RELAX: It's Byron Bay

After 3 weeks of travel, all in urban centers, Byron Bay was a pretty drastic change.

Byron Bay is a very small town about 1.5 hours drive south of Brisbane on the "Gold Coast" of Australia, population: 5,609. Add tourists, and the number probably doubles. Okay okay, maybe triples. It is a hugely popular tourist destination, particularly amongst backpackers, probably because it has great beaches, surfing, snorkling and diving, and a disproportionately high number of residents who live 'alternative lifestyles'. Basically, it's a really relaxed and laid back place that transforms into sheer backpacker chaos at night.

My first few days there, I went around the main strip a bunch of times, did some shopping, went to the beach, enjoyed the pool and facilities at the Hostel, went out for dinner, for drinks, for dancing. Then I started to get bored. I wondered if a week was too much for Byron, and I started to feel listless. Then miraculously another few days later, my body and mind must have slowed down to the Byron pace (was it the yoga class I did?) and I didn't feel bored, I just felt happy. I had learned to ride the Byron Wave, go with the flow, enjoy the sun and waves, and not really plan anything. A great feeling! Mind you, it explains why so many people get to Byron, and then don't get any further....

My Hostel, the Arts Factory Lodge, is what a hippy commune would look like if it were conceived of as a business. They clearly target an 'alternative' clientele, with accommodation choices that include a 10 person teepee, a double decker bus, lagoon-side-'cabins', and a camping area where you can pitch your tent. The Buddah Bar offers music/drinks/food every night, and the on-site movie theatre has blacklights and couches instead of seats. Every morning the volleyball court becomes a Staff-Poi lesson area, and you can also take didgeridoo lessons. At all times, the parking lot is FILLED with camper-vans. This place is quintessential Byron Bay, and once you've slowed down enough to enjoy it, it's a blast.

But, Byron is a backpacker haven, which means it really caters to backpackers and tourists. The main strip, which you can walk the length of in about 10 minutes, has a disproportionate number of travel shops (each with someone outside trying to lull you in with offers of free internet.) There are surf shops where tourists can buy their first pair of boarding shorts, clothing stores selling a huge variety of batik dresses and thai-fisherman-pants, pharmacies for a cheap bottle of water, pie shops for a midday or late night snack, and many bars and clubs.

Curious thing about the nightlife: at midnight most of the bars basically close, and your choice of venue is reduced to three places that are open till 3. In order from most to least classy: LaLaLand, Coocamungas, and Cheeky Monkeys, the last of the three being renowned for the weekly wet tshirt contest, and the 'dancing on the tables' (more like table-shaped steel stages) that takes place within. Sigh. Really cheesy, but hey - its good for a fun time. Except, the bouncers are power-tripping assholes. But hey, what else is new?

Finally, I've officially started abandoning some of my belongings. Meh, that top wasn't very flattering anyways.


Discoveries...

- do YOU know what an esky is?

- Sea kayaking is a blast, and also a dangerous weapon when 'catching a wave'.

- Surfing is SO MUCH FUN! And it's not nearly as hard to stand up on the board as you think it is. Especially with the giant foam boards you learn on.

- Food may be expensive, but the cost of organic food is almost prohibitive!

- You can sing any song to a standard reggae tune.

- Goannas are pretty big, and kinda scary, but basically harmless.

- Night swimming is lovely. But dangerous, apparently. Don't try it at home, kids.

- "Into the wild" is a great movie, and an ever better one if you are traveling or are looking for inspiration to travel.

- Too many sleepless nights WILL catch up with you eventually. *cough cough HACK*

- I can talk to other Canadians more easily than to people from other places in the world. I guess we really do have some common traits...

week three: melbourne

Ahh, Melbourne. Lovely, wonderful Melbourne.

My second week in Australia was a vast improvement over the first. Perhaps I was finally adjusted to the time change and the climate, perhaps I was starting to live a more moderate backpacker lifestyle. Or, and I'm leaning this way, perhaps Melbourne is just a fabulous city full of fabulous people!

