The Train to New Dehli

I’m getting to know the trains of the world. I’ve been in 6 countries so far and I’ve used trains to get around everywhere but Canada. Indian trains are the most unusual by far.

The Australian Open

Hooray! The Aussie Open is just about here. For the enthusiastic sports arbitrager (yours truly) that means an excellent chance to build up my savings again. So, I made a deal with Doc. If he hangs around with me here in Australia until the AO (starts on the 18th), I’ll go with him to India.

Cricket!!!

If there is one thing more than any other that is alien to Yanks visiting the Empire it is cricket. (Yeah, I know it isn’t the Empire any more, but how else to describe the countries involved?) Tea time is odd. Driving on the wrong side of the road is odd. Liters, Kilograms and the Imperial gallon — all odd. But for outright mysterious, nothing beats cricket.

Holidays in Oz and Katoomba

Call me a geographical bigot. I like my Christmas and New Years with snow. I suppose it worked out for the best though, with the warm weather and sunshine, Christmas down under doesn’t bring up the homesickness and yearning for Christmas past that it might if it looked at all like Oklahoma. It’s been in the mid-70s all week… Ho ho ho.

Goodbye Darwin

Well, I’m done with Darwin. The rain quit and it’s been in the 90s since I got here. But the camper van lease is going to expire and I have to get it back to Sydney. The Scots, Mac and Johnny, caught a plane yesterday for Edinburgh. After all the back and forth, they decided to head home in time for Christmas with their families in Scotland. Before they left we took a boat trip on the Adelaide river to see some crocodiles.

Darwin, Australia

Americans think Australia is near the south pole. I know I did. I think it has to do with how our maps are drawn. Actually, Darwin (northern tip of Australia) is less than a thousand miles from the equator. It’s much closer the the equator than, say, Florida in the US.

Alice Springs

Halfway to Darwin! Alice Springs is a little (about 30,000 people) town/city near the middle of the continent. As small as it is compared to what we in the US would call a city, it’s a refreshing change from the reddish desert. They have grass. It’s a weird place, as far as I can tell the population is half tourists or ‘blow throughs’, half settled Aussies (and aboriginals) and half international. They have a significant number of Asians in the mix.

Outback Australia

Take a look at the satellite image below. Notice the very few green spots. Now, imagine driving from Melbourne (lower green spot) all the way north to Darwin (upper green spot). The outback is almost all the stuff between. The color on the satellite picture is pretty much the color of the landscape. Yellow, brownish red. Dusty, dry, sometimes too hot to breathe.

Women Suck

What’s the phrase? “Act in haste, repent at leisure.” I get back from my jaunt with Jack (to the outback and his marijuana operation) and Claire goes ballistic! I’m all chatty about his enterprising attitude and how Australia seems to be more liberal about marijuana laws and she comes back with something like, “I don’t want to see that bloke, or have him in the apartment, and you shouldn’t see him ever again!” — All that in the high-pitched, righteous anger only women can do well.

Outback Marijuana

If you are going to visit the outback in Australia, prepare yourself for a long, bumpy, dusty ride. This is like Texas with the scrubby bushes and rocky ground. You really get the feeling that mistakes could be fatal.