viernes, abril 27, 2012
domingo, abril 22, 2012
Taiwan
Una especie de mezcolanza entre China mainland y Japón en sus gentes, y un horterismo (a partir de ahora me referiré a el como "gonito") que duplica e incluso hace factoriales con el encontrado en China, por mucho que creáis que exagero.
Aun así, este lugar es fantástico y bien merece una visita dedicada solamente a él. Taiwan tiene tantos parajes distintos, sobre todo naturales, en los que podrías pasarte meses deambulando. Sin contar con que la ya famosa cadena de te con perlas COCO se encuentra aquí con la misma asiduidad que en mainland China. Ni que decir tiene que yo estuve muy contenta durante todo el viaje XD. Y ya que hablo de comida... CUIDADO con el stinky tofu, sabe EXACTAMENTE IGUAL que huele (es decir: fatal.)
Taroko, un parque nacional situado a 3 horas y media en tren desde Taipei, bien merece una visita de un día, o incluso dos para ver todo en la profundidad que merece. No me cansaré de repetir que la forma idónea de visitarlo es alquilar una moto en un puesto que hay al lado de la estación de tren. Cobran alrededor de 400 dólares taiwaneses por el y aunque lo más seguro es que os lo den sin gasolina ninguna, con 50 dólares más, hay mas que suficiente para todo un día (incluso yendo de dos en dos con un peso total de 200 kilos, doy fe XD). Con eso y un pequeño mapa que también os darán allí, estais listos pare empezar la incursión. Para comer, recomiendo el pueblo de cuyo nombre no me acuerdo, que está justo detrás del puente rojo, no tiene pérdida. Es caro por ser muy turístico, pero la comida es fantástica y NO PICA.
Taipei, la gran urbe, también tiene rincones interesantes y el segundo edificio más alto del mundo, aunque le vaya a durar poco. De hecho, siento una especie de orgullo al haber visto en persona los 3 edificios más grandes del mundo XD. Si sois frikis, el centro comercial que hay bajo la estación de tren central (seguid las Y) hará vuestras delicias, pese a que es un poco repetitivo y los precios sean caros como en Japón. Y tambien Xiamen, el Shinjuku de Taiwan. De lujo está el Taipei 101 y su mall adyacente, de naturaleza está la Elephant mountain, con unas vistas de la ciudad apabullantes y subir a Makong con las plantaciones de té, de historia, templos y memoriales a punta pala y tradición, cualquier night market. Merece la pena pasar dos días como mínimo aquí, y eso si estáis en condiciones de andar durante 12 horas más o menos seguidas.
Tainan, capital del sur, es mucho menos increíble que su hermana del norte, pero aún así, tiene zonas preciosas como la casa en el árbol, aunque debiera llamarse el árbol en la casa. Eso si, un consejo es no ir al templo de oro, está lejos y allí no hay nada, ni templo, ni dorado.
Volviendo de Tainan a Taipei se encuentran los manantiales de fuego y agua, que están convenientemente situadas cerca de aguas termales y barros en los que poder echar un rato. Eso si, mirad los horarios de los buses o perderéis la tarde entera esperando como nos ocurrió a nosotros.
Cerca de Taipei se encuentra Jioufen, un pueblo ultracomercial en el que se inspiraron para hacer el pueblo de Chihiro, y que ciertamente le da un aire. En el mismo día es posible acercarse a Keelung, donde hay unas playas con extrañas formaciones rocosas que merece la pena ver... aunque llueva y ventée y haga un tiempo de perros inimaginable como nos ocurrió a nosotros. Su mercado nocturno se especializa en pescado y marisco, así que no me lo pasé muy bien aquella noche en la hora de la cena ¬¬.
Y esto fueron 8 días de Taiwan, no está mal, teniendo en cuenta que ya estamos mayores XD.
Una especie de mezcolanza entre China mainland y Japón en sus gentes, y un horterismo (a partir de ahora me referiré a el como "gonito") que duplica e incluso hace factoriales con el encontrado en China, por mucho que creáis que exagero.
Aun así, este lugar es fantástico y bien merece una visita dedicada solamente a él. Taiwan tiene tantos parajes distintos, sobre todo naturales, en los que podrías pasarte meses deambulando. Sin contar con que la ya famosa cadena de te con perlas COCO se encuentra aquí con la misma asiduidad que en mainland China. Ni que decir tiene que yo estuve muy contenta durante todo el viaje XD. Y ya que hablo de comida... CUIDADO con el stinky tofu, sabe EXACTAMENTE IGUAL que huele (es decir: fatal.)
Taroko, un parque nacional situado a 3 horas y media en tren desde Taipei, bien merece una visita de un día, o incluso dos para ver todo en la profundidad que merece. No me cansaré de repetir que la forma idónea de visitarlo es alquilar una moto en un puesto que hay al lado de la estación de tren. Cobran alrededor de 400 dólares taiwaneses por el y aunque lo más seguro es que os lo den sin gasolina ninguna, con 50 dólares más, hay mas que suficiente para todo un día (incluso yendo de dos en dos con un peso total de 200 kilos, doy fe XD). Con eso y un pequeño mapa que también os darán allí, estais listos pare empezar la incursión. Para comer, recomiendo el pueblo de cuyo nombre no me acuerdo, que está justo detrás del puente rojo, no tiene pérdida. Es caro por ser muy turístico, pero la comida es fantástica y NO PICA.
Taipei, la gran urbe, también tiene rincones interesantes y el segundo edificio más alto del mundo, aunque le vaya a durar poco. De hecho, siento una especie de orgullo al haber visto en persona los 3 edificios más grandes del mundo XD. Si sois frikis, el centro comercial que hay bajo la estación de tren central (seguid las Y) hará vuestras delicias, pese a que es un poco repetitivo y los precios sean caros como en Japón. Y tambien Xiamen, el Shinjuku de Taiwan. De lujo está el Taipei 101 y su mall adyacente, de naturaleza está la Elephant mountain, con unas vistas de la ciudad apabullantes y subir a Makong con las plantaciones de té, de historia, templos y memoriales a punta pala y tradición, cualquier night market. Merece la pena pasar dos días como mínimo aquí, y eso si estáis en condiciones de andar durante 12 horas más o menos seguidas.
