^ Bahamas, ey? It's alright for some dheh. To answer your question, Faarax, a perfect citizen might consider moving to Aus for a better quality life. :cool: Zu, therapists are OK. It's chiropractors you ought to avoid.

LoL @ Lily. Trouble at work?

^ Are you offering your services?

Not being able to edit your posts after a certain amount of time sucks. SOL gave me a hard time last night, what on earth was going on? I couldn't post, then when I did I couldn't view it. Grr.. Although I have just one bone to pick with you young lady, did you just refer to me as a creature? A completely benign and loving phrase of habit, Intui. Oh, and you're too kind, thanks! :cool: LoL @ the rest of you. I'm glad you like the pics and review. I'm a definite Aussie fan (you're not the only one who used to enjoy bashing them Lily!). I would love to live there, I tell ya. A sponsorship would be much appreciated @ Zu. As for pictures of people, I didn't take many @ Zii, however I do have a particularly fetching photo of a tanned Val stroking the belly of a rather large tiger @ Che. Buuxo, next time am there, I will definitely visit Perth I'A. :cool: Puuja, no money exchanged hands, just food. Sharmarke, yup the place was so clean you could eat off the ground. Really.

Hello All! I have been a bit tardy with the reporting, but that’s only because I have so much to say and I didn’t know where to start! Australia is a brilliant place! A gobsmackingly beautiful land with everything: be it gorgeous metropolitan cities, deserts, rainforests and the like. It’s not a place you can fully explore even if you’re there for years! Places • Melbourne Albert Park Lake My trip started in Melbourne, which was a mistake on my part because I should have started from Perth. We flew over Perth on my way in and although we were in Aussie airspace by then it was another five hours before we debunked at Melbourne Airport. Perth has been described to me as a sickeningly beautiful city but with the red soil and camels of Buuhoodle! Who can resist such a description? Not me…I was pretty gutted not to have seen it during my trip. Anyway, back to Melbourne. Melbourne is a big, gorgeous and laid back city. When I first arrived the city felt eerily empty and lonely to me. There were hardly any people out and about. This was disturbing to a Londoner who was used to being crushed by people everywere. It wasn’t until I went to Brisbane that I realized Melbourne was pretty lively for an Australian city. *Smirk* Due to this lack of people (3 million population), Melbourne is very spacious and there are loads of sights to see and things to do. There is the scenic Yarra River which cuts through the city, the Financial City including Federation Square (as seen the photos) and the charmingly old Flinders Street Station (oldest station in Melb apparently… Am I right? @ the Aussies), massive shopping centres in the suburbs, the Botanical Gardens which was near my flat, loads of restaurants and cafes, and long streets dotted with one boutique selling gorgeous shoes and bags after another boutique selling breathtaking clothes after another boutique selling natural, organic skin and bodycare products. Heaven. I did nothing but shop and eat for more days than I can count (probably why I’m more broke than I have ever been in my recent life! Still…can’t bring myself to regret splurging out). The food was amazing. From Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane, the variety, quality and taste of food was out of this world. I was eating nonstop from the moment I arrived to the moment I left, breakfast, lunch and diner….all consumed outside. It’s really a wonder that I’m not obese by now. I think the only thing that saved me was all the walking I did as I shopped till I dropped (as well as the usual sightseeing and taking photos). *Takes a deep breathe* Reliving it is making me feel lightheaded. God I want to be back there so much! *Sniff* More recent photos of Melbourne • Sydney Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney…you’ve all seen the pictures; Sydney is highly populated (according to Aussie standards), highly polluted (I will admit it was a little more clogged up than Melbourne, but I would hardly refer to it as ‘highly polluted’. Having said so, it was the only place my hayfever started acting up in) and heartwrenchingly beautiful. It has a massive harbour and the water comes quite deep into the city. In fact, there was blue water everywhere I looked. Quite overwhelming really. I was there for three days and the temperature was high (for me. Not for the Aussies. 