Four and a half months on: Further Reflections

---

I actually cannot believe it has been very almost four and a half months since I left England and I'm now in country number 7: New Zealand (technically 6 as I'm counting Malaysian Borneo as a different country to Malaysia, which technically it's not, but I'm going to count it anyway!). According to this blog, however, I'm still in Borneo. The writing peetered off over Christmas and New Year and then entering Australia meant paying 5/6 dollars an hour for internet, so I decided to wisely use that time arsing around on facebook instead of constructively writing my blog. However, I'm now in the mood to write again so I hope to catch up on the rest of Sabah, Singapore and Australia so far. As many people know I was not happy when I first arrived in Australia. Leaving S.E Asia was slightly heartbreaking and after a flight on which I was completely unexcited my induction into Australia involved a cyclone and extreme racism and sexism. Not a good combination at the best of times, even more so when you're not too thrilled to be there in the first place. My initial stop, however, was in Darwin the in the Northern Territory; the Northern Territory is a state most Australians haven't even visited and for a good reason. It is backwards. It's a time warp in which anti-racism, feminism and anti-homophobia never existed and people really are called Sheila and Bruce. As I began to travel down the East Coast I realised the sheer magnitude of Australia means that each state is completely different in terms of landscape, nature, people and attitudes. And it's this variation that makes Australia such a fascinating place.

Anyway, more on Australia in it's very own entry. Sydney, where I spent over a month attempting to earn money, not spend it and recovering from spending too much, will probably get it's own very special mention. I affectionately refer to it as 'Smelly Sydney' now as I've realised any length of time in one place, particularly a city that despite it's cultural diversity lacks the culture to make it a truly inspirational city, makes me go a little crazy and I feel the overwhelming need to jump on any form of transport (preferably a plane to another country) and go somewhere new. My german friend Chris gave me the perfect phrase for my condition: 'Hummel im arsch' which translates to having a bee up your bum, i.e. you need to get away! I'll be back to Oz after NZ though and will travel to either South Australia or Victoria. I'm probably going to have to get some kind of fruit picking/slave labour job for 3 months as I want my second year visa so I can return in a few years.

So here are some more nuggets of wisdom I have acquired over the past 4 months:

*Hitch hiking is probably a very silly thing to do, but when desperate only get in cars with small children in too. Unless they too have just been kidknapped, in which case you're really screwed.

*Getting very, very ill when alone is horrible. The actual possibility of dying in a 7-11 in Thailand is even worse. However, it's testing times as such that you realise the true kindness of complete strangers and how independent you can actually be.

*Travel plans change all the time and the travel bug is even more infectious than gastronitus. Suddenly, booking a ticket to somewhere unplanned becomes totally normal and waking up in a different country a much needed fix. A year becomes a millisecond and you realise that your backpack is your home now.

*Always check the washing machine or dryer before putting your stuff in the hostel laundry or you will find that a strange (99% probablity of being drunk) ozzie man's grotty underpants will be mixed in with your freshly washed clothes in the dryer and you will have to fish around, pull them out and hand them back and you will be teetering on absolute humiliation and wanting to piss yourself lauhging. Said ozzie man will take the situation as come-on and follow you into the tv room suggestively yawning. Yawning is the australian man's indication that he would like to have sex with you.

*Always carry a sleeping mask and ear plugs with you. Hostel living requires these or the patience of a saint to sleep through pissed people turning the light on at 3am, snoring, sleep talking and general inconsiderate travellers. Careful of weird german guys who will take photos of you in your sleeping mask though.

*Always ask what size a Dosa is first otherwise you'll end up with a foot and a half long dosa to yourself, much to the amusement of the Indian men sat in the restaurant and passersby.

*Know that when a box of four litres of wine says 'Wine Product' there's probably no grapes in there and you will wake up with severe memory loss, a few regrets and remnants of tomato sauce on your dress.

*You meet some amazing people and make so many friends. Some just for a few hours and others you bump into many times. Unfortunately, your judgement of character can still be a little weak and people you thought were friends turn out to be anything but. This normally happens with guys, who once they a meet a new girl (regardless of whether anything happened between you or ever would) they will ditch you within a second. Apparently some guys think girls aren't worth being friends with unless they can get a shag or a trophy girl out of it.

*Sunsets and sunrises never ever become repetitive or boring. Every single one is unique and beautiful. (I will be writing more about the sky in Oz later...)

*Always remember to make sure you have your towel before you go in the shower, wash and then realise your towel is in the dorm 3 corridors away.

*Every place and person has a story to tell and you'll always find out things you never even expected or thought of: Carling has fish scales in it and there are birds in Australia that sound like monkeys.

*You will start to forget random things about England. I've forgotten what the green man sounds like in England.

More to come.....

---