Saturday 14 July 2012

Paradise

Back to my mundane suburban life. I'm experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the mountains. How can I not if I was surrounded by views like this and engulfed in clouds every morning?

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It was just so breathtaking. To spend it away from civilisation with the best group of friends I could ask for in the most amazing three storey wooden house that the three little pigs could only ever dream of is literally a winter paradise. A massive bookcase, our own fireplace, a collection of soothing jazz CDs, shelves of classic board games, a fully equipped kitchen and couches and couches to lounge on made it that much better. I wouldn't have minded if we stayed indoors the entire four days we were there.

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Our first day involved being native tourists (dat oxymoron) at the Three Sisters and the Giant Stairway, which we've renamed to the Stairways of Hell. I had multiple near death experiences by stacking it countless times and it was like a scene out of a horror movie when everyone disappeared one by one on the Stairways of Hell till there were only three of us left. It felt so accomplishing to escape Hell and I felt invincible. Guess who's going to survive the apocalypse on 21st December?

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That night we stayed up talking, playing trivia and drinking tea like classy old ladies. When we heard unexplained banging sounds outside our room, the four of us decided to cautiously investigate. A reminder that we were in the middle of nowhere. There was a sudden bang again then Desiree, Jellee and Vivienne all screamed and collapsed into each other. I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT IMAGE OF THEM BEING SCARED WITLESS. It turned out that the source of the noise was the fake electric fireplace.

On the second day, we went to the Jenolan Caves. The narrow and winding roads on the mountain made the car ride there the scariest thing ever. ("LIGHT BEAM THE FUCKING SHIT OUT OF THIS PLACE.") I loved the history and stories our tour guide told us of the caves. It was truly an enlightening experience and it feels like you've entered a secret world away from the outside world.

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The secret behind a nice group photo is to huddle together like penguins.

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Just like leaving the cinemas, I had to blink several times once we wove our way out to adjust to the light only to realise it's still daytime and I'm back in the real world where time continues ticking again.

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Our third day involved a lazy day in watching Rugrats and Friends while snacking non stop throughout the day. We also roasted (and set fire on) marshmallows and sausages by the fireplace then invented our own card games. Pretty much a perfect day in. JUST LOOK AT HOW PERFECT OUR SURROUNDINGS WERE ON TOP OF THE WORLD.

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On our fourth and final day, we took some last minute "natural" posing photos before reluctantly handing over the key to the owner and architecture of the house. I cannot commend the guy enough on how perfect the house is. Although one suggestion to make it more perfect is to replace the painting of the man in the bathroom because IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS PERVERTEDLY WATCHING YOU SHOWER.

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We shopped at quaint and dainty vintage stores at Katoomba then had lunch at an Irish café. The music they played made me almost expect a leprechaun to jump out of the tips jar and start dancing.

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Our last stop was to a Japanese bath house. It was a really relaxing experience. The outdoor hot spring was heated to 40°C so when you get out and stand in the cool crisp air, you wouldn't feel the need to wrap yourself in a towel to stop the cold. Is this what it feels like to be a werewolf? There was also a sauna room that I couldn't walk further than one step in without feeling like I was being choked. There was so much steam to the point where you couldn't see anything more than half a metre in front of you. How on earth did everyone else withstand it?

I'll continue wallowing in my withdrawal symptoms now. This getaway to Blue Mountains is definitely a trip I won't ever forget.