Roadtrip - Eastcoast

The smell of the ocean

To get from Brisbane to our 2-months-home in the Tea Gardens-Hawk's Nest area, we did a 3-day-road trip alongside the east coast.

Byron Bay - From a hippie town to a tourist magnet

The view down from the light house

After four days in Brisbane, we went on south. Our first little stop was Mount Tamborine, a vineyard region full of shopping possibilities: The charm of this place came from all the little shops - from sweets over cheese to wine and beer and alternative clothes, you could find anything here.

The light house of Byron Bay

In the early afternoon we reached Byron Bay, the alternative surfer town, that made it to the top five places, I've ever been to. In the town center one tourist shop with quality, alternative or even second-hand-products stood after another. And at the end of those streets lies the most stunning beach I've ever seen. White sand, blue ocean and since it is the most easterly point of mainland Australia - you know, at the end of all the water will be South America.
The really exactly most easterly point is marked by a light house, to which you can hike up to. I wanted to get up in the morning to see the sunrise - unfortunately my alarm didn't ring! I woke up 20 minutes too late but still decided to go - and it was amazing! I am so happy I did it. Although the sun was high up by the time I reached the top, the light was amazing, the ocean was glittering and sparkling magically.

Coffs Harbour - A hidden beauty

The beautiful harbour at sunset

Stop at the Thursday Plantation

After breakfast we continued our journey. A single stop on our way to Coffs Harbour was the Thursday Plantation, where they produce and sell alternative cosmetics, medicine and oil, everything made from the tea tree.
We arrived in Coffs Harbour late afternoon - with the sun still up. I enjoyed the cooler evening on the beach with the most beautiful harbour lights, reflected by the water. The wind was blowing all my thoughts away and I got inspired by the amazing smell of the ocean. I wonder, why Coffs Harbour is not as famous for its beauty as Byron Bay. Maybe because it's so much bigger? I don't know ...

Arriving home

The last day we missed the exit to one of the sights, we wanted to see, so we drove without stop to our home for the next two months, our basis of operation for the sight seeing tours we planned.
After over two weeks of sight seeing, being amazed and stunned, after all the walking and taking pictures, writing about it, sorting the videos and photos, I am happy to be able to relax for a while.
Our next trip will go to Melbourne and Adelaide. I will update you as soon as possible.

Please forgive me for all my spelling, grammar and vocabulary mistakes!!
My mother tongue is German.

Brisbane

Brisbane - City between palms

It's pretty hard to take a picture of BRISBANE without kids climbing all over the letters

After Bali, Brisbane was a a relief. Finally we got sidewalks again! And almost no rubbish - but traveling there was a challenge!
On the Denpasar airport we learned what waiting in line really meant. First 30 minutes to the first security check, then an hour and a half to get rid of our check in luggage, then 30 minutes security check again AND yes, before boarding, there was another line to wait in just to get our carry on checked again. Arriving in Brisbane Airport, we thought it would be over - instead there was an hour and a half long line to get our passport checked and then again almost an hour until we were through customs.

Walking besides the Brisbane River

Brisbane by night

The most pleasant thing about our stay in Brisbane was that we lived in the heart of the city. In not even 2 minutes, we were at the beautiful South Bank. Walking alongside the river, sitting there and watching people, writing about the nice breeze and enjoying the sun became the thing I loved most about the city.
At South Bank, there is also a free artificial beach, a swimming pool, a rain forest and of course the big letters, spelling Brisbane. Kids, families and Asian people loved climbing up there and I loved to watch them.

Botanical Gardens

One of the amazing trees in the inner city Botanical Garden

There are two Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, one in the City Center (a smaller one) and then, when there was no space left, they continued just below Mount Coot-Tha. Both places did astonish me. The one in the inner city even had some mangroves on the river bank and a lovely view over to the cliffs of kangaroo point. And the other one was just so wide, you could spend a whole day there exploring the different plants.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

A little outside of Brisbane lies the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Over a 100 koalas are living there with many other animals native to Australia. I was a little disappointed at first sight. I expected a nature reserve where you could see animals in their natural surrounding, instead it was a zoo.

