Sydney

After recovering from the shock of having to get a visa to enter Australia, (I guess the Ozzies are just getting payback by getting us English to pay to enter the land that we once banished them to), I got on the Qantas 747.

The plane was pretty slick with games, radio and the tv.
I got chatting to my neighbours and at first mistook them as local Singaporians... however one of them was from Morcombe, Lancashire (UK) and we got chatting.
The film line up was one of the worst I have seen in a while and after watching Eight Degrees Below I tried to get to sleep, this was easier said than done.

The seats just werent big enough and you felt that if you leant to one side then you would be leaning on one of your neighbours ... it was impossible to get some sleep! That I was my only complaint (albeit a big one!) the customer service was good and we got given playing cards and a few extra goodies from the head stewardess... always a bonus!

As I couldnt get much sleep when we arrived in Sydney, I was knackered. The first thing that I noticed was how cold it was.

I had heard that Australia's border control was pretty tough including stories of people's coats and shoes being quarantined.

I was a little nervous as I had my snowboard jacket (which had been strapped to the back of my backpack) and my shoes werent the cleanest. However I got through fine but because I was on my own then I am a potential drug/jem dealer and I got the third degree. It doesnt matter how innocent you are these things always make you nervous and before you know it you're wondering, hmm am I guilty of anything?

After a bit of stuttering on being asked what I did in Singapore (I couldnt think what I had done!) the guy let me through and off I went.

I was staying at my friends Nicks near Bondi Beach and he'd given me good instructions. I bought my ticket to Bondi Junction and jumped onto the metro, 1 change and 30mins later I had arrived in Bondi and had caught a taxi to Nicks.

My flight was actually really badly timed and I was flying whilst England played Trindad & Tobago... so far I had not found anyone who knew the score, actually most of the aussies said "Why would I know that?". However the Portuguese taxi driver knew it all and within 5mins I was updated on the game, highlights of the England game and all the other in Group B.

I knocked on the door of Nicks, the door had opened and I had arrived!