Time flies when you’re having fun

44. That’s the number of days I’ve been in Australia. And not one blog post to tell about it. Sorry ‘bout that… It’s just that I’ve been having so much fun here. I’ve seen and done so many things that I haven’t really had the time to write my experiences down. But now I’ll make an effort. But 41 days is a long time to cover so bare with me.

September 26th 2011, 6 a.m. Qantas flight QF002 from Bangkok lands in Sydney. On board, a Belgian guy who is about to make his lifelong dream come true. Me!

We get off the plane, go through customs, which went easy unlike what you see on TV, and meet the driver who will take us to the hostel. Once there we have to wait another 2 or 3 hours to check in, so we go for a walk around Sydney.

It’s not long before the first friendly Australian shows us the direction to the Opera House. We walk in said general direction, through the Royal Botanic Gardens, thinking that the Opera House can’t be far…and low and behold…we go around a corner and there she is…The Sydney Opera House. You’ve seen the pictures hundreds of times but once you’re there and you actually see it with your own eyes, then it hits you…I’m in Australia!!! Woohoo!

The rest of the week we would spend together with the group from Australian Backpackers. That’s the organisation who’s gonna help us sort out all the practical stuff and make us feel at home. And how do you make someone feel at home? Right, get them drunk. And that’s what we did the first night. Drink of choice…Goon. Say what now? Goon, it’s wine in a box. Tastes more like apple juice than wine, but it’s dirt cheap (11$ for 4l) and it will get the job done. Add a crazy English guy and a drinking game which makes absolutely no sense and you’ve got yourself a fun night you’ll never remember. Welcome to Australia!

The Thailand tale continues

Ok, I know this is long overdue but everything has been so busy the past few weeks that I haven’t had much time to write a decent report of what happened since my first week in Thailand.

So here it is and I’ll try my best to keep it short.

On Tuesday I left Bangkok and took the night train up north to Chiang Mai. It’s a cool city, much smaller and more laidback than crazy Bangkok.

In Chiang Mai I decided it was time for some adventure. Cause I had been told, by the French girl I met on the train back from Ayuttayah, that white water rafting is awesome there.

And it absolutely was. Because of the rain season the waterlevel was really high and the rapids very violent. We even had to skip a 2 km long stretch of the river because the rapids were too dangerous there. In total we did we did about 8 kms of rafting.

At night I went to the famous night market. That’s a big market held at night in the streets of Chiang Mai, filled with little stalls that sell everything and nothing. From antiques, to fake rolex watches, to sunglasses, to handcrafted souvenirs,… If you look around a bit you can find some real bargains.

Week #1 - not so short recap

A lot of people have been asking me what I’ve been up to this past week and I keep telling them the same stories seperately, so I thought it would be easier if I would write it down here so anyone who’s interested can read it.

Day #1 – 8/9/2011

I took the train to Brussels airport. From there I flew to London and then on to Bangkok. Everything went smooth.

Day #2 – 9/9/2011

I arrived in Bangkok thinking I would have to head into the city on my own and find my cousin Anné’s appartment by myself. So I was pleased to see Jim, Anné’s boyfriend, waiting for me at the airport with a big sign with my name on it.

After dropping off my stuff at Anné’s appartment, which is beautiful by the way, me and Jim went to have some drinks and dinner in downtown Bangkok. He gave me some great pointers on how to spot a ladyboy. Watch for the adams apple, the bending degree of the arms, the hip-waist ratio, the voice if you get close enough and last but not least…the tits. If a Thai woman has big plastic boobs, she’s probably a dude.

We then went back to the appartment  to wake up Anné from her nap (that girl is working way too hard). We went to this bar where you can buy a “fuck-bucket”, which is a small bucket filled with an alcoholic beverage of your choice and you all drink from it through straws. Needless to say we had a lot of fun.

Day #3 – 10/9/2011

We decided to go play tourist in Bangkok. So we went to the grand palace (=koninklijk paleis), the temple of the emerald buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) and Wat Pho (the temple of the huge reclining buddha). These were all really beautiful and impressive sights to see.

Afterwards we went on a boatride on the canals in Bangkok. This was really cool to do and it seemed like you weren’t even in Bangkok anymore. The city looks so different from the river.

At night we went for dinner at ‘Long Table’, a trendy restaurant which apparently has the longest table in whole Asia! But even more impressive was the view you had on Bangkok since this restaurant is located high up in a tower.

After dinner we went dancing in a club called Demo. Really cool music and atmosphere. Unfortunately the club closed at 2 am. Because in Thailand everything actually has to close at 12 am. Nobody does that though and usually either no one cares to enforce this law or the police are paid off. But since the new prime minister is in office they seem to uphold this law more strictly. We went searching for another club, but that one was closing too. It also depends alot in what area you are. Like in some streets everything will close at 2 am and in some other places you can party till the sun comes up. It’s pretty random.

Happy birthday to me!

Today, June 30th 2011, is my 25th birthday. And a very special one at that. Because today marks the beginning of my -what I like to call- “living for today year”.

This next year I really want to live life to the fullest. I want to live up to my full potential and truly enjoy all the things this life has to offer. Without fear, doubts or holding back. Full speed ahead, hard and fast!

And by the looks of it this is going to be one hell of a year. I’ll be able to see my favourite band Pennywise perform TWICE in less than one month time. I’ll get to hang out with my cousin in Thailand. I’ll spend a year in Australia where I’ll go surfing, skydiving, and if I’m up for it, bungee jumping and maybe even getting a tattoo. And since I’m there, Tasmania and New Zealand are also on my wishlist of places to visit. I hope to attend a lot of great parties and dance my ass off at every single one of them. I hope to meet a lot of like-minded people and be able to call them my friend by the time we part our ways.

This year will be a year of endless possibilities and I intend to explore them all! 25, show me what you got!

100 days left!

In exactly 100 days from now I am leaving…for a year…to Australia (and Thailand, and possibly Tasmania and New Zealand)!!! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!

I have a whole range of emotions running through my body right now. From ecstaticly jumping up and down to almost shitting my pants, and everything in between.

Only 100 days…it’s insane. This crazy little dream I have went from “maybe someday” to “someday” to “in a couple of years” to “next year” to “in a couple of months” to “in exactly 100 days”! But it’s finally getting closer…fast!