Somehow we end up at a Hilton!

“It’s a Priceline blind pick. A real bargain too because this is prime location directly accross from QVB railstop and mall. We rode the train from the airport and we randomly got off the train at ‘central’. We walked around in the dark looking for a place to stay before we took an Uber to a hotel we only knew by address. It was the Hilton on George Street.” 

This is the view from my room. It’s a nice room for sure but there’s no buffet. There’s no food. It doesn’t occur to me I should walk outside. There is so much so close I don’t even know it.

We ride a light rail train which takes us to ‘Circular Quey’. That’s where the cruise ships park and where we can catch a ferry accross the water to or first destination.

That direction is called ‘The Rocks’. It has something to do with Australia’s criminal past.

“Something like that.”

This is one of our main spots. We come and go from here every day we are in Sydney. There are buses and light rail trains here as well. It really is a hub for a lot of travel.

There’s a cruise ship there now. And as we pull away the Opera House completes the view. We are going to the Tauranga Zoo. The only thing on our list for Sydney is the zoo. The rest of the time we have no plan at all. Every day will be different than the one before because we have reserved nothing and know nothing about Sydney or even Austrailia. It’s all new. This is a new world.

“Dont do it!”

What?

Here is a red Kangaroo. They are rare. The brown ones are everywhere except the zoo. They don’t keep them there. There are more brown ‘roos than there are people in Australia. They don’t put roadkill in the zoo. That’s what a local said. I believe him. He also said marsupial. I guess that’s the official name for it.

Dingos

“Looks like a dog to me.”

Koala #17

Looks just like Koala #31

There was no shortage of Koalas. They eat leaves and sleep in the trees 20 hours a day. Talk about low maintenance!

A nice view. Prime property for a zoo. I’m sure it was here before the view got so expensive.

Lions look pretty lazy when they aren’t hungry.

Yawn. Pretty boring to be a lion in a zoo. It would probably would love to snack on a Koala if it wanders too close.

“I didn’t see any wandering Koalas. They never moved.”

There was another rare creature that really got my attention.

“The red haired Asian girl!”

She’s pretty.

“I noticed that you noticed. And she noticed that you noticed. You aren’t very subtle. Good thing you said something otherwise it gets weird. You keep forgetting how old you are and your tastes have not evolved with your years.”

It’s one half plus seven. That’s the rule. We’ve been over this before.

“I don’t think she made the cutoff. You’re not following the rules.”

Rules are meant to be broken. Ever hear of that? Anyway, how can you tell unless you ask?

“I’ve never heard you ask.”

Because that line isn’t gonna work on any woman. Someone could get hurt saying things like that. It’s their decision anyway.

Twenty somethings glide by, completely oblivious to my presence. I am an ethereal figure, blending seamlessly into the tapestry of their bustling lives. They pass me without a second thought, as if I were an invisible entity.

“Can you stop with the Ai commentary?

Well, it’s true!

“You aren’t invisible. It’s just they can only see themselves. It’s the selfie apocalypse generation Z.”

Is that it?

“That and they haven’t developed an awareness of their place in the world. They don’t recognize danger. You are a nice guy and most are, but it only takes one and they disappear, a sad statistic, damaged or dead.”

She looks like she can run.

“Not fast enough. You were talking about the red haired girl with the tattoo?”

She was looking at the description placard at the exhibit where it says something about the animal. I walked up next to her and looked at the sign. Elephants, elephants is what it read.

I don’t see any elephants! I said in a surprised voice, as if they were invisible elephants or if they were hard to see because of natural camouflage or maybe they were hiding from us.

‘I don’t either.’

She understands English. Great start!

I think it’s funny because elephants are huge and it’s an empty exhibit. Maybe she does too because she’s smiling at me. She’s very pretty. She has dyed her hair red and I notice she has a tattoo on her shoulder. That’s unusual for Asians. They are pretty careful about their skin and hair.

I looked directly into her eyes and said nee hen how can!

Blank stare

“Whif, strike 1. What does that mean? What did you say to her?”

I think it means you are beautiful, or, you look pretty today.

“Judging by that response it does not. Do you think it’s cute to mangle her language? You don’t even know if she speaks Mandarin or Cantonese. Not that you understand either one. You just look something up and say it over and over till you memorize one line. Inflection is important too. You know how subtle that can change meaning. Maybe you should stick to what you know.”

She sat next to me on the ferry and we seem to be following the same path through the zoo.

I guess we’re traveling together, I said. I want to see the Koala’s and Kangaroos. I’ve never seen them. We don’t have them where I live.

‘Where is that?’ She asks in perfect English.

Las Vegas.

Where are you from? I ask her, expecting her to say some city in China. I’m hoping I didn’t insult her if she’s something else. Nee hen how can is Chinese.

“That’s what you think!”

I think I can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Philippine.

“Going for strike 2 then?”

She answers ‘Bondi.’ (perfect English again).

I think to myself that sounds familiar. I think I just saw that on the train map. It doesn’t sound like anywhere in China.

It seems like we are getting along so I say I’m here till Friday then I’m taking a cruise ship around New Zealand. How long do you have? Where are you going next?

Somehow in my mind I’m thinking we will sightsee together for today and maybe, just maybe, if things go well, I’ll ask her to come on the cruise with me. It won’t cost me more because I have to pay double occupancy no matter if it’s only me.

“You walk around like this? These are the thoughts in your head? You have no trouble daydreaming and walking at the same time. Can you chew gum too? What did she say?”

‘I have to work tomorrow night. Today is my day off.’ (Once again perfect English and now I can hear her Australian accent which sounds a whole lot like a British accent)

“Strike 3! You’re so smooth, I’m gonna start calling you The Continental.”

Not everyone is a tourist.

For the imagination impaired listen to Jenny.