Categories
general

a phone?

I’ve spent the last five years going through a series of cast-off, semi-broken phones (aside from my 9 months in the US, where by the time I was leaving I’d managed to break the phone I bought at the start of my stay anyway) . The final straw was when a certain friend came to visit earlier this week, and absconded with the phone charger for the phone I was currently trying to use. The phone charger had been eaten by a rabbit in three places, was poorly repaired, and only worked occasionally. But it certainly did a better job of charging the phone than thin air. The phone was flat within a couple of days, and I began to question the whereabouts of the charger. Having no luck finding it (unsuprisingly, as it was in Canberra), I turned to another old phone. Apparently you had to turn it on by sticking something in a hole. I managed it once, and it got a message, which was enough to startle it into turning itself off. My second attempt at sticking something in the hole led to me breaking the button in there (allegedly) and all future attempts to turn the phone on were futile. With all phone shops conveniently closed on Good Friday, I spent 36 hours carrying around a conveniently sized SIM card holder.

But now I’ve finally succumbed, entered the modern age apparently, and bought a new phone. It’s apparently impossible to get a new phone without also getting a camera, FM radio, mp3 player, coloured screen with little animated displays, sickening graphics, and sickeningly annoying ringtones.

At least it seems to stay turned on though, and all of the buttons work.

Categories
general

docklands sunset

Sunset, and the black clouds that rained on me afterwards.

Categories
general

starburst babies in a tree

Categories
climbing general

a vicious scorpion

A weekend of no climbing at Arapiles… the Pines Plaza is back in operation though

Dawn just outside of Natimuk
 

Juergen solos Trapeze (11)
 

Bouldering in the shade, spotters are go
 

Vicious scorpion
 

Kangaroo lazing at the bottom of Tiger Wall

Categories
general travel

the end of the story

So the story ends with a train ride from Nong Khai to Bangkok. The day train reveals the Thai countryside looking bare and dry, and very much like Australia in places. Although it does have floppy eared Brahman cows running around to keep things entertaining, as well as the occasional expanse of water, or limestone outcrop.

Back in Bangkok, I decide I never want to go there again. Khao Sanh road is a cesspit of evil – at night it pounds with music, neon lights glare from everywhere, sun-soaked tourists wearing far too little crowd the street, and vendors pack the arena. It’s impossible to move, and I have the flu.

The one thing that saves Khao Sanh road is that there is someone there making the banana and chocolate pancakes I fell in love with in Ton Sai three years ago. I eat one as we walk towards the airport bus to make our escape.

The only stopper in the whole escape plan is that we’re both coming down with some sort of evil Bird Flu virus, and my ears are blocking up. I am warned that my ear drums will explode, that I should delay my flight by two days if my ears don’t improve overnight, and pay far too much money for some antibiotics and eardrops and other hocus pocus medicine from the medical centre in the Bangkok airport. It’s midnight, and we abscond to a hotel in the hope that a good nights sleep will reduce the chances of exploding ear drums. The foyer looks like a scene from a Wild West movie, but they have rooms with beds.

Waking up at 5am from a night of fevered sleep, we catch a racing taxi to the airport. 140km/hr in a 90 zone gets us there in no time. My ears don’t feel good, but I can force them to unblock, which I figure is better than nothing.

They don’t explode. I am relieved.