My last week in Australia started off a lot like my first, feeling like shit and in dire need of Advil. Kiel and I awoke on the lovely morning of Sunday, November 14th and decided that since we had a few hours to kill before our overnight bus ride down the coast to Sydney, some exercise might be in order. And with that energetic thought in our minds, we joined the English girl Kate from our dorm room on a three hour round trip trek to the Byron Bay lighthouse. It also happens to be home to the most easterly point on the Australian mainland (translation: it’s one of the first places in the world to start off each and every lovely day!). Of greater concern though was making sure Kiel did not die during the excursion, which contained an abundance of hills and the thermometer clipping off at a fairly high temperature. After much suffering and longing, the three of us made it back in one piece, with Kate obviously in considerably better shape than the Moreau boys. Once we decided that we had had enough exercise for the day, we chilled out at the hostel until about dinner time, before making our way to the bus stop. From there, it was a long, boring, overnight twelve hour bus ride down the coast to Sydney and what would be our final destination before making our way back to Canada. The ride itself was pretty uneventful compared to some of the ones I’ve had, with the main highlight being Kiel snoring at a decibel level that would make his father proud!
Monday morning we pulled into the Sydney bus station around 6:30am and trekked over to our hostel (Wake Up! [8/10]), although it I think it would have been more appropriate to call it a hotel, as it was the biggest f-in hostel I had ever seen! We were told that since they were at a high capacity, we could not check-in and this led to us watching TV in the common area until 11:00am. When we were finally allowed to get into our room, we quickly showered and got dressed and attempted to make the free guided walking tour that our hostel was offering that morning. It seemed we spent a bit too much time beautifying ourselves and ended up being a few minutes late. The two of us tried to find the tour group out in the streets, but almost immediately it started to torrentially downpour. Kiel and I were having none of the rain, and for once (out of about a million times) our tardiness paid off! Instead of getting educated on Sydney in the pouring rain, we spent the afternoon milling about the hostel before going to the hostel’s bar for dinner and eventually returning there later at night to get our drink on. Apparently the staff weren’t too fond of us “getting our drink on”, as we both received our walking papers. Kiel got tossed for starting his own no-shirt party, and I’m pretty sure they kicked me out just for being an ugly motherfucker. Bastards!
The next day started like way too many of ours, in a haze, surrounded by a bunch of dudes in a dorm room, wondering what my forehead did to deserve this feeling. But, seeing as how crying gets you nowhere, I sprung to life and decided it was time to show Kiel the sights and sounds of beautiful Sydney. The two of us spent the better part of the day exploring the city on foot and taking in such attractions as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, The Rocks, King’s Cross and Kiel’s personal favourite, the Botanical Gardens. I won’t bother explaining most of these things because if memory serves me correctly I did that about 856 blog entries ago when I first arrived Down Under. It was a solid day of walking, and it was clear that the only way to reward ourselves was to get sloshed on goon at the hostel before heading out on the town. Taking the recommendation of one chap in our room, we ended up at a spot called The Gaff and wouldn’t you know it, it was wet t-shirt competition night with all the slutty backpacker chicks! Now I know I should be focused on other things, but all I could do (aside from laugh hysterically) was think that these girls were some poor guys’ daughters. Then again, I’m sure people have seen me over the years and thought to themselves, “man I feel sorry for that guy’s parents”! Sometime during the evening, I decided to leave Kiel and hit up the McDonald’s where I somehow ended up in a pretty heated debate with a group of Finnish guys about who the best hockey players were to ever come out of their country. I’m pretty sure I won with Jaarko Ruutu, but one can never be too certain. This somehow led me and the Finnish chaps to head back to the club, before I eventually left after deciding it sucked and I couldn’t find Kiel. Follow this up with a long ass walk home on my own as I was out of cash, and you have the makings of a pretty average Tuesday night in Oz.
Wednesday morning arrived right on time, and with it, my last full day in Australia. Kiel and I again spent the day just strolling about the city and taking it easy. We made the decision the day before that we weren’t going to do anything too crazy on our last night, as we were staring down the barrel of a 24-hour commute to get home the next day. That evening, we headed up to King’s Cross (action central in Sydney for clubs, hookers, and all that jazz) and found a pub that had been advertising a weekly poker tournament with a $20 buy-in and $10 re-buys. Kiel and I signed up, grabbed some frothy ale and sat down with about 25 other people who found this to be a good form of entertainment on a Wednesday night. Long story short, the two of us made it down to the final four with the top three paying out. I believe the payouts were something to the effect of $90, $180, and $350. Sadly Kiel ended up finishing in fourth place, while I made it to the final two with a big chip lead over some French guy. Naturally, I buckled in the end and had to settle for second place, although after covering both of our buy-ins, re-buys, and beers for the night (so far) we were still up a bit of money. With my small profit in hand, Kiel and I headed to one of the many shady strip clubs that helps to give King’s Cross its reputation as the premier red light district in Australia. The place we ended up going to was definitely up there with the shadiest joints I’ve ever seen. We were hustled in by some dude who was coked out of his mind and charged us $20 each to get in before we were scammed $10 each for a beer. Then the dog-ugly waitress refused to give me my change and kept it for herself. It was around this time that we decided we would drink our one beer, sacrifice our cover charge and get the fuck up out of that joint! Oh, and did I mention the strippers were dog-ugly? Just class I tell ya! We closed out the night by spending what little of my profits were left at an Irish pub, before returning to spend what I imagined would be my last night in a hostel for some time to come.
Thursday morning we were up bright and early to catch our shuttle to the airport. The flight home was pretty uneventful. We flew from Sydney direct to Vancouver before flying on to Toronto. Seeing as how Sydney was sixteen hours ahead on the world clock, we arrived on Thursday night in Toronto despite the long flight. After one of the longest days of my life, it was certainly a welcome relief to see my Mom waiting for us at the airport! As much as I love travelling, I love coming home just as much and seeing my family and friends, cause at the end of the day, that’s what matters most in life!
Having said that, and before I get too emotional here (single tear anyone?), I just want to thank everyone who read any of my blogs. For those that read one paragraph, right on up to people who read multiple entries, thanks a bunch. Honestly, hearing people tell me they read my notes makes me happier than a pig in shit! Lastly, cheers to everyone who was a part of the stories that have taken place over the last 58,485 words. From my Melbourne crew at Medici to the warriors working out in Dingo and everyone I met in between, I must say it’s been real. Last but not least, thanks a lot to Leeanna and Kiel for putting up with me during their stays on the other side of the world and my roommates/parents for letting me back into their home!
Until next time, stay classy and remember the world’s a big place...why not explore it?
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