Darling Harbour, New South Wales, Australia - Sydney Boat Show

Today we went to the Sydney Boat Show.



We picked Saturday from the 5 days that the show was on, because there was a boat building competition. Anyone could register, and was given materials and tools to build something that floats within 2 hours:



Then there was a race on what they built:



... with the sea battle at the end.

These guys didn't win the speed contest, but they must've won the beauty contest with their pirate ship, and we think - had the most fun:



The rest of the time we spent exploring the sailboats docked in the harbour. I went inside almost every one of them. One day, we will have one of our own!



Ksusha loved exploring all the cabinets, and "chilled" in the bedroom cabins:



And Marina went to see her former employer (BRP):



And at the end of the day there was a cruise in the Sydney harbour:



Among other highlights there was a 16 y.o. girl who is setting out to become the youngest person to sail solo non-stop and unassisted around the World.
This is her boat:



Some people have dreams and others live them!

Rosebery, NSW, Australia

Brighton Le Sands, NSW, Australia

After about 3 months of considering, choosing, deciding, researching, talking about, etc.... Earlier today I parted with a large chunk of money in exchange to this:



Kite - 9m Cabrinha Convert IDS '09
Harness - Cabrinha Impact Waist EZ Release (XS)
Board - Underground 08 FLX 132x39 (Quad Concave)
Wet Suite - Peak Climax 3/2 Sealed Steamer

Very Very Exciting!!!!!!

Brighton Le Sands, NSW, Australia

We've got a visitor today. After doing some research I realized that I should not have killed it, but initially I was guided by survival instincts, not reason. Even before we came to Australia, we knew that it has the largest number of spiders on the planet, but this was the very first close encounter.

Police as a cause of accidents

This is not really a travel entry, but is somewhat related to travelling in general, and especially travelling on a motorcycle.

Last week I read this article in the local paper


..and it struck me as odd that the guy himself said that the cause of an accident was the break tune-up that he did just prior to the accident. He could've said that because he works for the government and is not in the position to critisize the cops. To me it is quite obvious that the cause of this accident "the police car" that "rounded the bend".

Have you ever panicked for no reason when you saw a policeman or a police car? I am a law-abiding citizen, don't have any reason to fear cops. However because of a number of personal experiences when the police are being sneaky, hiding in the bushes, etc. in my mind I made a connection that seeing a police in not a good thing. It happened to me a number of times that I "covered the break" when I saw a cop even if I was not speeding, or I panicked when I saw a police cruiser or just plain black Crown Victoria behind me, even though I had no reason to.

Let's just imagine for the sake of argument that this guy was speeding. Does he deserve to have all the broken ribs because of it?

This particular accident would not have happened if it wasn't for the police - no question about it! And how many other accidents had similar cause? If you ask me - police should not be allowed to hide in the bushes, they shouldn't have undercover patrol cars. The should do everything humanly possible so that people are not afraid of them!

I have heard that in Canada cops are only allowed to check your speed with a radar if their patrol car is visible on the road, and has all the flashing illumination turned on. I think that is the way to go. Sure - it will reduce the number of speeders caught, but if it will save at least one life - it is well worth it!

Glenfield, New South Wales, Australia

This is the start of the Ride Right Round project. The two guys you see in the shadow, Simon and Todd, are going on a round the world trip on two motorcycles. Those of you who know me well remember that I created this blog when I was planning to go on such an adventure. I ended up not doing it on a motorcycle, but hey - it was a great trip nevertheless.

It was very exciting to just be there, to talk to these guys, to give them some advice on Russia, since they are going to be crossing it pretty soon, and just to share the spirit. It felt good, even though we weren't going with them. We followed the procession of bikers for the first 50 km towards Canberra.

If you have any interest in joining these guys for a ride on some stretch of their journey, or hosting them in your hometown along their route, drop me a line, and I'll put you in touch with them.

Escape from Bangkok, Thailand

14:45 Bangkok Time: I am now sitting in some back room of Centava Grand Hotel in Bangkok. I just cleared the immigration, got a stamp in my passport, a boarding pass to Thai Airways TG9939 flight to Sydney. There is a sticker with the number “1” on my right arm. That is a ticket that will allow me to board bus number 1, which should take me to the U-Tapao military airbase. At this point this is the only airfield that is open in the vicinity of Bangkok, and Thai Airways is the only carrier that operates from there.

Only 1 hour ago I was preparing myself for bus ride to Vietnam, which seemed to be the only reasonable alternative in order to get back to Sydney by the end of next week. The news sources say that over one hundred thousand people are stuck here because of the airport closures. Two other international airports of Thailand – Phuket and Chiang Mai have a back log of about 4 days and growing every minute, as people realize that the government will not be able to re-gain control of Bangkok main airports any time soon. I didn’t think of....



21:00 Bangkok time: I had to pack up my laptop in a hurry, and now I am on a plane, which, if all goes well, will be on its way to Sydney hopefully sometime soon. The bus ride to U-Tapao was a smooth one. A tourist police car escorted us all the way, and there was very little traffic up until we actually got here. All passengers were under the impression that the bus will go straight to the tarmac, drop us off right in front of the plane, and everyone’s mood was good. We crossed the airport gate, which was guarded by soldiers armed with the M-16s. Soon after that the bus slowed down, and it was another hour until we reached the terminal. Let me tell you – outside it looked like a refugee camp. Lots of people, piles of trash, luggage, cars parked everywhere, and crowds of people – all moving in different direction. The entrance to the terminal was again guarded by the military, and everyone was trying to get in. After some pushing and waiting I was inside. Inside there was no air conditioning, and tons of people. No one really knew what to do, but it looked like the most logical direction was the door called “border control”, especially judging by the crowd movements. The crowd was mad. Most people were at a stage where all animal instincts took over anything human that they had inside. Crowd is very powerful thing, let me tell you. I made a few careful moves, and soon was closer to the gate then most people. On the other side of the gate, room was air-conditioned. Occasionally an airline representative held a sign with “final boarding call” for a specific flight, the crowd stormed the door regardless of whether it was their flight or not, so instead of letting the right people in, they just created more chaos. At some point a bunch or Russians showed up. They were headed from Yekaterinburg, so I wished them the safe journey, blended in, and got through to the border control utilizing their power. More waiting here and there, but once I was in the AC room it was at least bearable. I changed the soaking wet t-shirt, and finally I am on the plane. Hoping it takes off soon...
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