Me, cuddling with a koala

In the end I still loved it - for 20A$ I got to cuddle a Koala! And no, it does not stress the animals - they will be put in the hands of tourists for only 30 minutes a day and every fourth day is free. If a koala gets stressed out still, it will get a day off!
There also was a kangaroo feeding area but because of the heat the kangaroos were more interested in sleeping than in being fed. Because of that, we could just sneak up (even without kangaroo food) and pet them.
While on the ferry to Lone Pine we got some information about Brisbane, the celebrities who lived there, the Mayne Inheritance, the University and the buildings alongside the river.

Mount Coot-tha

According to the travel guide book, the most amazing view over the city should be from the top of Mount Coot-tha. As an Austrian, I have to say that 287 m doesn't deserve the name "mountain" but - shame over me - we went up by car.
The view really was stunning. You could see the small inner city of Brisbane with a few not even so high skyscrapers and than the seemingly never ending suburbs.

The view from Mount Coot-Tha

Art in public space

West End

One day for lunch we went into West End, a more alternative district of Brisbane. Because we've been there for just a few hours, I didn't see much from the promised bohemian lifestyle. No one was dancing on the streets or reciting a poem, there wasn't even a street musician but as I wrote: I only was there for a few hours around lunch time, maybe I should've come back at night. At least the shops looked different than the ones in the rest of Brisbane and there was a little bit of art in public space.

Museums

Art from Papua Neuguinea

On my last day, I went to the Museum and Science Center, the State Library, the Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. Not everything on purpose though. First things first - I love libraries, so I wanted to check out the State Library of Queensland. I was not disappointed! They did a lovely job making the library a place of relaxation full of inspiration for young writers - they even have a program for aspiring authors!
After that I wanted to see the "Wild State" exhibition about endangered animals of Queensland. I thought it would be a modern photo exhibition, so I went to the Art Gallery - there they told me, it must be in the Gallery of Modern Art - the way leads through their own exhibition about traditional art from Papua Neuguinea. I stayed longer than I had to, because I adored the masks and totem poles (I hope that is the correct translation), they had there.

Chilling area in the library

Finally I arrived at the Gallery of Modern Art. As soon as I went in, I knew I couldn't be right here. I enjoyed non of the exhibited things. At the counter, they told me to get back to the Museum and Science Center. I did! On my way I stumbled over informational photos about the Great Barrier Riff. Oh, I loved it, I thought the whole "Wild State Exhibition" would be like that. Instead it was made for kids and contained only taxidermied animals (Again, I hope I picked the right word for real animals being stuffed and prepared).

Matilda

In the evening I enjoyed the great musical of "Matilda". I didn't know the story before, so I was quite curious and I loved it! The musical was performed in the Center of Performing Arts. Mainly I was impressed by the kid actors and actresses. They were NOT switched after scenes. Those little kids performed the whole thing!

Saying Good-Bye to Brisbane

Good-Bye lovely Brisbane

Brisbane, Brisbane - I had such a lovely time with you! There were not that many traditional sights as in Singapore but the pure atmosphere made me fall in love with you. I had time, I enjoyed, I loved just sitting on the edge of your river, writing in my tiny booklet and watching all those people, who love living here. Brisbane, stay as you are for when I come back, I want to feel exactly the same: young and free and full of options.

Please forgive me for all my spelling, grammar and vocabulary mistakes!!
My mother tongue is German.

Bali

Bali - Land of a Thousand Temples

My travelteddy at the beach

Everywhere you hear about Bali, the cultural, the beautiful, the amazing Bali. Well, I have been here for four days and I have to say: It's not a paradise! Bali is full of contrasts.

Chilling in Canggu

Sika Homestay

Our first day in Bali, we spent chilling because we were really tired after our sight seeing days in Singapore. We went to the beach and got shocked! Ever single meter that doesn't belong to anyone was full of waste, plastic bottles, glas bottles, just plastic in general. Unfortunately it was the same at the beach. The waves were breaking loudly and we were watching surfers falling into the ocean. If you don't look around the beach and just focus on the sea it was amazing. So we sat down and enjoyed ourselves. Unlucky for us, we look like rich, white tourists and after a few minutes a sales woman approached us to sell necklaces and bracelets. We said "no" for a thousand times. Then she moved on. When the next one came, we decided to buy one. Then another came and because we were talking so nicely, I bought one again. Then a third. Then a fourth balinese woman came and tried to sell us her jewelry. We said, we had already and then the first woman came back. She started to swear at us, because we didn't buy from her but from the other women. We had to flee!

