It's time to get down to it..

The changeover is complete! With everything thats been going on in my
life lately, I feel like I need a fresh start, and with it, a brand
new blog.

Goodbye Xanga (not that I've even blogged there in the past year),
goodbye facebook blog - you were really crap to begin with, so that in
the end I couldn't even be bothered blogging anymore.

After reading Marlene's blog (scatteredrecollections.blogspot.com),
I've decided to get back into it. You'd think that being overseas
would equal less time on the net, but no, I'm actually on more than
ever. I'm going to have major Internet withdrawal on the plane heading
back to melb.

So let's see.. how has my trip been so far? Well it was my fourth (or
is it fifth) time going to france - jealous? But really, you can only
visit the same monuments so many times before you end up having photos
looking eerily similar. Believe me, I'm even wearing the same jacket I
was wearing in the photos I took the last time I was there - minus the
scarf.

Same with Vietnam. This is my fourth time now, but luckily for me I
never took pictures the previous times so there's no doubling up here.
phew. Although I think that once you've been to a place too many
times, you end up spending more time in the hotel than doing anything
else.

Also, shopping is hard here. Sure, it may be cheap, but my perfectly
average AUS sz 7 feet are considered to be enormous elephant feet in
the world of size 5 feet. I've heard the sentence "I'm sorry but that
was the largest size" more than I'd care to hear. And I haven't had
the guts to try the clothes on yet.. imagine what I'd hear then. sigh.

And besides the size factor, there's also the issue with everyone
being obsessed with fake brands and tacky jewels stuck on everything
you could imagine - shoes, bags, belts, you name it. Its like a sea of
bling shining up at you every time you step into a store. Its also
impossible to find a bag without the words Gucci, Prada, LV, Chanel or
Chloe imprinted on the side in an obviously fake way.

AND. What is with those sale assistants that follow you around the
store?? They are 2 steps behind you the whole time, I kid you not.

Ok, ok, I know it seems like I'm complaining a whole lot, but I've had
a good time. Really. I love the insane traffic, the skill you need to
cross the street, the fact that it's possible to buy a meal for 4
people for only 15 dollars, going to the market, riding around the
city with no particular destination on the back of a motorbike (albeit
without the wind blowing in my hair anymore since these new rules
requiring you to wear a helmet). I just love the general atmosphere of
a bustling city. Melbourne, as much as I love it, has more of a
laidback attitude, and isn't quite the same...

Well, that's all from me for my first post. Time for me to go lie in
my hotel room and watch some tv.