G'day! I'm Chris. I left my home in rural Australia back in 2007 to pursue a life less ordinary.
I specialize in ambitious travel - bucket list worthy journeys such as the Great US Road Trip, the ultimate African safari, and following the length of the Silk Road.
A vibrant, cosmopolitan city, Sydney has an inexhaustible range of activities and culture to explore. Once you’ve already toured the Opera House, climbed the Harbour Bridge, and surfed Bondi Beach, you may want to turn to the quirkier side of Sydney for entertainment. There are numerous activities that can take you a bit off the beaten path.
James from the SkyScanner blog has been kind enough to put a list of five suggestions for those visiting Sydney in search of something a little outside of the usual tourist circles. Check out these wonderful Sydney vacation ideas below.
Posing atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2010.
1. Tank Stream Tours
Take a unique whiff of Sydney’s underground on the Tank Stream Tour, which leads you through the old sewer system running underneath Sydney. The Tank Stream was the original fresh water supply for colonial Sydney, running from swamp near Hyde Park to Sydney Cove. Before Sydney flights were available, Captain Arthur Phillip had to travel for quite some time to find the perfect location for his new settlement. The Tank Stream is why Sydney is located where it is today, and is a fascinating and unusual sight for history buffs.
Surf lessons in Manly in 2010. Photo by Fallon Fehringer.
2. Haunted Supper at Old Government House
The Old Government House in Parramatta Park is a 212 year old Georgian mansion, inhabited by the Governors of the city until 1855. At night, take a haunted tour by candlelight through these eerie halls and learn more about the history of paranormal encounters in various locations of the house. Debrief over a friendly supper in the dining room, with chicken sandwiches, wine, and a few invisible guests lurking over your shoulder.
3. Paddle to Balmoral Beach
For travellers craving fresh air after long flights to Australia, Sydney’s waterways can be the perfect solution. Instead of taking a sedate Sydney Harbour cruise, you can hire a sea kayak and paddle your way to the Middle Harbour beaches. If you’re comfortable in a kayak you can explore on your own, or you can take a guided tour from Sydney Harbour Kayaks and learn more about the local flora and fauna as you chat with fellow kayakers.
Kayaking at Bundeena in 2010. Photo by Fallon Fehringer.
4. Take a Harley Davidson Tour
Feel like a badass as you roar around town on the back of a Harley Davidson. Whether you ride in a sidecar, a trike, or a regular motorbike, you can have your very own biker chauffeur to shuttle you about if you sign up for a Harley Davidson Tour. A number of different itineraries are offered, ranging from a Sydney pub crawl to nature excursions in the Blue Mountains.
Photo by Fallon Fehringer.
5. Sleepover at Taronga Zoo
Those tired of hostel life might be ready for some different types of bunkmates. Taronga Zoo offers a “Roar and Snore” program, giving you the chance to have a sleepover with the elephants and lions. Crisp linens, modern tents, and a roast dinner are provided for your comfort, as well as showers in the morning, meaning you won’t have to rough it even though you’re out with the beasts.
Getting friendly with a wallaby in 2010. Photo by Fallon Fehringer.
Got a suggestion?
Did your visit to Sydney feature a less ordinary experience? Maybe your participated in some stand up paddle boarding, took part in a photographic tour of The Rocks, or something ever more unusual. I’d love to hear your suggestions!
It’s 6am and the cold sweeps into the arrivals terminal with each agitated hiss of the automatic doors as they open. Outside the air is thick with fog and there’s no sign of the sun. It’s hard to believe I was waving goodbye to bright, sunny, and hot Australia just sixteen hours earlier. Nanjing seems worlds away from the life I left behind in Sydney.
“Are you Chris?”
A pretty Chinese girl approaches me hesitantly. She has a folded up piece of cardboard in her hands. I can make out my name on it.
