back to traffic lights and jogger

Yes, I have reached Western civilisation again, and I can tell by the number of people running around Sydney Botanical Gardens. The Sydney Marathon is on Sunday, so there are countless people in training. Still, that didn't keep me in the city for long, and I'm now in Melbourne. I'll be in Sydney so often over the next couple of weeks, so I thought I would take my chances with the weather, invest in another sweater and some more socks (4months of never wearing socks means that I only have 2pairs), and head south to Melbourne. Not before I checked out the baby grand canyon and the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, which were beautiful, despite the huge numbers of Japanese tourists. Then, I threw my belongings in my bag (they all fit very easily now that I am wearing my fleece, my rain jacket, and my fleece!), and ran to the bus station, where I caught the overnight bus to Melbourne. This was a remarkably similar experience to buses in Thailand - we were shown a movie (Top Gun), we stopped at inopportune times (3am), and the bus broke down. Nothing changes, or is it a sign that Thailand really is a western country? Still, getting to Melbourne has filled me with a great sense of optimism. Poor Sydney. It wasn't that I didn't like it, I just didn't give it a chance. Its hard when your stomach is emptying its contents on a fairly regular 10hr basis. Who gets food poisoning on arrival in Australia? How unfair. Anyways, I'm going back with my mummy, so I don't feel so bad. Melbourne seems chilled out, I am staying in a great backpacker - its only been open a wk, so everything is fresh, clean, and works. The shower was incredible. And tomorrow, I hit the Great Ocean Rd for some fantastic scenery. Today, though, its all about Melbourne's cute shops and tiny lanes, and apparently, great bento boxes for lunch. Yummy. Just whenever my appetite has finally come back.