Home cold home!

26/06/2012

Home sweet home!!

Or should I say 'home cold home'? Cause that's certaintly what it feels like! Stuff all the complaining I did about the warm weather in Bali, I'd defs take that over the weather here!! *Trying not to shiver/sitting near the fire* (No, I'm sure I'm not being overdramatic)

Plane ride uneventful. After customs were sure I wasn't carrying dangerous items such as a gun, a knife, drugs...or....god forbid.... a fork!!!! we were allowed to leave. Once again.... coldness-ness-ness-ness-ness-ness-ness-ness-ness etc etc :)

Umm... interesting massages they have...

6:47 AM (Bali Time)

Imagine: Blaring noises, light everywhere, freezing air, and eyes that just can't open. Ergh, feels just like a school day! But no, we're going hiking!!! Turns out the noise was from my alarm clock, which is the same one I use to get up for school (therefor the school-like) feel... *closing eyes*.... *slight snoring* ergh I have to get up now...

8:52 AM (Bali Time)

Turns out hiking wasn't a bad idea! After my brain got the idea that it couldn't go back to its sleeping state, walking was actually amazing! I may have slipped down a few slopes and almost lost my foot in the mud, but other then that: awesome! I could spend hours talking about all the rich dutch architecture, and their impact on Bali, or Indonesia itself, blah, blah, blah .... but I won't go into that ;)

11:52 AM (Bali Time)

La la la la la sleeeping *snore snore*

1:49 PM (Bali Time)

Most awkward (and only) massage I've ever had... I don't think massages are supposed to feel like someone is feeling your butt, are they?

7:58 PM (Bali Time)

Arrgh almost time to go home... only 2 more days!! Totally not gonna get un-used to being totally looked after all day long. All the Balinese are soo polite! And there are so many jobs! There are even jobs to open doors in supermarkets!! Well anyway, sleeping-ness now :)

Hey

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i finally figured out how to pot!!!

(i mean post i couldnt be bothered to fix it)

soooo......(awkwardness)..........

......(more awkwardness)................

dont really have anything to say

but we should all catch up at one stage or another during the holidays

xxoxoxoxo

Jemma

Wednesday

Still chillin’ in Phuket. Thoughts of Wednesday. Btw- I fed a baby elephant on the way up to the Buddha but I forgot to write it down. He was very cute and his trunk was very soft. I peeled the bananas for him but when I wasn’t fast enough he’d just grab them off me and squish the skins off with his tongue. So very cute!!!

11:42 am Phuket time

Urghhh… I feel disgusting. Head splitting head-ache, throbbing joints and bones, stuff dripping down the back of my throat and my stomach is slightly nauseas. I only woke up at 9 am but have been comatose reading my book untill now.

1:23 pm Phuket time

Quote a billboard in Chalong (pronounced sha-lom):

“Don’t judge by physical appearance alone, always use condom”.

The physical appearance of what?

1:47 pm Phuket time

What was that movie that’s the alien agency or something? The one with the memory wiping pen and Will Smith? It’s really bugging me because it’s in Thai in the Natural Restaurant im in right now. Grrrr….. stupid forgetful mind.

2:22 pm Phuket time

Yummy lunch at a suspicious looking restaurant. Steamed fish curry; a meat dip with vegetables; eggplant salad; and a crab dish. Delis! I’m pretty sure the waitress was a boy (he/she was wearing make up though???)

2:38 pm Phuket time

Ok. Dear sun,

Would you be so kind as to detain from shining at the present time? I would much appreciate it as you are making me friggin’ sweat.

Sincerely,

Ariel

3:18 pm Phuket time

This is the old town Phuket. It’ s amazing (better if it wasn’t so flippin’ hot). The houses are tall and architecturally interesting. It is very vibrant and colourful. WOW!

4:00 pm Phuket time

I just bought a Thai silk scarf. It’s… well… it’s…. it’s amazing. It’s loosely woven with iridescent blues, turquieses, greens, reds, pinks and purlples. It smells delicious- like a midnight drea oasis in a sweltering foreign land. It runs through your fingers and it really is “smooth as silk” (Thai airways tagline)

4:48 pm tagline

So what are you doing for the next 10 years? The people of Phuket decided to build, for no apparent reason, a 45ft high statue of the Buddha on the tallest hill. What ever. It sort of rates up there in weirdness with the guy down my road who spent 30 years building a train track to get to the top of his block. Awesome views in both of these places though!

6:09 pm Phuket time

Drinky drink at the sunset bar over looking kata beach. Magic!

10:01 pm Phuket time

Erghhhh! Sick again. Left mum and dad to go out to dinner on their own whilst I stayed in the apartment. Mum brought me back sticky rice but it was disgustingly salty. L

Miss you guys!!!

Nothing in particular...

So hey guys! Im sorry- im really behind in the blog but the weather here makes it hard to do anything but sleep or read. Anyway… im stalling. Here’s the thoughts on Tuesday…

7:00 am Phuket time

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

10:00 am Phuket time

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

11:00 am Phuket time

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

9:41 pm Phuket time

Sorry brain drain! I got up late. Had a long breakfast reading. Reluctantly moved to the pool. Slid into the water. Got out. Dried off.  Read. Went back to apartment. Updated blog (I’m a bit behind). Walked 500 m to restaurant overlooking the ocean. Ate a wonderful lunch (glass noodles steamed with prawns and tamarind ginger sauce; seafood fried rice; and crab with yellow curry sauce. Walked down the road. Got an hour long massage. Walked to markets. Sopped. Walked home. Swum. Watched sunset. Walked down to hotel restaurant. Ate cheeseburger (don’t judge… yep you’re judging). Caught lift up to room (finally working- though mum and I didn’t let dad know all day!!! Funny). Wrote in journel. Read. Slept.

