Australia/USA in the World Cup

I know it's long gone but I haven't had a chance to have my say.

June 17 - Italy v USA - I'm at the airport, so I missed the game!

June 22 - Ghana v USA
As I'm heading towards the Walkabout, I miss most of this game, but I watched goals from a pub somewhere. Disappointing run by us Yanks, we should have beaten Ghana to get through, but failed. Makes the last World Cup run to quarterfinals look like a fluke.

June 22 - Australia v Croatia at the Walkabout (my last visit) Jam-packed with Aussies (including half the housemates), all was in readiness for a great game, and it didn't disappoint. Two great goals, Australia qualifies for the 2nd round to face Italy, and another group of immigrant Aussies face divided loyalies (after the Greeks and Croatians before). Emerton picks up a red card, Kewell becomes a hero, Kalac choked on his big game.

The Socceroos play the game the right way, but this would eventually be their downfall.

The only downside to the night was the silly behaviour of drunken Aussies smashing stuff. But I would expect nothing less when you get that many Au-stray-liens together. After the game, I disappeared from that place, never to return....

Me and Sharna at the "Walkie" - hot as an oven in there

Me and the Valetta Road girls past & present (Bec, Sheena, Carla, Sharni)

June 26 - Australia v Italy @ home (Valetta Road)
With nothing to lose, we're all looking forward for Australia to go for it. Wish I was back in Melbourne somewhere - instead I'm at home (everyone else is working - arrgh) with housemate Ryan (NZ).

Socceroos look good, play together well but can't get past the Italian defence (nobody else could either). It takes a dive to get Italy through, but the Aussies can be proud of their team, they fought above their weight and held their own.

From here, I pretty much lost most interest until the business end of the competition.

DN

London

Arriving in London, the lovely Sheena was there to pick me up and take me to the house. It is in Acton, in West London, about 6 train stops from the centre of London. Ten people living in a 5 bedroom house, the similarities to Big Brother are endless (except for the cameras).

Had time to put my bags down and relax for a few hrs before hitting the town into the early morning.Initiation to London - Me and Sheena in a phone box in Covent Garden

Some things about London:

• Public transport runs all the time. Trains run every few minutes until midnight, but buses run all night. But with no air conditioning, they are sweatboxes in summer. In fact there's hardly any air conditioners at all...
  
• I am not classified as "Asian" here - that refers to people from the subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, etc). The term Oriental is still used - I haven't heard that word since I was little...

After recovering from the 1st night, it was off to watch Australia v Brazil. Disappointing ending, but not suprising, Australia didn't lose any respect in losing. We watched the game at the Walkabout pub. Well our nearest one anyway - it is actually a huge chain of pubs across the UK, designed to look like an outback pub. Nice to visit if you ever feel homesick, but not a regular hangout.

After the game, it was off next door to see NZ band Shihad with some my Kiwi housemates. They warmed up the show by performing songs as an AC/DC tribute band (with guest singer), and then they came out and blew the crowd away with their songs. My shoes have never recovered from this gig.

Simon (Jon Toogood) says "clap your hands"

The first week was spent mainly registering with agencies and looking for physio work, but with no luck. Thanks to Sharni, got a job working for Fine Burger Co., who not only own restaurants but also run outdoor mobile units that appear at sporting events, concerts, etc - that's where we work. Pay's ok (slightly better than bar work), you get free food, and free entry to cool events that we work (more on that later). Bad news is the work can get pretty hectic, and you walk out with a few layers of grease on your entire body.

Then next week I got a 2nd job working for Wyoming Studios, a company that provides a swish venue/catering for companies who want to run market research. Job just involves looking after clients and making sure food/drink is stocked for everyone, then cleaning it up when everyone leaves. Again with the pay and free food, and it's in the basement of a building, not a big metal box, and it's greaseless.

Note: if you want to see more picures, go see http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo.

DN

Berlin last day and Potsdam and Stuttgart

So for my last day in Berlin I went to the nearby town of Potsdam, about 1 hr west of Berlin.

Potsdam like everything else in Europe is steeped in history. It's the home of Frederick the Great who built a few palaces in Potsdam.

The town feels similar to Ballarat, smaller town with lots of history near a big city.

Big palace inside Sanssouci Park - was a looooong walk to get to this one

One of the smaller palaces

Back to Berlin to see Engand vs Trinidad and Tobago at Fan Fest. T&T put up fight but eventually went down 2-0. Then the Stuttgart adventure begins.

