Newsletter 5 (3 october 2002)

Hello everybody,

Already the last day in Australia. Man, time goes fast. It seems as if i just arrived here, but hey... it's already gone. Tomorrow i fly to Bali. I'll spend a bout 6 weeks over there. Plan to see a lot of Indonesia, but i already found out: where ever i go, i always run short of time. Same here. I have hardly seen anything of Aussie, but then again: the things i have seen were good and i enjoyed it very much. When i flew in to Sydney Tony (yes, he again) was there to pick me up. I stayed at his place for about 10 days (together with Abe and Andy: great guys who live in the same house as he does). With Tony i saw the blue mountains (beautifull old mining area which has been transformed into a kind of national park (although a park is usual a little smaller then this huge place; man, it is immense). Tony is a truckdriver, so i also went with him to se the surrounding, both in his truck and in a "normal" car. Great sight seeing. We stayed a couple of nights at his friends places, where i felt really welcome. Those guys are so hospitable, you can't believe it. Also went waterskieing (hope i wrote that right), which i loved. Gonna do that a few times more when i am back in Holland. After having tumbled down for a couple of times i managed to stay up and man... i felt on top of the world. Tony please thank all those people on behalf of me. They are great people. Love them. Also strolled in the city of Sydney of course. It's one of the most beautifull city's i have ever seen. Not just the "normal" things (harbour bridge, the opera house and so on) but the whole city it self breaths an atmosphere of old english tradition (comparable to Christchurch, only bigger of course). In short: ten fantastic days, again thanks to this great guy: Tony. Come over to Holland one day man and let me return the favor. You're more than welcome!!! After those 10 days in Sydney it was time to move on. I went down the southeast coast. First to Merimbule, where i spend a couple of days laying on the beach and strolling around with Henny, a dutch bloke i met up there. It was funny to speak dutch agaian after such a long time. Sometimes i just started a conversation in english, since i got used to that so much. Fine days and good relaxation. Then it was further down to Eden. A small fisherman's village, where it was really easy socializing, since everybody comes up to you, asking where you're from and where you go. I wanted to stay there only for 2 days, but it ended with 5 days, since the atmosphere was so cosy. Again a nice beach and yes i got a pretty dark tan by now. The last week i spend in Melbourne (where i am now). I went to this huge, huge backpackers place (like a warehouse) which is really fun, since you meet some many other travellers and exchanged a lot of information about the places where i still want to go. Spend some days with Rob (UK, London) on the beach and checked out the city. I must say: although it's a big city, one week is enough. It doesn't have the same internation-like atmosphere as Sydney and by now i think i have seen the biggest part of it. So, tommorow it's of to Bali.

From there you'll hear more from me i guess. Have fun travelling or enjoy your stay at home. Huggs, kisses and whatever further suits you,
Jan.

PS: Emma and Dewald: thanks for your pix. They're nice although i hardly recognized you guys. And Rob: thanks for correcting my english.