9:43 pm Phuket time

Btw- I had a cheeseburger tonight as I felt the need to remind myself of the comforts of home to sharpen my awareness of the present . basically I ate some bad food so I appreciate the good food more!

10:01 pm Phuket time

Somehow the masseuse today managed to find every single one of ticklish spots on my body. And then she proceeded poke, prod and squeeze them! Just when I thought I had it under control and I wasn’t going to squirm, giggle or squeal- she’d go and find another one!!

Cigarettes and holes

Day.... 7?

10:56 am (Bali Time)

I have come to the conclusion that the Balinese are not exactly the 'keep your clothes on or you will sin'! type that I originally thought they were... music like 'sex on the beach' and 'I loved last night, lets do it over again!', blasts through my sister's virgin ears (cause mine arent.... kidding! I think?) Wooden penii everywhere (literally!!) in different shapes, sizes and even colours!!!( totally thinking I should go back to that lady and buy some for suveniers!) and sooo many stickers in the shops such as: I <3 dick, I <3 pussy, and John/Jack/Bob/Bill/Etc = gay. Seriously? Do they really expect tourists to buy that?

2:19 pm (Bali Time)

We are in a hole. A hole far worse then Nambour. Yes, I didn't think that was possible either. But it's true. Dad had the brilliant idea to look up online where we would stay for the next 4 days... and after driving through mini villages for an hour before we got to our hotel. A clean and not 200 yr old hotel in the middle of dirty little houses with broken roads, the smell of shit everywhere and villagers trying to survive...mmmm.... brilliant dad, brilliant! But the actual villa is amazing! The bathroom is bigger then my whole room at home!

I'm so glad we have our own taxi driver, Eddie. He may smoke in the car (disgusting, I can still feel my throat burning!) but at least he has seatbelts on every seat! Especially great when flying around everywhere! Some of these taxi drivers (he doesn't always drive us around, so we have to get other taxis) are sooo dodgy.

And that is not to mention some of the stall owners!! Every 5 sec (literally, not kidding) someone offers you something! My most basic vocabulary now consists of 'no thank you'. It gets more creepy - one dude ('bout 50) pulled on my arm, looked me up and down, and said, 'hey sweetie, you want to buy something' in a reaaaly creepy voice. Not quite what we bargained for!

Monday!!! btw blogging is so friggin' hard when the whole website is in Thai...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ELLIOTT!!!
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR BABY!!!
I LOVE YOU!!! (A lot)

Now that’s over with (no offense e) down to some serious blogging. Sorry I’ve missed a few days but I’ll still post each day separately…

MONDAY

10:00 am Phuket time

Slow start this morning- I’m only finishing breakfast now. Btw every morning I look out onto the street- which is filled with crazy scooterists. Ligit- I have seen girls texting while driving them; fixing their hair; checking makeup in the mirror; holding kids (I don’t get it but the adults are always wearing helmets and the kids aren’t… anyway); and singing. You don’t even want to know what the dudes are doing…

10:17 am Phuket time

Tom tom – the pushy, chatty taxi driver who is taking us to kata beach (he just won’t SHUT UP about his three “beautiful, intelligent, responsible, amazing, pretty, very nice, lovely daughters who are top of their grade at school”. Yeah he’s impressed. And then my parents started talking… !!! hehehe)

10:15 am Phuket time

QUOTE: “not the first but most talked about steakhouse in town”. Ummm… I wonder if it’s talked about for good or bad reasons? Or maybe it’s just because people see the sign…

10:30 am Phuket time

Kata noi isn’t the same as kata beach! It’s over a massive hill and down a set of stairs which lead to not sand but 2 meters into the ocean. (translation- the taxi driver dropped us at the wrong place and I’m annoyed that I had to walk over a massive hill in the heat)

11:08 am Phuket time

We all look very happy right now (although looks can be deceiving…). We are on three beach chairs on the long, wide kata beach reading our books in the shade. (people keep coming up to me just when I’ve gotten to a good bit trying to sell me stuff)

12:45 pm Phuket time

Me and mum just looked at around the shops and I purchased a sundress. I’m still looking for a second bikini and pressies for you guys. I found some very nice, pink leather broque shoes! NOT quite big enough for socks though…

2:00 pm Phuket time

WOW! Another amazing lunch- me: a beef and prawn salad with lemongrass and lime dressing; dad: a green curry with local seafood; and mum: noodles with a red curry sauce as well as a green sauce with vegetables. YUM!

2:03 pm Phuket time

Forgot to mention- we had our first desserts in Phuket today- tempura fried bananas and icecream and a chocolate soufflé. MMMMMMMMMMMM

5:19 pm Phuket time

Back “home” for catching up on blog, reading and sleeping.

8:10 pm Phuket time

Dinner and a quick look at shops on the way. Fried duck, garlic and pepper prawns and panang vegetables with a very weird sherbert drink (don’t judge- I had to try it. I was sooooo curious!)

9:04 pm Phuket time

This trip has made me realize four things:

One- how much I apprieciate my friends and their company (I know- not cheesy/corny at all you guys…)

Two- how good massages are

Three- what a difference being able to understand the language makes to everyday living

And four- exactly where and how much my body can friggin’ sweat!!!

