Fraser Island

I arrived in Rainbow Beach off the bus in the late morning and headed for Dingos Backpackers. From here I would be doing a 3 day/2 night self drive tour of Fraser Island. I checked in and attended the briefing in the afternoon whereupon I met the 7 people I would be sharing a jeep with and camping and eating with for the coming 3 days. Two of them were irish (Leitrim of all places), two were english, two french and a ukranian. Since we were going to be in close confines together for the next few days it would make a big difference if we could all get along. Our first task (after introductions) was to agree what alcohol we would bring with us. After much discussion we agreed on a set of stuff as a group. Success! Our briefing was given by a guy called Merv who informed us about all things Fraser and what we could expect to encounter and see while on the island. Several themes ran through the talk he gave us such as “lets all have fun with no extra charges”, “it only takes one fool to ruin everybody's trip” and the best of all “sand is the enemy”. We were going to the largest sand island in the world....... After the briefing we had the evening to ourselves so I took the opportunity to visit the Carly Sand Blow for sunset. This place is hard to describe but it looks like a valley of sand that has been blown in from the sea. Maybe thats what it is I dont know but its what it looked like to me. It was very beautiful in the fading light and was a great place to go and watch the sunset. On one end of it you could look over Fraser island and on the other you could watch the sun set over woodland. After sitting watching the sun set for ages I wandered back to the hostel where I had some dinner and then a few beers with my fellow crew members.

The next morning we had to check out of the rooms and store our main luggage at the hostel. Then we were introduced to our jeeps. A few things had to be done before we left like an inventory of all the stuff they had supplied us with from equipment to food, then we had to pack it all in along with our own little bags and secure it so it wouldnt jump around the place as soon as we moved. We also had a safety talk about dingoes, rubbish and how to handle our vehicles. Our group decided to name our jeep “Princess” as well. Another quick check on everything and we were off. That's two jeeps with a guide in each along with 6 jeeps loaded with people, equipment and food. Almost everyone had never driven something this big before so it was going to be an interesting trip. Especially for us since each of us wanted a go behind the wheel which meant that whoever was driving always had 7 backseat drivers. Most of the other jeeps only had about 4 people who were going to drive. First up for us was Simon (English) and he took us to the ferry and onto the island. This turned out to be the longest single stretch anyone got I reckon but it was also one of the more straightforward ones. Driving on hard packed sand is like driving on a road, its when you hit the soft stuff that things get tricky. Our first stop was at a place called Eli Creek where we had a paddle in a cool, clear stream and had lunch. This involved getting all the gear out of the jeep and finding the right food. On this trip we had been supplied with all our food for the few days and a guideline as to what we should eat when in order for it to last. We did our best to stick to this and had a nice cold lunch. Pretty soon we were on the road again and we had a new driver in Jeff (ukranian). He was a bit more.... unpredictable behind the wheel, often ignoring the tip of slowing for the washouts. A washout is where a stream is flowing into the sea over the sand and they tend to create a channel for themselves. Some of these are deeper than others and you get an almighty bang when you crash through it. Fortunately it wasnt a long trip to Indian Head which was our next port of call. We stopped at the base of the headland and climbed up to take in the fantastic view of beach all the way up and down the island and the ocean stretching to the horizon. The plan was to watch for whales and other marine life to stick themselves out of the water but we didnt see a whole lot. I did bump into one of the guys I met in Noosa though. He was on a different trip and just happened to pull up as the same time as us. He had been on the island for a night already and was feeling worse for wear already. We moved off pretty soon and were bound for the Maheno shipwreck with George (English) taking us on this short spin. This is a ship that used to be a cruise ship and was washed ashore in a storm while being towed up the east coast to play a role in the battle with the Japanese in WWII. They never managed to move it and it now sits rusting away on Fraser Island. We didnt spend long here as it was time to head for camp. Julie (french) took over for this last stretch of the day and to be fair struggled. It was probably the hardest stretch of the day as we had to gun it through soft sand to get to the site. We got stuck and one of the guides had to take over and drive us in. We then set up camp in the dark, cooked and ate in the dark and played drinking games for the night.

