The First Week

My head in the sand mentality towards organising this trip, meant that my final days in England were rushed and chaotic- transferring and exchanging currency, stocking up on anti-malarials (for which a trip to the doctor was needed) and buying clothes- all jumbled in with hastily organised visits to see friends and relatives, who will not be seen for very many months.

The 23hr flight to Melbourne (12 hours to a moist and foggy Hong Kong followed 40 minutes later by 10 hours to Melbourne) was fairly uneventful, though onboard movies and drinks, reluctantly provided by flight attendants, helped shorten the time before our arrival into the big new city. 

Hong Kong airport(renamed Hong Pong)

 

The next few days were mainly spent tackling jet lag(some may just say sleeping). However we did manage to get out and see some of the surrounding area. Our hostel is based in the funky St Kilda region of the city, an area known for its large backpacker and student (sniff) populations. A stroll down any of the main streets will reveal a sprawl of outdoor seating areas belonging to the numerous bars, cafes and restaurants, however these seem mainly filled with the locals and older tourists from beachside hotels. The young people tend to stay in hostel bars, as the atmosphere and prices are better there (though even then a beer will set you back a whopping £6), or they buy alcohol from a liquor store, and in the evenings gather on the nearby beach. Since arriving the weather has been mainly sunny with temperatures of 20-35 degrees with the odd patches of rain- much better than England!     

The first nights were spent in the bar, playing pool and chatting to other travellers. The majority are here hoping to get some work and stay in the city for a few months. Some, like Rob and I, are doing it for the experience of living abroad whilst others are here for a new start. We have met a group of young northerners who are fed up of living working as night porters in Southport. There is also a 33 year old bloke called Rob who has spent the last 8 months living above a bar in Cambodia and drifting around South Asia, who left the UK bored of the 9-5 office grind, and settling down of his peers into matrimony. The hostel is fantastic in all the ways a mother would want- secure, clean, tidy and with good facilities.

 

This  week has been dominated by job hunting. We have both had some limited success. I was interviewed for a bar vacancy at a 5* hotel on thursday though my lack of wine knowledge meant I wasn’t successful. To be honest though I’m English and have been a student for three years- do they think during those student years I would have had the money or inclination to know the difference between one bottle of plonk and another?!.

Rob had had an interview for a catering firm, which plus an offer from a cafe working part time.  Other than that, and the millions of ‘jobs’ offered, claiming you can earn up to $3000pw just by drinking beer/taking customers milk and bread orders/insertanyccraphere, things have been relatively quiet. House hunting has been kept on the backburner and so we have booked out another week in the hostel.

Yesterday we went to see a mate called Fran who we travelled to India with back in July 07. Fran is studying at Melbourne Uni for a year. We travelled across town to the Uni, which has tried(fairly successfully) to imitate the Oxbridge look with old looking quads and pristine lawns before heading on to the Italian quarter of the city for some quality Italian food. Following this Fran(who incidentally is Uruguayan), took us to the home of some Chilean friends of his where we had some drink, before heading out to some bars. The area is the equivalent of Camden, a bit alternative, and apparently controlled by a local Mafioso (is that word right?) though at least the Aussies here seem to drink Pints (they all generally drink half pints of beer- or pots as they call them- how lame!).

Tomorrow we are off to play a football match organised by some backpackers.

Also here is a rough outline of the trip:

4^th November 2010- Flight from London Heathrow to Melbourne 

4^th November 2010- 4^th April 2011:

Life Abroad- Working and Living in Melbourne Australia

4^th March-4^th April-Traveling up the East Coast of Australia from Melbourne to Cairns Via Road/Rail

4^th April- 3rd May- Fly to New Zealand and travel round the country using Kiwi bus tours for a month- return to Australia

4^th May- Flight from Cairns to Singapore

5^th-8^th May- Time Spent in Singapore

8^th May- 16^th May- Malaysia

16^th May- 28^th May- Thailand

29^th May- 18^th June – Bike round Cambodia

19^th June-26^th June- Laos

26^th June-10^th July- Vietnam

10^th July- 31^st July- China

1^st August-7^th August –South Korea

7^th- 14^th August- Japan

14^th August- Flight from Tokyo to London

View Travels 2010/2011 in a larger map