Do I have to leave???

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So. Morning of the 1st January 2009. I woke up in a clean and tidy apartment, cooled with aircon. I had slept on the floor of Curtis, Zoe etc.. apartment. Rob and Curtis crashed on the sofa, Mat and I slept on the floor and the girls had the beds. These kind people. How grateful i was cannot be expressed. Until the point when they offered us there floor the night we had been there for Mat's birthday, we were going to wander the streets until sunrise and then drink coffee till we could check in, plonk our arses into bed and crash and burn.

Not only offered us a place for the night, the offered for us to stay the day and enjoy the luxuries of the pool, spa, gym and sun loungers. Needless to say there was no need to ask twice because we were the first down there!

A fairly eventless day as all we did was read, lounge, swim and chill. We had a picnic lunch with the supplies we had bought from a local shop.

It was half four when, with heavy hearts, we said our farewells and left. We walked home, and thus ensued our fourth or fifth trialling walk through the heart of the homosexual part of Sydney, the gay capital of the world, and its illicit sex shops.

We checked back into our hostel, chiliblue, with some difficulty. We turned up to find it shut up, much as we had the night of Mat's birthday. Only it was five in the afternoon, granted on New Years Day but every other hostel had someone on the door... We called the number and the guy that let us in, his English was possibly slightly worse than my whale song. He kinda shoved the keys at us and disappeared. It was the most unfriendly (un)welcome i have ever had.

The first night we had had there turned out ok. Mainly, in retrospect, because we didn't really spend any time there. However, now we were in different rooms, not only from the night before but from each other. My room was a three mix share. Rob was in a six mix share. His companions were asleep when we checked in at half five and weren't impressed.. Luckily (or actually as i alter found out, unluckily) my companions weren't around. I was dreading the time when i was to meet them. I knew that i was with one girl and one lad.

I should describe it to you. I had to walk through the lounge area, which was ok, and the courtyard, which was littered with cigarettes, beer cans/bottles, goon bags and the thick sweet smell of marijuana filled the air. A good lungful of second hand smoke would send you high for the night! I was then up a set of rickety stairs, which i would not like to negotiate drunk and through a heavy and loud door, just to ensure that if your coughing and falling down the stairs hadn't already woken everyone up the door definitely would!

The room was small and stinking hot. With one fan. And no windows that opened, or curtains for that matter. There was one bunk and one single, which i was on. There was a hole in the wall and stains on the floor. As soon as i dumped my stuff i left. It was that hanging. On my way i went to the loo. I won;t even go there. What i will say is that the shower belonged in the 1800's and the sink was three inches off the wall and the only tap it had left ran cold. Yum!

Rob, having faced a similar predicament as I with regards to this hostile hostel we decided to leave and get food and stay out as long as possible before going back and just sleeping. We were torn between a steak at good old Roys or the cheaper Thai alternative and with the luck of a coin (tossed five times until the result was favorable) we went to Roys and had a good steak.

We eventually hit the hostel at about 11. Rob said bye as he went to face his room mates and i assumed that my young mates would still be absent, presumably partying. To my surprise, and utter relief, they were in.

Rhoshin and Liam were 28 and 30 respectively and from County Fernham and Glasgow respectively. Both had dreaded the other to be the partyer type but were gladly surprised. I did of course five fore warning of my 7am departure and we then proceeded to talk for another hour. What lovely people. They even offered me pizza.

Peace out!

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