Tainan, capital del sur, es mucho menos increíble que su hermana del norte, pero aún así, tiene zonas preciosas como la casa en el árbol, aunque debiera llamarse el árbol en la casa. Eso si, un consejo es no ir al templo de oro, está lejos y allí no hay nada, ni templo, ni dorado.
Volviendo de Tainan a Taipei se encuentran los manantiales de fuego y agua, que están convenientemente situadas cerca de aguas termales y barros en los que poder echar un rato. Eso si, mirad los horarios de los buses o perderéis la tarde entera esperando como nos ocurrió a nosotros.
Cerca de Taipei se encuentra Jioufen, un pueblo ultracomercial en el que se inspiraron para hacer el pueblo de Chihiro, y que ciertamente le da un aire. En el mismo día es posible acercarse a Keelung, donde hay unas playas con extrañas formaciones rocosas que merece la pena ver... aunque llueva y ventée y haga un tiempo de perros inimaginable como nos ocurrió a nosotros. Su mercado nocturno se especializa en pescado y marisco, así que no me lo pasé muy bien aquella noche en la hora de la cena ¬¬.
Y esto fueron 8 días de Taiwan, no está mal, teniendo en cuenta que ya estamos mayores XD.
sábado, abril 07, 2012
Pues como alguno sabrá, este años es el décimo aniversario de este blog, que se dice pronto.
Y para celebrarlo, he pensado en cambiarle el nombre. Cuando esto empezó los blinkies, las arrobas giratorias, los carteles jocosos de "work in progress" y las imágenes horteras aún daban sus últimos coletazos en internet, pero ahora que lo que prima es el Sumi-e y los motivos diáfanos, creo que un título tan largo es contraproducente... y ALEJA A MIS LECTORES. (seguro que el cambio de nombre hace que pase a tenerlos a miles). Así pues, da comienzo una encuesta para ver que nombre os parece más apropiado (luego yo elegiré el que me de la gana). Pondré una encuesta, pero antes quiero recoger sugerencias por si hay alguien brillante en el público.
Mis opciones por el momento son:
- Mageware. Esto llevo pensándolo años, tiene magos, me recuerda a Raist y quien no querría visitar una tienda de suministros para magos?
- Purple Dragon. Dragones, los dragones molan. Y el morado también, y aunque parezca que es un homenaje a Spike, de MLP, en realidad esto viene de la maravillosa aventura gráfica de años pretéritos Kyrandia.
- Paranoia. Un poco en contra de esta por las referencia (no intencionada, claro) al juego de rol... Pero conservaría las raices, claro, que es algo a tener en cuenta.
- Butifarra Air: Si Spanair pudo, yo también.
Y lo demás... acepto propuestas, no me vengáis con que odiais los títulos en inglés, son más cortos.
Y para celebrarlo, he pensado en cambiarle el nombre. Cuando esto empezó los blinkies, las arrobas giratorias, los carteles jocosos de "work in progress" y las imágenes horteras aún daban sus últimos coletazos en internet, pero ahora que lo que prima es el Sumi-e y los motivos diáfanos, creo que un título tan largo es contraproducente... y ALEJA A MIS LECTORES. (seguro que el cambio de nombre hace que pase a tenerlos a miles). Así pues, da comienzo una encuesta para ver que nombre os parece más apropiado (luego yo elegiré el que me de la gana). Pondré una encuesta, pero antes quiero recoger sugerencias por si hay alguien brillante en el público.
Mis opciones por el momento son:
- Mageware. Esto llevo pensándolo años, tiene magos, me recuerda a Raist y quien no querría visitar una tienda de suministros para magos?
- Purple Dragon. Dragones, los dragones molan. Y el morado también, y aunque parezca que es un homenaje a Spike, de MLP, en realidad esto viene de la maravillosa aventura gráfica de años pretéritos Kyrandia.
- Paranoia. Un poco en contra de esta por las referencia (no intencionada, claro) al juego de rol... Pero conservaría las raices, claro, que es algo a tener en cuenta.
- Butifarra Air: Si Spanair pudo, yo también.
Y lo demás... acepto propuestas, no me vengáis con que odiais los títulos en inglés, son más cortos.
viernes, marzo 30, 2012
Taipei 101: Conversaciones absurdas.
Para ponernos en contexto, Eclipser era batería en un grupo de metal, Kuro compra cosas como Moonspell y a mí se me caen las bragas oyendo a Hansi.
Ori: *perpetrando esta canción*
Eclipser: ¿Pero que te ha pasado?, ¡Eres una aprendiz de poligonera!
Ori: Eso no es verdad, solo escucho a veces La Mega
Kuro: Prf, eso suena aún peor
Eclipser: Ya te digo
Ori: No, coñe, que en La Mega ponen mucho dance de los 90.
Kuro: Ah, bueno, ya me estabas asustando...
Y es que... la nostalgia nos puede XD
Para ponernos en contexto, Eclipser era batería en un grupo de metal, Kuro compra cosas como Moonspell y a mí se me caen las bragas oyendo a Hansi.
Ori: *perpetrando esta canción*
Eclipser: ¿Pero que te ha pasado?, ¡Eres una aprendiz de poligonera!
Ori: Eso no es verdad, solo escucho a veces La Mega
Kuro: Prf, eso suena aún peor
Eclipser: Ya te digo
Ori: No, coñe, que en La Mega ponen mucho dance de los 90.
Kuro: Ah, bueno, ya me estabas asustando...
Y es que... la nostalgia nos puede XD
sábado, marzo 24, 2012
United Arab Emirates
or the country of over-the-topness.
If you are thinking of having a holiday of luxury this is your place, coming here on a medium-low budget is not bad, but I am sure not as fantastic (not that I had the chance of doing the luxury trip, though).
The first thing one should know is that tourism information centers do not exist, "one does not simply find a map in Abu Dhabi", so stock yourself up with google maps or something beforehand.
And now, on to the cities:
- Dubai.
One of the first things you may want to see is the highest building in the world, that is Burj Khalifa, previously known as Burj Dubai (and I still call it that way, just because). It is not only the tower taht makes this piece of land worth a look, but also the gigantic shopping mall next to it, with an aquarium and a theme park inside it, and the luxury apartments that surround the tower, all of them built like they wanted to recreeate a Prince of Persia videogame. You can all imagine the state of mind I entered during the trip to Persia.
