The Ragged End Of Nowhere: Sydney

Before I get into the last couple days in Sydney, there's a few random things I feel like pointing out about Australia. In no particular order....

I hate Qantas. I just do.

For some reason the hotels here (and in New Zealand) feel as though the going rate for this new fangled internet thing is slightly less than the cost of a high-end sushi meal. They charge like $35 a day when you can get a 24-hour plan. Half the time it's some hourly shit that costs even more if you actually use it. Then on top of this, they cap your usage. So if you download any large-ish files, you'll reach your cap and they'll shut it off on you. I call bullshit on Australian internet robbery.

It's like Asia here now. There are so many Asian people living and visiting down here that it literally feels like you could be in Japan, except you can read the signs. I have no issue with this, in fact I quite enjoy there being Asian food on every block, but it just seems weird.

So anyway, yesterday was a 7:30am departure from the hotel in Brisbane to fly to Sydney. The thing about touring here is that you have to fly everywhere, which wouldn't be so bad except you end up flying on show days, which means you're up early and always jet-laggy and exhausted. Plus it's always on Qantas and you know how I feel about that shit. The gig in Sydney was a good one. Ween hasn't played down here in 11 years and Australia is the only place in the world that they had a top 10 hit. The crowd was way into it and, despite being plagued with gear issues all night, the band rocked it out. As you do.

Today was a day off. I was up fairly early to switch rooms to one with a balcony. Since it was a rainy morning I lazed around bed and took advantage of some internet time which is rare down here. Around noon I ventured out for a roam around Sydney. This is one of my favorite cities to visit and I always love having a day off here. The sun burned off the clouds and it ended up being a perfect hot sunny day. I walked thru the botanical gardens, checking out the bats that sleep in the trees along the way. They call them 'flying foxes' cause that's what they look like. They're huge with really big, sinister looking wings. It's really cool to see them up close. After looping around the bay taking in the views of the opera house and harbor bridge I took a ferry to Darling harbor and walked up the hill to the hotel. After an hour of sitting on the balcony soaking up some melanoma, I joined everyone except Aaron & Mickey for a dinner that the promoter treated us to. We went to this amazing high-endy Thai fusion place called Long Grain. They just started bringing us food, all of it amazing. One course after another, mostly seafood. We were there for 2 1/2 hours stuffing ourselves with all kinds of crazy food. A solid end the day. Tomorrow it's off to Adelaide, which is a half hour time difference from here. What's up with that? Anyway, here's some photos....

Tree tunnel...