keep the comments coming kids. i'm getting a kick out of this. still haven't found a place that will let me load pictures so use your imaginations.
Day 4b - So the day i chalk up as a travel day. They blow but you kinda have to go with it when traveling long distances. Especially when you didn't plan shit like i did. Long wait at the airport before i board the smallest plane ever. It had propellers on the wings. Seriously. Propellers? Come on! Obvious a bumpy flight but landed in Ballinas aka BFE of New South Wales. But luckily i catch the last bus to Byron Bay. I was stressin for a bit there since the flight was delayed. Vision of sleeping in the airport started filling my mind. But it worked out. Bus ride was beautiful up along the coast. Passed lenox head a pretty famous surf spot and my short glimpse out the window rewarded me w/ one of the sickest surfers i've ever seen live. Landed in Byron bay at night. Booked at Nomads Hostel. Place is geared towards "flashpackers". Modern backpackers who are hype and connected. So the place was clean, bright, ikea like, with flat panel tvs, and internet cafe, travel booking desk, coffee shop, basically a business. Impressive but no personality. On top of that i was the only person in my room. Hmm really 8 person dorm and i'm the only person in it. Good cuz its clean and doesnt smell. But bad cuz who am I going to party with tonight. On som many levels this place was completely different from my hostel in Sydney, the Blue Parrot. I crash in my bend and honestly get kinda poopy, partly cuz i'm beat, partly cuz i'm at this huge mega hostel with it's preformed clicks but kicking it in room by myself. I get out of my funk and head to Cheeky Monkeys. Yes Cheeky Monkeys. Read about in the guide as a party destination. That it was and then some. Think Cancun spring break. Complete with MC on loud speaker, group drinking contests, dancing on tables, and a shady every shifting drink price. It was ridiculous. When i first got there it was $8 for a pitcher. Then it moved to $5 for a beer. Then by end of night it was $8 for a beer. What!?! I spent that first pitcher alone sharing a table with another dude. Awkward...just a bit. Finally i broke the silence when I commented on how ridiculous the waitresses outfits were. They were wearing coyote ugly themed costumes complete with cowboy hats and assless chaps. Cheesy! Well at least it started convo. I talked with the guy for a good hour or so. We was from just south of london traveling alone in the opposite direction as I, down to Sydney. Solid guy and we swapped round for a while. Until the place got just too crowded and he bailed cuz he couldnt afford shit. Luckily i met some locals who clued me in on the $3.50 local deal for mixed drinks. I was set. By the way I freely was giving these guys shit for coming to a tourist trap bar to pick up on young naive drunk women. "Like shooting fish in a barrel" i said. No arguments from them. Music was top 40 so I inevatbly danced w/ half the bar. Yes I got on the tables that were constructed to be danced on again pretty tacky. Danced dirty with a girl that I never got her name or where she was from but somehow was making out with her hard core. Ridiculous.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
got to today. and yes i'm stuck at the airport with a shit load of time to kill cuz i was trying to be adventurous and head north w/ absolutley nothing booked, no bus, no flight, no hostel. so far it is backfiring. but what are you going to do. your going to give a two part post that's what your going to do.
Day 4a - Airport/Byron Bay- Well i guess i basically told you what happend today. Wow. That was lame. But really. Wake up say my good byes. Get some emails. Lady at the check out counter asks where i'm going and how i'm getting there i say confidenlty north not sure how i'm getting there. she laughs. ask if i'm sure i want to check out w/ out sorting out transport. i say yes. i should have listened. internet at the hostel was booked. that would of helped. i chose plane. on a quest for the infamous $80 ticket to ballinas just west of byron bay. I end up paying twice as much. Bright side. I got the Blog on lock down. And am going to dig deep on this Obama book Wish me luck on the rest of the day.
Short footnote: The girl that i mentioned at the hostel behind the desk. Is smoking hot. And ridiculously friendly. Not fake i have to be nice cuz i'm working friendly. But geniunely friendly and helpful. Again it's as if she broke the Hot /Bitch - Ugly/Sweet Girl contium. My head is still hurting. And I remind myself i still need to go back to sydney to catch my return flight...
