Australia Day 1 - Sydney, June 9, 2006

Phew, I fnially got here. I am using a paid internet connection at the hostel I am staying at and so will make this quick.

The quickest way to summarize the trip would be to list the things I learned while getting to Sydney:

1. 15 hours is a LONG time to be on a plane for a non-stop flight.
2. Sitting down for 15 hours (in Economy class) is brutal on your tailbone.
3. If you spend a lot of money to buy a pair of headphones for a trip, make sure you know where you put them before you get on the plane. I knew I had packed my Etymotic ER-6 phones, but could not find it no matter how hard I dug in every section of my bag. The moment I arrived in Sydney and reached into my carry-on bag, it popped right into my hands!
4. Row 64 on a 747-400 is VERY noisy (maybe because it is right behind the engines).
5. You can fit a LOT of people on a plane (in Economy class) if you pack the seats real close to each other.
6. No matter how hard you pray, the person in the seat in front of you WILL lean their seat all the way back (usually right after you open up your laptop).
7. The person seated behind me is most likely to be a large person who shifts in his seat regularly and bounces you around everytime he moves.
8. Dry salmon doesn't taste too bad when you're hungry.
9. If you're super sleepy, you cannot force yourself to stay awake even if it will mean an easier transition to the destimation time zone. I had great plans on staying up for the first7 hours of the flight and sleeping for the last 8, but it never worked out.
10. If you're wide awake, you can't force yourself to sleep even if it will make your transition to the destination time zone easier.
11. Australia has VERY strict quarantine laws. As they keep saying, you can't bring in anything edible. I had purchase some boxes of dried wild rice soup mix at Minneapolis airport as gifts for people I am visiting here. The quarantine folks at the airport confiscated it along with all the packets of instant coffee (with the built-in creamer) that I had brought with me.

When I got into Sydney it was pouring with rain (it still is raining) but not cold at all (literally t-shirt weather). Then, when I checked my email, I found that the person who had said they would buy my exrta ticket to the concert had backed out. Someone else offered them a ticket closer to the stage and so they didn't want mine any more. Pretty rotten to agree to buy the ticket and then back out just because they haven't paid, if you ask me. Oh well!

The room at the Wake Up! hostel was spartan, but clean. It is incredibly centrally located - just a few minutes walk from the Sydney Entertainment Centre where the Enz concert was being held. A HOT shower instantly made me feel better and I came down. First pleasant surprise was that they sell SIM cards with $30 credit (for $30). I decided to give it a shot and asked for a "sample SIM card" to see if it would work with my US phone. The girl at the counter pulled the card out of her phone and I put it in my cell phone. The moment I turned it on, it recognized VODAFONE AU and I was in business. I bought a $30 card and I had a fully functioning cell phone here in Australia! It has already come in handy and will certainly be nice to have on the trip.

On the right here, is the view from my hostel room. Anyway, I then walked over to the Centre to pick up my tickets. I even tried to sell the extra ticket to someone who walked up to the ticket counter, but they looked at me weirdly and for some reason I felt like a criminal. I walked around Chinatown a little bit and grabbed some lunch at a "Mr. Kebab" corner. Since my biorhythm was all off, I couldn't eat much. I returned ot the hostel and posted some signs around the place to try and sell my extra ticket. I could leave my mobile number. On returning to my room, I tried to get some sleep knowing it was going to be a long night. I finally got a call from my friend at AGSM and she and her husband agreed to meet me at "Paddy McGuire's" pub (close to the entertainment centre) at 6:45 PM. She even gave me the good news that one of her friends was interested in my extra ticket.

I had some restless sleep and finally woke up at about 5:45 PM feeling exactly like it was 3 in the morning (it probably was something like that in the US). You know that sandy-eyed, droopy-eyed feeling when you get up way too early? That's how I felt - and completely exhausted. Still I dragged myself out of bed and washed my face and headed to the pub. This pub was also supposed to be a "meet-up" place for other Finn fans and I ran into Anastasia, a lovely Russian girl who was also heading to the concert. We chatted while waiting for friends to show. Giana and her husband showed up only at about 7:15 and their friend Craig (my ticket buyer) came about half an hour later. I enjoyed a few draght beers (I tried a Twoohey's,a Victoria Bitter, and Kilkenny's and probably liked the Kilkenny's the best). The five of us (Giana, her husband, Craig, Anastasia, and I) headed to the concert only at about 8:45. They assured me that the opening band EVERMORE was really not worth watching. SO, we got there just in time for the Enz show. Walking into the arena, as expected, energized me and we didn't have long to wait before they came on. I felt a part of history - it was so amazing to see Mal, Noel, Nigel, Tim, and Neil together on stage in their great costumes. The seats wer okay but not anything really great. The sound was decent, but since we were on the side, we could occasionally hear an echo off the back of the arena. Still, it was a FANTASTIC show with hit after hit after hit being played. I'll put the set list on another post. Absolutely tremendous!

We all met up again outside after the show and decided to go for dinner (Anastasia decided to stay back and wait to see if she could get some autographs from the band, but none of us were in the mood to just hang around for a few hours). So, the four of us headed to Chinatown for dinner. We stopped ata place and I ordered a "Chicken Laksa" which was delicious, but I just could NOT do it justice because of my messed up biorhythm. I wished I could have taken the rest with me. Finally, I was back in my room a little after midnight and had a rather restless night. More later ....