It's All About The Journey

Tag: Alone

  • Sydney

    Over the past couple of weeks, we had something Australians call mid-semester break, Canadians would call this reading week, and Americans would call this spring break. It was very confusing talking about any of this as you can probably see because everyone used a different term and no one could agree on one single term. What we could agree on was my little friend group was splitting up for the break as some people were seeing family while some others needed to save some cash for other trips. I, on the other hand, jetted off to Sydney for the first half of the break by myself. I booked my flight to leave Saturday, April 20th and then booked my flight out of Sydney early on Wednesday, April 24th. This gave me three full days in Sydney to explore.

    On the first day, the weather was the nicest so I uber pooled down to Bondi beach for the day. This was a cheap way to get down to Bondi as it was a 30-minute drive. Once I arrived the sun was out and shining and instead of heading to the beach right away I walked up to a path to a place called the Bondi Icebergs. This is a swimming club where you can become a member if you swim here EVERY Sunday for 4 years! I obviously could not do that so I chose to pay the $8 entrance fee to go in and spend the morning in the iconic iceberg pool. I swam some laps but mostly enjoyed sitting on the edge where the pool meets the ocean and getting splashed by the waves hitting the pool wall. Once i got tired out i relaxed on one of the raised platforms and sunbathed until the sun moved from the pool to the beach. It was a couple of hours into the afternoon when i moved to the beach and contemplated going surfing. I chose not too one because the waves were huge and I feel i would not have been safe out there by myself, second because the water was packed with surfers and I am not good enough yet for all those eyes on me, and three because I was alone and could have left my bag o the beach but I did not want to risk it as it was a very busy day and who knows what happens to your things when you take your eyes off of them. Once it started to cool down at the beach I was off to find some dinner and found a yummy looking fish and chips shop, I grabbed that and watched the skateboarders do their thing in what looked like an abandoned pool as it was very soothing to watch. Bondi Beach reminds me very much of a Santa Monica type beach area, it has the same muscle beach area, skateboard, area, surfing area, and cute little shops that line the pathway area. Only thing Bondi is missing is a pier with a midway fair on it.

    The next day i got up early in order to take advantage of all the sunlight, as the sun sets at 6 pm and there is little to do after it is set. Today I had booked a ride with the hop on hop off bus tours that go around Sydney. There were 2 routes, one through the Bondi area and other small beaches. The second took me more downtown and by the Sydney opera house and other important areas of Sydney. I hopped on the Bondi one to start and began my day by riding through beachside suburbs and stopping in a place called rosebay to walk the beach and get some breakfast. Once i was back on the bus I rode it the rest of the loop then hopped off and got on the second route which i hopped on and off of as i was cute little places and then explored those areas. My last stop was the opera house which i got off at and walked the area. I found a cute park where i had a view of both the opera house and the bridge and stopped there for a bit. Then I wandered around until I found the Botanical gardens and stayed there until sunset. Then I was on a journey to find some dinner and back to the hostel for some downtime.

    On my third and final full day, i took the train an hour out to North Sydney where I met my friend Karley (who was in Sydney at the same time but staying with her cousin) and we went to one of the northern Sydney beaches. This beach had lots of surfers that we could watch, it had nice warm sand, and we hung out there all day soaking in the rays. It was nice to see a bit more of the side of Sydney tourists do not normally get to see as it was mostly locals here as it was not well known like Bondi beach. We headed back in the evening and I had an early night as i had to be up at 4 am to head to the airport to get a flight to Cairns which is where I stayed over the second half of my break. The airport was not busy and I got through security with ease. After a quick breakfast, i waited at the gate until it was time to head off on the second part to this adventure.

  • Becoming a Melbournian

    Becoming a Melbournian

    Welp, I feel as if i have officially transitioned from a tourist exploring Melbourne to someone who is not a full-fledged citizen, but hey I’m getting there. I’ve nearly been here for two months and i can now find my way around without using google maps (for the most part). I know the market schedule by heart and am officially starting to get into the thick of things with school work.