“Sure am,” I reply as amiably as I can muster after spending five hours with my knees up under my chin thanks to China Eastern Airlines having clown sized seats. I quickly shrug on my 25kg pack and shoulder my two carry on bags. They total another 11kg. I am the mother-fucking hulk.
We hail a cab and we ride in silence. The cab drivers here are protected by a cocoon of plexi-glass. Chinese pop songs and the tap-tap of tires riding over joins in the road are our sole accompaniment.
The fog clings cloyingly to the earth. Or is it the other way around?
When the smoky tendrils pull back their ethereal roots, will the world fall away?
I exist in that strange place between sleep and waking. Ideas that seem sane and rational quickly devolve into nonsensical flights of fantasy. It’s realizing their oddness that ultimately jolts me back awake, but never for long.
What few shapes loom out of the shifting mists would be perfectly at home in the work s of H.G. Wells. Cell towers and cranes are given menace by their cloak of rolling clouds.
After fifteen minutes or so the fog has begun to lift and we are m
Bikes flood the streets of Nanjing
oving through less ominous settings. High rises flank the road and soon our lonely taxi is joined by other cars and an ever growing horde of motor-bikes, electric scooters, and push-bikes.
Nanjing is a city of 8 million, but it doesn’t seem so intimidating in the early morning light. I’m not sure what I expected, but there is a lot in common between Nanjing and the cities of Gwangju and Busan, where I lived during my time in South Korea.
The Apartment
Tina, who I learn is the foreign teacher liason at my school, ushers me through deathly silent halls and eventually to a door that will mark the entrance to my domain for the next 365 days – give or take a week or so.
It seems my predecessor shares my father's love of a good impulse buy
My first impression is one of pleasant surprise. After spending all three of my tenures in South Korea crammed into something more resembling a shoebox than a living space, I’m gob-smacked by having not one but three rooms. There’s a rice cooker, water cooler, hot plate, and big double bed all saying ‘hi’ as I explore. Hell, even a desk was a luxury I usually had to plead for in South Korea.
My super roomy living spaceMy study - now with 117% more drying shirts!Convenient bathroom is convenient
“Here is your electricity card,” Tina explains, “You put credit on it like a mobile phone“. She also advises me on how to turn on the heating, where I can buy groceries, and when I should show up on Monday morning for orientation.
The door closes, her heels echo down the hall, and I’m left alone with a big bag full of clothing and a weird sense of deja vous. I’ve done this all before, but I’m suddenly that scared 23 year old who curled up into a ball and sobbed on his bed upon first arriving in South Korea four years ago.
After two single beds and a mattress on the floor in Korea - a double bed is a sight to behold.
The Olive Branch
I while away my first few hours in China fitfully dozing and watching old episodes of Bob’s Burgers. But before too long my feet are itchy and I’m feeling brave enough to venture out on my first reconaissance mission.
Soon enough I’m back in my apartment with two ramen bowls, a pack of toilet paper, and a blueberry muffin. I am a superstar.
A second visit – this time a little longer – sees me return with toothpaste, a bottle of Pepsi, and the understanding that the grocery store nearest my school does not stock cereal or the components required to cook a meal that doesn’t revolve around ramen.
I’m curled up on the couch wishing the heater actually projected heat when I remember that my good friend Anthony (from Art of Conversations) has a brother living in Nanjing! A few expensive international texts later and I’ve got plans for my first Saturday night in Nanjing. Great success!
The streets of Nanjing by night
The cab ride over requires only minimal involvement from a friend on the phone and soon David is thrusting a cool Tsingtao into my hand and leading me up to his apartment for some home cooked stir fry and a tour of an apartment that looks much more like ‘home’ than mine currently does.
And then we were off to Jimmy’s, one of many foreigner owned bars in the area. Beer is drunk in vast quantities; a quirky Chinese girl informs David and I that we are ‘dogs amongst puppies’; and a chunky British girl makes moon eyes at me. I’m delighted to learn that not only is beer in China cheap, but they also stock favorites such as Franziskaner (a magnificent wheat beer) and Aussie staples like the good old Crown Lager.