 

The next morning everyone struggled to function. This is an after effect of over consumption of goon. I discovered that mixing the wonderful goon with beer and vodka does not produce the elixir of life. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I was one of the first up so I got breakfast going while zombies began to appear out of the tents vaguely recognizable as my jeep buddies. We all had scrambled eggs and burnt bread for breakfast and even got some tea and coffee. Once eaten and with the cleanup done we shipped out with Jeff once more behind the wheel (as the most sober one). Our first stop was in the town on the island where there were real toilets and even a coffeeshop. Previously a hole in the ground served as a toilet so this stop was well received, especially by the girls. Pretty soon we were on the move again and Sonja took over the wheel to drive us inland to Lake McKenzie. We were off the beach now and the driving was getting more difficult, occasionally dipping into off road territory. We got to the lake and were treated to a stunning view. Running into the water is fine, white sand and the water itself is clear. Then surrounding the lake is a forest so it is quite an unusual site and visually very beautiful. We spent an hour here and then were ready to move to the next lake. This is where I got my stint behind the wheel. This is where things got a bit rough and not just because I was driving. The track degenerated into a total off road track full of holes and tree roots to battle through and over. I didn’t help matters either though. It had been about a year since I had driven something with four wheels and driving this baby was very different to what I was used to. So mixing me with a terrible road and a big ass car turned into a struggle. Its one of the hardest things I have done in my life to date and im glad I did it even if I didn’t cover myself in glory. I got the car there in the end but I was stressed out by the end of it. So the way I look as it is I drove us over the toughest part of the trip. When we reached Lake Birrabeen I got a bit of a slagging off the others about my driving skills which was to be expected but everyone was hungry so it was quickly forgotten while people tucked into lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon at this lake (which wasn’t as pretty) chilling out. One of the irish girls, Tara, took over from me and got us back over a slightly different route to the town again. Here we took another pit stop and then it was over to the other irish girl, Yvonne, to take us back to camp. We got there with some daylight left and cooked in the light. We had a slightly calmer night and drank a little bit less but were introduced to a game by Jeff. Everyone was a bit tipsy and not in the right mood for complicated rules which were what we got. It somehow involved murderers, rapists and prostitutes cobbled together in a card game. It was quite funny to hear people saying things like “you’re not the rapist, I am!” though…..

 

The following morning we got up a bit more easily, packed up and were on our way with Simon in charge again. We drove to the car park of the next lake with a small drag race on the beach in between. The car park is on the beach and a good 40 minute walk from the lake itself. There is no way to drive directly to the lake. It sits at the bottom of a sand blow (remember back at rainbow beach?). The big hill leading down to the lake is a great temptation to people as they can run down and fling themselves into the water. There are signs everywhere strongly advising against this as the lake is pretty shallow and diving into shallow water is quite hazardous im told. There were a few fishes in the water and we spent a lot of the time here trying to feed them crackers. The scenery here wasn’t quite as good as at the others besides the sand blow itself. George took over the jeep and drove us to the ferry. Our time on Fraser Island was at an end. We had lunch before getting on the ferry which was our last meal together as a family (sniff).  We saw some dolphins as we were on the ferry which was a cool way to end the trip. Then we had to fill the tank of the jeep and wash and clean everything so that it was all in the same condition as we received it. We got back to the hostel in the afternoon and everyone was starting to feel the effects of a few days with very little sleep and lots of activity. Before we went to bed there was a bit of excitement as a snake was spotted on one of the paths to the dorms. Everyone came out for a gawp and to take a picture. I imagine the snake was a bit disorientated by the constant flashing but it just went along its business. With this entertainment over, a nice hot shower (first in days) and food in my belly I passed out on my nice soft bed exhausted. 

Noosa

Noosa is a place where I spent a lot of time but did very little (of interest). One of the first things I did was try to confirm the date of my Fraser Island tour which was next on the list. Unfortunately they wouldnt have room for me for a full week so I had to spend that time in Noosa. Luckily the hostel I was in needed backpackers to work for them as they were renovating the place and there was a hell of a lot of stuff to do. So they let me stay there for free if I put in 3 hours a day. During those 3 days I helped out the resident handyman doing all sorts of stuff under the title 'maintenance'. Like I said the hostel was being renovated since it had recently been taken over by Nomads (a franchise of hostels in Oz and NZ) and they needed to get it up to their standard. This was going to be hard work since the previous owners had let the place go a lot. This meant I was put to work stripping down walls, filling in holes and painting them, building bunk beds, putting up curtains and then stuff like emptying the rubbish bins and clearing paths. My shift was also bang in the middle of the day from 12-3 so not only was I saving money on accommodation I wasnt able to do any activities during the day so I was spending very little. What I did get to do was meet a variety of groups of people. Most people spend one or two nights in Noosa and there was a lot of turnover in my dorm. Every 2 days there was a new group of people to get to know and hang out with.

