Back in the Land of Oz

“Thank you for flying Virgin Blue. We’re sorry that we’ve mucked up your day and we hope that the rest of your week will be better than the experience you’ve had flying with us tonight.

We thank you for being so kind and forgiving to our cabin crew and once again, we're sorry for ruining your week. Oh, and a reminder - it's bloody cold outside so you should put on a jumper if you have one.”

I love Australia.

I am sitting in a hotel room in Melbourne that’s so big that I can’t fit it into pictures – it is bigger than my aparment. I was welcomed to my room by Maria Callas singing a selection of Italian arias (including "Chichino Rossini's Senerentoler," according to the local radio commentator ;) which is playing on the local classical radio station. It was so loud that I actually went downstairs and ask them to call the room because I was afraid there was someone else in the room – what hotel plays Maria Callas as their welcome music? The hotel, a historical landmark that is almost 100 years old, is so big that it was at least a quarter mile walk between the “lift” and my room. I love being in the only country in the world where 100 years old seems even older than it does in the US.

I am hoping that the hotel does not turn out to be as haunted as it looks, because right now it is making the Vultura Negra in Transylvania seem like a bright and cheery place. And yet each room has a personal espresso maker and a view of downtown - I love Australia.


I've done another whirlwind month on three continents - From India, back to California, to Australia. With two suitcases in tow, I have headed over to Asia Pacific for the long haul, and I've been so busy that I haven't had time to write!

I've been in Sydney for a week and a half, taking in the early spring weather of 75 degrees and sunny, and have already managed to put my feet in the still-freezing water at both of Sydney's main beaches (Bondi and Manly), to pay a visit to the good ol' cat-sized bats in the botanical gardens, to make and eat a pavlova, and to eat and/or drink some form of rich chocolate every night.

Did I mention I love Australia?

I first remembered how much I love Australia the second I got on the Qantas flight from San Francisco and a cheery flight steward handed me a menu in my economy class seat with a 'Ta' (a word with multiple meanind including 'thanks,' 'you're welcome' and 'good-bye'). Even though a part of me was pawing at the stairway to business class upstairs (mostly the part that wouldn't be able to stretch out flat for the next 24 hours), another part of me enjoyed the flight more than Singapore's business class because of the difference in attitude among the passengers. Singapore's business class from Singapore through Hong Kong to San Francisco was full of serious, stressed-out middle-aged men in dark suits drinking and then passing out to avoid the stress of their stressful business lives. Qantas economy class was full of Americans on vacation to Australia and Australians returning home to their lovely, beach and chocolate-shop filled country after a holiday in the US.

Every time I come to Australia (this is my third time), I am stuck by how bright the sun is, how yummy the pastries are, and how cheery the people are. All excellent traits in my book.

However, as it is 11:30pm and I have work tomorrow, I must turn off Maria and retreat to bed to let the ghosts of the haunted hotel come find me so that I can have something to write about tomorrow.