It’s a far cry from the wild and debauched nights out I enjoyed in South Korea. A scant dozen people are in attendance and the atmosphere is far from raucous, but I have a good time all the same. Myself and two Davids drink more beer than I care to recall and discuss our experiences teaching and living in China.
Obviously I can’t contribute much on that last point…
Soon we stagger out for spicy street food that inexplicably includes fish fins, fish mouths (these are actually delicious), and some great Han cooked lamb kebabs served up on burned naan.
Unlike Korean street food stalls which exist in quiet alleys or on the sidewalks, this one literally clings to the edge of a now quiet street where tables and chairs have been scattered. Three separate businesses operate close to one another and cover pretty much all of your needs. There’s even some cheap Chinese beer to wash down our mouth-incinerating late night snacks with.
An assortment of Chinese street foods including fish mouths and fish fins. Delicious!
It’s 2am and the long flight is weighing on me. We return to my place to find that the gate to the facility has been locked. Unable to figure out how to contact anybody within the school, I adopt the smart tactic – having David #2 boost me over the two meter high gate. I teeter precariously on top, gather myself, and then land gracelessly in a heap on the bitumen below.
“Let me know if this is the right place,” David #2 shouts as I jog towards the building. A security guard nods to me as I approach. I turn back to wave, trip on an uneven bit of ground, and fall. My knees and hands are grazed twice in five minutes. Winning.
But then I’m slumping into bed with the Royal Rumble and some ramen for company and all is well. I’ll deal with the hangover tomorrow.
My first day in Nanjing has drawn to a close. The verdict? Loving it so far.
It seems incongruous that anything could lie at the end of the dusty road that our car jolts and shudders its way down. Scared sheep scuttle away like cockroaches at our passing. A cloud of dust follows in our wake.
The grass here is no less brown-gray than that lining the road out of Tingha, nor are the trees any less stunted or twisted. In fact, were it not for a hand-painted sign at the side of the road, you’d be forgiven for not even knowing Green Valley Farm existed at all.
But sure enough, our car crests a rise and the park sprawls out before out like the bush oasis it purports to be. In place of the sparse grass fit only for sheep and cattle, a lushly manicured green lawn spreads out around the motley collection of attractions that constitute this dinky-di Australian ‘theme park’.
The ‘bush oasis’ lives up to its name
The Museum
Entry to Green Valley Farm is a modest $10 for adults ($5 for children under 13) – although additional fees of $2 for mini golf or $6 for the water park apply as well.
But before you can hand over your cash you’ll need to navigate your way through the labyrinth of dusty display cases and cast-off antiques that constitute the museum. There are a few gems hidden among the discarded Coke bottles and household appliances. A small menagerie of two headed farm animals lie in glassy coffins and a few kitsch toys and leavings from a bygone era can be sifted out from the strange assortment on display.
The original park – built from scrap metal by a grieving father after his teenage daughter’s passing – still exists largely unchanged.
What does this even do?
The lady manning the ticket booth is happy to see us, but it’s not because the park is doing bad business. The camp ground is full and the car park is approaching the same level. The place is full of families exploring what might be the strangest theme park in Australia.
She lets in my foster brother for free. He’s heavily handicapped and in a wheel chair. She assumes he won’t get a full experience out of the park. I’m sad to say she’s right.
Our posse comprises myself, my three brothers, my foster brother, my brother’s girlfriend, my mother, and a Japanese exchange student who no doubt finds the little bush amusement park a far cry from the high tech wonderland of Tokyo.
The Playground
It’s a strange menagerie that makes up the area known as the playground. Vaguely equine creations, things resembling oversized kitchen implements, and one thing that looks suspiciously like it’s original purpose was sexual torture are scattered about the lawns like toys discarded by an angry child.
