Easter at Lamington National Park

Last weekend Australian's were treated to a four day Easter break. Good Friday and Easter Monday are both national holidays. This is the final swan song to Summer. In Brisbane the Brisbanites are not getting ready for the harsh Winter ahead. Temperatures will dip to 45 degrees in the middle of the night and the daily high will not get out of the 70's! Hopefully no one will succumb to the cold.

Loc-Uyen, her sister, and myself decided to head out of the city along with everyone else for the four day weekend. Since all of our other mini escapes have brought us to the coast we decided to head inland to a rain forest. We booked our accommodations at O'Reilly's Rain forest Retreat at the top of the Lamington National Park in Queensland. The ride to Brisbane is 2 hours. It takes 1 hour to get to the park then another hour going 30 mph on a treacherous mountain road that winds its way around the park. This road is scary! No guard rails, drops of about 1000 ft and you are literally 12" away from going off this road. Portions of the road are one way.... for two way traffic!!

The 2 years that were taken off of my life on the ride up was well worth it when we finally made it to the top! O'Reilly's was a quaint resort that reminded me of being up at Camp Fatima in New Hampshire, only MUCH more expensive! My room had a single bed, a shower stall, a toilet and that's it. No TV, no phone, nothing to do but relax and enjoy what nature had in store all around you.

Due to the rains of the Summer the trails were still muddy and slippery but we took our time and managed to do a couple of nice hikes. The rain forest was amazing. The waterfalls spectacular.

I also earned my good points of the day on Easter Sunday. Coming back up from our hike to the waterfalls we passed a group of Asian tourists. The trails are so narrow you have to give way for others to pass. I noticed an elderly couple behind the main group. They had to be in their early 70's. They were dressed like the people you see in Boston collecting cans on trash day. The guy had on water sandals (Tiva's) with socks and covered with mud. The woman had on sneakers that looked liked Keds.... zero traction, and covered with mud. There was a younger woman just in front of them and a guy in his 30's or so behind them. We gave way to let them pass and I thought to myself that they must be crazy to be hiking with that footwear and at their age. Within 20 seconds of them passing the tranquil sounds of the rain forest were shattered by screams. I knew instantly that something was wrong with the elderly couple. The three of us, Loc, Loc's sister, and myself, ran back down the trail to where the screams were coming from. When we got there my worst fears were confirmed. The couple had fallen/slipped off the trail and were holding onto roots to prevent them from falling down a slope of mud and brush that was at about a 70 degree angle and a distance of about 300 yards. If they continued their fall they most likely would have survived but due to their age, the angle, and the distance they would have had very serious injuries. The next minute was surreal. The two elderly people were screaming, the younger Asian woman was screaming, and the younger Asian guy was standing in shock. I instantly braced my right leg around a tree on the edge of the trail and grabbed the guys hand. Pulling with all of my strength he wasn't moving. He was also holding onto his wife. I was telling him to help me by using his feet. They knew two words in English 'thank you' and 'okay'. Realizing this guy was going no where, either up or down, I reached down to grab the elderly woman and pulled her up by her shoulders. She couldn't have weighed more than 90 lbs. I got her up on the trail then tried to get the guy up again but he was much heavier. Fearing I would pull his shoulder out of his socket I decided to bend down, put both arms under his shoulders, and dead lift him up onto the trail which was successful. So now everyone is safe! The 4 Asian people are thanking us profusely. I am asking them if they are 'ok'. They reply 'Thank you'. Then to my shock and horror what do they do? They CONTINUE ON THE HIKE DOWN! They were 1/4 of the way down and the trail only got steeper, more narrow, and more slippery. I was like WTF are you guys doing? You almost fell to your death or serious injury and you are continuing? Loc-Uyen and her sister said to me 'Bean, you know how us Asians are. We'll risk anything for that right photo opportunity.' We shook our heads and continued on our way back to O'Reilly's.

Mardi Gras..... Sydney Style

Patrick, Chris and Tony flew down from San Francisco on the Air New Zealand Pink flight which was marketed towards gay people going down to Sydney for the 30th Anniversary of Mardi Gras! After finding the three of them we headed to our apartment in Sydney and over the next several days we explored, dined, and partied like we were in our 20's! The parade was amazing. 2 hours of non stop top notch floats. It was at night which threw a whole different perspective onto it. After the parade was the Mardi Gras party in which 27,000 tickets were sold! Yes...27,000! The party was held in the Fox Studios in 5 different venues. We moved around between the different venues and after about 4 hours we had seen and heard enough and made our way back to Oxford Street. On Sunday we had dinner at Bondi Beach at Icebergs. One of the nicest restaurants in all of Sydney! Another highlight was doing the bridge climb with Patrick on Friday morning.

After Sydney we headed up to Brisbane for one night. We had dinner at a nice steak house with Loc-Uyen, her sister, Ellen, Caryl, and the four of us. After having a few pints after dinner we headed back to my apartment to get a good rest prior to heading to Byron Bay.

