Chinchilla

I woke up at 6AM, had scrambled eggs and toast for breaky. Mundy repeated the directions to Chinchilla several times to me again, he even drew me a map. It was funny how he kept thinking he was running out of paper because he tried to draw out the distances when he could've just shortened everything and I would've understood just as well. He also showed me how to feed Bear. I headed for Chinchilla at around 7AM, didn't get lost on the way there because it was pretty straight forward. I stopped at the main drag to take a look around, it was basically 2 blocks of cafés and random shops. I bought myself a sudoku book at a news agency (kinda like their stationary store) to keep myself company, then I went to the Information Centre and bought a postcard to send home. I'm planning to send a postcard from each place that I've been, partly as a souvenir, also as a way for my family to know that I'm fine.

I wanted to do a bit of sight seeing and the people at the Information Centre told me about the Pioneer Cemetery across the street, as well as the Chinchilla Museum. The Pioneer Cemetery is where the first settlers in Chinchilla rest, it was quite simple. It was my first time going to a cemetery. I walked around reading the tombstones where some of them wrote how the person past away, majority of them were accidental, and quite young. Then I came upon some children graves and I started tearing up, it was just so sad. A lot of them were still borns, or just months old babies. Afterwards I went to the museum which was on the other side of the Information Centre. It had an open gate and was outdoors, and it looked really small, and there an admission of $5. I looked around, didn't see anyone at the reception and just walked in. There were a bunch of old tractors and wagons and some old shacks. It took me about 10min to walk around the whole yard just looking at old junk. Things weren't really put on display, they were just put together in one area. Then I came to this room where some staff were setting up for something but in the back there were some more stuff to see. I asked if I could go in to take a look and they said sure. I first read about how the first settlers had such a hard time surviving due to the infestation of the prickly pears, a kind of cactus, because it was invasive and hard to get rid of. The room showcased a lot of antiques like pianos, typewriters, phonographs, kitchen utensils, etc. Before I left I talked to one of the staffs there, and turned out he was a physiotherapist, part time magician, and they were setting up for the Christmas show that night.

I drove around town a bit and was hungry, so I stopped by a plaza with Subway and KFC. Got myself a 2pc pack from KFC, which was soggy, and as I was eating there by myself a lady walked by just said hello out of the blue, which was nice. We even chatted a bit before she left. Small town people are nice. I finally made my way to the saddlery shop, turned out they closed at 11.30AM on Saturdays... I left town around 2PM because I wanted to get back in time to feed Bear, but before that I needed to get some stamps for my postcard. I tried asking at the servo, the lady there said the post office is closed on weekends, but I could try this convenience store just down the street. I tried getting there but I didn't see anything, so I ended up back at the plaza and I asked this construction guy having lunch, and he told me I could try the business centre close to the main drag, telling me some grassy bit and landmarks. I think I got to the business centre with a restaurant, IGA, Target, and a bunch of dental offices, but I didn't see any shops that could be selling stamps. I went into IGA, bought myself a PUMP (flavoured water) and asked the cashier but she couldn't help me. Guess I'll just have to try the tiny post office by one of the apartments on Monday.

I got back at around 3.15PM, knowing that Bear would get me dirty soon as I let him loose... He's always happy to see me. So I fed him, let him run around a bit, and soon after he jumped into the water trough he came running up to me and jumped on me! I chilled out with him for a bit, took shower, and did my washing. It looks like everyone's away. I think Mundy went to Dalby for the night, and Mrs. Morgan actually came to check up on me, that was nice of her. I was about to have some of the pastas that I've made for dinner but they've all gone bad! So I just had some toast instead, looks like I gotta make a grocery run to Miles tomorrow... It was a quiet night and I actually didn't feel as lonely. I was more relaxed, and I kinda like the quietness where I get to sit outside the kitchen, enjoy a beer and watch the stars. It's amazing how many stars you see in the outback. The weather's been good, so every night I get to see the milky way. I'm also thinking of checking out Roma or Dalby next weekend.

First Week in Myall Grove

It's been a tough first week on the farm. Condamine has a population of 300, with one servo (petro/gas station), one pub, and one school. It's about 30min drive from Miles where we do our groceries, and at least an hr drive from all other towns. The cattle farm where I work at is a family business, Mrs. Morgan owns all 4 of them in the area, and her 2 sons and their families all live about 5min drive from each other on the farm. I stay with 3 other farm boys in our own complex. On the first day I did some gardening at the Big House where Mrs. Morgan lives, pulling weeds, watering plants and raking leaves. While I was gardening, her 3 dogs kept interrupting me, either standing in my pile of leaves or just literally sat on me, looking for a pet. Then she showed me the apartments that I'll be cleaning for the next 3 months, these are 4 bedroom apartments that they rent out to miners that come into town to work. She also drove me to Miles and got me a torch and a pair of gardening gloves, which I had to ask for, and some groceries. She also bought me lunch at a café in town. I had a freshly made chicken salad sandwich that was delicious. I was talking to Mrs. Morgan on our way back and she said that oil and gas companies have been coming in drilling holes into people's lands, legally, and the town is trying to dispute it, including themselves because they're worried that the mining might effect the soil for their cattle. Yet it makes me wonder why do they set up apartments so miners can come in to work if they're so against the whole thing?

On the second day I drove myself to the apartments, but got lost on my way back taking the wrong turn. Luckily I was still close enough to the city that I still had reception and was able to call Godfrey for help. He happened to be on his way home, I made my way back to Miles where I met up with him and followed his car back to the farm. When I got back Mrs. Morgan was bit worried, she said that one of the farm boys predicted I'd be lost letting me drive to work on my own only on the second day, and he sure was right!

Anyway, so everyday I start at 7AM with gardening for couple hrs, then I go to the apartments and I make beds, sweep and mop floors, wipe down toilets and showers, wash towels, etc. I was also given a roster so I know when to change sheets when miners leave, but I was also expected to clean the rooms even when no one's staying in there... I have 2 apartments to clean everyday, and every other day I have a third, bigger apartment to clean. I don't know how long it's been since the last girl, because the first day I had to clean the apartments they were nasty as shit!! Especially the third apt, it took both me and Mrs. Morgan nearly 3hrs to clean it, and she said I should be able to do it on my own in a couple hrs.... I was exhausted the first couple days, probably because of the heat as well, then on the third day I got sick, most possibly from all the dirt and dust, and Mrs. Morgan thought I got hay fever! I hardly see Godfrey, basically Mrs. Morgan tells me what to do. Besides cleaning the apartments, I've also been cleaning the Big House, as well as her two son's houses, so everyday I've been working between 8-10hrs. The family must have well more than 10 dogs altogether because everywhere I go I see at least 2 dogs! And Godfrey's house actually has a cat too, they named her Miss. Perfect, and she purrs whenever I pick her up.

The boys that I stay with are all very nice. There's Mundy, man of the house as he calls himself because he's the oldest, and he's been on the farm for the past 15 years! I see him the most because he's usually home earlier than the others and does the cooking for the boys. Real nice guy. Mundy also has a dog named Bear, cutest dog ever, super hyper, very friendly, always happy to see me, and he loves to jump people. James, the cute one I find, nice to have a conversation with, but he does like to tease. Finally Angus, the youngest, who introduced himself like "Hi. Angus' my name." We never really talked, I don't really know what to say to him..

I finished early today and it's the weekend. I came home, took a shower and just wanted to chill out and enjoy a beer. A guy came to our houses along with a kid looking for Mundy, turned out it was Rob, a neighbouring farmer, and his son Mack. Then out of nowhere Bear came running up to me all muddy and jumped on me before I could react! I was in my clean clothes.... Mundy felt so bad, but Bear has won my heart, so I couldn't possibly get mad at him. On a side note, when Bear gets excited he starts to piss.... He's pissed on me a couple times already when I came home and was rubbing his belly. Rob and Mack seemed like really nice people. I played tag with the kid while Bear chases after us (mostly just me...) or humping my leg (about a dozen times.. that horny little bastard!) Then it was time for them to go home, but Mack didn't want to because he was hooked on playing Ninja Fruits on my phone.

I had asked Mundy about getting cowgirl boots because the sneakers I had got holes in them and my feet were getting wet while gardening. He told me about this website called Shepler's where he gets all his work clothes from. They do have boots under $60, but I'd have to order online as it's an American company, and Mundy said after all the shipping and everything it'd come to around $100, or he said I could go into Chinchilla and try the saddlery shop. I'd have to go in the morning though because shops close early on weekends, and by early he meant noon. Everybody goes away on weekends, so I might as well go check out Chinchilla tomorrow, which's about 45min drive. He told me the directions like 10x, telling me each landmark and each turn, making sure that I knew the way. Mundy has also asked me to feed Bear while he's away. Earlier this week Mrs. Morgan had also asked me to feed her 3 dogs when she went away one afternoon.

After the first week, I don't think I enjoy my work that much. I mostly work by myself and I'm not learning anything new like I thought I would. The boys go to bed pretty much after dinner, but I can't blame them because they work 12hrs a day. There's nothing to do except the pub, and I wouldn't dare driving back at night because all the roads would just look the same to me in the dark. Just the other day I was messaging Cam and was just hearing about how he was meeting up with Silvia and was having a great time in Sydney and it made me felt really lonely. I just gotta stick it out for 3 months to qualify for my second year visa, afterwards I can still do the Jackaroo school where I could actually learn some farm skills, because cleaning houses wasn't what I planned to do here in Australia!

Pit Stop in Brisbane

I woke up at 5AM, got ready, checked out, and headed for Central Station to catch the train. I was running bit late so I thought I'd see how much the taxi charges, turned out it'd cost me $20-$30 and would've taken longer to get there, so I decided to stick with the train. Their transit system is still confusing to me but I had this app Link Express that tells me what time my train comes, but I double checked with the train attendants anyway just to be sure, and they were very nice about it. Got to the airport, checked in my bags, went through security and got my brother's swiss army knife confiscated because my sister told me to keep it on me and I had forgotten to take it out of my daypack, and I almost forgot my boarding pass there as well!! I made it just in time for boarding time. I flew with Virgin, small plane kinda like WestJet. The flight from Sydney to Brisbane was just over an hour, but I had a kid who was flying first time kicking my seat the whole time and his mother didn't bother teaching him some in-flight manners.

It was hot and humid in Brisbane. I picked up my bags and refreshed myself with some cold OJ first, then I went to look for the coach stop to catch my bus from the airport to the Brisbane Coach Terminal. It was only literally about 5min walk right by the AirTrain Station, but it felt like forever with my 2 heavy bags, and I probably took the long route too. The bus doesn't come for another 2hrs, so I just waited there and had a chat with an African dude who was also taking the same bus. While waiting a stupid ant fell into my shirt and bit me! First insect encounter in OZ!! I was looking for the big red Greyhound bus but what came was a little shuttle bus, apparently that's the case with all inner city coaches.

Got to the Brisbane Coach Terminal, checked in, left my bags at the desk, and headed into the city to look for a Telstra SIM so I could have reception out on the farm. My bus doesn't leave till 4.30PM, it was around noon and I was super hungry so I needed to find food first. I headed for the closest Queen Street Mall which was more like a plaza with a big boulevard and shops on either side. Saw a sign at JoJo's that said Steak & Chips for $15!!! Went in without hesitation, went to the podium and was told I could sit anywhere then order my food at the counter? First time eating at an Aussie restaurant, Asian ones back in Sydney didn't count. I was confused. Found the lady behind a cash register and ordered my food, and take my own cutlery.... At the table, a girl did come to take my drink order which I had to pay right away..? What happened to table service? No wonder there's no tipping culture here. Later on I overheard a waitress asking a couple who just got sat if it was their first time and they said no, and she started taking their orders... So confused. Anyway, steak was decent enough, and I was glad to enjoy a nice cold beer in this hot weather. Then all of a sudden I heard Christmas music and a group of cheerleaders did a couple Christmas tunes in the square. I'd forgotten that it was close to Christmas in all this heat! It was definitely odd hearing Christmas songs in your shorts though!

Got my sim from Telstra, and I still got some time so I decided to do some walkable free sight seeings around the city. Went to the Information Desk and saw that I could make it to the Botanic Garden and some government buildings right next to it. Headed down Albert Street and the humidity just doesn't help. Luckily it's hard to miss the Botanic Garden as it's just at the end of the street, it seemed kinda small so I quickly walked through it and came to the Parliament House. To the left was QUT (Queensland University of Technology) and inside was the Old Government Building. I've always liked historic homes with the old furnitures and fireplaces. I was going to check out the St. Stephen's Cathedral on my way back but I was too hot and tired and my mobile was dying. Although I did pass by an Irish pub that had some really good live music going on and audience singing having a great time that I'd like to check out the next time I'm in the area.

Not 10min after I stepped foot into the coach terminal it started storm hailing!! People came running in all messy and drenched. Then 10min later it stopped and the sun came out! I still had about an hr so I just plugged in my phone by some waiting area and napped while groups of backpackers came and went. I had to pick up my bags 30min before boarding the bus, so while I waited some more I tried to understand cricket that was playing on the TV. All the guys were so focused on the game and I was just like huh? Apparently it was cricket season and it was Australia vs England, so I think it's pretty intense as if I were to be watching the Stanley Cup Playoff.

