Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Time is a wastin'

:)

Well, I have been very delinquent in posting, but not without reason (a fancy way of saying "excuse")

Anyways, we travelled the balance of the way back to Melbourne, enjoyed some cold camping out near Gulpa Creek, a couple of hours North of Melbourne, and then headed back to pack our things, and head out. The return trip was not without hassle, from the campervan rental company who refused to drive us to the airport (our taxi cost to us, $120). To those travelling Australia - beware the likes of Calypso Campervan - while I don't mind supporting the little guy, this company is worth avoiding. If you want additional information, drop me a line :)

After dealing with the extraordinarily expensive taxi ride to the airport, we sat and waited for the opportunity to check into our flight. To pass the time, we played "musical luggage" and swapped things from bag to bag, so that no one bag weighed more than 70lbs each... the maximum allowable. Once the check-in opened, we got to endure the second baggage discussion of our trip (first was with Air Canada). They insisted that the per-bag maximum was now 50lbs (like they can change this on you mid-trip) and we would need to pay around $600 for excess baggage... but they decided to give us a deal - instead, they insisted I check my carry-on and pay them $200 for doing so. I agreed, for no reason other than to get it over with... the fight with Singapore Air over that $200 charge continues.

Anyhow... a brief stopover in Singapore (two days) netted us a little bit of a cultural taste (short of an actual experience) and then the long trip home. I managed to confuse the date that we would be returning (damn time/date change) so we were lucky to be greeted at all when we arrived at 1:00 AM at the Edmonton International Airport.

We've been back for two weeks, moved in, moved out, moved in again... and we are hanging out on the South Side for now. Just sort of settling back into life.

That said... the journey continues, so keep watching!!

More to follow... thanks for reading.