we came to the conclusion that in our hostel you met the most people in the lifts. and even though you only with them for about 45sec, you can tell alot about them but doing one of the following
1. stand in the corner, facing the wall and wait for people to get on
2. in the heat of the silence, scream "stop yelling at me"
3. everytime the door opens make the sound of the star trek doors opening
4. (if only one in lift) wait for door to open, lean over to the open space and say "she didnt have to die"
5. say to the guy next to you "race you"
6. explain that your court order forbids you to be within 100ft of the girl in the corner.
7. when going down, throw your arms up in the air and yell "this is better than disney land".
8. wait for everyone else to get off on the ground floor and yell "see you in hell...now where that button?"
9. press every button and explain that you just wanted to spend more time with everyone in the lift.
10. stare at the door silently, and every time the doors open start screaming uncontrolably, and return to silence when the close. and act as if nothing ever happened
so i now live in central in a place called WAKE UP. its slightly more expensive than my last place but it has lifts!!! it also has its own club in the basement and a pretty good atomsophere, if a bit sterile. but this is just short term, or so i keep telling myself. it has gone from heading to byron last wednesday to friday, then it was saturday night coach. now it seems like we are going to fly on monday, but dont hold me to that...i didnt even now that byron had an airport. i dread to imagine the kinda guys maning the flight towers "ya man, your clear for landing, and as ja is your co-pilot i hope you brought some good stuff. by the way watch out for that other plane". something like that.
i really want to stay in the ART FACTORY for at least some time when we get to B Bay. which was this hippie/arty hideaway type place where you live in the semi jungle in tipies and hamocks...how cool is that. but certain people think that want be fun! im sure ill convience them. im trying to explain to them that we have all lived in boarding house for the last 5years, i dont want to have traveled 12000miles to stay in some more..its all about the experiences.
well anyway. this is ground control to major tom, saying catch you on the flipiedy flip flop
So i finally got in touch with adam and sam with the great aid of global communication. an email from alice in thailand told me that they were here in sydney, but i didnt have their email or phone number. so i emailed josh in italy to get sams email. then alice gives me adams mobile here...and 48hrs we are all having beers, easy! anyway, during a few beers in there very nice hostel bar in central syd, i decided that i should move out of my place and in here. im actually on a break from packing up right now. anyway, the idea is a few nights in central, then up the coast. thing is sam and adam have the oz experience and alice and i dont. so we will probably just pick a point up the coast and say to each other "see you in two days" or something. i think i need to get out of sydney, so im gonna tag along with these guys for a weeks or so. altho traveling by yourself is very cool as you only have to put up with your own foul stench, loud snoring and annoying mannerisms, i would like to experience doing some of this stuff as a group, and i think the actually traveling itself would be much more entertaininig with others, esp people who i have known for going 10 years now.
so i ask my faithful readers...any places we MUST stop on the way up the coast? any magical coves off the coast where backpackers have shun the real world for socalist paradise of commun life and certain glycoma remedies. oh wait that was "the beach".
I havent stop smiling since last night. its actually starting to hurt. what has caused this great mood, you may asked. well last night started out as any other, ben, max and i trying to find somewhere to drink. we ended up in north sydney, not a scene i would readly like to be attached to, lets just say arragont metrosexual date rapists. so we split pretty quickly. and while walking to a taxi we went into a smaller, less packed place which had these things called pokies, slots machines for us normal people, anyway max wanted to play so i sat at inserted one dollar ( i had no idea what to do). i pressed a button, lights flashed and i won $20 COOL. so the girl came over to pay out, and just then max, thinking it was all over, pushed a random button. CHACHING youve won $50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i decided it would probably best to bail now, not let luck run out on me.
To Star City, a real casino. well we had heard that when you sign up you get $10 free. i just wanted to go to the blackjack table and say "hit me". but we ended up playing roulette. and it went alittle like this "put it all on red....winner is black. ok lets go".
so what did i learn from all this. beginers luck is supreme, and that understanding just complicates the issues..its alot like trying to watch cricket.