I got to sit beside a very nice East Indian RN and we had a bit of chat about travelling and her not being able to see her husband everyday because of work. We had a pit stop about 2hrs in, I think it was in Toowoomba, then straight on from there. The bus ride was about 5hrs from Brisbane to Miles where Godfrey picked me up. By the time I get there it was around 9PM, and it was another 30min drive to get to the farm. I had a quick chat with Godfrey about his family, the farm, etc. He studied accounting, has a son and 2 daughters, one of them at boarding school, one brother who does marketing in the city, and another brother who works the family farm with him. It was pretty dark when Godfrey showed me the place where I'll be staying for the next 3 months. I got a trailer all to myself with a queen size bed and fresh linens. I get my own bathroom as well but it's separate from the trailer, and I share the kitchen with 3 other farm boys who're staying right next door. I also get my own car to drive to and from work, and the next morning at 8AM I'm to go see Mrs. Morgan, his mom, and she'll show me around town. So I hopped in the shower and went straight to bed, it's been a long day.

Last Days in Sydney

I checked out at 10AM to move over to YHA Sydney Central, but I couldn’t check in there till 1PM, so I just lounged around and chatted with people in front of Railway. It was sad having to leave Railway because I’ve met so many awesome people there, but I still got couple more nights in Sydney before I really leave. Cam offered to help me carry my luggages over because I had a luggage, a sleeping bag, plus a travel backpack. After dropping off my stuff we went for Pho just around the corner from the hostel. As we were sitting down the waitress just so happened to caught a huge cockroach right at our table, so for the rest the meal I kept my feet up in case another one showed up… Apparently roaches were very common in OZ. I was going to just have a regular sized pho but forgot to mention it, so I got a large bowl as big as my head plus a Viet iced coffee! I was super hungry anyway and when the food came I was so excited to finally having Asian food that I still managed to finish everything! While I was enjoying my big feast Cam just had an order of spring rolls, but he was already used to my big appetite.

After lunch Cam went off to look for accommodation. I went for a walk and ended up in Daiso, a chain of Japanese dollar store full of goodies where I got a raincoat for $2 and a couple tubberwares. I went back to the hostel for a shower, and found myself back at Railway again. Me and Cam went to grab some beers and chilled out in front of the hostel waiting for Silvia to get off work. We were planning to go over to SideBar, but since we were already drinking I just asked her to come hang out at the hostel with us first. We talked about English shows she had seen back home that were dubbed including The Simpsons, Family Guy, Friends, and Fresh Prince. Before we know it it was time for her to go home and I was so sad to say goodbye to her, she was such an awesome girl!

I got hungry again and I wanted to get a Viet sub from the pho restaurant but it was closed, so me and Cam made our way to Chinatown and they happened to have the night market on! I got myself freshly squeezed sugarcane as well as some deep fried prawns. After getting back to Railway Emily came out and invited us to go to SideBar with them. I didn’t really want to go at first but they all kept persuading me, so I eventually went back to my hostel, got changed and went to meet up with them. Apparently some drama went down between Emily and Natashia and I couldn’t find them, so me and Cam just stayed on our own. I did bump into Jana, she was sad to hear me leave and I’m going to miss her as well! I made sure we got each other's numbers to keep in touch!

Next morning I woke up early to make sure I got my bus booked through UltimateOZ. Supposedly we get some membership discount, but it turned out to be just $2 off.. Once I’ve got my Greyhound booked, I bugged Cam to go get some eggs with me for breaky. He actually managed to find a 36 dorm at Nomads West End. I walked with him to the hostel to check in and the place stunk so bad I had to go wait outside while he drop off his sheets. He said the lift up was scary like it’d drop any minute, and the room was horribly disgusting full of sketchy people. He didn’t even want to drop off his luggage there he just needed a bed. Come to think of it, I wrote down not to stay at Nomads West End and I forgot to tell him… But I guess that was the only place available where he didn’t have to travel too far.

On our way to the grocery store we passed by Market City where they had a bunch of stalls that sell knick knacks so I wanted to take a look. Big mistake because I started buying souvenirs, I got myself a bomarang, a wine holder with native designs for my mom, and an Aussie kanga magnet for my friend and I told Cam to get me out of there before I spend any more money. We went back to Sydney Central where I fried up all 6 of the eggs I just bought because I was starving, Cam had some as well and he said I was a good cook, then we thought to check out the hostel since we haven’t done so. We went up to the rooftop and it was nice because it had a swimming pool and balcony all around. It was a bit tight but the view was decent. We hung out up there for a bit before we decided to go get some beers for my last day in Sydney. We went to World Square, but stopped by the Laughing Buddha for a drink first. After we got our beers we headed back to Railway, naturally, and hung out with our friends there. We ran into Noah, the guy from Norway, and he had 2 job offers, one of them was Jamie’s Italian in Sydney. He ended up turning down Jamie’s and went to work for the fine dining restaurant instead that paid more.

It was getting late and I needed to get up early next morning to catch my flight, so I went back to Central with my remaining beers. I asked Cam to join me as his hostel was just couple blocks down from mine, so we went up to the rooftop, finished the rest of my beers, and we happened to catch some fireworks that the city put up every weekend which was a nice goodbye. Although I didn’t see much of Sydney but I had great fun and met a lot of awesome people! Outback life here I come!

Drinks in Newtown

I'd signed myself up for the Jackaroo school starting in Dec, so that’d give myself about a week in Nimbin and a week in Tamworth to explore. I went to Kmart and Target with Cam, about 25min from Railway, to buy some cheap work clothes, sleeping bag, and boots for the Jackaroo. I was able to get Tshirts for $5 and a sleeping bag for $30, but I couldn’t find boots I wanted for less than $100. After shopping we stopped by the Abercrombie for their $10 meals and jugs of beer. We both had the chicken schnitzel and it was absolutely declisious and a nice portion too! The pub itself seemed a bit run down but it’s got a nice outdoor beer garden and a lively crowd!

