Australia Part Last

Okay, considering that I got back from this trip over a month ago it has just started to seem ridiculous that I am still talking about it. So, let's fly through the rest of this and get back to talking about things which are probably less interesting (I hope that's saying something) but are at least more recent.

Near the end of my time in Sydney I decided that I should do something a bit more touristy, and I also wanted to show my students kangaroos and koalas. So, the obvious choice was the Taronga Zoo. Now, you don't just go to the zoo, you go down to the Quays and take a ferry. So I took a few scenic shots on the way there, giving you a different view of the famous Opera House. Never thought I would take so many pictures of that thing, but then I didn't figure I would go there more than once.

Once at the zoo, I hit the Information Desk to get a map and the nice lady asked me if I was mostly interested in Australian animals. Of course I was so I got the map with all of the Australian animals highlighted so you can skip the boring stuff likes elephants and giraffes. Now, this zoo is pretty big so it was probably best that I just stuck to a few parts of it. And really zoos aren't that fun when you are by yourself. So, I took pictures of animals. That's really all you do at a zoo, so there's not much to tell you here. Go look at the pictures.

The next day was my last, so of course it was on this night that I met four more cool people to hang out with. Yeah, great. Where were you four a week ago huh? Well, it was a great time on my last night going out with a group of six instead of just two. Still, we went to the same places but it was fun.

Then it was up early and off to the airport. The flight, as before, was great but I had a bit of dread this time. Not because I didn't want to leave. Actually the one time I had a bit of homesickness during this trip I thought of Japan, not America. No, this dread was because of my layover. I was headed back to Taipei, but instead of a 3 hour layover I had a 20 hour layover. That's not a typo. You can imagine that I was not looking forward to camping out in an airport for 20 hours. But then, when I got to Taipei they herded all of us into some room and split us into those who had an overnight layover and those (the other 4 people) who didn't. Those of us who were there overnight *gasp* got put up in a hotel for free! And not just a hotel, a country club! And they gave us breakfast for free too! Yay! So, instead of sleeping in a plastic chair I got a nice bed with a shower and TV and everything. Too bad I checked my baggage which had all of my clothes...

The one amusing thing that happened here was that I decided to check out the mini-fridge and possibly have a beer. Now, I know there is such a thing as Taiwan Beer because I had some on the plane. But what did I find when I opened that fridge? Asahi Super Dry. Japanese beer. The same stuff I usually drink here.

Then it was off to the airport and off to Japan. I took the train from Narita to Tokyo, then took the subway to Shinjuku (which is part of Tokyo) and then took the 6 hour overnight bus back to Sendai. I had to wait for this bus so I got to take some pictures of the Illumination Circus there, which was cool. Then in Sendai I caught the first train at 6:30 AM to get to my town. I stepped out of the station to see the little town of Semine which I have come to totally think of as home. It was covered in snow. It was beautiful. It was ridiculously cold. I woke up the next day sick. Ahhhh, back in Japan....