Background: I have a ticket for the Holland-Ivory Coast game on June 17th organised for me
Mission:

• Meet a man named Karl at the Stadium's blue entrance at 4:30pm before the game at 6.
• I have never met Karl before and have never seen him before. I am told he is wearing a big straw hat with Deutschland and wearing a German football jersey. And he may not speak the best English
  
• Get to the game, then get back to Berlin Airport by 8am on June 18th to catch my flight to London

First night train from Berlin --> Stuttgart required a 5am train change at Augsburg, then I arrived at Stuttgart at 7am with almost no sleep. Saw the local sights during the day, then went down to the stadium at 2pm so I could nap before the game.

The Dutch fans gathering in the morning near Fan Fest - they were all drunk, topless, and sunburnt by 10am

Napped until 4pm, sat at the entrance until 4:30pm, and there was no Karl in sight. Getting worried. 4:50pm comes around, I go back to check the map - I'm at the RED entrance, not BLUE - the BLUE entrance is 50 mtrs away around the corner! Whoops. Race to the blue entrance, still no Karl. More and more people go through the gates until it's just me and the scalpers. Finally at 5:30 when all hope is lost - Karl appears. It was probably the happiest I have ever been to see a complete stranger. His English was ok, and we communicated just fine. So we made just in time for national anthems.

Me and Karl and his big straw hat

The game itself had a great atmosphere, with lots of orange worn by fans of both sides.

Yellow shirt in a sea of orange

The Germans were going for Cote d'Ivoire (Iv Coast) to win, as they didn't want Holland to win (sort of like Aust v NZ), and as I was with Germans, I did the same. Luckily were in the Iv Coast fan section anyway. They lost 2-1, but they put up a good fight.

After the game, it was back to the train station, and another night train back to Berlin sometime around 5am. Grab my bags, and off to the airport, London here we come!

DN

Berlin - Days 3 & 4 (Go Socceroos)

Note: remember there are more pictures at my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo

Was on my own in the morning - went to go see the TV Tower first. I think it's a bit shorter than the Realto Towers. But it has a rotating restaurant on top, simiar to the Hyatt in Phoenix. It's crazy watching the restaurant turn as the center part of the tower where the cooks are stays still.

Me in the TV Tower

I went walking on my own around Berlin, looking at more buildings and taking more pictures until Australia's 1st game vs Japan kicked off. After the game, all the Aussies who were in Berlin and not at Kaiserslautern for the game went nuts (in true Aussie style). Inflatable kangaroos flying through the air, the beating of drums, and amused Germans looking on. I think the celebrations in Melbourne would've been unbelieveable.

Australia Wins! Come on Aussie!

Afterwards, met up with the other three amigos, and we hit the town again. On out way to dinner, Phil bought a bratwurst from the 'GrillWalker' Sausage Man - I thought it was pretty cool.

Phil buying a Brat from the GrillWalker

We met some of Richard's friends and hit one of the more popular streets around where we lived full of restaurants and bars. After dinner, we went to this outdoor bar that looked like somebody's backyard, junk lying around, picnic tables, etc. Anyway hit a few more bars, and before you know it, it's 5am, and the sun is coming up.

The boys outside a restaurant having more cocktails

After a very late start, I saw some more of Berlin before going to the Brazil - Croatia match. Great atmosphere, so many passionate fans for both sides. But no hostility, everyone was in a good mood, playfully cheering on their team. I was sitting close to the Croatian fans, and they made a ferocious sound. They even had a call-and-response thing with Croatian fans on the other side of the stadium!

We all know who Skippy is going for...go easy on the tail, though!

Ready - Let's Go!

The game wasn't of the highest standard (Brazil won 1-0) but it was just great to be there amongst it all the excitement, an absolutely priceless experience (and it's only the first!)

DN

Berlin - Days 1 & 2

Well, today is actually July 20, but we'll have to go back in time a little...most of my time has been spent either looking for physio work, or working elsewhere, or having fun, so I haven't had much time to sit and blog.

So I arrived in Berlin via Frankfurt after a nice mammoth flight from Saigon on June 10. Checked into the Circus Hostel, and it was real nice, friendly staff, nice rooms. I stayed in a 5-bed dorm, but there were no other roommates for the first two days! After check-in, went to check my Email - and got the great news that I got a ticket to the Brazil-Croatia match after 5 months of waiting! So I ran off to pick up the ticket at the stadium. When I got back, I went to the other Circus Hostel (there are two of them, within walking distance), and watched England-Paraguay, on the 2nd day of the World Cup. And then slept - a lot.

