It has been raining in Taiwan for the last two weeks. This is what the sky looks like from my apartment most days around noon (click the picture to enlarge). The rain begins every afternoon around 1:30 and ends around 4:00... sometimes it comes back in the evening, but not always.
It is becoming somewhat of a drag for a lot of people, but it isn't really getting me down. I'm not sure why. I don't like driving a scooter in the rain, but so far it hasn't been that awful.
Maybe it is just the timing seems to work well for me. Most days, by the time the rain starts I am already at school, and it generally finishes before I go home. I just use a towel to dry the seat of my scooter and go. Well... whatever the case. I am trying to stay positive about it!
Another thing that is keeping me in good spirits is my upcoming vacation. I am so looking forward to it that I could almost burst. Let me first quality by saying that I am *NOT* a big traveller. I don't travel very well. I don't like being out of my element, and consequently there are very few places that can tempt me to leave my familiar environment. I know, it probably sounds funny to hear me describe myself this way considering that I packed up and moved half-way around the world in 2001... but there you are.
Getting back to my holiday plans: I am going to Australia in July!! I cannot tell you how excited I am. Australia has always been one of those places that I have wanted to go.
It isn't because I have a burning desire to see Australia, or that there is something specific that I want to experience first hand in Australia... I have just always felt a pull to visit it, and I can't wait to finally be doing it later this summer.
Hmmm... Did I say summer? I guess that is a matter of perspective since it will be the middle of summer here in Taiwan, but down below the equator in Australia it will be the depths of winter! I am actually hoping to get a little skiing in down near Melbourne!
If all goes well, I will be flying out of Taiwan during the last week of July and I should be returning before August 16th. The plan is to fly into Melbourne and visit a friend of mine there for a few days, then travel up to Sydney and visit with another friend, then for the last two weeks I will be meeting up with my friends Gordon and Yasmin and travelling North toward Brisbane, where they live. I used to work with Gordon here in Taiwan, as you know, so it will be really nice to see him and Yasmin again!
My friends have graciously offered me a place to stay and so I will have a lot more money for attractions and travelling. Gordon and Yasmin have even promised to show me around some of their favourite places and I am really looking forward to quite a lot of it, especially the Steve Irwin zoo in Brisbane and the Tree Top Walk... I guess I'll have to tell you more about that when I get back!
I have been looking around on-line at what there is to do in Australia and there is so much that my head is spinning. I guess I am only limited by time and money... I know I am still young, as they say, but I honestly see this as my trip of a lifetime and I don't expect to be going back... so I want to do everything! ...or at least as much as I can drag my friends to during my three weeks!
...and if it sounds to you like I'm not really doing very much or going to many places while I am in Australia, please bear in mind that it is a CONTINENT sized country...! Click on the map below to check out the Australia tourism hub!
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