A few things to expect are:
- Total hours on an airplane from Omaha to Sydney and back: 38
- Weather in Pheonix: 60's and 70's
- Weather in AU: 70's and 80's
- Current converstion rate from US dollars to Australian Dollars: $1.00 US = $1.10 AU
- Ticket to Sydney bought today: $3241.00 (I bought my ticket for $1407)
- Time difference between Omaha and Sydney: 17 hours (AU is ahead of US)
- Total days away from home/work: 19
- Total amount invested into trip so far: $1933.78
Change in Plans: Ok, so there has been a slight change in plans since the last time I've updated this site. Orginally I was going to leave on Wednesday, Feb 6th at 8:05pm. But, I've bumped my flight up one day to Tuesday, Feb 5th at 8:05pm departing Omaha en route to Phoenix on Southwest Airlines. My boss was really understanding of the situation so that made me happy. Also, there was talks of going to Tasmania for a few days but that has been cancelled. It was going to be too expensive and the too much traveling for the amount of time I was going to be there. We tried to set up a white water rafting trip with a company in Tasmania but got no response from the company. So, we decided against the trip and to focus our efforts on more favorable opportunites.
What I plan to do in Phoenix (Feb 5th - Feb 8th): I arrive in Pheonix at 10:00pm on Tuesday, Feb 5th. My Uncle Danny will pick me up from the airport and then we will most likely head back to his house. He lives there and I plan to spend time doing whatever comes up. There really isn't anything planned as of now but I'm sure we will do some fun stuff. I also have a friend from college who lives there and I plan on meeting up with her sometime during my stay. The funny thing about my friend from college is that she will be leaving for Australia one day after I depart LAX. This was not planned at all. She moved over there for awhile after she graduated college and then returned to the states. Now she is moving back to Australia for a year and who knows if she will return. She is planning on becoming a citizen in Australia but only time will tell. My flight departs Phoenix en route to Los Angeles on Feb 8th at 6:45pm on Southwest Airlines.
What I plan to do in Los Angeles and my flight over the Pacific Ocean to Sydney (Feb 8th-Feb 10th): I arrive at 7:05pm at LAX and will pick up my bags in the baggage claim terminal and begin the International Check-In process on Qantas Airlines shortly thereafter. If I have time I might pick up a shot glass/souvenirs in the airport and then find my departure gate. I will be chilling out until my flight leaves at 11:45pm Friday, Feb 8th en route to Sydney. This is a 14 1/2 hour flight. As of right now I have a window seat on the jumbo jet (Boeing 747) . I've always wanted to go to Australia and fly on a Boeing 747...what do ya know, I get to knock off two birds with one stone! There will be some in-flight movies I will be checking out. Some of those movies include: 310 to Yuma, Heartbreak Kid, Bee Movie, Beowulf, Into the Wild, Superbad, The Invasion, and 14 more. There will be a few meals during the flight but I'm not sure what will be served. Something interesting about my journey to Australia is that I will never see Feb 9th because of the time change. I won't arrive in Sydney until Sunday, Feb 10th at 9:15am. With this being said I will also try to get some sleep on my flight because I plan to hit the ground running once I land. I am going to try to avoid any naps during my first day there but we'll see how I feel once I get over there. Some people have suggested that I stay up later than normal a few nights before my flight so I can start getting use to the dramatic time change that I will expierence. I will most likey try this and see if it works in my favor. Now this brings me to my two week stay in Sydney.
What I plan to do in Sydney (Feb 10th - Feb 24th): Like I've said, I will land at 9:15am where my buddy Garett and his friend Josh (a friend of Garett's from college) will greet me at the airport. Garett has been over in Australia since late July/2007 and has been loving it ever since. At least that's what he tells me. Recently, his friend Josh and him have been over in Southern Asia exploring different countries and cities for the last two weeks. They will return to Sydney on Feb 9th just in time to pick me up at the airport the next day. I'm just going to give everyone an overview of what I think we are going to do when I arrive.
So far this is what's planned:
- Surf Trip (Two Days)
- Blue Mountain Cave Exploring
- The Beaches of Sydney
- Trip to New Castle to visit my friend from College
- Bar Hopping
- Shopping
- And the rest is up in the air...
This is where the rest will be told in my entries throughout my journey. I plan on updating this site daily of what I experienced the day before but I'm sure some days I won't be able to get on here but I will try my best. I look forward to sharing my trip with everyone and I hope each of you learns something new. It won't be long now until I'm signing off each of my entires with, Cheers Mate! haha!
One more thing before I go, back in December I asked each of you to tell me what you wanted me to write about and had you vote in a poll. Here is what everyone said:
- My Personal Experiences - 7 Votes
- What Things Cost in Australia - 7 Votes
- Australian Culture/Landmarks - 5 Votes
- Food and Drink- 5 Votes
- Weather - 1 Vote
With that being said, my entries will be based around your responses above.
My next entry will come before I depart Omaha on Feb 5th.
That's all for now!!!
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