On our way to Byron we made the trek to Nimbin. It is basically a town that the Grateful Dead would have been proud of. The small town is a complete throw back to the hippie days of the 70's. Lets just say that when you are offered 'cookies' you should check to see what all of the ingredients are in them prior to eating! You could be setting yourself up for one psychedelic trip!

The remaining days were spent in Byron Bay. We went to Kings Beach, had great dinners, and made our way to the light house. We stayed at a great apartment complex 5 minutes from the main beach and the center of town.

It was VERY sad dropping off the three of them at the Gold Coast airport on Friday morning. I had a great time with them and wish they could have stayed much longer.

Thanks guys for a GREAT time, an amazing dinner at Icebergs and Patrick thank you for the bridge walk. It was something I will never forget.

Bring on Mari Grass! (That is Nimbin's answer to Sydney's Mardi Gras)

A New Year And A New Apartment

This past February I moved into a new apartment on the other side of Brisbane. The lease was up on my previous apartment and I wanted to move into something bigger and on a quieter street! After looking at about a dozen apartments all over the city I ended up getting an apartment in South Brisbane.

My new address is: 62 Cordelia Street Unit 46, South Brisbane, QLD Australia 4101

The apartment is everything I was looking for. The traffic noise is much quieter and with two bedrooms and two bathrooms I have more than enough room.

Here are some pictures to give you all a feel of it.

Bula! Welcome to Fiji

I am recently back from my 40th birthday celebration in Fiji. It was everything I was hoping for and more. It didn't start out that way though! The hotel I originally booked, a 5 star Sheraton, may have been a 5 star hotel 20 years ago but not today. They are closing down in May for a total renovation and its in desperate need of one. The location and grounds were beautiful but the rooms were very tired. After being upgraded to an ocean front room that was as bad as my original room the management said they would move me next door to the Westin Resort. Now this was a 5 star resort. If anyone has ever stayed in a Westin or a W hotel and have slept on a Heavenly Bed you know that those beds are the most comfortable beds out there. I am not sure what it is but between the pillow top, the feather pillows, and 1000 thread count duvet cover you feel as though you have no need to ever leave the room. But then again you are in Fiji and the true beauty is just beyond the door!

The resorts are beautiful. Infinity pools, spa's, great restaurants, palm trees, and a location right on the beach. I would highly recommend people to save up their vacation time and their money to make a once in a life time trip here!

My co-worker from Boston and my friend Caryl surprised me by meeting me in Fiji for the first two days of my trip!

I took two day trips out to the smaller islands by boat. One boat was a 100 ft schooner that brought me to Mystery Island where I learned how to SCUBA dive. I figured if George Bush Sr can sky dive at 80 I can SCUBA dive at 40! The second trip had me on a fast ferry that reminded me of the one that goes from Boston to Provincetown, minus the gay clientele. My destination was Beachcomber Island where the slogan is 'For those young travelers or those young at heart'. This island is a backpacker island full of 20 somethings that don't want to wait until March for Spring Break. There were also a good number of day trippers like myself who are a bit beyond our Spring Break years but overall it was a very fun island.

The rest of the time in Fiji had me relaxing by the pool, reading the final installment in the Harry Potter series, having a few frozen drinks by the pool, going to the gym daily, and being in bed by 11:00 PM all but 2 nights! This was truly a great way to ease into my next decade of life!

I did learn one downfall about traveling by yourself. I missed about 60% of my back with sunscreen on one of my daytrips and got a burn like I haven't had since I was in my teens. I had to go out and buy a surf shirt to protect myself for the rest of the trip. It is just now bubbling up and will be peeling in another day or two.

Interesting fact about Fiji is that canabolism hasn't been extinct for too long in this country!

Hope you enjoy the slide show!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.... Oy, Oy Oy!

On Saturday afternoon I went over to the Story Bridge Hotel with my friends Ian and Ellen to have a few pints in celebration of Australia Day! This was after we had just finished up 3 games of bowling, American ten pin, in which Ian kicked our butts in game one, felt confident going into game 2, put a $20 wager on the game with a double or nothing clause if there was a game 3 with me, and then proceeded to fall apart right in front of my eyes. His first score was 133 then his combined score for the next two games was 130. So after collecting my $40 in winnings from him and hearing him say that it wasn't so much losing to me as it was losing to an American we headed out in a taxi to the Story Bridge Hotel. Ian is a Scot directly from Edinburgh. He speaks with such a thick accent I can only understand about 50% of what he is saying. Think of the janitor character on the Simpsons, crank up his accent by about 25% and then you have a good idea of what Ian talks like. His girlfriend, Ellen, is from Ireland and although she has a very strong brogue I can understand her much better.

