new years, canberra, my korean (boy)friends

Here are more pictures!

me and sung and bumjo and flinders!

me and the boys

i made papaya salad, laap gai, and bad sticky rice for my friends.

the beach at coogee where a hammerhead shark was spotted the day before

emma eating dim sum for the first time ever!

i rode this motorcycle that went really fast

ITS A KOALA!!!!

i went kangaroo hunting

i met a lao guy at the national museum of australia

chun dressed as the speaker of the house at the old parilment building in canberra

a replica of the HMS endeavor, the ship captain cook sailed into the sydney harbour in 17something

claire with fireworks

fireworks!

claire on new years eve

emma on new years eve

a view of downtown from darling harbor

I’m heading back to Bangkok in a few hours… and then meeting Van and Amanda at the airport on Friday!!! Horray!

we went to the blue mountains

They didnt really seem that blue… to me.

But here are some pictures!

the 3 sisters.. and the 3 sisters!

a meteorologist, a nurse, and a librarian walk into a bar….

I just finished re-reading “The Songlines“.  Having only read that, Utz, and The Viceroy of Ouidah, I may venture to say I think Bruce Chatwin is one of the greatest writers I have ever read.

He has a reputation for not accurately representing real people or events.  This is of no consequence to me.  It’s the author’s impressions that make stories interesting in the first place.

The first time I read “The Songlines”, I never finished the 2nd part.  Mostly because he just started transcribing parts of his diary, which I didn’t much like.  However, on the second go, I kept remarking to myself “This book is so fucking good.”.  Maybe it’s because I was reading it in Australia.  Maybe it’s because he is an amazing writer.  I don’t know. But I want to tell everyone I know and everyone I meet about this book.

I hate Paul Theroux, and most other travel writers, because I find them unbearably self conscience and on occasions, misogynistic.  While Chatwin does tends toward borderline hyper self-conscience, I appreciate his descriptions of women, and people in general, as a woman myself.

I think there must be some connection with this, and his homosexuality. His books aren’t outright “gay”, but are written with more compassion than most books by male authors, I would say.

Basically, I really like “The Songlines”.

Anyway, I leaving Australia tomorrow.  I have done quite a lot while in this country.  Including:

Visiting Uluru, Alice Springs, camping under the stars

Swimming in the Ocean

Walking in the Blue Mountains

Visiting the Powerhouse Museum and the Maritime Museum, in Sydney

Walking around the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens

Seeing the Harbour Bridge

Going to Canberra

Visiting the National Library, the Old Parliment House, The National Museum of Australia.

Going to Tidbinbilla National park, seeing kangaroos, and a koala.

Walking around a mountain in Canberra

Eating a steak

Drinking beer and wine

Watching the “Australia” movie

and so much more!