Relevant History

I'm glad I made it out alive

Having just returned from Australia, this (in the Guardian's travel section*) caught my eye:

Australia is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world but its beaches, rainforests and deserts can take a deadly toll on tourists. According to official statistics, 2,433 overseas visitors, including 25 children, have died in the last seven years. Causes of death include drowning, heat stroke and even a jellyfish sting....

[L]ast weekend hundreds of swimmers on three of Perth's most popular beaches were warned to leave the water after a two-metre-long shark was spotted near the shore.

*Maybe Thomas Friedman is right after all!

[To the tune of The Blue Nile, "She Saw The World," from the album "High".]

Technorati Tags: Australia

Sydney Opera House

During my layover in Sydney, I had just enough time to stash my bags and make a pilgrimage to see the Sydney Opera House.

via flickr

I had studied the building in an architectural history class (and recently read a New Yorker article about current efforts to restore it)), but still I was completely unprepared for how amazing it is in real life. For one thing, it sits in one of the most incredible locations imaginable: the site is beside the Circular Quay and ferry building, across from the Harbour Bridge, and in front of the old Royal Botanic Garden, so it's very busy, very prominent, and very beautiful. I suspect only a handful of sites this cool become available to architects in a century.

via flickr

For another, the Opera House itself is much more interesting up close than I expected. I didn't realize how different the three buildings are, nor how their appearance changes as you walk around them.

via flickr

One of the cooler things I saw-- the guys doing the new tile have to rappel up and down the sides of the building, as it's too complicated to scaffold.

via flickr

The Opera House has also inspired some pretty innovative architecture nearby: in particular, a cluster of skyscrapers a few blocks away that I think are a terrific combination.

(Deutsche Bank Place (with the triangular scaffold), Chifley Tower, Aurora Place, and Governor Phillip Tower (the corporate headquarters in "Mission Impossible 2.") via flickr

[To the tune of Little River Band, "It's a Long Way There," from the album "Little River Band: Greatest Hits".]

Technorati Tags: Australia, Sydney, Sydney Opera House

Perth skyline

via flickr

[To the tune of The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy For The Devil," from the album "Forty Licks".]

Technorati Tags: Australia, night, Perth

Evening in Cottesloe Beach

I finished up my last meeting in Perth on Wednesday about 6:30 p.m. It was an 11-hour day, that combination of enforced physical inactivity and mental exertion that is strangely tiring. (If there's a physical version of ADD, I have it.)

I felt like I couldn't possibly leave Perth without spending at least a little time at the beach, so I got a cab and, on the advice of just about everyone I talked to, went to Cottesloe Beach.

Technorati Tags: Australia, beach, Perth, travel

More in Flickr

I've added pictures from my trip to the beach in Perth, and my layover in Sydney to my Australia trip set on Flickr.

via flickr

Most of them are pictures of the Sydney Opera House, but given how amazing a structure that is, it's a reasonable balance.

[To the tune of The Beatles, "Day Tripper," from the album "The Beatles 1".]

Technorati Tags: Australia, beach, Perth, Sydney, travel, work

On the plane

We're past Nadi, about eight hours from San Francisco, just across the international dateline.

For this trip I did something I haven't done in recent memory on a long flight: I didn't bring any book. Normally I weight myself down with books and reprints; this time, I packed a bunch of DVDs, and with my new power adapter, I figured I could work. Or just sleep: I've gotten about 14 hours sleep since Saturday. Been a busy trip.

Unfortunately, this flight has been choppier than the one to Sydney, so that's gotten in the way of my usual habit of getting up and spending much of the trip standing.

Technorati Tags: Australia, flying, travel

At the airport

I'm at the Perth airport. I'm a couple hours early for my flight, but I'd rather be early than late.

via flickr

I found a cafe here, and what looks like an open wireless network, though I'm not connected yet. Perhaps I'll be able to live blog my drinking coffee and waiting to board my flight, or maybe not.

Apparently not. Certainly not at $20 per day.

Not surprisingly, it's Young International Backpacker Central here tonight. I've heard half a dozen languages, and an abundance of henna tattoos on people wearing cargo shorts. I suppose the redeye flights are cheaper than others.

Technorati Tags: airport, Australia, Perth, travel, work

On the Swan River

via flickr

Technorati Tags: Australia, Perth

Deep questions

First, how many of the characters from Winnie the Pooh are edible?

Obviously, Piglet and Rabbit.

I think they eat bear in China.

I didn't know this until tonight, but it turns out that you can also eat kangaroo.

via flickr

I had kangaroo this evening at the Old Swan Brewery. It took a few minutes for my dinner-mates to convince me that this wasn't some trick they played on foreigners. But other than making me feel a greater kinship with gonzo carnivore Ted Nugent, it's pretty good. It reminds me of buffalo.

This leaves donkey, owl, and tiger, all of which I suspect are inedible.

Now the other big question: if the children ask, "Did you see any kangaroos?" what do I say? If I say "I ate some kangaroo," they'll think I'm a barbarian. If I say, "In a manner of speaking," they'll ask for details, and I suspect "On a plate, garnished with lettuce" won't go over well. I should probably say no, on the grounds that you don't see a cow every time you go to Burger King.

The tiger shrimp and squid were pretty good, too.

via flickr

Technorati Tags: Australia, food, travel

Feeling more human

After a couple pitchers of water and another round of revisions to my talks, I'm feeling more human. Maybe it's time to soak in the tub.

Part of me thinks it was nuts to get up so early, and that I should have just downed something from the minibar and gone back to bed. But I find I'm so wired when I'm on the road, and that this nervous energy is usually pretty productive, I figured it was worth the risk.

[To the tune of Bob Dylan & Grateful Dead, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," from the album "Dylan & The Dead".]

Technorati Tags: Perth, work