Just a day after I signed up for the Jackaroo I got a call from one of my applications on TAW (Traveller’s At Work website where you could find 2y visa jobs). I was actually hung over when I received the call early in the morning. I basically flustered, and the thick Aussie accent that I was still getting used to didn't help. He said his name is Godfrey, that sounded like "Gadfray" to me. I asked him a few questions regarding the job, as well as his email so it'll be easier for me to communicate with him rather than guessing everything he says over the phone. He said I'd be doing 5-6hrs a day and just some general duties and cleaning, including accommodation and $400/wk pay, and that he'd like me to start work on Monday! So now I just gotta figure my way out to the farm which’s about 5hrs west of Brisbane, and also what to do with the Jackaroo school as it’ll contradict with my new work. As it was nice out and I’ve just got a job offer, me and Cam decided to go check out the Botanic Garden close to the harbour. It had a nice pond, and I was still amazed at all the exotic looking birds I see all over, including bats and wild parrots! As we were walking towards the harbour I got another call from another farm. Eventually we came to Sydney Harbour and I’m sad to say that it took me almost 2 weeks to finally visit the Sydney Opera House. It was very tourisy with lots of families and kids running around. We got hungry and wanted to find something to eat in the area but the Opera Bar was way too busy. We walked to CBD and I wanted to try Jamie’s restaurant and it seemed busy as well, and a bit fancy for our pockets. I didn’t realize how far we’ve walked all day and Cam was starving so we just settled on some Mexican food in a food court, which turned out pretty good, and I even got some leftovers! By the time we got back to the hostel we were both exhausted, and Cam was actually limping having walked all day in thongs which he wasn’t used to.

The next day I started looking into ways of getting to the farm. I thought I could take either the Greyhound or the train so I could check out some scenery, but that would’ve taken me more than a day to get there! Taking a flight wouldn’t be much cheaper either as it was last minute and all the flights were over $100! I ran out of wifi at the hostel and I didn’t want to buy anymore since I'll be leaving soon so I decided to head out and look for free wifis at nearby cafés. On my way out I ran into Emily and she told me that there’s a café just right around the corner where you could get free wifi for buying a coffee. So I went in and met Silvia the barista there and we chatted for the longest time. She's Italian, also on working holiday, and she's been in Sydney for about 2 months. In the end we exchanged numbers and planned to meet up for a drink in Newtown where she’s staying after she gets off work that night.

I was only booked till Friday at Railway so I wanted to fly out then, but the tickets were all over $200 with really bad timing. So I decided to stay couple more nights in Sydney and take the earliest flight on Sunday because I’d still need to take the Greyhound to Miles where I get picked up by the farm. Flight is booked at 7AM and the hostel is conveniently right next to the train station that I could take to get to the airport. However, when I tried to extend my stay at Railway it was all booked up! I looked up couple other ones nearby and they were all booked too, considering it was the weekend and the holiday season is coming up…. I settled on YHA Sydney Central, it was bit pricy, but at least it's close just a couple blocks down the road. Cam was also booked till Friday as well and I told him about the situation, so he quickly tried to ask around but nothing came up and Central got booked up soon after me I guess, even most hotels in the area were full. The closest hostel available was 45min bus ride away, or hotels at $300/night!

After dinner I asked Cam if he’d like to join me and Silvia for a drink. We took the train to Newtown just 10min away, where she met up with us at the station. Then we walked down King Street, the main strip in Newtown, and just went into bars as we liked. We had a great time as we’re all around the same age and we had a lot in common. Silvia was very open minded, unlike most of the Europeans I’ve met so far (no offense!) who tend to stay with people who speak the same language. We moved to another bar, where I learned that in OZ they tend to call bars/pubs “hotels.” For the longest time I wondered why they have hotels in just about every corner in Australia! We had a couple more drinks there but it was getting late and me and Cam had to catch the train back. Silvia walked us back to the station just in time for the last train and told us to run for it and it was free as well! Before she left we made plans to meet up again next day because she knew I was leaving and I was totally down for! Even after all that drinking me and Cam still wanted to get some more beers after getting back to Sydney because midnight was just too early to go to bed for the both of us. We were going to buy some at the Red Bottle but it was closed, so we went further down to Abercrombie. It was a busy night there and by the end I was pretty drunk, so it was nice taking that walk back to the hostel and just pass out in my bed.

Sydney at Night

It’s been dreadful for the past few days with all the rain and no one felt like going out. Those who did would come back all drenched and miserable. There were actually a few nights of lightning and thunder that lit up the whole sky! So me and my roomies plus a bunch of other people just bummed around at Railway drinking. I finally had enough of doing nothing and needed some fresh air. So when the rain kind of stopped one night, I quickly got Cam to go for a walk with me to nearby parks. First we went to Belmore Park which was across from Central Station. It was very small and it seemed to have some kind of intercultural event but it was closing so there wasn’t much there. My roomies had told me we should check out Hyde Park just a few blocks down towards the harbour, so we made our way there. It was about 10~15min walk, and inside Hyde Park was the Pool of Reflections. As soon as we got into the park Cam saw something running in the bushes and was wondering what it was, a passerby told us they were rats, and we sort of just walked together across the park while she told us about the Rock Tour that talks about all the underground tunnels from the first settlements. After she left we made our way back through the park and I heard all these screeching noises and they turned out to be bats! There were loads of them just flying everywhere!! We went across the street to Fragrance Garden and it’s got like a boulevard with lights and trees which looked really eerie at night. As we were leaving the park I looked up Google Map to make sure that we were heading in the right direction, and Cam told me about how when he worked in the oil fields back home, sometimes people would get lost for days in the freezing weather because there were no radio reception...

On our way back we stopped by the Palace Hotel for a quick drink while their happy hour was still on. We sat on the patio and I eavesdropped on the conversation between this chick and a security guard right next to us. The security basically admitted that he was a full on racist, and he went on to justify himself against the foreigners how they don’t adapt, etc. He kind of went away, and I noticed there were a couple teenagers lying on the sidewalk just next to the hotel. They seemed to be slightly intoxicated as they were disturbing the passerbys. The security went out and asked them to leave. I lost track of them for a while, then all of a sudden they came out to the patio having a shouting match, and the security just pushed one of the kids real hard that he fell over the fence right next to us. His female friend instantly got mad pissed and freaked out and was getting in the security's face yelling and screaming. Her other friend tried to pull her away but she wouldn’t nudge. The security went inside and the chick was still screaming that she smashed a window with her bare hand and was bleeding. So the security came out again screaming at her, tables were pushed over, the kid who tried to help got thrown against the bar hitting his head and was bleeding because he got in the way of the security. I basically sat there all stunned, and a bit freaked out, because I’ve never witnessed a scuffle like that in my life! As for Cam who came from a small town, he’s seen worse. He was also a big guy too so he was ready to jump in if things take a bad turn.

Anyway, the kids eventually left, the security disappeared somewhere, everyone who witnessed it were all worried about the kids. 20min later, a cop showed up and was asking around for witnesses. We were basically the only ones left so he sat down with us to try to get the story straight. He asked if we would be in Sydney for a while because he wanted to take our statements, but unfortunately we only planned to be here for another week. After a couple more drinks we just went back to Railway to finish our beers in the fridge.

