WHERE'S JOHNNY JET ?
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Travel Trivia!  Guess where Johnny Jet just landed?  Here's a hint or two: it was a long flight from LA, it's warm because it's Summertime, and they drive on the left side of the road.  Any guesses?  Tune in next week to find out!  Also, Johnny Jet's Travel News and Tips will most likely be delayed by a few days next week, so expect it next Saturday or Sunday. 


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G'day mate!  Sorry about the delay, but as most of you guessed; I am in the Land Down Under!   I love Australia and I'm excited to be back.  It's going to take a few newsletters to show you around Sydney and where I am now.  Speaking of where I am right now: I'm in a remote place in Australia where they do not have high speed internet access and to get on a slow dial up cost $1.20 a minute.  Ouch!  Therefore most of my pictures, stories, links and tips about Sydney will have to wait till next week.  To give you a little hint where I am now...  I'm on the balcony of our hotel, overlooking a few of the surrounding 74 tropical islands.  The temperature is 28 degrees Celsius (I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's HOT!)   There are wild cockatoo's, colorful lorikeet's and big ole' bats flying around the lush green palm trees.  Any ideas where I am?  I'll tell you in due time, right now let me first tell you about our last minute journey that got us to the land they call down under.  

We pulled this 7,490 mile journey off at the very last minute.   It all came about, about a week ago when I emailed my brother, Frank, and wrote in the subject line:  "We fly, you buy".  He knew what I meant, "we get first class tickets and he pays the rest of the way".  Not a bad deal because who wants to sit in coach for 14 hours or pay $14,500.  I was planning on cashing in a bunch of miles because I'm starting to get a bit worried about my “mileage” account, but since they were only willing to give us one first class seat, Amber Airplane suggested we use her very limited and coveted "buddy passes".   A buddy pass is a stand by ticket.  Meaning, if there are seats available, they are ours.  It's a long and complicated process, but basically it's based on seniority.  Unfortunately her airline just recently raised the prices significantly, the only good thing about that is not that many people are flying on buddy passes these days.   These passes are a great deal especially if you can be flexible because you never know for sure if you are going to get on. This was an experience for me, as I have not used them very often, especially overseas.

Frank, as usual never confirmed with us if he was going to accept our offer.  He went M.I.A. the whole weekend, so I couldn't get a hold of him.  Because of his non-committal, I didn't make reservations or definite plans.  Everyone thought I was a little wacky when I said "I might be going to Australia tomorrow", but if they knew my brother or were familiar with buddy passes they would understand.  Tuesday morning rolls around and Frank wakes me at 6:30am to say that he is on his way. On his way to: where? Well to the airport of course, to JFK to come meet us in L.A.  I spent most of the day trying to finish up some last minute work and I monitored to see if the flight we were planning on taking looked good or not for stand by travel.  Frank arrived and was bummed when I told him the flight didn’t look too good for tonight.   We decided to make plans to leave the following day, which meant I would put all my errands off for 24 hours.  When we were just about to go out the door to dinner, I get a phone call at 8pm from a friend of Amber Airplane’s.   Her friend worked at LAX and said, “You should try to fly out tonight because it's your best chance to leave this week".  It's 8pm and neither Amber Airplane nor I had packed.  You should've seen Amber Airplane's face when I said "we needed to leave in 15 minutes to go to LAX".   It takes me 5 minutes to pack, Amber, well she is a perfectionist so it takes her a while.  We run around the house like a tornado, send a couple of quick emails, call a taxi, and do all the normal going away stuff like locking up the house (which we forgot to do).  The taxi driver was 15 minutes late, and when we got close to LAX someone yells out, "Oh my gosh, I forgot my passport at home" (I'm not mentioning any names, but I think you know who).  We tell the taxi to make a quick U-ey, which sends us flying into each other, puts a big smile on the driver's face because not only does he make more money, but he gets to listen to more of Frankie D's taxi cab confessions…

We show up to LAX at 9:15pm for a 10:10pm international departure. The agent, who happened to know me, just gave me a look like "What are you thinking?”  I shrugged my shoulders and shifted my eyes to: you know who and he smiled.  Then he wasn't too happy when he found out we didn't apply for an  electronic visa , so he had to do it, which added another 3 minutes, per passenger!  Our buddy said "First class actually looks good, but there are only 3 seats left and if they call our name and we’re not at the gate, we lose them".  Obviously, we did not want to fly coach, who does?  The plane was already boarding, and they were about to call stand byes any minute.  The one positive thing about showing up to LAX late is there was no security line.  The negative; we had to run all the way through the terminal like a pack of hyena's.  Yelling to each other, FASTER, FASTER!  As we approached the gate we heard our names being called over the PA and we made it just in the knick of time to pick up our seats 1A, 1J , and 2J!  First Class Baby!  We felt like dancing but we were out of breath, had sweat pouring down our heads, and had one more stop; passport control.  We cleared there and then hopped (umm, skipped) on to the plush 747-400 where we were immediately greeted by the coolest captain.  He put Mardi Gras beads around our necks and said welcome aboard.  It was my first time sitting down stairs in the very first seat of a 747.  We were literally in the nose of the plane (the cockpit is upstairs).  We get to our seats.  Sit back, take a peek at our amenity bag (socks, eye patch, ear plugs, tooth brush, lip balm etc.), have a cold glass of water served in a glass, and take a deep sigh. 

A few minutes later the purser gets on the PA and says tonight’s flight time is 15 hours and 58 minutes.   Amber and Frank both look at me and said "you told me it's 14 hours".  I said "it always has been, must be a strong head winds, I don’t know, but at least we are in first".  They all agreed.  The captain becomes even more popular when he gets on the PA and alleviates all the passengers when he corrects the flight attendant.  He says tonight’s flight time is only 13 hours and 58 minutes.  What a great way to make a long flight, look short in a matter of minutes.

When you fly to Australia from the States, you lose a day.  Which means we took off at 10:30pm on March 4 and landed at 7:30am on March 6.  When you think about it... what the heck happened to March 5?  It's crazy, isn’t it?  March 5 did not exist this year for us, we can scratch it off the calendar.  Frank's birthday was March 6th; I said to him "imagine if we left a day later?  You wouldn't have had a birthday, now how weird would that be?"  Sitting up in the shotgun seat has it's advantages and disadvantages.  Obviously, one gets a much better seat, food, and service.  But the disadvantage is on taxiing down the runway.  Those wheels directly below us were making all kinds of weird noises, and freaking me out.  I am sure now they were normal, but they weren't to me then.  Hearing those noises triggered my mind to think crazy thoughts,  which I imagine most passengers get when boarding on one of the longest non-stop flights in the world.  Fourteen hours is a long time to be trapped in a flying tube, but there's a whole list of worse things.  To ease my anxieties I asked a couple of the flight attendants how many times they have done this flight.  Their answers were all the same "I have no idea, maybe a 100?"  A hundred times did the trick.

Being in First Class made the fourteen hours go by like I was at a party at the playboy mansion.  Although, even with a flat bed I didn't sleep much.  I think I was just too excited about going back to Oz . 

See you next week!

**************************************** The war has begun and with that said it's nice to be home on U.S. soil. But how I wish there was peace in the world and that I was still in Australia. It's difficult to be upbeat with everything going on in the world, but hopefully this will take you on a mini virtual vacation for a few minutes.  I have to tell you our trip was amazing.  Everyone was so nice, the weather was great and the pace Down Under, was just perfect.  I love Australia so much that I could even live there for a year or two. There's a lot to show and tell you about our trip, so it might take a while, my advice to you is... sit back, relax, and buckle your seat belt, you're going Down Under!

First, let's get you oriented a bit with Australia.  Here's a map, so you can see how vast this country in a continent really is.  In case you didn't know Australia is one of the seven continents, and it's the only continent to fly one flag.  It's about the same size as all of Europe or the continental United States.  It might be the same size as those two places, but it definitely doesn't have the same amount of people.  The USA’s population is 285 million. Australia's population is only 19.5 million. New York City's population, alone, is 18 million.  However, unlike American citizens who occupy almost all portions of our great land, Australians don't. They mainly live along the shore and in fact, it's a whopping 84% who do. It's referred to as the Land Down Under because it's in the southern hemisphere. Which means when it's winter in the USA, it's summer in Australia, and vice versa. To give you an idea of how far away it is from everywhere: It takes 14 hours by air from Los Angeles, 9 hours from Honolulu, 8 hours from Singapore, 10 hours from Hong Kong, 14 hours from Johannesburg, and 16 hours from Santiago. European passengers have to stop in Asia for a combined airtime of 21 hours. Ouch!  The closest city is 3 hours to Auckland, New Zealand, who the Aussies have a love-hate relationship with (mostly over sports).  Most airlines offer a free stop over (not United, they only fly non-stop from LAX or SFO to SYD), so depending upon which airline, which route, and where you are coming from, you might be able to take advantage of places for a short stop over like: Honolulu, Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand, Bangkok, or Singapore.  Also, keep in mind if you are not an Australian citizen, you can buy a Boomerang Pass. This is a terrific way to explore Australia, New Zealand and the South West Pacific.

