Land Down Under

Melbourne, Australia

I'm starting to realize that the places I'm least excited to visit end up being the best places. Like Singapore, Australia was never my top choice of places I wanted to go to. I don't even know why. I've only been to Melbourne so I can't speak for all of Australia (which I've heard is awesome), but Melbourne is really, really awesome. I've been three times in two weeks, and I'm already looking forward to the fourth time.

Australians are some of the nicest people, up there with Americans. That's one reason I loved it so much there. Being in Dubai, I don't know what friendly strangers are anymore because they're a rare find here. Also, they are the best looking bunch of people ever. Chris and Liam Hemsworth are from Melbourne, and I saw guys BETTER looking than them. Reason number two why I love it so much. Start booking your flights, ladies!

I mostly wandered around downtown and did a little shopping. There are lots of cute little stores and all kinds of restaurants, food trucks, and coffee shops. I've heard from a few people that Melbourne has the best coffee in the whole world, and it was very good. I took hundreds of pictures of Hosier Lane, an alleyway covered in awesome graffiti street art that is a popular touristy stop in downtown. Mix Chicago with Portland and you get Melbourne.

I also went to the Queen Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere (thanks Wikipedia). It's a farmer's market, flea market, food festival, street performer stage, and outdoor mini-mall all in one. I tried some organic/vegan/gluten free nachos, Danish pancakes, and frozen berry lemonade. And probably some cookies too... I pretty much ate anything I saw. And I bought some organic soaps and a crocodile charm for my bracelet, because it's Australia and there weren't any kangaroo charms. It's hard to choose a #1 favorite place so far, but Melbourne is one of the top!

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is kind of like Melbourne, but the accent is different and everything is 10x more expensive. The people are nice, the food is good, and there is a lot to do. I almost went on a Lord of the Rings tour to see the places where they filmed, like Hobbiton, but it was a few hours outside of the city and expensive. Next time when I have more money I'll go so I can get out of the city and see the countryside. 

I didn't do anything special here either, just walking around, taking pictures, buying little things here and there. I hiked to the top of a volcano, which isn't as cool as it sounds because it's not active and it's just an overlook over the city. A pretty overlook, but not as adventurous as climbing a volcano seems. 

I think I missed out on a lot here by staying in the city, so I hope I can come back again soon and see the nature side of New Zealand. Overall, my trips down under have been some of the best!

Singapore

A lot of firsts happened with Singapore.
First time in Asia,
first multi-sector flight,
first visit to a Hindu temple,
first "authentic" Chinese food,
and first time having my palm read by an ex-Buddhist monk.



Asia has never been at the top of my list of places to visit until I went to Singapore. I had a stereotype in my head of Asian cities being a really crowded and chaotic mess of buildings and traffic. But it was such a peaceful, modern, and pretty place. The architecture is the most creative I've seen anywhere, and unlike most big cities, there are gardens and plants mixed in everywhere. One second it looks like you're in downtown LA and the next you're lost in a jungle.

Singapore was part of my first multi-sector flight, meaning I flew from Dubai to Singapore, Singapore to Melbourne, then back to Singapore and back to Dubai. It was around a 5 day trip and I felt dead by the end of it, but I was happy to get two days in Singapore.



I walked to Chinatown and stopped at the Sri Mariammam Hindu Temple. It's famous for its colorful towers and shrines covered in Hindu gods. I had to take my shoes off before I went in and paid a little fee to take pictures. The monks (if that's the right word) were there doing their prayers and chants with Hindu followers in their gorgeous traditional clothing.

Chinatown was HUGE! I bought a lot of souvenirs I didn't need, tried Asian candies, and got dragged into a few shops by the owners who wanted to sell me things (I'm really bad at saying no). There were all kinds of Asian restaurants there: Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Chinese, etc. For some reason, I went with a Chinese restaurant even though I never have good experiences with Chinese food. Actually the waitress standing outside guilted me into going just like all the shop owners guilt me into looking at their stores. I really need to work on saying no... Anyways, this Chinese food experience was the same as always. Me and Chinese food just aren't meant to be. But I did have possibly the best cup of coffee I've ever had in this restaurant. I don't know what the little old lady put in it, but I was in heaven!



The second day I was in Singapore, all I wanted to do was sleep because it was the last day of my trip and I had just flown seven hours from Australia. I forced myself to go out even though I was grumpy and the humidity was slowly killing me. I went to the Gardens by the Bay, one of the places to see according to tourist guides. If you're into gardens and pretty things, this is the place for you. If you're a jet-lagged soulless zombie like I was that day, then don't go and just sleep. The gardens were beautiful, but I wish I would have waited until next time so I could have been in the mood for it.

The best, best part about my two days in Singapore was meeting Chon, the ex-Buddhist monk mentioned above. I was on my way home from Chinatown, ready to get back to the hotel and relax, when I passed Fort Canning Park. I felt like if I didn't go there, I was going to miss out on something. So off I went, walking around another garden. I was taking lots of pictures when a little old man came up to me and asked me where I was from and if I knew anything about the plants. I told him I didn't know much, and he took my arm and said he was my new friend and tour guide for the afternoon. Chon told me all about the plants and spices of the garden, Fort Canning, Singapore, and how he had been a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Then, and now it gets really good, he read my palms and knew my life story. It was crazy how much he knew and how specific he was! He gave me lots of advice I hadn't realized I needed and told me to come back and visit him again. I'm pretty sure he was Buddha reincarnated.



Now Asia is on the top of my list of places to go, especially if I meet more people as interesting as Chon.

One month down...

I've already been flying for a month, but it feels like it's been waaaay longer. For the most part, I feel like I know what I'm doing on my flights and I thought I'd never know what I was doing. So many great things have happened since I finished training last month, and these are at the top:

1. Finding out that my sister is having a girl! I've been begging her to have another baby for ages, so this is probably my greatest news of the year.

2. Spending New Years in London

3. Meeting Chon, the Buddhist monk, in Singapore 

(more about that in my Singapore post, coming soon...)

4. Spending my birthday in Lyon and eating tons of cheese, chocolate, and wine

5. Having a Christmas sleepover with my Dubai friends and eating tons of pizza and chocolate

6. Getting the sweetest birthday presents from my friends here. A hand-painted Little Mermaid phone case, Victoria's Secret perfume, and a pizza dinner at said pizza restaurant. My friends are the best!

7. Finding an amazing pizza place in Dubai, because pizza here generally sucks. Pizza is a big part of my life, as you can obviously see. 

8. Crossing two new continents off of my bucket list, Asia and Australia

9. My February roster is pretty great. Only 3 turnarounds and 4 layovers!

10. About my roster... I'm going to back to Italy a.k.a. my favorite place ever, AND back to the good ol' U-S of A in New York City!  I've never been to Milan or New York so I can't wait! And both places are kind of a big deal when it comes to pizza, so... You know what I'm doing on my layovers. 

February Roster

I'm behind on posting, as always, but posts and pictures from Singapore, Melbourne, and Auckland will be up in the next day or two!