Backpacker Mania

"Backpacker !" This word is bugging the hell out of me!! I thought the term was referring only to hikers or young travelers! I was wrong! The concept behind it is quite simple: in Australia, if you are staying more than 2 weeks and less than 6 months you are a Backpacker! Oh my gwad, I'm one of them!!! As you know, I don't like categories and labels and this is a big one: they don't care if you are studying, working, volunteering or doing an internship; the whole tourist system revolves around the backpacker concept and you'll have the "Backpacker Lodge", "The Backpacker Cafe", "The Backpacker Transportation Pass"; it is quite annoying because it doesn't leave much choice for alternative arrangements. Anyway, we had quite a bit of this tropical rain lately, but fortunately a high pressure system is pushing strong; I like Sydney and I would dare to say it is one of the best metropolitan areas I've ever seen so far. Think of S. Francisco and San Diego blended together and multiply by two: the city is huge with 4 million human beings strolling around. I keep risking major collisions with people since I naturally walk on my right hand side and things get complicated especially on stairs: they look at me like I was retarded!! By the way, their accent was cute at the beginning but now …well I’m not sure! Just kidding! :) The Botanical Gardens are awesome. I will not annoy you with the botanical names of incredible plants but the animals in the park are remarkable; especially the pteropus poliochephalus ! It is a huge bad-ass bat who lives in the canopy of tall trees! It's called the "flying fox" and you can see the bat flying during the day, although nocturnal by nature. There are huge parrots as well, flying all over the city. Graziano & Erica would love it. They have the King Parrot, The Rosellas, The Rainbow Lorikeet, the Galah and The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo!!! The Sacred Ibis is all over the park! The Aquarium is very interesting as well; especially the shark tank that you can check from the bottom through a tunnel. A group of 30 Japanese disrupted the quiet, talking out-loud and moving in pack; highlights of the group: an obese kid kept pounding on the glass, right in front of the sign "Don't touch the tanks", and a young lady in high heels, who didn't give a shit about the fish, made sure to have a picture taken in front of every single tank! It was hilarious, or sad…depending on the perspective; that's it for today, folks....

Cheers