Designers, beware: if you come to Melbourne, you may never want to leave. For Melbourne is to australia what Montreal is to Canada; the 'cultural capital'. Full of galleries artists and art students, home to a centrally located and reputable design center, and a thriving design community.

In fact, the city's personality bore a striking resemblance to Montreal's. The population of each city is about identical at 3.5 mil, each city is the smaller sibling of the country's BIG city that is relatively close, geographically speaking (Mtl > To = 5hour drive Syd > Melb = 9hours) and yet NOT the capital city, which would be Canberra. (and Canberra, I'm told, is a small purpose built city - much like our very own Ottawa.) AKA, Melbourne has a superiority complex that is actually a veiled inferiority complex. The city has a main natural feature (the yarra river) that is bordered by many natural parks as it runs through various parts of the city. Finally, Melbourne is home to an avid community of sports fans supporting the local faves: cricket and aussie-rules. (read: go habs go!)

The city feels very modern. Because it is a relatively young city; founded in 1835 with rapid growth due to the goldrush in 1850s, you can clearly see evidence of urban planning in the wide streets, open spaces, and post-1900s architecture that is amazingly well preserved (argh, damn that warm climate!). This is one 'modern' city, complete with trams: love the trams!! I visited the Ian Potter National Gallery of Victoria, housing a great Sydney Nolan temporary exhibit, then - upon recommendation from a boookshop employee in fitzroy - I explored the side alleys just opposite the gallery to discover a stunning display of various styles of graffiti art.

I was staying in Fitzroy, an area full of cool pubs/bars/clubs, retro & designer boutiques, galleries, bookstores, and OF CORSE, young aussie hipsters. My hostel was The Nunnery, a very relaxed place with beautiful old architectural detailing both inside and out, and a slightly older crowd, which made me feel a bit more at home.

Again, met some great people. Aofie, Hazel, and Denise, my hilarious Irish roomies who ruined the next 9 months of Coronation street for me, (Oh heavens, the plot twists!! You won't believe!!!) Then brits Emma and Rachel, who took me in as one of their own. David, the smooth french roommate (ahh, not that smooth, ladies.) Random locals who hit on us at bars with a bizarre mix of bravado and indifference. The feisty irish gal we met at Bar Open, Sonya (seen in the image at R carrying away aofie). The canadian girl we also met at Bar Open who tried to convince me, somewhat successfully, that facebook is a CIA initiative designed to create a detailed database of the worlds youth, complete with lists of their friends and pictures of their vacations. Hmmm.

If you're ever in Melbourne, do check out a bar in St Kilda (somewhat snooty beach area) called The Esplanade Hotel, aka, "The Espy". It's a big old hotel converted into a big bar with 4 stages that are ALL occupied as of 6pm every night. Bored of drum beats? Check out the soul band in the next room! Also, beautiful view of the sunset on the water for a post-beach schooner of beer.

Okok, I know this is getting long, but I just have so much to say about Melbourne!!

Discoveries...

- I have a weakness for cute sundresses and clothing sales (duh) and an as of recently undiscovered talent for packing. (It still closes!!)

- The famous tiny penguins can be seen at Phillips Island, a trip I do recommend, but can ALSO be seen at the pier in St Kilda for 60$ less. AKA, for free. Dont use flash photography, it may kill the penguins. I just used an uber sensitive camera, I swear to god.

- EVERYONE thinks you speak french or ARE french if you come from Montreal / Quebec. I'm not quite sure why this surprises me, but it does.

- Feeding wallabies (in the pic) and kangaroos is awesome, but watch those roos cause they're greedy buggers with sharp-ish nails on their hands.

- Beware the dreaded drop-bear. LOL.

- Watching hundreds of fruit bats fly 10 feet above your head at sunset is wild.

- Do YOU know what a capsicum is?