One of my last nights in Noosa was that of the 2010 World Cup Final between Holland and Spain. Australia is on the wrong side of South Africa for watching the games at the World Cup and this meant the final was on at 4.30am Australia time. Not the best hour of the day or night to be watching football. Since there is nothing in Noosa that stays open that late everybody went to bed and set their alarms to get up for the game. So we were all tired and cold when we settled in the tv room of the hostel to watch it. There were a good few dutch in the hostel so it promised to be a fun game to watch. That was of course until the game started and the dutch team began trying to kick the Spanish off the pitch. The game wasnt a great spectacle so it was almost a relief when the goal finally came and the Spanish deservedly won. By this time it was about 7am so I decided to make use of my morning. I had some brekkie and headed off to go for a walk through Noosa National Park. This is one of the main attractions of the town and I hadnt gotten around to doing it until now. I spent the next few hours walking along the coastline looking at the spectacular views and then came back through the woodlands of the park. I didnt see any koalas though which is a pity as a few supposedly live in the park somewhere. Once back at the hostel it was time for work and after that I was pretty tired having been up since 4 in the morning. I took it easy for the evening and in the morning I was on the bus to Rainbow Beach for my trip to Fraser Island.

Brisvegas

Brisbane is a spot that backpackers dont always give glowing reviews of. I, however, loved it. It is the third largest city in Australia and constantly growing but it feels like a large town. On arrival I got in touch with Gerard Finn, a brother of one of my mother's friends who was going to put me up for a few days. I went to his house with him and met his wife and two young boys. They gave me my own room and fed me (very well!) while I was there. It was evening by the time I reached the house and they live in the suburbs so I wouldnt be doing much partying that night or while I stayed with them. I stayed up and watched the footy after the family went to bed and then hit the hay early enough myself. The next morning I made my way into the city centre for a free guided tour of the city which was really cool. The guy giving it works off tips and since he was really knowledgeable about the history and a good laugh he got a decent wage for his few hours work. I got to see all the major sights of brisbane this way. After the tour I took a wander for myself and chilled out at the man-made beach beside the river for a while. I also paid a visit to the museum which was free and pretty interesting before catching the ferry down the river to a prearranged point where I met Gerard. All in all it was a pretty nice day and not too heavy on the old wallet. I got dinner in the Finn household and played with the boys before they were sent to bed and then it was the footy again before bed.

I spent the next couple of days wandering around the city and visiting the parks and markets they have dotted around the place, it really is a lovely city to walk around. One of the things I really liked about the city was that it was full of cyclists and cycle tracks. The pace of life was pretty relaxed while I was there with a lot of walking and sightseeing during the day and then heading to the house in the evenings for dinner, playing with the boys and watching the footy. I got on well with the family while I stayed with them but began pining for some backpacker company. Thus after 4 nights with them I moved to a hostel in the city centre for one night. Before leaving I said goodbye to them all and gave the parents a nice bottle of wine as a thank you for putting me up.

Once I checked into the hostel I went to the XXXX Brewery which is one of the main breweries in Oz. I spent the afternoon there on a tour which was really cool and quite interesting. The 4 free glasses of beer at the end helped to make it more enjoyable too. Pretty much as soon as I walked in the door of my hostel room I was invited to a BBQ by the river. Naturally I agreed and spent the evening eating good food and guzzling more beer among good company. Did I mention I love the idea of the free BBQs? Anyway I was a little the worse for wear the following morning when I was getting the bus to Noosa. Brisbane had been good fun and is a place I would consider visiting again if I return to Oz. Especially if I came back to work then BrisVegas is somewhere I could settle in for a while. Its got a relaxed, easy going way of life that I can really relate to :)

The Gold Coast

Surfer's Paradise is a beach town in an area known as the Gold Coast. It is here I had my first couchsurfing experience. I got off the greyhound in Surfer's and armed with the address of one Dean Mayer I began asking how to get to it. Its a bit out of Surfer's so I got a bus to the area and a police officer was able to fill me in on the rest of how to get the rest of the way. After a fair bit of walking, carrying nearly 20kg of gear which gets pretty heavy after a kilometre or two. I found Dean's house and thankfully for me he was home. Dean is a young guy who has done a bit more travelling than me, to places like Canada and a few spots in Europe including Ireland. We spend the afternoon hanging out and he starts showing me some of the stuff nearby. Then I meet his brother and dad who both live with him. That was pretty much it for the first day, I stayed up to watch the footy and Dean went to bed early as he was up early for work in the morning. I slept on a mattress in the front room for free but I gave them the bottle of champagne I had acquired on the flight over as a gift for letting me stay.