One of many metal rocking horses in the Green Valley menagerieIzaak braves a ride that suspiciously resembles something I’ve seen in a Japanese adult film…The world’s least practical swing. It has a see-saw base that lurches you around randomly.
But the love that was put into their creation is evident. While some of them might not function in a way that makes sense, they were all welded together and created by a grieving father. It’s a playroom built from the materials that would have been at hand, and the laughter of children is a fitting tribute to a daughter taken too soon.
We brave boys are quick to launch ourselves at whatever is at hand. Hiro clambers aboard an impossible big rocking horse…
Hiro braves the biggest rocking horse I’ve ever seen
…while I slide down a ‘slide’ whose descent is marked by metal rollers rather than the traditional slide.
Not at all kind to the butt
Dom, his girlfriend, and Izaak step onto a bizarre three way see-saw that Dom manages to dominate with his superior weight.
Dom laughs maniacally as he tortures Izaak and BrontePoor Izaak’s testicles are reduced to a fine paste by his older brother’s cruel sense of humor.
Leigh soon spies an immense metal spinning top that looks like too much fun to turn down. Izaak, Bronte, and I join him and begin to make the steel monstrosity spin around. Bronte screams every time it lurches violently in a new direction, and I somehow give myself a nasty friction burn in my attempts to harry the poor girl further.
Leigh and I terrorize poor Izaak and Bronte by throwing our weight around
It’s exhausting work. Tingha lies on the very edge of what constitutes the New England and the sun beating down overhead is strength sapping.
Eating in the Valley
Despite having only dined on leftover Chinese food a scant ninety minutes earlier, the boys are famished. We make a pilgrimage underneath the monkey run and to the quaint cafe where an assortment of fairground fare is available.
Lucky dips! I feel 8 again!
A cornucopia of candy and toys likely to make a child’s eyes light up are scattered around the space, but we restrict ourselves to the basic fairground food groups:
Hot dogs
Soda
Fries
Burgers
You know, the foundations of a healthy diet.
Caution! Monkeys!
We take our meal at a table that has seen better days. I imagine those better days may have preceded my birth.
While the family hungrily scoffs down their artery coating meals, my mother and I snatch up my camera and go exploring.
The Gardens
Perhaps more impressive that the ingenious collection of playground toys that are Green Valley’s primary draw are the well tended and manicured gardens that surround a quaint artificial stream and lake. It truly is a seemingly implausible oasis in the heart of rocky, dry land.
The walk takes us past a number of cages in which various Australian birds chatter happily. A foursome of Sulfur Crested Cockatoos screech cheery hellos at us as we pass and the monkeys scamper overhead to reach the peanuts being offered up to them by children who clearly can’t read the sign.
I was fascinated with this bench. So serene.
Once we’re past the cages, it’s lawns and quiet nooks along the artificial stream that feeds the equally artificial (but no less serene) lake.
A small footbridge takes you across to a modest zoo in which a sole Wedgetail Eagle, deer, ostrich, and yak are joined by a small collection of kangaroos, emus, dingoes, and bush pigs. It’s hardly the most exhaustive zoo, and some might even say it’s a tad depressing, but it’s about as close to non farm animals that your average country boy is going to get without a lengthy drive to Sydney, Brisbane, or Dubbo’s Western Plains Zoo.
A yak by the less attractive relative of the park’s streamA friendly local lizard
The Water Park
Arguably Green Valley’s most popular attraction is its relatively new water park. In what is dry and warm country, the prospect of a truly gigantic water slide and a blessedly cool pool at its foot was enough to have brought us on the 45 minute drive through some of Australia’s most uninspiring terrain.
I’m as graceful as a dugong as I plunge into the water
The slide itself, a colossal thing requiring a not entirely OH&S compliant climb up slippery steel steps, is a blast. I lost count of the number of times my brothers and I hurried up to the top and hurled ourselves back down only to do it all over again.
