Ok, people.  We made it to Sydney.  It was a long and wild ride, but as far as I can tell so far it’s worth the 14+ hour plane ride resulting in mild hysteria and major leg and derriere cramps.  Yes, I used the word derriere.

From now on I will do my best to blog every day so these entries don’t become novellas.  Thanks to jetlag and the extreme power outlet scarcity my poor laptop has been living on empty.

DAY -1 (or, Thursday, November 19^th on the American calendar)…

The tone of our travels from LA to Sydney was set the moment I keeled over like a tranquilized giraffe the first time I attempted to mount my enormous, stuffed REI backpack.  Granted I had only had 2 hours of sleep the night before due to my ill timed move out of my Santa Monica apartment and the only sustenance in my belly was half of a leftover Starbucks pumpkin scone.  Upon finding out the bag only weighed 33 pounds according to the LAX baggage scales…well, let’s just say my personal trainer I can no longer afford would not be so proud.

Jessica was over at my place at the time helping to load my car and take it to our friends’ place for storage.  Yes, I’m technically homeless right now.  In a good way, as I want no ties to hold me in any one place in the new year and, well…for those of you who know the “crazy Enrique” story…let’s just say the fact that I’m no longer sleeping at that address with a wooden bat and pepper spray within reaching distance of my bed is a wonderful thing.

Anyway…cracking up at my expense, little did Jess know this was just the beginning of our little travel adventures.

After a whirlwind drive in rush hour LA traffic to Moorpark and back we inhaled Carl’s Junior and homemade chocolate chip cookies from our friend Grace and barely made it to bon voyage drinks with good friends at Bar Chloe.  Seriously.  I practically handed the last bite of my cheeseburger to the valet.

It was a perfect, martini-kissed goodbye-for-now to my favorite west coasters and the City of Angels.

DAY 1 (Friday, November 20^th American)

I crashed on my dear friend Rupa’s couch.  Remember—I’m homeless.  After some brunch at TOAST, lots of girl talk, and a neighborhood walk with her pups Jess picked me up for some last minute travel errands.  Errands are boring for everyone, so I’ll skip that part—though, we did have a nagging suspicion we were royally screwed when we exchanged money from U.S. dollars to Aussie dollars.  We’re still not completely sure.  Hopefully we’ll figure that out by day 5 or 6.

Before heading to the airport Jess picked her bag up for the first time and I swear she almost fell flat on her face, as her bag was larger than her 5’2” frame.  If Jess were to get into a fight with her bag…the bag would win.  At least I had a few inches on mine.  I’d like to think I could take it.

Our flight was on Delta, obviously an American carrier, yet Jess thought we flew out of the Tom Bradley International terminal.  We quickly learned we were mistaken—after we parked the car at said wrong terminal—and so began our first backpacking trek two terminals down and our very serious vow to burn our awkward, friggin heavy bags the minute we unpack in the states.

Then came the self check-in where my passport scanned just fine, yet Jess’s would not.  At all.  Even with the help of two Delta employees.  I asked if she bought her passport off the black market, but she swears it’s legit.  We soon found out that even with self check-in you must stand in the long and winding regular check-in line anyway to get a baggage tag.  Awesome.  So over we both went to join what seemed like the rest of Los Angeles in line.  Luckily our flight time was creeping ever so close, so they pulled us Sydney folk out and finally we made it through check-in.

At security we met up with Jessica’s friend and fellow music biz colleague (we’ll call her Amy).  Amy is a fun force of wild energy to be reckoned with.  Major spray tanned from head to painted toe, the girl immediately joked at her expense that her boss told her colleague something like, “Please tell Amy there’s sun in Australia.”  I liked her immediately.

We were the last three people to board the plane, which made us super popular among our coach-riding neighbors.  It only got better when we whipped out the cameras.  I am ashamed to admit…we were “those girls”.

Some sleeping pills, in-flight movies, and boxed Australian red wine in plastic cups later, Amy and Jess were out cold…yet I was restless.  I watched another movie.  And another.  Then two travel shows (international flights are amazing with the individual seat TV’s chock full of film and TV options).  Did you know that in Singapore sucking mutton bone marrow is “chic”?  Well now we both do.  You’re welcome.

In total I slept in and out of at max three hours.  Next time I’m having what they had!  I felt like I had lived ten lives during that flight.

DAY 2 (Sunday, November 22^nd Aussie time)

Yeah.  We lost Saturday.  A very strange fact of flying to Oz life.

In baggage claim we almost got fined $5,000 for taking photos since it’s still considered part of customs.  Amy headed off with her Aussie best friend, while Jess and I waited for our fourth Sydney travel companion—Jessica’s younger brother’s girlfriend.  Let’s call her Karen.  Either Karen’s flight or Karen herself was late and Jess was ready to throw the voda phone/sim card we purchased out the airport window.  Apparently the instructions weren’t so clear.  After about an hour and a half of hanging out in an exit area coffee shop Karen finally arrived.  She left her suitcase halfway back in the airport and had to go back and get it.  By some miracle it was still there.  Clearly we were not in LA anymore, Toto.  This is not the first time Karen will leave something somewhere.

A $50 cab ride got us to our Bondi Beach Hostel, where apparently our generous tip made the cabbie’s day since tipping is rare in Australia.  Later we learned service sector workers get paid super well compared to the states, which is partially why things are more expensive here (especially with the terrible American dollar exchange rate these days).  The wage of a waiter is about $26/hour.  Why did I get my Masters degree again?

Our fourth hostel roommate turned out to be a lovely Italian girl whom we quickly befriended.  Amy is staying with her friends.  We unpacked and headed for a beach walk all along Bondi.  This is the Australia people rave about…

Did I mention it was a record high in both temperature and humidity?  100+ degrees Fahrenheit.  I’m not complaining…it was perfect for a day at the beach.  We even had a drink at the Icebergs, a famous Australian swim club by the sea, with Amy and her Aussie friends.

That evening we were so tired that we ordered pizza and dined on the rooftop deck.  I wish I had a picture…but I was too tired to remember to take one.  Let’s just say it was DIVINE.

We met some wonderful characters/fellow travelers.

Chris, a surfer from San Diego, divides his time between Australia and Indonesia.  He works two months out of the year saving every penny, then heads to Indonesia for the other 8 months and lives solely off his prior salary.  You can buy coconuts for 50 cents on the beaches of Indonesia—a budget traveler’s paradise.  I’m not talking Bali, by the way.  He spends most of his time on the remote island of Tenggara.

We also chatted with a lovely Canadian distant runner (who smoked?) who traveled to Australia for a big race.  Her husband, also a runner, was not able to leave his day job to join her so she spent the rest of the vaca jaunting around the country and even spending a week in Fiji.  One night she spent sleeping on the deck of an old pirate ship.

Hearing stories like this make it hard to go back to a 9 to 5 job in the states…

DAY 3 (Monday, November 23^rd, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, Aussie time)

Last night, sometime between 2-4 a.m., I woke to Karen whacking my foot from my peaceful, sweaty slumber.  As my jet-lagged eyelids fought to part I noticed that the lights were on.  And Karen was jumping up and down waving her hands like a drowning cartoon character signaling a lifeguard.  And…everything was SILENT.  What…the…

Oh.  Right.  I had ninja earplugs in.  Earplugs that so artfully killed the most random mix of world and bad pop music blaring from the hostel courtyard hours earlier that they even kept me from hearing the most god-awful fire alarm ever.  Jess also had a hard time realizing our lives might be in imminent danger thanks to some more Ambien she popped to get some shut-eye.  She could barely feel her limbs, let alone climb down the bunk bed and form complete sentences.

If there was a real, live fire…which at this point we had no reason to assume that there was NOT…we probably would’ve died.  We took our sweet time opening the room locker, finding our purses, and layering for any potential outside “weather.”  I mean when you are awake for about 48 hours, get to finally fall asleep, and then are yanked from that peaceful place just a few hours in…well, it all felt like a weird dream you could wake yourself up from.

Everyone in the hostel had to be evacuated.  The fire department, as well as an ambulance sped to the entryway.  Turns out there was no fire…but something did set off the alarms.  Our bet?  Someone (or some people) lit a joint or cigarette in their room…a big no, no in the hostel rulebook.  The Bondi Beach Hostel manager was not a happy camper.  We later found out today that this also happened just two weeks earlier.  I can only imagine the fines they’ve racked from careless backpackers.

As the mass of sleepy foreigners trudged back up the stairs to our respective rooms Jess and I joked…of course this happened to us on our first night.  But she also added that the same thing—a freak fire evacuation—happened on her first night of college at the University of Miami…and the next four years were pretty darn fabulous.  Not sure if it’s any kind of parallel omen about this trip, but I’ll take it!

This brings us to about 8 a.m. Monday morning.  Coming up next…Monday’s adventures in Sydney ground transportation and sailing Darling Harbor.  Today we’re heading to the zoo and The Rocks.

I’ll try and catch this blog up to speed by tonight!

http://www.airbnb.com/

Also, http://hospitalityClub.org

RadhaKrishna Girls Hostel / Residential Accomodation

Services : — Room with one, two, or three beds. Rooms are also available with the attached toilet and attached balconies. AC rooms are also available for NRI/Non NRI students, All the flats are also facilitated by common bathrooms, study tables and cabinets.

                  :– Separate kitchen and dinning space is provided, to facilitate all the hostellites with fresh, hygienic & quality food with unlimited quantity

                 :– Various health & fitness activities like aerobics / yoga / gymnasium – training are provided by Minigym at Radhakrishna to ensure fitness of girls

Location :– RadhaKrishna Apartment, Opp. Stock Exchange,
Nr. Sahjanand College, Ambavadi, Ahmedabad – 380 015

Contact :– Phone: 079-26301434 / 26300306
Mobile : 98250 15747 , 99252 44754 , 98250 44634

Email : — : info@radhakrishnahostels.com, radhakrishna_1989@yahoo.com

Sole-ace Hospitality                     

Services :–Paying Guest accomodation in the city of Ahmedabad in Satellite area, the heart of city, Parking Space, Food Facility- optional ,Lift facility- available,A/c Room- optional, Security Gaurd- 24 hours availableLocation :– 5, Archan Appartments, Near Jodhpur Cross Roads,, Ahmadabad, Gujarat 380015

Contact : — 079 2214 4586‎ – 09428352369‎ (Mobile)

Email :– connect2soleace@gmail.com

We suddenly found ourselves in Chetumal after spending a night at Daniel´s family´s house, another CSer. He lives in a nice spacious house, but what I really love is the concrete spiral stairway that is accessible by all 4 levels of the house. You have to jump to get the the top level, where a small room, formerly a maid´s room, is located.

Back to the whole Chetumal thing – He had to go there for work as asked us if we wanted to come along. We didn´t know anything about the place or where to stay, but we decided to go anyway. We thought of the possibility of going to Belize. I was surprised to hear the amount of people say negative things about the city. Not concerning crime, but calling it ugly, boring, etc. We enjoyed it because it had more of a real Mexican feel. Cancun can be fun but it´s not real Mexican at all. What I´ve noticed is that most houses everywhere I´ve been so far are boxed in by gates and big concrete walls. I can´t really describe what it makes me feel, but it´s strange.

Daniel and his friend were kind enough to let us stay at their hotel for the night, and the next day we toured around downtown and went to the market. We tried different fruits like pitaya(?) It´s pink and the inside is a transparent whiteist jelly with little black seeds. It was very tasty. The fruits weren´t cheap there.

We ended up staying at the Chetumal Hostel, about 21$Can for both of us for one night. The owner was very friendly, she runs the business out of her home. We met one man about our age that night. I would have loved to learn more about his travel plans but he was only stopping by to sleep a couple of hours, then leave at 4am to catch a bus. The dorm was very plain, I would have loved to paint it, but the living room was nice. Ah yes. The sewer system in Mexico is messed up and toilet paper easily clogs up so it seems most people don´t flush their toilet paper.

We met a man that night who mentioned he was going to Playa del Carmen. We had done a bit of research on Belize and felt that it would be too soon to visit another country and we didn´t feel prepared enough, so we got a ride to Playa the next day. We booked for a night at a hostel and met a variety of interesting travelers. I really enjoy learning what their plans are and how they feel about traveling, and how they go about it, but I´m usually too shy to start a conversation.

While walking around the touristy area of 5th Avenue, a man approached us asking if we were on CouchSurfing – He had recognized us from our picture! I had written a post earlier asking to see if someone could host us but didn´t end up finding anyone, so he ended up letting us stay the next night, and that´s where we´re at now.

We met his roomate and found out many things about his homeland Chihuahua. We found out that he loves to play tennis, so we went out and played tennis last night! The court is made of different material, the balls were almost dead, and the rackets were cheap, but man we had so much fun! I was very happy to play tennis again. A Mexican woman passed by and wanted to play with us, but we were one racket short to play doubles, so we played a variety of 1 on 1 rounds. I get very competitive when playing sports again other women and was pumped to play against her, but I was already tired from playing against Robin and Ricardo. We played for a long time, whipping the ball as hard as we could across the court. It felt so good but I was absolutely exhausted and thirsty. I slept in and still feel out of juice. I´m looking forward to playing with other Mexicans, they seem to love to play it like I do, which is hitting the ball as hard as possible and whipping it just over the net.

Yesturday we went swimming at the beach. I have to say, I was very weary of going far from shore, even with Robin right beside me. Early in the morning, I enjoyed a solo walk across a long stretch of the beach, staring far out into the sea and at the soft sand, throwing away any pieces of broken beer bottles I saw. I think it´s very disrespectful of others to leave these shards on the beach.. But beyond that I sometimes wonder if I could pull off traveling on my own, I wonder what it would be like.

We haven´t yet figured out what we´re going to do for the next few days. I really want to go to Tulum and check out the cenotes between Tulum and Playa. I think we´ll soon make our way back to Cancun for a bit and then head out to Merida. It really depends on how we feel, what we want to see, what the locals recommend, and how much money we think we can spend on certain things. It´s a heck of an adventure, not having any idea what we´ll be doing the next day.

As for our Spanish, it´s slowly coming along. I´m picking it up more easily than Robin because I know French and I see Many similarities. Sometimes we go around and ask all kinds of questions. It´s great if they understand what I´m saying, but most times when they open their mouths, it´s just too much for me to follow. I hear there are huge accent differences from city to city. We´ve heard that Merida especially has a very strange accent but I don´t know if we´d be able to pick it up since we don´t easily understand the language.

What I can´t believe is how well I´m dealing with mosquitoes. Not only that, but it seems many other travelers and Mexicans are bugged by them more than me! What happened here? I´m the one with the mosquito phobia! I´m sure it´d be a different story if I was lost in the jungle… We´ve been told that the mosquitoes are really bad right now, and they are – I´ve been bit countless times, but as long as I can´t hear and see and feel them all the time, it´s okay.

It´s a little hard food-wise, being vegans who don´t eat wheat or refined grains or sugar or any highly processed foods (yup, we don´t eat at restaurants either). I know, most of you are thinking that we´re missing out on all the Mexican food, but eating healthy has become a passion for me, and a great challenge to do while traveling as well. I´m hoping to eat a more varied diet because lately it´s been mostly rolled oats and bananas, and cantaloupe, avocadoes, brown rice, green lentils, onions, garlic, tomatoes, raisins, and cocoa powder.

I am soooo tired right now, we´ll probably only go out for a short while tonight. Buenas noches

Starting this job, not just overnight shift, but working at the hostel was and still is supposed to be a temporary thing. Hell, living here was supposed to be temporary, but that seems to be fast approaching the wall of “a significant amount of time” if not the ditch of permanence. Now an opportunity to switch to full-time has arisen here at work.

I’m still undecided as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Technically I work on average 5 days a week, but that doesn’t mean I qualify as full-time. Rather my fifth shift of the week is also the shortest, easily keeping me from reaching that fine line that determines the difference between part-time and full-time. As it is I feel like I put far too much into this place when I’m only working part-time.

Full-time may only mean four more hours of work a week, along with benefits. But that’s a maybe. For all I know I’ll have to prostrate myself more before this place as I feel like its whore already, only now it provides dental. Working more here what do I get out of it? I’ve asked my managers, so once I know I’ll have an easier time making a decision.

Though I know my father would love to stop paying my health insurance. Why would you want to when I practically live in the Swine Flu Capital of the USA.

It’s weird, yesterday was Armistice Day or Veterns’ Day if you’re American, but it still is for me – that’s purely because I’m still awake and haven’t started a new day. It’s all in my mind, I know. But it’s still weird to think that we are holding tribute to the end of a war to end all wars.

Yet here we are with plenty more going. Each war is the war to end all wars, for some individuals. Sadly some live on to wage yet still more. Even ideas from previous wars, conflicts or engagements can continue on.

And yet 75 years ago hostelling came to the United States, from Germany. The very country we waged war against – twice. An idea to spread peace, understanding, and a chance to go out-of-doors and explore new cultures. Hostelling has spread. Some say peace has spread. Let’s hope that they do so together, so I can stop sounding like such a bleeding heart.

I want a kilt, but not just any kilt a Utilikilt. One of these glorious bastards:

The fact that they have pockets and don’t have need of a sporran makes them all the cooler. Then there’s the possibility of getting one in camouflage. What could be cooler?

Having a kilt as part of a work uniform would be cooler. That’s right, I’d love to have a kilt as part of my work uniform, partly because then I wouldn’t have to pay for it. Or at least pay as much as I normally would. In the summer wearing such a thing  would be more than fantastic – it’d be perfect, especially when there’s a good breeze behind the counter.

The only problem with having a kilt as part of a uniform, particularly when having to deal with problem guests. The likelihood of them respecting you is slim, as they figure that you’re wearing a skirt. Of course I can’t speak of this from experience, though I have worn a kilt. The alternative is that they’d be extremely scared and unsure of you because, after all you are a man in what looks like a skirt; a man who may be willing to do anything.

At the same time I wouldn’t necessarily feel the need to be as nice and smile so much. Rather I’d belligerent and quite possibly drunk to go with the whole “Scottish” thing. I would, though, be kind enough not to avail the public of my Scottish accent which is anything but Scottish – probably more Pakistani than anything. Maybe it’s that cooling breeze on my balls when wearing a kilt that gives me the nerve to be an ass, or going commando makes me want to let it all hang out – Not my penis, rather my general disdain for all of humanity.

This is why I work in customer servce.

In a world, or rather country, where one does not get granted healthcare automatically by the government or ones employer I am working on a sunday evening. Sans healthcare. I’m working sunday evening because my job is part-time. Which means that I’m continually bouncing up and down when it comes to the number of hours a week I work. All in an effort to keep me from becoming full-time but working me as such.

This means that I’ll remain part-time for an undefined amount of time; again sans healthcare. It sucks. But so does working a sunday evening with nothing really to do but laundry. It’s not like working overnight, where I get a dollar more an hour for the inconvenience of not seeing any daylight, but also because I don’t get a lunch break. Thing is, I don’t get a break on this shift either, because it’s only 4 hours. Providing me with a grand total of 36 hours this week. Now working that, at barely above minimum wage where am I supposed to fit in a second job? A high paying one at that.

I’ve thought of whoring myself out at night to the guests, but it’s not like there are any cougars here willing to pay for the privilege. Still the job is easy and can be enjoyable; it’s just a matter of finding something complimentary to the schedule. As well as finding the motivation to find something, some place.

Los Hostels son alojamientos low cost… buenos, bonitos y baratos

Nueva York, la ciudad más cosmopolita del mundo tiene distintas posibilidades de alojamiento según los bolsillos de cada uno, a parte de los hoteles os presentamos los Hostels (albergues), una alternativa 100% low cost, sitios prácticos, cómodos, baratos e ideales para conocer a gente nueva, y situados en distintas zonas de la ciudad como Greenwich Village, Harlem, Broadway, Chelsea o cerca del Central Park. Más información en http://www.hostelnewyork.com

Today I went down to the beautiful Darling Harbour to check out the Travel mania that has swept through Sydney this weekend. My focus was on the Adventure Travel & Backpacker Expo but it was easy to get distracted with Mind Body and Spirit as well as two other festivals going on around there.

My greatest surprise of the day was to get into the Expo at around 3pm (closes at 4pm) and see that it was already time to start celebrating the success of the day. However, my sources inform me that the whole expo is like one big backpacker travel party. Good people, travel on the brain, beers and other beverages flowing and generally a great vibe throughout the whole place.

The expo is run by  http://www.myadventureexpo.com/and sponsored by Myexpotravel (http://www.myexpotravel.com/) aswell as TNT Magazine and YHA Australia. The goal of the event is for people interested in travelling in Australia and Around the World, who have a focus on Adventure and Backpacker style travel to connect and learn more about what’s on offer. And man was there a lot on show!

From overseas work to Incredible India, Bungee Jumping in New Zealand and Volunteering in schools in Africa. You had the latest in backpacker accessories, the best in accommodation and backpacking locations around Australia as well as the cream of the crop for Travel agents and guides. Throw in some competitions, live music, 1000’s of brochures, lollies and FREE giveaways and you’ve got the traveller’s dream day.

My favourite stand was definitely the crew from Cairns! They set up a bar and the tunes were pumping out all day. Win friends and influence people with FREE Beer, these guys are on to a good thing.  I was also very impressed with an up and coming group, DragonBus. www.dragonbuschina.com was launched last night and they will be offering a hop on/ hop off bus service in China. You also can’t miss the fun teams at TNT Magazine and TravelManagers for their down to earth vibe and great advice (Contact NickBowditch for all the best deals!)

I really took away from this Expo just how little I know about Australian Travel and the many wonderful places that this great country has to offer. I have been to some of the “must see” destinations in the world- Eiffel Tower in Paris, Taj Mahal in India, Pyramids of Mexico and Oktoberfest of Munich. Sadly though, I have not seen Australia’s Great Barrier Reef or Ayers Rock. I haven’t even been to some of our major cities like Hobart, Adelaide or Darwin. It was definitely a bit of home truth for me and Australia is now at the top of my travel list!

The event is on again tomorrow, 8 November 2009 at the Exhibition & Convention Centre (Darling Harbour). Grab a few mates, cool down with a beer and you can start planning your next big adventure!

For FREE ENTRY visit: http://mytraveladventure.com.au/free-sydney-expo-ticket/

Twice this week I have been without the use of a computer, or the internet. The boredom that ensued was only alieveated by the fact that I had a great book with me, which once I’ve finished I’ll review. Otherwise, asides from the required rounds of the hostel I was like a hermaphrodite in a unisex toilet – unsure what to do and annoyed at anyone who came in.

The first time I was without the computer it was because Windows XP, yes XP not Vista or 7, chose to update and then restart. Well having restarted without my permission the damn thing require a password to complete its start-up. Something I didn’t have. Given that this wasn’t an emergency and that there was no one to check in, I chose not to give a shout to the on-call manager. The likelihood of him picking up was slim to none. So reading was done.

The second time the internet was out. The internet had been out for a good portion of the day and one of the managers supposedly called the ISP but nothing happened. I at least had access to the internet this time so I managed to get some writing done, for NaNoWriMo. As you can see, there is now a widget on the right, courtesy of NaNoWriMo that displays my word count and how close to my goal of 50,000 words I am. Which I’m not. I’m no where near it really. So we’ll see what happens. It’s still early in the month and I have a couple days off after tonight.

So I’ve had a very interesting past few nights in the hostel. I actually had my room all to myself for a couple of nights which was really nice. However, in the past 48 hours there has been quite a few random occurrences including some ‘3:00am bump and grind’ in the room above me and nudity in the dining room that have made it uncomfortable to be here and made me wish even harder for a definite place to live to come my way soon.

I understand that many travelers are on vacation and that means a bit of (or a lot of) partying.. but it is definitely not necessary to scream every time you laugh when its past midnight… among other things.

Anyways, I am now back on track, equipped with a phone again, and ready to take on the world of jobs, apartments etc… if only there were some jobs posted out there! I stopped by the movie theatre again with a proper cover letter and a phone number on my resume and the girl behind the counter told the customer in line ahead of me that they were understaffed. Then when I came up with my resume, they were ‘not hiring.’ Go figure.

Oh well. I’m trying to maintain hope. However slim.

So far the nicest people I have encountered as far as applying for jobs randomly go were all the people at the film studios! They were really friendly and took my resume with a smile, even though I’m sure they know I will probably never be hired. But at least they make the effort to be kind.

Today I went to the nearest ‘Community Centre’ to try to join in an open hip-hop dance class! It would have been my first ever dance class and definitely my first attempt at any kind of ‘organized exercise’ but unfortunately the class has been cancelled for a month already. Boo! At the very least they are still running the open life-drawing studio on Monday mornings so I intend to go to that on Monday.. just to try to start meeting people or at least to do something creative that is totally for fun and not linked to any kind of job prospects.  Community Centers (like everything here) are quite different from back home, apparently they are simply a ‘venue’ and people running the classes just rent out rooms to hold their classes in. This means that the Community Centre itself doesn’t actually have any information on the cost of the class or any info beyond the when and where.

By the way, does anyone have any advice on meeting an ‘agent’ for the first time? I randomly submitted my resume and a photo to this talent posting in the job listings because I thought they might be able to hook me up with extra work on movies (and hopefully, eventually, the Hobbit) and they emailed with a time and date for an ‘interview.’ I’m not really sure what I should expect. In looking up other talent agencies in NZ it seems that most of them require a 150.00 fee (for a year) to have you on their ‘extras roster.’ Maybe I’m wrong, but this seems like a scam. I totally understand that an agent takes a cut of your income when you make something.. but an up-front ‘registration fee’ (other than getting head shots done) sounds fishy. Anyone got any advice for me? As an extra, in theory, do I need a professional (i.e. EXPENSIVE) head shot?

Well.

I suppose I should go and do something productive now.

In October 2008, I booked one night’s accommodation on Skomer Island, where Atlantic puffins return each year to their cliffside burrows to breed, before returning back to the deep sea in late July.  I spent 3 hours the first morning that bookings to the general public opened, phoning and phoning until I got through. When I did get through, we only had two choices: one early in the season and one late. I chose late – mid July 2009.

I have never, ever been so committed to booking anything. Even tickets to the Tom Waits concert we saw in Dublin last year only took me one hour of hitting the ‘refresh’ button on TicketMaster’s website.

The set off point for the island, Martin’s Haven, is about 3 miles from the nearest village, which itself is miles from a town of any consequence.  We dithered about how we would get there and didn’t find much in the way of public transport options.  After considering renting a car and hiking, we eventually decided to cycle around Pembrokeshire – the south-western-most county in Wales.

Nic found a few cycle routes that would cover the area: specifically, Sustran’s National Cycle Network routes  47 and 4.  I booked us train tickets to Carmarthen, using National Express East Coast’s website, which handily allows us to book a place for our bikes as well.  Wales has been Nic and Oanh’s 2009 Most Visited Country.  Have we mentioned that we love Wales?

We’re writing up the blow-by-blow account elsewhere, at the Crazy Guy on a Bike website.  We’ve been using the CGoaB website for lots of information about cycle-touring, so we’re giving back a bit by telling our own cycling stories there.

We cycled about 320kms over the 8 days, with many ups and many downs (approximately 3,244m of them, to be specific) and almost always into a headwind.  The weather, too, was not very pleasant.  I think of our total 9 day trip (including the one day on Skomer Island), we had 2 days of nice and dry weather; one of which, annoyingly, was our last day (involving mostly of train travel back to Southampton).  Even so, we had an excellent time.

Our route was planned around a few key stops: Pwyll Deri YHA Hostel, the town of St David’s and, of course, Skomer Island.  The rest we let happen as we cycled, which gave us great flexibility for rest days, lazy mornings hiding from the rain or longer stops to explore excellent Welsh castles.

Highlights of the trip were:

1. Pwyll Deri YHA – the hostel with the best view, ever.  Here we escaped from the rain after a drenched, cold miserable and grumpy (but short) cycle ride (see Lowlight #1 below).  We cooked up a delicious feast of rice and curry, and were even fed cake by one of our fellow hostellers.

Oanh photographs Nic photographing the view (after the rain has passed!).

2. Without a shadow of a doubt, the puffins on Skomer Island.

PUFFIN!!!

3. Serendipitously turning into the Druidston Hotel for a delicious lunch (when we discovered our bodies must have really needed fat as we have never eaten so much buttered bread in one sitting), and then spending the next 2 hours waiting out a downpour.

Coastline near the hotel at Druidston Haven, shortly before the rain hit.

4. The coastal scenery and gorgeous sunsets almost every night.

Sunset near Martin's Haven.

5.  The Welsh have really good castles.  Most have roughly the same history – built as strongholds for Norman and/or English overlords, generally named William, who wanted to subdue the Welsh ; were usually Royalist strongholds during the Civil Wars of the 17th Century and eventually slighted by Parliamentarians to become the picturesque ruins that Nic and I love.

Laugharne Castle

6. First Great Western’s carriage just for bikes.  Brilliant!  If only all the train providers would have such a thing.

(Ummm… nice as it was, we didn’t take a photo of this.)

7. The Welsh accent.

Lowlights of the trip included:

1. Me meandering slowly around a warm grocery store while Nic grew colder and colder as he had waited outside with the bikes, in the wind and rain.  Our cycle after was tense and grumpy for a bit, until Nic warmed up and I stopped feeling guilty for being so thoughtless.

2.The stupidest “cycle” path ever:

From Johnston to near Pembroke, there is an approximately 8 miles long traffic free bike path, which is great.  However, it ended, without warning, by turning sharply up a narrow gravel track, which shortly became stairs.  Even mountain bikes can’t tackle stairs.  We both grunted and grumbled as we struggled up with our bikes.  To add insult to injury, at the top of the path, toxic smelling black plumes of smoke (a factory burning off car tyres?) welcomed us to a dual-carriage motorway (with the bike lane on the opposite side of the road) which took us into the drab, charmless town centre of Pembroke Harbour.  I was so glad when Nic told me that Pembroke, our destination for the evening, was another five kilometres past Pembroke Harbour.

3. The hideous campsites at Tenby, which was expensive and had rubbish facilities, and Laugharne, which charged us the same amount as a car and four people, and directed us to a tent pitch  in between enormous caravans that seemed larger than our house.  All our other campsites were lovely.

But enough moaning!  Go read the whole story at Huffin’ & Puffins!

*****

All of our Skomer Island photos are here.

All of our Pembrokeshire Cycling photos are here.

Like most things and probably people, I should be sectioned off from society. Or society should be sectioned off from me. Maybe this is Karma’s/Life’s/Fate’s/God’s/the Norns’ way of telling me that I am being separated – by that I mean working night shift.

Separated from society has its benefits. For example, I get to trawl through the Lost and Found; along with the alley behind the hostel; the staff fridge; the guest fridge; the kitchen; for that matter the entirety of the hostel. I can even go into dorm rooms that are occupied and see what I can find, that doesn’t obviously belong to someone bunking there. Private rooms offer a little more trouble in that respects, the occupied ones that is.

In my hourly rounds I find mostly garbage. Or I have up to this point. Today, or rather night, I found the most awesomely awesome garbagey garbage. Or it seems that way right now. I have found: Scientology An Overview, including a biographical presentation on the life of L. Ron Hubbard. It’s a DVD brochure.

This thing is the equivalent of a full-blown movie production. All told it must run at least an hour and a half. Now only if the sound worked on these computers I could spend the rest of the night being indoctrinated. Curse you fate for preventing me from joining a cult, when it’s exactly what I need at this point in my life. Curse you!

Just in case you’re interested in the contents of the DVD here is the description, verbatim:

A Message from the Church of Scientology (0:48)
L. Ron Hubbard: Founder (10:20)
Beliefs & Practices

• Creed of the Church of Scientology (2:31)
• What Scientologist Say About Scientology (3:01)
• Inside a Church of Scientology (4:29)
• The Basic Principles of Scientology (16:55)
• An Introduction to Dianetics (10:57)

Human Rights

• Making Human Rights a Fact (6:27)
• Youth for Human Rights TV Public Service Messages (28:07)
• United Music Video (5:23)
• In Support of Human Rights (5:57)
• Freedom Magazine: A Voice for Human Rights (3:47)

Anti-Drug

• The Truth About Drugs Campaign (7:57)
• Anti-Drug TV Public Service Messages (12:06)
• In Support of a Drug-Free World (7:15)

The Way to Happiness

• The Way to Happiness: A Non-Religious Moral Code (7:23)
• The Way to Happiness TV Public Service Messages (20:37)
• The Way to Happiness Foundation Grand Opening (10:51)

Narconon

• Drug Rehabilitation and Prevention (7:00)
• What Narconon Graduates Say (4:35)

Applied Scholastics

• Answers for Better Education and Literacy (6:09)
• What Students and Parents Say (4:10)

Volunteer Ministers

• Providing Effective Help (6:40)
• Volunteer Ministers in Partnerships (8:03)

And that’s it. Oddly there is a picture on the inside cover of a guy on a dirt bike doing a jump. I’m not sure how that relates…

Last night the computers at work updated and being windows restarted without my say so. Which meant that I spent 6 productive hours doing laundry and reading. Sadly there were no cute women also doing their laundry at 3AM. But that’s to be expected as it was the staff laundry room, and I was washing new duvets, in the hostel. Anyone wanting to do their laundry at that time should be considered more than a little loony.

I on the other hand am getting paid to do laundry at that time in the morning. Most of that laundry tends to be dirty kitchen rags, but that’s fine by me. Better than dealing with soiled sheets the morning after. It’s also better than attempting to clean the sheets of some of the homeless that I see. They drag those things all over downtown, while screaming obscenities and swinging planks. I await the day that two of them meet – that will be a fight not seen since Rocky IV. Hmm… they need a name, so that they may be entered into this blog. A picture wouldn’t go amiss either – which means getting a camera.

Two paragraphs down and I still haven’t managed to actually write anything of substance. But that’s what NaNoWriMo is for and my attempts at it. So I was thinking, more as a means of procrastinating, of putting down all the chapter titles in this blog and then marking off when I’ve finished em. Of course I’ve “set-up” a blog for that idea, I just haven’t implemented it. Either one, or both, requires some thought. Maybe I’ll manage to get some writing done and a decision made in one night. Or I could just keep reading.

Update: Of course I write 285 words for this little post, but do I manage that with anything else? Me thinks not.

Yerevan’s most central and trendiest value hostel catering for the budget traveler! We offer beds and rooms for all who seek value for money budget accommodation in Yerevan! A fantastic crew of staff, located in the heart of Yerevan, near Republic Square (Hanrapetutyan sq. in Armenian) and only a heartbeat from Yerevan’s most popular attractions.

You and your friends can reserve beds starting from only 5500 AMD (less than 10 Euro). We accept group accommodation and bookings. 24 hour free Wifi internet and 24 hour reception is available along with many other facilities.

Overall, THEATRE Hostel offers an unbeatable blend of value for money, comfort and security, and is undeniably the greatest portal for visitors looking for budget accommodation in Yerevan! One can easily travel using a subway which is the most convenient transport in Yerevan for tourists (you’ll find the names of stations in English and Russian:) and is located right in front of THEATRE Hostel (“Zoravar Andranik” station). We are only a heartbeat from Yerevan’s most popular attractions; including the biggest church in Yerevan “Saint Gregory the Illuminator,” Republic Square, Abovyan str., etc.

Odds are you are guaranteed to meet interesting people from different cultures and backgrounds. Being the most central hostel in Yerevan we can offer nightly events and parties at Yerevan famous venues.

We offer accommodation to suit everyone. We are one of the cheapest accommodations in Yerevan, and our location is like no other. Along with the sights and sounds of Yerevan (and our hostel!) you will be asking yourself by the end, why should I go home?

Penquin’s Popular Classics series are ideal for travellers. Consisting of  classic novels (which are so much better than a lot of the dirge hanging around hostel bookswap shelves – Andy McNab anyone?) condensed into a couple of hundred pages and sold for £2 at bookstores all over the world.

Offering a chance to catch up with the reading you never got time for back home (that’s what 17 hour bus journeys were designed for, right?),  these  cute volume, that just  slip  into your backpack,  really are the ideal for enthuastic travellers.

On various trips I have read Bram Stoker’s Dracula (picked up from Istanbul International Airport) and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (bought in Kiev), and we are keeping our eyes open for the many other titles in the series (I’ve got my fingers crossed for a bit of Wilde or Poe) .

The catch? Well for £2 you don’t get a cover design, the paper is as cheap as paper gets and the binding tends to fall apart after a couple of  reads.

There’s a smugness that comes with being able to listen in on another’s conversation, particularly when that conversation is being held in another language. It occurs all the time here at the hostel as I’m sure it does in many customer service jobs and the travel/hospitality industry at large. Everyday we overhear discussions in Japanese, Arabic, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindu, Urdu, and plenty more.