Day 4a - Airport/Byron Bay- Well i guess i basically told you what happend today. Wow. That was lame. But really. Wake up say my good byes. Get some emails. Lady at the check out counter asks where i'm going and how i'm getting there i say confidenlty north not sure how i'm getting there. she laughs. ask if i'm sure i want to check out w/ out sorting out transport. i say yes. i should have listened. internet at the hostel was booked. that would of helped. i chose plane. on a quest for the infamous $80 ticket to ballinas just west of byron bay. I end up paying twice as much. Bright side. I got the Blog on lock down. And am going to dig deep on this Obama book Wish me luck on the rest of the day.
Short footnote: The girl that i mentioned at the hostel behind the desk. Is smoking hot. And ridiculously friendly. Not fake i have to be nice cuz i'm working friendly. But geniunely friendly and helpful. Again it's as if she broke the Hot /Bitch - Ugly/Sweet Girl contium. My head is still hurting. And I remind myself i still need to go back to sydney to catch my return flight...
Day 3 - Sydney
ok this was yesterday and i remember a bit better. and yes i will be giving a blurb before every entry. cuz putting the blurb in the entry just doesnt make sense (duh!).
Day 3 - Wake up at a reasonable time. About nine and already have plans w/ two girls one american one from taiwan to back to manly beach. again thats what's great about this hostel. it is impossible not to met and hang out and drink w/ new people everyday. A grab a bit first w/ the american here name Ilana ( and yes i remembered her name with an autin powers reference "My name is I-wana. I-wana Hump-a-lot" And already i can tell this girl has the potential to be annoying. 1. Has a bag filled with a bunchy of useless shit. 2. Very picky about food. 3. Admits she is anal within the first 5 min of our morning conversation. However she is a nice girl and harmless enough. We grab food in Pott's Point. It's where my hostel is and pretty upscale neighborhood. You know one of those places that has a shop that just sells fresh fruit. And then another shop that just sells fancy pasteries. And another shop for you cheeses. Kinda cool. Hit up the hostel gram the taiwanese girl, Sandy and head to the beach. I'm kinda the ringleader (trouble) cuz i was the only one who had already gone to manly. Doesn't stop me from gettign lost in the subway though. rad. we ask for directions and before you know it we do train the ferry to manley. Head to the beach. Again it still kinda cold and windy. What up with this? I again sit on my ass and stare at the ocean like mute until i figure get yur soggey ass out there and surf. $20 buck for an hour. Still pretty shitty waves. I stand up half way once and that was my surf day at manly. Wack. But i'm getting out there and 2/3 days surfing is not a bad start. We grab some overpriced fish and chips get raped my seagulls ( you can imagine Ilana is not a big fan) but they get distracted once bird man starts feading them crumbs right below the sign that say "Don't feed birds" All the while this guy has a sick grimace (i love that word by the way). I talk the girls about, relegion and relationships for hours. Move to a beach side bard which is playing great tunes. Obscure MGMT, Gorillas, I think i even picked up a Matt & Kim song. If you don't know about them check em out. Ilana was bummed she missed the sunset. And I told her she is not going to see the sun set over the ocean. She doesnt get it. I tell her the sun doesnt work that way. She doesnt get it. I tell her how the sun is stationary and earth rotates and it will always rise in the east and set in the west. She kinda starts to get it. She is from conneicut and i ask here has she every seen an east coast sun set over the atlantic. It finally clicks. Eureka! But it's too late she has lost all credibility. Again a nice girl though. We head back the hostel. It's a big night three of the ladies are moving on the next day. And everyone is dressed up to party on there last night. I slowly get around to shower, dress, and red bull and booze. Met them at sugarmill. Place is jammed. Music is great. And literally (not really) every nation is represented. I even met a nigerian. No. No i didn't. But it was great meeting diff people. Guy from LA. getting warmer. Cool girl from munich. Who dissed my friend from Hamburg i thought that was pretty cool. Smoking hot girl from australia. Dancing. Shots. Dancing. Pints. Dancing. Pitchers. I'm trying all my luck w/ the ladies. Keep in mind it's my last night in Sydney too (wink). Ended meeting this very horny french girl. Not hot french but down french. It was a good night.