- Timtams are sooo good, but a curiously messy, melty cookie for such a warm climate.

Smiley

Last night, a memory from sydney came back to me and I thought: I have to share this before I forget it and it is lost forever.

One beautiful day I was walking into downtown sydney from Kings Cross with a fellow traveller, and some older man with a very friendly demeanor started walking along side us, and said to my friend "Your shoelaces are untied." She looks down at her thongs (read: flip flops) and we all have a good laugh.

A couple days later I'm walking along the same street by myself, and he comes along and does the same 'intro', then walks with me for about 10 minutes sharing with me his favorites jokes and his secret to happiness.

He tells me that when he was young, just after WWII he somehow lost his parents and became homeless, and has been ever since, but he's always kept his spirits up, and has always been happy. He tells me you just have to be positive, not take things too seriously, and tell jokes because they make people happy. I think his name was Smiley; he had it on his belt buckle. He took great pride in his name and his buckle.  

Sadly I can only rememebr two of his jokes: 

-"Hey mate, how are you going?"
-"Im putting one foot in front of the other!"

-"Hey mate, y'alright?"
-"Nah, I'm half left."
(I like that one quite a bit.)


Talk about travel experiences giving you a sense of perspective.

Week two: Sydney

My first week in australia was a bit of a whirl-wind experience. Between adjusting to jetlag, frequent hangovers, solo travel, and communal living (shared dorms in hostels), i hardly wound up having enough time to really explore the city! I did make it to Manly beach, Bondi beach, walked around the botanical gardens, saw the opera house (inside and out), shopped in the downtown core, strolled thru chinatown, and thru 'the rocks', and hung out at my hostel, the Pink House, in Kings Cross ("the red light district", but a pretty tame one.)

I would say the highlight of this part of my trip was two things.

First, making friends. I'll admit, I was ridiculously nervous about this. I actually had to call up all my courage the first time I stepped out into the pink-house-terrace in order to befriend complete strangers. But it turned out to be so easy! There were many long-termers at the Pink House, who were friendly enough but tended to stay in their groups. It was the short term stay-ers who were easiest to talk to, we seem to be the most willing to make that oh-so-annoying yet oh-so-neccesary travel small talk.

Travel small-talk is much like regular small-talk, only the questions are as follows;
Where are you from?
How long are you in australia / sydney?
Where have you been so far?
Where are you going next?

This will be followed by a series of questions related to how you answer those first four, such as: Oh, you've been to Adelaide! Where did you stay? and so on and so forth. And, much like normal life small-talk, it has become incredibly tedious to me already. But, a necessary evil.

The second best part of my week in Sydney was the Mardi Gras parade. Its name is a bit of a misnomer; it doesn't actually take place on or near fat tuesday, it's actually Sydney's pride parade! Like how the pride parade used to be in Montreal, it's quite a big parade, and since it is legal to drink in public in most places in Australia, it's teeming with drunk people of all ages wearing colourful clothes, wigs, elaborate costumes, or hardly anything at all! And of corse, part 2 was enhanced by part 1; the new friends with whom I was witnessing this wild event. And these people are some of the best people I have met so far on this trip; Rob (toronto), Becky and Matt (living in england), and Jo and Amenha (england, the ones in the wigs...).

One thing I quickly began to realize; I am unlikely to meet that many australians on this trip. But I WILL meet a ton of people from england, ireland, and then to a lesser extent germany, france, scotland, scandanavian countries, USA, japan...

Discoveries...
Food is crazy expensive, but you can get these wicked little sushi rolls for like 2-3$ a pop on any block. This is PERFECT traveller food; relatively healthy, cheap, filling, and you can eat it on the go!

Food may be expensive, but this is only due to the fact that most of the food comes from within Australia, and the people working on the farms and in the entire system are paid QUITE WELL. I heard min wage here is something like 12$. A local in Byron Bay told me that Australia doesn't have a huge poor working class like you see in North America. Take that, land of the free!!