Going to Burj Al Arab is pointless unless you have a room in the hotel, there is a fence that won't allow you to get any close to the actual building. Something similar happens with Atlantis, the hotel in the palm tree island, this one has some theme park and a very small shopping mall, but you can't even see the man made beaches.
The old city, though, is a nice place to wander, with old mosques, souks and the Emirates history museum, that is cheap and not bad at all.
And last, but not least, the absolutely touristic trip to the desert, because it may be filled with people, the dunes ugly with garbage and you may want to cry when you see the roads built in the middle of it, but its vastness is still magnificent and the food is good. Don't pay top price, though, you will get about the same in a middle priced company.
- Abu Dhabi.
It's only worth a day trip from Dubai. Much less touristic, Abu Dhabi still has a lot to offer, but only if you have a taxi to take you around everywhere. The marina is not any good after all the luxury back in Dubai (we regreted going there), but the splurge hotel of this city: The Emirates Palace is open to the public as oposed to the Burj Al Arab, and it is worth a visit.
After the palace, just head to the Sheik Zayed mosque, one could spend hours there just looking, but there are also free guided tours. The only counterpart is that that place is far from everywhere, by the time we got back to the city we had to take the bus back to Dubai (but don't worry, there are buses every 20 minutes to and from Dubai)
And don't forget to eat anything you think looks good, persian food is fabulous (not as good as my all times favorite, Greek food, but still), and don't forget to buy some pecans, or almonds or cashews or all of them.
or the country of over-the-topness.
If you are thinking of having a holiday of luxury this is your place, coming here on a medium-low budget is not bad, but I am sure not as fantastic (not that I had the chance of doing the luxury trip, though).
The first thing one should know is that tourism information centers do not exist, "one does not simply find a map in Abu Dhabi", so stock yourself up with google maps or something beforehand.
And now, on to the cities:
- Dubai.
One of the first things you may want to see is the highest building in the world, that is Burj Khalifa, previously known as Burj Dubai (and I still call it that way, just because). It is not only the tower taht makes this piece of land worth a look, but also the gigantic shopping mall next to it, with an aquarium and a theme park inside it, and the luxury apartments that surround the tower, all of them built like they wanted to recreeate a Prince of Persia videogame. You can all imagine the state of mind I entered during the trip to Persia.
Going to Burj Al Arab is pointless unless you have a room in the hotel, there is a fence that won't allow you to get any close to the actual building. Something similar happens with Atlantis, the hotel in the palm tree island, this one has some theme park and a very small shopping mall, but you can't even see the man made beaches.
The old city, though, is a nice place to wander, with old mosques, souks and the Emirates history museum, that is cheap and not bad at all.
And last, but not least, the absolutely touristic trip to the desert, because it may be filled with people, the dunes ugly with garbage and you may want to cry when you see the roads built in the middle of it, but its vastness is still magnificent and the food is good. Don't pay top price, though, you will get about the same in a middle priced company.
- Abu Dhabi.
It's only worth a day trip from Dubai. Much less touristic, Abu Dhabi still has a lot to offer, but only if you have a taxi to take you around everywhere. The marina is not any good after all the luxury back in Dubai (we regreted going there), but the splurge hotel of this city: The Emirates Palace is open to the public as oposed to the Burj Al Arab, and it is worth a visit.
After the palace, just head to the Sheik Zayed mosque, one could spend hours there just looking, but there are also free guided tours. The only counterpart is that that place is far from everywhere, by the time we got back to the city we had to take the bus back to Dubai (but don't worry, there are buses every 20 minutes to and from Dubai)
And don't forget to eat anything you think looks good, persian food is fabulous (not as good as my all times favorite, Greek food, but still), and don't forget to buy some pecans, or almonds or cashews or all of them.
miércoles, marzo 07, 2012
Rottnest Island
"Rotto?, I can go to Bali for half the price!" - Shit Perth people say (Youtube)
This island was discovered by the Dutch before deciding this continent was a sand hole with no economical interest, but before leaving, they named it after their most famous occupant. The quokka.
These things looked like oversized rats to the dutch and that is why they decided the best name for this godforsaken island was rat's nest. Me, for one, I think they are cute little things that come and sniff you even if you have no food for them, which is adorable. They walk around the place without any fear for human beings, and boy, that is new for an european like me.
Besides this, the only thing you need to know about this island is this:
Yes, that tree is bent because of a constant heavy wind. The same never ending annoying wind you will have when in the island if you have bad luck like I did. The place is cool, though, renting a bike and discovering the island where cars are forbidden is a pleasure, and if you keep distance from the beach the wind is more bearable. Good day trip for a non windy day, but expensive, as the ferry ticket costs around 60 dollars and the bike rental some 15 dollars for half a day.
"Rotto?, I can go to Bali for half the price!" - Shit Perth people say (Youtube)
This island was discovered by the Dutch before deciding this continent was a sand hole with no economical interest, but before leaving, they named it after their most famous occupant. The quokka.
These things looked like oversized rats to the dutch and that is why they decided the best name for this godforsaken island was rat's nest. Me, for one, I think they are cute little things that come and sniff you even if you have no food for them, which is adorable. They walk around the place without any fear for human beings, and boy, that is new for an european like me.
Besides this, the only thing you need to know about this island is this:
Yes, that tree is bent because of a constant heavy wind. The same never ending annoying wind you will have when in the island if you have bad luck like I did. The place is cool, though, renting a bike and discovering the island where cars are forbidden is a pleasure, and if you keep distance from the beach the wind is more bearable. Good day trip for a non windy day, but expensive, as the ferry ticket costs around 60 dollars and the bike rental some 15 dollars for half a day.
martes, febrero 28, 2012
jueves, febrero 23, 2012
Australia
Few things I have noticed during my stay.
- Don't do city tourism. Even though some of them are big, most of the time the monuments and activities will be dissapointing if you come form an European country (or a country that has more than 100 years, I mean). You can still find nice places in Sydney and Perth, but the real beauty of this country lies in the raw nature.
- Bubble tea and such. I have talked about this millions of times, but specially in Western Australia (I should just say Perth, there is nothing else there anyway). Drink it at least once, if you have not gone to China this will be a discovery. If you have, just enjoy the memories XD.