Izaak isn’t much more graceful in his arrival
There’s also a newly built and brightly colored water park full of fun fountains and the like to keep kids occupied. My foster brother got a kick out of playing beneath the tipping buckets and in front of the spitting turtles.
One of many cute water features in the water parkThe water park in all its glory
By the time we’d grown tired of plunging face first into the pool it was close to 4pm and the park had begun to empty out. But the park’s two ‘thrill rides’ remained untouched and I couldn’t let that stand. Onwards, I say!
The ‘Thrill’ Rides
Green Valley boasts two rides that I guess might classify as thrill rides.
The giant slide terrified me as a kid (and still does as an adult…)
The first, a huge slide down which you can fly on a tattered piece of hessian, holds many terror filled memories for me. We older siblings decided against risking the scorching hot tin and the moment of terror we recalled all too well from our childhood at which point your ‘bounce’ on one of the slide’s humps took you dangerously close to plunging the 6 or 7 meters to the rocky ground below.
Not that it ever happened, but the heart in your throat moment sticks with you.
Izaak readies the ‘roller coaster’ for his first ride. I offer words of encouragement.
We did, however, brave the park’s most unique attraction – a hand built ‘roller-coaster’ that needs to be push started and upon which only a battered old tire stands between your enjoyment and a painful tumble. There’ll be video of the whole affair soon enough, but suffice to say it’s one of the loudest and most enjoyable 15 seconds of your life.
It’s totally worth the minute of sweating and grunting it takes to get it back to its starting point.
Loud and enjoyable fifteen seconds. Sweating and grunting. This is all sounding a little inappropriate.
Our quick and dirty ride down the ‘coaster would call an end to our day. Exhausted and just a little sun-burned, we put Green Valley Farm to our backs and made our way home for an evening of BBQ and ice cold beer.
Not a bad final day with the family.
Go there, right now!
I hope I’ve done Green Valley Farm justice. While some of my observations might be sarcastic or paint it in a weird light, it’s that weirdness that I found so thoroughly charming. It’s not the kind of glossy, picture perfect place we generally like to present to our tourists – and it’s all the more authentic because of it.
Not many people include the New England on their Australian itineraries, but the place is littered with quaint and quirky places worth a look. Green Valley farm is just one of many strange and beautiful places waiting to be discovered.
Green Valley Farm is located 15 minutes drive outside of Tingha in northern NSW.Their website has detailed directions from several NSW country towns.
Entry is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 13 years of age. An additional $2 is charged for access to mini goal and an additional $6 for access to the water park.
There are also cabins and camp-sites on site, a tennis court, a pool, and a stage for live music.
It wasn’t quite as inspiring as how Tom Cruise did it in Jerry McGuire (a guilty pleasure of mine), nor did it check off the ‘quit a job dramatically’ item on my bucket list, but it still felt pretty good to hand in my resignation and explain to my boss and my co-workers that I was going to quit my job to live in China and get some more travel under my belt.
Hell, it wasn’t even as exciting as reading Kieu’s entry about quitting her job to embark on a round the world trip with her boy and GQ Trippin’ partner in crime.
What other workplace puts out a red carpet, popcorn, and a fairy floss (cotton candy) machine on a work day?
But that didn’t mean I didn’t smile as co-workers talked about being jealous of my upcoming travels or friends congratulated me on being able to escape the rat race.
And that’s just what I was doing. While I did enjoy my work and absolutely adored my work environment, one of the things I’ve said from the very start of Aussie on the Road was that I was trying to avoid an ordinary existence. And while call center work isn’t the 9 to 5 doldrums that I’d always prayed to avoid, it wasn’t exactly the liberated life of the bohemian traveler I’d like to be.
And so, I decided to quit my job. I might have had a new gig lined up in advance, but said new gig is in Nanjing, China – so I figure it’s still pretty ballsy.
Farewell iiNet
For the seven or so months I’ve been back in Sydney since my midnight run from South Korea in early 2011, I’ve been lucky enough to work at what is without a doubt one of the best employer’s in Australia.
Free sangria at an iiNet party!
While we might not be making mad money answering phones and handling customer complaints at Australia’s second biggest internet service provider, we’re definitely treated a lot better than what I experienced during my time with Telstra (Australia’s #1 provider) or how friends at other call centers seem to be treated.
In addition to a crazy amount of free food and drink, regular social outings, unrestricted access to the internet at work, free weekly massages, and discounted internet – the entire call center always felt like a home away from home to me. I can’t recall a day where I wasn’t greeted with a friendly face as I entered the break room or settled in for a day on the phones.
There were also regular opportunities to head over to one of our off-shore (Auckland, Manilla, or Cape Town) centers on three months secondment that would have been a great way to get a bit of travel under my belt, but the chance to jet off to China was too good to refuse.
I wrote more about what a fantastic workplace last week, but suffice to say that while I wasn’t exactly sad to hang up on that last phone call – it was sad to have the elevator door close behind me and step out into the warm evening air knowing I’d never be there again.
To George, Bathurst, Daniel, Belinda, Omar, both Michael’s, Patrick, Ben, Mark, Alastair, Tim, Samantha, Johnny Ho, Cam, Timm, and Matt – thanks for all of the entirely inappropriate conversations, in jokes, and helping make even the most obnoxious customers bearable.
To Urmi, Amber, Mabel, Katie, Crystal, and Lauren. Thanks for being both great eye candy and genuinely fun people to chat with.
To Brenden, Ross, and Craig – thanks for being fantastic team leaders and helping to make my time there so pleasant. Brenden in particular deserves a huge high-five for his wonderful support with my battle with depression.
And to the girl who earned me the nickname of ‘photo booth’: thanks for the memories…
A Fitting Farewell
So many of my early evenings at iiNet were spent at the very groovy Stratton’s Hotel (which I’ve previously mentioned in my Ode to the Pub Meal for its fantastic schnitzels), so it was fitting that a few of us headed down there after the final phone call had ended.
Tim, Ben, Alastair, Urmi, Arfan, Poland, George, Michael, and I were soon standing in the regular spot that seems to be claimed by employees of iiNet.
While I did say in my post about depression that I was going to quit drinking, I’ve recently ‘softened’ that rule. While I am enjoying the occasional social beer or glass of wine over dinner, I’m still determined to avoid slipping back into old habits of binge drinking to the point of black-out. Thus far I’ve managed that without too much hassle.
So it was that I had a couple of beers and one delicious glass of Canadian Club & cola before it was time to bid everybody farewell, so that I’d be home and in bed early enough to be up for my early train trip back to sleepy Ben Lomond to spend some quality time with the family.
Alastair, Urmi, myself, Tim, and Ben enjoying farewell drinks at the Stratton.
Thanks to Urmi for getting this (blurry) shot of us all together to commemorate the occasion.
Nervous
I write this having just returned from a fun five-day visit to my family home in Ben Lomond. I’ve got an entry or two in the works about my time there and a pretty epic adventure I went on during that time, so keep your eyes peeled.
My visa paperwork and official invitation to teach in China is due to arrive this Friday. From there it’s a matter of submitting the application, waiting a few business days, and picking it all up before I fly out (hopefully) next Friday.
But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous about all of this. It was fun to daydream about the day I would quit my job as I sat at my desk and clock-watched, but the realities of it are hitting me now that it’s actually in motion.
It hit home when I had to hug my brother, Dom goodbye at the train station yesterday morning and realized I hadn’t had a chance to say a proper goodbye to Leigh before I’d left. It’s hard to fathom not seeing either of them until next year. While I’ll see my parents and younger siblings next week when they come down to see me off, it’ll be a long while before I see Dom; Leigh; my sister Heather; or my adorable nephew, Ezekiel again.
