so i seem to have destroyed the australian weather by simply getting into a hot tub. there was nothing doing on my last night in byron and one of my roomies said she was going to get in the hot tub so i thought i would aswell. it seemed to be a better idea than the trivia night they were running in the bar. and, of course, within 10 minutes the heavens opened and it began to really throw it down. but we stayed in the tub. it seemed like the best place to be as it was lovely and warm. the nearest thing i've come to a proper bath in forever. lovely. and we chatted with a slightly strange australian guy who was living in the hostel. he instigated the whole what's-your-name-and-where-do-you-come-from conversation and it would have been too rude to avoid it, even for me. i think that's why i enjoyed talking to mimi or whatever her name was in brisbane. we didn't do the whole what's your name thing and it was so much nicer. it was like we were normal people or something.
but it hasn't stopped raining. and this was, like, three days ago. drought, my arse. i got to coffs and decided, in the spirit of all the holidays in wales of my youth, that i wasn't going to let the weather outdo me. so i got my brolly and my mum's raincoat that she's lent me and headed out for a wander round coffs marina, trying to see where charlene might have camped. i'm not sure i found it but i did enjoy the peace and quiet and the normality of a place that wasn't swarming in backpackers. i walked to the end of the jetty and formulated a plan. i would buy one of the five dollar books i'd seen in the local newsagents and then i would dry off, make a cup of coffee and curl up on one of the comfy and clean-looking sofas back at the hostel. that's the great thing about the YHA hostels - they can be quite quiet but they are always ultra clean and comfy. you even get individual lights by your bed. bonus. so that's what i did until tea time and then after tea i watched 'house'. i've kind of got addicted to it since first seeing it whilst avoiding being murdered in toronto. and then i went to bed, where the empty room i had at 3pm had suddenly transformed into being ultra-full whilst i'd been away. that was weird.i enjoyed a splendid walk along coffs creek the next morning (it had briefly stopped raining) which led me to the botanical gardens. i bought some tropical juice off a nice old lady who told me to enjoy my walk.
and then back on the bus and it started raining again. the ten hours back to sydney weren't too bad. there were a couple of americans/canadians a couple of rows behind me who had struck up a conversation and who didn't seem to understand the concept of speaking at a normal volume. i had forgotten to charge up my ipod the night before so i was praying that one of them would get off the bus before my ipod ran out and, luckily, they did. at newcastle, in fact. i didn't fancy getting off there, dad. in actual fact, i've been quite looking forward to getting back to sydney and off the goddamn east coast. they have some lovely places up there but there's too many bluddy people. you feel like you're on a conveyor belt. you're with loads of people who are all doing the same thing as you or who have already done it or who are about to do it. it kind of takes the magic out of travelling. especially when they're a load of nobheads. i think the west coast would have suited me better. but not to worry.
so i got back to sydney at close to midnight and had a proper big city welcome - i.e. i had to trudge through the rain with all 17 kgs of my backpack, only to have to wait for half an hour in the cold cos the night person at the hostel wasn't actually on the premises when they were supposed to be. in that time, i only had two homeless/drunks speak to me so it was okay. not bad for a city of sydney's size. and then when i finally got in the hostel, i realised exactly why the rates were so cheap. a proper city hostel. if i ever start to miss travelling when i get home, i have taken a picture of the pillow i'm currently sleeping on. it resembles the thickness of a piece of paper. the joy. i got into bed, slapped my earplugs in and my eye mask on and thought, fuck it.i then had a semi-cold shower this morning but enjoyed a laborious and lengthy breakfast with emily from essex, who is in my room, and we both commiserated with each other at arriving in such a dump. emily went to get a tattoo today. i organised myself and got my bahts and my airport transfer for sunday morning. i went for a walk up oxford street cos i hadn't seen that when i was in sydney in february. it's weird being back in a place i've already been. that hasn't happened too much this past year. and, oh my god, the sydney winter is vicious, man. it's like a personal assault. seriously. it's not so much the endless rain but the crazy gusts of wind with the rain that get you. i mean, it's, like, horizontal. you can see where streets create a kind of wind tunnel and you watch people in front of you getting almost blown off their feet by a raging hurl of water and wind. i suppose that's what you get in a harbour place. but even my indestructible h&m umbrella that has been my trusty guard throughout the trip has succumbed. it's been blown inside out about a million times today and, finally, part of it has come off the frame. it's a sad day. when i got pissed off with literally battling the wind, i ducked into an italian cafe and had a bit of a read of my ian rankin, before getting piss wet through yet again on the way home. shocking. i think i've changed my mind about looking forward to the cold again this uk winter.
i've started taking my malaria tablets this evening, so it's definitely definitely happening - i'm off to thailand. i keep waiting for some side effects, like the psychosis, that the instruction leaflet promises but, so far, nothing. it's weird, trying to sense my internal organs, waiting for something to make me vomit. but, somewhat dully, maybe it will be alright. i'll let you know about the crazy dreams tomorrow. fingers crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment