I Arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday morning at 8am. Trying to get some sleep on the train was harder than I thought. The Amtrak seats where comfortable enough, but I still found it difficult to stay asleep for more than about half an hour. I took a bus and then the underground to the hostel which was quite a strange place. The building was a big old house that had been converted. Antique bits and pieces where hung up on the walls all over the place, with messages telling you not to touch the attached. I noticed that there were not any locks on the room doors so that anybody could walk in and out of any room and that there was quite a few single middle aged men staying at the hostel. I’ve got to say, I never really felt at ease.

Whilst I was waiting in the station for my train this morning I read in my guidebook that Atlanta has the worst crime rate in the USA and from what I’ve seen I can well believe it. If you’re ever in the area don’t get off the metro at the 5 points stop. It looks like it’s the centre of the city, but it’s full of people waiting to prey on tourists (you know the sort: jeans down to their knees, most of their teeth missing and a glazed over crack zombie look that seems to say give me all your money and I might not stab you). You can’t stop to look at a signpost or a map without being surrounded by these people trying to give directions in exchange for a few dollars.

The area around the Peachtree Centre is a whole lot less intimidating; it seems to be more of the business district and is not too far from the Centennial Olympic park. I think the whole park is owned and kept by the Coca Cola Company; they even have a Coke museum. But also in the park is the largest aquarium in the western hemisphere. It’s a little expensive at $28 per person, but you can easily spend half a day there, they have beluga whales, otters, alligators, rays, a whole range of sharks (including 3 whale sharks which are about 30 foot long) and an amount of fish you’d have to measure in metric tons.

Also had a good night out with a few guys form the hostel, a couple of them is off to teach English in Korea (I’m assuming South) and had got for a visa interview at the Korean Embassy in Atlanta.

A quick update on Lisa’s bag; It looks like they have caught the guy who snatched it, they caught him when he tried to use her credit card. Lisa has been on the phone with our favorite detective and also to the assistant DA in New York. For a while they wanted her to go back, but they might be able to sort it out by email and phone.

Apologies that most of the photo’s are of fish, the Aquarium was really the only place I felt safe getting my camera out.