It’s been a long time since I last wrote, it was a crazy year in 2011 and I’m glad to say that I was putting in the hard yards for a (hopefully) great 2012.

The biggest thing about 2012 is that I’m a university student again! Yes! I am so excited. I am looking forward to flashing my uni card and getting student discounts. That will certainly offset the thousands of dollars in uni fees I will be paying, upfront, at the beginning of every semester. I shouldn’t really complain because I got a government subsidy for my uni degree and I wouldn’t be able to do it without. So thank you Australian government.

I have to be honest, my brain is, right now, shrunk to the size of a peanut – prognosis? Too much beach, sun, beach, fun… helllloooooo Perth Western Australia! The beaches here are amazingly beautiful, white sand, cool clear water… The routine is pretty much, rock up to the beach, spread out beach towel (in my case, cover myself with beach towel), jump into water, come out, dry out, do beach stuff, swim again, dry out, head home, head out again at night…

Perth isn’t a London or a Barcelona for the cultural activities or nightlife (depending on what your idea of nightlife is)…

But hey, it’s been pretty darned good. Have had some boys’ toys to play with, like:

Ducati : I thought I was going to die

Jetski: Much better, because I was driving ^^

Kitesurf: No board for me, I got dragged across the sand, haha..

I’ve been spending 50% time with Australians and 50% time with Europeans, I don’t even know how… there are a lot of Europeans here on working holiday visas, all trying to extend their stay with fruit picking or employer sponsored.. The beach bum lifestyle is pretty surreal, hey…

Now, I’m going to rest my brain, have leftover sausages from the Australia Day barbeque last night, drink plenty of fluids… and errrr… probably go to the beach later today to ummm… rest? Did I mention how beautiful the beaches are here?

see ya

Shi

“Oh my god, you are down in Koh phi phi for the weekend?”, says the open-mouthed mancunian (manchester, england). “That is…so.. amazing”. I’m not quite sure if he is still here or if it is the mixture of coke, red bull and local whiskey in a plastic bucket talking. As I paint a lightning bolt over his friend’s eye, it does feel like a lifetime since weekend trips walking on cobblestones.

-30:00h

I am trying to hide the silly grin on my face as I push my stuff into my bag.

-24:00h

Into a plane, off the plane, into a minivan, into a hotel on the main strip of patong phuket, trying to ignore the go-go bars and neon lights on the main strip, stare longingly at hotel pool, get some sleep.

-16:00h

The air on the morning ferry to Koh Phi Phi is charged with happy excitement from travellers who have been fed Leonardo di Caprio’s Beach and like me, are anticipating Adventure. The silly grin on my face is out in the open now.

-15:00h

Agent B turns up, fit as a fiddle after 1 month of climbing in Tonsai.

-14:00h

Agent B is complaining about how Koh Phi Phi is not as good as Tonsai and after much pleading from me, he comes with me on the boat tour to Maya Bay.

-9:00h

Our boat is boarded by a pair of hairy pirates looking for food. I jump off the boat, only to look up and see a monkey jumping off the boat on top of me. I scream like a little girl, it lands next to me in the surf and everyone bursts out laughing. I am fed up of being terrorized by furry thieves and scream at a monkey charging at me. He takes one look at the furious hairless lunatic and backs off.

-8:00h

We are snorkeling, it’s the Spanish girls’ first time and I am happy, darting between coral formations and spying on the fat purple moray eel curled up beneath us.

-7:00h

A happy chinese tourist joins our group jumping photo at Maya Bay. She takes a photo with me before leaving. I’m a celebrity, haha…

-6:00h

We are cruising through a lagoon with crystal clear waters and mountains that float in the ocean and go straight up into the sky.

-3:30h

The pad thai, green curry and nutella banana pancakes are happily sitting at the bottom of my stomach.

-3:00h

Irish Paul and Lu from the boat tour run up to us! Come join us, all of us from the hostel are at the Raggae Bar.

-1:00h

Lu from Holland is telling me about the full moon party on Koh Lawang that they are going to. She is the oldest of the group, she says, she is 26 and she wants to do all of this before she gets old and can’t keep up anymore. We watch the muay thai fighters high kick each other, bodies slamming into the ground while the white boys circle the ring and eye up their chances of making it in a fight. Agent B has disappeared.

-0:30h

Agent B magically reappears while we are eating toasted ham and cheese sandwiches at the 7-11. He got a thai massage and it was great, he says.

+1:00h

The young englishman who was knocked out cold in the Raggae Bar Muay Thai ring confirms that it was a kick to the head and not to the chest. His opponent, a hefty irishman and former boxer had unleashed a flurry of precisely aimed blows before the finish, a kick to the head that sent the boy unconscious to the floor of the ring and the locals frantically taking off his protective headgear and shinguards trying to revive him. A tense 5 minutes passed before he got to his feet and walked off the ring.

