Best Night in OZ

I have had lots of fun in lots of places but my night last night in Melbourne was the best night yet. Raj and I started our night with a home cooked Indian meal from Raj's mom. Then we drove to the city where we got a hotel room in the CBD. We pre-gamed in the room while we got ready. Raj's good friend Morgan is a DJ and he was playing at the Love Machine a club downtown. We go up skip the line which was huge. We were on the guest list but we thought we were still gonna have to pay to get in- nope all good, right in. We meet up with his crew drink for a while take some shots, dance a little- only when i am feeling real good. Great club, great music, beers from all over the world. I may have found my new favorite beer Boag's from Tasmania. We left the club like 2am which was still going strong. Got a Sulvaki at the famous shop on Chapel St. Then we snuck in this private birthday party for Shannon that Raj made the bounser believe we knew. Drank some more there, where Raj told me Brothels are legal in Australia and i did not know that. Got a taxi to go check this out when I was about to step in the cab and boom. We got hit from behind pretty hard. The drunk chic in the car looked right at me then drove away real fast so i jump in the cab and he races off to follow them. We are speeding around corners to catch up. When we do they speed up and spin out on a turn, side swipe two more cars. Raj takes down the info while the taxi driver follows close behind. I could not believe we were in a high speed chase in downtown Melbourne. It was so much fun since i was drunk and it was not our car. The cabbie took us to the brothel for free becuase of the chase, man i would pay to do that again. Checked out the brothel where all the girls parade in front of u and if u want u can pick the one of ur choice. I never knew it was legal and i have been in this country for 3 months, but now lets just say i am a believer. After we left we walked back to the hotel it was now like 5 am. We got back I smoked some and was passing out but Raj was still going so he left to meet his friend.
So in closing I went to the best club in Melbourne which i would have had no shot at getting in on my own, we were involved in a car chase, and i saw some real Aussie culture.

What a crazy night!

Thanks Raj- u come back to FL and I will attempt to top it in Miami- I dunno if i can though

Cities to Towns

I am going to list the Australian Cities by largest population. If it has an @ sign I have been there, the number of stars is how much i liked it (5 is the best.) I will tell u how many days i spent there at the end. If it is a capitol I'll tell u where if not I will still let u know what state it is in. There are 6 states and 2 territories and this country is almost the size of the U.S minus Alaska. Just nobody lives here there are about 30 million in OZ and 300 million in the U.S

Sydney- @ ***** New South Wales Capitol- 2 weeks
Melbourne- @ **** Victoria Capitol- 6 days (best night of my trip happened here)
Brisbane- @ *****, $ Queensland Capitol, worked for 2 months
Adelaide- South Australia Capitol- (next stop)
Perth- Western Australia Capitol-
Hobart- Tasmania Capitol-
Canberra- The countries capitol-
Townsville- QLD
Cairns-@ ***** QLD- 2 weeks
Geelong- VIC-
Rockhampton- QLD
New Castle- NSW
Darwin- Northern Territory Capital (about the size of Naples)-
Byron Bay- @ **** NSW- 1 week
Gold Coast- @ ** QLD- 3 days (surfers Paradise)
Arlie Beach- @ ***** QLD 1 week- 5 stars since it's the jumping off point Whitsundays and The Great Barrier Reef
Sunshine Coast- @ **** QLD 1 day- The Australian Zoo is a must see
Broome- WA-
Woolongong- NSW
Alice Springs- NT @** (6 days)
Hervey Bay- @ no stars- QLD real boring place
Cape Town- QLD-
Nimbin- @ ***** NSW- 1 day- The town for smokers but ya only 1 day
Uluru (Ayres Rock)- NT @ *** (2 days)

I am sure there are other smaller towns i missed but these are the well known ones.