By the way do you have any idea what the capitol of Australia is? Sydney? Nope! Melbourne? Wrong!  It is Canberra (population: 313,000).  If you guessed those other two then you were kind of close. It seems Australian's couldn't decide which of those cities to put it in, so instead, they placed it right smack in the middle.  Sydney is their largest city boasting 4 million people (Melbourne is second with 3.4 million) and Sydney is where their modern world began. No one is sure when the first settlers arrived, but historians think it was Asians who migrated there by sea about sixty thousand years ago. The natives are called Aboriginals (Here's their politically correct names) and they look something like this .  The Aboriginals have pretty much the same story as the US’s American Indians.  Many were driven away by European Colonists, had land taken from them, and were either murdered by settlers or killed by unfamiliar diseases (read more about their history).  The British fleet first arrived in 1788 on the recommendation of Captain Cook, who discovered the land in 1770.  Their ship landed in Botany Bay and carried 730 male and female convicts from Britain's overcrowded jails as well as military officers. Most of the criminals were petty thieves. Getting caught stealing loaves of bread could warrant the very long boat ride.

Australia is home to people of every different race (94% European descent, 4% Asian, 1.5% Aboriginal), religion (75% Christian, 1% Muslim, 1% Buddhist, 0.5% Jewish), and nationality.  I couldn’t find any statistics on just Sydney alone, but to me it’s as multiethnic as New York City.  I must've taken about 30 cab rides and I had drivers from all over the world: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria, Ghana, Greece, Czech Republic...  you name it.  I asked each and every one of them the same question "How do you like living in Australia?”  They all had the same answer "I love it".  How can they not?  Everyone is happy, beautiful, and genuinely friendly. 

People have asked me what US city does Sydney feel like. I would have to say it's closest to it's sister city; San Francisco, but without the steep hills and with Los Angeles' weather.  It also reminds me of Seattle because of their commuter ferries.  Sydney Harbour is arguably the most beautiful harbour in the world.  Its main attraction is the famed Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (some locals call it the coat hanger for it's shape).  Between those two landmarks sits Circular Quay (pronounced "Key").  Circular Key is where all the ferries come and go, which is how many Sydneysiders travel to work.

Now that you know a little bit more about Australia, here's my story and recommendations.

Let’s begin with some recommended reading for the long flight:  
Before departing for Australia, I had some mixed feelings about going.  I read so many newspaper articles describing how Americans are getting verbally and sometimes physically abused abroad because of Bush's position on the war with Iraq.  I heard all kinds of horror stories especially about Europeans treating us terribly, but I didn't hear anything about the Australians. Well, now that I have been there I can tell you first hand.  I didn't feel one bit of anti-Americanism. There weren't any anti-war rallies, except for a two people wearing signs and handing out peace leaflets.  John Howard, Australia's Prime Minister is one of G.W. Bush's closest allies, and the Australians seem to have a similar mix of feelings Americans have. My attitude is "Hey, if I am going to spend my hard earned money, then I might as well spend it in a country where I feel welcomed." Australia is one of those countries. 

Amber Airplane, my brother Frank and I arrived at 7:30am on Thursday, March 6 (Frank's birthday). None of us slept very well on the flight over because we were too excited about getting on the plane and actually going. The two, two-hour power naps I took, did the trick for me because the 19-hour time zone change didn't seem to effect me at all.  It did Amber Airplane and Frank though, but more on that later.  When we cleared Customs, we went straight to an ATM to get some Australian dollars.  Which by the way is a bargain for Americans. 1 USD = 1.69357 AUS .  So basically, it's like having the whole country on sale.  Every price you see; subtract 40%.   That's reason enough to go, especially for our special shopper mate, Amber Airplane.

We jumped in a taxi and got stuck right smack in the middle of rush hour.  Can you believe they have traffic down there, too?  The good news is that it’s just not nearly as bad as in the USA. The 5-mile ride to the city cost AUS$27.00 (every price I give will be in Australian dollars, unless noted, so just remember calculate the 40% exchange rate).  We didn't rent a car for a couple of reasons.  First, they drive on the opposite side of the road than what we’re used to, and I don't know if it's my dyslexia (yes, true), but the last time I drove on the opposite side of the road, it looked like a scene from a not so good movie (horns were honking, people sticking their fingers and arms out the window at me, and I was weaving over the yellow line, not to mention the beads of sweat pouring down my head and dripping into my eyes). No thanks!  I'm not playing kill the American tourist game anymore. The real reason, Sydney has some of the best public transportation around and it's a fantastic walking city.  If that's not convincing enough, then the major parking hassle will be. No need for a car here. But if you want one, then you’ll want to make your reservation using johnnyjet.com by clicking here .

We stayed at the Sheraton on the Park (Hyde Park). This is a great four star hotel with a friendly staff, fine service, and the majority of the rooms are big and recently remodeled. The hotel brochure describes it as a “contemporary take on a classic theme”. I have no idea what that means, but trust me, you will like it if you are a business or leisure traveler. The location is great.  It's walking distance to everything: Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Darling Harbour, the Opera House and Circular Quay.  The only problem with its key location is that it’s also close to all the shops and when you are traveling with you know who… well, that equals trouble. Seriously, the girl can out shop anyone, when it comes to bargains.  So believe me when you take Amber Airplane to a country that has a great exchange rate, and she has the 40% off mentality on every store she enters:  Watch Out!  Needless to say that made her very happy.  Having great water pressure and high speed Internet access in my room ($24 for 24 hours) did the trick for me.  Having a state of the art gym in our hotel made my brother happy (AKA: the “Workout and self-help Guru”).  As you can see, we were all thrilled with our choice.  Sheraton on the Park, 161 Elizabeth Street, tel. + 61.2.9286.6000

The best rate I found for our hotel on  Johnny Jet.com was from Lodging.com .   It was US$145.00 a night for advance reservations, which is a bit cheaper than going directly through the hotel.  But if you are one of those people who like to gamble by waiting to the very last minute, then I found the place for you.  Airport Traveler Services.  They can be found in the baggage claim area at the Sydney airport.  We went to the one in the Qantas domestic terminal and their competitor is in the International Terminal and has comparable prices.  I spoke with an agent named Claire, who had a great selection of bargains.  For example, she had our hotel for $168(AUS remember).  She also had the Inter Continental for $168, the Park Hyatt for $360, the Quay Grand $270.  These are great deals for these 4 and 5 star hotels.  They also have plenty of budget hotels available, but who wants those when you are traveling with your generous brother?  Traveler’s Services telephone number is + 02.9654.3420.  FYI: You won't find too many hotels in Sydney that have two queen beds, so it was either two twins or one king, and a roll away for us.  I wasn't sharing a twin, so we opted for the latter.  Sharing the same room with my brother and my girlfriend went surprisingly smooth.  No fights at all, especially over the bathroom.  Besides, we were hardly in the room during the day except for them to take naps, and me to work.  We rarely watched TV, but we flipped around to see what kind of programming they had, and it was pretty much the same as America and many of the TV shows were current.  I was surprised to see NBC's Today show airing live at 1am.

It's always a challenge to arrive in the morning after a long red-eye flight.  I prefer to land late in the afternoon because all you have to do is go for a walk, eat dinner and then: goodnight. So landing at 7:30am should normally be a struggle, but it wasn't, at least for me.  My secret to fighting jet lag is to stay awake to about 10:30pm without taking a nap. I know it's easier said, than done, but I did it.  I was able to beat it this time for a couple of reasons. 1. Our room wasn't available till noon, so instead of going upstairs and lying on the bed to take a five-minute nap that always ends up to be 5 hours, a day wasted, and your internal clock ruined. We got an early jump and went for a walk and then had lunch.  I am also sure it helped that we arrived on a clear, sunny day, because being exposed to bright light is also a good method.  And Australia has bright lights, in fact it's known for it's "diamond light".   The sun is brighter and stronger there due to the depletion of the ozone layer, which, unfortunately, is also why Australia has the highest death rate from skin cancer. 

So we walked the city to get acquainted with the streets.  Frank had fruit stand all day long, I had one of my favorite Australian treats; Pot pies ($2.50).   We checked out Circular Quay, had a Starbucks (yeah, a Starbucks) coffee for its caffeine (yes, I am ashamed to admit that), and then Amber Airplane made us walk through some of the shops.  Frank didn't mind, because he found a hat store, and now he thinks he is Crocodile Dundee!  I'm serious, he really does. After literally and physically dragging them out of the shops, we headed back to our hotel. We checked-in to our room, unpacked, and I connected to the Internet.   I was caught up answering my 200+ emails when I noticed my mates passed out on their beds.  I kept shaking them and saying, "you are going to be sorry".  I didn't get a reaction, so I knew it was a lost cause.  They were out and so I worked.  Around 8pm, I finally got them up so we could go out and celebrate Frank's birthday.