27 degrees Celsius is positively cool to them. Ha!). I did all the touristy things; the Sydney Aquariam, the Sydney Tower, rode the monorail around town, ate at all the waterfront restaurants (fabulous seafood (yes, I’m now a fan of seafood. Really!)), rode the ferry around the city, went for a wild ride on a speedboat (picked up a neck injury from all the whiplash)…and a lot more besides. Sydney was an awful lot of fun. I was on the go from the crack of dawn (couldn’t really sleep what with all the flashing harbourside and skyscraper lights coming through my window) to midnight. I didn’t get the opportunity to check out Bondi Beach or any of the other Sydney beaches, but then again what do I need to see a load of nude or semi-nude people for, ey? • Brisbane Slumbering tiger at Dreamworld Theme Park, Gold Coast Brisbane was big (and very hot). It was also very American in that there were highways and motorways and freeways everywhere! (Yes they use all three terms.) Although most Aussies seem to be overly-reliant on their vehicles, they seemed more so in Brisbane than anywhere else. The concept of pedestrianism doesn't exist in Brisbane and due to this, and the fact that I was visiting family, I couldn’t really do all the touristy stuff I was doing in Melb and Sydney. I took some photos of both Brisbane and the Gold Coast (another gorgeous destination an hour’s drive from Brisbane. Don’t you just love the name?) Skyline but they are not as clear and sharp as the rest because they were taken during the evening (my camera has crap night vision unfortunately). Still Brisbane and the GC are as gorgeous as anywhere else I have seen. All of Australia is, I suppose. The Gold Coast actually resembles Dubai from the photos I have seen on SOL. People Aussies are quite friendly people. Helpful too. The Somali Aussies are even nicer and friendlier, at least from what I experienced. I was welcomed warmly and everybody I met was spectacularly sweet to me. The Aussie SOLers, of course, were the best of the bunch. They ferried me about, took me out, fed me (good people, those SOLers!), told me all about life down under, answered all my questions, offered to show me around and even gave me gifts! Honestly, where else could you get this kind of treatment (although I suspect they may have been trying to tip my hand into moving to Melbourne in the future rather than Sydney as I thinking, I’A)? Not only that but there must be something in the clear sparkling Aussie drinking water because they were all quite good looking as well. Not as pretty as I, mind, but close enough to give me a run for my money!. Intuition, Legend, Rahima, Rokko, …I’ve fallen in love with these guys. Especially Intuition, what a lovely creature! I wanted to smuggle her out in my hand luggage (Yes Ng, I never meant to bring Rahima back for you. She belongs to another soul, see. Just didn't want to hurt your feelings)! Many thanks, guys. Conclusion Australia is a place everyone should experience. It’s a bit expensive but worth every penny and if you’re a Brit, the Sterling pound goes far. I enjoyed every single moment I was there but I didn’t get to see or do half the things I planned in the beginning. I wasn’t able to explore Melb and Sydney as much as I wanted to, wasn’t able to go to Tasmania, wasn’t able to see Perth or Uluru Rock for that matter (the big red rocky thing in the outback they always show in adverts and holiday programmes). Four weeks just isn’t long enough! The best thing to do is to go for a working holiday visa and stay 6 months or so, although I don’t believe you’ll be able to taste everything Australia has to offer in just 6 months. I’ll definitely go for something like that next time, I’A. :cool:

^ LoL...urm... Thanks to all for the welcome backs. Much appreciated. :cool: Zu, am not like you. I intend to do Australia full justice, alright? Urm...just not today. Kinda swamped at work innit. NG, I tried to get Rahima out of the country for you, but I couldn't get her past Customs. Sorry.

Originally posted by Zafir: ^I don't get it, what's Hymen Eliminator? Guessing a fancy name for the male genital?

Thanks Zii! Hah! @ Sophistafuncated. A month ago I would have blasted you for simply being Aussie and daring to talk in such a way, but now...now I have to nod in agreement with you. Norf...the Aussie nomads were a revelation. A full debriefing will take place tomorrow at 0900. :cool:

^I'm sure he will look fabulous in the floral dress too. The man can rock a skirt as we've all seen in Troy. Man, it sucks to be jet-lagged and be back at work.

