Looks like a lady, in fact it's a chap.

We landed in Bangkok late last night and headed to Kho San road, which is basically full of backpackers. A couple of years ago Ruth went to Thailand and her stories made me want to go one day. After we split up I took all the precious little things, like cinema tickets and other bits and pieces, that I had kept for sentimental value and put then in a box. Then I put the box in a sugar powered rocket I'd made and shot them in he general direction of the centre of our sun. [Ruth I'm obviously joking, don't take offence]! The point I'm making is that while all the letters etc were locked away, I kept a 10 bhat coin she'd brought me back from Thailand in my wallet because I knew someday I'd be there and I could use it. The first thing I bought after landing was a bottle of water that cost 10 bhat with said coin. Thanks Ruth, it's just as cool here as you said.
[Jeremy, there is one photo I took of you but it sucks. Gav hasn't got his film developed yet. I'll figure something out]...

Four Flavours of Football.

On reflection Sydney could have been a lot more fun if I wasn't ill. Even if I'd done everything and been everywhere the highlight would still have been meeting up with Dan. We hooked up again on Thursday afternoon when he knocked off from work and hung out till night time. The main lesson learned is that playing hackysack in a living room when you're as baked as toast is tricky. It was cool (after being able to catch up earlier in the week) to just be friends and hang out and not feel awkward at all. I think that's what 'friends forever' actually means if you cut away all the soppy sentimental shite - just being able to pick up where you left off.
Actually I did drag myself out of the hostel and see loads of cool stuff, just not as much as I would've liked. Ben and I talked on MSN and he inspired me to go find some fun on my own - so I went to see Dashboard Confessional at the Enmore Theatre near Newtown. The Enmore was cool, imagine the Manchester Apollo was half it's size. The gig was excellent, and while I know the emo related comments are winging their way toward me - I don't care. I think Dashboard have been hyped so much as the Patron Saints of Emo that the fact they write really, really good songs gets overlooked by people too busy pointing and shouting 'cheer up emo kid', or something equally unoriginal.

Rail Replacement Bus Service

Went and spent all afternoon catching up with Dan Lacey. Apologies to his flatmates and his girly Fleur (who seems lovely) for turning him into an antisocial bum hat [thanks Jen] for a whole afternoon. When he asked what Mike Standing was up to and I told him he'd joined the airforce he said something like "He always did like guns". Yeah, and fire and violence. Mike rules.
I got some photos developed and put the cooler ones on the web. Ch-ch-ch-ch check ch-check em out:

• 34th St. from the Empire State Building. You can see Macy's and MSG (the bastard) peeks out up on the left.
• Old Church in the middle of the finacial district of NTC. Looks out of place in a cool way.
• Me on the Stanten Island ferry looking emo and windswept by accident. Honestly!
• The anti shoplifting message in a west village record store.
• Gav trying to finish his half of the 18 inch pizza we ordered. He failed.
• The buildings out the back of our hostel. Get me trying to look arty with a $10 camera.
• B-boy bustin breaks in Washington park.
• Same guy, different freeze.
• Can't remember the name of that building, but I know it's cool.
• Mmmm, pants.
• Guggenheim from the ground floor.
• Another shot of the inside of the Guggenheim.
• Gav and I drinking cheap and nasty 40oz from paper bags in a subway station. Classy.
• Gav looking emo by the crisis call sign on the Golden Gate Bridge. Don't jump!
• Gav looking as giddy as a schoolgirl on the cable car.
• Golden Gate Bridge.
• Al-ca-traaaazz!

Titanium dioxide?!?

It's afternoon in Sydney and I've not been very active. I'm feeling a little bit grotty with aching stomach etc so last night was spent trying to establish my new sleep pattern. My old one was raped by 11 hours of long haul flying where the in flight movie was "The Prince and Me". Don't look for it on the Oscar nominees list - it's shite. Oh and they edited it for family flight viewing, thus I got to lipread 'holy shit' and hear 'gosh darn'. I'm not joking. I think while I'm in Sydney I'll get my photos developed and see if I can't post some online. No promises though - I am on holiday :)
That's it for now, I'm off to ring Dan Lacey (who now lives in Sydney) who I haven't seen in something like 8 years since his family emigrated (to New Zealand). Crazy.