Category Archives: diary

There are no trees between LA and San Francisco, well…not many anyway. I catch the bus to SF. It’s a cheap option and is an opportunity to see some of the countryside. Surprisingly it is largely treeless. The hills are brown and naked. The sky is without cloud and the valley we are driving throughContinue reading “LA to San Francisco (Tuesday)”

‘Americans love their cars’ it has been said and from what I can see, is true. The cars are big and there are plenty of them. Australians love their cars too so what’s the difference? Americans seem to design their cities around their cars (in LA at least) where Australian cities seem to treat themContinue reading “Los Angeles (Monday 9 August)”

I took on the LA bus service today, with varying consequences. The first effort resulted in getting lost while looking for the Queen Mary. This grand old oceanliner from another era is now permanently anchored in Longbeach Harbour and is home to shops and restaurants. Neither of the two bus drivers I asked knew ofContinue reading “Los Angeles (Sunday 7 August)”

I found and booked the ‘Sea Rock Inn’ on the Internet. It appealed because it was cheap and I suspect it is that way because of it’s location. It’s a bit out of downtown LA and I’m one of the few white dudes around. And English seems like a second language. It is mainly HispanicsContinue reading “Los Angeles (Saturday 6 August)”

I flew to Los Angeles today…on an Airbus A380…Business class! I got an upgrade to business class with my frequent flyer points. Business class is being offered a choice of menus with things in them I have never heard of. What is ‘Kurobuta Pork Ragout’? I do feel out of place but who cares! AtContinue reading “Sydney to Los Angeles (Friday 5 August)”

I’m up at 5am. The hotel provides a transfer to the Airport and travelling through the streets of Dilli in the dark at this time of the day is interesting. There are people jogging everywhere. I’m fascinated by this interest in fitness amongst the locals here and I wonder if it has something to doContinue reading “Dilli to Cairns (Friday 29 July 2011)”

My last day in Timor Leste is spent doing more walking around town. It’s a chance to do some shopping for memorabilia and stuff. There is one more place to see though. I have read about it in Lonely Planet and my friends at the Backpackers endorsed it as a place to visit. It’s anContinue reading “Dili, Timor Leste (Thursday 28 July)”

I haven’t organised my time here very well. I planned to spend a good part of my time exploring Dili to start with, then visit some of the outer regions. Getting out there is difficult and only by buses that run irregularly. Going anywhere can involve several days, which is fine but not what IContinue reading “Dili, Timor Leste (Wednesday 27 July)”

Time to start looking with my eyes and not my ears. I hire a car and make for Balibo, the village where the five journalists from Australia TV were murdered by the Indonesian Army in 1975. Balibo is a small village up in the hills not far from the coast. I have heard all sortsContinue reading “Balabo, Timor Leste (Tuesday 26 July)”

A lazy day today, looking around Dili. Justin has classes today so I am on my own. Comoro River is the biggest of the rivers passing through Dili. During the dry season it is dry except for a trickle as are many of the rivers that drain from the highlands to the coast on theContinue reading “Dili, Timor Leste (Monday 25 July)”