Australia turns out to be a true “blue” country – even worse than I imagined! Blue = stricktly rules based. On my first trip over to Australia, I really enjoyed the laid-back mentality, the hospitality and atmosphere of the people. Over the past 4 months the laid-back mentality proved to be skin-deep.

Some examples: fine AU$ 150,0 for driving 108km/hr on a completely empty 100km/hr highway, fine for parking the car with the nose in the wrong direction, not allowed to take plastic water bottles into a fenced off area on new year’s eve, not allowed to take a bottle of champagne to the park to watch the fireworks, fine AU$ 200 for speeding with no consideration whatsoever to the fact that we were eloping giant honking trucks that were going way faster that the 100km/hr limit after two attempt to run us off the road altogether, shops closing at 3pm, bars and restaurants – even in Brisbane for that matter – closing at 9:00pm or 9:30pm…

The top was having to take 0.28kg out of my suitcase, because the weight limit is 20kg, so 20.28kg is unacceptable. I demonstratively took out some underwear and my bra!

All this has really shifted my perspective of this country. Shifted it from looking into permanent residency, to this is not the place for me. What happened?

Over the past 3 years I have been visiting travelling up and down the east coast tourist strip. This time we moved away from the coast and went more inland, about 50km. And it got more and more sleepy as we drove on. Most of the land is being developed for retirement villages that basically all look the same. Rows of houses with a giant mall next to it. The mall closes at 6:30pm and all of Sundays. Question: what do people do here to meet their need for variety. Because outside of these malls, there is nothing. And I mean nothing. We are a bit taken aback by that.

Every now and then Graham and I knock off at 3pm and embark on some sightseeing. This proves to be hardly possible in this region (Brisbane/Bundaberg); apart from the physical distances, you have to take in account that the sun sets at 6:30pm – and it sets very fast, almost as if someone turns off the light!  

We made one attempt, visiting the small town of Childers, described to us by the house owners as still containing large numbers of original Queenslander houses. By the time we get there (4pm) it resembles a ghost town. Stores closed around 3:30pm, restaurants and bars are set for locking up at 9pm. What do they do after that, we wondered… The house owners helped us out there: life here is geared towards the daylight. Most people rise between 5pm and 6pm and start their day.

Gin Gin marked the end of our 4 month stay in Australia. During this time I have come to see Australia from the inside out. And my conclusion: nice for a holiday – not suitable for permanent living:-)

Finished the housesit in Gin Gin near Bundaberg yesterday and trained back to Brisbane. That was the start of a 2 week fun trip Oz2UK, via the USA, Ireland, and the UK back to the Netherlands, where I will be starting interviewing actors and talking to the other MoonScouts. I am really looking forward to this trip, meeting Connie and Alexander, Graham’s nephew, get certified with Debbie Battersby’s eMMatrix system and see Graham on-the-job at the cathedral in Adare, Ireland. After Easter with his family, then on to Tilburg.

These past weeks have been fun too, it has been raining a lot, and not just any old bit of rain. It was absolutely pouring down, flooded roads everwhere. Upside is that when the sun finally did come out, the whole countryside was lush and green where it had all been brown before.

Now – finish packing and on to the airtrain!

Having the weekend off after a busy time, Graham and I were contemplating what to do. Hearing on short notice that my sister was visiting Bangkok, Graham started telling me how fascinating this city is and about this great golden Buddha that had really impressed him when he had seen it years ago during a stop-over. So we decided to fly up from Singapore to meet with my sister for dinner and enjoy some sight-seeing.

We just got back after a wonderful 2 days over there. We have walked around the city, rode on the bus, experienced the real China Town,

and saw an amazing amount of Buddhas, from very small 1cm carvings to enormous statues, one a sitting Buddha weighing 5.5 ton in pure gold and another one, reclining, measuring an amazing 46 meters in length and 17 meters in height. Very impressive!

As we really liked the atmosphere of the city, we have decided to plan an extended stay over there at some point to check it out further. Even more so, since amongst all those Buddhas – none of them was the one that Graham had seen before…

As soon as I get the pagelinking sorted out there will be more Buddhas to watch on the 2010 Album- page

A few days ago I was seaching my harddisk for a file, and I came across this video of  my skydive. I had just left Namale in Fiji after 2 months there as crew and logistics manager (as a volunteer) at Anthony Robbin’s Life Masteries  and I felt absolutely amazing. Looking at it just now, the memories come flooding back to me: the fun, the beautiful location, the wonderful Fijian people that quickly became friends, the extraordinairy participants, the fabulous crew (previously known and newly befriended), the privilege of working with Connie Schottky and Linda Thomson, the steep learning curve and so much more.. wow, I love my life! And I am eternally grateful to myself for taking the opportunity when it presented itself. Well done me! Have a look and always remember to LIVE WITH PASSION!

The last 3 weeks Graham and I have been house-sitting in Spain, in a cortijo (=small house) tucked away at 1000meters in the Sierra Nevada. For the first time I have been using the panoramic function of my camera over and over again, and even those pictures can hardly express the vastness and the beauty of the landscape.

Every morning I find myself waking up early, greeting the dogs that are jumping up and down, happy to see me, and then walking out into the most amazing sunrise. After a cup of tea, while the air is still cool, Graham and I go for a morning walk accompanied by the dogs. As the cortijo is based at the end of a descending dirt road, the only way to go is up, and up and up. Very good for the calves…. and using walking sticks really makes a difference here, if only to keep a straight back!

Upon return we have breakfast, and after that, out come the laptops and the shaded terrace is turned into our office. A room with a view gets a new meaning here….

During the day, the light on the mountains shifts the colors and brings out more of the beauty of the slopes. Around 7pm we pack up for the day and start preparing our dinner. Or we decide to drive over to a swimming pool on the other side of the valley. That place also holds magnificent views and the water is crispy cold coming from a mountain stream even higher up.

In the next post you can read about the challenges a remote place like that holds. If you would like to get a feel of the place, visit the page 2009 Photo Album. I have put up a selection of panoramic shots there, as well as an slideshow of the experience. Enjoy the view!