M is for Miner

I love that we have 'Big Things' all over Australia. This is just one of them that we stopped at on the way to our friend's shack in Morgan. This is the Big Miner in Kapunda.

The Kapunda Mine (1844) was the first successful metal mine in Australia according to Bigthings.com. There are quite a few other Big Things to check out in Australia. If you are taking a roadtrip, maybe look at a few on the way.

Old Tailem Town

Old Tailem Town is a pioneer village and was established in 1982. It has over a hundred buildings to visit and depicts an accurate representation of the period. We had a fantastic time and stayed all day. The hosts were lovely. Would definitely recommend this place  for a visit. Visit the website.

Japanese Batman

One of the scariest and funniest memories from Japan was meeting the Batman of Japan. It happened about a month after my arrival during Golden Week. The holiday lasted from Wednesday to Sunday so of course being young we had to celebrate every night.

Well after our delicious dinner at an Italian Restaurant, we headed to a club that I had never been to before. Well the owner decided for whatever reason, that he liked me, which was okay first because he gave us free food. Melon and proscuito, not my favourite. The disturbing part was that he actually fed it to me, on a fork, but then later tried to hand feed me. So, after that lovely introduction to him, we started dancing and I soon forgot about him...But apparently, he had other plans.

He told the friend I was with that he liked my 'style' and he was going to try his hardest to get my attention. Well, of course, normal people might try buying a drink, though for me, they were already free...food perhaps?...done that. Obviously there was nothing else left to do other than to disappear and return wearing tight denim shorts that you should never bend down in, a tool belt, a green singlet and a Batman mask. Won me over!

The scariest part is that we didn't realise that it was the owner at first, so here he was with his leg slung over my shoulder posing for photos, which everyone else thought was hilarious.

The rest of the night was pretty much the same. Batman found me on the dance floor and 'attacked' me. He was a decent guy and I appreciated the fact that the only cost I had that night was a taxi home. It was a little disturbing, but all in all, it isn't the worse night I've had.

The Pyramids of Giza

Why Egypt? You would think that the pyramids would be a good enough reason wouldn't they? They were fantastic and I was in awe of them, but they weren't the reason why I had been interested in visiting the country. My Greek teacher from year 3 onwards, was absolutely fascinated about everything Egyptian. She had a particular love of the Ancient mythology from the area. I think I learned more about Egypt than I did about Greece. She just had this way of speaking about this country she loved, so passionately that I told myself I had to go one day. I just didn't realise that 'one day' was going to be in 2006. 

I visited Egypt in December, 2006 and then again in January, 2008. I am sure I got ripped off with a tour of the pyramids, but hey, I was a tourist, I didn't mind. Others have lost a lot more money than I did. I had a tour on horseback, as they were 'out of camels'. It was not a sentence I expected to ever hear, 'Ma'am I am sorry, we have run out of camels, could I interest you in a horse?'. 

I have ridden horses many times home in Adelaide, however I fell off this particular one in the Giza Desert. I thought that was pretty cool though. I'm not sure how many others can say that. Went to get back on the horse and the saddle just rolled right around the horses belly. Apart from a little limp I had afterwards for a couple of days, it was a great trip. I have now realised, it could be the source of my back pain I have just been suffering through, but ah well, I saw the pyramids!

 Seriously, who doesn't tell someone that their hair looks like this in a photo?