The odyssey of Vinz and Viola

A hidden temple we found when we didn't find our way

After this little escapade we tried to find a different way home by walking alongside the waves. After a while we got lost. The sun burned our skin, the hot asphalt on my bare feet started to hurt. Thanks to Google Maps, we found our way back - but burned red already and tired. Since every Balinese has its own temple, we found a few nice picture motives on our way - although it's hard to hold the camera in the right angle, so you don't see the plastic waste everywhere.
In Bali it is still customary to put offerings for the gods outside everyday. This is a nice tradition and in earlier days the offering was some home cooked small meal in baskets made out of leaves. Today the offerings also contain sweets, packed in plastic, that will lie on the streets forever.

You can go everywhere in Bali, just not where you want to go

Tanah Lot with all the tourists..

The next day we wanted to see a bit more from the island. Unfortunately it started to rain. Who would've thought, that it rains in the tropics? Well, our tour was cancelled. We were stranded in Canggu, so we decided to walk a little to see the village. The armies of traffic and the waste on the streets made us want to go home soon. We did see a few more nice temples though.
In the afternoon the rain (at the place, where we wanted to go) did stop and our guest mother Sika brought us to the Tanah Lot Temple (or as I call it - the Tanah Lots of Tourists Temple). We knew that it was one of the most photographed sights in Bali - this should've been a lesson. So many people tried to get a good picture! We had to wait in line...

The smell of rain and pizza

La Baracca

In the evening it finally rained in Canggu as well. The heat stopped to be so depressing for a while, when the wind made our hair fly. For the first time in Bali, I was completely relaxed, sitting under a safe hut, watching the rain wetting the rice field.
When it stopped for a while we went for dinner. The italian place next door, called "La Baracca", had delicious food and the atmosphere was amazing. Finally I made my peace with all the contrasts in Bali and started to enjoy the calm, stressfree way of life here.

Who stole the bananas?

My new best friend sitting on my shoulder :)

On our last day with Sika, she took us for a longer trip. First we went to the famous monkey forest. Our hands full of banana, we tried to see lots of monkeys - that was really not a challenge. The challenge was not to give all the banana away at once. A park ranger told us, how to hold it, so the monkeys would sit on our shoulders. After a few tries we finally made it without fear.
Afterwards we drove through ricefields to the Tegenungang waterfall. Because the stream was full of plastic waste as well, we didn't want to go for a swim. Feeling the waterdrops on our faces was nice enough though. The price to enter was high - not in money but in steps. A hundred steps down and back up again. My legs will hurt the next day.
In the end our lovely guest mother Sika brought us to our hotel in Denpasar. We felt, we left our new home, that we found with her.

Last day - Chill day!

Some masks in the Art Museum

On our last day we decided to rest again, since there was not much to do in the area. We went for a little walk - but the street was so full of traffic, we returned after a few minutes. Directly integrated in the hotel was the Art Museum. While I thought this would be local art like paintings and textiles, instead there were old masks, tools, statues - very interesting but again too little information for me (for example if there was a statue, the sign just said where it came from and what it was called, not why the might have made it or who it should represent).
Like in Canggu, Denpasar is a city full of waste. Bali did disappoint me a lot in this way. So here are some not so nice pictures about all the plastic lying around.

Off to Brisbane with the best parting gift

In the evening just before we had to leave for the airport, Bali gave us an amazing parting gift. The last half hour we spent sitting on our balcony just looking and enjoying the most beautiful rainbow during an amazing sunset!

Is there anything more amazing than an rainbow during sunset over the jungle?

Time was flying by again on the island of 1.000 temples and although I didn't find the promised paradise here on Bali, I think it was a good experience, realizing how tourism can destroy or define a culture - and just look at all the pictures - there are some really nice sights here! Also: all the nice and beautiful people make it an amazing experience, being here!

Please forgive me for all my spelling, grammar and vocabulary mistakes!!
My mother tongue is German..

Singapore

Jungle, skyscrapers and beautiful temples

The first stop of my around-the-world-trip was Singapore. We got four days in this beautiful city. Really beautiful! I was honestly surprised when passing through all the tress on our way from the airport to the hotel. I have never seen a city that was in such a symbioses with nature.

