Mandy's Adventure: Crossing the International Dateline...

Wednesday 3 November 2010

It was horrible trying to get up again! We were told to be outside by 6:45, so we were out by 6:25. We didn't have a reservation, so we wanted to be positive we would not be left behind. We were freezing our fannies! We just watched five cars pull up and collect dozens of people from the hostel. How do these people know people here? Three other girls came to wait with us.

We didn't have a long flight, but long enough. We got to Sydney Domestic airport and took a $5 train ride to International. Then we got to find out our flights changed 5 minutes later. We had to wait in the Sydney airport for hours. I think we had to wait about 8 hours in the airport. Sounds like fun, huh? We had to get to the Sydney airport in order to get a flight out of the country to Apia, Samoa. We were able to check in 2 hours before leaving. A man asked if we could check his baggage in since we did not have any. First time that has ever happened. The check in lady told him that was illegal. It was really sad actually. I think most of the people on our flight were going to a funeral of a young boy.

For the security check, the people in front of us were having a really hard time separating the liquids. We got through, but Alison's bag was put aside to check. My bag was put on top to be sent through again. The lady was in a bad mood and would shout, "BAG CHECK!" and "SEND IT THROUGH AGAIN" and expect people to hear and do it immediately. Alison and I were just standing there waiting fro someone to check our bags. After a while, a lady asked what to do with my bag. It was sent through, and I was done. When Alison's bag went through again, they checked it. Her padlock was a problem apparently. Finally, Alison got through. We were heading out when the explosive test guy was saying something. As he headed over, I automatically started putting my bag down to prepare, when I realised he wasn't looking at me at all. He was talking to Alison. He put the thing in her bag and around her shoes. Another lady patted her down making sure she wasn't hiding nay liquids. So, she got the whole deal.

We eventually got to leave. We went to the gate and stayed until we were able to board the plane. The flight wasn't full. We tried to sleep, but couldn't at all. It was very uncomfortable seats and the flight attendants constantly asked if we wanted anything. They didn't do that to anyone else, but us. It was as if they were concerned with why we weren't purchasing any of their food. We got in early. Actually, we arrived before we even got up. The whole International Dateline thing is so weird. So we started the day all over again.

We asked the front desk about our shuttle. He said the hostel said we needed the shuttle last week, but it was okay. We went outside and had to sit in a shuttle while we waited for our shuttle. The air was on, and we were freezing. We headed to our hostel and saw the sun rise.

We checked in and looked at our room. We had an amazing view of the water right outside our window. Here was the downside, we purchased an air conditioned room. We had one, but it cost $30 Tala a night to use it, which we didn't. Their electricity is 6X that of LA. Still, we were really sad about that. As we were leaving, we found out we could have free breakfast. The lady asked if we wanted tea or coffee. I accepted tea reluctantly. I drank it as fast as I could. Vile stuff.

We had a fruit mix in a coconut cream with vanilla. It was so good. We also had toast with star fruit. It was a perfect breakfast. We walked to the city centre (Apia). We walked along the water. It is so beautiful with palm trees, bushes flowers, ocean...Along the walls, people would just sit. They stare and say hello. Everyone is very friendly here and always say hello. There are more taxis on the road than regular cars. It is very normal to see a row of 6 or more taxis drive by, and each one would yell out of the window, "Taxi?" We have gotten a lot of yells out the window. We just ignored them. We first walked to the very centre. When we got there, the police academy marched down the street playing instruments. It was pretty neat. Then we went to the fish market. It was dark there, but I could see them fanning the fish with leaves. It was interesting. Then we went to the market. Everyone pretty much sells the exact same thing for the exact same price. So no competition and no haggling. We met a couple girls there. We talked to them a bit and said we would come back tomorrow.

We returned to the hostel and talked to the lady to figure out what to do with the rest of our time here, since it is so short. She was really disappointed we only have a couple days here. She told us a few things and talked about tours or buses we could take. It wouldn't have been bad to take a bus, but we decided not to. We asked about the Robert Lewis Stevenson Museum. We then headed out to walk to the grave sight. We climbed a really high hill. It was HOT HOT HOT! So incredibly humid! It took a really long time and my legs started feeling weird, so I drank water. We made it to the place of the grave sight. At this point, I felt like I could barely walk. We sat in the shade on a bench for a long time. I had red splotches all over my legs. I wondered what was happening. It hurt like crazy. After a long time, I started feeling better, so we headed to the grave sight. We thought it would be a short walk. It was vertical climbing over branches, roots, dirt lumps, a mouse...It was really difficult. It took a really long time and we were so tired when we made it. We sat for a long time taking pictures of the tomb, the view, and a family that was sitting down. A couple of the kids kept saying hello to us. We left and headed down the hill. A couple girls caught up to us and were talking to us. They asked a lot of questions. Then they wanted to take pictures. We took some with them. They were sweet. Then we sat for a while after descending the mountain. We talked to a couple people there, then headed down the forbidden hill. We noticed that everyone hangs their washing outside. I don't know how anything can get dry in this humidity! There are dogs EVERYWHERE. Kind of reminded me of Bulgaria, particularly Kubrat.

We finally made it to the hostel. It actually took us longer to get back, because we were in so much pain. My legs felt like fire, and Alison's feet hurt. We made dinner, then got ready for bed. We went to bed at 6:00 pm, but remember that we have been up for 36+ hours! I woke up around 7:30 to close the windows and discourage mosquitoes.

Thursday 4 November 2010

We had about 14 hours of sleep. CRAZY! It felt so good. We got ready and went to breakfast. We had papaya and Apiu (a type of Samoan fruit). Then we had french toast and molasses. It was good. Then we headed into town. We looked around at the markets again and talked to the girls we talked to yesterday. As I was talking to one of the girls, I started feeling like I was going to pass out. She asked if I was okay, and I told her I needed to sit down. She brought me over to a chair and I drank a lot of water. After sitting down for a long time, I felt a little better. It was really strange. I don't think I ever felt that before.

So it started raining with thunder and lightening. I don't know what the deal is, but in every city we have been in, it has rained...a lot. It was sunny one minute and thunderstorms the next. Still hot no matter what. We went back to the hostel and sat down. My legs still really hurt and are really red, but are doing a little better. I think I need to rest them more, and get out of this humidity!

So, the bathrooms in the hostel are a little intimidating. There are no curtains anywhere...in the shower...in the toilet...No privacy. You would just have to go, and pray no one would pass by. We went to bed early again and heard an annoying buzzing sound. I assumed it was a mosquito and it really made me nervous when I felt it landing on me. We turned on the light and looked around. Alison saw it, and we were frantically trying to kill it. Arms were flying everywhere. All of a sudden, we couldn't see or hear it anymore, which made us more nervous. We started searching our bodies, afraid he found a buffet table. We couldn't see anything. Then I discovered the window wasn't completely closed and insects could easily fly in. GREAT! It was like we were giving them an invitation! We quickly closed it as best we could, turned off the light, and completely covered ourselves with the sheet. The dorms had mosquito nets, why didn't we? We got too hot, so we emerged. We just prayed nothing would happen, but twitched for every twinge or itch. It was not an easy night to sleep to. Plus, a couple came in and tuned the outside light on which blinded us and left. We got fed up after a while and turned it off.