The view from the balcony of my Circus Hostel dorm room onto Alexander-Platz

Ticket to World Cup - finally!

Day 2 in Berlin, and it was off on a walking tour of the city. I went with Brewer's Berlin Tours, and it turned out to be a great experience. It brought back all the history I studied back in high school and more. Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Book Burning Memorials, war memorials, Hitler's Bunker, it was amazing to be standing where all these significant events in history happened. The tour guide Sylvia was a French-Canadian who was living in Berlin. There were Canadians, an Aussie living in NY, and a few others on the tour. After the tour, a few of us went to watch the Netherlands - Serbia & Montenegro game at Fan Fest. Fan Fests are in each host city, where they setup huge screens so people can watch. The Berlin one is GIGANTIC - it stretches along a street for 1 MILE (1.6 km) and has 4 huge screens!

Me, Marc, Fay, Ryan, Sylvia, Phil and some lost child as the Dutch celebrate their goal on the big screen

That night the four amigos nuevos kicked on and went to watch the Portugal - Angola game at the most amazing venue - it was this old Turkish-style baths converted to this groovy lounge. Imagine sitting in the middle of an empty pool (bottom covered in carpet), old architecture all around, ceiling about 3 stories high, big screen over the deep end of the pool, sitting on bean bags, with a Berliner beer in your hand. All locals around, no tourists. Amazing.

After the game we found some food, had a few cocktails and stumbled home after a big day.

Some notes:

• Berlin has the best kebabs I have ever had. They're not big, but they do two things that make it the bestest: they toast the bread, and they don't cut all the way through the bread, so it's a pocket, not a sandwich. Yum. I think I had one almost every day I was there.
• Public transport is fantastic. Trains and trams run all day and night, and often. And it's mostly air conditioned too.
• Currywurst - bratwurst with tomato sauce with curry power and bread roll. Very tasty, will have to do it at my next Aussie BBQ.

And on to Day 3...
Don't forget you can see more pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo

DN

Saigon

And from Hoi An in central Vietnam, I arrived in Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC) in south Vietnam.

My family picked me up, and I stayed with them for the 3 days I was there.

One thing I quickly noticed about Saigon is that it's more sprawling than Hanoi. Streets and homes are wider (but they still are a number of stories high and squeezed together). Living with my family meant I lived in the 'burbs, not in backpackerville, so I hardly saw backpackers around, and spent all my time around local Vietnamese. The expected questions asked of me - "Where you from?", "Are you married?", "How old are you?" - were only prepping questions for the real purpose of their asking - "I have some daughters I want you to meet..." The answer is the same as I give here - "Thanks, but..."

Street where my family lives - not major street in Saigon

My days in Saigon revolved completely around eating. If I wasn't eating, I was probably digesting. My family kept a relentless barrage of fantastic homemade and "outsourced" homemade food ticking at a furious pace. It was like a restaurant banquet 3 times a day.

Day 1 was sleeping and said eating, Day 2 involved more sightseeing around central Saigon. As the days are very warm and muggy, people really don't come out until night, when the streets are packed!

Me pretending to ride my uncle's motor scooter

Day 3 involved a little bit of shopping, and the eating of a certain "mystery meat". For more info, you"ll have to go to my pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo.

Me and family at the airport before leaving for Berlin

DN

Back to Hanoi

So it was back to Hanoi again after Halong Bay. Went to go buy a bag with wheels. I realised that wheels are a backpacker's best friend. After pseudo-haggling (went to seller who gave me lowest price), went to the Hanoi Water Puppets Theatre (click on the article for more info). The hour-long show had singing, comedy, and dragon battles.

The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi - in front of a busy city street

If you are wondering about food: If you live in Melbourne, the Vietnamese food in Melb is of the highest quality, but Vietnam food is dirt cheap (and at times just plain dirty). Never got sick during the 3 days in Hanoi. I recall what I normally tell people: eat where Vietnamese people eat.

Walked past the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel - run by 2 Aussie boys. It's the only real Western-style hostel in Hanoi. Didn't stay there this time, but maybe next time.

View from my hotel - 'Viet Anh Hotel'

After being really annoyed in the 1st day in Vietnam, I was getting used to how things worked, and was starting to enjoy the country. The city is constantly moving, and everyone is very entrepreneurial. There were rarely people begging, I think it's due to the pride of the people. But signs of communism are everywhere, and you wonder what life would be like now if the government was more democratic.