Miss you guys so much!!!

(Btw, I’m going really well with finding pressies…)

Wooden Penii (plural of penis)

16/06/2012

The 2nd Day:

A beautiful 4 am start to the day (6 am in Australia, but still!). Already about 25 degrees... awesomeness. Went for a beach walk, saw the sun rise etc etc (hehe I thought it was written ect ect until I was marked wrong for it on a maths paper....) Breakfast: FREAKING AMAZING. I have never seen sooo much food in my life! The resort we were staying at was sooo totally made for the tourists... they had programs like water arobics! I was thinking how bored those old fat white Europeans must be to do water arobics for two hours, until I realized how bored I must be to be watching the old fat white Europeans do water arobics for two hours. (but hey! I was sunbathing... there was still purpose!)

Mum and dad found us our own driver, so at 1:30 we met Eddie, a 50 yr old father of 2 children and excellent english speaker (right) from Java. He took us to Seminyak, to the place we are now staying. All we did that day was go to a woolworths type place (forgot what they're called. Oh wait, its a supermarket! Right,  I knew that...) Everything is SO freaking cheap! There's this stuff called essential oil (awesome stuff) which costs like $20 for a little bottle in Australia, cost $1.50 here! And it included this nice smelling soap stuff and a wooden bowl! (too bad we couldn't buy it... can't bring wood back! Damn them!!!)

17/06/2012

The 3rd Day:

Now this is where it gets interesting....

In the morning we went on this awesome rafting tour:

With this crazy Balinese dude who kept steering us under waterfalls. After that we went to Ubud (awesome place, staying there tomorrow!) which is the artist village (woodwork, stone work, silver mainly). Well, if you can call it an 'art' village. I was casually looking around and saw some cool bracellets, when a lady basically pulled me off my feet. She shoved something into my hand. 'Umm, nice... ' I told her. I was confused; they were definitely key rings, and wooden, about the size of my finger. 'Great gift! For friends!' she told me in a strong accent. I looked again. Oh shit. In my hand lay about 7 wooden penises. 'For friend, for friend! Gift for friend!' 'Ummm.... thanks. I don't want, sorry.' 'No, no, have!! Only 5000 rupiah! Have have!'. That is the point where I ran away. Literally ran.

Yes I finally figured out how to add!

20/06/2012

Well...umm.... hello. I'm not sure exactly how this thingy works, so I'll just write, or type, or whatever:

Bali in one word: Impossible

See, there is one word!

Therefore it is possible, but what I'm really trying to say is that describing Bali in one word is impossible.

So we got here (via airplane, if that wasn't obvious), first thing that happens: two guys holding our suitcases. Dad's reaction: what the hell are you doing with our suitcases?! But they just ignore him and start walking. We, totally weirded out and not knowing what to do, helplessly followed them. Turns out their job was to get people through the line faster! After we took back our suitcases they just stood there. Oh right, they wanted money.

As soon as we got out of the airport doors towards the taxi sign, we were bombarded with at least 5 taxi drivers. We chose the one that was standing closest to us (wow, seems amazing right? To take the one closest to us?) He said '500,000 rupiah'. What the hell? 500,000? Turns out that that's $50. For the 30 min it was to take, waaay to expensive. But apperently you were supposed to 'bargain with them'. Dad ended up gettting it down to 250,000 rupiah, which was $25. Whilest  driving through the streets I realized that Bali is not all they say it's cut out to be. Not the things you see on the ads, with huge luxurious mansions and hotels. No, there was rubbish everywhere, and they have absolutely no traffic control. What is supposed to be a two lane road turns out to be 4 lanes, with motorcyles everywhere. It's a mix between a first and third world country (Is that a second world? Wait, is that even possible?) Either way, people were much more poor then we thought they would be (what I thought they would be, anyway).

But we eventually (after 40 min, which would have taken 10 on Australian roads) got to our hotel. Now that was a mansion. So freaking amazing. But to get to that, we had to get through the gates. Two policemen were standing there. One took a beepy thingy and checked under our car, the other one opened the front of the car near the engine, and the back of the car near the boot. Apperently there had been a terrorist attack recently, which had put everyone on edge. It didn't actually come from the Balinese themselves though, who were Hindu Dharma, which is a mix of hindu, buddhism, and some native religion. Overall that meant they believed violence was a sin. No, the attack came from a big muslim community over in Java. Anyway, having arrived in the hotel, a man opened our door, and for ladies were waiting, two on either side, one with a basket full of frangipanies to put in our hair! There was another man standing next to a gong, which he sounded as we walked past. As we got to the reception area (once again: huge) a lady offers us free drinks! Awesome-ness.....

This is part of what it looks like:

There were squirrels in the trees (palm trees? No, I didn't think that was possible either), and the weather: amazing. The whole time the temp has been between 25 degrees (night) to 30-33 degrees (day). And one last thing for that day: the music at the hotel's beach bar (OMG yes, they had a beach bar). Beautiful intelligent words like 'I wanna have sex on the beach' and 'lets do last night over again' reached our virgin ears as we sat down. (sarcasm for those that didn't realize in their dilusioned [is that a word?] minds). So that was the first day! (Holy crap, just realized how much I wrote...mmmm.... )

Pee pee island hehehe

HELOO!!!!!!! (whoops I mean- HELLOOO!!!)

Arghh1 so tired- flat out after Sunday.

