Australia Sum Up Part Deux

We left off in the camper van in Brisbane, and getting out of that was another highlight for sure.  Put that on the list.  Thank you Sam and family for that amazing break from the road.  You have no idea how much I needed my batteries recharged.  There are more ins and outs of the trip, but I don't want this to get too wordy and I am going to tell you all the stories in person soon anyway!

- Next I booked a flight to Sydney for some happy reunions.  I was able to spend some time with a great friend Ashley Scott when I arrived before he jetted off back to England.  Next came the bevy of American guests.  Jessica Plowman, thank you so much for making the trip to come spend a SOLID amount of time with me and the family.  I think your addition to our road trek was just about perfect.  The teacher connection did not hurt.  Obvious thank yous to Mom and Sister for flying all the way down to spend a month in cars and motels and let me show you a bit of my life while I had been there.  Many memories that can be shared and re-experienced for days to come.  Sharks, trivia, snorkel driving on the wrong side of the road, the koala, airplane ride, and all the rest.  By the way, not sure if any of you ladies were awake, but that stretch of highway up the mountain when it was pouring and we were driving by all the semi trucks might have been one of the most scared I have been in my life.  You all should have pitched in for a massage after that, I white knuckled it the whole way.

- After a relaxing week in Cairns with Kim and Karly, we headed back to Sydney for what would be one of the most relevant experiences of my trip.  Kudos to them for staying in, well lets call them what they were, sh*thole "motels, in Sydney.  BUT, more kudos for me for staying in them so much long.  If you ever get bored google "The Strand Hotel."  I stayed there for three weeks because they were the only place that would take American Express and cost under $25 a night.  Why, well I covered this extensively before, but in case you did not read, after being robbed at the basketball court and no way to access any money, the strand had my card on file and told them to keep billing it.  Thank you again to those of you that helped me stay a float during the period when I was about 50/50 I was going to be sleeping on the street for at least a night.  I could have handled it though!

- Another round of visits from some amazing Americans were just what the Dr. ordered.  That and some time off my again stress fest working at Costco Australia, no joke, the job was stressful, I mean put me in the jewellery (aussie spelling) and handbags department and then put the London girl the in liquor/alcohol department just seemed cruel.
Thank you again to Lindsay Bushnell for her outstanding visit (never would have gone to the zoo without you, probably would have seen Hunger Games II.  That care package was outstanding (diet coke, Hersey's chocolates, a UW shirt just to name a few.  Then for "New Year's" Brendan and Joey Lawrence.....or days of fraterntites past.  3am on a Tuesday and making the decision to stay out later brings back old times for sure.

Next post I will get into Thailand as much as a Google blog read by lord knows who will allow.  Too be honest though the trip was fairly tame for what I hear/see goes on over here.  I have pretty much just been on a long vacation for the past 3 weeks.

I did have some travel stats that I had been thinking about that I found rather staggering though.  These stats begin on April 15th 2013 and extend into today.

# of razor blades used- 8
# of pairs of underwear- 6 + 2 bathing suits in case of emergency
# of unforgettable moments- 15 or 16 I can't really remember
# of times rechecked in to the same Sydney hostel- 4
# of times up and down the Australia East coast- roughly 1,500 miles one way- 2, freaking two, what was I thinking
# of total visitors- 6- I think I thanked you all, but thanks again
# of bromances- 2- You both know who you are, but I'll name names, Stuart and Ashley, one came first and the other lasted longer.
# of failed romances, so many, only one that was worth my time though, I think if circumstances were different we would of had a shot. (Happy?  I mentioned you, was planning on it the whole time by the way)
# of total basketball suspensions- 1
# of suspensions that were worth it- 1, and it got overturned because my team only had 4 players that week and they needed me.....had the same ref the next week, gave him a wink and smile.
# of times struck by a moving vehicle- 1 and so close to a second, guys if its wet out and you have on dress shoes, your ability to stop and turn on a dime is greatly reduced, so don't jaywalk.
# of weekly pub trivia competitions won- 2.  Not bad since many questions were "Who is on the Australian $10 note, or what year did the Sydney Stooges win the Grand Final"  We never had an Aussie on the team and the answers are Banjo Patterson and that is a made up team, but seems like a team name is Australia, right?
-This one is staggering to me-
# of pairs of shoes used worn/ 4.5- A pair of Adidas basketball shoes for hoops, Nike cross trainers, 2 pairs of Kmart dress shoes for work and to get into bars, and then 1 pair of sandals.  THAT IS IT!!!!! and I lost the Nikes early January.  I have spent a majority of my time in Thailand barefoot.

I swear I have more Oz pictures but blew it and left them all on my computer in Australia.  I think I'll do an all picture/caption post when I get back in America in 7 days!!!!!!!!!!  Flight out of Phuket tomorrow then leave Sydney on Monday.  I'll post Thai pics and some amazing videos before then.

Oh and have you guys seen the video of what Ringo and Doc actually say to each other in latin in Tombstone....awesome.  I only mention it because that movie is free on youtube and I've watched it about 4 times on this trip and it's easily Val's best role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gSj1G4Vf0w


Talk/see you all soon!!

Scott

Last Call Australia...Part 1 (21 days late)

Today I am heading to Wet and Wild, tomorrow I am boarding a plane for Thailand, and yesterday was my last day of work.  Things are good!  I spent 2 hours yesterday emailing bars in Phuket to see if they will be playing the Super Bowl; found 3.  Things are good, life is good.

Its been roughly 10 months since I left the US and this has been quite the life experience.  Ups and downs have been plentiful along the way.  Having my wallet stolen and not having any money, to making some "lifelong" (hope so) international friends that I can stay with when I get the itch to travel again.  Many highs and lows.  The biggest low was taking the same job I left for the past 6 months.  And as I have said before it is almost worth it to know for certain that is not where I want to end up when I am back home job hunting.

I finally got a request for something to write about, so I will take a second and cover that.  Top things that I have missed while traveling.

-Obligatory friends and family
-The NFL and college basketball, and all American sports
-My old men's hoops rec league (although have loved being the best again out here)
- American dialect
- Riding in a car (I think I have been in a car for about 20 hours this whole year, maybe
- A cool and crisp Pacific Northwest day
- Diet Pepsi and Bud Light
- A regular gym to visit, not my fake made up one from an earlier post
- Cell phone internet access.  This year I have spent about $120 on cell phone bills
- Texting freely
- My own bed, for that matter my own room.  Enjoy it everyone, its an amazing luxury
- Issaquah High Hoops
- Safeway
- TV!

That is about the gist of it.  I am sure there is more, but off the top of my head it did not make the list.

I typed all this before I left for Thailand, its now 20 or so days later, but I figured I could get the rest of the thoughts off my head.  And I can't get started on talking about Thailand yet.  My GOD.

****************

I know everyone is waiting on how Wet and Wild was, two words.......Amazing!

I thought of some more things that I miss in the us.  Our peanut butter, the radio, current music, going to the movies without taking out another mortgage, Internet access, steady paychecks, US currency, College Hoops, showering without sandals on, US holiday/three day weekends, short plane rides, and last but not least as I have to say it again, all of you.  Seriously, a lot!!

After being is Asia for 3 weeks, I do already miss Australia though.  Not the prices, but you get a daily routine, and friends, and a certain comfort level that I took for granted as I am never in once place for more than three days at a time.

I think another good topic would be Australia Highlights, these will be semi broad and then I'll try to go into more detail (please no offense to anyone as these are off the top of my head and not in any kind of order)

- Getting off the plane in Sydney- I am a semi seasoned traveller, and the plane journey was so long (read post 3 or 4 or something), but once I was off that plane in Sydney it was all real.  I had done it and was unpredictably terrified.  I think I hung around the terminal for an extra half hour just to calm my nerves.  Once I got to the first hostel and checked in I felt much more comfortable, but those first few hours were jarring.

- Booking a flight to Cairns on a whim, just cause I could- The problem with being young is you don't have the $ to be free, and when you are old you have the $, but don't have the time.  Quitting work and just going for it was obviously not the best financial decision I could have made, but you literally can't pay for kind of freedom I have experience the past year (Well really you can, its pricey).

- Scuba on the Great Barrier Reef- Amazing, nuff said

-Getting in a camper van with 3 Brits and travelling the Australian West Coast- It was crazy how many Australians were jealous of the trip we just did.  I feel like most of them have not even seen their own country.  In that van we had the ability to come and go as we pleased and stay in a city as long as we wanted.  Downside being I "was living in a van down by the river," and sleeping next to a guy my size each night.  When you are able to follow a tour bus from waterfall to waterfall and do all the same things they were doing, knowing that you were paying 1/4 the gas only and they were paying at least $149, helps put the crappy living conditions into perspective.
(plus there was that awesome all night drive from Brisbane to Byron Bay/ and my night bike steal that will be an all timer)

This will be part one.  I am staying in Phuket for 7 more days with nothing to do and insane Internet/computer access so I swear much much more to come.  It is just that come $1.40 pad thai is calling my name.