2006-01-29, 6:04 p.m.,

I leave on sunday and fly to adelaide. From there I get on The Ghan, which for my trip apparently is a huge media event because it will be carrying the queens baton for the commonwealth games. Something which everyone else seems far more excited about than me, perhaps because I dont feel an overwhelming allegiance to the queen of england as so many aussies do.

But nonetheless I board the train on sunday night and go to Alice springs and see Uluru (Ayres Rock for all my non aussie readers) and then back on the train to Darwin at the tip top of Oz. I hang out in Darwin for the day with literally 24 other media folk from all over, all represnting travel mags or travel tv shows or they are journalists. Then they fly us back to Sydney. Not a bad gig and I've never slept on a train in a proper carriage. It will be all "murder on the orient express"style luxury and such. Shoudl be really interesting.

So I go to the website for the Ghan and out of curiousity I look up the cost of making a booking on my journey. For this reason only:

I am perfectly aware that when these places give me free things like this they expect kind words in my magazine and possibly a story. So I'm just wondering how much they are giving up per person, to bring 25 of us on this little excursion.

$3,660. Each way.

Now I'm willing to accept that my journey may be pricier because of the queens stick thingy going with us, but sheesh..seriously. They could have booked a full page ad in my magazine for less. Considering they are feeding us and putting us in a hotel in Darwin before flying us back.

Yeah. I should be thankful for this because there's no way I would have ever bewen able to fork that out on my own travel whim. And like when I went to the Barrier Reef, apparently there's time on the journey when my mobile wont work. So no telephone for me. It's kinda nice to have the quiet.

I really wanted my website for the book to be up this week, but I'm not banking on it now.

I need to hire a personal assistant to do all my personal projects in the office for me. Perhaps give her an assistant editor title..might make it easier to convince my boss.

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