Day 30 - Surfing and Hillsong Church

    Our final full day of our journey around the world has arrived.  Tomorrow we go home to Colorado to complete the circumnavigation around the globe.  Although we have had an amazing time we are excited to go home.  Our flight leaves for Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon and arrives on Sunday morning (we actually arrive 3 hours before we leave).

     Today has been a fun day for us.  We took the ferry back to Manly Beach first thing this morning for surf lessons.  Leslie has done more surfing than I, but nether of us are particularly experienced in the sport.  Winter in Australia is the best time for surfing and today was an excellent day.  We donned our wet suites and Sharkskins and plunged into the cold south Pacific winter water (there are penguins in Sydney Harbor!) for about two hours of surfing; we had a blast.

     Tonight we attended Hillsong Church here in Sydney.  In addition to having a well known worship band they have several churches spread throughout Australia and several international campuses throughout the US and UK.  It was a good service; the gospel was presented clearly.

     Leslie and I have both spent time in countries where driving is conducted on the left side of the road, so it hasn't been a big deal for us; but there have been a few times when we have caught ourselves looking the wrong way.  And as you can see from the picture below, Australia wants you to know which way to look before crossing the crosswalks.  I wonder how many people from right side driving countries had to be struck before they painted the signs on the street!

On the Ferry to Manly.

Leslie and Sydney Harbor from the Manly Beach ferry

Manly Beach

Manly Beach

"Look Left" on the crosswalks

Day 29 - Animal Reserve and Olympic Park

     Leslie has wanted to see a koala bear up close for a while.  Our original plan for today was to take the ferry to the Sydney Zoo and participate in the koala encounter, but after talking to a few people we decided the best place to see a koala bear would be at one of the animal reserves just outside of the city.  This morning we took the train to the Featherdale Animal Reserve about an hour west of the city.  The preserve only has animals native to Australia so of course koala's were included.  About 80 percent of all the animals in Australia are native only to Australia (at least I read that somewhere).  They had kangaroos, cassowaries, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, wombats and a heap of others as well.  And of course Leslie was able to see her koala up close and personal.  Thankfully for me a koala is an endangered species so she can't bring one home (three days ago she wanted to bring home a sea turtle...to Colorado)!

     Throughout this trip we have seen four Olympic parks.  We have not planned our trip around seeing them, we have just happened to be in cities where the Olympics were hosted.  In Germany we visited the 1972 Olympic park in Munich.  In Innsbruck, Austria we visited the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympic site. We visited Beijing where the 2008 summer Olympics were held.  And today we walked around the site of the 2000 Olympic summer games here in Sydney.

Leslie and her Koala

Leslie feeding the Wallaby

Me feeding the Wallaby

He doesn't even look real!

2000 Sydney Olympic stadium

           

Day 28 - Harbor Bridge Climb and Manly Beach

     Our hotel in Sydney is at the Circular Quay, which is right down town.  Being near the ferry docks, train station and opera house has been a great convenience for us.  We have thoroughly enjoyed the local restaurants, shops and the didgeridoo (a didgeridoo is an instrument played by the aborigenes in Australia.  To hear one played click here) players in downtown Sydney.

     One item on Leslie's "bucket list" has been to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge; today we crossed that off her list.  Because the climb takes you up the arch of the bridge directly over the highway and train line, you are not allowed to take a camera or anything (wallet, coins or even sunglasses that are not attached to the suit they provide) that may fall.  The highest peak of the bridge is 134 meters (439 feet for those of you in the US); the view was spectacular.

     Tonight we took the ferry to Manly Beach for dinner.  The ferry takes about 30 minutes and departs from the dock five minutes from our hotel.  We met a guy from Maryland working at the restaurant and an Australian who couldn't understand why we traveled so far from home.  Most of Manly Beach was closed by the time we got there so we plan to return (mainly to go to the Billabong store) on Saturday as a last hurrah before heading home on Sunday.  Here are a few pictures from the day.  If you like them, post a comment.  We like to hear that people are following the trip.  Enjoy!

Hotel view

The opera house and harbor bridge

Bridge and opera house from the botanic garden

Sydney harbor

Leslie is a little excited to be here...

Riding the ferry to Manly Beach

At the beach

Day 27 - Sydney and the Opera

     It seems I am a bit behind on the blog posts, my apologies.  We finished our dive trip on Tuesday and flew to Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.  The cool weather has been a bit of a shock to us here in Sydney.  Yesterday we walked around the city in sweatshirts and jeans; and even last night with jackets.  We stay in Sydney until we fly home on Sunday.  Where has the time gone?  On one hand the time has gone very quickly, but on the other hand our Germany stop seems months ago.

     Leslie experienced an opera for the first time last night (believe it or not, this was my second opera. My first opera was here in Sydney in 2009).  We had a good time.  The opera was the Pearl Fisher in French.  Though we both enjoyed the opera, if this was our last we would be content.  We had a great time and really enjoyed the experience, but opera really isn't our thing; we will stick to plays and musicals.  Our sentiment may have been different if the words had been in a language we could understand (although it was translated to english above the theater stage).

     Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days, including a couple from the last day of our diving trip in Cairns.  Enjoy!

