Anzac Day

Anzac Day was this past Friday the 25th. For those who don't know, Anzac stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The day, which is similar to America's Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, commemorates the Anzacs who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. Over 10,000 Anzacs died during that battle.

Australia makes a huge deal out of this holiday. There were parades, dawn services, lively traditions (such as 2-up, a gambling game that's legal to play only on Anzac Day), special sporting matches, people even bake Anzac biscuits (they're similar to oatmeal cookies). But what I was most blown away by was that thousands of Aussies and Kiwis actually go to Gallipoli to pay their respects. Seriously, they go all the way to Turkey.

The reverence that Australia gives to their fallen war heroes puts Americans to shame. Here's the deal, there are plenty of Americans who say they support the troops and the war, but what do they do for Memorial Day or Veteran's Day? Some families have picnics or go to parades, but would thousands of Americans go to overseas to where the soliders actually fought to honour them? I sincerely doubt it. And I'm not saying I'd do it either. Frankly, I wouldn't.

Every Australian I've talked to is anti-war, but that doesn't deter them from supporting their army. This country steps up when they're called on. I think that's extremely cool.

Flight plan

After scouring the Internet for a somewhat reasonable flight back to the States, I finally found one. Most of the prices ranged between $1,200-1,900--and that's just Sydney to L.A. Thankfully, I accrued enough frequent flier miles on United to get my L.A. to Omaha portion for free.

For $900, I get to fly in four planes and make stops in three countries. By the time I arrive into Omaha, I'll have been in transit for approximately 27 hours. I already feel bad for the poor bastard who has to pick me up from the airport.

Here's the breakdown:
I fly out of Sydney on November 17th at 11:30 am on Air New Zealand.
I make a pit stop in Auckland, New Zealand for a few hours. At 7:15 pm we fly onto L.A.
I arrive into L.A. at 10:25 am on the 17th (Yes, I get to live November 17, 2008, twice. And I'm pretty sure they're both going to equally suck).
Then I switch to United and fly to Denver at 1:30 pm, arriving at 5:50 pm local time.
I then drag myself onto United Airlines flight 448, which arrives into Omaha at 9:19 pm.

So there you have it. Now, I have definite plans to return to the States. But whether I actually get on that plane remains to be seen (only joking, of course...).

Surfers/Shoppers Paradise

The final leg of our trip was in Surfers Paradise. While it was nice to finally have a few days of sheer nothingness, I think we could've left a day earlier. The shopping was incredible, but you can really get through it all pretty easily in a day or two. The beaches were nice during peak sun hours, but once 4 pm struck the shadows from all the tall buildings nearby would cut the party short. We'd have to pack up all our stuff to move to a sunny square a few meters away, only to have to move again 20 minutes later because the shadows would follow us! I guess I'd describe Surfers as an American city that somehow took a wrong turn and wound up in Australia. While it was borderline tacky, it did have something that I desperately needed and that many Australian cities lacked--A Starbucks. I guess it wasn't all that bad.

Australia Zoo!

I never imagined I would ever have the chance to actually visit this place. It was a lot smaller than I expected--the last zoo I visited before this was Chicago's Brookfield Zoo and it blew this place out of the water in terms of size--but Australia Zoo really was a clean and very cared for place. Definitely worth the trip.

I heart Brisbane

And here are some images of Brisbane. The first is of it's skyline at night and the second is Andrea and I at Ahmet's Turkish Restaurant--I had the grilled chicken kebabs (SO GOOD).

Photos from Airlie and the Whitsundays

Here are a few shots from my stay in Airlie Beach. The top is from the lagoon in Airlie. The middle is another shot of Whitehaven Beach, and the bottom is a shot of the islands I took from the sailing boat.