    Over the past couple of weeks the weather has slowly started to get cooler with a couple warm days here and there. With that came the end of the summer night market, the end of the many beach days (we still make an effort to go for sunsets though), and the end of wearing shorts every day. On the one hand, this is good because the transition to fall means I get to look more like a Melbournian because they never wear shorts! But it also means leaving behind warm weather and the fact that wearing shorts in march never gets old. So you may be wondering what have I been up to the last couple of weeks? Well, school has started to pick up and i have had an essay to work on, and other smaller assignments piling up behind that. Nevertheless, we have still been able to have some fun days exploring the city and of course making it back tot he beach for the warm days and many sunsets over the water.

    Last Thursday was one of the last very warm days. It reached 27 degrees Celsius and was sunny, so of course, that meant we had to head to the beach. This time we looked for something new and headed to a beach called port Melbourne. It was not busy at all, had softer sand than St.Kilda, and the water was just as nice (maybe a little colder). It was perfect (other than the ants) but we stayed all day and watched the sunset over the docks. It was also only a short bus ride out of the city so who knows, if another nice day presents itself maybe it’ll be time to head back there.

    The other day I went to my first AFL (Aussie Football) Game! It was new and exciting and nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. It is a mix of rugby, soccer, and football as the ball looks like a rugby ball and it is a very aggressive sport but you can also kick the ball and throw it basically like a football. Luckily I made an Aussie friend so she came with us North Americans and helped explain some of the rules. The game was very close and the team I chose to cheer for (they were the underdogs) came out on top after being down by 5 goals with 15 minutes left. Tickets were very cheap for a sports game so hopefully, I can find time to head back for another one before I leave AUS.

    A couple of days later my Birthday came and with that came warm weather as well! I turned 21 on April 2nd and celebrated it in style with friends. The day started out by going out for brunch with a friend from class because I had gotten a surprise present the day before when my Professor had canceled my only class of the day! That meant more time to sleep in and enjoy the day. After brunch, I got to rest as my friends had class then when the evening came it was time to go out for dinner. We went to the Royal Standard Hotel, a small bar/restaurant very close to our house that has cheapish food. I got chicken wings and they were very very good, other people got things such as chicken parm and pizza. They had a large menu though ranging all the way from small apps to large steaks! After dinner, I went back to our house with some friends where we hung out, had some yummy cake, and watched some horror movies (sorry Kyle and Karley). I woke up the next day to many birthday messages as back home it was officially my birthday so I can officially say this was one of the longest but best birthdays of my life.

    The past couple of days have been spent focusing on school and just hanging out with friends. We have officially passed the halfway mark for school as week 6 just passed and there may seem to be a long while to go still but i think till ass quickly. In other news the Melbourne night market comes back Wednesday, April 10th and this time is themed around European foods so that should be interesting, and in a couple of weeks reading week happens and I plan to go to Sydney and Cairns so can’t wait to get to that part of my adventure! Till next time.

  • Byron Bay

    This past weekend my friends and I took a trip Byron Bay trip organized through our housing company Semester in Australia. The trip started with flying to Brisbane Thursday, March 14th, the flight was in the evening so we took an uber from our house to the airport. We got there in good time (after having an Uber driver who took the long route through the suburbs) and went through security with ease. It was one of the laxest securities at the airport, we didn’t need to have to take our shoes off and there were barely any security people there. Once through we waited a little bit then boarded the plane, it was set to be a 2 and a half hour flight but it got delayed and we sat on the tarmac for 40 mins before departing because of storms in Brisbane…not even in Melbourne! Once we were off the ground all was smooth sailing (or flying) until halfway through when I noticed out the window a couple of thunderstorm cells. These were pretty cool as there were lightning flashes every second or so (I find thunderstorms interesting). A little later through the flight, we were flying through a thunderstorm as it was right over the Brisbane airport. This was one of my weird crazy bucket list things so that was nice to check off but there was a little turbulence and lots of flashes outside the window as we flew straight threw. Once we made it to the ground alive it was a short Uber ride to the place we were staying for the night and as we settled in there was much to look forward to in the next couple of days.