The Story Bridge Hotel is famous, or infamous depending on how you look at it, for having one of the biggest parties of the year on Australia Day. Since Australia Day fell on a Saturday this was like the 4th of July and St. Patricks Day wrapped up into one. Every Aussie citizen was out showing their patriotic pride and in the true Aussie manner this meant they were to drink more pints than one person should have within a 24 hour period! The Story Bridge Hotel isn't even a hotel! Its a pub. A huge pub with several floors and an outdoor space right on the Brisbane River. When we got there in the late afternoon there was a line of about 30 people waiting to get in. The line moved fast and as soon as we entered we looked at each other with that look like 'what is going on here?'. The scene was one from my days back in UMASS. The pub was packed to the brim, people were carrying around pitches of beer like they were 8 oz glasses and from the looks on most peoples faces they were there from the opening bell at 11:00 am. We did manage to secure a good spot outside along a railing and met a guy named Ron and his girlfriend. Ron is an infantry soldier in the Australian Army. About 30 minutes later 6 or so of his army mates showed up. They looked like they had been celebrating Australia Day for 2 days! Again each had his own pitcher, drinking it like water, and most either had their faces painted or were wearing some sort of Australian flag on some part of their body. The main chant for the day in which EVERY person of the pub joined in was 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' (yelled by 1 person) followed by 'Oy, Oy, Oy' (yelled by everyone). Then 'Aussie, Aussie' 'Oy, Oy' and finally 'Aussie' with one very loud 'Oy'. This seemed to give the patrons of the Story Bridge Hotel a common bond that can only be known if you are truly from the land down under.

Funny side note.... in asking what I thought would be a simple question that day on what the Australian National Anthem was I got three different answers from people I had asked and no one could agree 1oo%. I was told it was 'Waltzing Matilda'-and if it wasn't it should be, 'Advance Australia Fair' - which is the national anthem, and 'God Save the Queen' - which hasn't been their anthem since Australia declared its independence.

Two Deaths Two Completly Different Lives

On Monday of this week the lead story in the news down here in Brisbane was of a funeral and memorial mass going on in the neighboring country of New Zealand. New Zealand was honoring one of their own who had lost his life a week earlier to natural causes. This New Zealander was Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb to the peak of Mount Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary lived his life to the fullest and throughout his life he was a gentleman first, then a famous person.

Sir Edmund Hillary lost his life due to heart failure at the ripe old age of 88. In the years after he conquered Mt Everest he continued to conquer other famous mountains, married, had 3 children, and then gave his life to helping out the Sherpa's of Nepal. His Himalayan Trust which he founded has raised millions of dollars to help build schools and provide other services to these poor people.

What a difference 2 days makes. When I got to the office on Wednesday morning everyone was talking to each other gossiping. Wondering what was going on I was quickly informed that news had just broke that the actor, Australian born, Heath Ledger was found dead in his NYC apartment. Immediately the speculation began. He was a druggie. He was depressed. Being a pessimistic person myself at times I was surprised to find myself defending Ledger telling my coworkers that he could have died by natural causes and not by some means of self infliction. 24 hours later and after a completed autopsy there is still more confusion. The report said that death could have been brought on by an accidental overdose of prescription medication. Interesting...... is it only famous people who can die by an accidental overdose? Any other bloke would be deemed to have committed suicide.

But I am getting off the subject here. Ledger was famous for his looks and his acting. He was only 28 years old. Sir Edmund Hillary lived to be 88. I am sure Ledger was generous in his own right but he didn't live his life the way Hillary did. They are from different generations. Generations that couldn't be more opposite. Tom Brokaw wrote a book and produced at TV special called 'The Greatest Generation'. It was about the lives of people, our mothers and fathers or grandparents who lived and fought in WWII and then went on to make America and the world a great place. Ledger grew up in Generation X, maybe even a more recent generation. I lost track of what the generations are called after X. Ledger could have been as famous for his off screen heroics as Sir Edmund Hillary was but he will forever be known as the actor who left us way before his time.

Brady bunch eyes Bowl

"Brady bunch eyes Bowl." That was the headline in the sports section of the mx daily paper in Brisbane on Monday afternoon. The mx is the equivalent of the Metro daily paper that is handed out to all public transportation riders in Boston. The mx is also handed out, free, to all passengers on public trains and buses and it gives you just the right amount of news to keep you updated but not enough to give you any depth to the stories which is what the internet is then for!

I am beginning to get a complex. Since coming down to Australia the sports teams in Boston have gone on to dismantle all of thier competition. I am beginning to think that my coming down to Bris Vegas has something to do with the home town teams making their historic runs. Maybe its a sports god that has sent me down here to spread the good word about baseball via the Boston Red Sox and American Gridiron via the New England Patriots. I can tell you all one thing: the Australians that I work with and hang out with have a much better understanding and appreciation of baseball and now gridiron (I will call it football going forward!)

On Monday morning I knew I had to watch the game and once again ESPN came through for me. The game started at 6:00 am Monday morning. I got up at 5:45 am put on some coffee and sat myself down on my couch. I was able to watch in real time from the opening kick off to the final kneel down. If it wasn't for all of the soccer and cricket commercials I would have thought I was sitting in a living room in Boston. After the game I called a taxi and I was in the office by 9:30 am. That was a GREAT way to start off a work week.

Bring on the Giants! Bring on the Super Bowl.