Back in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

After Cairns, I arrived back in Brisbane for the third time. The third time is really a charm; I liked it even more. It was time to find a holiday job to pay back for all the traveling. I was flying out of Brisbane so it was the most likely spot to go. Although in hindsight it didn't make sense at all. I had two weeks until Christmas, in which I was meant to go to Sydney and then had made plans to spend New Years there too, then after I would have another two weeks in Brisbane before my visa was up and I had to leave. I probably should have considered going to Sydney to find a job, but I found it incredibly expensive and I had more friends in Brisbane and the nearby Gold Coast. I booked into a hostel for 2 nights, the cheapest I could find, which was a 20 person dorm room. 20 person! It actually wasn't so bad. There were two bunks against every wall, and I found a bed on the very last wall with window views so, although it was loud with a combination of 20 people coming and going all the time, it felt quite private just sharing with 3 other beds. Oh, the life of a backpacker. Unfortunately, because it was summertime in Brisbane with high's of 30's, and with 20 people in a room, it was incredibly sweaty-roasting hot. I could barely breathe and ended up going to sit outside in the bar's common area and chatting with one of the guys from my row of bunks. I wasn't in the mood to be out, or drinking, or chatting, but anything was better than being in the hot room, unable to sleep, so I just watched all the other partiers dancing the night away. 

 

The following day, after applying and searching for jobs, literally anything I could find even under and over-qualified for, I met up with Carly and Jonny at their hostel, laying out by the pool and drinking cool drinks. 

Their hostel, on top of a hill overlooking the city, had fantastic views of Brisbane. 

Carly by the way is a phenomenal diver. 

tourists. 

I told them about the free tacos at my hostel and we went back there. It happened to be idol karaoke night. carly can sing. jonny just drank. i did both.

Carly and Jonny moved into their own flat a couple days later. The very day they moved in, they invited me to come stay with them. They almost insisted. The conversation went like this:

"You're here until Christmas, right?"
"Yeah, in Brisbane until then, but I wouldn't possibly stay with you for that long. Just a few days would be so nice and generous of you."
"What! No! Stay until Christmas! Stay as long as you want! My cousin is coming on the 18th, I will sleep on the pull out couch with him and you can sleep in the bed. No really, we want you to stay."
"You guys are nuts. I love you." x

I was hoping to get a job in a hostel where I would get free accommodation (and wouldn't have to be in C&J's way) and most hostels also provide free meals, laundry, and wi fi. But until I found a job, I was on holiday. The sun was warm, the tan was improving, the city was gleaming, and I only had less than a month left to enjoy my time in Australia.






My couch surfing host, I mean friend, Paul had never been to Brisbane even though he had been in Australia for the last eleven months and only lived an hour away in the Gold Coast. I had no job or plans, he had nothing to do on Friday night so he decided to come up for a visit. Cue: giggles. He loved Brisbane. He loved not seeing muscle heads in tank tops, he loved the fact that we could just go to bars instead of paying to get into night clubs. There isn't a huge night life scene in Brisbane, at least not from what I experienced, so the following day, with no job and no plans and just a $20 bus ride, I decided to go back to Surfers Paradise. Hanging out with Paul as he led his bar crawl, I was so spoilt and didn't pay a penny the entire night. As it happens when traveling up and down the coast, you run into people you've met before, even if it's been a couple weeks and even if you can't pinpoint where you met them. I got a text from someone I had met a month ago from the beginning of my trip in Byron Bay and then literally bumped into someone I had met in Airlie Beach. Such a way to come full circle.

I was so lucky with my first couch surfing experience. I haven't done it since - I've tried but it hasn't worked out - but I made a really good friend from meeting and trusting a complete stranger. We kept in touch and met up again, and I hope that we will do it again, in Miami, New York, Asia, Europe or wherever we are.

