A unique experience

On my way back from Manly to Sydney I was walking to my next hostel, I saw a boat in the water and a crowd gathering curious I stopped to see what was going on. This was a truly unique once in a lifetime experience the link below will give you more information. This was one of the moments I talked about before in reference to timing this was truly something you wouldn't be able to plan. I stayed long enough to watch some of the ceremony but left when the politicians started talking. This is what happens when you go outside you never know what will happen if I had booked everything to the hour and hadn't walked that day I would have never seen it.....sometimes saving money will give you a really neat unique experience

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/polynesian-canoe-hokulea-lands-in-darling-harbour-20150519-gh4qyy.html

Write down / register everything

So today's blog should be a lesson to everyone and if it is the worst thing that happens to me while traveling then so be it......I purchased a travel card to use for Australia which allows me to hop on and off the public transportation which includes the ferries and trains with this card you have to swipe on and off. As I went to swipe off I realized I did not have my card.....oh crap where is the stupid bloody thing and because I do not have it that cost me the bus which was waiting so now instead of being on my way I am now sitting at a bus stop waiting nearly 2 hours for the next one.....

Now here is the thing for you to do. Go through your wallet and passport etc and write down or better yet scan the cards/numbers or take a picture of them so you can easily find them in case a situation like this happens. Sometimes things happen when you are travelling and well. Guess it is time for a tin of tuna. This sucks but all you can do is laugh about it and hope that someone else gets the joy of using my pass hopefully someone who needs it more than I do.

Tuna Tom

p.s.

make sure you scan take a picture of both sides of your cards as well....as a quick test what are your card numbers, expiry dates and the phone numbers off hand......if you do not know this information off hand then you are already in trouble.

p.s

Found the little bugger in a hidden compartment in my wallet......one difficult thing about backpacking is you everything with you and it is easy for things to become hidden on you. :)

Updated pictures hanging with Koalas

My mom always wanted to come to Australia but has just never made it over here. My mom always has a huge love for animals so I will leave out the bad parts of koalas.....

In Sydney you can get close to Koalas but are not allowed to touch the koalas from what I understand there are other areas in Australia you can cuddle them.  This post is mostly just for a few pictures for my mom.

Wish you were over here too love you mom.

Thousand year sleep

Sometimes you just need sleep just a day of rest. But have you ever woken up from savasana and felt really rested or how about a massage? I am a firm believer in the power of a good massage and country after country hands down there is nothing like massages at a traditional Thai place. You start off with tea and the ambience just puts you at ease.  I had a 1.5 hour massage I may have slept at some point and trying to get up after was nearly impossible.  After another tea it was time to leave my body feeling like jello my eyes barely open every step was like it was the first slow and methodical, I look at my fingers almost like I've never touched or seen them before....now that is when you know you have had a thousand year sleep

Fall time in Australia

It is coming into winter in Sydney which means colder temperatures although still probably warmer than most days in Calgary.....

I went for a walk along the beach in Manly and what do I see in the water? Dozens of people surfing I watch for awhile intrigued as it is something I know nothing about. As I am watching this I realize more and more just how Canadian and how much of an Albertan I just am. I think surfing might be neat to try but as for a sport for me not really. 

I realize why I get bored at beaches so quickly it is not the fact that I couldn't swim before it has to do with where I grew up and how I was brought up. I spent a lot of my childhood in the bush helping my dad, and a lot of the sports revolved around being in and out of the bush. I didn't enjoy being in the bush then but I certainly do now. Beaches and water is just not something I was around as a kid sure I wasn't around mountains either but it is different. The water does fascinate me and I would like to learn how to dive at some point but it is not something that really drives me maybe because I haven't been down below yet. 

One thing I realize more and more is as much as you can define a Canadian what makes it hard is where they are from a Canadian from Toronto is nothing like a Canadian from my hometown of Pembroke Ontario, and nothing like one from Yukon, or Alberta or the beloved Newfs. Yes Canadians tend to say sorry too much and we always tip. A lot of who you are and what you will enjoy is simply because of where you grew up but those things can change too. So where am I going with this......I honestly have no idea and now I have people from back home trying to chat with me.....so let me leave this with each passing day I realize more and more just who I am. Am I different then when I was a few months ago yes I am just getting more confident with myself and looking forward to hitting up some mountains and spending more time in the great outdoors

Tuna Tom

Staying in contact / tough situations

There comes to points in your life or travelling when things come up back home and you are unsure what to do. This post will be rather vague as I don't know all the details or if I did would not want to share them. Unless you are there it can be hard to tell how bad things are or how badly someone was hurt or how their health is all you can do is wait for more information to come your way. You end up feeling useless and helpless because there is nothing you can do when you are several thousand kms away and trying to contact you don't know how or when to because you can't simply pickup your phone.

What I find frustrating in my old life was the lack of communication sure we have skype, facebook, smart phones etc etc but we all would rather email or text. I mean when was the last time you called someone instead of emailing or texting it is the communication age yet we are losing all of our ability to communicate. It shouldn't come as a surprise to most of you that I rather dislike email and texts yes I do them but in reality I could live without it. How many emails will you guys receive today and how many of them are chains of chains although some are needed for the CYA (cover your ass).  Just do me a favour and look through your contact list of friends and family and give them a call, or next time you are out with people put your phone away, next time you get an email at the office go over to their desk and talk to them and most importantly call your mom, your dad, or your kids and just talk to them and let them know how much you love or care for them,

Tuna Tom

Mad Max at Sydney Opera House