Hiroshima

One of the only buildings left standing after the bomb

Memorial to the lost children

Hiroshima was a very different experience to anywhere else in Japan and it was really worth visiting. We arrived in the afternoon and headed straight out to the A-bomb dome, memorial park and peace museum. The first thing you see in the park is the shell of an old building that was one of the only things left standing when the Americans dropped the atomic bomb Enola Gay on Hiroshima on 6^th August 1945. The Japanese have conserved the bones of the building so you can still make out its structure. It is absolutely incredible that it stood up against the blast and the reason given for this is that the atomic bomb was dropped directly above the building which meant as the blast radiated outwards, it was able to withstand the pressure. The whole of the rest of the city was totally flattened and wiped out with the blast and radiation. As you walk around the park, the next thing you see is the memorial to the lost children with thousands of origami cranes hanging in a glass cabinet that have been sent in from all around the world. Further along, there is a statue with a flame inside it that represents the desire for the world to be free of nuclear weapons. The flame was lit by a survivor from the blast who found a flame in the remains of his uncle's house and carried the flame to where it stands today. On the memorial, it is written that the flame will remain lit until every last atomic weapon is gone from the world. 

A child's charred lunch box

After the park, we went to the peace museum, giving ourselves 2 hours to look around until it closed. We really underestimated the amount of time we would need. The museum was excellent, with so much detail on Hiroshima, before and after the bomb was dropped. Some of the exhibits inside included letters from Einstein to president Roosevelt, letters from the mayor of Hiroshima to Barak Obama asking him to stop testing nuclear weapons, models of what Hiroshima looked like before and after the blast, and a whole section on nuclear weapons today and the potential threats. The most harrowing part of the museum however, was the section on the victims, where you could read the stories of people who had been killed instantly in the blast and of those who had been killed many years later due to the effects of radiation. Exhibits included an old lunch box with charred food inside it, people's hair that had fallen out, and ceramic roof tiles that had melted in the extreme heat.  The most touching story of all, was of a 9 year old girl who had been 2 years old when the bomb was dropped. Seven years later she developed leukaemia and was taken into hospital. She had read that folding paper cranes brings good luck and she believed that if she could fold 1000 cranes she would survive. Sadly, she didn't get her wish and her death sparked a demand for a memorial for all of the children affected by the bomb to be built. In the museum you can see the cranes that she folded. They are absolutely minuscule and it is difficult to imagine how she folded them. Apparently she used a pin to fold them as they got smaller and smaller because she believed that the more intricate they were, the more chance she would have that her wish would come true. 

I left the museum quite depressed, and am still a little depressed typing this. However, it gave us some perspective on little things that we had been arguing about the day before and really brought it home to us just what a tragedy the dropping of the bomb over Hiroshima was. You can't appreciate until you see it, just how many lives it affected in so many ways; not just on the day it was dropped, but years later, with people living the rest of their lives in constant fear of what effects the radiation would have on them. I would say that if you visit Japan, you should definitely try to get down to Hiroshima and learn about this important part of modern history.

We didn't spend all of our time in Hirsohima visiting monuments related to the A-Bomb. Hiroshima is also famous for a shrine at Miraynma that stands in the ocean. It is one of the most famous views in Japan. We took a ferry over to go and see it, and once again there were hundreds of deer scattered about. Unfortunately, we got there at low tide so most of the shrine was not submerged in the sea but had tourists walking underneath it, pushing money into the cracks. Nevertheless, it was still a sight to behold and it was set amongst the stunning backdrop of mountains and sea. I said to Jemma that I thought the landscape was more impressive than similar landscapes that we had paid a lot of money to see in New Zealand. We didn't pay any money in Japan to see Miraynma.  

At night, we went on a hunt for a restaurant that had been recommended in the guide book that Jemma desperately wanted to try. It served Hiroshima's speciality dish, Okonamia, Okonamia are similar to pancakes, and at the restaurant we went to, they make them infront of you on a hot plate. They fill them with beansprouts, noodles and fish and then crack an egg on top. For the final touch, they pour a generous helping of special sauce. 