Leslie on the boat back to Cairns...very rough waters

In Sydney

Sydney Harbor Bridge

The Opera House

Leslie finally got her Subway

Sydney Harbor Bridge at night

Opera House - The Pearl Fisher Opera

Inside the Theater...oops (cameras are forbidden inside)

Outside after the show

Day 24 - Flynn Reef

    Today we finished our advanced divers course.  After a cloudy morning the weather cleared and the sun came out.  With 25 meter visibility underwater our dives have been fantastic.  We have seen many turtles, barracudas, clown fish (little Nemo's), and so many more.  We have also been able to make many new friends as well; people from Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Norway and the UK.

Leslie

Flynn Reef

Jeremy

Sea Turtle

Day 23 - Diving on Milln Reef

     You would think being on a boat 30 miles off the coast of Australia there would be some disconnection from the outside world. Not on the Pro Dive II  dive boat.  This isn't the only thing we have been surprise about on this dive trip.  When I was here four years ago it was summer in the southern hemisphere; its winter now.  The water temperature is 73 degrees but the outside temperature today only reached about 72 degrees.  On tonights night dive the water actually felt warm when the air temperature was in the mid 60's.  We were able to get some warmer gear, so we're all set for four more dives tomorrow.  Leslie and I are both working toward our advanced diver certificate; we will have it complete by our return on Tuesday.  Today we completed our underwater navigation skills dive, night dive and peak performance and buoyancy dive.  All we have remaining is a deep dive to 30 meters (98 feet) and a search and recovery dive to complete our advanced certification; the rest are just fun dives, eleven total for the three day trip.

      The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing place to see all kinds of wildlife.  Today we saw a sea turtle, sharks (two at night), lots of fish and beautiful corral.  Although it has been a bit chilly and a little more windy than we would have liked, we are having a great time and look forward to the day of diving tomorrow.  I will post pictures as soon as I can...

Day 22 - Cairns, Australia

     We arrived in Cairns, Australia about 2pm this afternoon.  The trip was quite long with stops in both Hong Kong and Brisbane.  We leave tomorrow morning (Sunday) for a three day two night dive trip on the Great barrier Reef.  Obviously we won't have access to the internet while on the boat, so I'll update the blog when we get back on Tuesday.  Check back then.

Day 20 - Day of Rest

     Today has been the first day of lounging since we left; and we've been gone almost three weeks.  Tonight we flew back to Phnom Penh, had some dinner and enjoying another Blizzard from Dairy Queen.  While walking around the city tonight we enjoyed the beautifully manicured parks complete with well trimmed trees ("funny looking" according to Leslie) and giant rats.  There are no pictures today, we will update again tomorrow before we leave for Australia.

     

Day 19 - Siem Reap (updated)

    We've had another fantastic day of beautiful weather and great sights.  The weather was a bit overcast today which was a nice break from the intense sunshine and heat we had yesterday.  Today we visited Preah Khan temple, Neak Pean temple, Banteay Srei temple and Bakong Temple.  The temple Bakong was the oldest temple in the area, built in 881 AD.  We left first thing this morning but were finished with the temples by 2pm.

     After a quick rest in the afternoon we spent the late afternoon and evening in Siem Reap strolling the markets and getting a foot massage by fish eating dry skin off my feet (Leslie didn't do this, only Me).  We also ate dinner at the local Mexican restaurant which boasted "The Best Mexican Food in Asia."  Leslie and I both agreed it wasn't bad. Of course it did have a Cambodian flare.

     Tomorrow we head back to Phnom Penh for one night and then on to Cairns, Australia on friday.  Our journey to Cairns will take us back through Hong Kong and down to Brisbane, Australia before reaching our final destination at about 2pm on Saturday (Australia time).

That's a stylish man-purse!

All those holes in the walls used to be filled with gems but were stolen over the years. They say there is only one "diamond" left, but only if you position your camera just right.

Oh just another 900 year old tree growing on an ancient temple in the middle of the jungle.

The only temple we saw made of red sandstone, plus it had very intricate carvings.

The oldest temple we saw, from the 9th century. This one was made of brick (which was unusual) and was used as a crematorium.

They like their giant, steep steps! The purpose of this was to force people to walk sideways up the stairs, which is a sign of respect to the gods/deceased people/spirits/whatever else is in the temple.

This was our favorite temple from day two of temple visits.

Getting a fish "massage," which means fish eat the dead skin off my feet.

Eating Mexican food in Cambodia!

Day 18 - Angkor Wat (Updated)

     This morning we flew to Siem Reap; about a 40 minute flight north of Phnom Penh.  Siem Reap is home to the Angkor Wat which is the largest Khmer temple complex in the world and is considered one of the eight wonders of the world (along with the Great Wall of China, and the Terracotta Warriors).  After checking into the hotel we hired a tuk tuk and a guide to take us to three temples (to include the Angkor Wat).  The architecture was amazing, especially when you consider the temples were built in the early 12th century.  It wasn't until the early 20th century that European explorers discovered the temples and began the process of restoring them to their present condition.  Unfortunately during the conflicts of the past 40 years, several temples sustained damage, to include bullet holes and shrapnel damage.

      We have really enjoying getting to know our tour guide Bou.  His grandparents where killed in 1979 during the Khmer Rouge in a killing field similar to what we visited yesterday.  They were killed because is his grandmother had a light complexion from China and his grandfather was Vietnamese.  Every family was affected in some way by the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.