Maybe I should've let them sleep because Frank was grumpy and Amber was punch happy delirious from jet lag.  No matter what anyone said, she would just start laughing out loud.  It started to get a bit embarrassing at first, and then it got contagious.  Our taxi driver had to think for sure that we were drunk or something, because he would say something and Amber Airplane would start laughing… and then we would.  We couldn't even speak.  You know how when you try to hold it in and it only gets worse, well that's what happened.  Mid way through the ride, we were all laughing so hard that we were actually snorting and pinching ourselves and one of us ended up sitting on the floor.  We finally gained our composure when we arrived at our destination, Doyles. This Doyle’s is located at Watson's Bay and is one of Sydney's most popular restaurants. They actually have one closer in Circular Quay, but this is the one you want to go to.  It's on the beach, and the views of the city are simply breath taking.  The only problem with this restaurant is that they serve seafood, and when they say seafood, they mean seafood.  That's all they have, which is bad news for someone like me.  Phone Doyles, at beautiful Watson’s Bay + 02.9337.2007.

We cut dinner short because the mosquitoes (Aussie's call them Muzzy's) were biting, everyone was tired, and we saw a convenient taxi pull up.  Frank didn't want a birthday cake, but we had to give him something.  So when we got to the hotel Amber Airplane gave him one of those boxes of chocolates I keep in my carry on bag to hand out to people that go the extra mile (or put me in First Class) and used a match as a candle. You probably had to be there but... we started singing happy birthday at the normal pace, and when Amber Airplane gradually got closer she started singing faster and faster.  I looked at her "like what are you doing?" Then I saw the flame almost burning her finger.  Again, I guess you had to be there, but it was funny.

Well, this newsletter is quite long and if you are still reading it, don't worry, next week, I will post the nearly 100 pictures I have and give you all the places you need to go and see.

God Bless America, and safe travels.

Johnny Jet
************************************** G'day mates!  We you left off last week just before our first night's rest in Australia.  As I had mentioned before, the time change in Sydney is 19 hours from Los Angeles and 16 from New York.  It actually sounds a lot worse than it really is. For me, it's only 5 hours back and a day forward.  Huh? Well, if it's 5pm on March 27, in L.A., then it's noon in Sydney, but on March 28. See what I mean? It's really not that tough.  After I travel multiple time zones, I have a pattern that I try to follow for the first night.  I believe the first night sets the pace for the rest of a trip and therefore it's really important for the traveler to get into a good sleeping pattern. 

The first thing I do is hang the “do not disturb” sign on the door, and then triple check the alarm to make sure it won't go off in the middle of the night. I’m always paranoid of that, because it seems like every time I forget to check, the alarm goes off.  It really irks me when some over-worked person who occupied my room the night before, and leaves the alarm volume so high that when it goes off at 5am it sounds like a fire!  After, making those adjustments, I then go take a hot shower and jump in bed and hopefully fall asleep.   Of course I use ear plugs and a comfortable night mask.    

This time, Down Under, it worked. Unfortunately, I did forget to put a bottle of water by my bed, which is indeed the reason I woke up just before dawn with a severe case of dry mouth. Those long flights will do it to you every time. This time it was even worse than my trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico last year.  It was so bad that I couldn't even close my mouth or move my tongue!  For a second there, I thought maybe my brother stuffed his dirty sock in my mouth, which wouldn't surprise me because when I was a kid, I would always wake up in the middle of the night whenever Frank had a sleep over.  It almost became routine to hear laughter and "Johnny's an alien" after he and his friends put a pair of tighty-whitey underwear over my head, and call it a "space helmet".  This time, lucky for Frank that wasn't the case. 

I went stumbling to the bathroom in the pitch black. Trying to find aqua! Feeling and, I'm sure, looking like Frankenstein in the Got Milk commercial.  I finally arrived to, what by now truly was, my oasis; the sink. My hair was flat, eyes squinted, eyebrows raised and my mouth wide open. A painful sight.  Even for me. This is one time a "space helmet " would surely have made me a better sight to see.  I didn't want to turn the light on and wake the others, so I had found my way into the bathroom by feeling and you know, I couldn't find the light switch anywhere (yeah, it was outside of the room). I nearly knocked everything off of the counter while longing for water. BTW: Tap water in Australia is safe to drink, but it doesn't taste all that great.

While we’re talking about the bathroom, I need to remind you that Australia is home to the Red Back poisonous spider and the most deadly snakes in the world. So I sure thought about checking twice before sitting down, if you know what I mean.  I also thought about the story I had heard while in Hong Kong the last time I was there.  The story was about a very unlucky Chinese dude who was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and made the mistake of not checking the pot.  Apparently, he sat on his throne and was promptly greeted by a 15-foot python that made its way through the piping.  You don't want me to tell you the rest, so better check the bowl, than be sorry!

I try and learn from other people's mistakes, so I went searching for the matches like a mad man.  I tipped the rest of the contents that were in Amber's toiletry bag over until I found them tucked away.  I lit one, looked, smiled, sat, and then forgot I had the match in my hand.  Big mistake.  I was too busy looking around the room for imaginary spiders that I ended doing the Dion Sanders high step to the tub.  My finger was throbbing with sensational pain, and I cussed as quietly as I could to myself.  Obviously, I was wide-awake by now, but I still couldn't see my way back to bed.  I was moving much faster, so when I stubbed my toe on Amber Airplane's brand new box of shoes that she doesn't need, it really hurt.  Everyone else was up now because this time, I didn't bother to swear softly.  Needless to say they weren't happy with me and all this happened because I forget to leave a damn bottle of H20 by the bed.   I told you this story so you can learn from my mistake.

Since we’re on the subject of toilets, I have to say Australia's are pretty cool.  Most of them have these buttons on top for either a half or full flush.  Now that's a great way to not waste water.  I think if we had them here in the states, they just would number them "1" and "2", right?
 
Who could sleep after all that?  Not us.  We checked our watches, 5:50am and decided we might as well go and watch the sunrise at the Opera House. Getting up with the roosters is one of the best travel tips for any tourist destination. This way you can enjoy the place without the busloads of people and have some peaceful moments to yourself.  The sky was starting to get light so Frank made us run down to the Opera house to ensure we would catch the sunrise.  The place was empty, except for a few locals getting in shape.  I was so excited that I just kept snapping pictures of the harbor, which I almost accidentally took a dip in.  Like a fool, I ran down one of the gang planks to get a better picture of the bridge, jumped on the dock which I didn’t realize was wet, and slid all the way across to the end.  I looked like a cartoon character sliding and twirling my arms to catch my balance.  It was almost ugly, again!  

Sydney's most famous landmark has to be the Opera House.  It was built between 1959 and 1973 and had a lot of construction and political delays.  In fact the Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, resigned midway through because of the political turmoil.  That's all in the past and today it's one of the world’s most popular subjects for photographers.  I mean it's hard to take a bad picture with that in the background even after you've just woken up.  The roofs are shaped like white sails but were supposedly inspired by palm fronds.  I don't see the palm fronds, but either way it's beautiful.  Their are all kinds of performances taken place, from theater (we’ll tell you about that a little later), to classical music, ballet, film, and of course the seasonal opera performances.  They also offer guided tours which we passed on, but would be interesting.  We were just so thrilled to be there.  Frank pretended he was Rocky, Amber, Ginger Rodgers and I, Inspector Clouseau.  This is what the roof looks like.
 
Adjacent to the Opera house is the Royal Botanic Gardens.  Naturally (pun intended), we walked through and it's really quiet in there and indeed peaceful.  And how many public places do you see a sign that says, "Please walk on the grass"?  The gardens have everything you might expect and more. Take a look at this  picture and guess what's hanging from the tree?  Pineapples? No remember, they grow on the ground. They’re bats. That’s right: bats!  And they are big ole' bats, too. We’d spotted them the night before flying around Hyde Park at dusk and wondered where they came from.  Now we know.  This is where they hang out (Get it?) during the day.  According to one of the park workers, there are about 5,000 in the Gardens, and supposedly 10,000 in Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens.  They official name is Grey-headed Flying-foxes, but to me they are big ole' bats.  You can learn all about them here .   If you would like to take a better look around the garden, then click here (I found it on the web). The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Mrs. Macquaries Road, tel. + 02.9231.8111

After getting our early morning exercise we stopped at an outdoor cafe. This local spot was one of Amber Airplane's favorite meals of the trip.  The ham, egg, cheese, and pineapple were mighty tasty, but then again so was everything else we had.  What's weird about Australia is that people are not expected to tip.  According to the locals, the general rule is to tip around 5% or round up to the nearest $10 for a nice meal in a restaurant.  For taxi's, just round up to the nearest dollar in a cab, but you don't have too.  (WARNING: Don't try this in NYC!)  Most people tip bellhops and porters but no one tips bar staff or hairdressers.  It was too weird for us not to tip, so we did, but looking back we tipped way too much.   

We went back to the room, showered and headed down to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Manly Beach.  Circular Quay is built around Sydney Cove and is considered by many to be the heart of the city.  It's main focus here is transportation.  They have plenty of ferries, busses, taxis, and a train stop.  Ferries are a key way to get around Sydney and they depart often. Not only do they get you to your destination quicker but you get to enjoy one of the most beautiful harbours close up.   (The big joke on Americans is that supposedly during the Olympics, one of us tried to buy a ticket to the Great Barrier Reef.  I think it's just the Aussie's way to poke fun at us, because who doesn't know the reef is 1,200 miles away?  (More on that later).   Those Aussies, sure are a bunch of funny bugger's, aren't they?