 Unfortunately for me, I liked everything but the sauce and the green nori powder they sprinkle inside them, which meant I just had to pick out the noodles and Jemma had to eat the rest. It was still a great experience though to eat in such a traditional eatery and have the food made in front of you (even if the woman who made them did have a cold and kept wiping her nose with her hand!). 

Hiroshima photos

Kyoto!

(I apologise in advance if this blog is boring/ confusing. I should warn readers in advance that you may become templed-out by the second paragraph).

Day 1 - It took us a long time to find the hostel as all the signs were in Japanese and we came out of the wrong exit at the subway. We got to the hostel and it was the first one we've stayed in where we had to take our shoes off at the door and put on the slippers they provided to walk around in. I found this novel and cosy at first, but after a week of slipping my shoes on and off at the hostel and various temples I had broken the heel on my walking shoe (it held up for 6 months through Amazon and Inca treks and broke at a hostel in Japan). Now I have to slip a bit of cardboard down the back when I put my shoe on otherwise the plastic sticking out of the heel really hurts my foot. I had considered throwing them away and just continuing on for the rest of the trip in walking sandals (the rest of the countries are, after all all hot ones). However, I have been advised that I might need them for a trek in Changmai so I will have to hold onto them until then.

Computers in hostel

Back onto the subject of Kyoto...
We got to our hostel, slipped our shoes off and were told that we couldn't check in until 4pm. It was 3.30 so we just sat down on the computers in reception (or rather knelt down on the little cushions in front of them) and went online for a bit. We then checked into our room and were pleasantly surprised to hear that we had been upgraded to a twin for one night. We dumped our bags and went to explore the local area. The area where our hostel was, was a lively area with lots going on – lots of cafes, restaurants and shops. We looked around for something cheap to eat and ended up eating Octopus balls (Taki-yaki) by accident (Balls of soft potato with octopus inside them that are so piping hot they burn your throat). In the end, I had to have a subway to fill me up because I couldn't finish the Tako-yaki.

Tako-yaki

We went back to the cosy hostel and spent the night chatting to two English girls who are doing a ski season here.

Day 2 – The second day was the day we visited the Heian temple, gardens and Silver Pavillion (Ginkaku-ji) (as mentioned in my previous post). On our way back from the Silver Pavillion, we walked back through residential side streets, and came upon another temple tucked away which was free called (Shinnyo-do). It was a beatutiful temple, with nobody around which made it more appealing than the others. On the way home, we walked through Japanese grave yard, and then through a residential area. That night I cooked myself spaghetti for tea and Jemma had a pot noodle.

Crossing the pond at the Heian temple as Scarlett did in Lost in Translation

Day 3 – On the third day we visited Nijo-jo (Nijo castle) and went inside. Inside they had put models of the people who would have lived there e.g. Shoguns to make it easier to visualise how the castle would have functioned. The floors were squeaky but not because of loose floorboards – they purposely made them that way when it was built so that they could here intruders approaching. After the castle, we caught a free train using our JR railpasses and visited a 12^th century temple Tenryu-ji and walked through the gardens. There were lots of colourful carp in the ponds. We then went to the bamboo grove which we had seen in the Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet calls it 'a unique once in a life time experience'. It is certainly a unique experience as you walk through the forest surrounded by miles and miles of bamboo trees. Later in the afternoon, we walked down past the river and saw people on boats. We then walked three kilometres to a bamboo temple through residential area but it was closed.

Bamboo grove

Day 4 – On day 4 we took the Shinkansen (high speed bullet train) to Osaka. It took us a while to get out of Osaka station as it was so big. When we finally got out, we found Osaka to be a standard, unimpressive modern city so we decided not to linger too long in the city and went straight to the main attraction in Osaka – Osaka-jo castle. It was a nice day and we stayed there for a while taking photos and walking amongst the plum blossoms. At night we returned to Kyoto where we walked around for ages looking for something cheap to eat and were eventually enticed into a restaurant offering cheap meal prices. We went in, took our shoes off and were shown to a little cubicle with a curtain and a table and chairs inside. In the cubicle there was a computer screen where you pressed on what you wanted to order and then clicked send to order your meal. Even though it was all in Japanese, we managed to order a table of tasty dishes thanks to the pictures that were on the screen. At the end I got the bill by pointing to a phrase in the guide book.