The next day I got the bus to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and spent the day there. It is a place where you can see the wildlife of Australia in a cool environment. Its a bit like a zoo but I think the animals get more freedom here. For example, the kangaroo area was open plan, basically you walked into their enclosure as part of the walk around the park. You could get up close to the animals and I spent a while petting them and feeding them a little bit. There were also koalas in their own little sanctuary (it was extra to get a picture with them), tazmanian devils, crocs, wombats, wallabies and heaps more. Some had more freedom than others but most werent caged up which was cool. The highlights were the live shows though which ran staggered throughout the day. The best one for me was the live bird show where a guy stood on a stage and would call birds to him, attracting them with food. Some of the birds were really impressive looking and got quite close to your head as they swooped down on stage. I nearly got taken out by a big owl and an eagle at various points in the show. The eagle was massive and was an incredibly amazing sight to see it swooping down over the crowd to the stage. At the end of the day there was the lorikeet feeding as well. These are small, brightly coloured birds (think of a small parrot) and there were frigging loads of them. You could get a dish with some feed on it and you suddenly got a brightly coloured, feathery coat. Some people were hard to make out for all the birds on them. Afterwards I had dinner with Dean back at the house and had another night in with the footy. Dean lives a bit away from any nightlife so I wasnt tempted to go out. Which is a good thing.

The next day I just went for a walk around Surfer's Paradise for the day. Its a bunch of skyscrapers beside a beach and is essentially a rich kid's playground. Its full of expensive bars and restaurants and is not a very backpacker place. So I went for a walk on the beach, watched some of the surfers and chilled out. Im not entirely sure how much of a paradise it is for surfers as the waves werent terribly big while I was there. Nice beach though. In the evening I watched some boxing with Dean's brother and some of his mates which was a good laugh and kind of made me feel like being back in ireland, just chilling with a few mates and some sports. Not backpacker grade stuff at all but a nice change. Then I got up the next day, got a lift to Surfer's from Dean and was off to Brisbane. The Gold Coast is a bit overhyped I think, its far too commercialised and is very resorty but it was worth going there to meet someone like Dean who I got on pretty well with and to visit the Wildlife Sanctuary (like the zoos but cheaper). I was beginning to realise just how expensive this country is too. Entry fees for various things are a little bit high, I could drop my entire daily budget on one of these bloody things. Easy does it is the name of the game. Anyway Brisvegas is next and im being put up there too!

Byron Bay and Nimbin

The bus to Byron was an overnighter but sadly just a regular bus. Not like the ones in asia where you got a sleeper bus. Thus there wasnt much a hope of sleep. I arrived in Byron Bay in the early hours of the morning on a Saturday so nothing was open. I found one coffee shop that had just opened so I sat there until Peter Pans opened up and I could use their internet. I wanted to check if I had gotten a reply from my Couchsurf request. As it turned out they hadnt so I went in search of a hostel. When I found one and gotten told the price I nearly fell over, nearly $30 a night! A far cry from Asia. I paid it begrudgingly and moved into my dorm which it turns out I would have to myself for two nights. Having done this I went for a walk up to the lighthouse. This took me the entire afternoon and was the best exercise I have had in ages. It was a good hike up the headland through a park. It was good hard, work in good weather but it was extremely rewarding as some of the views were spectacular. I could see for miles out to sea and south down the coastline. In the middle of this I made a call to book my trip to a place called Nimbin the following day. After my hearty exercise I went shopping. Oz hostels are equipped with decent kitchens for backpackers since its so expensive to eat out. For the first time in about 6 months I was going to cook for myself. It was a bit odd but I managed to cook something pretty edible. While I was in the kitchen slaving away I got chatting to a few fellow travellers who were planning a night out. I had been planning a night in since I hadnt slept the previous night but they twisted my arm. Before we went out we watched a belly dancing show in the hostel (?), then went to Cheeky Monkeys. The main attraction of this place is the tables to dance on..... cool huh?