It's a thirty-minute ferry over to Manly, and we were on one of those 300 passenger boats, so no worries about getting sea sick.  Besides, it doesn't look like the harbor gets very rough.  The fare is $5 each way, which was reasonable.  When we arrived, we had about a quarter of a mile walk from the wharf to the beach.  The main street everyone takes, is a pedestrian walkway, known as ‘the Corso.’  The Corso reminded me of an older version of the Third Street Promenade, in Santa Monica.  It offers plenty of shops, restaurants and good people watching.  This is where we saw one of the few protesters we passed in all of Australia.  He was a friendly fellow with no hate in his bones, just peace.  

The weather in Manly was perfect and so was the beach.   Manly Beach is quite beautiful.  What I like about it the most, are the tall Norfolk Pines that line the beach.  The smell of the pines and ocean together is something cool and special.  I wish I could have bottled it.  The sand here is white and the surf is up!  The surfing here is supposedly some of the best in the area.  We walked along the footpath about another quarter of a mile and enjoyed all the scenery.  Then we came across to the quaint little cove of Shelly Beach.  Now this is why they call it Shelly.  There are spectacular views of the ocean from here and million dollar homes.  Instead of eating at all the touristy cafes on the Corso, take the walk and dine at the very nice and pricier alternative, Le Kiosk.  Amber and I had chicken wings served over some of the best Asian noodles we have ever had, while Frank chowed down on fish.  LeKiosk; is at 1 Marine Parade, Manly NSW 2095 – tel. + 02.9977.4122
 
I can't believe I am only on day 3 of our 14 day trip.  This is crazy!  I thought I would be done by now, but it looks like I have a few more issues before we get to our next hot spot!  BTW: I am headed back to LAX tonight for another long flight.  I will give you a couple of clues.  I have never been on the airline or to the destination, which is popular for honeymooners. It is very far from LAX and even farther from JFK. The colors, artistic designs, and name of the airline alone will make you want to go there. Any ideas? Oh, and yes, of course Amber Airplane is coming along.

I wish you all safe travels, whether you are running to the store or on a long trip, with special thoughts for the men and women sent into harms way.

Cheers, Johnny Jet ************************************* To refresh your memory, we left off last week on Day 2 of our Australian Adventure. This week we will finish our first of two visits to Sydney.   Then next week, pack your bags for warmer weather as we hop on a Qantas jet and head up the coast!

I don't have any pictures from night two because I don't think you want so see a picture of my brother and Amber Airplane out cold.  That's right, those two made the mistake of taking a "5 minute nap".  The only thing I could get out of them when I shook 'em around 8:00 pm was a few grunts.  No eye contact.  Don't laugh, jet lag does strange things to you and when you fall into the wrong pattern, it's tough to get back on track.  

It was just as well, because I had a ton of work to do and that kept me busy ‘til a good bedtime of 10:30 pm.  Naturally, I woke up early, but not as early as Frank did.  His internal clock was tweaked, and Amber Airplane, well she can sleep for days.  I call her sleeping beauty.  When I made my morning stroll to the bathroom at 5:30 am, I was stunned to see what I found.  Not a snake or a spider, but Frank.  I thought I was seeing things.  See people, this is what happens when you go to bed at 6 pm!  You wake up at 2 am wide-awake, nothing to do.   Frank's only alternative was to read his book by Bill Bryson.  He didn't want to wake us by turning on the light, so he laid in a waterless tub with a blanket and pillow.   Now, how funny is that?

We woke up Miss Sleepy Head and went for another  early morning walk.  This time we walked briskly through the city and took a left at Circular Quay (the Opera House is to the right).  We went straight for the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.  The "Coat Hanger" which many locals call it, is the world's largest (but not longest) steel arch bridge.  It has eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a sidewalk and a bike path.  Now the thing to do in Sydney is walk over the bridge.  I don't mean walk over on the sidewalk; I mean WALK OVER the arches.  Can you see those people?  It's called the bridge climb and it's one, if not the most popular tourist attractions.  The rates vary ($125-$175), depending on what time you walk. The most expensive rate is usually for weekends and/or the sunset walk.  The sunset walk is what you want to do.  This way you see the city going up by day and then by night when coming down.  The views are unreal, but so are the heights.   Click here for bridge history and statistics .

There are strict rules to climb.  First of all, it's mandatory for everyone to take a Breathalyzer test (just to make sure they aren't still drunk from the night before).  You're not allowed to bring anything with you, including a camera (they take digital pictures for you).  Don't worry about falling or your other climbing mates jumping because everyone wears a special jump suit that is harnessed to the bridge.  The climb takes roughly 3 hours and you really don't have to be that fit to do it.  We were planning on going, and in fact, their PR people were kind enough to give me a free media pass, but I sadly declined. Why?  Well, I was planning on doing it, but when we walked across the bridge on the sidewalk, I looked up to see the pass and my knees started to shake.  I have a little problem that used to be much worse when I was a kid.  I'm sometimes afraid of heights. Luckily, it's not that bad.  Just certain things I can't do and this is now one of them.  It's sad, I know.  Bridge Climb ,  + 61.02.8274.7777 and to contact them via email: admin@bridgeclimb.com.  Make your reservations well in advance unless you are afraid of heights.

One advantage to being in a safe city is you can go for walk and not worry about getting lost.  And that's just what we did.  I can't even tell you where we went on our morning walk because I still don't know exactly.  All I am certain of is we crossed the bridge and were in North Sydney.  In a town called Kiribilli.  The  views from Kiribilli are amazing.  In fact we got so lost we ended up in front of John Howard's (the Prime Minister) residence .  When the guard told us whose residence it was, I thought "What?”   The capitol of Australia is in Canberra but the Prime Minister's home is in Sydney?   That doesn't make sense.  The guard couldn't even explain it, but we both agreed with a view like the one he has, who can blame him?  

We were all getting pretty cranky by now.  We had walked at least 5 miles, mostly in circles, it was getting hotter and hotter, and we were famished.  Not a good combo, especially when you are with Amber Airplane.  We eventually gave up finding a place to eat on the North Side of Sydney and hopped on a 5-minute ferry that we had stumbled upon. Pulling into Circular Quay, we got up a close to the ResdinSea (you know the cruise ship that's a condo) at port.  The ship is a monster, but doesn't look that great from the outside although I am sure the inside is amazing.  I know, who cares about a ship we aren't even on, especially when we we're STARVING!  When we arrived we headed straight to the closest restaurant we could find.  I can't even remember the name of the 24-hour joint right in front of the ferry stop. Our American breakfast hit the spot nicely and we were off to our hotel room to get cleaned up.

We decided since it was Saturday and sunny, that it would be a good time to go to Bondi beach. We jumped in a taxi.   Here's an observation:  What's pretty cool, but strange to us Americans is that many Aussies who take a taxi by themselves will sit in the front passenger seat and not in the back.  It's much more friendly and humane don't you think?  But imagine trying this in NYC?  The cabbie would probably put a gun to your head. 

Many of the taxis have  plastic shields around the drivers, which surprised me because violent crime in Australia is very low.  When I asked the driver about that he explained it's for the late night drunks who tend to get a bit rowdy.  Ahh... "We all know Aussie's like their beer, we see the Foster's commercial a lot in America."   This might surprise you too:  Not too many Aussie's drink Foster's.  In fact most seem to dislike Foster's. They prefer VB (Victorian Bitter), Crown Lager (up market beer), XXXX (Queensland Beer) and Tooheys.
 
We were headed to what is probably the second most famous beach in the world right behind Waikiki. We were cruising along until we hear, Amber Airplane say,” Pull over”! The driver quickly pulls to the left and says, "This is not Bondi; this is Paddington". Amber Airplane says, "I know, this is Oxford Street."  "Right," said the driver. My brother and I looking at her like she was crazy.  Then she said do you guys know what's on the other side of that  fence ?  No, we don't!  Amber said it's the weekend market .  The girl has never even been to Australia and she knows where the shopping is.  It's like she can smell it.  She even corrected me when I said is "This is Paddy's market?"  She said no silly, this is Paddington, we are going to Paddy's tomorrow.   Trouble.  We weren't too happy, but fortunately I had Frank to say,” you have ten minutes to look around”.  Look? Ten minutes is more than enough time for her to do some serious damage, and she did.

We hopped back in another cab and this time we had a Chinese driver.  He was really nice but I am sure glad that Frank was sitting shotgun.   Frank starting making small talk, which turned out to be a big mistake because this guy had a spitting problem.  Every time he would open his mouth to say something I could see spittle’s flying everywhere. Amber Airplane and I were in the back seat moving our heads and body like we were playing dodge ball.  Maybe the real reason they have those plastic shields is this guy? 

Ten minutes later we arrived at  Bondi Beach .  Remember, it's Saturday and one of the last days of summer in Australia for this year.  The sun was cranking and the waves were pumping .   The sand on Bondi makes the sand in California look like dirty gravel.  The beach is full of tourist and locals who aren't shy about taking off their tops.  Don't you hate it when everyone goes topless ?   April fools!   I bet you thought that was going to be a picture of some naked Aussie girl.  

