to ride an elephant! I had the pleasure of getting a ride from Ramona. She's a beautiful 21 year old and mother to one of the toddlers. After the ride, I was able to feed and pet her. The 3 toddlers than put on a small show that displayed their talents! They are so freaking cute! I wish I was able to fit one in my suitcase, but I'm already close to the luggage limits. Putting an extra 800 kilograms with my luggage would be a ton of money.When the baby elephant was born they weigh about 80 kilograms. (p.s. the mom could be pregnant for about 2 years!!)

We should get some "breaki" at "Maccas"...

You are probably wondering what my blog post title means.... Well so did I when I first heard it in Australia. "Breaki" is shortened for breakfast and "Maccas" is McDonald's. For some reason, Australians love to shorten their words. Everyone has heard of "putting the shrimp on the barbie," but they actually call barbecue food and grill, "barbie". When you are going out for a night on the town, don't forget to put your "lippie" on (aka lipstick). I guess every language has their slang and shorten words, but when you are in a new country, even though they speak English; it can be hard to catch on to what they are saying. The "ambo" (ambulance) will come if you need a lift to the hospital and when you go to Somoa or Fiji be careful of the "mozzis"(mosquitoes). And don't forget to add on some fresh "avo" (avocados) to your sandwiches!

I couldn't find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way...

For the past couple of days we have been visiting Sydney, Australia. After an unpleasant train ride (couldn't stay asleep, smelly person next to me, temperatures varied, and crying children) we got into Sydney at about 7 am. You could say we were a bit tired. We got to our hotel and crossed our fingers that they had a room available that we could check into early. Thankfully we got a room and decided to take a nap. After nap time, we took a tour around Sydney, learning about random facts/tours we should or shouldn't take/a bunch of things I would've never known (and most Australians probably don't know either). We took a ferry over to Darling Harbour (yes that is the correct spelling Australians have, favor is spelled favour and color is spelled colour) to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and enjoy some American food. 

The next day we headed to the Sydney Opera  House for a tour. Nothing we really wanted to see was playing so we passed, plus saved us some money. The tour was extremely informative and explained the opera house's construction and history. Originally they projected it would cost $7 million and take only 3 years, but that estimate was way off. It took $120 million and 15 years to finally finish. I won't tell you too much about it because it is something you should do if you go to Sydney. I am a huge fan of The Ellen Show, what are the chances that they would be filming a small segment from Australia on the steps in front of the opera house the same day I'm there? Slim to none, but it happened! Apparently she was choosing 4 Australians to fly to the USA. People were going crazy! After the tour we headed to the beach! We caught a ferry over to Manly Beach and I spent the afternoon over there. Lucky for me it started to look like it was going to rain after several hours being there. I took it as a sign to get out of the sun! Good thing I did, many hours later I found my sunburn, not too bad though! When I wrote this blog post I was on my flight to Bali, so you could understand it wasn't the most comfortable flight because of the sunburn. But it was worth it. The beach was beautiful, the sand was extremely soft, water cold but refreshing. If I could tan I would've been there a lot longer. Overall Sydney was a cool city, I think I even like it more than Melbourne. The city is a little more industrial/dirtier than Melbourne (still cleaner than NYC), but it was in a convenient location close to all the tourist sites (found the Lindt store there too), transportation to the beach was direct, and even the people were nicer. Didn't find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way though. 

Just Keep Swimming (with Dory and Nemo)

We flew into Brisbane, Australia on Thursday and then drove up to Bundaberg, where our accommodation was located. On Friday we rented a car went even more north so that we could get a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef. Jessica and I took a day tour out to Lady Musgrove Island. Which is the furthest south of the Great Barrier Reef you can go. First we took a tour of the island, which only contain birds and trees. Surprisingly the only predator the birds have are the trees, the trees have branches that will first have white little flowers, once they bloom and fall off the buds turn brown and sticky. Unfortunately the birds will get stuck in the sticky branches and eventually die because they can't get the branches out of their wings. Sad but it's the circle of life on the island. We also had the opportunity to go on a semi-submarine ride. We got to see the coral, fish, and turtles from inside the boat. Then the best part of the day, snorkelling and checking out the Great Barrier Reef. It was beautiful. If I ever have the chance to come back to Australia, I would want to go further north and scuba dive! I'll just have to add it onto my traveling list. I would show you the pictures, but I purchased a water camera using film that I need to get processed. So look for a late post in a couple of months! I forgot I had to wind the film after every picture, very strange after using today's technology where you just need to click and take the next picture.

I'm currently on a train from Brisbane going to Sydney. I have to say I have no idea how my parents took me anywhere if I was anything like these children on the train. But then again my parents wouldn't punch me in the head for crying out for attention. Not right. Another thing I'm not a fan of on airplanes or trains is sick people. Definitely when I get off the train is get some vitamin C in me. And a little advice for the guy next to me, take a shower before getting on a train that's 12 hours, you smell.

Free Falling and Frolicking through New Zealand...

On January 15th I was able to check something else off on my bucket list: BUNGEE JUMPING!! If you like heights and a thrill than you should defiantly consider doing it. It was a once in a life time experience. I was only going to buy the photos but after seeing the DVD and having the same adrenaline rush I had to get it! I loved it!! I would do it again in a heartbeat! After taking a short bus ride we got put into a harness and a helmet and climbed up the Auckland Bridge. We took about a flight of stairs up to the launch pod. The instructors then explained what was going to happen and how we were going to jump. I was the second person to jump out of 4. The first and last girls needed a little but of a push from the instructor, but not me, I was ready to go. They opened the pod door, sort of like a garage door and the first girl jumped. Then it was my turn. The instructor asked if I wanted to get dunked in the water. I said I wanted to touch it but not get completely soaked. They strapped up my ankles and then attached the bungee cord. I wobbled my way to walk the plank. And  5.4.3.2.1... Take off. It was an amazing feeling. I think I even prefer it over skydiving. I don't know though, both have such an adrenaline rush.

On our last full day of New Zealand we decided to take a tour out to the Hobbiton movie set and farm. It was an opportunity to see another part of New Zealand. More of the countryside. We had to take about two and a half hour drive to get to the movie set. Of course I passed out on the way there (and back). After starting our visit with some warm muffins and tea at The Shire's Rest, we continued on a bus on the 1,250 acre farm. We got to look and take tons of pictures of hobbit holes, including the newly built ones just for the new Hobbit movie. We got the opportunity to learn a lot about Director Peter Jackson's camera tricks and what he had to do to capture his vision for all the films made there. Peter Jackson really took the time to make all the small details in the book translated to the movies. An example would be that the young hobbits were described eating plums under the plum trees in the book, however New Zealand climate is apparently not compatible to grow plums; so Peter Jackson stripped the trees before filming attached fake plums and leaves just for a couple seconds of the movie. Of course I had to run through some fields barefoot due to my brother's request. It was worth it though! After the tour we had some hard cider and got to enjoy lunch at The Green Dragon Inn. We continued onto the zealong tea plantation, which is the only tea plantation in New Zealand.  We got to try their 4 different teas with the traditional tea service and some food pairings. You can defiantly say we were exhausted after the long day of being a hobbit.

Checking out the Kiwis

So I don't think I slept for more than 2 hours the night before my New Zealand flight. I was excited for the trip and nervous that I wouldn't wake up on time. Of course it would be my luck that Virgin Australia is starting a new check-in process on the day of my flight. Due to this, I have to be at the airport at least 3 hours before my flight. Which means waking up at 4 am to get to the airport on time. I took a taxi and then an airport shuttle to get to the airport. The Melbourne City was still dead asleep, not like New York where it would still be in full swing.Thankfully my baggage was underweight!

My itinerary for my flight stated the flight would be 5 hours, but with the 2 hour time difference in New Zealand, it was only a 3 hour flight.The perfect nap time for me! You had to pay for entertainment or refreshments so a nap also helped me avoid paying a lot of money for airline food I wouldn't be happy with. The nap also helped refresh me from being up so early and not sleeping the night before. Plus I had the row to myself, which means that I wouldn't fall asleep on some stranger's shoulder (my worst fear).

After waiting about 4 hours for Jessica's flight to finally arrive, we were on our way to the city of Auckland! Unfortunately we stopped at the wrong hostel at first, then climbed a few steep hills with our 23 kilograms (aka 50 pounds) suitcase and carry-on pieces. Once we got settled in, we walked around, grabbed a bite to eat and just relaxed. So far Auckland seems to be a nice city and I'm not going to lie, we have seen a couple of "Kiwis" and they are leaving a better impression than the Aussies. ;)

Ribbons & Bows

Happy New Year everyone! It has been awhile since I have had the chance to blog with internet problems and what not. Monday was my last day at Cake Indulgence. (Insert jumping for joy here). I also received a phone call to help out a cake shop that I had trialed before Christmas; to help them out for the rest of the week. I wish I had been working at Ribbons & Bows Cakes the whole time, I probably wouldn't have been coming home so soon if I was working here! First the bakeshop has a lot of pink and it is extremely organized, everything has a place where it belongs. Not only am I allowed to talk here, but there is music playing! My supervisor actually trusts me and trains me on the proper way things are supposed to be done. Everyone who works there is friendly and helpful. Even one of the bosses came up to me and thanked me for helping out and working. He went to school and worked in the USA. He actually said he misses the USA. For once an Australian can relate to how I'm feeling! The bakeshop is also very clean, they encourage using gloves (not like somewhere else I know where I got questioned for every use). Ribbons & Bows is the main supplier for the Qantas Airlines, hospitals, and other companies. So if you are ever flying first class in Qantas, its possible the dessert came from Australia. Unfortunately I am only working there until Friday, but Monday I am flying out to Auckland, New Zealand!!