Next day I was up early for my trip to Nimbin. To fill you in on this place it is known as a haven for drug users. This came about when many moons ago a hippie festival was held in an old deserted town called Nimbin. Essentially they liked the vibe of the place so much they decided not to leave. Since then drugs are readily available (and produced) here and the police have been unable to do much about it. When you have an entire town smoking weed on the streets its kind of hard for one or two policemen to deal with it. They can hardly bang up the entire town now can they? Anyway they seem to have an agreement to let that side of things slide and focus on other more important crimes. Thus it is pretty safe to buy or use drugs in Nimbin. As part of our tour we started with a trip to a market (selling hippie stuff) in the morning before heading to the town itself. While walking the street I was offered some of the local “herbs” by numerous people and apparently there were special cookies to be had too. It was an odd place, just the one street and almost looked like something out of a western. Minus the drugged up hippies floating around of course. Getting back on our bus it was pretty clear who had bought stuff and who hadnt, there was also a particular smell coming off a few people..... The next stage of the trip led us on a rollercoaster ride to the middle of nowhere for an Aussie BBQ. It was some kind of park and we all had a walk around it while our driver cooked us up some burgers and sausages. Free BBQ facilites are common in Oz and once you clean the hot plate after anyone can use them. That clearly wouldnt work in Ireland. The walk itself was quite nice, there was a good view over a little lake. Lunch was awesome and then we were off again. We went to a waterfall as our last stop and a few people were given the all clear to jump in. It was around about now a few people began reacting badly to the stuff they had in Nimbin and the journey back to Byron wasnt a pleasant one for them. But everyone got back safe and sound, just the people feeling poorly went straight to bed!

For the rest of the evening I had dinner and watched one of my movies before heading to the tv room to watch the England Germany game. The room was packed, mostly with Germans or people cheering for Germany with a few English scattered around. It was great fun watching the Germans tear the English to shreds. Then I was off to bed and up early to catch the bus to Surfer's Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast. There I would get my first chance to Couchsurf and I was looking forward to it!


P.S. My Aussie number is 0424812913, plus whatever the code is for Oz.

Sydney

The flight across to Sydney was pretty straightforward bar the fact I came off the plane with some free gifts from the staff. I had been seated in the same aisle as a poor guy who had recently had some kind of accident which left him paralysed and every now and again the staff would move me and the guy seated next to me in order to move this guy into a comfortable position. This didnt bother me in the slightest but Qantas Airways felt the need to furnish me with a bottle of champagne and a $50 voucher for the onboard gift shop. A pleasant way to start my holiday in a new country. Then the cold hit me. Now it wasnt necessarily cold in Sydney when I arrived but when you are used to the temperature being in the high 30's then anything lower than 20 feels cold initially. I then had to find my way into the city and work out how to get to my uncle Paddy's place. He would be putting me up for my stay in Sydney and lived in the suburbs somewhere. I had his address and figured that should be enough to get me there. I ended up getting a bus, train and taxi as it was so far away. Upon arriving Paddy came out to greet me. This is a guy I havent seen in about 13 years and I know little about him bar he is the black sheep of my dad's family. I would soon discover that this is way off the mark, he is a completely different animal to my other aunts and uncles. As its still early in the morning we go for a coffee and chat about family, my travels and I ask about what he does here in Oz. This was fairly pleasant and after this exchange I decided to go back into the city and take a look around for myself.

I didnt get up to a whole lot, I walked around the main station I was going to be using in order to get to and from Paddy's and explored the area around Hyde Park. I spent a nice afternoon relaxing here in the sunshine. I planned what I would do on the following day and tried to work out how I was going to get there. I also got to watch a game of giant chess. In one area of the park there is a big chess board painted on the ground and large plastic chess pieces (think traffic cones) to play it with. The banter between the two guys playing each other was quite funny, there seemed to be some kind of club involved in using the board. I got back to Paddy's in the evening and he talked about his views on life, religion etc which are a little different to what im used to. I heard him out (I had to sleep there remember?) and took most of what he said with a pinch of salt. We also called back to Ireland to say hi to my folks and my aunt, just to let them know id arrived safe and sound. Soon after this I got distracted by the footy on the tv but was so tired I fell asleep watching it.