    Once we woke up in Brisbane we had to meet the bus at 8 am sharp (as they say)…the meeting spot was not far so we walked there and got there for 8 aaaand the bus wasn’t there for another 20 minutes. Once we were picked up it was a 2-hour drive to Byron Bay where we checked into the hotel dropped our bags and had an hour to explore before our surfing lesson began. We took this time to explore the beach in the sun. It was much different than the Melbourne beaches! We then went back, got changed, and then we were off to our surfing lesson. I had surfed before but none of my friends had so it was very exciting. I got more information about different ways to pop up on the board and learned how to catch a wave all by myself. Before I knew it I was catching a wave and standing up all by myself! After that, I was able to catch waves and stand up about half the time. After surfing we were headed back to the hostel to get changed for dinner and a night out.

    Dinner was interesting, it was at a bar/club where they served us an option of fish and chips, curry, or a burger. There were also small games on the tables we could play, we enjoyed playing multiple games of connect 4 (1 in which I won!) and after dinner the theme of the night was paint. There was an option to get splattered with paint, which of course we partook in. And then enjoyed hanging out with friends for the rest of the night.

    The next morning we woke up at 5:30 am in order to catch the sunrise at the most easterly part of Australia. It was supposed to be beautiful and spectacular but sadly it was a rainy morning and all we saw was the sky turn from dark blue to light blue through the rain. After the not so nice sunrise we walked an hour back to Byron bay and saw a couple of lizards along the way. We also walked beside a surf beach that looked amazing and if I could go back I would explore that beach more. Once back at the hostel it was a breakfast of toast, yogurt, and fruit and then nap time as lots of us headed back to bed. I hung out in the hostel lobby where they played music, had free wifi, and comfy couches.

    Fast forward a few hours and my friends and I were venturing out into the raining day to rent some surfboards and enjoy the water, cause rain cannot affect you if you are already wet from the ocean! There were 4 of us and we got 3 boards as one person was in charge of playing with the GoPro (it was also cheaper this way). We got some good footage but sadly none of us standing up (even though it DID happen). This day of surfing resulted in tired sore arms and we attempted to stand up and catch the waves. This proved harder than yesterday because we had smaller boards. Usually, a beginner surfer will get an 8-foot board, this would have been ideal but the shop only had one. The rest of us had 6/7 foot boards and even though it may seem not that big of a difference the size actually does make a huge difference on the waves. So we didn’t stand up as much as we would have liked but it was still a fun day and my first time renting a surfboard and standing up without lessons! After surfing we were back to the hostel where we rested before dinner.

    Dinner tonight was unknown until 5 minutes before it was time to eat. We walked into the meeting spot at the hostel to find at least a hundred small dominoes pizzas set up on a table and plenty of salad and fruit. There were about 35 of us so this much food was a little bit of overboard but we devoured it. I was starving so I ended up eating 9 slices of pizza and at least two bowls full of fruit, it was delicious. One of my friends ended up eating 16 slices! (but the slices were smaller than normal). After dinner, we noticed it had stopped raining so we ran (yes we actually ran) to the beach to see the sunset over the water/mountains and it was beautiful. We then took a nice stroll along the beach until not even 10 minutes later it started to downpour, back to the hostel we went for free wifi and comfy couches. That night was quieter and we strolled along the town at night listening to the buskers along the street and got some ice cream. Then it was back to the hostel for the night and off to bed as we were leaving the next morning.

