a life in words: heading down under - from bangkok to sydney

11th March 2012

Sydney, Australia

If you've read my previous post concerning the infamous full moon party of Koh Phangan you will know that my time in Asia ended with a tumultuous bang as those final days saw me falling through several layers of consciousness to the bottom of a bucket of whiskey. Sat in the waiting lounge of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, waiting for Thai Airways to whisk me down under and attempting to piece my mind back together after those lawless days on the island of Gomorrah, it occurred to me that I had spent around five months in Asia and that the next leg of the journey in Australia would drastically shift the focus of the trip to familiar home-like territory. To a certain extent this thought was reassuring as it would be nice to go back to an English speaking country, but it also made me slightly depressed as I was sad to be leaving the beautifully chaotic Asian lifestyle that I had come to embrace during my time there. From that anxious first week in Delhi where I questioned what the hell I was getting myself into and whether I was up to the challenge, I have sunk further and further into a wonderfully hectic world filled by a plethora of beautiful sights, people and experiences that will all stay in my memory for a very long time. In addition to this, I am now starting to appreciate the value of this blog as I recently scanned back through the fifty odd posts I've now accumulated and was reminded of all the things I've been blessed enough to experience during these past five months and it seems I've not been alone in my adventures as I recently hit 3,000 views on this website and so I just want to say thank you for following me and my ramblings!

The flight from Bangkok to Australia took about seven hours and after getting some sleep across three unoccupied seats, I awoke to find that the rough hustle and bustle of Bangkok's streets had been replaced by the refined cosmopolitan stylings of Sydney. Touching down around 9pm, I was greeted at Sydney's international airport by my friend Mr. Oliver Guy who I first met in the toon, a.k.a. Newcastle while studying there for three years between 2007-2010. 'The Guy' had left England's fair shores after graduating and has been living life down under for well over a year now, first in Perth and now Sydney and I was happy to see that things are going well for him after making the leap. It was really great to catch up with him again as I haven't really spoken to anyone from back home since I have been away, so the familiar face was hugely welcomed after so many fleeting friendships on the road. Although it has been nearly two years since I had last seen him we slipped back into the same old jokes and banter that had made my time spent in Newcastle so memorable and it was comforting to know that although much time has passed, nothing had really changed between us which is always the sign of a worthwhile friendship. Seeing him again also made me realise how much I miss the Lilly/Manor gang and that while I was in England I was pretty poor at keeping in touch with them all. The only thing I can say in my defense is that this trip has consumed my thoughts and efforts ever since graduating and working/saving money at Direct Line's call centre (how this trip was funded) resulted in me leaving Bristol very infrequently. Still that will all change when I get back and as soon as I have some money Earthworm Jim will be heading all 'owa the parish to see them all again. Back to Sydney, Oli was renting a room in the Surry Hills area which, fortunately for me, was very central so my days in Sydney were spent walking around this fascinating city and catching up with the Guy when he wasn't working.

So, initial thoughts on Australia? Well, I was hugely impressed by Sydney, although not impressed by the exorbitant price of everything. Spending $32 on a taxi from the airport was a shock to the system as over in Asia I had become a little too familiar with paying rock bottom prices for everything and $32 would have covered my total living expenses for a couple of days! That was all about to change though but staying with Oli did mean that I thankfully avoided splashing out $30 on a dorm room every night. I remembered back to Cambodia when I was getting my own room for $3! Remarkable how the other half lives eh! I now realise how ambitious (and naive) I had been in the planning stages of this trip as initially, I had planned to be in Australia for six weeks. I soon saw, however, that my funds would make this an impossibility and so I changed my flights, extending my time in South East Asia by another month which meant me and my bank account only had to survive two weeks in Aussie land. Although on a very tight budget I cooked dinner at Oli's house every night and made sandwiches for during the day which in addition to no accommodation expenses meant I was able to do Sydney very cheaply. Although there are obviously many great activities to partake in while in Sydney - which all cost an arm and a leg - it's also just a great city to stroll around and there's a lot you can do without spending much money. Wandering around the beautiful Sydney harbor with it's dazzling Opera House and Harbour bridge, mooching through Darling Harbor, lazing on the grasses of the Botanical gardens reading a book, gazing admiringly upwards at the dominating skyscrapers, hopping on the ferry to the Manly and Bondi beaches all consumed my time spent in Sydney and I never felt bored even though I couldn't really afford to do a great deal. Still, learning how to enjoy yourself with very little money is an inevitable part of travelling for as long as I am, and I really enjoyed myself here and who knows maybe I'll be back again one day!

Sydney is a clinically cool city and holds huge importance within Australia's history as it was the first European settlement to be set up in the country when Arthur Phillip founded it as a British colony after arriving here in 1788. Sydney is therefore the largest and oldest city in Australia and walking around the central area gave me a glimpse of the forward-thinking and cosmopolitan lifestyles that people live here. The jungle of skyscrapers create a spectacular skyline which can be seen for miles around and serve as a testament to Australia's strong economy and it hugely impressed me. I really like big cities as I relish the chance to go and get lost wandering down streets and alleyways, having no idea what lies at the other end and unlike some, I absolutely loved the likes of Delhi, Bangkok, Hanoi, Saigon, Phnom Penh and now I can add Sydney to that list. Now I can't really make too much of a judgement of Australia as a whole as I've seen very little of the country but one thing I noticed from the little I did see is that the place seems to be a nation being pulled in several different directions. As a country born out of immigration there are many, many influences working together in Sydney with a huge Asian population all popping south for new opportunities and possibilities but the thing that struck me was that the place also seemed to have become a hybrid entity created from obvious British influences, due to it's history under the crown, but American ones as well. British and American brand names have made it over here and the enthusiastic and glamorous side of the city reminded me of a miniature New York with it's central parks and dominating skyline whereas the architecture of some of the buildings in and around the city felt distinctly British. When I went over to Manly - a northern suburb in Sydney - I walked through North Head and wandering past houses with small white picket fences felt like being in middle America whilst arriving at Bondi felt like stepping into some sort of retro British seaside town minus the miserable weather. It's a hard thing to describe but considering the history of the city it comes as no surprise and it's a feeling generated by personal observation and letting it all wash over you.

Do you come from the land down under?

Where women glow and men plunder?

Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?

You better run, you better take cover.

Hello Australia.

x