Originally posted by NGONGE: I need a spare corpse to kick when Val is not here. By the way, anyone know when she'll be back? Anyone at all? NG, you must be the only one who's missed me in here. For that, I ought to get you something from this gorgeous land. Maybe an Akubra hat? ---> Xanthus, wish you the best. Have a good trip, I'A.

Brisbane and possibly Tasmania to follow soon, I'A. :cool:

Melbourne Federation Square, Central Melbourne More images of Melbourne Sydney Sydney Harbour, Sydney More images of Sydney

^ Yup, albeit a different kind of fun.

LoL @ ^. Hi QL, how are you? Wlc back.

^ Hi Intuition, how are ya? Thanks for the welc. I'm currently in Melb as it happens...Spent my Sunday shopping at Chapel Street. It's not as fast and populated as Sydney, but it's a pretty city too. Yup, Aussies are very friendly people. Everytime I go into a shop, I'm greeted nicely and they ask how I am and how my day is going. The first few times, I stopped and stared at them in surprise, but now am used to it. Only thing is, I have yet to see a black person around. I'm having withdrawal symptoms from the lack of colour! Originally posted by Northerner: Is it all its cracked up to be? Remember Rahima has been constantly dissing London for god knows how long so be diplomatic with your Aussie reviews Oh, definitely Sydney is more than it's cracked up to be! It's an entirely gorgeous city, from top to bottom! Diplomacy can wait... Originally posted by NGONGE: You went to Sydney and stayed in a hotel? A HOTEL! Are you at all Somali, woman? Not a drop, luv ( ). But as it happens, I have an apartment in Melbourne and family in Brisbane, so Sydney is the only place where I've had to stay in a hotel. But what a hotel...right on the harbour, close to everything and with views to die for. I will post the pictures soon, I'A. Originally posted by Xanthus: Val Is the place that bad, you are on the net after travelling for 24hrs to get there, I was thinking of going there sometime so looking forward to your honest report! LoL...not at all, dear. It's a fabulous place and I had been there for a while before I noticed that the internet was available in the hotel lobby. Not very observant, me. So, thought I would do some banking and check out SOL and my emails which I have been neglecting. Oh, and sure thing about the report. Now, my apologies for semi-jacking the topic. What do you see?

I'm waiting for 'The Bad Wife's Guide: Express route to a productive divorce', myself.

Very curious business. Originally posted by rudy: so they wanna be germans again!! lool.. i should have charged for the germans or virgins that i have returned!! i like to take the path of least resistance... remember in electronic classes, where currents like to travel!! no... your bad. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

What I see... Darling Harbour, Sydney, from my hotel window. Simply breathtaking! :cool:

I wonder why Somalis stigmatise pictures of girls? After all it's only a likeness of the person. If they are happy enough to go around in public showing their faces, they shouldn't be afraid to do so online either. I don't think there is anything wrong with having your photo on your website or sharing it online. The reason faaraxs get away with this 'exposure' business is because people buy in to it. Why, I don't know. It's just scare-mongering as far as I can see. As for 'nude' photos...they are the in thing now, aren't they? Everyone's flogging their wares, so to speak.

CG - LoL..dire-diraale! My hand luggage will consist of a handbag large enough for my money-purse and make-up. I doubt if a size-zero freak would be able to fit into it either. Alright? Cheeky beggar! :mad: Cambarro, aspirin, tights, goggles...all precautions really. Lily, definitely will, I'A. :cool:

^ You're on form today. Originally posted by NGONGE: If you can smuggle out Rahima in your hand luggage it will be great. I feel sad everytime I think of my good sister living in the middle of all those Aussies. Not to mention having to breath the same air as a particular indho yar Somali. Sorry, dear, I can't help. People smuggling is illegal. Anyway, Rahima is probably too big to fit into my hand luggage! *Ducks*

LoL @ 'DON'T GO'. 2012...Alle ha ina gaadhsiiyo.

^ LoL...I was thinking materials...a didgeridoo, or something similar. Nevermind then.

LoL @ CG . Urm, did you use the man-hole then? Sounds like an extreme sport. Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^^ Are you not gone yet? Not yet. In a few days, I'A. Want me to bring anything back for ya?

Lovely choices, girls. Love them all. :cool: