Hey hey hey!
I know you missed me, you poor poor thing!
Well I'm back... for today at least.
I'm gonna TRY to not make this blog post really huge.. because usually when I blog only about what happened in one day it turns into a book.. and those of you who know me also know that when I tell a 5 min story it turns into 15-35.. Soo yeah.. I'll try and keep it neat and tidy by organizing it into the neat days where something interesting that I remember happening, happened!
So here goes: (from first day of travel to now)
Friday, Jan 22nd-
Well it was a pretty normal day really.. I got on the Greyhound to start my adventures North along the East coast and my first stop from Sydney was Newcastle!
Yeah, so Newcastle kinda sucks... nothing interesting really to do and it's kinda run down looking. The people are super nice but other than that.. *yawn*
Aaannnd as most of you have heard, that was the day that when I got to Newcastle I sat down, opened up my bag, pulled out my shiny beautiful brand new, only 2 months old laptop to find that the monitor was SHATTERED.. yes... that's right... shattered like a mirror!
Apparently, something pushed into the top of the neoprene case and pushed into the top of the laptop which caused the monitor to bow out and break. Can't see a damn thing!
NOT covered under Apple's shitty warranty and my travel insurance will only cover $500, which isn't even a full 1/2 of the total cost. So now I have to wait until I get BACK to Sydney at the end of FEB to take it in and see what it'll cost to repair and to see if it's even worth it or if I have to purchase a brand new computer... I'm P-I-S-S-E-D!
So there's day #1- not to mention that the hostel I stayed in forgot to pick me up so I was at the bus station for an hour, was crazy with hippy people high on shrooms, making a ruckus and the pool was so dirty that you couldn't see 2ft down into it. But like I said, the people in the town were kewl, so it wasn't all bad.
Sunday, Jan 24th-
And I was off like a herd of turtles to Port Macquarie! The place I stayed was ok. It was huge though.. it was actually a whole Travel Oasis type place that had not only shared rooms for backpackers but also lots for RVs, cabins, tents and all sorts of stuff! The kewl part was though that the rooms were only booked with whomever made the reservation. So if 2 people were traveling together they put them in their own room, if 3 were traveling together they got their own room and thus for 2 glorious nights, I got my own as well! They kept the place fairly clean and they had free internet which was nice, and the pool was clean.. at least the water anyway.. the people.. not so much (creepy, sleazy guys always seem to find me).
Met a neat couple traveling around, the girl Lea is from Norway, and the guy Chris is from Sweden. They are studying in Perth and took their Christmas break to travel around. So it was neat that I had someone to talk to. ALSO, *highlight* I got to ride a CAMEL!
Yup! His name was Obama.. and he was adorable.. it was amazingly cool and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.. even though they stink.. bad.
Tuesday Jan 26th (Australia Day!!)-
Well, I left the cute and quaint little Port Macquarie and headed North again to Coffs Harbour. My bus didn't leave until around 2:30, so Lea, Chris and I went down into PM town and hung out, they had lots of stands selling goods and food and good stuff to celebrate Australia day. I showed my support by getting an Aussie flag tattoo and putting it on my bicep, GRR! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI!
Coffs was really pretty, a bit more beach that Port Macquarie, but bigger and more spread out. The hostel I stayed at was nice and quiet and they tried to keep it as clean as possible, which I appreciated (I still wore flip-flops in the shower). I met a neat chick from Spain and we went for a canoe ride up the river into/behind the botanical gardens. Sorry folks, no crocks.. just pretty scenery and birds.
The people who worked at the hostel though were asses and completely unhelpful. I wanted to go horse back riding the ONE day I was going to be there and they said that I needed a min of 2 people, but they said they'd help by posting, asking if anyone else would want to join me and then post my name and #. Yeah.. they never did that. Also, when I showed up to check in, I immediately paid with cash, not knowing that they had a card machine. So later I asked if I could possibly get my cash back and pay on my card instead because I needed the cash for food and I didn't have my PIN for my card (yeah.. I'll get into that).. and they said "No, we don't do that here.. you should try the gas station." And I'm sitting there thinking "WTF would the gas station do!?!" But whatever, I just left it alone and paid with what I could... Bitch
Thursday, Jan 28th (My Australia Birthday)-
Well I left Coffs and headed North to Byron Bay. I was pretty stoked because I'd heard all sorts of good things about it. As soon as I got there I loved it. The hostel I stayed in was AWESOME! It was clean, organized, nicely decorated, had air conditioned rooms that WORKED! And the bathrooms were hella clean and I felt comfortable to actually not wear flip-flops!! They also had a dual sex bathroom, which I thought was going to be weird, but it really wasn't, not at all. I actually met a really neat guy named Dave in the bathroom after I let out a stream of curses due to me stubbing my toe, putting it up on the counter to check it, hitting a nerve which made it hurt worse, causing me to wiggle my foot around, to which I then hit my second toe (which is longer than my first) causing it to crack sideways and hurt MORE.... anyway... it was some what amusing and Dave and I got to talking and ended up having a like 35 min conversation in the bathroom!