What really delighted me about the actual trip down to Surfers Paradise is that I just had a shoulder bag. Everyone else getting off the bus was waiting wearily while their backpacks were being pulled out from under the bus and then had to figure out how to get to their next hostel and start all over again in a new place. I didn't miss that at all. I absolutely loved the traveling that I had just done, but I was also glad to be done with it for now. Walking straight off the bus and knowing exactly where we were going was such an incredible feeling, to be with a local, to not have to feel lost and alone, to be confident in already knowing your surroundings - it may sound weird, but it put a little bounce in my step. 

Mic Comes to Surfers Paradise!

Mic and I were reunited and it was like we never left each other. The laughing ensued. We took advantage of some free wi fi access, were touristy at Hard Rock Cafe, supported Movember, then went to have a bbq with the guys I met in Sydney, then went to have a late night dance party with Paul and his friends. It was really random, but really fun.

 Free food, proper wine, new friends.

 The following day we checked into the QT Hotel and ohmygoodness was that a lapse of luxury! It was very retro, hip, modern, clean, funky. The views were exactly what you would expect from Surfers Paradise, surveying the pool below and overlooking the ocean in front.

view looking out

view looking in.

They even allowed you to make your own fresh lemonade!

 There were price lists amongst the room selling everything that was in the room, from the mini bar to the flip flops to the phone. Anything could be bought. Mic "liked" the hotel on Facebook and wrote, "how much does the air cost in the room, I don't see it on the shop!" They actually responded and said, "we hope you are joking" and she responded that we were having such a good time that we just wanted to bring home the high the hotel was giving us...too funny. It was really hard to leave the room, the full length mirror, the great big comfy bed, the hair dryer, all these things that just seemed so luxurious. And to say goodbye to Mic again. I'm really glad that Mic came up to Surfers Paradise and I'm really glad that I couch surfed with Paul. They both really made me change my mind on the place and will look back on it with fondness rather than just a place I visited. 

Surfers Paradise.

I had to check out of my hostel early and then had to wait till Paul was done with work before I could go over for my first couch surfing! It was really reassuring that I had met him the night before that I felt like I was going to stay with a friend rather than a stranger. And boy did I pick the right couch surfing host - he lives in the Q1 building which is the tallest building in Australia/Southern Hemisphere! Apparently it was the tallest in the world until one in Dubai out-talled it last year and now it is 5th in the world. I couldn't wait to see the views. 

There wasn't a whole lot to do during the day in Surfers Paradise. It seems like a busy place, lots of shops and restaurants so I wandered around the streets looking at the things I couldn't afford to buy, but there isn't much to actually see in Surfers. The beach wasn't one that takes your breath away. There is a small space between the safety flags where you're allowed to swim and that was quite packed as it was really hot out, but there weren't many, if any, surfers in the water. I tried to sit on the beach, but it was so incredibly windy that within 5 minutes I was literally covered in sand and there were dunes building up on one side of me. I was trying to write an email on my ipod but physically could not do it with all the wind-blown sand. I wandered back to the hostel and wondered why there were people there sitting in the courtyard, some playing pool, some laying by the pool, some watching tv and was a bit confused why they were in a hostel in the middle of the day rather than out seeing things, doing stuff. But alas, there was me, doing exactly the same thing. Tired. Waiting. Broke. I wasn't overly impressed with Surfers and was ok with leaving. 

Tall high rises line the shore. 

The Q1 above. 

Sat down and saw him..her...him...highlight of the day!

Later, as Paul and I were lounging, literally couch surfing - HA - laughing ridiculously at Family Guy and I was trying to figure out what and where to go next, I got a message from Mic who was in Coffs Harbour and had a horrible hostel experience and decided to come up to see me in Surfers. Just as I had written off the place, she asked me if I would stay and I said of course, I was so excited to see her again. Because of the hostel attack (not on her) she decided she needed a recovery treat and booked a room in a proper 5-star hotel for Tuesday night. It had two king size beds and invited me to stay with her! There were three guys I met in Sydney who were coming up the following day and had rented an apt for the weekend and said I could stay with them so I had three nights in a row of unpaid for accommodation. I was getting good at this traveling thing!