The Plan/Couchsurfing

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I can’t believe the time has flown so quick, I was talking to my Nan earlier and it dawned upon me I’m off ‘ next Saturday!’ .

So what am I doing on this amazing adventure? If truth be told, I don’t really have too much of a plan. Considering I could be over there for perhaps two years I only really have the first two weeks sorted. I’m excited to have no itenary and just to ‘go with the flow'.

Anyway, I have a two day stopover in Dubai where I’m having a dabble at couchsurfing. I was introduced to couch-surfing by my friend Paul at work. Paul has couch surfed all over the world and as I write he’s probably on some sofabed somewhere in China or Japan. Couchsufing or Sofa Surfing is an organisation that allows hosts ( people in cities who have a spare room/ couch to sleep on) to put up travellers with the ethos of ‘ cultural exchange.’ The benefits of couchsurfing include the fact that its free ( meaning you can save some cash and continue travelling for longer) and that you get to experience the life of a local and have a snapshot of what is truly like to live in your hosts city/ country, as opposed to being a fleeting tourist, going only to where your tour guide takes you. That and the fact you know where the best places to go and which establishments to avoid. When on holiday I always make a habit of asking someone on reception where’s good to eat/ go as recommendations always come up trumps. If a cafe has a local reputation for up serving crap food and poisoning all its clients, then you can keep those immodium unopened and avoid it.

Check out the website for couchsurfing- www.couchsurfing.org

A few people have been a little unnerved by the thought of me going to stop a strangers house a few days, but I am adamant that this is based on goodwill and human kindness. Other people leave reviews about the experiences that they have had with hosts and all of which appear to be positive.

So after two days of seeing Dubai, the next point of call after a mind boggling fifteen hour flight is Sydney. I am due to stop in a hostel in Sydney called Big Hostel (http://www.bighostel.com/) for three nights before meeting up with a Teacher from Sydney, where I will yet again Couchsurfing at his house for a further three nights. Every Hostel I have been to so far around the globe there has been at least one Aussie who is hell-bent in getting drunk and partying so I’m sure this will be fun. You can gaurantee that if you visit at hostel at any given moment, there will be an aussie- the chilled out vibe attracts them like moths to a light :P

After being in Sydney for a week, I fly to Melbourne with Jetstar. I have no accommodation planned yet, I suspect I’ll sort this out a bit nearer the time. In my first week I have an interview with a recruitment company called HAYS, who specialise in the temporary recruitment of Environmental Health Officers within Victoria. If nothing becomes of that then I will of course find some other work. I’ve yet to pull a pint, so perhaps I can get a job to remove that from my bucket list. A few other contacts and leads may come to fruition- WHO KNOWS?!

My next blog will about the ins and outs of the working holiday visa, for anyone who interested.



JJ

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