I also had some great bunk mates. One girl Marrit (said like marrd with a roll of the Rrr) from Holland and she was super sweet and cute and FUNNY! Then there was Holly who is from England and is also super sweet and cute and funny. We had a good time together. Byron I have to say has been my best stop yet. I walked through sting rays, sat and watched the dolphins out in the bay, went snorkeling (didn't see anything) and finally got to go horseback riding!! Not to mention got to go out to a couple bars with the girls and have free food, free drinks and get stuff painted on ya!! All in all it was a great time!
Sunday, Jan 31st-
After Byron I headed up to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast of Queensland. (See, Byron Bay is the last stop in New South Wales before you cross into QLD)
This place sucks!
It immediately reminded me of Miami FL, not in the good way and which is odd because Surfer's Paradise is actually the next town North of another town called Miami... Anyway.. I was all stoked to stay in another Nomad's hostel because the last one was bomb... yeah.. NO.
This place was dirty, grungy, no air conditioning, only had a small table fan that was busted so we had to sleep with the balcony door open to which all the people who were smoking out on their balconies allowed their smoke to come right into our room. Not to mention the first night I got there, there were these 3 Asian chicks (I think maybe Japanese) who were there already and did not say a WORD.. they spoke to each other 2ce and in another language and that was all... it was creepy. And when I tried to ask or say anything to any of them, they "didn't speak English"... WTF!?
Anyway, the next day was a hell of a lot better, because Dave (the Canadian I met in the bathroom) was living there and had just arrived and was determined to not let my vacation suck. So we went out for brekky, went and saw a movie (Law Abiding Citizen.. LOVE IT.. GO SEE IT!!) Went to the beach, went and played mini golf, went and grabbed Korean food for dinner- which was a WHOLE new experience since I'd never had it and what I got they said was "glass noodles". These things are weeeiiirrdd. Not a bad weird.. just weird. They're totally see-through! And apparently made from sweet potatoes... I KNOW.. weird!
So that day totally rocked and made the stop in Surfer's all the more worth it.
Tuesday, Feb 2nd-
Happy day to be leaving Surfer's. Had fun the day before, but was ready to get the hell out of there! When I checked out however, I asked the lady for my key deposit back and she said I didn't give her one. I said I remember giving her $10 and she said no, because I paid for the room with my card, they had the # on file and didn't need the cash because they could just charge my card if they needed to. I was pissed to all hell and glared at her and said "I wouldn't have remembered that it was $10, had I not GIVEN you $10!" and walked out.
But at the bus stop though, I met another AMERICAN!! Oh happy day! (you meet so few of them here that you just wanna jump on them and give them a hug when you do.. it's weird) So she was in the same boat I was with the whole having super short hair, traveling around the East Coast and working and what-not, longing and in pain for her man back home.. so we bonded and had lunch before her next bus and she gave me tips on getting around Brisbane.
Brisbane is were I am at this very second, staying with --*takes a deep breath*-- Adam's father's wife's sister and her husband. Otherwise known as Carole and Greg. Two AMAZINGLY awesome people who opened their home to me and gave me food and clean sheets and a super clean bathroom and my own bedroom and a super huge fluffy teddy bear of a dog to play with!! So needless to say it's been an amazing 4 days here and I'm sad I have to leave. I feel like I just want to snuggle in and live in their house forever. Although I don't love Brisbane as much as I was hoping. Don't get me wrong, it's really nice, and it feels a lot larger than Sydney, although it's only the 3rd largest city (it's because it's so spread out). But there's not really any beaches here, the river is dirty and gross, and it's HOT. But if this was the only place I could get a job, then I'd live here... especially since I know people.
Yesterday Carole introduced me to her daughter Alyssa who is awesome and we spent the whole day together to which we found out we're a lot alike and have tons in common. We had lunch and then went to her other sister Hillary's house for dinner. She's a sweetheart who has the balls to actually CHOOSE to teach high school kids!
Other than that Brisbane has been a catch-up and deal with business stop, as well as get some actual sleep and good rest!
I'm only hoping my next stops will be nice and fun and give me exciting things to do!
I leave tomorrow to head up to Hervey Bay, a lovely 5+ hr bus ride.. WHEEE...
Not a clue what to expect, but I'm definitely choosing my hostels a little more carefully this time!
I don't know when I'll have free internet again to actually have the time to blog about this particular part of my journey.. but when I get back to Sydney I definitely will have the time.. so just in case I don't get the chance (because here in AU you have to pay an average of $4 for 1 hr of internet usage) be sure to hang on tight to these fleeting words and I'll catch ya'll up in a couple weeks!
OH.. so that you know what's goin on.. After Hervey Bay I'll be going to Airlie Beach/Whitsunday Islands, then up to Cairns (the end of my northerly journey) Then I'll fly down to Adelaide, bus it over to Melbourne, then to Canberra and back up to Sydney with an ETA of roughly Feb 23rd!
So hopefully Ya'll can hang on till then!
Sorry this wasn't as cheeky and ROFLAO funny as I know I usually am.. but it was a lot to try and fit into one post.. My future ones will be better, I promise!
Till later my friends!
~The Official Quasay Australia Backpacker!