Posing with my brothers, Dominik and Leigh, before I left for Korea in 2007
I’ve also got a lot of packing, cleaning, and farewelling to do before next Friday. While I’m certainly looking forward to the social side of that and appreciate that my time is in such high demand, I’m not looking forward to the inevitable sadness when the cab door closes or the bus pulls up and it’s time for me to bid another good friend adieu.
Magro, Dave, Steph, and I together at Tea Gardens in 2011
The Scary Road
I’m more excited than I can ever recall being before embarking on a new travel adventure, but that doesn’t make this part any easier. There’ll be a few tears shed before the plane touches down in Nanjing.
But nothing worth having is necessarily easy to get. I remember well nights in Korea spent crying because I missed my family or my friends. I recall how difficult it was celebrating Christmas away from home and how it felt to be away from the family when they needed me there.
Backpack at the ready as I arrive in Christchurch in 2010
It’s easy to dwell on those fears. I think a lot of people let those fears lock them into a life that isn’t necessarily the one they want. It might seem like the decision to quit my job to travel was some cavalier decision that I made, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
I fairly agonized over whether or not to do this. Was I ready? Was China were I wanted to be? Would I be happy there? Would I able to adjust to teaching older students? Was I leaving Sydney for the right reasons?
The easy thing to do would have been to suck it up and stay in my current situation. I could continue saving for the US trip I’ve been daydreaming about or my planned return to Fiji. I could take a few weekend trips in the hope that they would help abate the wanderlust that has gripped me for the past six months.
Or I could ignore that nagging voice, swallow my fears, and take the plunge. It’s never an easy thing to leave the security of friends and family and a secure pay check doing a job you’re comfortable in. But if I only ever took the easy route, I’d be married with four kids and managing a Bi-Lo supermarket in my home town.
And that, my friends, would make for bloody boring living and bloody boring blogging.
I’ve been lucky enough to interview some really fascinating and fantastic people since I started this Bite with a Blogger concept late last year. The Mellyboo Project, Wayward Traveler, Bitten by the Travel Bug, and Hola Chica Travels have all sat down for a bite to eat and a chat with me, and each time we’ve tried out a different restaurant and I felt like I came away from the interview having made a new friend.
Gerard and Kieu of GQ Trippin’ were no different. My first truly international (the others were all based in Sydney or Australian) Bite, these two American adventurers were kind enough to take some time out of their very busy travel schedule to sit down for a wee bit of Korean food with me.
I was just a little star-struck to chat with the people behind a blog that I believe to be one of the best ones out there. But Gerard and Kieu were so down to earth that soon we were shooting the shit and posing for silly photos as if we’d known one another for more than a few hours on a rainy Thursday evening.
The Venue
After Nicole from Bitten by the Travel Bug and I hit up the very good BBQ City for the very first Bite with a Blogger, I decided that Korean was again on the agenda as the three of us ducked into Min Sok Chon – which just so happens to be directly underneath BBQ City.
I’d eaten there a time or two before during busy work-days. While BBQ City does the best galbi, I was a big fan of Min Seok Chun’s ddok galbi (spicy chicken) and kimchi bokkeumbap (spicy fried rice).
Min Sok Chon runs a little expensive even by Sydney standards, but that seems to be the norm when it comes to Korean cuisine in Sydney. I guess I’ve been spoiled by eating it in South Korea. $30 a head is a far cry from 4000 won ($3.50) a head.
While the cheap food may not have made it across from the land of the morning calm, the same level of service certainly had. Soon we were surrounded by side dishes and being asked to squash together to allow our waitress a better angle to snap a few photos of us for posterity’s sake.
With some spicy chicken, a heaping helping of bibimbap, and some tofu soup – we were off and ready to chat.
The Interview
How long have you two been travel blogging?
We’re newbies on the block. We’ve been journaling our travel experiences together for over five years now. However, we’ve officially been travel blogging as GQ Trippin’ since August 2011.
What made you start a travel blog? Why did you choose the GQ Trippin’ name?
Originally, we started a blog to keep our friends and family updated with our adventures across the globe. It still is the main reason only now, we’re hoping to inspire a few to take part in something we enjoy most about life – travel.
GQ is short for Gerard and Kieu (pronounced like the letter “Q”). I once saw a series on MTV with Cameron Diaz called Trippin’ and thought it was a cool word for travel so I borrowed it.
Where have you been so far?
Oh boy, let’s see. In the past we’ve backpacked Western Europe; cruised the Mediterranean; indulged in bizarre foods in Vietnam and Thailand; and celebrated one kick-ass New Year’s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil just to name a few.
Currently on our way around the half-world, we’ve spent one month in New Zealand and another in Australia. We had a short stopover in Singapore and we’re now in Malaysia.
And where are you headed next?
We’re headed to India in a few days just in time to celebrate Holi!
Tell me about the couple blogging dynamic. Who does what in your team?
Gerard’s the mechanics behind the blogging machine. He’s IT, Help Desk, and Tech Support. In addition, he does the marketing. Someone has to keep up with Facebook and Twitter. It’s his expertise.
Me (Q), I’m just the voice behind the blog.
What has been your most memorable travel experience?
We have had so many, it’s hard to choose. Our most memorable recent travel experience would be celebrating Reveillon (New Year’s Eve) in Rio de Janeiro with a few of our close friends on Copacabana beach.. and another 2 million or so strangers. But who’s counting?
What’s been the worst travel experience you’ve had?
We haven’t had too many bad ones, thank goodness for that. Not any lost luggage nor have we been pick-pocketed yet which I’m hoping I did not just jinx us by sharing.
But we did get hurricane’d out once during a trip to the Bahamas. Spent months confirming hostel booking for Ilha Grande, Brazil only to arrive from a long day of rainy transit with no rooms under our name. We had to squeeze six people into a tiny three person room. Not the best way to kick-start your trip in Brazil if you ask me.
Thankfully, no bungee cords snapped during this particular jump...
What’s the scariest/most exciting thing you’ve done while traveling?
Bungee jumping in New Zealand was equally the scariest and most exciting thing we’ve done recently. And we jumped on my (Q’s) birthday no less. ANDDDDDDDD.. about a week after that video of the Aussie girl’s bungy cord snapped over Victoria Falls went viral on the web. Scared this shit out of me. Almost backed out. Twice.
In case you missed it…
You’re obviously in one big travel romance at the moment. What has been the hardest thing about traveling with your partner? And what is the best thing?
The hard thing about traveling long-term with your partner is equally the best thing as well.
The being with one another 24/7 has its highs and lows. We’ve had our fair share of temper tantrums, tests of patience, and lack of communication that we’re still struggling to work out. But ask us again and again, despite the lows, we would never have it any other way. The best part about all this is that we’re doing it together.
Aw…..
What is one travel tip you’d like to pass on?
Love is patient, love is kind… lol!
As cheesy and Nicholas Sparks-y as it sounds, we’ve often mumbled this to one another somewhere along the trip. Usually after we have had a dispute whether it’s over directions or food, etc. Beats having to constantly apologize. We’re just reminding ourselves to be patient and kind with one another in the unusual circumstances.
That is the last time I’ll allow that bastard Nicholas Sparks to be mentioned on this site. I loathe that man with every fibre of my being…
Which country has the best food in the world?
Vietnam for sure, and no we’re not being biased.
Looks pretty good to me! Photo from GQ Trippin'
What would be your ultimate travel dream?
I think we’re living it as we speak. 😉
Yeah, yeah; rub it in!
And finally, who is your favorite ginger bearded Australian travel blogger?
Just some guy who goes by the name of Aussie on the Road.
Aw shucks! I’m honored and flattered.
Fancy a bite?
Want to have a bite to eat and get some free promotion for your site? I’m in Sydney for another ten days and then I’ll be based out of Nanjing, China. Let me know if you’re in my area and fancy trying out some new food and having a chat.
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