DN

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is a beautiful area in the north of the country. Made up of thousand of limestone islands, it also have inhabitable islands (Cat Ba Island) and caves to explore. I went on an overnight tour with Irish, Dutch, Danish, French, and NZ tourists, 12 in total.

Me, Bjorn and Kees (Dutch), Danish girl, Catherine from Ireland

First there was the bus ride from Hanoi to Halong. After we picked up everyone from their hotels, we headed through the always crowded city streets - when we reached a shop that was jam packed with people! We approached slowly get around the crowds, and as we slowly passed what looked like a florist, we could see lots of cameras and crew, and people in pairs! I saw one couple running away from the shop, and it looked like the female had an amputated leg, and as they ran off, a camera crew was quickly following! So it looked like they were filming a leg of the Amazing Race! So if you watch the next season, look for a white van on the street - that's me! Wish I could have got out of the bus, and helped one of the teams...

After one pit stop, the 3 hr ride arrived in Halong, we found our boat, and we were off. As the government really has worked out how to get people off the pier and into the boats, it was pretty chaotic, but that's how it is everywhere, so we were all pretty accustomed to it.

The "junk" (as they call the boats) slowly made its way through the bay, and we passed through the "floating village", with people who live, work, and even go to school in a small cove with boats. They earn a living by fishing, and have done so for generations. They refuse to live on the land even though they have been offered by the government.

The 'floating school'

The first stop was some large caves. After that we did a little kayaking in completely dead water, and then went for a full swim.

View from outside the caves, the tourist boats below

Next day more swimming (the jump off the boat were good fun, check out the photos), then back to the boat. Another day and we would have explored Cat Ba Island and biked around, but I didn't have time. Back to Hanoi.

Attempted synchronised diving off the boat - I think we picked up a few deductions on takeoff

I caught up on lots of sleep on the boat, which was nice. Didn't get a great deal of sleep on the plane.

For more pictures, you can see a slideshow at:
www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo/
72157594157079697/show/ (copy & paste this link)

You can see all my pictures from everything (including stuff I written about yet) at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo/

DN

Day 1 - Hanoi

A few things I learned quickly:

• Sweat - it's not a body fluid, it's a way of life.
• Bargaining is overrated.

I arrived in Hanoi airport around 12 noon, and took a taxi into Central Hanoi. Just like the Lonely Planet (LP) book says, the taxi took me to a hotel that I didn't want to go to. So I dragged myself and my bags, to the nearest LP recommended joint, where they promptly gave me the highest-priced room (US$22). But it was close and easy, so I took it.

The first day in Hanoi was a shock, no matter how much I thought I had prepared for the beeping horns, pollution, people everywhere, narrow streets, and so on. Since then, I'm fine, but the first day was unsettling.

Day 1 mainly consisted of organising my tour of Ha Long Bay, mailing stuff to England that I didn't need, and going for a informal tour with a motorbike driver. Went to many landmarks around Hanoi, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Opera House, West Lake and other prominent lakes around the center of Hanoi, similar in size to Albert Park.

Also went for dinner at KOTO, a restaurant that teaches street kids skills to work in a restaurant. Too much Western food for my liking, and overpriced, but a good cause anyway, as proceeds go back to the program.

Obviously there was lots of Communist merchandise to go around, and it was a little sad to see Western tourists snapping up stuff that for my parents would find unsavoury, but then again, I was in the capital, and the heart of the Vietnamese government. But if they don't understand full meaning of what they're buying, and what they're "supporting", why buy it?

So Day 1 finished, still getting used that I'm not in Kansas anymore.

DN

Lost in Singapore Changi Airport

So here I am at Shanghai Airport using a free Internet service - backpacker instincts have already set in. For the first time, I'll be going on a flight that does not contain the words "USA" or "Australia"! After my goodbyes in Melbourne, onto the Singa Air flight with the little screens in the seat in front. Super Nintendo games as well as movies - really should have slept more. I've got two hours until the connecting flight to Hanoi, and then the fun really begins.

Very nice not to be packing by backpack or packing my things in boxes.

DN

Buckle up, here we go...

Well, I'm off in 2 hrs, I think I've jumped on my backpack enough times. I'm cold and tired, but I think I'm ready. I'll put up an itinerary somewhere in Vietnam or Germany if I get the chance.

What have I got myself into? See you on the other side.

DN