Melbourne Hotels
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S.A.K.s In The City
Entry 16 of 84 | show all | print this entry |
Only a hobo but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song.
Leaving nobody to carry him home.
He was only a hobo but one more is gone.
The bus up to Bangkok wasn't great. The bus down had been a bit of a nightmare as the air-conditioner kept dripping on me. So it couldn't get much worse..right? Well this time the entire air-conditioner fell on my head while I was asleep.
Our last night in Bangkok was a good laugh. We managed to meet up with Kev and went out on the piss with him. He's in his last couple of weeks after 6 months travelling. Was good to see him, despite the fact that he has become even more of a tramp then when he worked in Equant. He was wearing this head scarf type thing, and when he went home to change he also changed his head scarf to match his new outfit.
Then we flew on to Vietnam to what was to become one of the absolute low points of my trip:
Firstly, because we were just in 'transit' without visas we weren't allowed to see any of the country. We were escorted from the airport to the hotel and they had an eye on us the whole time. They took our passports and our plane tickets and told us we weren't allowed to even leave the hotel. We were basically under house arrest.
Then Vietnam Airlines screwed up and they didn't have our hotel booking and we ended up having to pay for it ourselves (hopefully we'll be reimbursed). Bastards. What followed was a series of 'stings' and cons, each more cunning then the last. Examples:
1) Waiting for us in our hotel room were two bottles of water with a 'complimentary' label on them. Great, right? So eventually we crack them open. Within minutes of taking our first sip the phone rings. It's reception, and they inform us that the two bottles of water are not in fact complimentary and we have to pay for them if we open them. The timing was so impressive that I am absolutely convinced there was a camera in the room.
2) We have to eat in the hotel bar as we're not allowed outside. So Mike orders a cheeseburger. When it arrives it is in fact just a bun with cheese in it. We assume it's a mistake...but no...it costs extra to have any meat inside a cheeseburger.
The whole thing was a bit of a nightmare because nobody told us what was going on. Basically I hope First Hotel and Vietnam Airlines rot in hell.
On the positive side we have discovered a new found respect for the acting legend that is James Woods.
ANYWAY...
We're in Melbourne and have been for the last few days. It is absolutely wicked and I'm loving it. The whole place is gorgeous and the streets are filled with the smell of restaurants. The nightlife is cool. All the people are really friendly and the women are fantastic. The Australian accent is just great...up there with the Irish accent. But Australians have something Irish don't...Green Cards.
The hostels are expensive compared to what we've gotten used to.
So Volume 1 of the holiday is over, and now I have to make like Ally McBeal and get settled...get a job, a life, etc.
The good news is we already have a place to live which we moved in to today, in St. Kilda, living with 3 other people. Seems nice enough and the rent is dirt cheap. I've just been out exploring the neighbourhood and stumbled across this internet cafe. The area seems cool and we're right next to the beach.
So that's it. No more traveling for a worry and probably no more travel log until we get moving again. Maybe the odd update.
After 9 timezones, countless randoms, 8 countries, various legends and loads of laughs there's no more backpacking for a while. No more hostels. No more crazy Russians putting flowers on Stalin's grave, sewer kids, fish killers or gem dealers. No more 3 day trains, no more dodgy airlines and no more agressive air-conditioners. No more fish beds, hot pots or cheese 'burgers'.
Shame really. I know we'll be back on our way in a month or two I'm sure, but it does feel like the end of something.
The trans-siberian seems like a completely different holiday and England seems like a lifetime ago. People like Doc, Weeny, Plan-A, Safety-Stop, MacFood, Coinsy and Ryan have come and gone. There's been too many highlights...seeing Lenin's body, venturing to 'The 12th Floor' in U.B., dinners in China, a reunion with old school friends who have now found God (they couldn't even find our classroom when we were kids), and more than I can even remember now.
I feel like after everything I should come to some sort of conclusion for the whole trip. I'm trying to think of something witty or insightful to sum up the whole journey here...some sort of conclusion, but I can't think of one that isn't totally obvious.
The whole thing has just been excellent, and I hope so far this log has captured at least a fraction of the banter I've been having. Even the very rare shit moment is beginning to seem like a good memory.
Come to think of it, the hotel in Vietnam wasn't actually that bad.
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