The view to the skyscrapers from the middle of a park

Colourful Singapore

Me in the middle of the orchids

When we left Austria, there was snow everywhere, now in Singapore, it was damp and hot and green. But not just green - our first stop were the Botanical Gardens full of colourful flowers. It's no wonder, that it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Especially the Orchid Gardens made us feel like we were in a magical world full of flowers. For those of the tourists who couldn't bare the heat, there was a cool house - filled with orchids from cooler areas.
After having lunch in the park we went to Hard Rock Café - A must in all my holidays!

The best view over the City

The view from the Singapore Flyer

In the evening we went to take the Singapore Flyer. For a long time this was with 165m height the tallest of all observation wheels. Since 2014 another one in China is even bigger. Still, we had a great view over the city. But the even better view was afterwards: When we went for dinner, we crossed a bridge and saw the amazing night skyline of Singapore!

Beautiful night skyline!

Little India? Sleepy India!

Such colourful houses in Little India!

The next morning, I went to Little India to enjoy the colourfull streets and open bazaars. Unfortunately everybody was asleep. I was the only tourist on the streets - and felt really observed by the locals. The famous bazaar was not yet built up and I could only enjoy the beauty of some nicely painted houses. Since there was not much to see yet, I decided to come back later and went on to the Singapore River. The view over it is amazing! First you just see the green park, then as you continue you will see the little houses that stood there many years ago and then in the background the skyscrapers appear and you got this amazing view over green and old and new.
The last stop before returning to the hotel was the landmark of Singapore: The lion with the fishtail! It is not old - it was actually just made in the 1960s.

The famous lion with the fishtail called Merlion

Futuristic Gardens By The Bay

The bridge between the Super Trees

In the afternoon we went to the famous Gardens By The Bay. It's a futuristic park, merging jungle and artificial trees. For a small fee you can go up the super trees and walk a bridge over the jungle, enjoying the wind and the view. Even better than what we saw from the Singapore Flyer!
There are also two greenhouses in the park. One is called "Cloud Forest" - you can walk up a mountain, enjoy the waterfall falling down and the mild climate and the flowers that grow higher up in the mountains. The second one is the "Flower Dome". It's supposed to be full of blossoms and colours. After the beauty we saw in the Orchid Gardens, it was a little bit

My travel teddy in the greenhouse

The famous Super Trees by Night

disappointing. Nothing compared to all the blooming orchids.
In the evening the futuristic trees turn into a light show.
Thousands of people came together to see the spectacle. But pictures say more than a thousand words - so just take a look!

The light spectacle 

The mountain in the Cloud Forest

view over the Singapore River to the greenhouses and the Flyer

Into the Jungle

I think they were ignoring me on purpose

Singapore contains one out of two primary rainforests inside a city - the other one being in Rio de Janeiro - so we had to go for a hike there. First we were a little disappointed because everything was made for tourists - there were sealed roads (everything was accessible with a wheelchair!) and neat - not untouched and wild like we imagined (like having to use a machete to get through). On top of the highest natural point of Singapore (around 164 m) we met some lovely girls from the US and Canada (if it's you reading this, please leave a comment, I would love to stay in touch!). On our way down we met some even funnier creatures - little Makaken (monkeys).

China Town

Colourful art in a Chinese temple

In the evening I visited China Town for the first time - and I was disappointed again. The China Town Heritage Center was made nicely but had - for me - too little concrete information about the culture that manifested in Singapore because of all these Chinese people immigrating. The rest of what I saw was just a bazaar again - so full of tourists I couldn't spot anything nice. But - and here is the big BUT - I found out, that there are many nice mosques and temples in China Town - So I came back the next day and enjoyed beautiful religious art in the temples, I saw offerings, statues and the most exquisite rooftops. So in the end I was amazed by China Town and if you go to Singapore one day, you have to visit the temples there!

Saying good-bye again

The view over the Singapore River

After only four days, we had to say good-bye to this lovely city! It was nothing like I've ever seen before. Clean and neat and colourful and dreamy and futuristic! I enjoyed it very, very much! To all the nice people, who helped me find my way out of the train stations (that was very complicated), back to the underground and to all the wonderful sights: Thank you so much!

Please forgive me for all my spelling, grammar and vocabulary mistakes!!
My mother tongue is German..

Little and tall - Singapore has it all :)