Since we forgot our beach towels we rented really lousy ones for $4 apiece right on the beach.  We also got an umbrella ($5) and  chairs ($8).  The prices aren't bad, especially when you compare them to Waikiki.  

Besides the beach, Bondi has a promenade that is full of ice-cream parlors, outdoor cafes, greasy fish and chip restaurants, surf stores, and touristy shops.  If strolling down the street is not your thing, then take a walk along the  rocks (to the right of the beach).   The rocks are so cool here and the walk is so worth it .   
 
On the way back from our walk we checked out the Bondi Beach swimming club.  How cool is that pool?  That's a great way to enjoy the salt water without the thought of sharks or the fierce riptide.  The Pool is open to the public for a fee of $3.30.  Above the pool you will find the hip icebergs club and bar which is also open to the public for anyone who lives outside of a five-kilometer radius.  If you live within the radius you have to join to get in.  There are fantastic views at this great bar.  The top level is a four star restaurant and it's very chic and trendy.  Everyone was well dressed except of course for the American tourist (we just got off of the beach).  We met a lot of locals and they were all very kind to us.   icebergs swim club and bar , 1 Notts Avenue Bondi NSW 2026,  tel. (02) 9130 3120

On the way out we pulled the  girls off of Frank (dang, that boy is a chick magnet) and we took a taxi back to our hotel ($20).   I wish I could tell you that we went out and partied like rock stars, but I can't.  If you really want to know what we did, just re-read what we did the night before.  
   
Day 4:  We woke up early again and Amber Airplane got to pick the day's events. Naturally, we started out on a leisurely walk through the shops.  The good news is the two main department stores, David Jones and Grace Bros, were not open yet.  Phew!  So we took a walk through Circular Quay, passed this hilarious street act , and went to breakfast at the Rocks .  The Rocks is the oldest part of Sydney and is full of colonial history.  It has many buildings that still have the look and feel of the past. The streets are full of shops, restaurants , pubs and art galleries.   This place is always packed with tourists, but especially for the weekend markets where you can buy all kinds of souvenirs.  On a tip from a reader we explored the less developed area of the Rocks and checked out the famous Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel , which is one of Sydney's oldest pubs (the other is The Hero of Waterloo).

Lucky for us, we didn't have much time to shop because we had to rush back to our hotel to meet our friend  Laura .  Remember Laura?  She came over to America for one year to work as my sister Carol’s nanny.  She was so awesome and everyone (especially the kids) were truly sad to see her go back home this past January.  Well, when we told her we were in Sydney, she and her father drove 5 hours to see us .  Her father was way cool and refused to let us take an hour train to our next destination to Featherdale Park.  He drove us in his " Jackaroo ", I am sure you are wondering what that pipe is to?  It's a "snorkel, so he says.  The car can pretty much go under water and that pipe allows it to happen.  The drive to Feather Dale was close to an hour, but well worth it.  By now I am sure you are wondering what Featherdale is?  It's the coolest wild animal park around.  Not only do you get a close up of the Koala's , but you get to pet them as well.  

The last time I was in Sydney, I went to the Taranga Zoo, which is nice, easy to get to, and has amazing views, but it doesn't compare to Featherdale.  It's not much fun seeing animals in their cages.  I mean how many times do you get to hang out with a kangaroo?  Not only do you hang out with them, but you can pet them , feed them , and run from them.  All right, so some of the animals you probably don't want to get too close too,  but other's you will.  We have all seen the cartoon character, but have you ever seen a real life Tasmanian Devil ?   Have you ever heard of a Wombat ?  At Featherdale, all of your Australian animals are there. Featherdale is open 7 days a week from 9.00am-5pm, every day (except Christmas)  217-229 Kildare Road, Doonside NSW 2767.  tel. (612) 9622 1644.

By the way, we also met up with some of my  good Australian friends at the park.  You might recognize them from other newsletters because I used to watch Kristine play tennis at the US Open, and other WTA events.  Or maybe you have seen her husband, Damo, getting his butt kicked in beach volleyball by yours truly.    
On the way home Laura's dad dropped us off at the entrance to  Chinatown . We weren't there to get lunch but rather to go next door and shop.  Remember, it's Amber Airplane's day to pick the game plan.  Next to Chinatown you will find Paddy's Market .  It's only open on weekends and it offers a true market shopping experience.  This place is huge!  It has over 1600 stalls of food, clothes, souvenirs and junk.  If you shop wisely you can find some great bargains or bring Amber Airplane with you!  Paddy's Market is located in Market City, corner of Hay & Thomas Streets, Haymarket.

This night we planned to take Laura out for a spectacular dinner, but guess what?  That's right, another 5 minute nap that turned into 8 hours.  Shocker, huh?  I just looked at them from my laptop and shook my head. 

Well, the good news is at least we woke up early again.   Frank made us go up to the gym and workout, which by the way is on the top deck and has amazing views and a great pool .  Then we all took a taxi to Double Bay to see one of my sister Georgette's long lost Australian friend’s.   Georgette used to live in Australia in the mid 80's and hasn't been back yet, and wanted us to go by and say hello to friends who lived nearby.  Double Bay, otherwise known as Double Pay is awesome.  It's only a few kilometer's from the city, and it's very accessible.  The town is one of my favorites and I definitely could live there.  In fact, I stayed there for one month back in 1994.  I was happy to see my favorite juice shop was still there:  Top Fruit.  Trust me, just go in there and order a mixed fruit juice and you won't be sorry.   Top Fruit:  53 Bay St.,  Double Bay NSW 2028 tel. (02) 9328 7420  

We found Georgette's friend Primrose at a store she owns called White Ivy .  It's located on New South Head Rd., that is the main street.  Primrose was really nice and we called Georgette from our cell phone and reunited them.   Hey, for 16 cents a minute, why not call everyone we know back in the States?  Our good deed of the day was done and in case you are interested Primrose sells women's clothing and of course, Amber had to buy something.

We finished up our morning in Double Bay at one of their great outdoor cafes.  Then we took 10-minute  ferry back to the city so Laura could catch a ride back home with her dad.  You’ve to got love what the ferry can do for your hair .  
 
We walked around the city some more until we stirred up an appetite and then went to Harry's famous pies in Wooloomooloo.  Wooloo… whatever, is right outside of the city and cost only $7 by taxi.  We would’ve walked but it was raining.  Harry's makes meat pies right.  Not only are they good, but also they are cheap.  You can get all kinds and they all come with a huge scoop of mashed potato's and mashed peas on top.  For $3 you can't get a better bargain.  Harry's is right next door to the W hotel , which is also worth a walk through, even if you aren't staying there.  The place is amazing and we hear the bar on weekends goes crazy.  If bars aren't your scenes, then one of the fine restaurants along side the building might be.  They are all recognized as some of the best in the city, especially Manta Ray and Otto.  Otto Ristorante Italiano  tel. 61 2 9368 7488.   W Hotel and Water Bar ,  tel. (61)(2) 9331-9000 .  More info on Manta Ray, later.

We didn't have time to eat at one of those fine eateries this week because we were off to our friends Damien, Kristine's, and Kobe's for dinner.  Since we have been away for about 5 days and all of our clothes were dirty, we asked if we could do some laundry at their house.  Of course they said yes, but you should've seen us walking through the Sheraton lobby with our plastic grocery bags full of our soiled clothes .  All of the guests were looking at us like we were freaks, so we started saying to each other (in a louder tone), "I can't believe that darn airline lost our luggage again, this stinks...  I guess you had to be there, but we thought it was hilarious.  Maybe the jet lag was kicking in, after all these guys didn't take their evening "nap".  Not only was that funny, but while we were driving in Damo's car he said, "Geez , something smells.  I think it's my air conditioner."  While he was fiddling with his vents we said "Um, no Damo that would be what's in the bags".

Dinner was fun , but our laundry took way to long to complete and we couldn't keep our mates up all night.  We only had one and a half loads out of three finished, so we planned on going to a laundry mat the next day.  Now here's an awesome find for your trip.  Don't bother to wash your clothes yourself.  Bring them to City Laundry & Dry Cleaning on the Corner of Bathurst and Sussex Streets.  It cost us $12 per load for them to do it, that's about US $7.00 and you don't have to spend hours in a laundry mat!   tel.  9264-6661.  
 
Okay, I think this might be long enough.  Next week your going snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef so pack your bags!

Make sure you read our reader tips for Australia below.   We are fortunate to have some of the best readers out there and certainly the most traveled.  Thanks again to all our friends who sent in some great tips (we tried to do as much as we could). Safe travels.

Peace,

****************************** Frank and I were walking around the Sydney Central Shopping Center trying to find You Know Who.  While we were cruising from one shop to another we passed one of the many Flight Centre's.  These travel agencies are everywhere, similar to the ABC stores in Waikiki.  Frank decides to go in and check out some side trips.  When I walked in, Frank was looking at Brochures for Bali and other Indonesian hot spots.  I said "Frank, we're in Australia, let's stay around here, besides I really think you need to check out the Great Barrier Reef, since you are such an Aqua Dude".  He agreed and so did the agent.  I mentioned Hayman Island because I have been there and I know it's one of the top resorts in the world.  When the lady said it's for honeymooners, Frank said in a Tony Soprano tone "fogetaboutit". She said how about Hamilton Island? It's near there, but with a lot more going on"?  Sounds good to us!  

