The Reptile House

May 21st, 2023

Today I visited the Australian Reptile Park with Sue, Yvette (a friend from childhood), Fang (Sue’s coworker), Marina and Tan (two Japanese exchange students, one of which is staying with Yvette).

We saw many things, including snake milking, funnel web spiders, lots of lizards, a dark-furred dog dingo, koalas, a platypus, frogs, birds, bats and even a Komodo dragon!

The highlight of the park is of course their massive saltwater crocodile ‘Elvis’, who is currently 4.75 m long and has a jaw pressure of 5000 psi! He was a truly massive beast, and the guy that fed him must have nerves of steel:

For me the highlight was – as always – the kangaroos! I read that wild kangaroo attacks increased during Covid but the beasts they had at the park were having none of that and happily let me pat their fuzzy heads. As I knew they would, they saw in me a kindred spirit.

The two Japanese girls had a great time. They’re in Australia learning English and I quizzed them a lot about both Japan and their experience here (short version: they both love Australia). The park was a great place to take them since it’s all about Australian animals nearly all of which they’d never seen in-person.

It was a fun day, but also tiring since I’m still a little jet-lagged. But I got to pat some kangaroos and that memory will last me a good long while 🙂

I’m in Newcastle with mum now by the way. I’ve already eaten way too much candy as well. It’s time to start walking it off…

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I’m Here

May 19th, 2023

I’m back in Australia again. The trip was as awful as always. I spent at least half the 15 hour pacific flight just sitting doing nothing. Aside from this I didn’t eat, or watch any movies or even listen to music. Just played a bit of Gameboy (yes Gameboy) and did a little bit of reading.

That’s four photos stitched together. One in an airport, and three in my seat on the three flights. It all looks the same, and it all felt the same.

Happily I’m here now, which means I can focus on having a fun time. But after… 47 hours of being awake my first priority is a good sleep 🙂

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Here I Go Again

May 16th, 2023

Tomorrow I will fly to Australia to spend a few weeks visiting mum and my friends.

This will be my 16th trip to Australia, my 16th solo international trip, and tomorrow’s journey will include my 52nd pan-Pacific flight. In total it will take about 28 hours from take off here to touch down in Sydney, and 23 of those will be in the air.

My schedule is mostly wide open for Australia, but I hope to see a few new things (including 2023 Vivid in Sydney). Mostly though it’s about being with mum and hanging out with friends. Oh and eating the delicious cuisine 😉

Then, In about 3 weeks, I’ll fly from Australia to Japan…

This will be my 10th trip to Japan, and I’m excited since I haven’t been there in four months during the summer in six years. Furthermore I’ll be staying right in the middle of Akihabara for the first time! I’ve got a lot planned for my time in Japan, so I hope I don’t wear myself out in Australia!

Of course I’ll be blogging during the trip, although I don’t know with what frequency. Regardless, watch this space to follow along with my adventures 🙂

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Ramen Universes Beyond: Hatsune Miku

May 14th, 2023

It’s time for another investigation into the world of branded ramen. Today I have something very special:

Yes my friends, a Hatsune Miku leek flavored blue ramen. And it’s very cutely packaged as well:

Look at her enjoying delicious leek noodles. How could I not pay $4.99 for this item after seeing this art? (If you’re wondering, Hatsune Miku is everyone’s favourite vocaloid and if that means nothing to you then just think of her just as Hello Kitty crossed with a pop idol.)

I’ll admit I was a little concerned by the appearance of the product before adding water. Rice noodles are rarely good, and the flavoring seemed to just be fine onion powder. For those keeping track, it contains 190 kCal, 1g of fat, and 1140 mg of sodium.

As you know, professional ramen enthusiasts utilize noodle stoppers when they steep their cup noodles, so it’s a good thing I recently purchased a new one:

Yep, a Miku noodle stopper for some Miku noodles! It was a match made in noodle heaven:

Once the boiling water was added, I patiently waited, and when it was ready I opened the lid and this is what I saw:

It looked like a children’s drink with cut grass floating on it. And even though I let the noodles soak about twice as long as suggested they were still suspiciously rigid. But such thing shouldn’t stop a professional food critic, so I dove right in:

Of course it was terrible. The noodles were elastic bands, and the broth tasted of nothing at first (that’s the only 1g of fat right there) , but had an ‘evil vegetable’ aftertaste that lingered for hours. The blue broth was extremely off-putting, and overall this was a wretched ramen experience. Needless to say I don’t recommend this, even for the spectacle.

At least the noodle stopper is cute. Look at her noodly hair! Reminds me a bit of Uzumaki…

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Happy 30 Years!

May 11th, 2023

30 years ago today, I came to America. It was probably the best but hardest decision I ever made, and the anniversary – which I usually ignore – is bittersweet. Kristin suggested I do something ‘American’ to celebrate… so I walked to McDonalds for lunch 🙂

Including tax a hamburger happy meal now costs $6.47, which seems a lot for what you get. Service was very fast though, and the food was piping hot and looked good once I unpacked it:

I ate the burger first. As a little boy the junior burger (as it was called in Oz back in those days) was my favorite, but I grew into Big Macs for a few decades before somewhat recently returning to happy meals. It’s just enough food for me now, and I’ve grown to enjoy the simple taste of the plain hamburger.

This one didn’t disappoint, and as I inhaled it I increasingly noticed the rest of the patrons in the dining area were geriatrics or lunatics and I was simultaneously the youngest and sanest in the room. Thankfully the burger was meaty and delicious, and I almost could ignore the madwoman across the restaurant screaming about toilet paper.

Are Macca’s fried the best fast food fry? I can’t answer that now (but I will in time; stay tuned) but I will say that first impressions of this portion were high: they were crispy and hot with a nice potato taste. Unfortunately there must have been a mistake in the kitchen since they were insanely oversalted, and even the half-flat and watery Diet Coke barely cut the bitterness.

I ate them regardless, priding myself on my ability to ignore the ancient nutter gibbering about his hip flask. One of his companions seemed to gutterally grunt at him in response, and I wondered if perhaps they weren’t even human? With my food gone, it was time to inspect the toy.

Macca’s continues to cut costs and the plastic in this Cosmo (a good dog) from Guardians 3 would have probably been better used for anything else. What child wants this? I considered saving it for a future birthday gift for Bernard, but came to my senses (unlike the wizened loon mumbling to himself in the corner) and hurled it into the nearest trash bin.

My anniversary meal completed, I fled the asylum restaurant and walked home. It took a while and was hot, and my extreme salt-induced hydration made it feel hotter, but at least I hadn’t let the day pass without doing something special. Happy 30 years to me 🙂

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