All in all it wasn't too bad of a flight. I was expecting to be figity and uncomfortable and basically miserable much like I am when I fly anywhere over a couple hours. However, the flight left at around 11pm which was pretty perfect because I was sleepy enough to be able to get some dozing done from time to time. I would have liked to have had a window seat since they are easier to sleep in, however no such luck. I was on the outside, which is much more perferable than the middle so no complaints. I ended up sitting next to a mother and her son who, I found out at the end of the flight, was an American married to an Aussie. She and her son had gone back to the US to visit her family in Pacific Northwest for the holidays.
Though I left the US on December 31 I didn't arrive in Australia until the second of January. My flight got in around 8am but due to customs and luggage and whatnot I don't think I actually got out of the airport until 9. Australia by all apperances has some of the strictest regulations about what is and is not allowed in the country. The only other place that has been near this bad was Israel and mostly they just wanted to keep the people in or out not their property.
Due to the long travel day (about 23 hours in total) I decided to splurge on myself. Instead of trying to save myself some money, I booked myself into a hostel that would pick me up from the airport. This decision put me in the Manly Backpackers Hostle in the Brisbane suburb of Manly (obviously). Manly is less than 10 miles from the center of Brisbane but might as well be 100 for Manly has a decidedly small town feel. Located right on the water and with a population of under 4000 people it was a beautiful place to relax and regroup after traveling for so long. The picture below is of the outside.
The hostel also runs a bar and resturant located in the upper area where the railing is. I had some fish and chips there for lunch when I arrived and spent about an hour just sitting up there. It was a warm sunny day but up there I could feel the most wonderful breeze.
Wanting to get on Australian time as quickly and easily as possible (it's a 15 hr difference between home and here) I decided not to take a nap or anything but instead just spend the day awake and groggy as hell. Though Manly is beautiful there isn't a whole lot to do, well at least not at the time I arrived. I called Sean, a traveler that Patrick and I met on our Middle East adventure to see of he wanted to meet up for a drink. Sean, originally from Tasmania, had recently moved to Brisbane. My first day in Australia was spent with good conversation and good weather. Can't get much better than that.
Some pictures of Manly:
A couple random observations before I go. One I have no idea what kind of bird that is in the picture above but I thought he was cool looking. There were several of them in park area I walked pass and I thought I'd show you guys back home. I've been trying to take pictures of animals and plants that I've never seen before. Second, Manly/Brisbane or maybe Australia in general is a very outdoors/fitness centered place. There is a walking/bike lane the entire length of the city along the water. However more importantly people use it. I saw many many people from little kids to very old adults walking, running or peddling along this path. It was great to see such an active community. I wish we had more things like this in America.
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