While sitting there waiting for the tickets to be printed, I spotted Amber Airplane across the way in a beauty salon.  She was getting her hair and nails done (shocker!).   I went over to her and said, "guess what?  We need to go back to the hotel and pack up.  Frank just booked us on a flight to Hamilton Island and it leaves in 2 hours".  "Really? That's so cool", she said.  I went back across the hall and asked the agent what time we need to leave for the airport to make the 1pm flight.  She said "you have to leave the city by noon".  Noon?  That's pretty lax, but hey she should know best.  Right?

As usual, we left about 10 minutes late trying to fit all of Amber Airplane's bags in the taxi.   To make matters worse, our driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal. It's 12:35pm and we have to run across the parking lot to the other Qantas terminal.   It amazed me that the airport was so quiet.  We hardly saw anyone around which was probably why the agent didn't give us any grief  like; "What are you thinking showing up so late?"  Instead he just smiled and told us the way we needed to go.  There was no line at airport security and it is run similarly to the U.S.   Which means we had to take our laptops out of our bags, which really is a nuisance, especially because my bag has a broken zipper.   

I was excited to fly Qantas.  It's always been a goal of mine.  It may be because I love 747's and I always see their cool red and white planes at LAX. It could also be that they have a kangaroo painted on their tail and it looks way cool.  Maybe it's because Australia is so far away and Qantas is the flagship carrier there.   I dunno, all I know is that I was excited.  We boarded a squeaky clean boeing 717 and within minutes we took off.   The seats were comfortable, the flight attendants professional,  and the food... well it was normal airplane food.  We didn't really care what they were serving because we were all STARVING, and I am sure we looked liked a pack of hungry wolves because we grabbed the snack boxes from the flight attendant before she could even put them down. 

The 2 hour flight was smooth up along Australia's east coast.  You can compare it to flying to Florida from the New York City, except down here we are flying North to the warm weather, not South. Warm it was, and everyday it was hot and humid.   What did you expect when Hamilton Island is on the same latitude as Rio De Janeiro?   The average temperature year-round here is 81F degrees.  Not too shabby, eh?

Hamilton Island is situated in the heart of the Whitsunday's.  There are 74 tropical Whitsunday islands that are situated in the Coral Sea between the Queensland Coast and The Great Barrier Reef.  James Cook supposedly discovered this place while traveling through this area on his journey on June 4, 1770.  That day just happened to fall on a Sunday and because it's the seventh Sunday after Easter it's known as White Sunday.  Thus, the name Whitsunday's.  I have never heard of White Sunday either, but that's what the history book said.

Hamilton Island is the largest inhabited island out of all the Whitsunday's.  It's also the only one with an airport.  Getting here is easy because it is serviced by at least 48 flights per week by Qantas Airways.   This includes direct flights from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.  FYI:  Qantas has a monopoly going on in Australia, especially after Ansett Australia went out of business.  In fact, Qantas now controls 80% of all Australia's flights.  Sounds like a racket to me!  Obviously,  that doesn't give traveler's a lot of options, however they do have a low cost airline called Virgin Blue.

Seven of the islands have resorts on them, another five are habited and the rest including the Great Barrier Reef are protected by the National Parks and Wildlife. What you will like about Hamilton is that over 80 percent of the island has been preserved in its natural state, so visitors can enjoy the beauty of the island including the beaches, nature trails and secluded hideaways.  We took full advantage of all them as you will soon see.

When we landed, we set our watches back one hour's time and walked down the stairs of the jetway where we were greeted by a host.  He asked us which hotel we were going to and he told us which shuttle was for us. You have to love when you hear "don't worry about your bags, we will get them and deliver them for you". Not bad, eh?  As we drove out of the airport, we saw the plush yacht that transports guests forty minutes to ritzy Hayman Island.  Now that is a great place to go on your honeymoon.

Unlike Hayman, Hamilton Island offers a variety of places to sleep.  They have the five-star Beach Club, the four-star Reef View, the three-and-half- star Whitsunday Apartments, the three-star Palm Bungalows and Palm Terrace, and the Island Apartments & Villas which have 1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom apartments and range from three to five-stars.  We booked at the last minute, so everything was sold out except a 1 room apartment at the Whitsunday Apartments.  It turned out to be perfect and not too expensive.  Our place was huge, it had a kitchen, and would sleep five people comfortably.  Not only that, it had amazing views. 

Hamilton Island stretches 3.1 miles from north to south, and 2.1 miles from East to West.  It's a perfect size and we took a walk in to town to get ourselves familiar with the island.  We checked out the shops and ate at one of their sixteen restaurants.  The food here is good and they have a wide range of options (seafood, Italian, Thai ...).   The bonus is that the huge breakfast buffets are included at all the resorts on the island.    

The only cars you will see are shuttle busses and work vehicles and there aren't too many of those.  But you will see plenty of " buggy's"  (they are just modified golf carts that go up to 20 mph).  The locals who have their own carts, rig them so they go even faster.  We didn't rent one because Frank said we needed exercise (Shocker!).  Obviously, the island is so small you can walk all around, and if you get lazy you can call one of their two taxi's.  Oh yeah, they also have a free shuttle in the evening.  After a few days, I said forget this walking stuff, and I rented one of the buggy's.  I did it only because it's a great way to see the whole island and fast!  I highly recommend paying the high rental fee because cruising around the island is phenomenal!  There is so much more to see than the street going from the hotel to town.  If you want to save money then rent it after 5pm for 13 hours, it's only AU$35.00.

Another plus for the island is you can charge everything to your room, except purchases from the Post Office and the bank.  This means you do not need to worry about carrying your wallet around, which is always good news.

Aside from the amazing scenery, have I mentioned the wild birds?  The place is full of wild Cockatoo's and Lorikeets and chances are they will be sitting on your balcony when you wake up.  These birds are so beautiful, it's hard to believe they are wild, especially when they land on you.  Besides the birds, guess what you will see flying around?  That's right, our friends from the Sydney Botanical Gardens; the BATS!  Although, I only saw a few of them.

There are a ton of things you can do and see on the island.  Obviously, you can go out to the Great Barrier Reef  (more on that next week),  water skiing, windsurfing, catamaran & yacht sailing, tennis and squash, work out,  miniature golf, game fishing, nature walks, whale watching (mid-July to September), scenic flights, parasailing, speedboat rides, sunset cruises, go-karts, sea kayaking, 4WD safari tours...

The only bummer about this place is there are deadly marine stingers especially this time of year (October-May).  These pink jelly fish are the size of fingernails and  usually can't be seen with the naked eye.  Taking a dip in the sea may not be such a good idea.  Most people I spoke to recommended using a thin lycra stinger suit to swim or snorkel, but even then you are not totally covered (feet, hands, face).  You do not need to bring this suit with you as most companies either give them or rent them for $5 a day. One worker told me it's the same risk as getting struck by lighting, so he goes "no worries", but I didn't see him swim at all and when I asked him why he doesn't go for a swim now, he said he didn't feel like it. Okay there, mate!  They said they haven't had that many people stung this year and when I asked when the last one was, they said  "three weeks ago".   They also said most people don't die.  They just have a really bad fever for one to five days.  They weren't convincing enough and it made Amber Airplane and I opt not to take a chance in the water.  The good news is they are not found out by the Great Barrier Reef,

We heard that nearby WhiteHaven Beach is one of the nicest beaches in the world. We knew the resort offered a few different options and we went for "more is better".  That deal was for the same cost as the others, but this one included a stop at a secluded island on the way so people could snorkel.  Well, we forgot to ask one important question...  What are the size of the boats?  Ugghhh.  Turns out we were on a twenty-five foot rubber raft, instead of the deluxe 300 seater catamaran that just cuts through the waves like a knife.  The boat we went on would be great when the water's calm, but it's a BIG MISTAKE on stormy days and today was  ... you guessed it.  

Sitting on our "dinghy" with a dozen other mates from around the world, I could only think of the worst while we were going out to the middle of nowhere with no sign of life.  "This thing is definitely going to sink and then we are going to have to try and swim to shore before the sharks or the marine stingers get can feast on us, and if by chance they don't get us then surely, the wild animals on the inhabited island will".  I was just shaking my head side-to-side while I put a fake smile on pretending everything was great.  But deep down inside I was praying, because I thought for sure we were all done.  

Good thing I couldn't have been any more wrong!  The ride was adventurous, the snorkeling was great (according to Frank, I wasn't going out there and having my butt laid up in a hospital bed for a week), and WhiteHaven Beach really was unreal.  I'm telling you the sand was like talcum powder, by far the softest sand ever! I am not lying when I say it squeaked when you walked on it. Yes it SQUEAKED.  The beach should be at the top in every survey, and if it's not, they haven't been to WhiteHaven.  We walked, played cricket,  and made sand angels.  What an amazing place.  

