Having A Jolly

Fear... It spread over us like a disease. How were we going to cope?!

We’d become quite settled into the Asian lifestyle. The sun shining everyday, drifting through towns, countries, lying in, doing what we wanted to do, eating out for every meal, spending little on accommodation, clothes, trips...

How were we going to adjust to the winter weather? How were we going to be able to go back to work after six months frolicking about in Asia?

Given, we weren’t going home... we were going to Sydney. It was still daunting.

We’d have to stay in a hostel!! Horror!

Luckily everything is so cheap in Asia we’d been spoilt rotten. Now we’d have to share with other people and have a shared bathroom!

We booked a hostel in Kings Cross called the Jolly Swagman. The dorms were girls or boys only and there were four per room. Not so bad. I still wasn't particularly looking forward to it. What if there were weirdos living there or we didn't get on with our room mates?

Assuming we’d stocked up on winter clothes in Bangkok, we got off the plane to find that what we had imagined would be suitable was completely not! It was freezing!
Okay, okay.. not as bad as London in the height of winter, but still it was a shock to the system!

Walking through seedy Kings Cross, past strip clubs and tacky shops, I felt even more nervous.

We planned to stay in the hostel maybe a week or two, work, then find a flat. That was the action plan.. but I should've known our plans never stick!

The hostel was was clean and cheap and we were only sharing the room with one other girl.

A few days after arriving I had my birthday. It was the first time I'd ever had a cold birthday. We went to a museum and afternoon tea at the Victoria ballroom (yes I know it's more 85 than 25 - but I enjoyed it) and then we met up with my friend from university, Sophie, in Darling Harbour and got on the cocktails! I had a great night and was very tipsy indeed!

A few days later we realised we needed to find work, our purses were being stretched to the limits. Everything was just so expensive. Gone were the 50p Pad Thai noodles and the 10p bottles of water.. It was stressful for a couple of weeks but then work started trickling in and we could afford to live again.

Sydney is cold in winter, expensive and completely different to Asia, but the thing that has been making it for us is the hostel. We’ve made a great gang of friends. People come and go, but the majority of people just hang out and have a laugh. It’s just like being in halls at uni!

‘So how long have you been staying here then?,’ we’d ask the residents. Some would say 7 months. How could anyone live in a hostel for that long, we would have wondered before. But now we understand.

We've discovered Goon! It's wine in a box.. cheap and nasty, but it gets you drunk quickly and it doesn’t break the bank balance at 10 dollars a box.

There is a variety of ages in the hostel, but mainly young people. It's incredibly sociable, so you’re guaranteed to never be lonely.

There’s a TV room with bean bags in it. They have a $3 pizza night on a Tuesday, where you can get 2 slices of pizza, a beer, then everyone goes to World Bar and you get two free drinks and free entrance if you are a lady and if you are a man free entrance and one free drink! Men have been known to dress as women and try their luck!




The last couple of weeks a group of us have been going down to Bondi Beach. The weather has been gradually improving. Although it’s ‘winter’ you can still get away with sitting on the beach, maybe with a cardigan on!.

There have been pub crawls, nacho nights, BBQs, popcorn and dvd nights. We had a great time at the pirate party in World Bar, everyone made the effort to dress up and all the different hostels in the area came to the event.

We've had a bit of a taste from home. Our friend Hayley, who I went to primary school with, has been in Australia for the last two years. She has loved the hostel life so much that she’s been hanging out with us and even staying, we've snuck her in!

My pal Mel, who I went to college with, came over with her boyfriend and enjoyed a hostel night out with us! Lynsey's parents came to see us aswell. They were good sports and even attended a hostel night out and pizza night! We took them to World Bar where you can get teapot shots (you freepour the drink into shot glasses from the teapot, I don't know the point but it's fun!) It comes with a card saying stating that it's illegal to drink from the spout - but you see the odd rebel breaking the rules!



I was full of fear before I came, worried I wouldn’t be able to cope with working and adjusting to the weather. These things have become almost irrelevant.

So all in all so far.. success story.

I think we may just live the hostel life forever!

Rose Tinted Glasses

Dear Vang Vieng,

How I loved you...

The tubing, the weather, the night life, the atmosphere, we had some great times...

It was sad to leave you, I had to tear myself away, it was hard but I had to move on, it was for the best...

But I missed you too much, so I went out, bought new dresses, had my hair done, I was so excited. It wasn’t part of our trip but I thought what the hell, just one last time just to see you again...

So I went back but it just wasn’t the same..

This is why you should never go back...



The last time we were together it was March, you were sunny all day, every day. The river was calm and not too dirty or fast. The majority of people about were 24/25 or older. All your clubs were open - all of which are outside. You played Drum & Bass and Electro House, everyone had a great time. 18 days of bliss. We partied hard, I just enjoyed being there.

So what happened in July? Did I do something wrong? You rained every day. Every night I had to deal with a complete downpour. The open bars had to be closed because the rain completely washed them out and it ended up like a mud bath. Fun at first but not so fun when my dresses were ruined! The river was fast and dirty.

It was the end of the school holidays and the beginning of University break, so everyone was under 21, which was depressing. It was like a day at the youth club. What happened to the music?! Pop?! It was like going to a cheesy disco night. I’m all for that, but VV you had such a cool image before.... You have changed and I miss the old you.

Despite all these things, I still had a great time. Sorry to be ungrateful. It wasn’t as special as the time before.

I’d still recommend you, and I’d definitely go back to you one day – maybe not in the school holidays or when it’s in the middle of the rainy season.

I do know that I'll never forget you....

It’s time to move on though and this time it’s not so hard to say goodbye.

Thanks for the memories.

Forever yours....

Swapping Tuk Tuks for Tricyclyes

7000 tiny islands make up the tropical Philippines. Often this unique paradise is missed by travellers due to its location in the North East region of South East Asia. It’s not the easiest of places to get to.
To sum up the entire place - unique.
Reaching the capital you feel as though you are on the continent. It has one of the biggest malls, all the buildings have a Spanish twist, there are no temples or mosques but instead grand cathedrals and forts. It’s as though we flew into South America with the shanty towns across the river and instead of tuk tuks are men with tricycles with a slight Spanish lilt. It’s also very Asian – the food, the people, the same dirt roads, the atmosphere.

Manila, South Luzon
The capital, and due to the uncertain political situation it is not advised to go there. We, however, spent a few days in Manila. It was rich in culture. You can visit the Fort Santiago where national hero Rizal was put in prison.
Poverty is everywhere, yet it has some of the nicest and most expensive places to eat and shop.
I’ve never seen so many men carrying guns, it seems as common as women clutching handbags! Signs are dotted around outside shops asking for weapons to be left outside, which is quite daunting. Every security guard carries a 30inch revolver! I’m not sure whether I felt more safe or threatened.
After a couple of days we decided we’d seen enough and wanted to head to a beach.

Mindoro – Sabang and White Beach
Beautiful sandy and tranquil beaches make up this island south of Luzon. We were there during a religious festival, so there were live bands marching round. We barely saw another backpacker. The island did however have older white men with young Filipina girlfriends.
Sabang, the busiest beach has a spiralling close knit centre of lanes, similar to Phi Phi island. This place is the livelier of the two beaches, with clubs, bars and restaurants. White Beach has the nicer beach. Tricycles are one of the best ways to get from beach to beach.
We found the locals to be very friendly here and the beach huts to be nicer than anywhere else. They even included a kitchen which was a novelty for us!

We didn’t manage to get to Boracay the party island. We will definitely have to go back and explore further. Two out of 7000 islands is as good a start as any!