Brisbane and what’s next

Bad weather continues and has had an effect on us both as this is not how we were planning to spend our last week together. To make matters worse, coming back from our one day tour to Green Mountains outside Brisbane we got a message that due to some misunderstanding regarding our reservation the hotel we're staying at they have packed our stuff and thrown us out of the room. Being the person that I am, I was quick to take on the blame on us thinking that we've not made sure everything was okay but my partner was right to be upset and it was, very obviously, some guy's fault at the hotel. We ended up in a worse room, but we were both so tired of the situation and of the hotel apologizing that we just went on outside so I could perform a live act of Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo) eating for my partner accompanied by explanations and details. We've moving back to our original 4 star apartment today.

Yet, not all is bad as we've continued enjoying culture events, going to see the Marriage of Figaro opera and the ever interesting Oedipus the King play. Brisbane has nothing to match the bigger Melbourne and Sydney but there are some nice surprises like the man created 'lagoon beach' on Southbank and all the Expo88' attractions that surround it. Tomorrow we're heading for our last farewell one day tour to a sand island just outside the city and then my partner is heading off to his 30+ hours back home (through London! … Poor fellow).

Damn, that was a quick month. Considering my future has had its effects on me. I actually find it hard to get a decent night sleep with all the thoughts running through my head - What should I do? Where should I go? What do I want? After understanding the Aussie regulations about work I've given that up and moved on to try and find my next target using the amazing state library. Unless I'll settle down in my next target and find work, which seems very unlikely, it will probably my last travel for about a month or so before I head back home through Bangkok.

Summary list is as follows:

• Australia / New Zealand - Too expensive, strict work VISA regulations.
• China - Too cold on Nov, a strong communist regime, bird flu.
• Korea - Too cold on Nov. Indonesia/Malaysia/Borneo - Muslim regimes.
• Philippines - Too many islands, too little a country.
• Japan - WAY too expensive. Singapore - Expensive, small.
• Thailand/Vietnam - been there, done that. Thailand might be a nice place to work at, but…

That leaves me with two targets - Taiwan and India. My attraction to the Chinese/Asians pulls me towards Taiwan while my budget and fear of travel difficulties (like a language barrier) pulls me towards India. I have a hard time making my mind up. Suggestions?