Coming home... don't ask.  It started to pour and I just kept telling Amber Airplane as well as other passengers to look at the horizon so they didn't get sick, especially on me!

Next week come with us to the Great Barrier Reef!
******************************************** We parted ways last week from one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, WhiteHaven Beach. The moment we returned from there and stepped back on Hamilton island we went straight to one of their six pools.  We hung out, relaxed and then had a fine dinner.  How nice is that view?  It's a special feeling being so far away from home yet so close.  It's hard to describe but it's almost like an achievement, being here.  Maybe it's because I used to be afraid to fly and now I am just that more appreciative and amazed with air travel. 

The following day we woke up  early and Frank, as you probably guessed, suggested we take a walk in the woods.  Shocker, huh?   There are a few trails to choose from on Hamilton Island, but of course we had to take the more rigorous Passage Peak Trail.  The trail started out like a piece of cake, so I couldn't understand why the older gentlemen we ran into at the start, was sweating bullet's, huffing and puffing.  He claimed that it was too tough for him to make it to the peak.  As we walked silently through the trail, listening to the ridiculously loud crickets, I thought to myself "I know it's hot and humid but come on? This trail is not that tough!  Right?" Wrong!  I am sure I jinxed myself, because right when I had that thought, the hills gradually got steeper and steeper.  The 3-mile round-trip trail took two hours.   As we walked further and further, I started thinking I was sitting by the pool sipping a cool drink.  But no!  All I could hear is my brother yell "faster, faster".  After a while I could've sworn the crickets were saying the same.   

It turned out to be a great  workout and reaching the top was a definitely rewarding.  The views of the Whitsunday's from up there were simply amazing!  Breathtaking, in fact. No pun intended.  On our way down Frank yelled, "look a baby crocodile" and he dashed into the bushes after it.  "You are such a liar,” I said.  I mean we did see a lot of lizards, butterflies, and other wild animals, but crocs?  No way!  Then I heard wrestling in the woods, branches breaking and Frank screaming, "I got you sucker !"  Holy Croc, I mean crocodile, I thought!  Then with a smile Amber Airplane said, “Frank you are the new Croc Hunter!  Then I said, "Where there's a baby croc, there's a big, pissed off Mama Croc and probably hungry, too! Let's get out of here!"  Then we ran screaming down the woods with a 20-foot angry croc chasing us!  Well, Okay, I was delirious from the heat and made the whole Croc story up.  We were really down at the Koala cafe having cool drinks and taking photos with wild animals for a fee, of course.  

The next morning we were off to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the   Great Barrier Reef.  Do you have any idea how long the Great Barrier Reef is?  Take a guess. Well, it’s 1,243 miles long.  Yeah, that's right, it is the same distance from New York City to Miami, Florida.  In square miles, it's 135,993, which is bigger than the United Kingdom.  Pretty impressive wouldn't you say?  Here's more info that will be sure to knock your socks off: The Great Barrier Reef is the most extensive coral reef system in the world and is the largest structure made completely by living organisms.  Your socks are still on?  Well, how about it's the only living structure on earth visible from the moon. That's what I thought; now go put your socks back on your feet!

The Great Barrier Reef is not a single reef; in fact it has more than 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands.  There are over 1,500 kinds of fish, 400 species of corals, 4,000 kinds of clams and snails, and countless amount of sponges, starfish, and sea urchins.  It's also home to many green and loggerhead turtles and it has one of the largest manatee, sharks, giant manta rays, and sea snakes populations in the world.  Sharks and sea snakes, two species I could live without seeing!  BTW: if you are here during the Australian winter (June-Aug) then you would likely see humpback whales.

The "Outer Reef" is what most people really mean when they say they went to the Great Barrier Reef.  The Outer Reef is a network of platform and ribbon reefs that are about 40 miles off the Whitsunday coast.  When we inquired about going to the Outer Reef, our concierge gave us a few of choices.  This time, before she could even begin her sales pitch I said, "All I want to know is what size is the boat?"  "Ahh... good question," she said.  Our options were to take a smaller private charter boat, which will take us to a remote part of the reef which is much clearer and natural, or take the 400-passenger catamaran which takes us out to a pontoon full of amenities.  No brainer, right?  Right! For your information, we could've taken a helicopter or a sea plane, but not only are those much more expensive, they are also much more rough on the body.  Especially when it's very windy out, and after our  Alaska sea plane experience, no thank you!  Besides, I liked the idea of docking out in the middle of the Coral Sea.    

I have been fortunate enough to be here once before, and on that trip we took the private charter.  That was fine because the weather was sunny and the water was calm.  Not this time.  The agent warned us that the seas were going to be rough.  She said, "The first forty minutes between  the islands will be fairly smooth, but the following 55 minutes of open seas will be quite choppy and the top deck will be closed and no standing will be allowed anywhere on the boat".  ...Gulp.  "Then, once you get to the Reef you will have calm waters and it will take another 20 minutes to reach the floating platforms."   

I am sure the agent scared most of the people away because  our boat wasn't even half full.  When we boarded, the crew offered everyone free motion sickness pills (herbal and regular).  Frank and I didn't take one, but Amber Airplane took two.  FYI:  Frank couldn't get sea sick if he was lying on a rubber ball in 30-foot seas. I on the other hand, have to be outdoors on a boat in rough seas, because once I go indoors I begin to feel nauseous. My body made the situation a bit more comical for the fellow passengers.  It just so happened to be pouring on the way out, and I refused to get off of the back outdoor deck. I was allowed to be there, but just not allowed to move, and there were a couple other people who must've felt the same way I did.  I knew if I went inside and I got sea sick it would just ruin the rest of the day.  Instead, I just stayed and toughed it out.  

It was ugly, because it was not only pouring rain on me, but also the splash from the waves were smacking me in the face and I had so much salt water in my eyes and mouth that I could barely breathe.  If that wasn't bad enough, the exhaust from the engines were blowing constantly in my direction.  Just thinking about it again makes me feel ill. You should've seen Frank's face when he walked by when we reached the channel to the outer reef.  He said, "Are you crazy?  You could've been down stairs with me where it was smooth, cool, dry and clean air."  I just shook my head with my squinted red eyes, and shook my head like you are right.  I am crazy.

For your information, the pills must've worked because 90% of the passengers took them and I only saw one little kid look sick.

When we reached Reefworld they only needed to use one platform because of the small amount of people.   The other platform was about 300 yards away and looked identical to the one we were on.   The platforms have the capacity for up to 600 people and are great because they allow you to get off of a boat in the middle of the sea.  Therefore you don't feel the constant rocking.  Not only that, but they had cool amenities like the two semi submersible coral viewers, a large
underwater observatory, changing rooms, fresh water showers, large open sun decks, extensive shaded areas, and a children’s swimming area.  You might also like that they have space for up to six people to spend the night.   Frank wanted to but we nixed that idea right away.  "Ah, NO thank Aqua Dude!"  

Safety is a big concern and they have  lifeguards on duty at all times.  If you don't know how to snorkel, no worries, they give a snorkel demonstration on the ride out to everyone.  I liked the fact that they had these huge bins full of snorkel gear and individually sealed mouthpieces.   They also had life vests available for less confident swimmers, and for those of you who are non-swimmers, don't worry, I would still go because you don't even have to touch the water to enjoy the sites.  
 
Right when we reached Reefworld we jumped in one of their two  submarines.  It was a good way to get familiar with the area, but Amber Airplane didn't like that ride too much.  Her belly started to turn.  Again, no worries! I knew the perfect cure.  It doesn't matter where the girl goes, even in the middle of the sea, she will find shopping.  Trust me!

We couldn't wait any longer to jump in to the warm fish filled water.  The coolest fish I saw just happened to be the biggest.  He was a grouper nick-named " Wally" by the crew.  He lives below the platform and he's not shy, in fact I got to pet him, that's how bold he is.  

After about an hour in the water, we got out and had a great  buffet that's included in the price of the tour (AUD$150.00).  What we wanted to do, but couldn't, because we didn't make a reservation in advance, was to take a 10 minute $80 helicopter ride for a birds-eye view of Heart Reef.  The guide says this naturally formed heart shaped reef is Mother Nature’s way of saying 'from the reef, with love".

For more information about the Reef, try these websites:
 
OTHER TIDBITS ABOUT HAMILTON ISLAND:
  • Getting online is not that cheap.  There are no local AOL numbers, so you will have to pay about AUD$1.00 per minute to call.   McCay is the closest local AOL number.   
  • Cell phones do work on the island but not out at the reef (Why would you bring one out there anyway?). 
  • The stars are amazing at night.  They are so close; it feels like you can practically touch them.
  • Everywhere on the island is kid friendly, except the exclusive Beach Club.  They offer a great deal for families: Children 14 years and under eat for free from the children's menu when dining with parents at selected restaurants.  Not bad, eh? Not only that, they have a Clownfish Club (up to 14 years) and is FREE of charge.  "It's the only fully accredited childcare facility in the Whitsundays. Parents can relax while their children are enjoying safe, supervised age-related activities including arts and crafts, beachcombing, snorkeling, hiking, fishing, mini-golf and pool games. Infants newborns-4 years incur a nominal charge."   
  • Avoid the Australian vacation rush Dec 26 (Boxing Day and my mom's birthday) to the end of January.  This is when Aussies take their summer vacations. Most hotel rooms and airline seats this time of year will be hard to come by and you won't find any discounts.
  • This wonderful place is very affordable, especially with our exchange rate.  
Next week we finish up with our trip down under!  Happy Easter and Passover!

