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Published: August 9th 2007
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Opera House at Night
With a funky karaoke boat So I was eating a stack of pancakes in Adelaide and...yadda yadda yadda... boy Sydney sure is nice this time of year. That's right, I've come full circle. I'm back in Sydney after a long-ass trip around the country. I feel like I've covered a lot of ground but looking at the map now, I've only barely begun to see this country. I haven't even been further north than Brisbane. It's time to settle for awhile though as the monetary funds are getting rather tight. In other words, if I have to eat one more package of two minute noodles I will start crying like a little girl. I won't bore you with too many details about the adelaide to sydney trip. Adelaide was a pleasant enough city, but just a little too dull for us. I've discovered that I either need a booming metropolis or barren wilderness to feel contented, nothing in between will do. Adelaide one huge highlight has to be the 24 hour pancake shop in the city center. Best food ever, seriously. Travelling to Sydney from Adelaide on Greyhound buses and trains was relaxing; however, it lacked the spirit of adventure that comes with driving a ticking
time bomb across an endless desert.
For better of for worse, we are in Sydney now until we can afford more travelling. Thankfully, there are far worse places to be stuck in than sydney. The arts and entertainment scene is second to none. After spending several months in the arts hinterland of western australia, one look at the upcoming music guide in sydney made me salivate enough to creep out everyone else on the subway. First show that were off to see soon will be the pixies supported by gnarls barkley.
Also, you can't argue with the beautiful harbour and the endless list of festivals, events and attractions to check out. hmmm... maybe trying to save money here isn't such a good idea after all.
Yumi and I found a great share house in a suburb called Redfern. Locals fondly refer to it as "the ghetto." It is above and behind a tattoo parlour and we live with the tattooist, his wife and there three cute children. Yumi is working in perhaps the most stereotypical Japanese proffession possible, a karaoke box. I'm trying out some call center work again even though i already know how horrible it is.
Queen Mary in Sydney Harbour 2
A massive passenger liner almost as big as the harbour bridge I'm pretty much an insurance salesman. I feel like such a sell out, but at least I now know how Willy Loman felt like. Ahh well, the money is better than anything else I can find easily and I can have the satisfaction of quitting when i find something better.
So far we haven't been up to a whole lot here as most of our timing has been spent on various essential activities like the search for shelter and food. The most fun thing by far we've done would be checking out the mardi gras parade. i'm not quite exactly sure how to begin describing this one. Basically, the Sydney mardi gras is one of largest gay/lesbian festivals in the world, and the level of flamboyance certainly did not disapoint. The quote that became the title of this blog was geniously coined by my buddy Tom. His powers of description are obviously light years ahead of my own feeble attempts at language. Yumi and I had to show up 3 hours early and luckily this was just barely early enough to catch a front row spot along the street. Apparently almost half a million people came down for the
parade and the party so Oxford street was pretty much packed shoulder to shoulder. After kicking of with a few hundred lesbian bikers, every sense was assaulted for the next three hours strait with short-shorts and Kylie Minoque hits. The floats and shows were too numerous to describe here, and I'm pretty sure I've blocked half of them from my memory anyways. The highlights would have to be the "furries" float and the 300 marching/dancing Kylie Minoque drag queens. Unfortunately, many of the floats have become commercialized with everything from soft drink companies, banks and politicians trying to show off how hip and with the times they are. Even the Raelians had a crazy little marching display going on. They even handed out effigies of that crazy bald guy who says he cloned a human. The parade dragged on for at least an hour longer than most would have liked. Still was great fun and a unique experience that i doubt could be replicated anywhere else in the world.
It might be awhile before I write anything again as I won't be travelling much until the and of April when Nairb shows up. I'll try to get online a
few times in the meantime just to post some cool pictures that haven't found there way into any of the previous entries. Keep in touch guys, I'ts always good to know who's reading this thing and what you all are up to.
Cheers mateys...
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Mel
non-member comment
Possibly living in "opposite" cultures right now
It's really funny to read your blog about the gay/lesbian Mardi Gras and compare with what I'm experiencing in Finland right now. Not that there aren't homosexuals in Finland, but there is nothing "flamboyant" about this whole country! I'm lovin' the pictures of those floats - especially the "furries". While you're in the midst of some of the most subcultural areas of Sydney, I'm playing around in snow :). Keep the stories flowing, I'm having a good time reading about them.