Next morning I’ve got my photocard appointment at 11AM, and it said that there would be a 10min interview as well, so I tried to dress a little nicer than my usual Tshirt and sweats and messy hair bun. I’ve wanted to book at the one in Haymarket just a couple blocks away but it was full, so I ended up going to the one in Surry Hills on the other side of Central Station. Cam also booked himself for the White Card course required for most labour jobs. It was another rainy day, so by the time I got to the post office I was all drenched and my hair was a mess. There was no interview, the lady just took 10min to process my documents, then she just took my picture that I didn’t get to review and I was done. It was still early so I went over to Ultimate and asked them about signing up for the Jackaroo course, and they just told me to register for myself online. So now I just need to plan my way there either taking the bus, or train, or even getting the Greyhound bus pass where you can hop-on, hop-off going one way that’s good for 3 months.

I went back to Railway and was just on my laptop when Cam came back from his 8hr course. He said it was just all health and safety stuff that he already knew from working back home, so it was easy for him. It was around dinner time, we decided to go stock up on some beers first, then when I was ready to cook up the rest of my minced beef in the fridge it was gone!!! I was so pissed and now I’ve only got 3 eggs and some instant noodles left!! I just fried up my 3 eggs and was still starving and I was all bummed out. Cam felt so bad for me he offered me some of his toasts but I declined. I still got noodles, but I was just upset that someone stole my food!!

In the evening, we sat outside Railway and drank with the rest of the people just exchanging interesting stories and listening to awesome music where I discovered Tom Waits. I also found out that a fellow American whom we’ve met a few days ago was a WHOVIAN!!!! I've seen him around the hostel and he seems to know everyone. We've talked but never introduced each other. He busks at the train station, looks like a really hippy guy always has his bandana on, really chill, got along with everybody. Apparently he's been travelling in New Zealand till his visa there expired that's why he's in OZ now. I knew his name was Scott, one time he was helping out cooking burgers for the BBQ night at the hostel and I called out his name to take a picture, and he felt bad that he didn't know my name.

Anyway, when I overheard him mentioned about the 50th Anniversary I literally couldn’t help myself from jumping for joy with him for a good 10min. I was pretty mental, and Cam had already witnessed my craze when I told him about Doctor Who before. Jana came and joined us and we got Scott to take off his bandana. Why is it always guys with long hair has such fabulous hair?!!!?! Me and Jana started playing with his hair, got him to tie them up in pig tails, braided them and made him look fabulous! Scott's such an awesome dude. He can sing and play a guitar, one time he sang The House of the Rising Sun and you could tell everyone was just enjoying it. He's got fabulous hair and apparently a Pixar fan as he's got a cryptic tattoo that said "To Infinity and Beyond". Best of all he's a fucking WHOVIAN!!!!!!!

Later on when everyone was just chilling, a drunk British bloke just showed up and jumped into our conversation and just basically took over. The coversation got a bit heated and awkward for a moment where I actually got upset, being a bit tipsy, and told him off. He quieted down for a bit and was actually more decent afterwards. It was getting late so I decided to go to bed while Cam was stuck with the British bloke showing him pictures. I first met the British bloke a couple days ago and he was trying to hit on my Canadian roommates, taking them out to drinks and stuff, but the girls knew better. He tried to talk to me as well but I just thought he was annoying and kind of a jerk. After I've told him off on my drunken state, I bumped into him again one time and he was actually nice and wasn't trying to be cool.

Manly

I find that I've been waking up around 9AM everyday since I've been in Australia and I'm always hungry. Back home I could sleep away the whole day and have one meal a day! I asked my roomies if it's just me but they said it's the same for them too. Anyway, it’s been a week now since I landed in Sydney and I still haven’t done any sightseeing at all. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I grabbed Cam and we headed towards Sydney Harbour. I made a mental note that I must get sunscreen lotion and insect repellant today because I was starting to peel from the Bondi Beach walk. I’ve got my daypack on, my camera, and a city map trying to figure our way to the harbour so I really looked like a lost tourist! It took us about 1/2hr walking through the CBD (central business district, or so-called downtown) because the pedestrian lights took forever. You basically get like 10 seconds to cross and 5min waiting for the next light. Most locals just cross when there were no traffic, then us tourists just looked on all confused. Pedestrians here don’t have the right of way and it’s hard for me to get used to.

We finally got to the harbour and we walked along the water and came to the bottom of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Across the water is Luna Park, a small fairground with the face of some sort of clown for entrance that I’ve wanted to check out. I asked an Aussie passerby about getting across to Luna Park and he said it only opens on weekends, and besides that there isn’t much to see unless we take the ferries to Manly which come every 1/2hr and it’s about a 30min ride, and they run till past midnight. Since we just missed one and we were both hungry, we decided to grab lunch first. I had breaky maybe just couple hrs ago and I was starving already. I’m always hungry for some reason since I’ve been in Australia, and Cam was constantly amazed at how much I eat. We quickly made it back to the ferries and got ourselves roundtrip tickets for $14 each. The ferries were pretty old school so that was cool. We sat outside and just enjoyed the view, the sun, and the breeze, and I was basically falling asleep.

Right across the street from the ferry terminal in Manly was Corso, an area full of shops and restaurants. The beach was quite similar to Bondi where there were a lot of surfers, and it was quite windy too. We walked around town for a bit and I was getting hungry again and so was Cam. so we tried to look up on the tourist map for restaurants. We went around in circles looking for this Greek restaurant which turned out to be right across from where we started but it was closed, so we ended up eating at Manly Grill right by the beach. Cam had some fresh oysters and I had peking duck on flat breads. The food was good but pricy compared to Canada, which is something both me and Cam are still getting used to. When we were getting lost earlier Cam made a point about all the shops having “Manly” in their names; Manly Cafe, Manly Hotel, Manly Gym, etc. Everything was so manly in Manly.

We were a bit early when we got back to the ferries so we decided to take a stroll in the park next to it. I had to go to the toilets and right outside were a few small wild parrots! It was the first time I’ve seen wild parrots! We didn’t go too far, but on the foot path there were stensils that said “Penguins crossing,” also another thing I’d love to see. The ferry left 5min early so we didn’t make it, and you couldn’t go out once you’ve passed the gate, so we had to sit at the terminal for another 1/2hr for the next ferry. We stopped by Liquoreland on our way back to the hostel to pick up some booze and we just chilled out with the other backpackers in front of Railway as usual. I also got to chat with a really cool German chic Jana, while Cam chatted with her Noah from Norway who's also as cool, worked as a cook on cruise ships and am looking for work in the city. Jana was much younger than me but we were both pretty drunk and we ended up having a pretty deep conversation about our family and travelling on our own. She's done a couple jobs around the city, but she said the employers all turned out to be shit, so she's still looking for work. It was a good night.

