Woah, it's been a long time since anybody last posted on here!
As you probably know Steve and I left New Zealand at the end of November to come to Melbourne.
It was a bit of an abrupt end to the New Zealand trip when I found out that my grandmother had sadly passed away, so I contacted Qantas and made my way home from New Zealand via Melbourne and Singapore (not the best flight in the world, I think it was around 23 hours all in!) but I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Although obviously a terrible reason to be visiting home, it was a great chance to see all of the family again, especially since pretty much everyone was there, which was good to see. The service was a good one.
So arriving back in England made my round the world ticket void, since I effectively used up the rest of my air miles to travel direct to the UK. This is a pretty good service Qantas offers as it means for just a 50 pounds fee you can fly home immediately should you need to. My insurance was also void.
So....the temptation was to stay at home....and I was VERY tempted. The idea of being so close to the family and friends again was very appealing. I could also start earning some money and begin some of the stuff I've been looking forward to, like looking for a flat. But I was also keen to see more of the world and finish the trip. And I know my grandmother had always said to me to finish the trip no matter what. That was actually the last conversation we had. So I was definitely keen to head back to Australia to carry on.
So at the end of November, 1500 pounds down for a new ticket and insurance, I left England...again. I arrived in Melbourne on the 1st December.
The time in Melbourne has been spent mostly in the city, in a hostel called Victoria Halls. This place became our home for a long time. Its a great hostel, reasonably cheap, and it comes with alot of luxuries like a cimema room and a gym. It also has a great rooftop area with a bbq and great views of the city.
Steve and I both found it very hard to find work. The 'easy to get' temp jobs had dried up, apparently due to the beginning of the recession. One recruitment agent told me that she had around 800 CV's on file and only 10 or so jobs to give, so her advice was to lay low over the winter months and come back around February time. That was all well and good but lying low is a) boring, b) something you can do at home and c) not a great way to see places.
There was a brief period when I looked into fruit picking work. If you do 3 months of manual labour you qualify for a years visa to be used at another time, which is ideal if you want to come back to Australia. For me it was about the new experience, getting some money and meeting some new people. I contacted the government agency. Lo and behold, there was no work. The fruit and veg season had been excessively hot and so the crops were either damaged or in low supply. They didnt need pickers. In retrospect, this probably turned out to be a blessing as the worst bush-fires in Melbournes history hit a short while after and affected a large portion of the fruit picking areas around the city. So I guess things do happen for a reason.
The last straw was to apply for a job at Specsavers. The company I have worked for since I was 15. Yes 15!. In face the only company I have ever worked for, apart from my 1 week work experience at the Basingstoke Gazette! I contacted the recruitment agency and they were very excited. They had a place which was on the east side of the city. I could start straight away if I would agree to work for 12 months. They could even sponser me to work over here permanantly and pay for my visa and exams to practice as an optometrist!! That was all a bit much considering I just wanted some part time work. So I haggled. I started low, agreeing to a 2 month contract. She wanted 6 minimum. I offered 3. She wanted 6. I agreed to 6. I lied. But what can you do, a job is a job.
As it turns out, I learnt a fundamental lesson when applying for a job. Always check the location of the store. To me, 'west of the city', meant a few blocks west in the central business district, which to me is Melbourne. As it turns out, 'west of the city' means west of the whole STATE!. A place called Werribee.
The trip took about 2 hours when I first began, each way. I refined it down to around 1.5 hours. I would get a train 15 stops down the line and then walk another half hour. This was a real pain in the ass as I ended up working there for 3 months. Especially when you work a 9-9 shift, arrive home at around 11pm, and then have to be back up to leave the hostel by 7am. And sleeping in a hostel can make it tricky to hold down a full time job. So as it turned out, I was never on time. Ever. It became a running joke that I would always arrive at 9.15am. The latest was 10.30, but that was partly down to the trains. Sometimes, on rare occassions, I was still drunk at work. But this is the beauty of having an un-important job in a place you know you are never going to go back to.
The store was nice and the boss David was a legend. Totally relaxed. A great environment to work in. And he didn't mind what time I turned up, as he understood the distance was a bit of a pain. The area was not so great. It turns out Werribee is the armpit of Melbourne. The gene pool here must be very small and most customers were related to one another. One person's response to my working in Werribee was 'What are you doing out there, shovelling shit?'. That didn't fill me with confidence. But all in all, I was glad of the job, and 3 months later David again offered me a very impressive salary and relocation bonus if I would consider his offer of a premanent work visa and move to Australia to practice as an Optometrist. I didn't consider it for a second, but it was still nice to know I made a good impression.
So most of my time in Melbourne has been working. But filled in with a good amount of fun stuff as well. We've had some great trips. Driven the great ocean road (3 times??), which as they say in Gavin and Stacey is immense. Went to Philip Island where there is the largest colony of penguins in Australia. We have been to the Melbourne car show, watched the Australian open and seen Basement Jaxx and N.E.R.D live at the future music festival. We have also done the other obligatory stuff like the Melbourne Aquarium and been drinking at many of the wicked bars in Melbourne. I think Melbourne is most famous for its bars. Some of which you really have to hunt for, hidden down dirty alley ways or between buildings. One of my favourites is the rooftop bar on Swanston street which has a cinema on the roof, and gives a really good view of the city. At Christmas time we went to Sydney for around a week and lived it up in a hotel room which we got on the cheap through a mate! Gave us a good chance to see all the stuff around there like Bondi beach, the harbour bridge and the opera house.
So....up to the current day. I have finished work now. Had a good leaving party. I have saved just around enough money to carry on the rest of the trip around Australia and then onto South East Asia. My flight is booked for tomorrow morning at 6.30am leaving Melbourne and flying to Ayers Rock via Sydney. The rest of the route is planned and I will add that in another post. Just thought it was about time to bring this blog up to date as I want to start posting alot more for the rest of the trip.
I also just wanted to say cheers to Steve for the trip so far, it has been a great laugh! We have had lots of discussions about money / where we want to go etc and Steve is keen to stick around Melbourne for a while. We both found it hard to get work but I was lucky enough to have Specsavers to fall back on otherwise I would have been screwed. Now that Steve has found work, he is keen to stick around Melbourne for a bit longer. I'm on a bit more of a tight schedule as I'm due to be starting back at my job in England sometime in August/September. So we have agreed I'm going to set off on the next leg of the trip now.
So GOOD LUCK Steve in whatever you decide to do! I will catch up with you back in England!
As I am writing this I have a mixture of excitement, and the feeling that maybe I have bitten off more that I can chew. The prospect of travelling through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam of my own is definitely daunting. But the excitement is driving me. I have a big list of things I can't wait to see. And the excitment of the unknown is spurring me on. I'm sure there will be good days and bad days, and I have no doubt I will make a tit out of myself on several occassions along the way. But it will be an ADVENTURE!! Which is what I wanted when I set off. This is the end of the organised tours and pretend backpacking. Im off into the serious world of budget backpacking, and I can't wait!!!!!!!!!
As you probably know Steve and I left New Zealand at the end of November to come to Melbourne.
It was a bit of an abrupt end to the New Zealand trip when I found out that my grandmother had sadly passed away, so I contacted Qantas and made my way home from New Zealand via Melbourne and Singapore (not the best flight in the world, I think it was around 23 hours all in!) but I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Although obviously a terrible reason to be visiting home, it was a great chance to see all of the family again, especially since pretty much everyone was there, which was good to see. The service was a good one.
So arriving back in England made my round the world ticket void, since I effectively used up the rest of my air miles to travel direct to the UK. This is a pretty good service Qantas offers as it means for just a 50 pounds fee you can fly home immediately should you need to. My insurance was also void.
So....the temptation was to stay at home....and I was VERY tempted. The idea of being so close to the family and friends again was very appealing. I could also start earning some money and begin some of the stuff I've been looking forward to, like looking for a flat. But I was also keen to see more of the world and finish the trip. And I know my grandmother had always said to me to finish the trip no matter what. That was actually the last conversation we had. So I was definitely keen to head back to Australia to carry on.
So at the end of November, 1500 pounds down for a new ticket and insurance, I left England...again. I arrived in Melbourne on the 1st December.
The time in Melbourne has been spent mostly in the city, in a hostel called Victoria Halls. This place became our home for a long time. Its a great hostel, reasonably cheap, and it comes with alot of luxuries like a cimema room and a gym. It also has a great rooftop area with a bbq and great views of the city.Steve and I both found it very hard to find work. The 'easy to get' temp jobs had dried up, apparently due to the beginning of the recession. One recruitment agent told me that she had around 800 CV's on file and only 10 or so jobs to give, so her advice was to lay low over the winter months and come back around February time. That was all well and good but lying low is a) boring, b) something you can do at home and c) not a great way to see places.
There was a brief period when I looked into fruit picking work. If you do 3 months of manual labour you qualify for a years visa to be used at another time, which is ideal if you want to come back to Australia. For me it was about the new experience, getting some money and meeting some new people. I contacted the government agency. Lo and behold, there was no work. The fruit and veg season had been excessively hot and so the crops were either damaged or in low supply. They didnt need pickers. In retrospect, this probably turned out to be a blessing as the worst bush-fires in Melbournes history hit a short while after and affected a large portion of the fruit picking areas around the city. So I guess things do happen for a reason.