The next morning I left early to go into the city and made my way to Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Two international icons that I had only seen on tv or in pictures so it was pretty amazing to be right next to them and see them in the flesh. I pretty much walked across the city centre to get here as well so this took up the bulk of my day. I got back to Paddy's a bit earlier this time and i began to realise i was missing company my own age so I resolved to find myself a different place to stay for the remainder of my time in Sydney after that night. So I spent the next day looking at places in King's Cross and checking out travel options after Sydney. I found a place to stay that was cheap (for Sydney) called Asylum and the tour operator that caught my attention was Peter Pan's so it was a pretty successful day. I moved into the Asylum for the next few nights. On arrival I was informed it was pub crawl night and was asked (advised) to attend. As it turned out most of the hostel was there so it was good fun. We got dinner a few free drinks, tshirts which we were encouraged to draw/write on and played drinking games with goon. Goon is something I had heard about from anyone who had travelled in Oz and basically it is boxed wine. The reason it has such a reputation is it is quite strong and is the cheapest available alcohol in the country. I soon realised I no longer had to explain where I was from to every person I met as people simply pointed a me and yelled 'Irish!'. A bit different to Asia then.

The next day I woke up with a bit of a head on me so I decided the best cure for that was to walk across the Harbour Bridge. I would have liked to have done the Bridge Climb but that was stupidly expensive so walking across for free would have to do. It took ages to find the start point for getting across the bridge but then starting from the Opera House was probably not the easiest way to do it. I did also get to walk through “The Rocks” area of town as well though which is an arty little spot with a few irish bars and shops. Once I got onto the bridge and started walking across I was happy with my decision though as the views over the harbour and of the Opera House were pretty spectacular. The city also looked impressive especially from the other side of the bridge where I could fit the Opera House and the bridge into the same picture as the city skyline. It wasnt the best day for it, a bit cloudy and fairly brisk but it was a really nice way to spend a day. Later that night I finished my day by watching France crash out of the world cup in the company of some French guys. A fitting punishment for knocking us out in the manner they did I think!

Next up was a walk through the Botanical Gardens and a trip on the ferry to Manly. In the rain. I had been recommended by a few people to get the ferry to Manly and it would have been beautiful on a nice day im sure but on this particular day it was just ok. Same goes for the gardens too. In fact considering the weather it felt like being back in ireland. Id heard great things about beaches in Australia but on first impressions it was pretty similar to the ones we have in ireland, only with bigger waves. Nevertheless I managed to have a nice day. Manly is a nice area with lots of cafes and souvenir shops. On a better day im sure it appears even better. Later that night I was in for a different experience. Remember the Aussie girl I met in Chiang Rai? Well tonight I was to meet up with her Sydney friends for some Trivia. Trivia is essentially what we would call a pub quiz back in ireland but less serious. Having worked out where I was going and successfully arriving at the right bar I realised I hadnt the faintest idea what any of these people looked like. So I stood at the bar, ordered a drink and tried my best to look like a red haired irish guy. This plan worked as one of them came over and I was brought to their table and introduced to the team for the night. Trivia itself was tricky for me as a lot of the questions were Aussie based so I was a bit of a dead weight. Luckily these guys seem to do this a lot (every week) as they were quick off the mark with answers and also on first name terms with the quizmistress. It was a good laugh though and I think I got on pretty well with the gang if the link I had to them was a bit tenuous. At the end of the quiz we had finished joint top and what they have in this place as the last question is the jeopardy question. This means every team can gamble all or some of the points they have acquired on the last question to double them. We gambled all of our points but got the question wrong and lost them all. Ooops..... After trivia we went our separate ways on good terms I would like to think. I went back to the hostel for more footy and some sleep.

At this point my time in Sydney was drawing to a close so I spent my time on the second last day sorting out my travel plans. I booked some trips with Peter Pans since the staff I talked to had actually been on some of the trips and could say from experience which ones were good. I got my trip to Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef along with my bus ticket to Cairns. Getting everything together made it cheaper over all. My last evening was spent watching movies and football. I tell you I wont get any sleep till this World Cup is over, the kick off times are killing me! On my last day I went to see Bondi Beach which again was not all that impressive but it is winter. Later on I caught the bus to Byron Bay. Overall Sydney was kind of cool, its not as big as some of the other big cities ive been to and is more friendly than most. But at the end of the day its a big expensive place to go so in a way I was happy to move on.