Reception Dinner & RSA

I woke up early, had breaky, and spent the day walking around town comparing prices between the supermarkets. I first went to Thaikee in Market City (Haymarket) which had a lot of Asian stuff. I was starving so I stopped by Chinatown at Mama Zhu’s and had Taiwanese Beef Noodles, brought back memories. Went out the other way of Chinatown and came to World Square which was just around the corner. Inside there was Coles, I got myself a coles bag which I’ve seen lots of backpackers have to keep their food in, then I went back to Thaikee and got meself some instant noodles, salt&pepper, maggie sauce, tabasco, eggs, onions, and some dumplings. Back at the hostels I cooked up some dumplings, then got Cam to go grab some beers with me at Liquoreland back at World Square and just hung out with people at Railway. I also met a little Cantonese girl today named Elizabeth. For some reason she was super excited that I could speak Mandarin, and gave me her contact on a piece of paper. She was super keen on finding work, already got herself newspapers and calling up employers, and constantly out looking for share houses. Unlike me and Cam who're still on vacation....

Over the next couple of days it just poured in Sydney so I didn’t want to go anywhere. It was also the weekend so the bank was closed, I decided to use my Cdn visa to get started on the RSA course since the conversion rate wasn’t too bad. I registered for the 5 state package which included NSW, QLD, WA, SA, and NT, so everywhere except for VIC which had Melbourne and Tasmania. The course was pretty straight forward, but either the internet at the hostel was slow or the website itself had glitches it took forever to load. I probably spent more time on FB waiting on the video. I had to finish the rest of my dumplings because they were melting and the hostel didn’t have a freezer. When I took them out it was basically a pile of goo, it was pretty gross to eat by the end of it… I was able to finish my RSA the next day and got my temporary certificates printed. I’d still need to get a photocard taken as my actual certificate, but I’ll figure that out another day.

Ultimate offers a reception dinner for all the new arrivals on Mondays, and since me and Cam both arrived mid-week they said we could definitely make up for it that night. It still raind during the day, so I just took my laptop and went over to Ultimate to pick up my TFN and use some free WiFi. I also asked them about the 5 day Jackaroo school and did a little research on my own. It seemed pretty good as they teach you everything from mustering, whip cracking, horseback riding and natural horsemanship, etc. They also offer you job contacts after successfully finishing the school. They’d pick you up from YHA Tamworth, and take you to Leconfield, about 2hrs north of Sydney where the actual school takes place. I plan to do the course some time in Dec, so maybe I could head up there a couple weeks ahead to check out the town, then after the school I could go to Nimbin, a hippy town where people buy weed and smoke up, and continue east to Byron Bay and up the coast if I don’t get a job right after.

At around 6PM I met up with Cam and we headed over to WakeUp for the reception dinner, and to no surprise it was held at SideBar. It was definitely a much younger and rowdier crowd at WakeUp. We got to sit with a table of French and Germans who didn’t speak much English except for a ouple of them. Everyone got a free drink voucher, and we got served pizzas, chips (fries), and wedges that came with sour cream and chili jelly mix which was delicious! Me and Cam didn’t stay long because the French and the Germans basically talked among themselves, so we went back to Railway and had more beers there with the other backpackers. There were quite a lot of us and we got pretty rowdy as the night went on and people were getting kicked out. By then me and Cam had separated ourselves from the bunch and just sat and had a very long chat till 5AM without knowing… Super tired I was glad to be back in bed and slept in the next morning. Also in my new room I had 2 Canadian girls, Emily and Natalie, from Lethbridge, AB along with the Aussie lady who’s leaving early next morning. 

The next day I was reading about getting my photocard for my RSA and it said that I need to book an appointment with the post office. Apparently the post offices in OZ takes care a lot of the official stuff including passports and money transfers… weird, but convenient. So I booked an appointment for next morning, but then I read that the name on the certificate must match exactly as the passport or else the post office won’t process it. So I got my temporary certificates out and they’ve got my English name that I used to sign up for the course, rather than my legal name as is on the passport. I didn’t recall it asking me to put my legal name except for the part where it asked me to fill out my passport information at the end of the course. I was so confused and was freaking out, so I quickly googled and found an amendment form for changing my info, got it done and quickly emailed it to OLGF (their license office) and cancelled my appointment for next morning. It also said to bring the application form with me to get my photocard, but I did my course online so I wouldn’t have gotten an application form! I was so confused!! I asked Cam about it and he said to just go to the post office and ask them about it. So I went there with my temporary certificates and the guy there said exactly the same so that didn’t help.

I took a break from all that stress and decided to finally do my laundry. It cost $4 to wash and $4 to dry, and $2 for laundry soap. The machines were limited so it took me a while to finally get one. Then a bloke walked in looking for a machine as well, I saw that he didn’t have that much laundry so I suggested that we split the cost for everything which saved us time and money. I had everything in the wash except for a pair of shorts, a jumper, and whatever undies I’ve got on and went over to Ultimate to ask them about the RSA. It was so sunny and hot but I couldn’t take anything off, and I bumped into Cam on the way there and later on he told me he wondered why I wore so much and I explained why…

The girl at Ultimate also told me that I needed the application form. I explained to her that I did my course online and showed her what I thought were my temporary certificates, that’s when she told me that they were just papers that says I passed the course. She said I should get an email with my interim certificate in a couple days, and that’s what needs to match the name with my passport and to bring with me to get my photocard. Now that I’ve finally got it sorted I quickly went back to the hostel and called the OLGR office to tell them to cancel my amendment and process my application as it is, and also made another appointment for my photocard.

After dinner, I went to pick up some booze with Emily at Red Bottle down the street, opposite direction from World Square as it was closed, and found that Liquoreland was cheaper. For the rest of the evening we all just sat in front of Railway as usual drinking and chatting. It was a quieter crowd tonight though, and we all went to bed at a more normal time.