Ordering dinner

Day 5 – We went to Kiyomizu-dera shrine overlooking Kyoto and took in some amazing views of Kyoto. We then walked to Sanjusangen-do a shrine: a shrine with 1001 Buddhas and 28 guardian statues. It was a remarkable sight but cameras weren't allowed so I have posted a picture I found on google. We ended the day by walking to Fushin-inari taisha: thousands of red tori (orange gates). Basically, it is 4km of gates leading up a mountain but when we first set off we didn't realise how far it would go on. As neither of us wanted to give up, we ended up trekking 4km up a mountain on a whim just as the sun was setting. That night we treated ourselves to a Burger King for tea as a reward (not that fast food is a treat any more – we seem to eat it every other day. Yesterday we had a sausage donut, fried chicken fat on a stick and a McDonald's just because we have found ordering Japanese food to be so confusing. Although I have gotten quite into MOSBurger, which is the Japanese equivalent of McDonald's except they put a lovely spicy curry sauce on the burger. I feel healthy eating MOSBurger because it is Japanese.

1001 Buddhas 

Day 6 – We visited the Imperial Temple, ex-home of the Emperor. It was pouring with rain and we got absolutely drenched, however the tour was free and it was taken by an English speaking tour guide! Somewhat of a novelty in Japan! After the tour, we dried out in the hostel and went for dinner at an Italian round the corner with an Ozzie from our hostel called Steve. We had a carafe of wine each for about £2.50!

Templing in the rain

Day 7 – On our last day in Kyoto we went on a day trip to Nara, home of the giant golden Buddha statue. Again, it was heavy rain, but we didn't let this deter us. Instead, we squelched around the city and went to the temple where the giant Buddha was. We also saw lots of deer dotted about around the temple with their antlers cut off. I am not sure whether the tourist board has planted them there or if that is their natural habitat. Jemma was keen on stroking them and ended up dropping her glove in a muddy puddle of deer water. By the end of the day we were so cold and soaking wet. We went for a McDonald's and then tucked ourself up in the hostel living room.

Giant Buddha in Nara

By the end of Kyoto we were really sad to leave. The hostel we were in was definitely the best I have ever come across and Kyoto its self is 'what people think of when they think of Japan'. If anyone is thinking of visiting Japan, I would highly recommend basing yourself in Kyoto for the majority of your trip.

Kyoto

The Heian shrine

We have now left Kyoto after a week of temples, shrines, big Buddhas and origami. It was such a fantastic city. We stayed in the best hostel in the world (definitely the best hostel on this trip), Khaosan Kyoto. It was so cosy. It had bunk beds with little curtains for privacy, bed lamps, free internet and a lovely common room with bean bags, cushions and typical Tatami flooring. The best thing though was the people, who were so interesting to talk to and most had a lot of knowledge on Japan to share with us. 

Origami night at the hostel

One girl we got quite friendly with turned out to be the daughter of the British comedian Phil Jupitus. On our first day in Kyoto we went straight off to explore the Heian shrine which is one of the locations off lLost in translation. There were hardly any tourists there (probably because it was so cold) and the gardens were beautiful. We are right at the beginning of cherry blossom season which is a big deal in Japan. The Japanese flock to view these beautiful trees and have picnics underneath them. We think we saw a couple of cherry blossoms but were later told by a tour guide that they were probably plum blossoms. Either way, they looked very pretty and were a stunning backdrop to a lot of the temples. After this shrine, we walked along the Philosophers road, which is a typical Japanese street along the river, scattered with blossom trees and Japanese architecture. It was a gorgeous walk and we bumped into a Canadian man along the way who said its one of those things you don't find anywhere else in the world. For lunch I had chips on a stick which was a new and novel way of eating chips I thought. We then visited a temple called the Silver Pavillion which is one of Lonely Planet's must-sees. I wasn't as impressed as I was with the shrine because it was packed with tourists and you had to pay to get in. It did have some fantastic Zen gardens though, which were like 'Heaven on Earth'. I said this to Jemma and then we later read in the guide book that the gardens are designed to actually represent Heaven on Earth so they clearly got it right if this was what I felt when walking through them! That night we went back to the hostel and learnt how to make origami including crabs, cranes and stars. We got chatting to people in the hostel and ended up going to bed quite late.