Leaving SE Asia

I went back to Bangkok for a few nights prior to my flight to Australia. I spent a good bit of my time trying to fix my computer (keyboard trouble this time) which I did successfully and relatively cheaply. I also had a nice dinner with one of my good friends from my trip to Thailand (Jenny) who is based in BKK. But this blog is all about my leaving Thailand and SE Asia. I've been here for 8 months 5 of which I lived and worked in Thailand so its natural that I feel a bit of regret at leaving it behind. Ahead of me are 2 months in Australia and 1 in New Zealand where people actually use English as their first language. That would be weird. It would also be weird to meet a heap of Irish people as I would no doubt do in Oz. I'll miss Asia for many reasons: the cheapness, the friendliness of the people, bargaining for stuff, learning new languages, the beauty of the countries, the amazing food and the sheer craziness. I'll probably realise a dozen other things as well once I am away from them but thats all that jumps to mind just now. Things I wont miss include people constantly trying to sell stuff to me on the street even when its clear I dont want it, the heat and humidity, instantly sweating and becoming sunburned once I step outside, the mental tv and people staring at me because not only am I white I have crazy coloured hair. Once again im sure i'll think of more once ive left. I am very sad to be leaving thailand because it was my home away from home for nearly 6 months. I know some of the language, I have friends there and I know some of the tricks to avoid as a tourist. Perhaps I will be back before too long, it is a lifestyle I could settle back into again without too much bother. Coming here has also given me the confidence to plunge myself into another country where I dont speak the language and the culture is so different to what im used to. I know that I didnt travel smart in some places and with a bit of experience will be a much cleverer traveller when I embark again. But next up is Australia, a haven for Irish people travelling and a place im curious about. What is so great about it that so many Irish go here. Im going without a guidebook too as they speak english there so it will be infinitely easier to find stuff to do and places to go, hell I can just ask someone. Imagine that!

Koh Samet

I got a package tour to take me to Koh Samet. This incorporated a tuk-tuk, train, bus and ferry and having the lot of them included in one price made life easier on me which is always important. It all started with the tuk-tuk to the train station at 5 in the morning where I got the train to Bangkok and then switched to a bus to Ban Phe whereupon I got a ferry to the tropical island of Koh Samet. So by the time I get there its after a lunch and im clueless as to where to go next. Looking online threw up nothing really but I was assured that there were plenty of places to stay on the beach. So I made my way there and found the average price to be 500 baht which is more than I was used to paying so I baulked at paying it. Then I found a place that was 300 and was pretty happy with myself. I should point out that all the rooms that seemed to be available were doubles or twins which is not ideal for a solo traveller like myself. I'd also like to note that this island doesnt really have roads as such, they are more like dirt tracks with big craters in them. Getting about the place required either a big truck/jeep or a motocross bike to be honest. Some people also used quad bikes. Anyway once I get settled into my little bungalow I head straight for the beach for the afternoon. Let me tell you that the beaches here on Samet are amazing. Crisp white sand that squeaks underfoot, beautiful clear water that gets slightly blue as you walk out and of course a glorious day to top it all off. Not a bad little place to relax for a few days ;)

Tonight was the first night of the World Cup so I swiftly found a bar that was showing it on a giant projector screen and sat down with a few beers to enjoy the first game between South Africa and Mexico. There wasnt many people there and the commentary was in thai but those of us that were watching had a laugh and enjoyed it. I didnt wait up for the second game as I had been travelling all day and needed to get some sleep. But I soon found out why my room was cheaper than the other places. Naga bar is part of Naga bungalows and it is the party bar of the island. It is also across the road and my bungalow is slightly err wooden thus making it less than soundproof. Oh and the bar is open and blaring music till 4am. So I spent the night tossing and turning and getting no rest whatsoever. Naturally I was up late the following day and spent it lying on the beach seeing as I had no rest from the previous night. This set the pattern for the next few days since there is little else to do on the island but what a beach to do it on. So while on the island I lay on the beach a lot, did some swimming in the beautiful water, played around with my new camera and read a lot. In the evenings I would dine in one of the restaurants on the beach and listen to the waves gently lapping at the shore as I had a delicious meal. Sometimes there was a fire show to entertain me as well. After dinner I would retire to a bar showing the football and drink some beer. The second night I planned to stay up (if you cant beat em join em) and watch the England game against the USA. There were a good few people around interested in the game so it was a fun one to watch, especially the shouts of horror when the keeeper let in that howler! Once the game was over it was time for the bar to shut up shop and everyone to go to bed. This night I got a little bit of sleep.