Here’s the thoughts:

8:01 am Phuket time

Even though it’s spelt Phi Phi- it’s pronounced pee pee. You know like urine. (go on. Giggle I dare you.)

8:19 am Phuket time

The advantages of being short that I’ve found so far-

1-      I can sit in the front of the cab without the shaded bit of the window blocking my view.

2-      I can fit into all the Thai clothes (except for jeans- they’re too long)

That’s kinda all I can think of right now but I will continue to add snippets to this epic list. There are so many good things about being on the smaller side of perfect- I just haven’t found them all yet!!

9:45 am Phuket time

Ahhh... waiting. I wonder how long the driver will be? We’re sitting in the taxi outside a hotel waiting for some more people to join the trip.

10:30 am Phuket time

WOW! This is better than a roller coaster this boat ride! It’s free (ish) and it lasts for over an hour! My stomach keeps dropping and bouncing around as we hurtle over waves on our way to Phi Phi. It’s amazing! Dad is super pale though

11:08 am Phuket time

Lagoon, lagoon, oh you make me swoon… (it rhymes doesn’t it?) . anyway! This place is magic! The boats all come in through a small gap in the cliffs that surround the lagoon and then into the clear turquoise water. the hills (are alive, with the sound of music) look like they are covered in soft, green fur. I got to jump off the boat- YAY!

11:21 am Phuket time

Ok! Bumpy boat again (don’t’ you think I could make a song out of that? Bumpy boat, bumpy boat, oh bumpy, bumpy, bumpy, bumpy boat. Ba dum dum dum…)

12:37 pm Phuket time

LUNCH! Green curry chicken, tom yam goong soup with seafood, crispy pork and onion and stir fried veges. Mmmmmm…. And served up with the best view on earth- moody islands partially concealed by sea mist, rising abruptly out of the never-ending blue ocean that is only fractionally darker than the clear sky above. Coupled with an infinite beach with white, glowing sand.. the only questions are- when can I move here? What bikinis to bring? And whether to drink coconut milk or baileys every day?!!!

1:22 pm Phuket time

Snorkeling was a little bit disappointing as the corals looked dead and the fish bland but the water was lovely- even dad got in!

2:03 pm Phuket time

Bumpy boat, bumpy boat, oh… yep that’s getting annoying fast

3:00 pm Phuket time

Last stop on a deserted beach, devoid of development save the wooden and straw bar! Dad was ecstatic!

4:18 pm Phuket time

Bumpy b…. oh shut up Ariel.

7:09 pm Phuket time

Home! After a car journey back to hotel and now out to din dins

8:02 pm Phuket time

Something I forgot to mention- another advantage of being short is the windscreen on the speedboat is the right height to black any overly enthusiastic waves. Something that affected my parents profoundly (in other terms- they got attacked by water!)

9:40 pm Phuket time

Dinner was ok- not memorable. Bbq whole snapper, green curry omelet and stir fried morning glory. Mum and dad had a bit of a tizz after and the room was awfully silent going to sleep.

10:01 pm Phuket time

Also forgot to mention- one of the guides was VERY friendly towards me (even mum and DAD commented). I made the mistake of smiling at him once and then he followed me around and pulled me very close when I shook his hand at the end!! *ARGGHHH*

So that’s all I did on Sunday- lots of fun!!

Miss you guys xxx

SHOPPING CONT.

Hello!!!

It’s friggin’ 30 something degrees here (haha I heard it’s around 14 back home!!) and even sitting inside- I’m sweating.

Anyway- haven’t updated this for a few days so here I go!

Continuing from last post (Saturday).

1:03 pm Phuket time

My feet are sore (I have been walking around for the whole day). I think I should try this fish spa thing…

1:16 pm Phuket time

“you light up my world like nobody …” what the hell are they playing One Direction in Asia for? Don’t they have anyone better?

1:26 pm Phuket time

OMG! That was a bad idea. Fish eating the dead skin off your feet is an experience- just not a pleasant one! This is infinitely the most disgusting thing I’ve done in my whole life! It feels like pins and needles X1000000000000!!!!

1:27pm Phuket time

Well… I ticked my feet being eaten by hundreds of evil fish off my bucket list. Never have to do that again.

4:29 pm Phuket time

Sex on the beach.

Cocktail or reality???

Now don’t freak out. I’m not pregnant (or at least I hope not… elliott?). so it all began when me and mum decided to go to the beach for a massage… (with a happy ending?)

So we found these two ladies, Dim and Ya, but I knew something was up when they pulled the curtains around the massage beds. I washed my feet and lay face down on the towel to find my dress being pulled up from bottom. She got my dress off then flipped me onto my stomach again to suddenly undo the top of my bikini. I was like “whatever. She probably knows what she’s doing”, so I just lay there. Then her hands started working on me and I was thinking “mmm… that feels nice… yeah my shoulders are sore… mmm … what the hell are you doing to my head? Why are you scratching it?”. Then her hands slid down my body and suddenly she has me gripped between her legs (you know- like mounting me?). “ummm… ok… that feels nice (she was stroking my back- a weakness of mine. Tickle or stroke my back softly for a while and you can get me to just about anything for you) … WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! That’s my arse lady…. Why are you kneading… nope, now you’re squeezing it... ARGHHH!!! No… no… stay away from … ok… now you’re pushing me… this feels awkward (I was being pushed up and down the bed- like groping it) … yep that’s my arse again… ok! Sorry but the inside of my leg is off limits (mostly)… WOAH!! You’re going way higher than necessary… that’s not my arse…. arFGHHHHH!!! That’s my vagina. Could you please refrain from stroking it?”

