Darwin, Australia

Yay here I am in a really English speaking country- you would not believe how good that feels!!!

I arrive here at about 3am and as usual I have not made any bookings for my accommodation! Customs is a nightmare here- they even want to know where you have been walking in your shoes in case you are bringing any dodgy soil into the country, it all seems a little extreme especially as I cannot remember the last time I walked through customs in the UK and it was manned!!!

they have a fantastic little airport shuttle that drops you to the door of your hostel, so I pick one and head there. unfortunately it does not have an all night reception, there is though a nice sign telling me to feel free to take a seat till it opens at 6am. I like this the chairs are comfy and there is a TV, and it saves me having to pay for a bed I wouldn't be getting into till nearly morning.

I really enjoyed my time at this backpackers, there are a group of long term residents here that do work around the place in return for their board and occasionally go out to do seasonal work to get a bit of drink money and to keep on top of their visa requirements. There is a kitchen for cooking your own food, a BBQ to use if you wish, and a swimming pool to cool off in. It has a really friendly party atmosphere.

Darwin is a really small as state capitals go, it it the capital of the Northern Territory. There are four or five main streets crossed by four or five smaller streets, there is one supermarket (Woolworths- how mads that- its like tescos over here!) and a small pedestrianised area for a shopping area. It also has sixteen backpackers and they are nearly all full during the dry season!

It was bombed during World War II by the Japanese and a few year later Cyclone Tracy leveled what was left- about 4 buildings remained standing.

The first place to go out and explore is the town, the harbour and the esplanade which runs right from one side of the town to the other, there is also a beach but it is not used, there is always a danger of a croc having made his way round the coast- they do that you know!!

Its in one of the parks that i came across my first crazy big bird with a big beak- it was just pecking about on the grass- i later learn this is an Ibis!

The main town has a mix of offices, bars and shops, many selling tourist paraphernalia, and plenty that are geared towards the great out doors- these shops look like they have been plucked right out of Americas wild west.

In the middle of the town is Crocasaurous Cove, this is a newly opened reptile house with the biggest residents being the aggressive saltwater crocodile (salties), obviously!! the most famous of these is Burt, who starred alongside Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee!! They also have the largest collection of Australian reptiles in the world. Each reptile has a little card on the tank explaining where they live and what they eat- most read 'Deadly to Humans'.

The crocs are obviously the main attraction, they have a section where you can swim with them. This is not as crazy as it first sounds, the beast will have his own area where he lives and swims, and behind a very tough clear partition is the area for us to swim. The idea is to get in and splash about enough to attract his attention so he comes to investigate. Already he seems bored of this game as no matter how much I splashed about he was not going to waste the energy. And didn't I look stupid, the swim area can also be seen by the people in the centre! Pay a bit extra and you can go in the cage of doom (or some such name) and be lowered into the water of one of the other crocs in a glass tank- its similar to a shark cage and i assume they do it at feeding time else its just a smaller version of the swim area.

Darwin is really a nice place to chill out and no nothing- there is not really a great deal of things to do here, it is more of a jumping point for the great national parks like Kakadu. I did find myself a little worse for wear for drink on a couple of occasions, especially when the backpackers run fancy dress competitions at the local pub and provide free beer!! (Thank you to Chelsea for the loan of a costume)

So my first few days in Darwin are spent chilling out (cause Bali was such a chore!) and waiting for Mark to arrive.

Depensar, Bali

Depensar is the crazy, noisy capital city! I had planned a two night stop over here but I am getting out of here tomorrow it is far too frantic for me!! Not many people who visit the island come here, it is a purely working city and doesn't really accommodate tourists, that is the good thing about being here!

I have had a really good mooch around today and have seen some interesting things. The first thing i stumbled upon was a procession down the main street lots of people and musicians walking in front of or following a huge tower structure, this is a funeral procession. perched in the top of the tower is a coffin, there is a picture of the deceased on the back and hanging off the side is a priest, he is throwing things (rice or holy water i cant see) down onto the crowd. As we approach a cross roads suddenly the men carrying the tower start to move around erratically, they are spinning the tower and running in circles with it and the priest is going frantic with his chanting and throwing, though actually i think he is trying to stay up there! This is apparently done to confuse the spirit of the dead person- from reclaiming the body??
Then as if on cue the musicians and the mourners start up again and the tower makes the rest of its way down the the cremation ground. I did not follow the procession any further than the gates.

On the way back into the main town i passed another two processions heading to the cremation grounds- one was very similar to the one i followed but the other was much simpler, the coffin is carried by pall bearers and there are few mourners. I don't know if today is a special day for the funeral ceremony or if this sort of thing happens every day.

Back in the main are where i am staying there is a huge market on, again i don't know if this is a daily occurrence. Outside the stalls are all set up selling flowers, flower heads and petals for offerings- it looks fantastic, so colourful. Most of the vendors have spread there wares right out into the road and the combination of the heat and dust, the blaring cars, bikes and vendors, and the women moving between the traffic and the stalls with huge parcels balanced on their heads is chaotic and crowded its amazing, really makes you feel like you are in another world.

Inside the market hall its quieter though no less cramped- the entire ground floor is for food, there are barrels filled to the brim with little dried fish and other crazy looking food stuffs i cannot name. Upstairs its clothing and household goods, the vendors in these stalls are quick to spot you and drag you to see what they have.

Away from the markets there is a huge open park, there are many families here with young lads flying kites which is an important pass time here. Along on side of the park is the museum and a temple, as with the other buildings round the rest of the island these are beautifully carved with guardians and decorations.

At the top of the park is a statue of the last three Raj of Badung. Rather than submit to the Dutch in 1906 they set fire to their palaces and made a suicidal Puputan (fight to the death). Dressed in all their fine ceremonial clothes and jewels, leading the other royals, the priests and courtiers, and armed with only their ceremonial swords, they march to meet the dutch guns.

There is more to see here, the other side of the city is where all the big shopping malls are but trying to get over there will be totally suicidal the drivers here are crazy, and the idea of wandering around a shopping mall is not exciting me. I am going to head back to Kuta for a few days tomorrow, get a bit of beach time before my flight to Australia.