Australia- A Review

So, all up I ended up spending 8 Months in Australia and had a KILLER time. I wouldn't have traded that time for anything. Made some great friends, went to some amazing places, and had heaps of memorable moments. However, I ended up moving into Brisbane and living and working there so I had a different expereince than most backpackers. I also got plugged into a church, worked in construction, and stayed up with international friends... so I think my view of Australia is pretty broad and accurate. That being said, I have MANY positive and negative things to say, and in no way do I mean any offence to anybody.

One more time: I loved Australia, and the people are great!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• People: 5 Stars

The people of Australia were very friendly to me. I have never had a hard time making new friends and Australia wasn't an exception. Many of the friendships I made will last me a lifetime. On many an occation I was also invited to eat dinner at different peoples houses: People from my church, from work, and other locals I met along the way. Australians were very open and wanting to share their culture with me.

• Nature: 5 Stars

Australia is amazing. All you have to do is get outside of a city just a little bit and you're in bush land. I was very spoiled as far as nature goes in Australia. I saved up and went Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, I got to go to the Glass House Mountains (with church folks), Beach Drives (with my housemate Aaron!), and many other awesome sites. Every day you get to see parrots flying around like you would see bluejays in the states and it's no big deal to them! I'm like "Good gravy there's the most beautiful parrot I've ever seen RIGHT there!" and people are like "Just a parrot dude"

• Transportation: 4 Stars

I liked the public transportation system a lot while I was in Brisbane. Some people gave it a hard time but it was always good to me! It's very handy for a backpacker because I never HAD to have a car. True, I would borrow one off of people when I wanted one but Brisbane can be lived in without having a car. 

• Prices: 2 Stars

So far the only country I know of that is more expensive than Australia is New Zealand. Beer and Tobacco have crazy sin taxes on them. Bottles of alcohol are easily twice as expensive over there, and their locally not imported stuff is also crazy expinsive. The cheapest of cheap rent would be $100US per WEEK no matter where you go. The minimum wage is much higher there ($18AU - Almost the same as $18 US) so it balances out some, but no doubt about it, Australia is an expensive place for a backpacker to live!

• The Gun Laws: 0 Stars

Wanta own a gun in Australia. Prepare yourself for an amount of paperwork, screenings, and restrictions that is unheard of in the USA. I won't get into all the details, but I was SHOCKED when I heard about all the gun laws here. It's an ingrained part of their culture now. It works for them, but it wouldn't work for us. It is one of the biggest reasons I couldn't move to Australia long term.

• The Racism: Negative 5 Stars

I am from Forrest County, Mississippi. Named after Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest who, (after the county was named,) went on to found the Ku Klux Klan. I have met my far share of racist.

Mississippi has NOTHING on Australia in terms of racists. People I would call my friends, coworkers, buddies (not the church going crowd, but that's a minority in Australia)... I have heard MULTIPLE people on completely different occasions saying to a group of people "We just need to go kill all those F***ing Ab'os (Aboriginals)! All they do is drink booze, steal stuff, and live in freaking stick huts" - A level of extreme hate that I had NO IDEA existed in Australia. And then people wouldn't argue with them... Not all Australians are racist by any stretch... but man oh man do they have a lot of them. It doesn't come up every day... but when it does... true colors show.

• The Culture: 4 Stars

Besides the racism and gun laws, Australian culture is pretty similar to many parts of the States. There were a couple of difference that I really appreciated though. Australia is very focused on small business. Just about every neighborhood has its own butcher, baker, mom-and-pop food shops... it's a really nice feeling. The little shops are king. Coffee, Sushi, Pie(meat pies)... it was a strange thing, but it was awesome.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Australia is also a big country for giving each other a hard time (this might be skewed from my construction jobs) but it's funny. You call your friends "*&^%s" (words that I will not even hint at in my blog or dare to say to people in the states) but you call your enemies "Buddy". Also most people cuss all of the time, it's just what they do. Australia made me a much "Better Cusser" if that can be said.....

All in all, there are several pro's and con's for Australia.  I really enjoyed my time there and would love to go back one day and visit friends and places. I would say it would be a good spot to live for some people, but me personally, I don't think I could.

Finally Back On The Road!!

I've done it! I have finally left Brisbane, Australia. I am very sad leave Brisbane. It had become home for me. But, the life of a traveller means getting comfortable in a place, making great friends, getting itchy feet, and moving on.

I find myself happily eating green curry while drinking a beer in a hole in the wall restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. Now that I've hit the road again, I can feel the stress leaving me. My last couple of months in Brisbane had become stressful for some reason. Being in new places, going for spontaneous adventures (aka getting lost), meeting new people, and having the complete freedom to do whatever the heck you want to do..... this is my comfort zone and I didn't realize how much I missed it.

Yesterday was an incredible "adventure"/lost day. I spent 8 hours just wondering around temples, eating street food, meeting friendly people, and getting my future told! (January 7th is supposed to be extremely lucky for me! ESPECIALLY if I paid the guy 5000Baht [150 $US]).......(I didn't pay)....

One thing I REALLY like about Bangkok is the back alley scene. Tourist stay away for the most part, it's not "in your face" with trying to get you to buy things and it's easy to move around. The back alley restaurants are the best. Yesterday I got lost... utterly and completely lost (with no awesome landmarks this isn't a hard thing to have happen) I found myself taking a "shortcut" because I thought I knew where I was. I followed a dingy windy alley that was without a doubt the most sketch thing I have done to date. Passing by chicken coops, seeing people kill said chickens, everything being dirty and dark, water running down the middle of the alley, buildings in all sorts of different stages of dilapidation... and that's when I saw it.

A low roof building with a McDonnalds umbrella above it's one outside table. A couple of people scattered about sitting on wood boxes eating noodles. The woman in the "kitchen" -- A half indoor and half outdoor assembly of mismatched work stations, one big wok, and raw meet chillin under ice a foot away from the cooked meat -- she looked like she was about 100 years old. But she moved with the quickness and precision of a woman no older than 90....

I saw a sign that clearly stated something in Thai that I dont understand with a "-30b". So all I knew was whatever she was selling was 30 Baht or $1 US. I was hungry, so I figure why not!? I handed her 30 Baht, she pointed at the beef or the chicken...  the chicken had LESS flies on it so I went with that. Five minutes later the woman came back with a bowl of something that involved noodles, chicken, vegetables, and a broth that killed. The bowl was about the size of my face, I barely finished it all. But it was AMAZING. Without a doubt the BEST meal I've ever paid $1 US Dollar for.

What am I trying to say? Yes, there is an inherent plethora of dangers that might befall you when you decide to travel by back alleys that look as sketch as some of the ones I'm going down. But, sometimes they pay off. I have no idea how I got there, no idea what the place is called or if it even has a name, but that place will be lodged in my memory for the rest of my life as the best food I ever got for $1 Dollar.

So, I landed in Bangkok two nights ago. With the help and great direction of my Canadian CoachSurfing host, David: I managed to find his place, plan my next day, and have a place to stay for two nights! Yesterday, in addition to adventures, I went around to about 25 different Travel Agency type places and finally found the cheapest one. In about two hours I should be getting in a taxi, to then get on a bus, to then get on a speed boat, to the get to an island call Koh Tao(one of Thailands most legit scuba diving locations) for a 3 day stay to do 4 dives and hang out in tropical paradise.... I'm a little stoked.

I have a couple of other blog post to write, namely a "Australia- A Review" and a "People are Awesome" (thank you to several people) but this will most likely be it for today! I'm going be headed back to the states for Christmas and I'm stoked about that. If you wanta see me or hang or anything let me know asap!

Emails while on the road are always GREAT!
SteveGoesAbroad@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!
Steve