So yeah. That’s why you shouldn’t go for massages from two suspicious looking, 50-60 year old, fat ladies on a beach in Phuket. Sex on the beach isn’t just a cocktail (excuse the pun)

5:00 pm Phuket time

So we walked back to the hotel (after my ordeal), had a rest, got dressed and went down to foyer to wait for Kut (taxi driver remember?)

5:11pm Phuket time

Only in Thailand would the police pull up a helmet-less scooterer but wave through a ute with 6 people in the tray!

6:02 pm Phuket time

OMG! These markets are huge (the night markets in Phuket town)!!!! I’m so excited!

8:16 pm Phuket time

WOAH!! Tired now. 2 hours of pure bargain shopping heaven- not that mum or dad thought so. Together they bought 3 things and I ended up with 10!! Also- there is so much stuff here- if you guys want anything in particular- please tell me!! If you don’t you may end up with something of my choosing… (be scared- very scared).

That’s all for Saturday!!

Miss you guys xxx

SHOPPING!!!

so... blogging.
definition: good excuse to escape the heat indoors!!!

anyway- today was mass day of shopping. at the end i got: a colourful, floucy skirt; 4 basic singlet tops; purple flip flops; a lacy dress that looks gross on me; purple high shorts; and a new flowery bikini!!!!
all in all- i think i was successful!
now. the thoughts of my crazy mind...

8:51 am Phuket time
I... NEED ... COFFEE... NOW!!! (and by that i dont mean what ever they serve in the hotel breakfast room)

9:00 am Phuket time
ok- here's the thing.
i've decided...

I'm a rambutan. through and through. (if you're not sure of what this actually is- look it up). wild, crazy and zany on the outside; sweet, surprisingly nice and juicy in the centre with a very hard heart!!! Dad's a durian (which are banned in all spanish airports). it's spiky and mean looking on the outside but when prepared properly can be amazing and life changing (although being an aquired taste). MUM IS A MANGO

10:20 am Phuket time
Father looks pallid. whether it is from the heat, a rare unknown illness or the thought of a WHOLE DAY SHOPPING im' not sure

12:30pm Phuket time
so this whole shopping centre is a bit of a dissapointment (Jung Ceylon in Patong). really expensive and nbot very good quality :(

(sorry folks- got to go to dinner. will finish this later!!!)
miss you xxx

Wow! Maybe exploring wasn’t such a great idea…

Holy moly! It’s friggin’ 30 degrees here.

And of course I agreed to go “exploring” the nearby town-ish thing.

BAD IDEA!!!

Soo hot. When we eventually got to the restaurant for lunch (which had amazing food… mmmmmm J), I had a huge sweat patch. Yeah I know- smexy right!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM. 49. ACHEIVEMENT!

Anyway, the thoughts and pictures of today so far (I’m going to the night markets tonight!!! Excited!!!)

7:11 am Phuket time

The room is nice but mum wants to see the beach so we are hopefully moving to a higher up arpartment soon. (our hotel- Phuket Ocean Best Western- is built into a hill and so all the apartments are scattered with stairs connecting them)

7:14 am Phuket time

A cute kitten greeted me on my walk down to the reception for another towel. (no kidding I swear there are cats everywhere!!)

7:20 am Phuket time

As im so impatient- I got bored waiting for dad to finish his shower so I went to walk around the hotel (no mean feat) and take some photos. Well I’ll tell you, Miss Quin would be proud of me- so many stairs!!! The whole top couple of rows of apartment are being renovated but I only realised when I was walking around them so yeah… nice views!!

7:42 am Phuket time

The day is cloudy but warm, not too humid. The sun is shining and I’m starving.

7:58 am Phuket time

I wonder what will be at breaky?

8:12 am Phuket time

Hmmm… eating is going to be interesting here. Breakfast took me 15 minutes to get them to understand that I wasn’t looking or wanting to buy nuts and peanuts but rather that I was allergic. The written translation helped and I got an interesting “omelette” with “everything”.

8:21 am Phuket time

They had sweet and sour fish for breakfast?

8:37 am Phuket time

Room update 2- nice view- no bed- number 3301- top floor (there are no lifts. At all.)

8:54 am Phuket time

Room update 3- awesome view- bed- pink, orange and green squishy things- up on the fifth floor- private balcony

8:59 am Phuket time

The room numbers are seemingly chucked around at random. Each bit of the hotel was built at different times (some still building – I walked around there and took photos. I was kinda scared I was going to get busted though for being there. Like I didn’t know if I was allowed or not)

9:03 am Phuket time

It is sweltering here!

9:20 am Phuket time

“pool. Ocean. Swim” I actually uttered these words  together in the same sentence. (and I wasn’t being negative to the idea!)

10:12 am Phuket time

My stomach throbs when I lie face-down on my hard-as-a-rock, unforgiving, futon-like mattress. Is that normal?

10:13 am Phuket time

A bundle of baht is has 1000 in it. WOW!

11:29 am Phuket time

A gentle wind caressed my face as I strolled through the beautiful streets.

Yeah right.

More like a hot, sticky wind assaulted my face as I picked my way over the half broken pavements, around shouting store owners and trying to avoid a run-in with the tuk tuk mafia (excuse the pun)

11:54 am Phuket time

Kut.