The Zen garden

The rest of the week blurs into one big session of temples, food and socialising in the hostel and I can't remember day for day what we did so I will have to have a think offline and come back and write it later because we are off to the Hiroshima memorial museum now.

For now, have a look at the two photo albumbs, they speak for themselves. Kyoto is a really beautiful, cultural, historical city.

Kyoto Photos:   Kyoto 1  Kyoto & Osaka

Japan - Tokyo!

Shinjuku, Tokyo

We have now been in Japan 5 days and I am still not over the culture shock. It is culturally the most different place I have ever been in my life. It is so different to anywhere else I can't even begin to make comparisons. Everything you see in the films and on TV, it's all true – that's what Japan is really like. Its everything I imagined and so much more. A few things that stand out:

Firstly, and obviously, the language. Nobody speaks English and there are barely any westerners here, which makes getting around quite tricky. Luckily Jemma is good at maps and we have some how muddled through on the subways.

Secondly, the people. They are so polite, bowing constantly and there are so many things you are not supposed to do (according to our guide book). For example, you shouldn't blow your nose in public and when someone hands you something, you should take it with both hands. This is only scratching the surface of beginning to describe the etiquette. Needless to say, it has left me feeling a bit on edge at times, worried that I might offend someone.

Another thing that is difficult for me, is the food. I really don't like Japanese food too much and I have tried to adapt to it (eating Octopus with what looks like crape paper on top) but I am constantly having to resist the urge to go to McDonalds. A few other things I have noted with interest: the people are very quiet – sometimes in the street you could hear a pin drop. A lot of people wear those face masks to protect themselves from germs (a lot of people = at least 20% of people), they allow smoking in public! This shocked me when I walked into McDonalds and could smell smoke and then saw there was a smoking and non-smoking section. They love their game arcades, which are very loud and also filled with smoke. They have a lot of girl bands with about 15 members in them who all look under 15 and the bulk of their fan base seems to be made up of middle aged men.... I could continue for ages with all the interesting things we have seen but hopefully my photos speak for themselves. I also forgot to mention the toilets, which often have buttons on them offering various functions from a flushing noise to cover up embarrassing noises, heated seats and little squirts of water that you can clean yourself with and then dry yourself with a little fan button afterwards. I haven't had the guts to try this yet but Jemma tells me it is fun.

Toilet functions

 In spite of this culture shock, I am absolutely loving being here and it is something I have dreamed of for a long time. I am really enjoying the foreignness of it after having spent 5 weeks in Australia, which is basically England but hot. The hostels are world class (literally: the one we are staying in was voted best in the world by hostelworld.com) and the scenery is beautiful. We have a JR rail pass which allows us to travel anywhere we want for 2 weeks and we are currently basing ourselves in Kyoto and hoping to explore the surrounding areas from here.

We started off in Tokyo which was mind boggling, as you can tell by looking at the subway map.

Tokyo subway

We had a really nice hostel and an American room mate who was Japan-mad and told us lots of useful things, such as how to say thank you and hello and how to avoid the infamous groping men on the subway!

We visited the electrical district where all the games arcades are and we saw a boy with the best hand-eye coordination I have ever seen before. We also visited Harijuku which is known for its crazy fashion sense (as referenced in the Gwen Stefani song What you waiting for). In addition to this we went to the busiest crossing in the world in Shibuya (which is where they filmed some of the scenes in Lost in Translation) and we ate at a couple of different noodle bars.

