Half of Australia's East Coast: Melbourne to Brisbane

Upon arriving in Melbourne, I was fortunate enough to have a friend living there that I stayed with- Scottish Chris, who I travelled through Vietnam and Cambodia with a couple months back. There were also a slew of other friend living in Melbourne that I had met in Asia including Linda and Nick who I travelled with in northern Thailand, Pete who I got into my scooter accident with in Pai, Thailand; and finally Tuuli, who I met in Cambodia. I was in Melbourne for ANZAC Day which is a National Day of Remembrance in Australia and New Zealand in memory of those men who lost their lives on April 25th, 1915 during World War I. Chris, Tuuli and I went to the Dawn Service which was very moving and although it was a really early morning and a really long day, I'm glad I took part of such an important day.

Melbourne itself is an amazing city. It is a city where I really could see myself living- it's got a relaxed, friendly feel with an artistic vibe. There are also cultural events happening almost every weekend and great markets. When I left Melbourne, I got a lift up to Sydney with a German named Oliver. Getting lifts is a really popular way to get around Oz. Basically, people post offers and you give them a call and get a lift to where ever, just splitting the cost of petrol. So off I went to Sydney with Oliver and ended up staying in King's Cross which is by far the most, uh, colorful place I have ever been in my life... I think the number of junkies, dealers and prostitutes out number the amount of backpackers. Although, it is a really popular place for us to stay because of the nightlife and proximity to Sydney's sights. I was luck enough to find work at two different hostels there, cleaning for free accommodation. It saved me heaps of money although after cleaning about 20 toilets, I had to question my own principles! That said, Sydney or rather Australia in general is very expensive and saving money where ever I can is necessary. I saw all the sights including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Bondi and Manly Beaches, etc. I also had friends in Sydney that I had met in Asia including Welsh Danny from Cambodia, Nathan from Bangkok and the strangest encounter had to be seeing a guy I met in the Czech Republic four years ago randomly playing pool one night. I also met some really nice people in the hostels I worked at and have great memories of my time there. Although I also received the worse news of my trip while I was there. The day I was leaving Sydney, I got an email from my mom telling me our dog, Duke, had to be put down the night before. I wasn't expecting that and needless to say, it was and continues to be a heartache that I am trying to cope with.

I got a lift up the coast with two girls, Nic and Kris. Nic was Scottish and Kris was English and they were some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting on this trip. They were partners up until 2 weeks prior and thought having an extra person in the car might ease any awkwardness that might arise between them. Well, I was well entertained by them for the next two weeks as we headed up the coast towards Brisbane. They constantly bantered back and forth, putting each others' country down and taking the piss out of each other (crude, but that just means kidding around). We camped a few times at various places and although we had a fair bit of rain, we managed to have a great time. I think Byron Bay was one of my favorite spots on the way to Brisbane, but Brisbane itself was not the highlight of my trip, that's for sure. There just wasn't much to do there and I mainly hung out at the hostel and played pool for hours on end.

I said goodbye to Kris and Nic and promised to visit them in Glasgow and headed to the small town of Pomona and I will tell you why: While travelling in Asia, I met a few people who had done this mysterious 10 meditation course and they all told me I had to do it. So, I did it. I could write about this experience for then next 5 pages but will save you from that and just tell you a little bit. The first 3.5 days were spent focusing on breathing and not allowing yourself to think about the past or future, just the present. Harder said than done. Close your eyes and try to focus on your breathing without you mind drifting off about ANYTHING for 20 seconds and see if you can do it... Once you mastered that technique, called Anapana, rest of the time was spent focusing on the sensations in your body (aka PAIN after sitting for 1 hour not moving) and viewing all sensations objectively, in a detached way- this is Vipassana. I highly recommend it because while it is very difficult (up at 4am everyday, meditate for 12 hours a day and you only could eat 2 pieces of fruit after llam until breakfast the next morning at 6:3oam the next day, it was a really good experience. One of the best things about the center was there were kangaroos and little joeys that lived on the property that were very entertaining- thank God for them because you couldn't talk for 9 days, read or write and they were my only entertainment. Enough about that! You can read more about it at http://www.dhamma.org/ if you'd like.

After the meditation course, I headed to Noosa, a little north of Brisbane where it rained for a couple days. I went to the Steve Irwin Zoo which was good, although rather sad with the memorials for him. The weather hasn't been too nice as of late and am at Rainbow Beach which is near Fraser Island at the moment, waiting for better weather before I go to the island. I'm working here at Dingo's Hostel for free accommodation by meeting the buses as they role up and trying to get people to come stay at Dingo's. Easiest job I have ever had:) The weather is beginning to clear and I think I will be heading to Fraser in a day or so. Well, that's about it from Down Under:)

See you in less than a month! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!