Day 3 - Wake up at a reasonable time. About nine and already have plans w/ two girls one american one from taiwan to back to manly beach. again thats what's great about this hostel. it is impossible not to met and hang out and drink w/ new people everyday. A grab a bit first w/ the american here name Ilana ( and yes i remembered her name with an autin powers reference "My name is I-wana. I-wana Hump-a-lot" And already i can tell this girl has the potential to be annoying. 1. Has a bag filled with a bunchy of useless shit. 2. Very picky about food. 3. Admits she is anal within the first 5 min of our morning conversation. However she is a nice girl and harmless enough. We grab food in Pott's Point. It's where my hostel is and pretty upscale neighborhood. You know one of those places that has a shop that just sells fresh fruit. And then another shop that just sells fancy pasteries. And another shop for you cheeses. Kinda cool. Hit up the hostel gram the taiwanese girl, Sandy and head to the beach. I'm kinda the ringleader (trouble) cuz i was the only one who had already gone to manly. Doesn't stop me from gettign lost in the subway though. rad. we ask for directions and before you know it we do train the ferry to manley. Head to the beach. Again it still kinda cold and windy. What up with this? I again sit on my ass and stare at the ocean like mute until i figure get yur soggey ass out there and surf. $20 buck for an hour. Still pretty shitty waves. I stand up half way once and that was my surf day at manly. Wack. But i'm getting out there and 2/3 days surfing is not a bad start. We grab some overpriced fish and chips get raped my seagulls ( you can imagine Ilana is not a big fan) but they get distracted once bird man starts feading them crumbs right below the sign that say "Don't feed birds" All the while this guy has a sick grimace (i love that word by the way). I talk the girls about, relegion and relationships for hours. Move to a beach side bard which is playing great tunes. Obscure MGMT, Gorillas, I think i even picked up a Matt & Kim song. If you don't know about them check em out. Ilana was bummed she missed the sunset. And I told her she is not going to see the sun set over the ocean. She doesnt get it. I tell her the sun doesnt work that way. She doesnt get it. I tell her how the sun is stationary and earth rotates and it will always rise in the east and set in the west. She kinda starts to get it. She is from conneicut and i ask here has she every seen an east coast sun set over the atlantic. It finally clicks. Eureka! But it's too late she has lost all credibility. Again a nice girl though. We head back the hostel. It's a big night three of the ladies are moving on the next day. And everyone is dressed up to party on there last night. I slowly get around to shower, dress, and red bull and booze. Met them at sugarmill. Place is jammed. Music is great. And literally (not really) every nation is represented. I even met a nigerian. No. No i didn't. But it was great meeting diff people. Guy from LA. getting warmer. Cool girl from munich. Who dissed my friend from Hamburg i thought that was pretty cool. Smoking hot girl from australia. Dancing. Shots. Dancing. Pints. Dancing. Pitchers. I'm trying all my luck w/ the ladies. Keep in mind it's my last night in Sydney too (wink). Ended meeting this very horny french girl. Not hot french but down french. It was a good night.
Day 2 - Sydney
Wow my spelling is shit! No apologies expect more of the same...
Day 2 - Slept in till about 1. Feeling not so bad. Which pretty much ment i was still drunk. No problem my goal today is simple. Get to Bondi beach and surf. Stop off a the farmers market and buy a bacon sausage and egg sandwich (fantastic!) and dump all my change from the night before. Australia is one of those countries where the dollars are actually in coin. So you inevitably end up with this wad of change that you get to lazy (more like fear of embrasment) to count before paying for stuff. Anywho read my book - It's called "Dreams from My Father" by a guy you may have heard of - Barack Obama. Actually there was guy who dressed like him last year for Halloween and had a bunch of Secret Service Agents it was hilarious. I regress. Book is awesome though. Go back to the hostel luckily run into Jon dude from London I was raging with the night before and get his email. Grab my jacket. Yes it is windy and cold. Boooo! But fuck it i'm surfing today. Hope on the train then the bus and travel all the rest of the tourist to the beach. The beach my friends is solid. The sand pristine. The water crystal blue. Not much surf though. So i ponder what to do. Eventually i man up. Grab a suit (they rock 2:3 mm) and a board. Guy cuts me a deal for an hour only $10 AUD (~$9 american). Homies water is frigid. Not pacifica cold but but write up there with santa cruz cold. Wasn't expecting everyone is suits. Kinda blows. But what are you going to do. Pretty stoked i get up on my first attempt. And I can say I've surfed one of the most famous beaches in the world. Highlight to lowlight as i get out of the water and get changed and naked at the corner of the beach/park. Sketchy. Grab some beers after. And head back to the hostel. Everyone is chillaxing and nobody has big plans to go out. It's a movie slash drinking game night. Funny how this amazinglly social hostel sucks you in. I should be partying every night but when cool international people want to play drinking games. you play drinking games. learn a lot about the folks. where there going. where they've bin. many are in australia for months no weeks. some are working. some work at the hostel for free stay. mostly guys. but some girls. hamburg germnay is a popular origin. so is ireland and england. couple of cool peeps from miami (bitch!!!). i cruz through a six pack and find out one of the girls has had sex at the hostel. dirty girl. american from pensylvania. she has just met up w/ a couple irish girls and they will travel and work for months to come. this shit never happens in america.