- Distances. They are huge. Everything is so far away that you can only travel by plane. East coast is better, tough
- Look at the sky at night. Southern hemisphere sky is beautiful and bright, and Australia's atmosphere is so clear you can actually see the black part of the moon when it's not full. I never got tired of it (Also: Orion in spring-summer sky)
- Vegemite. It's disgusting but you have to try it.
- Hitting a kangaroo when in a not-so-close to the city road is something that has a 90% chance of happening. Specially at dusk and dawn.
- People actually want to know about your day when they ask you. Yes, cashiers from supermarkets want to talk to you.
- Heating and good isolation of houses is unknown in this continent, I won't even go into the "blind problem", because only Spain has blinds by the looks of things. But then again, it's always summer in Perth, ISN'T IT? (Hint: no)
- Beware of the sun. Seriously. I have only got sunburnt after applying 30+ sunscreen once in my life. In Exmouth. (And I have been to Mexico, Cuba, Florida, Egipt and the South of Spain. Okay, I was not snorkelling for hours but you get my point)
- Eat kangaroo, crocodile and emu. You won't be able to do that again in your life. Kangaroo is actually one of the cheapest meats you can find at the supermarket, and it is delicious. Emu pies can be found in some of the road shops both sides of the Perth-Bunbury road (near Binningup there is a nice one). Crocodile is the trickiest, but hey, I can't give everything away, can I?
-Beware fo the wind. Windsurfing wasn't invented here without a reason, even in summer (or at least, the beggining of it) wind can make the sand of a beach hit you painfully and bury your towel in less than 30 minutes. It's pretty annoying most of the time and worsens currents when snorkelling (after all, why would you go to a beach in Australia if not for snorkelling?).
- Barbie is not a doll, and Brekkie is not a dog food brand. Neither is Bogan some kind of burguer. You need these three words, the rest of the australianisms are not that important, but these...
- Barefootness is commonplace, part of their culture. Actually if you see somebody barefoot in Europe, chances are he or she is australian. (And no, they do not understand why that is dangerous or unhygienic)
... I have more, but given the lenght of this post I may do a second part sometime instead of boring you to death in one text.
Few things I have noticed during my stay.
- Don't do city tourism. Even though some of them are big, most of the time the monuments and activities will be dissapointing if you come form an European country (or a country that has more than 100 years, I mean). You can still find nice places in Sydney and Perth, but the real beauty of this country lies in the raw nature.
- Bubble tea and such. I have talked about this millions of times, but specially in Western Australia (I should just say Perth, there is nothing else there anyway). Drink it at least once, if you have not gone to China this will be a discovery. If you have, just enjoy the memories XD.
- Distances. They are huge. Everything is so far away that you can only travel by plane. East coast is better, tough
- Look at the sky at night. Southern hemisphere sky is beautiful and bright, and Australia's atmosphere is so clear you can actually see the black part of the moon when it's not full. I never got tired of it (Also: Orion in spring-summer sky)
- Vegemite. It's disgusting but you have to try it.
- Hitting a kangaroo when in a not-so-close to the city road is something that has a 90% chance of happening. Specially at dusk and dawn.
- People actually want to know about your day when they ask you. Yes, cashiers from supermarkets want to talk to you.
- Heating and good isolation of houses is unknown in this continent, I won't even go into the "blind problem", because only Spain has blinds by the looks of things. But then again, it's always summer in Perth, ISN'T IT? (Hint: no)
- Beware of the sun. Seriously. I have only got sunburnt after applying 30+ sunscreen once in my life. In Exmouth. (And I have been to Mexico, Cuba, Florida, Egipt and the South of Spain. Okay, I was not snorkelling for hours but you get my point)
- Eat kangaroo, crocodile and emu. You won't be able to do that again in your life. Kangaroo is actually one of the cheapest meats you can find at the supermarket, and it is delicious. Emu pies can be found in some of the road shops both sides of the Perth-Bunbury road (near Binningup there is a nice one). Crocodile is the trickiest, but hey, I can't give everything away, can I?
-Beware fo the wind. Windsurfing wasn't invented here without a reason, even in summer (or at least, the beggining of it) wind can make the sand of a beach hit you painfully and bury your towel in less than 30 minutes. It's pretty annoying most of the time and worsens currents when snorkelling (after all, why would you go to a beach in Australia if not for snorkelling?).
- Barbie is not a doll, and Brekkie is not a dog food brand. Neither is Bogan some kind of burguer. You need these three words, the rest of the australianisms are not that important, but these...
- Barefootness is commonplace, part of their culture. Actually if you see somebody barefoot in Europe, chances are he or she is australian. (And no, they do not understand why that is dangerous or unhygienic)
... I have more, but given the lenght of this post I may do a second part sometime instead of boring you to death in one text.
viernes, febrero 03, 2012
jueves, febrero 02, 2012
The Roadtrip
We were convinced to make it to Exmouth by my labmates, so we started planning a trip. There was a problem, though, we only had 7 days: From the 26th of December to the 2nd of January, 1300 kms to do and a truckload of stuff to see. If you have the bad luck of only having few days for this, you can take the advice of the tourism agency of Western Australia, which is boring, or do what we did:
Days 1 and 2. Perth - Northampton.
Stopping in Pinnacles, Cervantes (where all the streets are named after Spanish cities or territories) and Jurien bay. Now Pinnacles is a must, Cervantes has nothing unless you want to take a picture of a particular street name plate and Jurien bay is windy (at least when we got there). We ended up sleeping in a farmstay. The place was nice, the beds comfy, I could see all the stars forever and we found a spider the size of my fist. I totally recomend doing a Farmstay in Northampton.
Second day we went up to Kalbarri national park, saw many gorges and sweated a lot.
Days 3-4. Northampton - Shark bay (Denham)
Stopped in Northampton for a minute in order to take a picture and went up to shark bay after a swim in Horrocks. Denham has the shittiest accomodation in earth, I should say, but that did not stop us. We had a walk that evening in Denham and next morning: Monkey Mia. We expected to see dolphins, but it seems the average number of days the dolphins do not show up in Monkey mia is 5 a year. That day was the sixth day of the year and... they did not come. Just my luck. We had a walk and left for Francois Peron national park, which was closed for non 4WD cars. We could not even go in the National park, so we ended up going back and getting to shell beach (beautiful and really formed up only of shells) and to Port Douglas to see the pink lake. Believe me, it is pink, it is amazing and I have never seen something like that. (I hope the pink lake was here?)