+2:00h

Agent B and Mancunian are getting “hello sailor” looks from the many young european ladies flitting around Koh Phi Phi. Hanging out with me (the obligatory female friend) has given them a “certificate of goodness” stamped on their foreheads. Or stamped on their derrieres, judging from the direction of the admiring looks that they are getting.

+11:00h

Feeling the sand and shell between my toes. Water is too choppy to snorkel with the black tip sharks. But it’s good to be out in the sun.

+16:00h

“Maman, je veut une ballon noir de le singe” The ferry is full of people.

+18:00h

One of the local girlfriends of the old farangs is staring at me while I eat my noodles and sit with my earphones on.

+20:00h

I am getting “hello hello” looks from old farangs in the airport terminal. Ergh.

+22:00h

Snoozing in the plane. Good night.

Hello!

It’s been interesting being in perth because I lived here for 4 years and I was last here almost 10 years ago. In short, perth has changed, but not by much. The same shops are still in the same place and there are some new buildings with some very nice (and expensive) things now, Perth is the big city to the Kalgoorlie mines and the off-shore oil rigs and they get paid pretty good there. Anyway, University of Western Australia (UWA) campus is still looking good, king’s park still has the best views of perth and I still can’t be bothered to go down to Fremantle..haha.

We had some hot weather while I was there, 40 C at night! Also for some strange reason West Australian guys are bigger than guys in sydney, the guys look like they eat 2 T-bone steaks in a day, wrestle kangaroos, catch big fish, surf big waves and drive big white trucks. Actually that last sentence describes the guys I know in Perth (hee hee)

But Perth is still the same – hot, dry, quiet and with amazingly beautiful beaches. These past 2-3 weeks have felt HUGE, especially because I’ve sold my stuff, packed my bags and left sydney and australia. I’m now in Malaysia and 2010 is a bit vague, so I am so sorry if I haven’t written a reply to some of the emails I’ve received! I’m still sorting through this culture change thing and all the other things that make up life… but I hope to meet up some time, some place

Also… a new video from Sydney-Perth, the Gold Coast vid is pretty hard to top with the rocker boys, skateboarding, dancers (heehee) and a gorgeous waterfall Errrr…in my defense, for the video.. I did go a little bit nutty halfway through the train trip – living in a train seat for days makes a person go loco!

x

Shi

Trip to the Gold Coast was crazy partly because of the xmas and new year’s celebrations but definitely big thanks to the family who took us in as one of their own!

I’ve been coughing up my lungs since before new year’s eve, hanging out on windy beaches didn’t help So I’m impressed that I even managed to make this vid, my head is still jumbled up…I’m sure I’ll appreciate it once I stop coughing, sweating and shivering :p

What I didn’t get to fit into the video were the numerous times that someone would whip out a guitar (guitars…plural, all kinds, all sizes, electric, acoustic, ukelele..) and just start acoustic jam sessions. Music always playing from some room in the house. No surfing vids because bringing a camera out into the surf is more grief than it’s worth.

Anyway, enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lPVr9AB5kQ

x
Shi

ps: song is “the modern age”, the Strokes

It’s been a fun few days, brought around a visiting friend in Sydney.

Best to view to the video before youtube takes off the music. My fault really…I didn’t have any good ideas for songs so used a very popular one. Would like to do more vids, as I have a few more stops coming up in the next few months. Also it’s a video diary for myself, for when I age disgracefully (not a typo). I have photos and stuff that are scattered all over globe from the past few years but nothing beats the memories in your head..however the vids and pics definitely help me remember them!

Hope you enjoy.

x

Shi

Why, thank you, my english is perfectly fine. How’s yours?

Welcome to another aussie summer!

Can’t really complain though. Tis good to share with others, good karma and all that.

Heading up to the Gold Coast for xmas & new year… bring on the bogans! I mean..errr… the beach. And surf. And even crazier crowds.. haha…

Merry christmas,

Shi

Hmm. Summer. I think all this sunshine, beach, warm weather and walking around in shorts has killed my ability to elucidate my thoughts in written form. So here goes. Sunny. Nice. Beach. Snorkel. Fish. Swim. Jump. Happy. Sculpture by the Sea (again). Tired.

More here.

x

Shi

In hindsight, the trip to Barcelona, Costa Brava, Perpignan and Girona turned out well. I ate and drank myself silly because the food is so good, the architecture is amazing in Barcelona and I found my Costa Brava was a quiet beautiful part of the Catalan region.

Gorging on tapas, sangria and waffles with chocolate sauce, Barcelona is kaleidoscope of Gaudis and Picassos, Costa Brava is white sand clear water and apartments, Girona is a scenic small town with a big church and red bridge, Perpignan is a cool little town, also where Picasso and his mistress ran away to escape her husband and his mistress who was also having an affair with someone else! what an adulterous couple! haha.. It also has a big old castle of the Kings of Majorca

Enjoy the pics, tells more than I can in this email

Shi

ps: everything looks good in hindsight heehee