Adios
Australia
Every time we come to Sydney,
we just get too comfortable and find it difficult to leave. It's hard not
to get sucked in by this gorgeous city with it's beautiful weather and endless
events. The Big Day Out is just one of our favorite yearly
music events, and we had a blast there this year on Australia Day, Jan.
26th. You can't go wrong with 4 stages, 2 arenas, heaps of international
food booths, lively markets, and amusement rides. For 12 hours, we joined
the crazy young crowds, dancing to great DJ's like Chemical Brothers, Carl
Cox and DJ Bexta (nice name!) and rocking out to Beastie Boys, System of
a Down, Powderfinger, John Butler Trio, Slipknot, Grinspoon, The Hives,
and dozens of others. Another event within the same week that Brad went
to was Wave Aid, another tsunami appeal concert organized
to raise funds for charities such as Oxfam, Care and Worldvision.The concert
was another sensational success, raising AUS$2 million. It easily drew in
the masses with an amazing concert line-up including Silverchair, Midnight
Oil, The Finn Brothers, Pete Murray, Missy Higgins, and Powderfinger. Thanks
to Ben Facey at Warner Brothers Music for the VIP tickets to both events.
Click on the Wave Aid logo on the right for more info about them.
Of course, it's easier
to leave Sydney when you're headed on a trip around the world, and
we've been busy planning ours. At Trailfinders travel agency in
the city, we bought our around the world tickets.
It's always good to deal with a travel agency that has experience
with around the world trips, and it's good to start planning and
routing in advance as there are lots of options and rules to learn
about. There are two types of around the world tickets. One is based
on amount of miles you will travel, and the other option, which
was more practical for us, is based on the number of continents
and flights. This plan allows us five flights from one continent
to the next, and four flights within each continent (six in North
America) with a maximum of 20 flights. All around the world tickets
are good for a maximum of one year, and the flight dates can be
changed free of charge but any routing changes will incur fees.
We will fly on airlines that are a part of the One World Alliance,
with whom we are frequent flyers, and the total cost of the 20 flights,
taking us completely around the world is US$3070 (AUS$4000) each.
 Our
first stop is Chile, South America, and we've been reading up on that
country and continent in our newly sponsored Rough Guides.
Unlike other popular guide books, Rough Guides have always taken us to
the road less traveled, and we love the detailed descriptions and great
writing skills of the Rough Guide writers. We are happy to announce that
Rough Guides is now a major sponsor of explorenow.net,
providing us with their colorful, in-depth guide books in every country
that we travel through this year. Before you head off on your next journey
or holiday, check out the Rough Guide edition for your destination. You
can also help us out by buying their guides directly through the XNOW
Store.
The next time you hear
from us we'll be in Chile. Until then, B&B.
Traveler Tips:
* Buses, trains and ferries are fantastic around Sydney. Not quite as
on time as they were in Japan, but very affordable and convenient. For
even more convenience if you are going to be doing a lot of travel around
Sydney, buy a monthly, weekly or daily travel pass from any train station
or ferry port.
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