First impression? Scissors? Nup- actually our soon-to-be favourite, female taxi driver who is extremely chatty and happy.

12:42 pm Phuket time

Hmmm… is that a tomato or an ovary/egg?

 1:30 pm Phuket time

Wow. The boat house. Prawns wrapped in crispy angel hair noodles; garlic and pepper crispy calamari with a sweet chilli, fish sauce; and a fresh, light prawn, calamari and fish angel hair noodle salad for

Legitimately the waiter who served us, his name was “x”. WTF?

2:18 pm Phuket time

OMG! EMBARRASSING!

I’m standing outside the restaurant right, like on the beach at the top of these stairs. It’s quite windy right. Guess what had to happen?

My dress flew right up- like around my face and then this old man looked at me funny L

Anyway Miss you guys

I love each and every one of you
xxx

(sorry it won’t let me upload pictures…)

That little bit of time between the last post and my next one.

Nothing much happened apart from me not getting a muffin on the next flight and me getting cold on the plane and me stealing dad’s jumper and me getting cold on the car ride to the hotel and me steering the luggage trolley like a boss!

Later that night... (or rather, technically, that day)

SO in this blog- while im over seas- can you, my loyal readers (hahah yeah I know- lol!), do three things

1-      Forget my grammar and spelling (it’s terrible- forgive me)

2-      Remember that this is not a journal

3-      Remember this is a blog

That means that this will not be documented, sequenced series of my day, but rather snippets of thought I’ve written down and typed later; photos (sorry they’ll be from the dodgy camera as the good one’s photos are too large to upload); random occurences; interesting happenings; and any other rare stuff I find/do/see/feel/touch/taste/smell/experience.

So I’m now currently in Departure lounge B2B (I think this is Thailand secretly telling us that they’ve made an updated version of the bananas in pajamas)

*I always suspected foul play in the animated world of ABC*

Anyway… so the moment I was off the plane (thank goodness after almost 9 hours) the heat hit me. Not so much heat but humidity. Then a swift walk along those awesome flat escalators (which make me feel tall for some reason…) and into the airconditioned bubble in space and time. I think the next evolutionary stage for humans will either be homo internetus or homo strandedalethus-in-airportious. Both will be brain dead and capable of connecting wirelessly to youtube with fast streaming. Vocal connect will be annihilated and only the sound of typing will be heard.

Enough of that.

So- the random thoughts and pictures from the plane trip…

READY?
GO!

5:30pm Australia time

Screaming babies and marshmellow clouds- what more could you ask for?

7:52pm Australia time

I’ve watched pointless, mindless, boring crap for the past 4 hours until my brain explodes and when I find something worth watching- my tv chicks it in saying “svgalib:Sigmal 11:segment fault received.”

COOL L

7:57pm Australia time

Most of the time I don’t understand my parents. They can sit happily plugged in for 4 hours plus without itching to look out the window and snapping it up with a camera

8:07pm Australia time

You could see it. The sun peeking out underneath the clouds. The son that everyone so desperately craves but never seeks; needs but never wants. I wanted to yell; to scream at them “It’s right here! Just open your window!”. But they wouldn’t listen; they won’t listen. Just like I didn’t. I guess the dark catches us all- always.

9:33pm Australia time

I chased the sun and I lost.

Now I sit in the dark until someone turns a light on.

9:40pm Australia time

Water in a plastic container. Really?

9:41pm Australia time

Would it really be that hard to make edible plane food?

9:48pm Australia time

Apparently I was right. It’s not that hard- a chicken curry with a rice pilaf is great when compared to whatever the hell I was eating before.

9:52pm Australia time

Who ever thought that characteristics could be inherited is a genius- I instantly and instinctly liked the male flight attendant (who I had had previous doubts on his sanity before) the moment he offered me a choice of wines!!!

10:02pm Australia time

Dad ALWAYS gets the most food on planes then he denies sharing it with me and mother. We are always given less food because apparently having a nut allergy or being a vegetarian makes you less hungry. All on the pretence of possible allergens in the food. Stupid, responsible, doctor father. It’s definitely not survival of the fittest- the “I” has been updated to an “a”.

10:40pm Australia time

In nothing, we are nothing.

But in everything there is hope.

10:55pm Australia time

OWWW!!! My back hurts from trying to get comfortable.

????

11:24pm

Same old, same old. On a plane

So yeah! That’s what I wrote down whilst suspended 10km over the hard, unforgiving surface of the earth by mere metal.

Sorry if it’s a bit weird; a bit random but that’s just me in general!!!

Miss you guys

Ariel xxx

ARIEL!!

Hey Ariel
How was your first day there?? im assuming that it was a long day for you 
What plans have you got for your action packed week and a bit (try to resist the temptation to try on an old guys turban (not that there are any turbans in Phuket... i think??))  You need to take like a thousand pictures (not that i think you wont) and show them all to me when you get back!! it will be cool.   And a word of advice, if theres a monkey on your sholder dont let it get to excited :P also dont let it bite you (thats a funny story that ill need to tell you when you get back)  anyways i miss you heaps already!! Ly xxx

THE MOST EPIC START EVER!!!!

huj kuk goah thij lowq gef dahwidkn joedit
*Translation: basically my brain is over loading with excitement!*