 I managed to find Japanese coco pops for breakfast and Jemma has been having pot noodles. We have been advised (by our crazy Japanese-mad American room mate) to avoid the 'radioactive' tap water and so far I have only eaten one McDonalds in the 4 days we've been here. Also in Tokyo, we walked through the red light district where they have love hotels that you can rent in blocks of three hours and they play seedy music in the street. In this area they also have lots of pet shops with various animals in little incubator like tanks such as kittens, monkeys and meercats. We have also come across a shop where you can go in to pet the cats for an hour (presumably for people who don't have enough room in their house for a pet?).

They also have lots of Manga shops, some of which cross the line into adult shops without too much warning. One of Jemma's favourite things about Japan is the way the trains play music like a toy piano (child-like music) when they arrive, as do garbage trucks (I noticed this today). Everything is colourful and smiley as though a child has thought it up. It really is like nothing else I have ever seen.

We are now in Kyoto which is the beautiful historical old capital and I will write a blog on what we have been up to here in the next few days.

(Internet has been free so far in all hostels!). We came here on the bullet train (Shinkansen) which is also featured in Lost in Translation (my favourite film). I will leave it for now as they are doing a little session upstairs on how to write your name in Japanese and play Japanese board games.

Photos here: Tokyo Photos

Singapore to Japan

At the Hindu temple

Konichiwa from Japan! We are now in Japan and it is without a doubt the most culturally unique place I have ever been in my life. Before I discuss this any further, let me first finish off what we got up to on our last days in Singapore.

On our second day in Singapore, exhausted from all the walking the day before, we slept in really late and then spent the morning planning Japan. Before we knew it it was 3pm and we hadn't done anything so we went out to explore the local neighbourhood. We visited the Arab quarter and wanted to go up Baghdad street but it was closed. We stumbled upon a large mosque and went inside where we were shown around by a Dutch woman who had converted to Islam and had lived in Singapore for the last 20 years.

After the mosque, we headed home through a monsoon to our hostel. We got there soaking and immediately went on a walking tour with Jonathan, the entertainment manager of the hostel. He took a group of us around the places of worship in the area. We visited a Taoism temple where we lit some sticks, made a prayer and then got our fortunes on a bit of paper. Then we went to a Hindu temple which was just next door and had a look around. After this, we went to a fruit stall where we all tried Durian fruit (the stinkiest fruit in the world, that is actually banned on the subway because it smells so bad). It didn't taste or look how I expected. It tasted and looked more like chicken than fruit. After we had eaten it we all had to rinse our hands in a bucket of water to get the smell off.

Durian fruit

The tour concluded in the hawker centre at Bugis which is the nicest/cheapest food centre we have seen yet. We all sat down and ate and then Jonathan left us to our own devices. We went for a wander around the night markets and had an ice cream.

The next day (our last day in Singapore) we had a full day to kill (our flight wasn't until 6am the next morning but we had to check out of the hostel at 11). So we spent a large part of the day hanging around the hostel, surfing the internet and playing games. In the afternoon we went to the biggest electronics mall I have ever seen (its a skyscraper full of electronic stuff). We bought some USBs and headphones. In the evening we went on a wild goose chase to find a hawker centre Jemma had seen on the first day on Orchard road and were disappointed when we finally found it because it was more expensive than the one near our hostel. By the time we had eaten it was 10pm and we had just enough time to nip back to the hostel and pick up our bags, ready to go to the airport where we would spend the night before checking in for our flight at 4am. I have slept in airports a few times and I have never had a good experience. Usually they go out of their way to make the bit before you check in as un-sleeper -friendly as possible. It is always freezing and the seats usually have handles between the rows so you cant lie down. However, I had googled Changi airport and found out it was meant to be the best airport in the world for sleeping, with free massage chairs and nap areas. It turned out this is the case, but only once you've checked in. And as we weren't allowed to check in until 2 hours before the flight (i.e. 4am) we ended up spending a very uncomfortable 4 hours on a cold (freezing cold) floor. I tried to make a little bed out of my dirty washing and wrapped myself in my fleece and hat but I was still freezing. I ended up having about 2 hours sleep and Jemma opted not to sleep at all and just sat and read the Japan guide book we had bought. When we finally got on our flight we were so tired. I slept for a bit but then they woke us up with breakfast (noodles, ergh) and so I stayed awake for the rest of the journey and watched the Help.  