Day 5. Shark Bay - Carnavon
We tried our luck that mornign too, and went to Monkey Mia again. Of course, no dolphins were to be seen again (seventh day in a row) and we just left the place in order to see some Stromatolites (that was also amazing) and end up in Carnarvon for the night. We had a laid back evening (the cabin this time was really good) played some Uno and this horrible Monopoly card game (I hate Monopoly as everyone knows). Next morning we saw the Memorial and the tourist information center in Carnarvon and left for Coral Bay.
Day 6-7. Carnarvon - Exmouth
After the dissapointment in Monkey Mia and the Carnarvon visit, we also got some mango smoothies from one of the local farms before heading to Coral Bay. The smoothie was amazing and I recommend going for one even if it is a detour from the planned route.
Coral bay is just OK, lots of people in what's not really a town but a tourist complex, with a hotel and a backpackers... and nothing else. Good for a swim and a picnic if the day is not too windy, and much better to go to nearby beaches that are not in the town but have snorkelling spots. Because I came here for the snorkelling, of course.
We got to Exmouth just in time to leave all our stuff and go to the lighthouse to see the last sunset of the year. There we met some spaniards that told us where to go to see turtles laying eggs so we went to do exactly that. It was a dark night and we coudl not see properly, but just as we sat in the beach, a turtle came out of the sea, walked inland and dig up a hole, I was beaming at that point, but my parents were freezing (not like I wasn't) and we left before she finished her hole. Orion was beautiful that night, and the rest of the stars bright as they always are in the southern hemisphere. It was a great night.
Next morning we went into every single beach of the Ningaloo reef park. So much snorkelling done, one turtle just appeared right before my eyes coming from a particularly big coral, fish everywhere, sea cucumbers and strong currrents all day long, beautiful sights. And I got sunburnt. I understand why aussies wear this wetshirts or whatever they are called. No, not wetsuits, I know what those are and this is different. That night we saw a bit of Exmouth (dead town, worse than Perth after 6 pm on a weekday, don't ever bother going) and went to bed early... next day was going to be a good one.
Day 8. The Return.
1200 kilometres in one day, from Exmouth to Perth, stopping for a short lunch and a smoothie in Carnarvon (because they were that good), and all the way down back to the only city of Western Australia in which its habitants count is over 40.000 people. (I have not looked it up, but I am sure I am not even exagerating).
Next post will have ... pics, because we all know it didn't happen if there are none.
We were convinced to make it to Exmouth by my labmates, so we started planning a trip. There was a problem, though, we only had 7 days: From the 26th of December to the 2nd of January, 1300 kms to do and a truckload of stuff to see. If you have the bad luck of only having few days for this, you can take the advice of the tourism agency of Western Australia, which is boring, or do what we did:
Days 1 and 2. Perth - Northampton.
Stopping in Pinnacles, Cervantes (where all the streets are named after Spanish cities or territories) and Jurien bay. Now Pinnacles is a must, Cervantes has nothing unless you want to take a picture of a particular street name plate and Jurien bay is windy (at least when we got there). We ended up sleeping in a farmstay. The place was nice, the beds comfy, I could see all the stars forever and we found a spider the size of my fist. I totally recomend doing a Farmstay in Northampton.
Second day we went up to Kalbarri national park, saw many gorges and sweated a lot.
Days 3-4. Northampton - Shark bay (Denham)
Stopped in Northampton for a minute in order to take a picture and went up to shark bay after a swim in Horrocks. Denham has the shittiest accomodation in earth, I should say, but that did not stop us. We had a walk that evening in Denham and next morning: Monkey Mia. We expected to see dolphins, but it seems the average number of days the dolphins do not show up in Monkey mia is 5 a year. That day was the sixth day of the year and... they did not come. Just my luck. We had a walk and left for Francois Peron national park, which was closed for non 4WD cars. We could not even go in the National park, so we ended up going back and getting to shell beach (beautiful and really formed up only of shells) and to Port Douglas to see the pink lake. Believe me, it is pink, it is amazing and I have never seen something like that. (I hope the pink lake was here?)
Day 5. Shark Bay - Carnavon
We tried our luck that mornign too, and went to Monkey Mia again. Of course, no dolphins were to be seen again (seventh day in a row) and we just left the place in order to see some Stromatolites (that was also amazing) and end up in Carnarvon for the night. We had a laid back evening (the cabin this time was really good) played some Uno and this horrible Monopoly card game (I hate Monopoly as everyone knows). Next morning we saw the Memorial and the tourist information center in Carnarvon and left for Coral Bay.
Day 6-7. Carnarvon - Exmouth
After the dissapointment in Monkey Mia and the Carnarvon visit, we also got some mango smoothies from one of the local farms before heading to Coral Bay. The smoothie was amazing and I recommend going for one even if it is a detour from the planned route.
Coral bay is just OK, lots of people in what's not really a town but a tourist complex, with a hotel and a backpackers... and nothing else. Good for a swim and a picnic if the day is not too windy, and much better to go to nearby beaches that are not in the town but have snorkelling spots. Because I came here for the snorkelling, of course.
We got to Exmouth just in time to leave all our stuff and go to the lighthouse to see the last sunset of the year. There we met some spaniards that told us where to go to see turtles laying eggs so we went to do exactly that. It was a dark night and we coudl not see properly, but just as we sat in the beach, a turtle came out of the sea, walked inland and dig up a hole, I was beaming at that point, but my parents were freezing (not like I wasn't) and we left before she finished her hole. Orion was beautiful that night, and the rest of the stars bright as they always are in the southern hemisphere. It was a great night.
Next morning we went into every single beach of the Ningaloo reef park. So much snorkelling done, one turtle just appeared right before my eyes coming from a particularly big coral, fish everywhere, sea cucumbers and strong currrents all day long, beautiful sights. And I got sunburnt. I understand why aussies wear this wetshirts or whatever they are called. No, not wetsuits, I know what those are and this is different. That night we saw a bit of Exmouth (dead town, worse than Perth after 6 pm on a weekday, don't ever bother going) and went to bed early... next day was going to be a good one.
Day 8. The Return.
1200 kilometres in one day, from Exmouth to Perth, stopping for a short lunch and a smoothie in Carnarvon (because they were that good), and all the way down back to the only city of Western Australia in which its habitants count is over 40.000 people. (I have not looked it up, but I am sure I am not even exagerating).
