Hello friends! So, I left Sydney last week for my old home on the Gold Coast for a few days. The plane ride is very short, just over an hour to or from either destination. It felt good to be back at the old digs again. Surprisingly, there are a few big things that have changed around the area. There is now a rather large bus and tram hub in front of Pacific Fair (a large shopping center) in Broadbeach. In order to go further north up the coast to places like Surfers Paradise and Southport, you need to switch to a tram. It makes it pretty effecient, you don't have to take too many buses. Surfer's Paradise got some upgrades too. They moved some of their shops around and there is a large souvenir shop right when you get off the tram. The delicious Gelatissimo shop is still there, however they did not have my pavlova gelatto, perhaps next time. They also made a big show with some new signs about the Paradise center. It's still as touristy as ever, but I think it adds to its charm.
I had myself some nice people watching down at the beach in Surfers. There were two guys playing soccer and a group of friends attempting to play a small game of (American) football. Some others entertained themselves by tossing some french fries infront of their GoPro to watch the seagulls swarm. It was quite noisy to say the least. I kept getting glares from other gulls as I ate my snacks. As the day wore on, I made my way back to my hostel which was only a short walk from the airport, so it was quite convenient for when I needed to fly back out. I discovered that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches don't travel all that well, and it doesn't take long for them to go bad in teh humidity. Yup, I had me a little bite of penecillin before I tossed it out.
There was a little bar called the Southern Cross Tavern that had trivia on for the night, so I ventured over. It was a small crowd, but they all seemed to be quite happy to be there, as did the small canine companion I discovered. I started in on round 2 and managed to get 6 out of 10 questions right. I repeated the act for round 3 then did an amazing faceplant on the last round as I only got one answer correct. Serves me right for not knowing much about Aussie sport or television. On the upside, I did get two out of the three questions right on the jackpot round. Sadly, that's not enough to win the jackpot. Afterwards I had a nice chat with a lady that used to drive a van to pick up unjured wildife in the area. After about a half hour chat with her, we went our seperate ways.
The next day was my day to revisit Bond. I realized once getting here, that Bond was truly my home. The Gold Coast, yes, on a bit braoder scope, but beign back at Bond, climbing up the hill toward my old building and seeing the mountains in the distance, the university logo on my old building, that's when I felt like I was back home. I became giddily excited. It was quite quiet since everyone was on summer break, but I still enjoyed the time. I wandered around the boardwalk around Varsity Lake, a cute little lake positioned right next to the school. There were some changes here too. They had installed new media labs in the school and moved the book store/gift shot to another building where there used to be a small cafe. The Sports Center was embellished with our new logo complete with bullshark mascot.
When I was last here, they were working on a sustanable agricultural building that has since been completed. It looked very nice from the outside at least. There was also a large and very intricately designed architecture building that had been errected. It was quite impressive, I peeked my head through the doors and the inside was just as wonderful. It was totally an architecture building too, with little nuances that would only look right in such a structure. My walk down memory lane was over almost as soon as it began as I made my way back to the hostel.
The next day was quite drab and raininy, so I took advantage and saw a movie. Obviously it was 'Big Hero 6' and obvisoly it was still just as amazing as ever. I took time exploring the little mall the theatre was in. I hadn't spent much time in Coolongata before, so I walked down the beach once it cleared up and was content just to look at the ocean. I had booked my ticket up to Cairns (pronounced Cans) earlier and had to pack up my stuff to make the flight. This one was a bit longer, about 2 and a half hours, but it went by well enough. I got into Cairns a little late, and made my way directly to another YHA hostel. I needed to get some rest becasue I had some meetings the next day about working for accommodation in a few hostels around the area.
The next day I went to a hostel called Dreamtime Travellers Rest and talked about workig in exchange for accommodation. They only required 2 hours 5 days a week, which is less than most the other places around here. Also, they were strted by a couple of backpackers and the rooms are all inside three seperate housing units. It was very nice and homey, so I told them I would take it and I needed to report the next morning for trianing. Now in Cairns, you're in the tropics, so it's basically always humid. It cools off a bit once the sun goes down, but it's still pretty sticky. Luckily things are pretty close together so you shouldn't get too nasty sweating running errands... hopefully. Another thing to note, the sun is much stronger here than it is at home. If you forget to put on sunscreen, and high SPF at that, you son't just go "Oh dang, I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and maybe put a little aloe on tomorrow for the slight burn I'll get". No, it's "balls! I need sunscreen quick otherwise I'm gonna have to go to the hospital cuz I'll be in so much pain". I may be overexaggerating a bit on the last one, but lets just say I had SPF 50 on and since I only put it on once in the morning, I got a little singed. The same goes for water, you take ti with you all the time, I don't care if it's just to the market down the street, always bring the water.
