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Hello folks! It is day 3 for me downunder and it is absolutely pouring it down outside! It is their first wet day of the winter - typical it has coincided with my arrival!! I am wearing a jumper today as it is about 8 degrees, I hear you are having a bit of a heatwave back home. I must be the only person who can go to Australia and be met with worse weather than in England!
Going back a few days, my flight was looooong. I thought I was going to have a repeat of my Canada incident where I was sick in a limo and down marble stairs after a long flight. Qantas are a great airline to travel with, they gave you your own TV screen with a choice of about 30 recent films, computer games and latest albums. They fed us about 6 times in total and kept bringing goodie bags of chocolates, crisps, water and hot chocolate when you're watching the films. I must've watched 2 films, listened to 4 albums and played 10 games before we got to Singapore, I just could not sleep. They shut the window shutters for Oz night
Laura and Hayley in ScuBar
I took about 6 attempts of this photo but the flash kept making Laura blink! time so I was wide awake as it was early afternoon. When I did fall asleep I was woken 30 minutes later as we had got to Singapore. I woke to daylight and it was about 3AM our time and I felt really, really sick! We got off for an hour and Hayley, one of the girls I met at the Airport had been sitting next to a pilot from Singapore Airlines called Bobby and he took us to the rooftop terrace. It was that humid up there that my glasses steamed up instantly! We sat there for a drink whilst I was a shade of green and convinced I would throw up any minute. Bobby then asked us to help him pick a diamond necklace for his girlfriend so we stood in a posh jewellers with him asking us all for our opinion. I was looking at the cabinets with my green face nodding at anything and everything. I'm sure Hayley and Laura (from Newton-Le-Willows) the girls I met at Manchester Airport had a great impression of me, I'd already burst into tears when we were about to board the first plane and now I was threating to throw up!!
When we got back on the plane I was very antisocial and put on my eye mask, neck support cushion and ear plugs, reclined my chair and told them not to wake me if food was brought around. I finally slept for about 3 hours until some little demon child woke me up by kicking my chair. By this point I felt a little more refreshed and watched another film. The 8 hour flight felt like nothing after the first haul. We got picked up at the Airport by RealGap and poor Hayley had been missed of the list and I was being called Charlotte! I was surprised that no one spoke on the way to the hostel but then we were all exhausted.
The hostel had allocated me a room away from my new pals but moved us to a 6 bed room to accommodate us. There was only the 3 of us and it was about 8pm so we settled in and then want downstairs for a wander and to phone home. They went on ahead of me and when I went in they were hushing me as there was someone new asleep in one of the bottom bunks. This is the first funny story of the trip as we all panicked and were trying to be super quiet! We thought it best to just grab our pjs and throw our stuff into the lockers. It was only when I closed the padlock when I realised my key was in my purse which was....yes you guessed it, in the locker! I was concerned that I had no clothes, purse etc for the morning so I went downstairs to reception (in pjs with flight jeans over the top) who had just sold me the key to see if they had a skeleton lock. They did, just in the form of a giant long handled pliers. So we had a man trying to break the lock right next to our new roomies head without making a noise. The girls were trying not to giggle and in the end I held the base whilst he forced it open, when it finally gave it shot into the poor woman's bed! She shot up and we apologised and she went back to sleep. After lights off at about 9.30PM here I woke up at 5.40AM and was wide awake. The new roomie got up about 6AM grabbed all her sheets and went and never came back! I don't know if she was avoiding speaking to us. I was actually up, showered and down for breakfast at 7AM.
Yesterday we had induction at 9AM so we walked down to the Work and Travel Centre and saw early morning Sydney. It reminds me of London with all the suits and bustle. We saw a car run into the back of another on one of the killer pedestrian crossings which cars ignore and go from green man to red man in about 5 seconds flat! I was chatting to the hostel guy taking there about my plans generally on the way. I was quite surprised by our group as no one talks outside their little groups. The hostel has about 1000 rooms and is really nice but I think it might be a little big as I've said hello to a few people around and about and no one responds, not really what I was expecting. Anyway we got all our Oz sim cards, bank account, general info, job info etc. All my accounts are in the name of Charlotte so I have to get new bank account etc which is annoying, it is being sorted as I type though. Hayley couldn't get any of the packs as she wasn't on the list so I came out a little better I suppose. I found out my Post Box address which you can send mail to and it will forward standard sized letters to me anywhere in the country. Aside from lunch out we didn't see much of Sydney, haven't spotted the Opera House of Sydney Harbour Bridge yet! When I got back to the hostel the guy I'd been chatting too asked me if I wanted a reception job at a nearby local company for 2 weeks starting today but it was all a bit too sudden, I am very jetlagged and haven't explored properly yet. We went for a drink and a game of pool at ScuBar right next door to the hostel but everyone has gone up the country to find the nice weather so we where pretty much alone. Saw Daisy another girl from RealGap who booked on Thurday and is here now but she isn't enjoying travelling alone so have offered her a bed in our room but she is yet to join us. Got to bed about midnight and woke up at 9am as someone moved into our room, I thought it was a lot earlier so was pleased to have slept solidly so long. Once I was awake I chatted to her and she is Nanny from Korea. She has been travelling alone for 3 months and also wasn't happy.
I'm a bit torn about what the best plan is now; I get on really well with Hayley and Laura and we have very similar plans but slightly different. We have all decided that as Sydney is quiet backpacker wise and raining that we will follow the sun and fly to Cairns at the end of the week then work our way back to Sydney (with summer following us). They're planning on driving back for a few days to a place and then working for 2 weeks then moving again so I think I may see how Cairns hostels are and maybe go my own way for a few months and then possibly get somewhere with Hayley and Laura in or near Sydney for Christmas. I think this hostel may be an exception to the rule of meeting people as it's so large and half empty so I'm not letting Daisy and Nanny's experiences scare me too much and Hayley and Laura say I'm always welcome to rejoin them should I feel really alone which is great. My plans are subject to change again of course.
We are going to a King and Queen of ScuBar theme night tonight which is meant to be a big party every week and is only next door to the hostel so hoping to get into the swing of partying finally! Next update will probably be from Cairns!
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Anna
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Glad you are safe!
Hello! Its good to hear you are safe and have made some new friends. I like your blog as its very descriptive! You'll be happy to know that the lovely weather that appeared a few days ago has now gone again and we are back to clouds. Hmmmm... wish I was in Oz! Anna x