Next post will have ... pics, because we all know it didn't happen if there are none.
domingo, enero 22, 2012
The Southwest.
The spanish speaking group in Perth decided to make a weekend out and obviously I was not going to say no to something like that!. The plan was easy but tiring, leaving early Saturday and make it to Albany at night after going to 3 trees we could climb...
... and a national park. That same night, just for my Australian experience to be absolute, I hit a Kangaroo with the car, not proud of it.
Next morning, we went to the Tree Top Walk, which was amazing and I highly reccomend it if you have not enough guts to climb the unsafe Gloucester/bicentenial trees. The last two stops were the Elephant rocks, a beautiful beach with huge elephant like rocks (who would have guessed) and the bridge, that is awesome too. The only problem in the coast is the wind. There is waaay to much of it. Some australians seem to enjoy it but I find it annoying at a whole new level.
This trip is a must, but 2 days is not enough if you want to really take your time. Denmark is a good option for accomodation, you can get a double room for 55 dollars.
The spanish speaking group in Perth decided to make a weekend out and obviously I was not going to say no to something like that!. The plan was easy but tiring, leaving early Saturday and make it to Albany at night after going to 3 trees we could climb...
... and a national park. That same night, just for my Australian experience to be absolute, I hit a Kangaroo with the car, not proud of it.
Next morning, we went to the Tree Top Walk, which was amazing and I highly reccomend it if you have not enough guts to climb the unsafe Gloucester/bicentenial trees. The last two stops were the Elephant rocks, a beautiful beach with huge elephant like rocks (who would have guessed) and the bridge, that is awesome too. The only problem in the coast is the wind. There is waaay to much of it. Some australians seem to enjoy it but I find it annoying at a whole new level.
This trip is a must, but 2 days is not enough if you want to really take your time. Denmark is a good option for accomodation, you can get a double room for 55 dollars.
martes, enero 17, 2012
Oh no... MY DRAGONS.
[No pic because this post would be delayed forever if I have to wait till I remember to take a picture of it.]
This, this is the ultimate game. I do not want to play to anything else for the rest of my life. (uh, maybe Descent, but just because I have never had the oportunity). You are a commander from a dragon fleet and you have to get the Dragonlance. The most awesome setting for a game ever. It even has basic and different levels of advanced rules, you can have a pretty complicated game when you reach the top difficulty.
Since I cannot stop praising the game, I will just say that the only letdown is the chosing of the generals for the dragon armies. The Takishis side is perfectly done, but the metalic dragons are a bit of a mess. No Laurana, Tanis leads the Bronzes (because he... is the main character?), Gilthanas, just to be ironic, leads the Silvers (that is actually amusing and I approve of it), and Gunthar leads the Golden army. Yes I am a bit pissed about the lack of Laurana, specially because Gunthar does not really fit with the power of his army (he has magic affinity for some reason I do not understand), but I can forgive anything, my game is complete and I finally have all the dragons, which were in the store somewhere and not inside the game.
Have you noticed?. I have not even mentioned Raistlin (and complained about the lack of him) in all the post, I am so proud of myself... wait, oh fu...
[No pic because this post would be delayed forever if I have to wait till I remember to take a picture of it.]
This, this is the ultimate game. I do not want to play to anything else for the rest of my life. (uh, maybe Descent, but just because I have never had the oportunity). You are a commander from a dragon fleet and you have to get the Dragonlance. The most awesome setting for a game ever. It even has basic and different levels of advanced rules, you can have a pretty complicated game when you reach the top difficulty.
Since I cannot stop praising the game, I will just say that the only letdown is the chosing of the generals for the dragon armies. The Takishis side is perfectly done, but the metalic dragons are a bit of a mess. No Laurana, Tanis leads the Bronzes (because he... is the main character?), Gilthanas, just to be ironic, leads the Silvers (that is actually amusing and I approve of it), and Gunthar leads the Golden army. Yes I am a bit pissed about the lack of Laurana, specially because Gunthar does not really fit with the power of his army (he has magic affinity for some reason I do not understand), but I can forgive anything, my game is complete and I finally have all the dragons, which were in the store somewhere and not inside the game.
Have you noticed?. I have not even mentioned Raistlin (and complained about the lack of him) in all the post, I am so proud of myself... wait, oh fu...
lunes, enero 16, 2012
I am... sort of back. I will start doing the rest of the Australia posts as soon as possible and then, I will go back to spanish I think. I quite liked the change and may do a couple of posts in English now and then, I need to avoid loosing it again, as it happened to me after Belgium, but I have had too many complaints about the effort it took to read English all the time...
So. I am sad now. I miss it there, even though I am happy to see everyone, but there... there I had geeks, which is something I have not had in Spain for a year now. (What, a year already?). I mean, in my city. And in large quantities. I am not forgetting about any of my possible readers that might be offended by this.
And also... there I had labmates that actually became friends, here I found an empty lab with not so friendly occupants.
Even so, I am happy to see you all again in the same time zone, thanks for remaining here while I was away.
So. I am sad now. I miss it there, even though I am happy to see everyone, but there... there I had geeks, which is something I have not had in Spain for a year now. (What, a year already?). I mean, in my city. And in large quantities. I am not forgetting about any of my possible readers that might be offended by this.
And also... there I had labmates that actually became friends, here I found an empty lab with not so friendly occupants.
Even so, I am happy to see you all again in the same time zone, thanks for remaining here while I was away.
martes, diciembre 06, 2011
viernes, noviembre 11, 2011
viernes, noviembre 04, 2011
Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
(No, there is not even a chance that anyone would recognize where that title comes from, I am too old...)
So, here we go, tourist information for Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns so you won't die in the proccess of organizing a trip. First of all, check the weather, while Cairns would be hot and sunny most of the time, you get the ocasional thunderstorm that can ruin your day, and you do not want that to happen in Cairns.
Melbourne
If I have to be fair with this city, we had some cloudy days there and that is something always makes cities look ugly, but it was a bit disapointing. Federation Square is ok, and the Eureka Skydeck was fantastic even though expensive. Also, there was this:
The Museum of Melbourne is nice to see too, and the chinese street is beautiful but you should not spend more than one day for the whole city, maybe one day and a half at most.
