Alice Springs, Australia

For those who don't know, Alice Springs is smack in the middle of abso-freaking-lutely nowhere. Pretty much dead centre, Australia. All around this little 30,000 person town is desert. And man is it hot. So hot that the exertion of typing is making me sweat a little bit. Yeah.

Anyhow, Adelaide. A lot of people say Adelaide is boring. They're right. It seems like a great town if you were in your 40s. A lot of museums, a lot of churches. The octogenarians wandering town seemed to like it well enough though.

Our first night most of my group met up at a hostel bar and, since it was a mostly female group, went to this Irish pub where it was ladies night. A nice bar, full of very nicely dressed people. Some of the local Aussie boys were jackasses, but slap them around a bit and they respect you more and back off. One thing about the bar though: The worst music I have ever heard. Yes, including in Yellowknife. But the Aussies LOVE IT. Really bad, corny music from the 80s and 90s, and the dance floor is packed. And - Robi and Robert have spoiled me here - the transitions were dreadful. No one else seemed to notice, but it was like nails on a chalkboard.

The next day I walked around and shopped. I ripped off the waist strap of my old bag, getting it out the back of the bus trailer, so I get a new one. Man, am I ever hemorrhaging money in Australia. Every time I check my credit card balance I cringe. Oh well. Thank God southeast Asia is cheap! That night I took it easy, went to see the Darjeeling Limited with Helena, a girl I met on the tour bus and packed it in relatively early.

So now I am in Alice Springs. Which is hot. Really, really hot. In case I hadn't mentioned. And early, crack-o-dawn, tomorrow I set off on my tour to Uluru (Ayer's Rock, to those culturally insensitive few amongst you). I really hope I don't die. Because it is really, really hot out.