Back to sushi: SUSHI TRAIN! Restaurants that have a continual conveyer belt of sushi going in a circle, you pick a plate or two or three, and after eating, you pay according to a color coordination system (blue plates = 2.50, green ones 3.00 and so on...)

Kinokuniya! THE MOST AWESOME BOOKSTORE EVER! So many awesome design, art, and architecture books, and then a whole Japanese books section, which is perfect for my love of japanese craft books, and definitely warrants a revisit before I leave back to Canada... so very, very rad.

Why did I bring running shoes?!! And two pairs of Jeans?! It's bloody hot in this country! Tops, shorts, and 'thongs' are all you need. and one nice pair of shoes for going out. Not kidding, this place has a stricter dress code than all of Montreal.

Australian women, at least in Sydney, are very well dressed, wear alot of dresses, and put me and my backpacker wardrobe to SHAME. So, teehee, I bought some clothes, which miraculously fit into my already-full backpack.

Week One: Vancouver

What a pleasant shock it was to arrive in vancouver, where it was sunny and warm for my entire visit. The very first thing I noticed was the mountains - i know, they're kindof hard to miss, but I was amazed by the incredible beauty and presence of the mountains which are SO close, right beside the city! I can see why vancouver residents are so into nature-based activities. When you wake up every day to the sight of those mountains, it's probably hard to resist the urge to escape to that dewey, grand wilderness.


The second thing I noticed was that my backpack was really heavy, and my bony hips were being rubbed sore. Damn it.

I was staying in a lovely old house in a richer part of town, and had the friendliest hosts! It was a bit bizarre, however, to stay with people; I felt compelled to inform them of my timetable (if I even had one...), my plans, etc. Not exactly the travel-independence I was looking forwards to. But it had its upsides; becoming a pseduo-regular at a local cafe that serves the yummiest italian lunches, having like-mided people to watch the oscars with, getting the local insider knowledge of the best cheap sushi place in town... the list goes on.

It was in vancouver that I spent a bit of time thinking about my philosophy of what-is-art after a conversation on that topic with one of my hosts, Michel. I told him that art, to me, is something that allows you to experience someone else's view of the world as if it were your own - it must open your eyes to a new perspective, one that you never before had even contemplated the existence of. Later that day as I walked around a lovely residential area in west-vancouver, I realized that travel is exactly the same thing. Does that make travel art? Lucky that I happen to be reading Alain de Botton's "The Art of Travel." Perhaps it will give me some answers.

The first post!

Hi Everyone!! Welcome to my travel blog! I hope to use this blog every time I travel so that I can record and share my experiences with you, my adoring fans, teeheee. FOR, as someone quoted to me recently, and it turned out to be from the excellent film "Into the wild", Happiness is only real when shared.

Now, first things first: my apologies for taking so long. Well, I'm not really sorry, but you get my apologies anyways cause that's what we Canadians do so well. I am officially 32 days - just over one month - into my trip; thats one third of my total trip and I'm only starting my blog now. To be honest, I was just going to scrap the idea altogether, but I have a fellow traveler named Kieran to thank for motivating me to actually put finger to keyboard and start the damn thing. And even then, its been a week since our conversation! Ah well. Such is life.

Still I had a choice: start from today as if those 4 weeks never happened, or try to go back and recapture the more interesting details of that time for posterity's sake? Against my better judgement, I am going to do the latter. So bear with me, and trust me, I will get to my current farming life soon enough.

So! Enjoy! Feel free to comment. Things like "I hate you, its freezing here" and "I'm so jealous!" are great, they help me keep perspective. Or also "Holy cow, you are long winded, be more concise!" works fine too, one can always use a little constructive criticism as one learns to blog. Finally, "Claire, we love you and miss you, please come home!" is best of all, since I do miss you all terribly, and a little virtual love and hugs never hurt anyone.

Hugs and kisses to all. Keep your stick on the ice.