Seeing as it was a Friday night, I decided to see where the live music was and see what the scene was like. The Crown Hotel was a literal stones throw from my hostel so I started there. As I walked by, the band was doing some classic rock stuff that I knew I would dig. I decided to do a pass up the block then return if I didn't find anythign else I likes. There were a few other bands playing, all a bit interesting, but I decided to go back to the Crown. However, I didn't realize that the bands here are still on the schedule of doing 4 sets a night, so as soon as I went back, they were done. I decied to try the other places I passed, but once again, they were all on break. I meandered into the nightmarkets to see what everyone had for sale to kill some time. I bought a few trinkets and almost went in fo a massage, after all they were only $15 for 45 minues. I think I'll have to go back later. Eventually I made my way back to the Crown and settled in. The band was quite good, they were called Jusfa Kicks. The lead singer did a very good job impersonating the original artists and the lead guitarist had a nice tone, especially on his tele. They did their own mixing on a little analog board back by the drummer. Toward the end of the night, they were having issues wth a cable that I desperately wanted to help with, but I stood back and they eventually go it sorted.
They mostly did covers of American songs, but there were a few Aussie hits sprinkled in that I hadn't heard before. I had a few people briefly talk to me, most were confused/impressed that I was out by myself. I don't quite know why, but whatever. I just continued to listen and check out the gear. These guys just had some EV speakers and some yamaha monitors. I ddn't catch the board, bu it looked kind of like a Behringer. When they were tearing down, I told th guitar player I liked his tone and we chatted about gigs and stuff a bit. I showed him the Mustang Sally flow chat since they had played the song earlier in the night. He laughed. He told me heh was playing wit a different group at the casino the next night. I then made my way back to my hostel, trying to make it in the door before one of the guys that spoke to me earlier could follow me too far. The door blinked red twice, but on the third try I was in and away from the questionable individual. This was by far the latest I had stayed up, it was alreay passed midnight! (I know, I'm lame, I only stay out late if I have to work a gig). The upside of staying out so "late" was that I actually got to almost sleep in. 7:30 is sleeping in in my book right now.
I got up, had some ree pancakes from reception, then made my way over to th other hostel for training. It was pretty basic, and simple, especially compared to what I am used to back home, but good lord, I swear I sweated ou my whole body weight! Between the heat and the humidity and the runing around, I was beat. I even had to take a it of a rest later. Granted it mainly consisted of laying the floor of my hostel with the AC on, but a rest it was. Once I ha managed to cool down a bit, I waked down toward the Esplanade where there is a lagoon for people to swim. They have free wifi here that extends about 4 blocks into the city, so I plopped down and got in an episode of New Girl and part of Forever before I got booted off for reaching my download limit. I decided to take a walk down teh esplanade and promenade to see where the volleyball courts and such were. They have a nice 5K look to walk/run, which I will start doing at night when it gets cooler. They have work out staions along the way to promote fitness and healthy living and even have a slew of free fitness classes at moring and night that I will totally be doing.
When it was time for the ban to start at the casino, I neaded over. They had a later start, 9:30 (the night before was 7-11). They were pretty good as well. Again just mixing from stage with a little analog board. There was little bit of feedback in the monitors from the lead singer's mic. It wasn't that bad though. They did some songs you don't normall see on the roster such as Crowded House and some lesser popular Bruce Springsteen stuff. All in all, quite enjoyable, but I could only stay for one set. Afterall, tomorrow was work and and move in day.
Which leads us to today. Work went well, but once again, crazy humid and hot. It actually makes me miss the cold from back home. They have Rustys markets Fridays through Sundays where you can get fresh fruit and vegetables. They have deals on Sunday though, and that's how I scored some dragonfruit for $3 a kil and some magoes for $1 a kilo. I may be living off of ramen and Wheat-bix most of the time, but at least I can get some fruit with little bit more nutritional value for cheap. I've spent the rest of the day settling into my new temporary home. I think I'll be in Cairns or awhile. I can take full advantage of te free workout sessions, not have to pay for my room and still get some exploring done locally while I save up for the next leg which looks like it might be traveling around to some of the bigger cities by train. We'll see what the next adventure brings! Cheers and have a great week!
P.S. I apologize for any typos, I've been oo lazy to proofread. :)