The last straw was to apply for a job at Specsavers. The company I have worked for since I was 15. Yes 15!. In face the only company I have ever worked for, apart from my 1 week work experience at the Basingstoke Gazette! I contacted the recruitment agency and they were very excited. They had a place which was on the east side of the city. I could start straight away if I would agree to work for 12 months. They could even sponser me to work over here permanantly and pay for my visa and exams to practice as an optometrist!! That was all a bit much considering I just wanted some part time work. So I haggled. I started low, agreeing to a 2 month contract. She wanted 6 minimum. I offered 3. She wanted 6. I agreed to 6. I lied. But what can you do, a job is a job.
As it turns out, I learnt a fundamental lesson when applying for a job. Always check the location of the store. To me, 'west of the city', meant a few blocks west in the central business district, which to me is Melbourne. As it turns out, 'west of the city' means west of the whole STATE!. A place called Werribee.
The trip took about 2 hours when I first began, each way. I refined it down to around 1.5 hours. I would get a train 15 stops down the line and then walk another half hour. This was a real pain in the ass as I ended up working there for 3 months. Especially when you work a 9-9 shift, arrive home at around 11pm, and then have to be back up to leave the hostel by 7am. And sleeping in a hostel can make it tricky to hold down a full time job. So as it turned out, I was never on time. Ever. It became a running joke that I would always arrive at 9.15am. The latest was 10.30, but that was partly down to the trains. Sometimes, on rare occassions, I was still drunk at work. But this is the beauty of having an un-important job in a place you know you are never going to go back to.
The store was nice and the boss David was a legend. Totally relaxed. A great environment to work in. And he didn't mind what time I turned up, as he understood the distance was a bit of a pain. The area was not so great. It turns out Werribee is the armpit of Melbourne. The gene pool here must be very small and most customers were related to one another. One person's response to my working in Werribee was 'What are you doing out there, shovelling shit?'. That didn't fill me with confidence. But all in all, I was glad of the job, and 3 months later David again offered me a very impressive salary and relocation bonus if I would consider his offer of a premanent work visa and move to Australia to practice as an Optometrist. I didn't consider it for a second, but it was still nice to know I made a good impression.
So most of my time in Melbourne has been working. But filled in with a good amount of fun stuff as well. We've had some great trips. Driven the great ocean road (3 times??), which as they say in Gavin and Stacey is immense. Went to Philip Island where there is the largest colony of penguins in Australia. We have been to the Melbourne car show, watched the Australian open and seen Basement Jaxx and N.E.R.D live at the future music festival. We have also done the other obligatory stuff like the Melbourne Aquarium and been drinking at many of the wicked bars in Melbourne. I think Melbourne is most famous for its bars. Some of which you really have to hunt for, hidden down dirty alley ways or between buildings. One of my favourites is the rooftop bar on Swanston street which has a cinema on the roof, and gives a really good view of the city. At Christmas time we went to Sydney for around a week and lived it up in a hotel room which we got on the cheap through a mate! Gave us a good chance to see all the stuff around there like Bondi beach, the harbour bridge and the opera house.So....up to the current day. I have finished work now. Had a good leaving party. I have saved just around enough money to carry on the rest of the trip around Australia and then onto South East Asia. My flight is booked for tomorrow morning at 6.30am leaving Melbourne and flying to Ayers Rock via Sydney. The rest of the route is planned and I will add that in another post. Just thought it was about time to bring this blog up to date as I want to start posting alot more for the rest of the trip.
I also just wanted to say cheers to Steve for the trip so far, it has been a great laugh! We have had lots of discussions about money / where we want to go etc and Steve is keen to stick around Melbourne for a while. We both found it hard to get work but I was lucky enough to have Specsavers to fall back on otherwise I would have been screwed. Now that Steve has found work, he is keen to stick around Melbourne for a bit longer. I'm on a bit more of a tight schedule as I'm due to be starting back at my job in England sometime in August/September. So we have agreed I'm going to set off on the next leg of the trip now.
So GOOD LUCK Steve in whatever you decide to do! I will catch up with you back in England!
As I am writing this I have a mixture of excitement, and the feeling that maybe I have bitten off more that I can chew. The prospect of travelling through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam of my own is definitely daunting. But the excitement is driving me. I have a big list of things I can't wait to see. And the excitment of the unknown is spurring me on. I'm sure there will be good days and bad days, and I have no doubt I will make a tit out of myself on several occassions along the way. But it will be an ADVENTURE!! Which is what I wanted when I set off. This is the end of the organised tours and pretend backpacking. Im off into the serious world of budget backpacking, and I can't wait!!!!!!!!!
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