The real beauty lies outside the city (and this will be a constant during the whole trip): The great Ocean Road.
Best way to see it is renting a car and stopping in the way for a nights rest. There is so much to see, rainforests, the twelve apostles, beaches, the bridge...
I understand that a tour would be faster, easier and would give you more information but it is rushed, expensive and you spend too much time in the bus, believe me, I have done it.
Cairns (Or wishing for the time to stand still)
Our second stop, and the best was Cairns, a small town in the north, warm to the point of actually hot, but with the best atmosphere of the whole trip. The town itself is worth seeing, the lagoon, the bbqs located in lawns, the social events (Free Zumba classes in a park, needless to say we jumped in inmediately) trees with cute lamps hanging from their branches...
And our hostel
Travellers Oasis, a paradise. Swimming pool, beautiful houses and decoration and basically how you would like your house to look. And the staff is helpful and sort out every problem you may have.
But of course, as I said previously, the real deal was outside, because there is Daintree Rainforest. Rent A Car. I cannot say it enough times, for Daintree rainforest you want to rent a car. Thrifty is the best option, it is near Travellers Oasis, they will arrange everything for you and the way is so simple you do not even need a map to get there.
And last but not least in this awesome location, is the gate to the great barrier reef. And you want to sleep in the reef, because it is just awesome. However, I would recomend snorkel instead of diving. Everything is so clore to the surface that going down is actually worse. We saw these gorgeous electric blue starfish, sharks, clams the size of supermarket trolleys (not exagerating a single bit) annemonas with their clownfishes, corals of every colour...
And after all this, we did not want to leave. We could not go to Kuranda, even though it is a must, and we did not enjoy the town as much as we could, but... we had to leave for Sydney.
Sydney
First of all, there is no such thing as Wallaby Way 42, Sydney. We asked an unfriendly tourist guide and said so (she was not very knowledgeable now I come to think of it, but still...)
There is a lot to see in Sydney, I would highlight the chinese street again, the zone next to the IMAX (nice lawns to have a rest with a chai latte from Starbucks), Governor House, botanic gardens (take a chance to see the library too, it is next to the gardens) and of course, the Opera House. We were lucky enough to go during the Open day, so it was free and the organ was continuosly being played which obviously made my mouth salivate for the entire day.
In "out of the city" stuff, we did Taronga Zoo, which is totally NOT worth the price (40 bucks if not a student, 31 for concessions), and Manly. Manly is beautiful, you can take a walk that is marked in the map you can get from tourism in Sydney and is totally worth it,
If you are wondering why we did not go to the Blue Mountains, the reason is that it was pouring down the day we chose to go... and some of us were tired too, and also very disapointed with our hostel (Never EVER go to ZING!/Travellers Rest, water dropping from the ceiling, dirty, had to ask for towels, breakfast and everything in order to get it... bad bad.)
The final conclusion is... Go to Cairns, stay a whole week and take only 2 days or 1 and a half day in Sydney and Melbourne. And Melbourne only for the sake of the Great Ocean Road I must say.
(No, there is not even a chance that anyone would recognize where that title comes from, I am too old...)
So, here we go, tourist information for Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns so you won't die in the proccess of organizing a trip. First of all, check the weather, while Cairns would be hot and sunny most of the time, you get the ocasional thunderstorm that can ruin your day, and you do not want that to happen in Cairns.
Melbourne
If I have to be fair with this city, we had some cloudy days there and that is something always makes cities look ugly, but it was a bit disapointing. Federation Square is ok, and the Eureka Skydeck was fantastic even though expensive. Also, there was this:
The Museum of Melbourne is nice to see too, and the chinese street is beautiful but you should not spend more than one day for the whole city, maybe one day and a half at most.
The real beauty lies outside the city (and this will be a constant during the whole trip): The great Ocean Road.
Best way to see it is renting a car and stopping in the way for a nights rest. There is so much to see, rainforests, the twelve apostles, beaches, the bridge...
I understand that a tour would be faster, easier and would give you more information but it is rushed, expensive and you spend too much time in the bus, believe me, I have done it.
Cairns (Or wishing for the time to stand still)
Our second stop, and the best was Cairns, a small town in the north, warm to the point of actually hot, but with the best atmosphere of the whole trip. The town itself is worth seeing, the lagoon, the bbqs located in lawns, the social events (Free Zumba classes in a park, needless to say we jumped in inmediately) trees with cute lamps hanging from their branches...
And our hostel
Travellers Oasis, a paradise. Swimming pool, beautiful houses and decoration and basically how you would like your house to look. And the staff is helpful and sort out every problem you may have.
But of course, as I said previously, the real deal was outside, because there is Daintree Rainforest. Rent A Car. I cannot say it enough times, for Daintree rainforest you want to rent a car. Thrifty is the best option, it is near Travellers Oasis, they will arrange everything for you and the way is so simple you do not even need a map to get there.
And last but not least in this awesome location, is the gate to the great barrier reef. And you want to sleep in the reef, because it is just awesome. However, I would recomend snorkel instead of diving. Everything is so clore to the surface that going down is actually worse. We saw these gorgeous electric blue starfish, sharks, clams the size of supermarket trolleys (not exagerating a single bit) annemonas with their clownfishes, corals of every colour...
And after all this, we did not want to leave. We could not go to Kuranda, even though it is a must, and we did not enjoy the town as much as we could, but... we had to leave for Sydney.
Sydney
First of all, there is no such thing as Wallaby Way 42, Sydney. We asked an unfriendly tourist guide and said so (she was not very knowledgeable now I come to think of it, but still...)
There is a lot to see in Sydney, I would highlight the chinese street again, the zone next to the IMAX (nice lawns to have a rest with a chai latte from Starbucks), Governor House, botanic gardens (take a chance to see the library too, it is next to the gardens) and of course, the Opera House. We were lucky enough to go during the Open day, so it was free and the organ was continuosly being played which obviously made my mouth salivate for the entire day.
In "out of the city" stuff, we did Taronga Zoo, which is totally NOT worth the price (40 bucks if not a student, 31 for concessions), and Manly. Manly is beautiful, you can take a walk that is marked in the map you can get from tourism in Sydney and is totally worth it,
If you are wondering why we did not go to the Blue Mountains, the reason is that it was pouring down the day we chose to go... and some of us were tired too, and also very disapointed with our hostel (Never EVER go to ZING!/Travellers Rest, water dropping from the ceiling, dirty, had to ask for towels, breakfast and everything in order to get it... bad bad.)
