Busting Out Of Syndey

 When I first decided to start my journey in Sydney, I imagined that it was going to be like New York. Not the same, but similar. Now the first time I flew into New York, I fell in love and never wanted to leave, Sydney....made me want to cry. All the freaking time! I don’t know why, it’s just not my place to be.

 So I was quite relieved booking a flight up to Cairns (my plans changed so many times within 3 days it was ridiculous...I got on my own nerves let alone everyone else’s around me!). I was flying on the Tuesday; however I still had Saturday, Sunday and Monday to go.

 So on the Saturday I headed down to the OzIntro office after a nice lay in (lazy cow!) and decided to split with some hard earned dollah. Now I’ve worked pretty hard over the last however many months to afford this trip so I was quite pleased to be spending it on exciting trips that I can’t wait to do!

For the next few foreseeable months I have:
 Cape Tribulation
 Bungee Jump
 1 Day Diving on the Great Barrier Reef
 Skydive
 White water rafting
 Magnetic Island
 Whitsundays
 Fraser Island
 Australia Zoo (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
 And probably some other things I can’t remember off the top of my head. I also put down a deposit for ThaiIntro!

 After leaving my bank balance rather depleted it was time to grab some fancy dress for that evenings Party Bus events. When I say grab, I mean give someone else money to go shopping for me! In the end all the girls from our group went as Hula girls, very exciting, very imaginative, but most importantly; very cheap!

 The party bus itself, I wasn’t enamoured with. Yeah it was a good night, yeah I laughed a lot, yeah I got free drinks...But I’ve had better nights in Bedford town, yet another reason not to love Sydney! So at about 2am I got home, had a shower and changed into my adorable Dalmatian pyjamas....big mistake!! Off goes the freaking fire alarm at 2.30am and everyone is evacuated outside...I was freezing!

 So I sat my barley clad backside on the sidewalk and proceeded to sit there for well over an hour before the firemen decided to bother turning up (good job there wasn’t an actual fire!)

 At this point, I was tired, frustrated and just wanted to go to sleep. It had not been the best week to start my Australian adventure; shitty, noisy, rampant roommates, bruised ribs from surfing, getting told I was going to die, actually feeling like I was going to die in King’s Cross and now this.

 So Sunday I woke up afresh and decided to have a chilled day. I packed, I walked and then in the evening...I ate! We went to a revolving tower overlooking all of Sydney. It was amazing!! Unfortunately I am picky with my food (so glad they had rice though!!!), but I did try kangaroo, crocodile and emu. However like Red Hot back at home, this place was more obsessed with quantity, so quality fell out of the window. I shall be trying all these delicacies again, however cooked a lot better! I did, however manage to eat my bodyweight in cheese, I have never been so happy to see brie, cheddar and crackers all in one place!!

 After Sunday was over I had a wasted day on Monday. It was rainy and I couldn’t be bothered to get up to much, so I didn’t. That’s Monday over and done with.

 Tuesday I had to do an RSA (regulation on the selling of alcohol) which will allow me to work in a bar. Cutting a long story short, we were told we had enough time to do the course and everything that went with it before our flight. We did the course, ran to the post office (only found out we had to go to the post office once we were in the classroom) to get our certificates turned into valid cards. And were told because we were 2 minutes after 4.30pm they wouldn’t do it for us. So now I have to go back to Sydney before January 20^th if I want to get this card and not waste my money...bugger!

 Then we flew to cairns....and there I leave it for another blog post! Stay tuned guys!!

Love me
xx

Our ventures into King's Cross...