Once up in the morning I checked out of Naga and moved way down the beach to another place. It was more expensive but for that I got stone walls, ensuite, a fridge and a tv, none of which I had in Naga. Here I would actually get some sleep. It was midweek by this point and the island was pretty quiet so I just relaxed for another two days. The troubles with the redshirts were also responsible I think to the lack of tourists. The trouble was well over by this point but people were still reluctant to travel to Thailand in general so I think it will be a good 6 months before tourism in this country recovers. Anyway that was my stay on Koh Samet, lying on a beach, good food and footie. Jealous much?

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is a town most people know for its temples but not much else. Its not too far north of Bangkok so its usually ideal for a day trip. However I planned on spending longer than that there, two nights at the least. I had picked out a hostel online since I was going to get there late in the evening and you dont want to be looking around in the dark for a place to stay. It was called Moradok Thai and despite not looking up to much on first impression it turned out to be one of the nicest places I stayed on my travels. I was greeted on arrival by two ladies called Somsam and Gina and it soon became clear that I was their only guest. I suppose the place is a little out of town so only if you looked it up would you know it was there, its not in the kind of location where you would stumble upon it. Nonetheless it is pretty close to some street food stalls to which I was directed when I asked about places to get something to eat. Here I got some traditional cheap thai food. I was starting to like the place already! I soon realised a storm was brewing so I quickly moved from my slightly exposed plastic chair in a car park to my hostel which offered a little more cover from a monsoon.....

The following morning I went for a wander towards the town centre and in search of some internet access since it was one thing my hostel lacked. After some searching I managed to find both. I also found a little tour operator who convinced me to go on a sunset tour of the town outskirts. Basically the town is on an island with a river encircling it. But it was still early enough in the day to do something else so I went in search of the floating market. I found it and I also had an opportunity to go elephant riding or see a snake show. Since id been on an elephant before I took the opportunity to go see the snake show. This was a 30 minute show by a guy who had spent most of his life working with snakes. What he did was imitate the movements of a snake with his legs to hold the attention of the snake and seemingly agitate it. He would crouch in front of the snake and wave his knee from side to side. He did this with a cobra first then a python and another I didnt know. The cobra seemed the tamest or the one he had the most control over and the python was the rebel. When he finished with each snake he would catch it behind the head and bring it over to me to show me its teeth and in the case of the cobra the venom in its fangs, which could drop an elephant if it bit one..... After he finished up I had a chat with him and he showed me the injuries and scars he had obtained in his work with snakes including the loss of a finger on one hand. A hazardous occupation clearly!

On my way back to the place where I had booked my trip I stopped off for lunch at a little restaurant. The guy who ran it proceeded to throw puzzles at me while I was waiting and when I started solving them he began throwing footie trivia questions at me as well. It was good fun and a pleasant way to spend an hour over lunch. I would have been happy to spend longer there but I had a boat to catch. So off I went on my tour and it was quite a nice one. The boat was basically a taxi between temples but travelling on water is pleasant on a hot day. The temples we visited were nice, especially the one with the giant buddha but having come from Angkor recently they didnt quite blow me away. Later that evening a spanish guy stayed in the hostel and we shared a beer and had a chat. It was nice to have some company in the hostel. The next day I went around some of the temples in the town of which the most famous one has a buddha image trapped in the roots of a tree. Basically the temple got abandoned and the tree grew up around the buddha statue. Having been to Angkor recently the temples didnt exactly blow me away but it was a nice way to spend a day nonetheless. I ended up staying longer in Ayutthaya primarily because of the staff in the hostel. Ive rarely felt so looked after and wasnt in a big rush anywhere so I was quite happy to hang about. They gave me breakfast in the mornings and id have a beer with them in the evenings.

My last day in town was spent trying to remove a nasty virus from my laptop with the help of my mates back home. I settled myself in a restaurant with free wifi for the majority of the day and got to work trying to remove the problem from my hard drive. Finally thanks to Tadgh I managed to fix it. Happy with this piece of good fortune I was all ready to go to Koh Samet early the next morning for some beach therapy!