Day 331/332: 18 Hours of Travel, Mate

Goodbye Asia, hello Oceania! Reached our 6th and final continent. It only took 18 hours to get there. Treated ourselves to a non-budget airline (Philippines Airline); you don’t know how nice it was to have free water, snacks, entertainment, and leg room. Also the Singapore airport had the best airport food hands down besides Tokyo.

First leg was 4 hours to Manila. We watched Edge of Tomorrow and Gran Torino. We pushed through a 5 hour layover in a different terminal than last time; way more food and seating options!

Second leg was a red eye to Brisbane. We checked in late and Mary attempted to pick window seats on rows that were empty. She got a completely empty row; Kieran got an empty middle seat. Mary immediately took a sleeping pill, went horizontal, and slept through dinner and breakfast. The staff kindly placed a little toasty sandwich and cookies in her seat pocket while she was sleeping.

Kieran suffered greatly and got no sleep.

After landing in Brisbane, we rode a 1.5 hour train down to Labrador, our home base for the next two days. Labrador is in the Gold Coast and north of a more touristy area called Surfers Paradise. It was the most affordable accommodation, yet could still access the beach with busses and trams.

We also chose this spot because it’s close to Kieran’s friend Nick from high school! Nick and his wife Sabrina originally lived in Illinois and made the decision to move to Australia a year ago. Sabrina is from New Zealand originally so she was able to obtain a work permit.

We met Nick for dinner and ordered fish and chips. Caught up on life, their kids, and his feelings towards living in Australia. He definitely likes the Gold Coast Area, but also misses friends from home. Around 11pm, we try to locate a bar for a beer but the only option is a casino. We go for it and enjoy watching other people lose their money 🙏🏻

It was awesome to catch up with Nick (despite the jet lag) and we wish all the best to him and Sabrina.

Food:
Lumpia
Chicken mami
Beef noodle soup
Fish & chips

Spot:
Singapore
Manila
Brisbane
LabradorRead more