So after being told the numerous ways we could die on Friday we went home, had a shower and headed into the 'backpackers party paradise' of Kings Cross.
What an experience! I would have felt safer in the mountains at midnight. So off we popped to the subway to navigate the tickets machines, good job the girls behind knew how they worked!! That experience in itself was fine, 5 girls walking through the underground, laughing and smiling....not knowing want lay ahead for the next few hours of the evening.
As soon as we got off the train we had about half a dozen people try and get us into their clubs with offers of 'cheap drinks'. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no such thing as cheap drinks in Sydney!
We eventually went to a place called Tunnel. This club was basically a back alley shed. It was tucked away off the side of the street like a garage tucked in between two buildings and pushed back about 20 foot. None the less, inside we went. My feet were stuck to the floor within 2 seconds. However a 5 dollar vodka and OJ did turn out to be the cheapest drink of the night. We stayed in there for a while until we got a text from the rest of the group telling us to come to a bar called Trademark. And thus came the 9 dollar vodka and OJ's. Now as any of you know, I like to have a drink or two...or three...or more! However here I just cannot afford to drink the amount I do at home, I also cannot deal with heat hangovers!!
So we went into Trademark for all of...ooh 10 minutes. Before we we're on the street. Just the first of many times that night.
So to cut a long story short we went into one club for 10 mins. Then out. Then in. Then out.
Then everyone jumped in a taxi and 6 of us were left to find our way back. Now being cheapskates we refused to get a taxi. Which meant mummy Scarlett had to come to the rescue.
On the way we talked to policemen,.got asked to go watch a strip show, passed many priorities, passed a guy in the brightest tye-dye top ever (turns out he was a drug dealer...charmed!) and chatted to 2 guys from Manley Beach. And after an hours walking we found home! Only to get in and find out everyone else had pissed off out again!! Not amused.
Not amused! However at this point we we're very tired and decided to just call it a night and go to bed.
We had another night of partying to.come...
But for now I'm off
Love me
xx

You Will Die If You Read This Blog!!

Snakes will kill you.

Spiders will kill you.

The sun will kill you.

The sea will kill you.

Too little water will kill you.

Too much water will kill you.

This is what we heard all day up in the Blue Mountains. Our guide was called Smokey, and he was a typical crocodile Dundee!! When we first got on the bus he started top tell us about the history of Australia, whilst this was interesting, the more interesting stories came later in the day. A typical story went along the lines of this:

 Back when I was a young boy, I was being a bit stupid and thought it would be a good idea to start poking a snake with a stick. Turns out this wasn’t such a clever idea! The snake was pissed off with this idiot poking him, so he bit me. I staggered back to my truck and had to drive over 200km to the nearest hospital. I had about 20 accidents along the way, fought off a killer raccoon, shot a crocodile in the face and helped a kangaroo give birth on the way to the hospital. I was in hospital for about 6 weeks and died several times. However I am now immune to snakes!! Snakes will not kill me, however if you get bit by a snake, you will die. You have no hope.

 And this was the general basis of all stories told during the day.

 The Blue Mountains themselves were absolutely amazing. The first place we went had a lookout which meant you could see the view for miles and miles. The haze above the trees was blue, hence the name blue mountains. It has something to do with the eucalyptus sap reacting with the air. We walked to a waterfall which was beautiful; however it was almost 500 steps down, which meant 500 steps up. That was hard work!! I have never been so scared of stairs after that!  

  Back onto the air conditioned bus for some lunch...mmmm food! We had make your own rolls, salad and pasta in a park. It was lovely but seemed weird that just out of these beautiful mountains was a normal place with people going about their daily lives. After this back into the bus we went to our next destination. This time it was a more gently stroll down-hill and a cable cart up hill.

 The whole day was lovely. I just can’t understand why I’m so tired all the time! First thing when I got on the bus I slept for 45 mins, then another half hour kip. And almost an hour on the way home. Even today I got up at midday-ish, have done nothing and cannot stop yawning! Crazy.

Anyways I’ve got a bag to pack...again!

Love me

xx

Oz Intro Week Begins...

So I've now been away from home a week today (or tonight depending on where in the world you're reading this). Yes I'm missing everyone already, yes I'm already sick of cooking for myself (love you mum!) and yes it's scary having to plan everything by myself (thank you dad!).

 However, ignoring all of that, on Monday morning I started my Oz Intro week. And my week since has gone a little like this:

Monday
Monday we got picked up by our guide/tour person/thingy-majiggy and got on a minibus to Sydney Harbour. After not being blown away by it the other day I wasn't expecting too much from this first day. We pulled up the other side of the Harbour and took a walk through the Botanical Gardens. Now fair enough, the gardens were pretty.....however I've seen nice places on my holidays! It wasn't a take your breath away place, it was more like a walk through the Forest Centre, but with more colourful plants and a path. We were walking past the Opera House to go on a speed boat type thing round the harbour. Now seeing as our guide is so lovely, he made sure I went at the front of the boat....where I got completely drenched!! But going round on this boat through the harbour was the first time I started to feel like I was actually in Australia. Whizzing through the water with the bridge one side and the Opera House the other was amazing. I didn't stop laughing the whole time!! Good job it was a hot day so I dried off quickly. After this we were free to do what we wanted. So back to the hostel we went to shower and sleep! After 3 nights of the worst room-mates ever I was so happy to be in a room where everyone was respectful and didn't want to scream at 4am!