************************************ This is it... your last week in Australia (Unless of course we go back this year...and you very well never know). This week we will finish up with Hamilton Island and pay another visit to Sydney. So sit back, relax, and buckle your seat belt, you have two flights this week, one short and one trans pacific because you have to go back to work. (Boooooooooooo! )

It was difficult leaving Hamilton Island, it really was.  I would love to just spend a few months there writing a book or something.  The only thing I could find wrong with the island was that part of the year they have deadly marine stingers which makes you think twice about going for a swim.  The other is something so ridiculous, only I would care. Are you ready... they don't have high-speed Internet access.  I know, boo to me for thinking of that. 

We packed up our luggage and left it outside our door just like you do on a cruise ship.  You have to love not lugging it around.  The airport was quiet and our plane was about 70 percent empty. You have to love that, too.  Taking off we didn't speak to each other, not because we were sick of one another, but we just wanted some quiet time to look out the window and reflect. 

I didn't care too much for my Qantas snack box.  It came with OJ, mixed nuts, and an orange flavored brownie. I hate orange flavored food, so I gave it to Frank who thought it was the best thing ever.  Can you believe we are brothers?   I then fell asleep and when I woke up I saw Amber Airplane reading  this book. I thought I was hallucinating, so I did a double take and said are you finally getting some self-help?  She said, "Are you kidding me?  This book is about all the best places to shop!”  Then I said, "Are you kidding me?" and passed out.

Our somber moods wore off quickly. As we circled  Sydney we got excited to spend a few more days in our new favorite city.  We checked back into our home away from home, the Sheraton on the park.  Got the same rate of $168.00 a night.  For those of you who just signed up to this newsletter, that price is in Australian dollars... so take off about 40%.  Not bad for a 4 star hotel in the heart of the city, huh?

We found out one of our good friends from home was in town, and Frank was pumped.  You have to understand, Rick and their new Australian buddy Blake,  are just like my brother.  Handsome, successful chick magnets who are Tony Robbins fanatics to boot!  They are perfect for each other.  Frank is so generous that he checked us into our hotel then said, “Guess what? I'm out of here” and he spent the last few nights at Blake's house.

Naturally, Frank missed us and called later that night to see if Amber and I wanted to go over to Icebergs.  Remember  icebergs? The cool-hip club located at the top of  Bondi?  He wanted us to stop by and have a drink with the boys.  I knew we were in for a treat when the doorman said, "Johnny Jet and Amber Airplane... Welcome to icebergs!”  Amber and I were like... “What?”  We figured Frank and Rick were already in there and they probably introduced themselves to everyone.  Sure enough they were the life of the place and with in minutes they were on a first name basis with everyone from the bouncer to all the pretty Aussies ladies.    Frank had me rolling when he started imitating the guy who passed out the last time we were there.  Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious.

The next day we went to  Darling Harbour.   Darling Harbour used to be a busy port, but it declined, then the city rebuilt it in the 80’s to what it is now.  It's this huge waterfront tourist park that has shops, restaurants, gardens, museums, an aquarium, a convention center and a casino.  You can easily walk there from downtown, but the best way to get there is to jump on the Metro Monorail.  The monorail is supposedly one of only a few above ground rail systems in the world that operates through the heart of a major city.  In my opinion, it's more of a tourist attraction then mode of transportation, but its still worth taking.
 
Amber and I walked around and had lunch at an awesome  noodle bar called Wok on Inn.  What a great name.  Here we could choose our type of noodles, vegetables, meat, and what style: Thai, Malay or Chinese.   Wok on Inn Darling Harbour, Level Two, Harbourside Shopping Centre, tel. 9212-6655.  I'll spare you our shopping experience. What's interesting though, we could not find an Australian license plate for my nephew with his name "Johnny" on it?  But they had all kinds of names I’d never heard of like; Rohan and Tayla. What's up with that?

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at the  Sky Tour.  It's located in the Sydney Tower at Centrepoint.  You can't miss it because it's in the tallest building (820 feet). The views from the top are supposedly amazing, but we never made it to the top, even though our ticket included a free trip up there.  We just didn't have enough time.  Instead we stayed on the third floor because Amber really wanted to do the Sky Tour .  The Sky Tour cost $12USD a piece.  It takes about 30 minutes and was just OK.  The highlight is "The Great Australian Expedition Ride" which is similar to Soarin’ Over California ride at Disney's California Adventures, but doesn't even come close.

We rushed back to our hotel to get ready for our last nights hurrah.  A trip to Sydney wouldn't be complete without actually going to the Opera House for a performance. Well, there was no opera going on, and the only event was a  play called the Way Of The World. Unfortunately, it was down stairs in the basement, not in one of the tortoise shape shells. I couldn't really enjoy the play, because my A.D.D. totally kicked in, and it didn't help that the play was written ca. 1800, or some time around there.  Don't listen to me, because almost everyone else loved it.  The good news we bought our heavily discounted tickets at Halftix, which is similar to TKTS in NYC, except no lines.

After the play we were all STARVING, shocker, I know.  But the play started at 6:30pm and ended around 9pm, so we didn't have time to eat before.  Unfortunately, Sydney is not like a lot of major cities where restaurants stay open late.  The majority of restaurants we came across stop serving at 10pm or earlier.  Which is fine, but our problem was none of us could agree on which place to go to.  We trekked from one place to another; looking at the menu, and then someone saying no, let's try the next one.  It was a nightmare. Finally, I said it's 9:55 and we are going to end up eating vegemite in our room.  The idea of eating vegemite will make most American’s scowl.   In the end, we went to our first choice (typical, huh?).  We hopped in a 5-minute cab to Wooloo- what? Woolloomooloo. That’s where you can find the fine Manta Ray bistro.  The food was excellent, the waitress was one of the best ever, and the atmosphere was great.  You won't be disappointed at Manta Ray, The Wharf at Woolloomooloo tel. (02) 93323822.

Our last day Down Under we woke up, packed and took a taxi to beautiful Bronte Beach to have  breakfast at an outdoor cafe with the crew.  Bronte Beach reminds me a lot of Laguna and La Jolla beaches (both in California). It was relaxing just to sit there and feel the warmth of the sun, hear the roar of the ocean, and see the beautiful scenery.   Unfortunately, time went by too fast and we had to say our goodbyes.

As I said before we were using Amber Airplane's air passes this time, so we flew stand by.  There are no sure things with those passes, which is why we rarely use them.  It's always a bit tense.  All you can do is hope and pray. At the  airport :  Frank went to the airline club to eat, Amber went to... that's right, Duty Free, and I just looked out the window and checked out the planes .  We arrived at the gate and saw what looked like about 20 non-revenue passengers hovering around.  That didn't make me feel too good because you never know how many people would upgrade at the last minute.  I knew before we left for the airport there were about 20 open seats between First and Business (and about 30 in coach).  I conceded we weren't getting First again because of all the senior people.   Well, they called everyone's name, and I was just thinking to myself. Please, Please, Please, Please, Pleeeease, Pleeeease, Pleeeeeeeease, Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, be Businees.  I really did not want to sit in coach for 12 hours and 50 minutes (the flight is shorter going home). Our names were the second to last to be called and guess what seat we received?   25CDE which on a 747-400, is bulk- head BUSINESS CLASS! Yeah BABY! I moon walked on to that plane.

We took off right on time at 4pm.  The flight was smooth and I knew one of the flight attendants, so we got some extra good service.  I can't sleep too much on planes so I just watched movies, watched the in-flight map and stared out the window whenever we flew over somewhere cool, like Tahiti.  I couldn't see anything because of the clouds and it was dark out for about 7 hours of the flight.   I bought one of those in-flight adapters for your laptop at a store called Tandy.  It cost $100AUD and with the exchange rate it turns out I saved $40 US by buying it in Australia. How do you like that Amber Airplane? I can shop too!  I now don't have to worry about my battery going dead after two hours.   Of course, you have to be in Business or First Class for the plug and even then there are no guarantees the airline will have a working outlet.

The only other eventful things that took place on the flight were there must've been some kind of Mr. Universe competition going on  down under.  We had about 5 Gym monkeys on the plane.  These guys were huge and the one who sat across from me had a serious sleep disorder.  The dude was tossing and turning. Literally his arm almost came across the aisle and hit me.  Did I mention he made the craziest snores you have ever heard?  I thought he was having a convulsion.  Then when the dude finally woke up, I fell asleep.  I must've been wiggling the same way he was because I dreamt Amber Airplane was buying duty free from the flight attendant.  I woke up only to find the flight attendant standing directly above me exchanging money for goods to Amber.  There is no escape, not even at 35,000 feet…
 
Other helpful websites for Sydney: