A Change of Pace: My 'Life' in Australia (to be cont.)

It has been quite some time since my last post. If I can remember correctly without going back to re-read my post I believe it was written sometime during my road trip up the East Coast having just left Melbourne. 

As a new and intriguing chapter in my life is beginning to unfold, it seems fitting that I should post a new entry to mark a sort of signpost in the direction of my current life experience(s). As much as these blog entries are to keep my friends and family up-to-date with my what and whereabouts and to share my experiences along the way (to where is a good question), this particular entry is more for my own personal enjoyment as it's a chance for me to take stock of my fortunes and opportunities, to reflect upon my journey up until now and to contemplate the path laid before me.

It is 9:40 am in Sydney, Australia and I have just finished eating breakfast on the sun-filled balcony of my new apartment in Pyrmont, a quintessentially European suburb by the CBD - home to the Star Casino, the Sydney Fish Market and about one hundred little cafés and Thai restaurants. As I typed that last sentence I was visited by two beautifully coloured birds (maybe parrots or love birds?) who came to munch on what's left of my breakfast (a kiwi and some bread crumbs). My apartment complex is relatively new, complete with it's own pool, sauna, jacuzzi, gym (none of which I have shamefully used yet) and I'm living with a lovely couple, the boyfriend from Saudi Arabia, the girlfriend from Turkey. They love to cook, are clean and very easy going. Less than a two-minute walk away is Darling Harbour and the Pyrmont Bridge which is surrounded on all sides by bars, restaurants, ice creameries tourist attractions, parks and obviously boats (and tourists with their over-compensatingly large cameras).

Needless to say, 'life' at the moment is pretty sweet. I put the word in quotations simply because it doesn't seem real. Just over a year ago I was holed up in some sweat-box of a hostel, living out of my rucksack and wearing the same pair of boxers for the 4th day in a row. Don't get me wrong, life was sweet then too but in a different way. And that's what this blog and the ones to follow will hopefully enable me to do - to explore my life, and myself, and view it and appreciate it through a different lens. 

Where as my previous entries were the anecdotes of cultural experiences / wonderment of a scattering of locations throughout South East Asia and beyond (savoury and not so savoury), they very much took the form of my temporary and ever-changing physical journey around the world. Now that I am staring down the barrel of a four-year sponsorship in Australia, my writings will be inspired by my semi-permenant residency and they will be much more of an emotional journey through myself and my mind (without getting too Freudian about it). 

So yeah, I've just been sponsored by Jamie's Italian Australia! This is something that I honestly never expected. When I was working for the company back in Liverpool, my good friends and colleagues Jenny and Chris left the site for Oz and to open the then new site in Sydney and it was my hope to  go visit them shortly after. But such is always the case, it remained a hope and I didn't materialise it so I just let myself get caught up in the regular trappings of my daily life. At the time, customers would frequently ask me about my curious accent (a result of a partial Scottish upbringing and a Scottish mother, a stint in England's West Country, and an even longer stay in USA's Deep South), and inquire as to where I see myself next. The answer was always the same - I have no idea. Then one day I bought a ticket to Bangkok and some months later spontaneously bought a cheap ticket to Melbourne from KL and now I'm here in Jamie's Italian Sydney with a sponsorship. It's very surreal indeed.

Perhaps it is a 'que sera, sera' moment after all. 

I do feel very fortunate. It is an opportunity I am not accepting lightly. I've met so many other travellers seeking to get sponsored to stay in Oz who have endured 88 days hard graft on farms just to get to stay in the country for one more year. And then there's me who swans in down under and in less than a year wins the 'jackpot'! I am humble, shy, and proud all at the same time. It is at this exact juncture that my life as a 'traveller', as I know it, is put on hold and my career focus, skills, abilities and personal development is being honed. 

So what's in store? Well now that I am sponsored I am beginning my management training, with the intention (my intention) of being trained up to the level necessary to open up the new Jamie's Italian in Brisbane before the end of the year. I have never done an opening before but I am willing to prove my salt and bust my balls to make sure it happens and that I am ready. In front of me, as well as my breakfast plate, is my recipe specification book in which I'm keenly writing notes and swotting up on because on the 20th of this month I begin my intensive kitchen training. It's mad to think that many years ago I contemplated going into a cheffing career and now I've got the amazing opportunity to experience it first hand (without actually committing to a lifetime of sterility from standing too close to ovens and arms full of burns and cuts). By the end of August I should be ready to take on the role as manager full time and showing what I'm made of! 

So I think that sums up the current snapshot of my 'life' so far. I will be making more of an effort to keep my posts regular and though I will be no longer writing about lady boys, eating insects and other similarly bizarre stories, I will try to keep them as equally entertaining as I can. Anyways, that's all for now. As the saying goes, watch this space! 

Much love, as always.

C

Melbourne to Sydney (via koalas, wine, and roasted marshmallows)

Hello from Australia's sunny east coast! As I write, I'm currently sitting on the lovely channel beach in The Entrance, a town somewhere between Sydney and Newcastle. It's about 28 degrees, there's a nice ocean breeze just behind me and I've just eaten an epic roast chicken sandwich with stuffing, cucumber and spinach. The only thing interrupting this idyllic scene are the drunken, and albeit rather amusing, local 'bogans' attempting to swim against the current while carrying a crate of beers. I suspect one may drown before day's end. 

So after some 6 months of living in Melbourne, we picked up our rent-a-car (an 'economic' Hyundai i20), committed ourselves to a few weeks of camping, cheap eating and less than average hygiene, and headed west in search of beaches, blue skies, wineries, dead and/or alive wildlife, and most importantly, an experience of a lifetime.

First experience - the famous Great Ocean Road. Starting at Geelong, the GOR is a stretch of road that winds through quaint seaside / surfing towns (most notable of which is Torquay - home of the surf company Rip Curl) complete with some jaw-dropping houses that I'm sure would give Kevin McLeod even the slightest erection. The GOR also provides stunning vistas of immense landscapes and geographic features like the very touristy 12 apostles, and the opportunity to get up close with some rather cute, if not a touch boring, koalas (they nap for 20 hours only waking up to scratch themselves and pose for camera-toting tourists). One of my definite favourite towns here has to be Lorne - a quiet surfer town with blue water, fishing piers and a laid back mentality. Love it. 

Unfortunately, as it's the south coast, wind there is pretty intense. As a result, I lost my favourite hat at the apostles. If any one finds a blue and yellow rip curl hat, consider it my seredipitous gift to you. You're welcome. 

Due north of Warrnambool, the last coastal town of the Great Ocean Road, is  the Grampians National Park. After a few nights of 'roughing it' in a tent in some rather questionable / random / precarious spots, we opted for the luxuries of toilets and hot showers at a touristy campsite in Halls Gap, the central hub of the Grampians. 

An aside about campsites: Now I enjoy a spot of camping as much as the next outdoorsman for the simple fact that, well, it's outdoors and often times enables you to experience some beautiful and remote spots where your every day Ibis or Holiday Inn may not. However, camping is not an entirely comfortable experience; no showers, sweaty nights, constricting mummy-like sleeping bags and 5 sorry millimeters of foam separating you from the back ache-inducing earth beneath you. But as mentioned, it's a small price to pay to be surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells (other than your own 3 day funk) of nature. 

That being said, with the exception of being able to use a hot shower, or a flushable toilet (as opposed to a long drop, or indeed, behind a bush) I don't quite understand campsites. You're neighbours with either other tent-dwellers - usually families with screaming children (no, Mummy isn't there and doesn't care, and has left you in the hopes that wildlife will raise you instead à la Jungle Book) - or more interestingly, families with campervans or motorhomes, in which is like having all of your creature comforts, but for a limited time because Dad's worried about draining the battery and you're all cramped together under one tin roof playing miniature scrabble and drinking from miniature cups. Instead of hearing the soothing ambient sounds of the great outdoors, you hear the old man in the tent next to you hacking up a lung or trumping out his dinner of tinned beans, and of course Mogley in the other tent who is still whimpering away. It just all seems a bit silly and pointless. As mentioned, I do enjoy camping in the outdoors, but really the only reason I'm camping now in the first place is because the tent was free, Australia is expensive, and I am cheap :) Rant over.

The Grampians National Park is pretty awesome. We did a fair few walks, saw some pretty waterfalls, made a few fires, roasted some marshmallows, drove along dirt tracks to get to an olive grove (which turned out to be closed) and saw some breathtaking landscapes. Oh and nearly took out a number of kangaroos in our car along the way. Skippy is a bit slippy in headlights. 

As a foodie and aspiring wino, I had to visit some of the wineries along the Great Western Highway. The winery of choice had to be the famous Bests Winery, originally built in the 1800s which features an under ground cellar of gargantuan wine barrels and dusty bottles of port from the 1960s just waiting to wash down a platter of smelly cheeses. In the spirit of responsible drinking / designated driver, I limited myself to only one winery and only two 'samples' (a lovely 'drink by the fire' Shiraz and a delicate pino meunier) though I would've quite happily 'sampled' until I passed out beneath some pino grape vine. 

After another random night of setting up the tent alongside the motorway (ill add monoxide poisoning to the list of reasons to camp), we drove into Syney. I love this city. So many things to do and see. Or you can do none and just sit in the botanical gardens and watch the world go by - it's all good. It seems as though, like Melbourne, the city is populated by the beautiful, fit and healthy; everyone is running or cycling or doing push-ups on every curb, ledge and staircase. They actually use those exercise spots in parks at which you typically see under 15s drinking Lambrini or sharing a curious and awkward first-time grope.

The general debate is that you either love Sydney or you love Melbourne however Ill be bold and controversial and say nay, I love both.

As per, my entry has become much longer/wordier than initially planned and though there is much more to share (the rest of the East Coast) I shall swiftly end it. Similarly, I have taken an excessive amount of photos, too much to upload so a collage of my favourites (so far) will have to do (courtesy of Instacollage). 

Enjoy. Much love.

Tales from Down Under

And like the yellow peanut m&m exclaimed upon seeing Santa in the flesh 'he does exist!' Yes that's right folks, after quite the hiatus I thought it was about time that I returned to my blogging and update all those interested of my recent adventures down under! 

Firstly, I'd like to extend to you an obligatory and predictable 'g'day' and 'how you going?' and also, a very merry Christmas indeed (sweet as bro). So at the time of writing, it's 18.48 on December the 27th. Normally at this time of the post Christmas Day year, the festive cheer that had been forced upon me during the months of November and December by commercial or social means would be very quickly wearing off. All that would remain would be a broke, fat, lazy, and very pale shadow of my normal cynical self. However, as I spent my Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere here in Oz, I couldn't be more aptly converse.

It's early evening, the sky is baby blue and the sun is still beaming it's last warming rays before sunset at about 20.45, as opposed to 16.30 back in bleak ole Blighty. In place of a horrendous pair of socks given to me by a member of the extended family or a less than creative / arsed secret Santa, I'm sporting a pair of brightly coloured Rip Curl flip flops (purchased during the Boxing Day sales). Instead of a pair of jeans or comfy sweats (depending on just how much was consumed) - the waistband of which barely withholding the expanding gut beneath - I'm wearing a nicely fitted pair of gnarly board shorts (dude). And on my face, well of course I'm wearing sunnies! Not because I want to hide my gaunt / skeletor-esque complexion, but because it's actually bright and quite marvelous outside. And to top it off, I'm the colour of an evenly baked gingerbread man, courtesy of the 30 plus degree weather we've been having over the past week. 

As for food, well let's be honest, I'm a traveller and Australia is insanely expensive so I haven't exactly been able to afford the goosefat potatoes and 3-bird roasts. Saying that though, I have managed to eat some own brand mince pies and a sample-size portion of a cheese platter. But as the Aussie Xmas stereotype depicts, I did indeed partake in a BBQ of kangaroo skewers, burgers, chorizo, chicken kababs (albeit dangerous undercooked - don't tell the host) and cider. And oh the cider - too easy to drink and too easy to forget what's going on. It's safe to say that the timeless Xmas tradition of considerable inebriation was maintained. Following the carnivorous feast, it was off to the beach with friends to frolick in the water, drink in the sunshine and sweat in our obligatory Santa hats. A happy, and very merry Christmas indeed. 

All things considered, while it was a unique and very awesome way to spend Christmas in such idyllic conditions and with great company, it's still not a patch on spending it with family.  I did make every effort to replicate all the norms of Christmases past - Slade and Cliff on the speakers, Muppet Christmas Carol on the tele, I even took myself to midnight mass to sit amongst the babbling babies, snotty old men blowing into hankies (honestly, who does that anymore, and why?!), and warbling operatics determined to take a solo harmony with the rest of the congregation. It felt similar and yet just not quite the same. Maybe I am an traditionalist at heart, accustomed to all those thoughts and feelings aforementioned (including the questionable Xmas clothing) or maybe it is just because this was my first Christmas away from 'home' and family. Either way, one thing is for sure, I do heartily miss both. 

                      *    *    *

Australia is a bloody brilliant place. Save for its portrayal in Neighbours / Home and Away, both seen on a 12 by 12 inch screen at the dinner table as a kid, I never really had any expectations of the country.

I've now been living and working in Melbourne for over 6 months and it's been pretty awesome. I'm currently living in St Kilda, a young and trendy area of the city. It's very much a backpackers destination and indeed a destination for most people visiting the city. It's got pretty much everything you want - lots of shops, restaurants, bars, cafés, frommageries, patisseries, ice creameries, clubs, beach and park / lake. All of which about a 3 minute walk away in any direction! Pretty cushty if I do say so myself. One of my favourite places to eat here has to be Coneheads. After a night of vodka, lemon, lime & bitters, or the popular 'wet pussy' shots at 29th apartment (brilliant bar down the road which plays 90's pop and r&b on a Wednesday), Coneheads emits the blinding and unflattering fluorescent light at the end of a hazy tunnel with its perfectly cooked chips and tantalising burgers that you need two hands to eat (and a wad of napkins to mop up the juices after). It's a short ride into the CBD on the number 96 which provides endless moments of surreal bemusement    from all sorts of interesting walks of life, mainly to and from the city on a Friday and Saturday night. And it wouldn't be right to talk about St Kilda without a brief mention of the Gatwick hotel, a once fully functioning and respected hotel, now a dilapidated respite for heroine addicts. There's always a colourful display of red and blue lights outside at the weekend. Apparently they serve roast dinners for a dollar. Side of smack at an additional cost mind. Might have to check it out.

Job wise, I've worked a number of them mainly in hospitality including an Italian restaurant nearby, an exclusive gentleman's club (of the cigar and highbrow kind, not of the tassel and private room kind...), the Crown Casino, the Raheen Mansion (owned by the Pratt family, one of Australia's wealthiest), and Masterchef Dining and Bar. I must admit, the latter has got to be one of the best places I've ever worked, I made so many good friends and contacts there. I even got made a cameo appearance during the Masterchef Australia finale! Evidence is indeed on YouTube if interested. Please excuse, if you can, the throwback hairdo. 

Outside of Melbourne, the only other part of Aus that I've seen is Alice Springs and Uluru / Ayers Rock. While most of the time was spent driving along a straight and dusty road scattered with dry and withered shrubs and the splattered remains of the occasional thorny toad it was actually really enjoyable. Ayers Rock itself was surprisingingly captivating and majestic and the Olgas - the nearby geographical site - was even more amazing. And even more amazing than that was the size of the testicles on the rock wallabies we fed at the Alice springs rest stop. They were like newtons cradle! A word of caution for all those intending to visit the outback, buy a fly net. Flies are everywhere. I caught two with my lips like some sort of xman-esque mutant toad, and three with my eye lids. I challenge anyone to beat that.

Anyways, I'm beginning to ramble on a bit now so I'll wrap this up and put a bow on it. Australia has been very good to me thus far. On January 3rd I'll be leaving Melbourne to do some sightseeing, taking in the Great Ocean Road and traveling up the east coast towards Cairns and the Whitsundays. In short, I can't bloody wait! That being said, keep posted for more regular blog tastic entries and of course some fantastic snaps. I hope you're all gloriously well and loving life. As always, much love. Here are a selection of my favourite photos taken in Aus so far. Enjoy!