Day 30 - Eventfull Start in Canberra (Wed 8th Dec)

Chaggie began day 30 at a much earlier time than they had anticipated. 04.20am to be exact. This was not due to any nightmares or even our eagerness to get out and see 'Canberra, Australia's Captial' (as the local adverts kept telling us) but due to the fact, that our room was infested with insects. Chino was the unlucky founder of this fact (who was on the double bed and Staggie was on the single bunk bed above), as little black insects were all over his pillow. Chino had felt little itches during the night but thought nothing of it, untill then. He sprung out of his bed, turned the light on, to be shocked to see his pillow and bed covered with insects. Disgusting! He then woke up Staggie, who was a little spaced out and thought it was time to get up originally, however, Chino showed him the sate of his bed and Staggie was pretty shocked at what he saw. Staggie clambered down from his bed, to discuss with Chino what to do next. We decided to sit around, literally, untill reception was open at around 7/8am. Not ideal. When reception was open, we got the lady who runs the place to have a look. Chino had wisely taken photos of the insects so we could prove that they were there, as most of them had dispursed by the time the lady came up. She agreed to move us to another room later on. She gave us free breakfast and a refund on the night.

We got into our new room at around 09.00. After taking a while to settle and decide what to do next, the overwhelming decision from Chaggie was to just sleep and sleep good. We slept in till around half 12 as we needed to catch up on some much needed sleep. Next on the list was to go and check out the capital city of Australia and see what it offers. We had heard rumours that it was incredibly boring and the only real thing it had of interest was the government buildings. Ah, not terribly encouraging but at least we can say we've been to the capital city.

We had already decided to see the government buildings tomorrow as we would have more time to do so. That left us with the option of going into the city and seeing what was on offer, so we did! We started by going to the 'Canberra's Museum Gallery' which was, in all honesty, rather boring for two 18 year olds. However, we did learn a bit about the history of Canberra and how it became the capital of Australia, so it wasn't a waste of time, well, not really but it was free and we got free tea and coffee so we can't complain really!!

We then checked out the shopping mall where Chino got his hair-cut. Only looking for a trim he managed to pick the only hairdresser who didn't seem to speak much English. So Chino somehow managed to leave the hairdressers with what might as well be a crew cut again. He did ask for a fringe too, not paying attention though within a few seconds that was gone (this woman was fast!). Not to worry, it will grow! Keeping our eyes out for Asian hairdressers though!

After leaving the gallery, the time was already 16.00. We decided to head to a supermarket to buy some cheap food to take back to the motel so that we had food to eat instead of going out and spending too much money. Chaggie are starting to get to grips with this 'saving money' lark! We spent a fair bit of time in the supermarket deciding what to have, before arriving back at the motel for around 17.30. We then settled down for an evening of watching television and eating. Chino opted for crisp sandwiches, followed by a 'Nutella' sandwich, whereas Staggie opted for cold baked bean sandwiches. Yummy!

As well as watching television, Chaggie logged onto the internet for the first time since arriving in Canberra, to check emails, facebook, aswell as write the previous blog entry. We also were delighted to see that at 19.30 'Channel 9' were showing Top Gear, as well as another channel showing an amazing crocodile attack survival. Pretty epic TV! Chino managed to have his second run of the week, finishing just before 'Top Gear', good timing.

As you can tell, I am struggling for things to tell you that we did in the evening but to be totally honest, there is nothing else to say. We hit the sack at around 23.30, ready for our venture into the city once again tomorrow. (Lets hope for no more insects in our sleep!!)

Chaggie x