So right at this moment I am sitting in the bit of the airport that is in-between customs and the plane (does it actually have a name? or is it just where people get lost and forgotten? meh...). From the beginning of today-
6:30 woke up
6:31 went back to sleep
7:00 woke up
7:03 actually got up
7:16 sorted out computer (btw danny and lily and sarah and chelsea- i found the conclusion on an external hard drive!!! YAY! i don't have to redo it!!)
7:34 BREAKFAST!!!!
8:00 finished breakfast and reading "eclipse" (don't judge me...)
9:01 left the house after finishing packing and washing up
9:57 Dad made us stop at beefies for a pie .......... *MMMMM* (sarcasm)
10:30 got to budget airport parking
10:32 got out of the car
10:33 got back in the car because i forgot my bag
10:34 got out of the car (second time lucky!)
10:38 caught a shuttle thingo to the airport (so very exciting! I got to sit at the front!!! eeeeeee!)
10:41 walked into the airport
10:53 waited in line to check in
10:59 checked in
11:04 went down an escalator *MEGA EXCITED FACE!*
11:14 went through customs and i didn't beep!!!
11:33 a dude confirmed my ultimate life suspicion- that i am actually ariel woodhouse and not an imposter. (basically he checked my passport)
11:52 walked around the shop thingos (hmm... so much fun *sarcasm*
12:58 chilling in a massive comfy chair typing this

so that's my day so far
I wonder what the future holds.....
????????

Miss you guys already xxx (i looked up what to do while waiting in an airport and one website suggested contemplating your bellybutton for a quiet moment... hmmmm?)

Well...

iThis is embarrassing- none of us have actually written on this for like a month. and we've been on holidays.Anyway, just got back from an all day netball carnival in Maroochydore. Our team went all right- we won 4 games and lost 3. The last game really got under my skin though. They were short games (20 min) and I was put on after half time. HOLY MOLY! My player full on body slammed me every time the ball came anywhere near us. *I feel violated* She stood on my toes, she laughed (meanly) at me and the whole team called us cheaters when in actual fact... I feel bad ragging on them but they deserve it. Bad sportsmans, all of them. My player abused me, they wouldn't accept that they made mistakes, they weren't gracious. Basically- they were just obnoxious.
Enough of that, since last post...
On Sunday, it was Nathan's birthday. Ussually this wouldn't affect me but he was over at my house with Elliott, Kayte and Olivia G as we were filming our legal project. I really enjoyed the filming and working out the camera but not sure about everyone else. It was going to be awesome because Kayte has a good camera as well and we were going to have two cameras filming but she forgot to charge it!!! I gave her two jobs!! Bring a working camera and get spray paint. Guess what? she was late because she was trying to find spray paint!
I forgive her though because she had been at the footy the night before and was really tired.
What else?
Jemma had her birthday party on the beach which was loads of fun. All of us (Jemma, me, Elliott, Kayte, Trevor, Rincy, [Grayson was meant to come but was sick] Sarah D, Danny, Jack, Sarah L and Olivia Ng) swam, ran, ate, tanned, played twister, threw a ball around, did a couple of games and just generally had fun for a couple of hours. I got very cold towards the end as I don't really like swimming. We did a treasure hunt on the beach and a hula hoop game. Jemma got some presents and that was that. An awesome afternoon!!! Thanks Jemma (and Danielle who organised it).
Also I organised Orienteering at my house with much the same people apart from the addition of Lily , Olivia G and Harry but without Trevor ;..( That was also lots of fun but alot of running. I was in a group with Lily, Olivia Ng and Harry. We won!!! (By a lot) It was all Harry I have to say though. He was completely boss at finding the markers which were cans with stickers in them. Basically, I made a map of our property, Frank's property and John's property (I was going to use Phill's but there was complecations with the trustees and everything) then Mum walked around and put the markers out and wrote on the map. Each team (3) had a backpack with all the essentials (water, food, map, marker record, bandages, first aid, phones) in case of emergency. Luckily there wasn't any bad stuff and I really enjoyed the whole afternoon/night. We ended up having a bonfire and cooking sausages for dinner. Jemma stayed over so we could drive her to musical. I think that was an awesome thing to do on the holidays and I hope I can do it again with my friends. Olivia Ng had to go home early though as she was completely wrecked (tired from lots of sleep overs).
All the girls were going to organise a photoshoot but we left it too late and people became too busy. *fingers crossed we can do it next holidays or something*
Currently Rincy is in China- sad to say I have no idea what is happening with her. I think she bought an iPhone and/or a camera or something??? I hope she is having fun (apparently she is allowed to wander around China on her own while her parents are doing work stuff but somehow I doubt it...) Miss you Rincy if you are reading this (probably not- no one does)
Lily's birthday is coming upon Tuesday and we're sleeping over untill 5:30pm on Wednesday.
Also Musical bump in at The J on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday is our matinay (OMG). Wednesday is Anzac day and public holiday.
Urban bound is coming up but my group is going to Brisbane first instead of Melbourne. We go to Melbourne 4-11th of may. *YAY*
Have to write a feature article for English (toying with the idea of how film is overdramatising real life???).
Stupid Maths assignment.
Just finished Legal video (funny and informative) like at 11pm on Thursday night.
Going to go now as I have an awful headache and streaming eyes from sunscreen.
BYE!!!!
Lots Of Love,
Ariel

???

why is it only me who writes on this?
i was going to talk about how our school chapel got turned into a rock concert but apparently i have to go have a shower.
been sick all day
xxx

Photos!!