Day 2 - Slept in till about 1. Feeling not so bad. Which pretty much ment i was still drunk. No problem my goal today is simple. Get to Bondi beach and surf. Stop off a the farmers market and buy a bacon sausage and egg sandwich (fantastic!) and dump all my change from the night before. Australia is one of those countries where the dollars are actually in coin. So you inevitably end up with this wad of change that you get to lazy (more like fear of embrasment) to count before paying for stuff. Anywho read my book - It's called "Dreams from My Father" by a guy you may have heard of - Barack Obama. Actually there was guy who dressed like him last year for Halloween and had a bunch of Secret Service Agents it was hilarious. I regress. Book is awesome though. Go back to the hostel luckily run into Jon dude from London I was raging with the night before and get his email. Grab my jacket. Yes it is windy and cold. Boooo! But fuck it i'm surfing today. Hope on the train then the bus and travel all the rest of the tourist to the beach. The beach my friends is solid. The sand pristine. The water crystal blue. Not much surf though. So i ponder what to do. Eventually i man up. Grab a suit (they rock 2:3 mm) and a board. Guy cuts me a deal for an hour only $10 AUD (~$9 american). Homies water is frigid. Not pacifica cold but but write up there with santa cruz cold. Wasn't expecting everyone is suits. Kinda blows. But what are you going to do. Pretty stoked i get up on my first attempt. And I can say I've surfed one of the most famous beaches in the world. Highlight to lowlight as i get out of the water and get changed and naked at the corner of the beach/park. Sketchy. Grab some beers after. And head back to the hostel. Everyone is chillaxing and nobody has big plans to go out. It's a movie slash drinking game night. Funny how this amazinglly social hostel sucks you in. I should be partying every night but when cool international people want to play drinking games. you play drinking games. learn a lot about the folks. where there going. where they've bin. many are in australia for months no weeks. some are working. some work at the hostel for free stay. mostly guys. but some girls. hamburg germnay is a popular origin. so is ireland and england. couple of cool peeps from miami (bitch!!!). i cruz through a six pack and find out one of the girls has had sex at the hostel. dirty girl. american from pensylvania. she has just met up w/ a couple irish girls and they will travel and work for months to come. this shit never happens in america.
Day 1 - Sydney
So I'm going to give this blog thing a shot. I'm not that good with online technology so not sure what to expect. Is it like the book of faces? or maybe more like MySpot? Well I've been here for 3 days now and going to rewind to day 1...