Bondi

At YHA Railway Square I got to stay in the train carriage rooms which was really cool. Woke up early to a sunny day for the Bondi walk. Had breaky with the weekly voucher from YHA which consisted of simple toast, OJ, and coffee. When it said coffee, I was expecting just regular brewed coffee, but the guy doing the breakfast actually asked me what kinda coffee I'd like as they've got Latté, Cappucino, Long Black, etc. and I didn't know what some of them were and I don't drink Lattés or Cappucinos, so I told him I usually get Americano with cream, so he said Flat White, I guess that's what it is then... After breaky I had to rush to the ATM for some cash and thought I was going to be late, but luckily I had Markus’ number and made sure that they didn’t leave without me. The guide walked us over to Central Station, and got us to buy our bus tickets at a 711. They had a 10 Pass Card so we got 10 of us to buy the pass together and just punched it in 10x on the bus which made out to be just under $2 each. There were a lot of us so it took a while to get everyone on the bus, and we had to split into 2 buses. It was super hot that day and super stuffy on the bus, half way there Markus fainted, luckily he fell onto his backpack not hitting his head. We got him to sit down and drink lots of water. He must’ve been pretty dehydrated from all the partying the night before, also he said he didn’t have any breakfast…

We got off the bus at Coogee Beach. There were lots of people on the beach, and it was just odd knowing that it was November! We walked across the boardwalk and came to this cliff looking out to the ocean. At one point the guide held me up to the edge of the cliff, doing a Lion King stunt. We kept walking along the coast, passing by several parks and beaches, eventually stopping by Bronte for lunch. I had fish&chips from this busy little take away. It was a huge portion, and only cost $11!! I kept in touch with Cam letting him know where we are because we’ll try to meet up when I get to Bondi. We were only about 25min walk away from Bondi, but they had an art sculpture show going on so there were heaps of people everywhere along the coastal walk. The guide let us go off on our own from there, and he basically just told us which bus to get on to get back. I decided to stay with the Germans because they were a pretty big group, so wouldn’t be hard to miss them. I asked Markus to keep an eye on me, sort of as a joke, but he took it seriously and always looked back and made sure that I didn’t get lost in the crowd!

We finally got through all the crowd and made it to Bondi and it was absolutely beautiful there. We laid ourselves on the beach, a few of us went for a dip in the water but the waves were strong and it was a bit windy too. Then we all just kind of passed out on the beach while I waited for Cam to find us. It took him a while because there were just so many people. The Germans decided to go back then, but I stayed behind and had some VB (Victoria Bitter) with Cam at one of the restaurants by the beach. It started to get really windy around dinner time and I wanted to get back before it gets dark, Cam had one more night in Bondi. I went to the stop where I was supposed to take the #333 express back to Central, along with all the other tourists who were there braving the wind, and I only had a tank top on so I was freezing my ass off. The bus didn’t come for a good 1/2hr, so I asked a guy and he told me to go around the corner to catch a free express bus that’d also take me to Central. I went there and there was also an Aussie family waiting for the same bus.  It was another good 10min in the cold wind before the bus finally came.

Finally got back to the hostel, then my keycard didn’t work. My roomies let me in and they told me to go to the reception because apparently someone wasn’t supposed to be in the room, and that person turned out to be me. Guess I was supposed to be in the other room in the first place, and I should’ve known too but I’ve forgotten that I booked a 4 dorm rather than an 8 dorm. I finally settled into my proper room. There were 2 girls from Singapore who were leaving the next morning, also an older lady who was in town for a horse race. She was from northern QLD and she told me to definitely go up to Darwin and Kimberley where there’s usually heaps of job opportunities. Right now I’m just waiting on my wire transfer so I could get started on my RSA course (equivalent of the Serving It Right) because $500 ain't gonna last me much longer!

Boat Cruise

I woke up super early to check out and drop off my bags at my new hostel. I had to keep them in their rental lockers though as their check in time wasn’t until 1pm. Afterwards I went back and met up with Cam and we had a quick breaky at the WakeUp Cafe. The food took a while and I thought we were going to be late but when we got to Ultimate there were only 2 other girls waiting. The actual orientation took place at SideBar, since it was mid-week there were only 6 of us in total and we were all Canadians, and two of them were actually from Vancouver as well, but they were only planning to be in OZ for 6 months. Our host, Danny, talked about writing CV's (resume) and getting 2nd year visa, which he did as well, I think he was from English, and basically just how to find work in general. Since we were such a small group he asked each one of us about our plans and tried to give everyone a more personal advise. He had mentioned about a one week jackaroo course where they show you how things are done on farms like mustering and sheep sheering, etc. I’m really considering about taking it if it’ll give me some leaverage in finding farm work. We were on a bit of tight schedule, so a few of their affiliated groups gave a quick showdown of what they offer like the surf camp, camper van rentals, and some tours up north.

We quickly met up with another group of people, and we started heading down to Darling Harbour for the boat cruise. We stopped by a liquore store to buy our alcohol. There was a group of Germans who were travelling together and they all bought goons (4L box wine for cheap), I just got myself a 6pk. There were about 20 of us on the boat. We went under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, passed by the Opera House, then we stopped by a little beach where people could jump into the water for a swim. We had hot dogs for lunch and the gulls were surrounding our boat. I got to feed one in mid-air which was pretty cool. Music was blasting and everyone was dancing and drinking and just having a hella time. Then they got us to play hot potato with the goon bag, whoever dropped it had to drink. In the end some people just dropped it on purpose so they could have a drink. It was a beautiful sunny day, but just bit windy, still warm in general. Met a couple girls from Hong Kong who were travelling together, they were planning to go to Melbourne afterwards and stay there for 6 months.

After the boat cruise I had a shower, then I met up with Cam and one of the Germans we met from the cruise, Markus, down at the SideBar for a drink. Cam got hungry, so we went upstairs to WakeUp Cafe and had a couple more drinks there while we watch him eat. He almost forgot about getting accom for the night, so he quickly went over to see if Railway has got any rooms left. Unfortunately it was the weekend, so they booked him a couple nights at the YHA in Bondi instead, but he’s booked himself for 2 weeks at Railway after that. Then I remembered that I still had my bags in the lockers, so I quickly went back to the hostel to check into my room, but I had a problem with my keycard where I couldn’t get into the room. The girl at the reception gave me keycard to another room but it was full. Went back to the reception and she said that apparently someone forgot to check out, so she just removed the old bed sheets and let me move in.

Afterwards I went back to the café to finish off my beer. Markus is so cute! He's only 20 and barely speaks good English, but he wasn't afraid to try! He's a farm boy from back home, so he's planned to buy himself a car and look for farm work to get his second year. It was getting late so Cam had to get ready to take the bus to Bondi, me and Markus stay behind a little longer, then it started to rain so we decided to go back to our hostels. Markus was still staying at WakeUp. He said he and the rest of the Germans were gonna go to SideBar and asked me to join. I told him I’ll meet up with them after my shower. It was a busy night at SideBar so I got myself a rum&coke and sat around for a bit before Markus could find me. I didn’t stay long because I was just too tired and have had quite a bit to drink on the boat as well, but I shall see Markus again tomorrow for the Bondi walking tour. I’m not sure how late they stayed but when Markus texted me later that night he sounded pretty drunk, they also pre-drank some goon before going to the bar.. Crazy Germans!