Don't really want to write so I will document my life with really old photos...
O.k so photos are taking a long time-
Funniest thing the other day! In RE everyone gives Mrs Daeke SUCH a hard time (I don't think she's that bad to tell the honest truth...) but to top it off Ash suddenly just stands up and starts dancing to that song "call me maybe" or something along those lines. HAHA (not going to lol- oops).
Also today I found out Maddy Taft is leaving when Jordan and Emma came around and videoed (is that how you spell it?) us saying goodbye to her. I wonder where she is going???
Also I'm really excited about Urban Bound!!! *squeal of excitement* I can't believe I'm going to Melbourne!!!! There's lots of rumours going around which include-
>9G (my class) & 9B (? Jemma's class) and 9V (? Liv, Liv and Sarah's class) & 9T are going together.
>The groups are chosen for us- two boys, two girls.
>We get to choose 1 member of our group.
The facts we know are that half the grade is going at one time and the other at another time. That's all we know for sure!!!!!

So... Pictures!
(it's not working- sorry)
xxx

HEllo? Guys are you still here?

Well it seems as if im the olyl one who actually writes on this blog but whatever!
Maybe everyone is busy with exams???
So anyway- status update.
Im sitting here, on a sunday morning, just called Elliott and about to start legal essay. Also on my plate is the science test coming up on thursday (need to study) and the English essay test next tuesday (need to analyse book more) and a drama clowning performance to be performed tuesday week (get costume). Tomorrow I have cross-country training and I think it is so stupid because we were training on a course but now they've changed it like a week before the carnival. Yay! Cross-country is almost over for another year! I only have to run it twice more!!!
Anyway, I'm feeling the need to put a photo in...
The feeling's growing stronger...
It's taking over my mind...
ARGHHH!!!!
*photo time*

(thought that was nessecary- also why is Sarah the only one with a spoon? Every one els has capsicum)

Getting back to the point of the blog...
By the way- why do we always talk about stuff in the future and less about the past?
Is that just me?
So now that I've identified one of my writing flaws I will concentrate on it and try to change it.
The past...
The past...
What has happened to me recently?
So I got two A+'s - one for my chemistry paper and one for my overall maths score. I also did pretty badly on my grammar test with a few very fundamental errors.
um... why is this so hard???
Daniel broke up with Chelsey (I'm going to write a list of everyone who went out in our grade ever)
Tyler is dating Issy.
Ash got a frullet (and it looks slightly gay).
My Nanna went on a cruise around NZ- jealous.
I had a family lunch yesterday that went for 3 hours.
TJ, Piper and I (Nick you were only chairperson so I'm not counting you) lost our debate by three points against Matthew Flinders.
I got kicked out of like three scenes in the musical so I'm only in like 2 (I got kicked out of Razzle Dazzle, Mama's song and the quartette scene got cut).
My grandfather had a stroke and is now staying with us.
Trevor got first or second (or both?) in a stand up paddling race of old people.
Everyone the other day was remembering old times like kindy and what (should make a list- idea for anyone to write it *hint hint*).
um...
I got a kobo ereader for my birthday and I finished reading the Eragon series on it.
Lauren Sutherland's music assignment got deleted.
We started sped ed (or e skills) on Mondays and i'm in the smart class with most of my friends.
I found the two coolest musicians on jamendo- Tanya T6, who is sort of pop-py R&B; and Evgeny Emelyanov, who does russian poetry to music. (also there was like some song which was a cross between rock, gothic and opera- so cool!).

I can't think of anything els but if you do- add to this or write a new post.
Need to get back to legal.
The Little Ranga Mermaide
xxx

If you don't know this story then leave (or just look it up)

A Prison Report on the escape of Daedalus and Icarus:

(the comments in between two * are the real thoughts of the writer)

Dear Head of Island Prison,

*I don’t actually know your name- was it Larry or something?*

I am writing to inform you of the changed status of the two high security prisoners.

*I hate writing. Id rather be outside walking and enjoying the view or inside tormenting prisoners. Anything but this.*

At 1:30 pm in the afternoon of the 26th of March, Icarus and Daedalus escaped by the prison means of wax and feather wings.

*How the heck did they escape on wings made from wax and feathers????*

We had suspicions about the pair of them as they requested a large amount to spent outdoors. This was ignored as Daedalus' health was ailing and the prison's contract (signed by all prisoners) states that any persons who are ill can request special privilages.

*Why do we even have that contract? Probably some stupid health and safety or civil rights thing.*

The spot that was observed to be favoured by the two was beneath the tree that contained a bees hive and a birds nest.

*I mean- how could we not realize? Every time we came over they stuffed something out of sight. Something large and wing shaped.*

On the afore mentioned date and time, a guard was sent to check on the prisoners and it was discovered that they were absent.

*I'm not even going to say why we weren't in the garden with them… (we were having lunch- Pete's wife makes the best meatloaf and Harvey brought in the pickle.)*

Two different sets of footsteps were observed to lead to the edge of the cliff and then dissapear.

*I told them they should have put a fence in. It was the bloody Association for the Protection of Prisoners Rights blah, blah, blah… *

Our suspicions are that they either escaped and are now living illegally or that they perished whilst undertaking their journey.

*I hope they flew too close to the sun and died, the mangy, bloody things*

The prison will be doing a full inquiry into the lax security and will continue to inform you on any changes.

*yeah right- we wouldn't even be paid for that. I don't think so*

Hoping you are well,

Your ever faithful, Head of Prison Security,

*what does that even mean?*

Richard Head.

(this was just something i wrote in english on an alternative angle for the fall of Icarus story. if anyone else would like to add their own- feel free.)