However, it’s not all that uncommon for those very same conversations to be about ourselves. As I was just party to. Now it wasn’t a bunch of Swedish women discussing the potential package I’ve got in my pants behind this counter and the possibility of finding out about it in an upstairs bathroom. Rather it was between two drunk Swiss dudes, who were not in fact guests at this hostel.

And as is so common for both the drunk and those not staying at the hostel they couldn’t understand our policy of not letting anyone beyond the lobby. It’s for security reasons, or so we’re told. But in reality it cramps everyone’s style… well that of the guests. Because they’re not allowed to have friends up. This includes friends whom they would like to very much engage in sexual congress. Sadly to say, this is a form of outreach that the hostel is against, as those who are actually of the local community aren’t allowed to stay here.

So these two drunk Swiss dudes weren’t allowed in and proceeded to ask why repeatedly. Only to switch tactics of asking about reservations before asking if they could bring a girl here and “fuck”. Not satisfied with the answer they left as their conversation reverted to German. As a farewell they called me an asshole, again in German but only to one another, and gave me a smile and a wave.

Ah, the Swiss, such bastions of diplomacy.

Welcome to Palermo Soho

Palermo is one of Buenos Aires most extensive and attractive neighborhoods and Palermo Soho or Palermo Viejo (Old Palermo) is one of its most fascinating areas.

Palermo “Soho”, like its London namesake, is famous for its international class food shops, its lively nightlife and for the bohemian breeze blowing through its streets and cafés. It is also well known for its bookstores and very “in” restaurants.

A mixture of antique recycled and modern innovative

Even though Palermo Soho is the oldest part of Palermo, it is not at all decrepit. In the last few years much money has been poured into renovating the neighborhood.

This zone is ideal for a stroll along tree-lined streets past “recycled” houses and modern businesses that have retained their traditional façades, for visits to its street fairs in Plaza Palermo or in Plaza Julio Cortázar (also known as Placita Serrano), and for stops at restaurants and bars that have kept their spirit and original structure while adding innovative decoration.

Plaza Julio Cortázar, also known as Placita Serrano

Nested among groves of trees

Santa Rosa Passage

• THE FLAVORS OF PALERMO
In Palermo Soho you can find the most diverse cuisine: Mediterranean, Armenian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, and simply international. However, what tourists most value is the Argentine barbeque. Eating out is not expensive and there are options for all budgets. No matter what you choose, you will find attractively presented high quality food.

Many places to go to eat

Argentinean meat

Easy to see that both the presentation and the quality are excellent

In the evening or at night you can stop to have a cup of tea or a drink at one of the cafés or bars surrounding Plaza Serrano. Most have sidewalk tables where you can catch some rays or simply watch the constant flow of visitors walking along the Palermo streets.

• INNOVATIVE DESIGN
Vanguard design is found in the numerous stores that sell furniture, light fixtures and decorative objects.

Palermo Soho is also well known for its clothing and accessory stores. Besides the shops that carry the traditional and top of the line brands, you will also find a large number of independent shops selling exclusive original designs in limited editions.

Independent designers

Exclusive and innovate designs

• NIGHT LIFE
Palermo nights are very active. Both the tourists and locals who swamp the streets usually have a “before dinner” drink in the different neighborhood pubs before ending the evening in one of the fashionable discos. Palermo is a young adult favorite because it offers so many entertainment choices: independent theater, live shows and live music in the pubs.

• WHAT TO BUY
Palermo Soho is ideal for all types of shopping. You can find clothes, decorative objects, furniture, accessories, aromatic candles, shoes, bed and bath products and much more.

• WHERE TO STAY: LODGING IN PALERMO SOHO
There is an option for every budget. If you prefer total privacy, the best choice is to rent an apartment. If you prefer direct contact with other tourists so you can share experiences and save money, the best option is to stay at a Hostel in Palermo. A more expensive option would be to choose a Bed and Breakfast.

• HERE AND THERE
Usually people take time to visit other parts of the Palermo neighborhood: Palermo Hollywood, full of restaurants and all kinds of shops; the Palermo Zoo; the Planetarium, the city’s observatory; the Botanic Gardens; the Museo Evita, offering a comprehensive look at the life and times of Eva Perón; Shopping Centers such as Alto Palermo and Paseo Alcorta; the incredibly beautiful Japanese Gardens and the Palermo Woods, the city’s lungs, ideal for open air activities such as cycling, jogging, rollerblading or simply strolling.

• RECOMENDATIONS

- Bring your camera
- Buy an exclusive design item of clothing or a pair of shoes
- Obtain a map of Palermo. They are free and available in the stores.
- Be careful of your belongings. Pickpockets are always present in big cities. Don’t be afraid, just be prudent.
- Have a cup of coffee or a beer in Plaza Serrano.
- If you like wine, order some to accompany one of your meals.
- If you want to save money, buy a sandwich and a soda in one of the neighborhood kiosques.

• More Palermo Soho Pictures

Source: Buenos Aires Hostels + www.ba-h.com.ar the most important reference for Hostels in Buenos Aires. The website was created in 1999 and offers a wide variety of hostels, apartments, bed and breakfasts and university residences in the main Buenos Aires neighborhoods: Palermo, Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Belgrano, San Telmo, La Boca, etc.