Tuesday
Tuesday was the slow day of the week. The morning was spent doing all the necessary jobs; bank and medical card. So at least I have money now!! Then we went to the aquarium...it was alright, but a fish in a tank is a fish in a tank at the end of the day! Still, there was some cool things to do. I got to stroke a starfish, oh yeah! Get me!! After this we went for a night out. Which meant some paracetamol were needed first thing Wednesday morning!!

Wednesday.
Tuesday night I went and had a good time, but didn't drink too much because Wednesday was all about surfing! This was soooo much fun!! The instructors were typical surfer dudes (think Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo). We arrived at a secluded almost private beach and promptly got into our rather attractive wetsuits. So after a brief lesson and chat off we headed into the water. This is where things went a bit wrong! It seemed to take 1 step forward and 3 back to get to a decent surfing point, I was exhausted by the end of the lesson! However after quite a few falls into the water (and a lot of swallowed sea water) I managed to stand up!! Admittedly I fell off after a few seconds, but a stand is a stand. Then cam the miracle....I managed to stand up and ride a wave right back to the shore!! I felt amazing! Then we broke for lunch (the most important part of the day). After lunch I headed back into the water to try and stand up again. However after about 30mins of unsuccessful surfing, the board went nose first into the water, flipping me off into the water and jerking my back...not good. So that was the end of my surf experience. However I'm planning on doing a surf camp later in my trip. By the time we got back to the hostel we were all knackered. I skyped for a bit, cooked dinner, then fell asleep in my clothes!

Thursday
For some reason, even after a full nights sleep, I was knackered all day today. We went to Bondi for the first time. Before I came away, quite a few people said Bondi wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and I promptly ignored them. However after going there today I can see what they mean. It's a tiny stretch of sand in a horse-shoe shape. It's so small it would take all of 10 minutes to walk it. After an hour or so of sunbathing we got up and went on a coastal walk towards Coogee beach. The walk was lovely looking out over the sea. There was random artwork just casually chilling on the side of the cliffs....whatever floats your boat! The area was nice, but the whole place looked like a more sunnier version of Bournemouth! When we reached Coogee we had my first Oz BBQ!! It was lush! Sat on a park table overlooking an alcove of sea and sand. Then it was time to relax some more, look like you're playing volleyball (this involves standing about and running away from the ball) and just generally chat and chill. There wasn't enough room for all of us back on the buses so I had to wait for one of them to come back. I never thought I would have to deal with being cold in Australia, but what do you know?!?!?! Then me and another gal in my week have been sat here deciding what our game plan is for next week. So far we're going to Darwin for 6 weeks to work, then heading to Cairns for Xmas. Then after New Year we have all the time in the world to travel down the East coast. So Saturday we're going to book all our flights, hostels and trips.

 Here we go guys!!!

Miss y'all
Love me
xx

Not Blown Away...

Had a few more hours sleep, so am feeling a bit better about being here today. Went out with a few people from my group today, we decided to go to see the Opera House.....and I was sooooo not impressed! I think I was expecting something amazing and all I could think was "It's tiny!" Was not was I was expecting at all.

 We went shopping to grab some food to cook (don't worry I won't be touching anything! My contribution will be washing up!! Haha), let me tell you something...shopping should not be that difficult!!! Spent about 45 minutes deciding what to have between 4 of us, it was like the blonde leading the blonde! All turned out good in the end.

 Not much else to report really at the moment. Hopefully the week will pick up as I start my Oz Intro tomorrw morning, so will have lots of things to do and see :D

But for now, love you all and miss you all loads!!!!