The final conclusion is... Go to Cairns, stay a whole week and take only 2 days or 1 and a half day in Sydney and Melbourne. And Melbourne only for the sake of the Great Ocean Road I must say.
miércoles, octubre 19, 2011
As... now I hope EVERYONE knows, I have been to the East Coast for 11 days. In that time, my set of emergency posts was gone and I am left with no time to write. That means my post will be back to caos and irregularity till I find time to do a bunch of them and neatly program them to post themselves every 5 days.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but as a compensation I can post in a near future a couple of pictures and some detailed information of the DRAGONLANCE GAME EPICNESS ASSURED.
So... stay tuned, i suppose?
Sorry for the inconvenience, but as a compensation I can post in a near future a couple of pictures and some detailed information of the DRAGONLANCE GAME EPICNESS ASSURED.
So... stay tuned, i suppose?
sábado, octubre 15, 2011
Yesterday I went to a public toilet without a mirror over the sink. In its place was a graffiti that read "I'm sure you're beautiful". I left that place with a weird feeling of peacefulness. I suppose I am just glad that there is still nice people.
And I did not even mind the gramatical error that much either.
sábado, octubre 08, 2011
Humans VS Zombies
Yes, this university is as cool as to be able to pull off a campus-wide game just like that, involving every single person in the uni regardless they play or not.
This game was first done in the USA I think, but was quicly imported with slight modifications. First and most important, it was not compulsory to stay overnight in campus (however, how epic would that have been).
But lets start from the beginning and explain the rules!.
Humans wear orange bandanas and zombies purple ones, the first day everyone is human but one original zombie that can disguise as a human for the first 14 hours of gameplay.
Humans can stun zombies for 15 minutes shooting them with a Nerf gun, and zombies can convert humans into zombies touching them (as in tagging them).
Zombies die if they do not feed within two days
Humans have to complete 4 out of 5 missions given one each day.
All campus is the playground, except indoors and inner courtyards.
This is the game setting. Of course I am in, and was very excited the first 5 hours. And then I got tagged by a zombi because I was to distracted with some stupid conversation to notice he was right behind me. Now, at the beggining of day 2, there is a 90% population of zombies and we are all starving. I have only seen 3 humans today, all of them indoors... This is going to end pretty soon XD
Yes, this university is as cool as to be able to pull off a campus-wide game just like that, involving every single person in the uni regardless they play or not.
This game was first done in the USA I think, but was quicly imported with slight modifications. First and most important, it was not compulsory to stay overnight in campus (however, how epic would that have been).
But lets start from the beginning and explain the rules!.
Humans wear orange bandanas and zombies purple ones, the first day everyone is human but one original zombie that can disguise as a human for the first 14 hours of gameplay.
Humans can stun zombies for 15 minutes shooting them with a Nerf gun, and zombies can convert humans into zombies touching them (as in tagging them).
Zombies die if they do not feed within two days
Humans have to complete 4 out of 5 missions given one each day.
All campus is the playground, except indoors and inner courtyards.
This is the game setting. Of course I am in, and was very excited the first 5 hours. And then I got tagged by a zombi because I was to distracted with some stupid conversation to notice he was right behind me. Now, at the beggining of day 2, there is a 90% population of zombies and we are all starving. I have only seen 3 humans today, all of them indoors... This is going to end pretty soon XD
lunes, octubre 03, 2011
Did I mention anything about the fantabulous Games Night?
But I should start from the beginning: I joined this club called Murdoch Anime Directive, or MAd, as they like to call themselves. I had to pay 5 dollars and they did not seem like the nicest or more talkative people in the world, I actually thought it was because I was older, and that it might be a waste of money because I was not going to be able to fit in, but... I tried and went for the games night. And it was wonderful. I learnt to play Mahjong, we did some half an hour of roleplaying (Maid RPG, can only happen in Japan) and Uno with house rules that give that little something to the game.
Also we drank Pearl tea (aka Bubble tea). And did I mention the fabulous hair colour of our president?, I cannot begin to tell how natural blue looks on that guy, and I cannot understand it either. Of course he knows how fucking awesome that color fits him, last time I told him I loved his hair his answer was something like "I can't not accept compliments about my hair" (I bet you wouldn't, Eresh fucking Kewell, it is a shame to think this would have been truckloads funnier some months ago, and it is also a pity there is not a single blond person in the club)
It is not difficult to imagine how I came up to turn every single Wednesday and Thursday in the common room for games and Mahjong lessons, where I get the infinite patience of the president of the club trying to teach me and some fantastic conversations when we go out for dinner:
Pres: Ah, are you going to join our party?
Wally (He was actually dressed like him): Yes, I thought you might need a rogue, you know someone you cannot spot easily.
Yes I laughed for hours at that, You already know my sense of humor is completely messed up.
But I should start from the beginning: I joined this club called Murdoch Anime Directive, or MAd, as they like to call themselves. I had to pay 5 dollars and they did not seem like the nicest or more talkative people in the world, I actually thought it was because I was older, and that it might be a waste of money because I was not going to be able to fit in, but... I tried and went for the games night. And it was wonderful. I learnt to play Mahjong, we did some half an hour of roleplaying (Maid RPG, can only happen in Japan) and Uno with house rules that give that little something to the game.
Also we drank Pearl tea (aka Bubble tea). And did I mention the fabulous hair colour of our president?, I cannot begin to tell how natural blue looks on that guy, and I cannot understand it either. Of course he knows how fucking awesome that color fits him, last time I told him I loved his hair his answer was something like "I can't not accept compliments about my hair" (I bet you wouldn't, Eresh fucking Kewell, it is a shame to think this would have been truckloads funnier some months ago, and it is also a pity there is not a single blond person in the club)
It is not difficult to imagine how I came up to turn every single Wednesday and Thursday in the common room for games and Mahjong lessons, where I get the infinite patience of the president of the club trying to teach me and some fantastic conversations when we go out for dinner:
Pres: Ah, are you going to join our party?
Wally (He was actually dressed like him): Yes, I thought you might need a rogue, you know someone you cannot spot easily.
Yes I laughed for hours at that, You already know my sense of humor is completely messed up.
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