Far Far away

BLOODY HELL. An update.

Home Sweet Home

So yeah, I'm still in Sydney. It's growing on me......slowly. The other day, I found a china town. I think every big city in the world has a china town and they all look the same as each other. There is this really cool tree with gold and water coming out of it, Awesome!!! I am currently saving money to do a few small tours of places around the coast, but Australia is quite pricey in comparison to a few other places and the fact that it is now 'summer' here, means that all the rates are due to go through the roof any day. My hostel as increased in price twice. It also means that I won't be staying in Aus as long as I had hoped. Go back home? Pop over to Thailand? Make it back for Chrimbo? So many questions.

At the mo, I am currently working on and off, doing labour work here and there. It reduces the amount of time that I go to the cash machine. It has been a mixture of braking up floors, drilling holes in walls, carrying lots of heavy stuff, getting dirty, lot's of stuff like that etc etc. One of the guys I have worked with is from the UK. I'm trying to get in there and work it 'cause its good money. At the moment, I am working for a company who put up tents and marquees for summer events. The guys are a bunch of rednecks, but I can't complain, seeing as I need all the work I can get. Sometimes we will be lugging stuff about in the yard, sometimes putting up/taking down things. Body aches at the end of the day and sleep normally follows on return to hostel. It seems impossible to save here......actually it IS impossible to save here, as the money in is just eclipsed by the money leaving. Still everyone is in the same boat. And we all talk about it over beer and there is a lot of that!!!!

Still stuck at the Jolly Swagman Hostel. Its the liviest hostel in the area, and easy to meet people if you put in the effort. I pretty much hang out there in the evenings. There are people coming by everyday and leaving just as often, but there is a small group of people that have been here a while (me included), and now have jobs. I stay in a room with Steve and Becky. Steve being from South Africa with a Scottish twang, works also, and spends a lot of time getting stoned and sleeping, but he is a pretty cool chap. Becky is cool too and works for a finance company. There are a big bunch of English about and they all mix with their own as do the Germans, French, Irish and Canadians. These are the majority of people that I've met travelling with a few other nationalities dotted here and there.

So what is Sydney like? Its a lot nicer than the last entry. Ha ha. Umm, its a city. A lot like London in the fact that all the different boroughs have different feels about them. There are a lot of beaches within 10 minutes, so a lot of people go to the beach and come back lobster pink. Funny enough, there a lot of skin cancer clinics around here. Every one goes to Bondi Beach, but other beaches are a lot nicer. Manly beach, is not as touristy and so is a good change. I have heard good things about Coogee Beach, but have yet to go. All of the harbours around Sydney are cool to just walk around, littered with shops and people littering them. In the evening, all the people head to the overpriced, dress code only bars and drink overlooking the harbour bridge and the opera house. Its a nice view when clutching a beer, but I'm not a guy for dress codes and expensive bars, so I tend to stay clear. The weather at the mo, is still a bit hit and miss, but on a good day, it clears 40 degrees easily, surpassing the UK's hottest day on a daily basis. I love it though.

Took a trip to the Sydney Aquarium with a girl Kim from the hostel. It was pretty cool. Saw a lot of seals. You could walk through a tunnel underneath them which was cool and you could do the same through the shark tunnel as well. There was also a display in which all of the fish from 'Finding Nemo' could swim around. Whilst surrounded by what seemed hundreds of little kids, Kim shouts out "Oh my god, I think Nemo has been eaten" I was pissing myself and the parents reassured their kids that he was hiding in the rocks. Pure genius. Right at the end of the display, they had this massive room, where you could sit on some steps and see a massive wall of fish. They had tranquil music on in the background, so we just sat down for a few hours watching the fish and chatting for ages.

Also went to the zoo. Saw loads of cool stuff I haven't seen before. Kangaroos, wallabies (I stroked a Wallaby), Koala's, Platypus (soooooo cool) and MEERCATS (even cooler than the platypus). It was good, the only bad thing being seeing the oragutans in this this poor excuse of a hut, looking REALLY pissed off, as you would really.

The other day, there was a massive festival in a park behind the harbour, with loads of Aussie bands playing, including Jet who are massive over here at the mo. But it was a ticket only affair, and I feel asleep on the grass outside.

Other things I have been doing?

Ummm.....I've seen "The Grudge", which I saw the previews of when I went to the comic convention centre in San Diego. Verdict? Well I actually thought it wasn't bad, but a lot of other people that I nagged to see it, were not impressed. I like Japanese Horror films, but this was the American remake, but with the original director. Such a good film, even Buffy the boring slayer put in a good performance. However, this was eclipsed by "SAW", which has to be one of the best films ever. Its along the same lines as "The Usual Suspects", "Silience of the lambs" and "Se7en", but just awesome. Please go and see it people.

Also, like Auckland, there are a lot of Japanese people here (not sure how this will fare outside of Sydney). And we all know how big Japan is for video games. The have arcades here. I popped into one to find.......a drumming game!!!!!! Sweet mother of all things good, if I haven't put a lot of cash into that. I'm quite happy bashing away along to songs until boredom kicks in (very rarely, normally hours after). I swear I am a drummer trapped in a guitarists body.

All my songs are getting great feedback still, and threats have been made on my life if I don't try to release "My Body'd Defect" upon my return to the UK.

And then there is Kim. A girl from the hostel, who I am quite fond of. Not sure how relationships work on the road (if they work at all), but for now, just enjoying it, having a lot of fun and taking it day by day.

Ummm, that's about it. I know there have not been a lot of updates, but I have not really done that much travelling. Its safe to say that having a laugh, drinking, pool playing, working and sunbathing have featured heavily here since my arrival.

Will probably update again once the travelling commences, or something drastic happens. If you can't wait that long? Send me an email.

Adios people and Merry Xmas, if I don't speak on this again before hand