Singapore

The Merlion (Symbol of Singapore) at night

During our last few days in Cairns we stayed in an amazing hostel called Tropic Days which was such a nice Oasis in the desert of horrid Australian hostels. It was half the price of hostels in Sydney and it was a 'Labour of Love' as Jemma calls it. In other words, it had a lot of personal touches and a lot of character. Because it was slightly out of the town centre, they provided a free shuttle bus to run you into town and they also had an all you can eat pizza night where they ordered takeaway for everybody. The people it attracted were a little bit older than the travellers we have come across in the rest of Oz and it was nice to actually meet people we had something in common with. So we spent a few days chilling there and then we did a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef, which I am still a little bit traumatised by so I will leave that review for another time.
Anyway, we left Cairns on Sunday morning for Singapore, and after a 3 hour stop over in Darwin, we arrived at Changi airport, Singapore at 9pm local time. I was SO HAPPY to get to Asia!
We took the MRT (metro) to our hostel (Little red dot), which I was a little bit disappointed by (I was expecting more of Singapore hostels, but South America continues to trump every other continent when it comes to hostels). Nonetheless, it was nice enough and has air con so we just went straight to bed.
The next day (Monday) we really had a full day. We got up and had the free breakfast (so nice to have free breakfasts again! And it was the first hostel I have ever had free cocopops in!) and then we set off to explore the city.

I last came to Singapore when I was 8 (so, a very long time ago) but I still have fond (but vague) memories of it and I wanted to go and see the hotel where I stayed as a child and see if the memories came back. We decided to go on foot rather than take the metro and about 2 hours later we got to Orchard road which is the designer shopping area. We saw lots of designer shops (the most designer shops I have ever seen in my life). We also saw two catwalk models doing a photo shoot outside them. We kept ducking into shopping malls and hawker centres (Singapore food markets) to keep cool and we were overwhelmed. Especially Jemma, who has never been to Asia before, couldn't take in the sheer quantity and variety of cheap, delicious food. We were in heaven. Especially after coming from Australia, where the prices were astronomical, we couldn't believe our luck when we could have any flavour and combination of freshly squeezed fruit juice for a pound! In spite of this, the first restaurant we ended up in was McDonalds (can't visit a country without sampling the Maccas and comparing the price to the last country). The prices brought tears of joy to our eyes and we hurriedly placed our order (Jemma had sea weed shaker chips and we had chilli sauce and curry sauce for free for the first time in months!). After McDonalds, we continued on to find the hotel where I stayed 18 years ago and as I walked into the reception, the smell brought a wave of memories back (strange how smells can stay the same all that time!). A lot of the interior had changed but I could still recognise most of it. After a bit of snooping around, we walked back to Orchard road and then got the MRT to the Esplanade which is where that skyscraper is with a swimming pool on top of it (Marina Bay Sands Hotel). We looked into staying there but it was slightly out of our price range.

We walked around this area for a bit (The central business district) and saw the Merlion that is the symbol of Singapore. Near to the hotel that has a swimming pool on top of it, there is also a massive shopping mall which has an ice rink and a river(!) inside where you can take a gondola ride through the mall! We continued on through the CBD, took lots of photos and saw an English chippy (the first proper English chippy I have seen on the trip. And yes, I am ashamed to say, I had some chips in paper with salt and vinegar). At this point it started to get dark and we stumbled upon a free waterfront open air concert with a Thai rock band playing that really reminded Jemma of Pink Floyd. The music fitted the atmosphere very well. After this we walked and looked around an arts display that was lit up at night and admired the Singapore skyline. By this time, our feet were really starting to ache and it was gone 9pm. We headed back to our hostel via China town (which, unlike China towns in other countries, is actually like a mini China). We ended up eating at a Hawker stall near to our hostel before collapsing into bed absolutely exhausted.

See the Singapore photos here: Singapore

Cairns

We are now in Cairns, in a hostel that is half the price of anything we have seen in Australia so far, and we have FREE INTERNET!! The weather here is sweltering and very humid. We are here for 4 days. We have booked a trip to the Great Barrier Reef for Friday and then on Sunday we fly to Singapore! Finally I will be reunited with my beloved Asia after 18 years!! I am so excited. I can't wait to see Singapore again after all this time, to visit the Hawker centres and walk amongst the sky scrapers. Then, after a few days there, its off to Japan! It has been a life long dream of mine to visit Tokyo and I cannot wait. For now though, we are relaxing in the lovely, humid, cheap north of Australia. From what I have seen of Cairns so far, I really like it, especially the Esplanade and the fruit bat trees. We are off now for our free meal that is included in the hostel. I can't get over how much cheaper it is here than down south.

The wonderful free public swimming pool that overlooks the sea 

Surfers Paradise to Brisbane (Australia zoo)

They let you pet the Koalas

On Thursday we went on a day trip to Australia zoo with Louise. It was a two hour bus ride from Surfers and we left at 8am. We went on a tour bus with a driver that made everyone on the bus do introductions. Louise was introduced as our bag carrier. We had a full day in the zoo, wandering around petting the various animals. We had photos with koalas and kangaroos and saw a crocodile show. The zoo had all of the Australian animals and, as it is owned by Steve Irwin, it had a lot about him in it and the history of his zoo and his crocodile hunting. In addition to the Aussie animals, it also had an Africa section with rhinos, zebras and giraffes and an Asia section with tigers, elephants and red pandas. The weather was extremely hot and by the end of the day we were all exhausted. Overall I would say I enjoyed the zoo but it was very over priced. Still, it was something we both definitely wanted to do whilst in Australia so I'm glad we did it. That night I was so tired I had my tea and zonked into bed around 9pm. Our last night in the luxurious apartment.
The next day we had to check out of our amazing apartment and check into our old hostel. Louise had a flight booked for 8pm so we spent the day just wandering around the shops and at the beach. It was another scorcher of a day. When Louise left on her bus for the airport, again we were both really tired so we cooked tea, had a magnum from the supermarket and then went to bed.
Yesterday (Friday) was our last day in Surfers Paradise and we were planning on going back to Wet n Wild but I had to go to the doctors in the morning and by the time we had faffed about getting prescriptions and putting sun cream on, the last bus for Wet n Wild had left so we had to make do with the beach again. The waves and currents are so strong that going to the beach is no relaxing activity – its actually quite a work out. In the afternoon, we bought some internet credit and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool. At night, we were both really tired again so we just had a kebab and went to bed. I have got an infection again so I am now back on antibiotics and feel like a walking pharmacy. Now we're at the 6 month mark, I think all of the travelling has started to catch up with me and my body seems to have chosen Australia as an appropriate place to let my immune system take a break. I am glad we have a week of relaxing in Cairns before we launch ourselves into Asia.

With a model of the biggest croc

Today is Saturday and we left Surfers in the morning on the Greyhound bus for Brisbane. One of Jemma's old friends from dancing has kindly offered to put us up and we are staying with her and her boyfriend in their lovely apartment. Today they took us out for lunch and treated us to a gourmet burger and chips and tonight we have been for a swim in their pool and are now relaxing in the lounge whilst they cook us tea. It is lovely to be spoilt! Tomorrow we are leaving here at 3pm to take an 18 hour coach ride up the coast to Airlie beach where we will stop off for a day before heading to Cairns to do the Great Barrier Reef!


Photos of the zoo: Australia Zoo