Melboune to see Raj

Hey, so i finished up the east coast last week-went the whole from Sydney to Cairns. So I flew from Cairns to Melbourne at the bottom. It really reminds me of flying home to MI. I leave sunny south FL with beaches and palm trees and arrive in Detriot with cloudy and cold conditions, just like this trip was. My good friend Raj came and picked me up from the airport. I know Raj from 6 years ago my first season in Naples he was there on work visa from Australia. I told him then i would visit Australia one day and it took me 6 yrs. but i made it. So Raj took me to YHA central Melbourne where I stayed for two nights. It was the smallest hostel i have ever stayed at not very impressed. It in a perfect location right downtown and real close to the Victoria Harbor. The second day i wondered around, found lots of alleys in Melbourne are full of culture, shops, and cafe's unlike alleys of any other big city i have ever been to. I went the City Library used the free internet and they had X-Box 360 and Wii set up but i didn't play the line or que as they say here was too long.
The next day I was bored waiting for Raj to get out of work and i went to the casino which i should not have. Lost some money real fast, not gonna say how much (I did make some money at the Cairns casino.) Then walked accross the river and visited The Eureka Towers, the tallest residential building in the world. Raj got out of work we went to get some food and drank a little with the Fri. night working crowd. Then went to the suburbs to his house. Where I got my own room for only the second time in three months. Raj is currently living with his parents until his job starts in Sale, Vic in two weeks. His parents are real nice took me in. His mom even did my laundry which is the first time i did not have to pay for my laundry during my whole trip.
Sat. I sleept in a little and when i woke up they had a bunch of friends over making Lidoo a Indian sweet sort of candy. They do this for special occasions, this one was because Raj just had a son like a month before. Then we went to the MCG stadium (the biggest stadium in the southern hemisphere.) We tried to go to a AFL (australian football) but the game was sold out because it is almost playoffs and the two team were competing for a spot. So we went to a pub and watched the game on tv. I rode a city tram that is run by electric powered by Victorian wind farms 100% green energy. That night we made plans for a big night out in the city, even got a hotel room in the city. The night i had deserves it's own post up next but i will say it was the best night i have had in OZ.

Cairns

Cairns has been great it sort of reminds me of FL. It is winter right now and it is sunny and hot out everyday with palm trees everywhere. If i was gonna live in Australia I think Cairns would be the spot. They are having an arts festival right now. Last night they had a hip hop dance competition. It was real cool they had age groups and little kids like 5-8 were battling each other, funny shit. It was packed with people then after the competition they had fireworks and parties in the street. I wonder what tonight will be like. Cairns is must for travelers it is usually either the starting or ending point. So two days ago i saw these two girls from minnesota I met a long time ago my first week in Sydney just outside a club kinda crazy. Now u wanna hear real crazy when I first went to Railway YHA in Sydney I made great friends with these two french Canadian brothers Max and Pascal. Pascal is still in Sydney and i will see him in two weeks. Max met up with his girlfriend and travelled to Bali. I thought he was gone from Australia but yesterday he saw me on the street and said started yelling my name. I was so surprised to see him again. So last night his girl went to bed early and we drank and smoked a bit and caught up on travel stories it was really great.
The problem is I made it all the way up the east coast from Sydney and the plan was to go to the Northern Territory to Darwin then travel down the middle to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Then to South Australia and Adelaide then to Melbourne and back to Sydney but that trip is really expensive to see a rock and there is nothing in the middle. I am sooooo sick of the Greyhound and that would be days on the bus. So I am going to book a plane ticket to Melbourne where my friend Raj lives who I met while working at the Naples Grande. It will be good to see him and great to have a free place to stay. Which i haven't had since i first arrived in Brisbane with Eddie. Sounds like a good plan right- I will be leaving tropical Cairns to go the very bottom of the country where it is very cold right now (i don't know how cold because it is all in Celsius.)
I am actually starting to miss home, never before this week have i felt like this. I miss my truck, good tv, chicken diavlo, ESPN, my couch and my bed, taco bell, making money, my ps3, free pours, and i am getting sick of living out of a bag. I only listed things not people so don't get offended.
If i did it again it would be for a year and the first 6 months i would work lots then go traveling maybe out of the country. But ya live and learn right. I have made friends all over Europe so when i go there i will tons of places to stay in lots of different countries. Going to get my free meal from Gilligan's so Later

I Hate Cricket

Take the Baseball slow it way down, take away home runs, and stretch it out over five days for one game and u have Cricket. Seriously it makes Baseball seem action packed. It is the worst but the Aussie and English love it. The only sports the put on tv is rugby and cricket. I am starting to understand rugby but there are two different leagues with different rules so it is hard to keep track of. I just need some NFL i know it is almost that time.

Tully River

Yesterday I went white water rafting on the Tull River in Northern Queensland. I got up at 6am got breakfast then on the bus which picked me up in front of Gilligans's. We drove for an hour and half up into the mountains (I slept.) Then got our equipment and walked to the water. We out there by 9am. It was grade 4 rapids so pretty strong. Our raft was good it was two Welsh guys that are my roomates- Craig and Matthew. Then a German guy, Austrian guy, and an English girl and of course our Aussie guide Chris. Went out until noon we stoped for lunch. We did flip the raft completely one time. After some kangaroo BBQ. We went back out I was already feeling the sun by this time. They let us swim a little and body raft some grade two rapids which was real fun. After some more 4 grade rapids we came to this waterfall and this big rock formation where u could jump from if u wanted. Of course i did it, I'd say it was like 30 feet high. The bottom of the river was beautiful all surrounded by mountains and tropical forests. But we were told no more swimming at this point because of the crocks in the area. After carrying the rafts up the path we got back on the bus and drove to small town of Tully with a population of 300. The town would not exist if it was not for the rafting. We went to a local pub for a few beers where they tried to sell us overpriced pics or dvd's I passed since i am getting a little broke.
I think this may have been one of my last adventures. I unfortunitly am not going to get to go to New Zealand or Thailand this trip like i wanted. I think someday i will get back to this part of the world- I hope, it's been the best time.
Later

Follow Me

Hey if you are someone who reads this blog u should become a follower. Then i will can know who is reading this and u can make comments about my adventures. I can even comment back like to answer a question or whatever. I have 7 "Followers" and I am sure more people check it then that. If you are one of the 7 then cool thanks.
Cairns is great and so is Gilligan's the resort i am at if u ever go to Cairns it highly recommended. I am going white water rafting in 2 days. I will tell all about Cairns at the end of my visit.

Great Barrier Reef

So i am not the biggest fan of the ocean and snorkeling or scuba but it is the best reef in the world so i booked a snorkel and sail 3 day adventure in Aerlie Beach. The Whitsunday island chain is tropical islands running through the Great Barrier Reef. There are 74 islands and 68 are preserved national parks with no buildings on them. No wonder this is the best preserved coral reel in the world.
So the 1st day we get on the boat strait to the reef. The coral on the 1st day was not very impressive. So we return to the island we are staying on Koala Island. We get our room and there is me, the French guy i have been traveling with Triston, an English girl and guy who don't know each other Craig and Kristie, and 2 Irish girls Emma and Amy. I think we have the best group (all 3 girls are real hott.) It is all inclusive meals, accommodations, snorkel gear, and sail time. So we get out dinner then start drinking which may have been a bad idea because the next day breakfast was at 7am then on the boat at 8am.
The second day i did not go in the water because the first day i got a rash from the stinger suit and i was a little sun burnt. So i stayed on the boat with the Canadien guys and drank beer. I did go on a dingy and feed the fish. There were like 100 different kinds of tropical fish everywhere. So we go back at 6pm to Koala Island and eat dinner. Played some beach volleyball then played some drinking games and had an early night.
The next day 7am breakfast again at this point I was so tired i could not believe i was paying to get up at 630am. We go to the best spot on the last day. A secluded small island totally surrounded by coral reefs. I swam in from the boat (Pride of Aerlie) seemed like a longer swim then it looked. This coral is the stuff u see in pictures it was amazing. So many bright purple, blue, green, yellow and the water was so clear. Small sea turtles would poke their heads out of the reef then return if they see people. But the fish did not car they would come so close to my face i had to back up. So much coral built up on other coral that it was breaking the surface. I drank some salt water and wanted to go to the beach for something to drink and could not even get around all the coral. IT WAS AMAZING best trip within a trip i have done so far probably ever. After 3 hrs of snorkeling went back on the boat had lunch. After that we took a tour of the islands and these seagulls would follow the boat if u hold out some bread they would take it out of your hand. So we headed back to Aerlie chilled out for a while then had dinner and drinks at Morocco's a bar owned buy the Koala company. I said my good bye's got every one's facebook for when i go to Europe. Then Triston and I got on the 10pm bus to Cairns for me and Mission Beach for him. I got to Cairns at 6am the next morning and could not check in the swanky Gilligans until 2pm but i will tell you all about cairns in the next post. Pics soon to come on Facebook if u don't have it u should it is easy, free and the best way to stay in touch.
Later
p.s. more Aussie slang posted check it out

Most expensive beach volleyball

So I get to Hervey Bay on a Fri. and stayed at the YHA it was a beautiful place with small cabins in the rain forest. Pretty yeah but the most boring hostel i ever stayed at everyone was in bed by 10pm. So the next day i moved to koala's thinking there would be more action but no not really. Went out with the Welsh and English guys in my room but the bar closed at 1am on a Sat. night then nothing. I was walking on the beach the next day out of boredom and saw a game of beach volleyball going on. They invited me to play, it was a group of locals, volunteer firefighters, school kids, and backpackers. So i play but all my stuff got sandy including my phone and camera. My '80's phone still works but not the camera (sorry Katie) sux so i had to buy another because i need some pics of the great barrier reef 250 bucks later it was officially the most expensive game of beach volleyball ever.

Bye Brissie

So i finally left the city that felt like home away from home. I think it was more sad to leave Brisbane then to leave Naples. In Naples i know i will be back but i will most likely never return to Brisbane. I made lots of great friends there that i hope i will stay in contact with and had a lot of good times but it is time to move on. So i got on a grayhound and went to Hervey Bay. I left on Thur. night at 9pm and got to the Bay at 10am. This time on the bus i could not sleep like last and this bus driver made so many stops. Even at places where nobody got on or off, like this town called Gin Gin with a population of 200 where i got off and smoked a little while the bus driver got his coffee and everyone else on the bus slept.

Aussie Zoo

So i finally did something in Brisbane other then work or drink. I felt like a tourist again. My roommate Brian from France and I got my good friend Javi (Chile) to drive us 30 min. north to the sunshine coast for the Australian Zoo. So we walk in and it is the zoo that Steve Erwin set up so the first thing u see are a bunch of crocks and gators. Brian was all looking at them and i said come on i have these in FL i need to see a kangaroo. We walk around see every other animal including cassoways, echidna, lots of koalas that u could touch, tons of reptiles, then by that time there was a show so we had lunch and watched it. After lunch strait to the kangaroo pen. I thought they would be in an enclosure and i would see one. Since i haven't seen a kangaroo yet. we walk up to this giant gate one door opens, we wait for it to close open the second gate. It opens up into kangaroo heaven. There are hundreds of kangaroos and wallabies in this huge range with a river woods and fields. I feed some saw a joey and got lots of pics, which will be on Facebook. I also got to feed an elephant which made my hand stink really bad. Then we came back to the hostel got Chinese said my goodbyes to Javi, i will see her in march for Neisha's wedding. Then was just gonna grab a beer downstairs at the elephant and wheelbarrow but everyone found out it was my last night started buying me drinks ended up going to bunk got wasted and couldn't get up at 10am to check out so i changed my bus to tomorrow so ya know someday i will get out of this city. Well i gotta find a place to get my haircut- haven't gotten a cut since i have been here and it has been just over 2 months. Later

Free at last

So this job i thought was ok but i didn't realize i would be working for the Italian devil. This lesbian 28 yr. old and her mom own and run this club in the Fortitude Valley of Brisbane. They are both alcoholics they sit outside and get drunk all day. Then if they see something they don't like they start screaming. At first i just said yeah ok but towards the end i would tell them they don't make sense. Well anyways i worked from 2pm to 6am on Fri then set up the bar on Sat from 2-7pm - she wanted me to work the night shift again. I am quitting when i get my paycheck anyway. I made enough money off them to travel again and that was the whole point. Makes me appreciate Vince and the others at brio a lot more. I am going to the Australian zoo that Steve Erwin set up on Wed then i leave on Thur. I am planning on going to Cairns slowly stopping most places in between like the island chain called Whitsundays on the great barrier reef. I am ready for some more adventure. Sorry i haven't been writing much but i have just been working, now that i am traveling i will update more often. I don't think i will miss Brisbane much but i will miss all the great friends i made here- stay in touch and if u are ever in the states i will show u a great time. I will get some pics of the zoo.going to the Normanby hotel a nice Sunday spot... good times!
Later