Love me
xxx

Sydney

So I have arrived! And it's bloody raining!! Not just raining but pouring, like soak through all your layers rain!
Anyways aside from that all is ok. I'm still pretty teary, but hopefully that will pass over the next few days.
So when I got to Sydney airport I thought I was gonna be sent back to the UK straight away :( basically the woman who stamped my passport was meant to give me a ticket, Burr she didn't this led to me being taken down to the end of a very large hall, there was no-one else around and I'm sure the only reason the lady let me through was because she could see I was about to burst into tears asst any second. So I have my bags, I've been let through customs....and there is no-one to pick me up!! After 3 or 4 calls I finally got through top someone, basically they thought my flight got in at 6.40, when it actually came in at 6.10.
Well I'm all safely in the hostel now, still keep wanting to cry (baby!) And am about to go newer a girl in my group. I have my itinerary (Yes Dad, an actual list!) for the next week, and am excited to start now. Just need to shake this bleeding jet lag.
Miss you all!!
Love me
xx

Halfway There....

I am currently writing this sat in Singapore airport. I have already sat through a 13 hour flight and have a further 7 hours to go....who's dumb-ass idea was it to travel all the way to Sydney?! Muppet!
So yesterday was full of tears :'(  it was hard saying goodbye to the family. We're a real small, close knit group. We holiday together, see.edu other a few times a week, constantly text and call and are always hugging.
Taking this journey was partly because I couldn't think of anything else to do and partly about standing.on my own two feet. I just didn't realise how hard it was going to be doing things by myself, without my Mum, dad, brother or grandparents by my side (all this and I'm not even there yet!) I already had a mini panic attack when I queued up at the wrong gate! Most people go to uni a few hour away, or move out a few minutes down the road. I decide to go to the other side of the world....what a goon!
Oh, and I'm sure it will amuse you all to know that the toilet I used in Singapore was actually a hole in the floor. A freaking hole in the floor! Dear lord!
Oh well, onwards and upwards with the adventure....after all it's only a plane ride home, right?
Love me
xx

Tomorrow The Adventure Begins

The bag is packed. After 7 looong hours everything has been rolled, folded, placed, squashed and forced into my bag. I have enough clothes to wear for a month sunlight having to wash them, a pair of shoes for everyday of the week and insight makeup and toiletries for a small store. It's fair to say that I am not you typical backpacker. I'm more of a glampacker!
Most of the goodbyes have been said. Some of them I remember, some I can't (too many cocktails)! The first lot of goodbyes were done during a drunken stupor, in which I ran out rather quickly, cried a lot, and proceeded into town. Rather quickly followed by going home and falling into bed. Good job I'd finished work at this point, or they may have forced me to leave!
Then came saying goodbye to friends and family during the week. I surprised myself, there were no tears involved (I started to tear up on Sunday but we'll keep that between us!)
 Now all that's left is close family and the dogs tomorrow :'(
I'm currently sitting on the floor, with Harvey laying on his back, between my legs, wrapped in a blanket, Jax beside me snuggled up, watching a film with the family. Bliss! Perfect last night
Love Me
xx

Packing The Bag

So yesterday afternoon I started to do the one job I've been dreading the most....packing the bag!
Over the past year I've been.collecting bits and bobs here and there to take with me. A torch, travel plugs, towel, etc. So those bits were already together and in my flight bag ready to be sorted. The big problem...clothes!
Now for those of you that know me,you know I don't pack light! Even a one night stopover usually results in 2 stuffed weekender bags.
So Grandma came over at the ready to help me decide what to pack and to filter out the things that I don't need (such as 9 pairs of shorts!).
So I started with tops, I pulled one out my wardrobe and another and another and another, until I could no longer physically hold any more coat-hangers in my hand. Then came dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers, shoes, pyjamas, underwear and bikinis (don't even start me on accessories!) So I put all my other pieces in my bag (medical bag, towel, other boys and bobs that I will probably never use) and laid my clothes on top. And weighed it.
Now considering we still had the coat-hangers on, I was actually under! Can you believe it, my case was underweight!
After jumping around with glee at this, we got down to business. Take off the coat-hangers and take out the clothes I do not need. I now have a pile.of appropriate clothes on my.chair and a bag full of other random bits.
Now it's just my makeup to sort out...uh-oh!
Love Me
xx