END OF THE NIGHT
MAX - up $1
BEN - down $1
WILL - up $49 OH YEAH
Well i have been 'on my own' for almost a month now, and seems to be going pretty smoothly. there were a few odd moments at the start though. i knew that Oz has pretty shocking banks, i mean they charge everyone, not just us backpackers. but, when i went to draw money for the first time, i was a little worried to see that my balance was 0....hmm thats not good. turns out i cant see how much money i have when im abroad, so im having to keep track of all my withdrawls. so towards the business end of my trip, things could get alittle interesting when i find out that i withdrew a couple $100s in a drunken state and havent accounted for it. family, beware of frantic phone calls around then.
but i feel my money management is pretty good. i reserach everything of sizeable value that i want to do, and try and find the best deal. my next biggest extravaganze is stil under decided. im tied between taking a coach to adeladie to see friends, or a surf trip that takes me all the way to byron, where i will crash for a week or so. i just want to be back in syd by my bday.
anyway, for all those friends and relatives who are struggling over what to get me for my up coming birthday. i ask one thing.....money. oh and some tickets to the 7s will be nice.
Cheers Andrew on the place to go. i went to taronga zoo, just outside mosmon. and i have to say that is the most stunning zoo i have ever been to in my life. one of my fellow backpacker matt from BC and i set off at like 10am and walked to circular quay to catch the ferry across the harbour. it was a incredible hot clear day, and after a quick 5min ferry you get to this rainforest looking headland. it kinda reminded me of jurrasic park. but once back on to dry land, you turn and there is the most amazing view of sydney, with bridge and the opera house. the joke around the zoo is that the animal have the best view in the whole country.
anyway, the zoo itself was actually very good. i suppose when you have been on sarfari as many times as i have, you sort of think that zoos have no appeal, but they do. it something about being able to just sit there and watch the animal which you cant really do on safari. anyway, the one thing that matt and i were abit put out by was that one of the zoo staff saying that when you meet a black grizzel bear you should run away. first of all there is no such thing as a black grizzel bear, its either one or the other. and secondly, you never ever EVER runaway from a bear. so we between us, i took the african and asian animals and matt took the north and south american animals, and by the end of the afternoon we had a small gathering of japanese tourist hanging on our every word. it feels good to give back lol
anyway..i think im going to a bicardi night at the opera house...wish me luck
Every single backpacker i have met has a mobile phone, what is with that! i was sitting on the roof of our backpackers last night, having a drink with 4 other fellow nomads and everyone was txting all the time. Why? isnt part of being a backpacker the whole unknown factor?. but here is thing that really pissed me off, i went to bed, im in a dorm 10, split into 3 sections, and all through the night you hear a loud beep and a flicker of light. what is so important that you have to txt at 3am. your a backpacker, and there are only 2 things that are important at that time of night, and your not achieving either. and if you dont turn that phone off, ill make sure its very difficult to achieve the later with out a test tube and dish. sorry, didnt get much sleep last night.
oh yeah. mum you would be proud. yesterday i walked from kings cross to the opera house, all the through the botanical gardens at back to kings cross. i felted like going for a walk, and it turned into a 3hr walk with zoe, disscusing everything from world politics to modern psycology....active body, active mind.
anyway....im trying to pin down ben to do something tonight...my first saturday night in sydney. if i dont post for awhile, its cus ill be nursing a hang over
After a quick 7 days stop over in hong kong, and alot of drinking, and little amounts of sleeps. but i made it to the airport, and am now in sydney, staying at the backpackers headquaters in kingscross. i was picked up from the airport by zoe, which was such a blessing. she has become my official social secretary and tour guide, giving me things to do and see by myself, and just get used to the area i know find my self. oh by the way, it reallly really hot, i thought i would just drop that in for those in england.
my new years write up is on its way, just give me time to write it...so keep posted for dim sum and rugby. anyway, ill keep all you up to date...maybe a few fotos..younever know!!!
laters