Sydney, pt 1
Feb. 21st, 2013 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thepnutgalleryLaid in bed for a while, briefly considered not going in to work, but the extra $80, and the idea that I might come back and not have a job persuaded me. A lot of people hadn't even heard about my trip. Air Pacific wouldn't let me check in online, and recommended I get there 3 hours early to check in, since it was an international flight, so I skipped my break and took off at 4.
I picked Dale up at the house he was working at, and he dropped me off at the airport. Chip was there, so I took a picture of Chip & Dale. I couldn't understand why Chip had flown down to San Diego, instead of flying directly to LAX from Seattle. His friend Kathleen picked us up, and we went to the Sheraton for drinks while we waited. She's a dosemitrist (coordinates the dosage of treatment for cancer patients), older, swimmer, Asian. Big Brian Eno fan.
The flight to LA was extremely short, though I almost left my hoodie at the airport. It was only at the urging of my seatmate, and the acquiescence of the flight attendant that I ran back and grabbed it. LA was a different story, and I was suddenly very very glad that Chip had come with. We had to exit the airport and take a shuttle to one of the International terminals, then re-check in at the ticket counter (even though our tickets were already printed), before going through security again. It took the entirety of our two hour layover to get there.
I slept very little on the plane, didn't play on my phone at all, but did watch a little bit of Wreck It Ralph (good) and Pitch Perfect (bad). I was rather surprised at how well I dealt with a 10.5 hour flight, really.
I'd been messaged on dudesnude by a gent in Fiji but the Nadi airport charged a minimum of $20 for wifi access. Chip had booked a tour with a local company, but they were also late. We hung out for an hour or so, there was a sudden torrential downpour outside, one of the sign holders made eyes at me. The tour guide finally did get there, and the rain had let up enough for us to continue on. We stopped at a Hindi temple, which was very colorful, and at an open air market. I was impressed at how vivid the colors of all their produce were, though not impressed enough to buy anything. Chip bought a pineapple on a stick which had been carved like an ice cream cone, but I declined to try any. Our last stop was going to be some hot springs, and hopefully, a hot shower as well. We had to take unpaved roads there, and the streams kept getting deeper and deeper until we got to one we couldn't cross. We could have waded through and walked, but I didn't want to go there that badly. Back to the airport, we found a restaurant that could make a "veggie burger" - really just vegetables fried in dough, which I should have liked, but was very bland. Chip had a shower there, I felt much better after eating. I napped at the gate, such as I was able given the metal chairs and armrests. Also kept waking up - did I have my passport? Where was Chip? Was Chip's stuff there?
The flight from Fiji to Sydney was 4.5 hours, and also went by surprisingly fast. I tried to watch 2 Broke Girls but the writing is just too godawful. We took a taxi to the hotel, and the accommodations were absolutely lovely. Great view of skyscrapers around us, kitchenette, fridge - even a washer & dryer. We walked up to Oxford St, found a bar and had a drink. I could've sworn they didn't actually put any vodka in my drink, but whatever. Picked up a couple gay rags, stopped in at the Mardi Gras museum, walked around a bit more. We fooled around back at the hotel, though I didn't feel ready to bottom after 25 hours of travel, so I just blew him. He seemed happy.
I picked Dale up at the house he was working at, and he dropped me off at the airport. Chip was there, so I took a picture of Chip & Dale. I couldn't understand why Chip had flown down to San Diego, instead of flying directly to LAX from Seattle. His friend Kathleen picked us up, and we went to the Sheraton for drinks while we waited. She's a dosemitrist (coordinates the dosage of treatment for cancer patients), older, swimmer, Asian. Big Brian Eno fan.
The flight to LA was extremely short, though I almost left my hoodie at the airport. It was only at the urging of my seatmate, and the acquiescence of the flight attendant that I ran back and grabbed it. LA was a different story, and I was suddenly very very glad that Chip had come with. We had to exit the airport and take a shuttle to one of the International terminals, then re-check in at the ticket counter (even though our tickets were already printed), before going through security again. It took the entirety of our two hour layover to get there.
I slept very little on the plane, didn't play on my phone at all, but did watch a little bit of Wreck It Ralph (good) and Pitch Perfect (bad). I was rather surprised at how well I dealt with a 10.5 hour flight, really.
I'd been messaged on dudesnude by a gent in Fiji but the Nadi airport charged a minimum of $20 for wifi access. Chip had booked a tour with a local company, but they were also late. We hung out for an hour or so, there was a sudden torrential downpour outside, one of the sign holders made eyes at me. The tour guide finally did get there, and the rain had let up enough for us to continue on. We stopped at a Hindi temple, which was very colorful, and at an open air market. I was impressed at how vivid the colors of all their produce were, though not impressed enough to buy anything. Chip bought a pineapple on a stick which had been carved like an ice cream cone, but I declined to try any. Our last stop was going to be some hot springs, and hopefully, a hot shower as well. We had to take unpaved roads there, and the streams kept getting deeper and deeper until we got to one we couldn't cross. We could have waded through and walked, but I didn't want to go there that badly. Back to the airport, we found a restaurant that could make a "veggie burger" - really just vegetables fried in dough, which I should have liked, but was very bland. Chip had a shower there, I felt much better after eating. I napped at the gate, such as I was able given the metal chairs and armrests. Also kept waking up - did I have my passport? Where was Chip? Was Chip's stuff there?
The flight from Fiji to Sydney was 4.5 hours, and also went by surprisingly fast. I tried to watch 2 Broke Girls but the writing is just too godawful. We took a taxi to the hotel, and the accommodations were absolutely lovely. Great view of skyscrapers around us, kitchenette, fridge - even a washer & dryer. We walked up to Oxford St, found a bar and had a drink. I could've sworn they didn't actually put any vodka in my drink, but whatever. Picked up a couple gay rags, stopped in at the Mardi Gras museum, walked around a bit more. We fooled around back at the hotel, though I didn't feel ready to bottom after 25 hours of travel, so I just blew him. He seemed happy.
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