Day 1 - After a pretty unremarkable flight minus the fact that I lost an entire day of my life. I'm mean come on, Friday September 25th never really existed in my life. Weird! Arrive at 6 am at Sydney airport with very little sleep kinda of out of it. The first thing that I see coming off the plane is this hilarious poster of who I assumed to be an australian man in speedos (i'll post pic once i get to a hostel which allows uploaded of such things - porn problems i suspect) next thing i see is the day sky, dirty, hazy kinda like LA smog air on crack. I'm like shit is this how it's going to be? Luckily the sky turned blue and i had one of the fullest days of my life. Waited at a cafe while my hostel opened and experienced a great (or bad) bum argument between a man and a women, dropped off my bags, took train to sydney harbor, checked out the botanical gardens, sydney opera house, the rocks (historic distric turn upscale flea market), roof top beer garden were a random started chatting w/ me he was from new york but has traveled to cali and pretty much all over the world and now lives in sydney. he told me about the dust storm and how literally he thought it was the end of the world to the point were he was promising if he could just live through this he would be a better man. guy was kinda pissed and honestly pretty creppy. friendly enough though. bailed from him. realized that to do the sydney bridge climb it was going to cost $200 so instead i did the sydney bridge walk for free.99. ended up at this coney island like place called luna park. for kids but adults were totally celebrating something, all dressed up in golf gear, guys in plaid vests, women in short plaid skirts and high heel steleto's. rad. hoped on the ferry back to sydney harbor then imediately hoped on to another ferry to manly beach. great view of sydney and the opera house. manly was pretty impressive. kinda like an upscale sant cruz. cool shops, bars, and plenty of surfing to be had.... i ended up in a bar and watch the a championship game of australian rules football. close game got intense quite a bit of yelling and i had time to sample wide selectin of ausie beers. bartender's favorite golden ale, mine too shit was good. cooper which supposedly tastes like fat tire really tasted more like shit. and toohey's which is their bud/coors. hope back on the ferry kinda pissed make it to my hostel and now everyone is up and about. hostel is great, friendly social people, playing card games, watching movies, bullshiting. imediatly make friends with my roomates and we head out to dinner talk about life and travel. my pizza takes +30 min everyone else got their shit right away. awkard. decided to go back to the hostel to rally the troops for nightlife but instead massive drinking games are being had. me and jon (cool guy, economist from london) head out to place called bourbon meet some cool new peeps, 4 bars later, about 10 rounds things are blurry, i remember hard core dancing, sneaking into places we shouldn't of been, places we regretted going into, a 21 year old bday party, supposedly some hostel mates, a meat pie, and oh they don't stop serving!
Day 1 - After a pretty unremarkable flight minus the fact that I lost an entire day of my life. I'm mean come on, Friday September 25th never really existed in my life. Weird! Arrive at 6 am at Sydney airport with very little sleep kinda of out of it. The first thing that I see coming off the plane is this hilarious poster of who I assumed to be an australian man in speedos (i'll post pic once i get to a hostel which allows uploaded of such things - porn problems i suspect) next thing i see is the day sky, dirty, hazy kinda like LA smog air on crack. I'm like shit is this how it's going to be? Luckily the sky turned blue and i had one of the fullest days of my life. Waited at a cafe while my hostel opened and experienced a great (or bad) bum argument between a man and a women, dropped off my bags, took train to sydney harbor, checked out the botanical gardens, sydney opera house, the rocks (historic distric turn upscale flea market), roof top beer garden were a random started chatting w/ me he was from new york but has traveled to cali and pretty much all over the world and now lives in sydney. he told me about the dust storm and how literally he thought it was the end of the world to the point were he was promising if he could just live through this he would be a better man. guy was kinda pissed and honestly pretty creppy. friendly enough though. bailed from him. realized that to do the sydney bridge climb it was going to cost $200 so instead i did the sydney bridge walk for free.99. ended up at this coney island like place called luna park. for kids but adults were totally celebrating something, all dressed up in golf gear, guys in plaid vests, women in short plaid skirts and high heel steleto's. rad. hoped on the ferry back to sydney harbor then imediately hoped on to another ferry to manly beach. great view of sydney and the opera house. manly was pretty impressive. kinda like an upscale sant cruz. cool shops, bars, and plenty of surfing to be had.... i ended up in a bar and watch the a championship game of australian rules football. close game got intense quite a bit of yelling and i had time to sample wide selectin of ausie beers. bartender's favorite golden ale, mine too shit was good. cooper which supposedly tastes like fat tire really tasted more like shit. and toohey's which is their bud/coors. hope back on the ferry kinda pissed make it to my hostel and now everyone is up and about. hostel is great, friendly social people, playing card games, watching movies, bullshiting. imediatly make friends with my roomates and we head out to dinner talk about life and travel. my pizza takes +30 min everyone else got their shit right away. awkard. decided to go back to the hostel to rally the troops for nightlife but instead massive drinking games are being had. me and jon (cool guy, economist from london) head out to place called bourbon meet some cool new peeps, 4 bars later, about 10 rounds things are blurry, i remember hard core dancing, sneaking into places we shouldn't of been, places we regretted going into, a 21 year old bday party, supposedly some hostel mates, a meat pie, and oh they don't stop serving!
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