    That morning breakfast was at 9 am and we had to check out by 10 so we quickly ate some toast and fruit. We then packed the last of our bags and left them in the lobby (with everyone else’s) as we took one last stroll through town and down to the lovely beach. It wasn’t raining today so we enjoyed the last few minutes we had with sunny Byron Bay. Then it was off to a small town about an hour out from Byron Bay called Nimbin. This very small town is known for being Australia’s hippie capital and had lots of marijuana advertising and lots of tie-dye colours. Here we got lunch (I got garlic bread) and we also stopped for milkshakes before boarding the bus and heading to the Brisbane airport.

    We made it to the airport with a couple of hours to spare so we spent that time charging our phones near the gate because they were very low and we needed them charged for the flight. Of course, there was another delay but at least this time we had not already boarded the plane and were able to stay in the couches for an extra 30 minutes before it was time to board the plane and fly back to Melbourne. The flight back was smoother and when we left it was raining but no crazy thunderstorm this time! We got into Melbourne late (or very early) and I got back home around 1 am Monday morning. Luckily I did not have class the next day so I was free to sleep as late as I wanted and rest from an exciting weekend away.

  • Seeing the Sights

    These last couple of weeks have been a mess of school and exploring. With school just starting we had to go to class but in our many hours of free time we took in the sights. The first event we thought would be major was this Holi festival being thrown in St.Kilda, only a 30-minute tram ride from my house. None of us really knew what to expect other than there would be colour everywhere, we threw on some clothes we were okay with getting messy and off we went. When we arrived it was dead. There were maybe 15 other people there and that was pushing it, not what we expected at all! But we went in anyway and took in the sights, mostly having fun with the colour they provided us as we took turns spraying it at each other and having colour fights. Once this ended we were allowed to leave and return as many times as we wanted so some went to the beach. I did not partake in washing off the colours as it added some pizazz but others washed their war paint off and then headed home only after an hour of being there. A few of us stayed behind, went back and, and enjoyed the festival. As a couple of hours passed it started to fill up and before we knew it we were having colour wars with random festival goers. It was a very energetic and overall happy environment as that is what Holi is all about!

    Another sight I saw was the Royal botanical gardens where we saw lots of green plants but not many flowers. The experience was fun though as we also saw the war memorial that sits right outside the gardens and got to experience a ceremony that would usually happen on remembrance day. A beam of light passes over a block on the middle of this large marble floor and it was very interesting. Anyways back to the gardens, some took a lot of photos but i just opted to view the plant and wildlife therefor not much was captured on actual photo evidence. But we did get lost once or twice and saw a spider catch, kill, and then wrap up his dinner for later in one of his webs. Don’t worry though it wasn’t one of those huge spiders you hear about when people warn you about Australia. Just a normal sized one.

    Wednesday rolled around and of course, we had to hit the night market, a couple of us got dinner and I had this huge bowl of noodles that were miraculously floating with a pair of chopsticks in them. Who knew chopsticks could float? Anyhow, we ate some of the cool food that is very hard to find back home, got a drink, then cruised around watching the various live artists and experiencing the culture of Melbourne at night. Also side note, there is this food stall called Canadian Hotdogs…who knew that was the one special food Canada had to share? Not like we have poutine, beavertails, or anything else

    Finally, over this past weekend, the weather spiked to an all-time high. Friday, March 1st, Saturday the 2nd, and Sunday the 3rd were all 35 plus with the 2nd reaching 40 degrees Celsius. Of course, we had to spend the whole day at the beach because our house does NOT have air conditioning. So, we spent most of the day on Friday and Saturday lounging in the water at the beach as there is a shallow area perfect for sitting. I can also proudly say I managed not to get burned this weekend which is very impressive as I rarely use sunscreen back home but here even the most tanned people need it as the sun is STRONG! On Friday we spent the WHOLE day there as we got there around noon and left once the sun went down. The sunset was beautiful over the water though and it was breathtaking. While the next day we basically went there to cool off then came home a few hours later and watched a movie at a friends place who has air conditioning. Honestly, this past weekend has been great but I’ll take the 25 celsius weather back, please.

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