Half way through the night a guy from the reception came and woke me up because apparently I had taken someone else’ bed! I told him what happened earlier, it was really late, so he just asked the other girl to pack up and move to the other room. I was half asleep and was just annoyed getting woken up, but in hindsight I feel kinda bad that the other girl had to move all her stuff in the middle of the night…

Landed in Sydney

After 24 hours and 5 meals on the plane, I finally landed safely at Sydney Airport 2 days later because of the time difference. I flew with China Eastern and had a 4-hour layover in Pudong, Shanghai. The flight was decent, and the flight attendants were nice. From Vancouver to Pudong I got to sit beside an Asian grandma who looked to be at least 80 years old flying on her own back home. One of the flight attendant was looking after her, but she had some trouble operating the in-flight entertainment so I helped her there a little bit, she was very nice and gave me candy. From Pudong to Sydney I had window seat, next to me was an elder Asian couple. We didn't talk much because I just slept the whole way, only waking up for meals, but I did notice that my tray was cleared when I woke up.

As soon as we landed I ran straight to the toilet, and managed to leave my mobile there, not realizing it till I've stepped out of the airport! I can't believe I've done it again so soon in Australia! I went straight to the Lost Property Office hoping that one of the janitors might have picked it up, and when nothing turned up I basically lost hope because there were quite a few people when I was in the toilet. I filed a report anyway, and the lady gave me an email to reach back. There wasn't much I could do at the moment and I already felt lost without my mobile since I keep everything on there! I went to wait for the shuttle bus, there were a few people, as well as a guy who looked to be a backpacker as well with his travel pack. He and I were the only ones to get off at Wake Up!. We had a quick chat while waiting for check in. His name is Cam for Cameron, also a fellow Canadian, from a small town called Lloydminster in Alberta that I've never heard of, but then again my geography is horrible. He said it's close to Calgary, border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It turned out that he's booked his travels through UltimateOZ as well, SWAP's affiliate in OZ. Looks like we'll be seeing each other quite often over the next few days.

I went up to my room first and Cam happened to be in the same room as I am. My first hostel, we were in a 10 dorm with mostly girls and it was hella messy!! People got shit everywhere. We both ended up in the top bunk. Once I've settled in I went and got internet at the reception right away to see if I could track down my phone with the Find My Phone app, but my phone seemed to be shut off... Damn whoever took it was smart, My phone was locked too so if they've figured that out they could've easily swap out the sim and my phone would definitely be a goner! But not all hope is lost, I wrote an email to the Lost Property reminding them of my lost phone, then I went on Gumtree, equivalent of Craigslist, and found a couple contacts just in case I really don't get my phone back. Now I also gotta find myself a cheap watch or alarm clock, that sounds like stone age to me! But first I went across the street to UltimateOZ office to receive my arrival package. Cam was already there using their free WiFi. Since I arrived mid-week the orientation and the activities won't be till the weekend. I've received my bank info and a mailing address, I also asked the guy there about looking for work and he drew on a map of areas further out the city where there might be more opportunities as backpackers don't tend to venture there. Then I went to my bank, Commonwealth, to open my account. The branch was supposed to be just on the other side of the Central train station that I could've just cut through the tunnel, but I managed to get lost going down the wrong way and had to ask for directions. Ran into Cam again who had just been to the bank.

I was able to open my account and deposit the 500AUD cash that I brought with me, but I couldn't set up online banking without a mobile number, dammit! Back at Wake Up I quickly msged my sister asking her to wire money over for me since I won't be able to do it myself till I have a phone. There was also another Canadian staying in our room, he's from Toronto, but I didn't speak to him much as I barely saw him all day. It was around dinner time, I took a walk around the hostel just to see where everything is and man the kitchen seemed like a war zone with everyone cooking like a master chef and it smelled so good! I've already used up my internet for the day so I decided to head over to Macca (McD's) for some free WiFi, but for some reason I couldn't log on which was annoying because I bought a coke for that! Then half way through the night I got woken up by 2 guys from the reception asking everyone for their ID's because apparently somebody wasn't supposed to be in the room. In the end they got Toronto to leave with them, but he ended up staying the night anyway so I'm not sure what happened there.

Next morning I woke up at 7.30AM, went for breaky at Gloria Jean's across the street with Cam and enjoyed some highly recommended Tim Tam Frappe. Tasty, but bit pricy, and I'd say it was better than Starbucks! We split ways afterwards as I needed to find myself something cheap to keep track of time, and at this age of time it's harder than you think! I wanted a digital watch but they were all at least $30, and small alarm clocks were just nowhere to be found. I walked all over town and finally found a small alarm clock for $2 at a dollar store. Back at the hostel I still haven't heard anything from the airport, but I got a reply from one of the sellers on Gumtree and we've set to meet up in the afternoon. Then just a couple hours before the meet the airport emailed me asking me to call them back to confirm for my phone. I was super excited!!! Ran down to the reception and called them on the pay phone. The lady on the phone asked me what's on my phone screen and I said it was a TARDIS. She sounded lost, so I explained a blue public police phone box, and she said yes it is. I said I'd go and pick it up right away, hopped onto the train, spent $30 there and back, fucking expensive for a 10min train ride ain't it?! At least I got my baby back.

I went straight to Ultimate to get my sim, and I tried to email the seller but she didn't get my message till much later, how weird.... Then on my way to the bank to set up my online banking I managed to get lost, again, going through the train station tunnel. After all that I was tired and starving, so I decided to stop for some ramen in Haymarket. First food I eat in OZ is Asian, funny. In the evening Cam and I decided to check out SideBar, apparently they've got good parties there as we've heard from all the commotion the night before. We might have gotten there a bit too early? Because it was dead when we got in! Oh well, we grabbed a couple beers and had a nice chat, at least it was happy hour. Apparently Cam didn't plan anything beyond what Ultimate has set up for us. I told him about the hostel I'm going to which's right across the street. He said he wouldn't have known there was even a hostel because it was kinda hidden behind some buildings, but he decided that he'd go ask them tomorrow for any available rooms. We were also talking about our flights, and I mentioned that I'd seen him at the shuttle bus station. He said that he was actually pretty drunk then because he'd been drinking with this couple he met on his flight. He also told me about his volunteer trip in Africa building wells and tracking wild elephants, and his work in the oil fields back home in -50 degrees. Awesome guy. We didn't stay too late and it was getting hard to hear each other when they turned up the music later on at night. Back in our room I started to pack for my move to YHA Railway Square early next morning because the orientation is at 9.30AM, so I gotta drop off my bags before then.