The last days

Well ... as you know, I've been staying in Noosa for the last days.
I can easily say it was a fun stay, in a oh_so_very_relaxed town, and mind you please, that Australia is a very relaxed place to begin with :)
I spent my time walking in the national parks, and meeting new people in the backpackers place, who might not be cheap, but at least it was just next to the bus stop, and they had a vacancy.
One of the things i liked is the free ping pong table they had there. First night i lost to the French. The second, we both lost to the Swiss. The third i managed to loose again to the French, but i had come a long way from the previous nights at least :)

Here are some pics:




Here you can see Siril (or is it Ciril?) and me, playing English ping pong. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out what the difference is :)















Next, still playing the English version of the game, is your humble servant. Looking good, but still not winning.
I guess having fun will have to be enough until I'll improve my ping pong l337 5kIllz.











The 21st:

The 21st. It all started way to early. 6am in the morning I'm awakened by a sms from the Swiss guy that worked with me in the farm, wondering where I am. An annoyed grunt, and back to sleep, or at least trying to. Between everybody else waking and coming and going, i managed to sleep maybe 20 minutes until 8am.
I got up, hopped to the showers/bath, hand washed my jeans, packed my stuff, got the linen from my bed, and headed to reception to check out. I left my bags in the storage room, and headed back to the reception.
I was supposed to get a free 2 hour kayak trip from the company with whom I did the surf lesson the day before, and at the reception they said they will pass and pick me, so I waited. Eventually i realized they wont come, so i just went there by foot, hearing music and enjoying the good weather on my way.
When i got there, the instructor, a 40 y/o I'd guess, called Max, told me the waves are amazing, and i should go surfing. I told him i would love to, but i had a bus to catch, and i have no swimmers with me (i was wearing my Thai fishing pants, a t-shirt and my lovely hat).
Max got me a pair of trunks he had in his van, i managed to get some sunblock from a girl on the beach, and instead of kayaking, i went surfing again :).
It was nice, better weather, and i just went in and tried to catch the waves. I did better than the previous day, and i still ended up cursing the paddling parts in between waves.
After an hour and a half, my ankle leash broke, so i got out of the water and lay on the board on the beach for some minutes until the rest finished their class. I took the board back, quick shower, thanked Max, and headed toward the hostel again.
The jeans were still wet, so i played ping pong with Tom, an English bloke, who didn't know how to play, so i just gave him whatever help and tips i could. Then, a quick shower, went to the bus stop, got in, and once it started moving, fell asleep for 2 hours.

Brisbane, 1530. Backpacks on, head out of the bus station, and realizing how hungry i am, went and bought myself a kebab. Now, a kebab here is what we'll call a "lafa" back home, but it's not the massive fat dripping one, it's the more civilized, less filling version of it.
From there i headed to the backpacker i stayed at the last time, waited for my turn, and when i asked for a room, they told me "sorry, we're full".
Hmm ... mkay ... there's always a first time i guessed, i asked them where i can find someplace to stay, and the girl gave me a map and circled a couple of places.
I headed toward the center of the city, stopped for some minutes to send a quick mail, and out again to the next one. Only ... it was full !
They gave me a map, with some 13 places, so i went to the next nearest one, which wasn't where it was supposed to be (later i understood my mistake, something to do with the color of the numbers on the map). Anyways, an old couple saw me looking, and came to the rescue, offering their help. They pointed me to the nearest places, and then called to see if there's a vacancy. There wasn't. In the next place, they had a place only for girls, and the next try was full too.
I didn't want to slow them, so i thank them, and headed to the information point to try and get some help.
They gave me a number, but the office was closed, so i went and called all the backpackers from the map and the list they gave me.
I tried at least 13 or 14, all full. At last, one said they have a bed for tonight. i had to walk all the way back from where i came, and then some 10 minutes more, with all my stuff, until i got there, all sweating, tired, and extremely happy i got rid of some weight before i came.
The good side is i got a single room for the price of a dorm, since those were full too ! (crazy, i know, but i can't complain).
6pm, quick shower, and i ran out, since i had to be in the powerhouse theatre by 7pm for the Umbilical Brothers show, which i booked a couple of days before, getting one of the 2 last tickets :) .
1815 still trying to figure out how I'm getting there. Asked a couple of people what would be the best way, and taxi was the answer. Decided to get the bus, and when i got to the bus station, at 1830, i managed to get on the right bus (which was behind the one i tried to board) without having to wait.
I got to the theatre at 1900 sharp (that's 7pm, for the non militar readers). Got my ticket, waited a bit, and at 1930 the show started. The theatre was full. And the show was great :).
They did repeat some of their stuff, but it was great nevertheless. An experience.
After the show, they went down to say hello and sign stuff for the people, so i got a picture with them, and got my passport signed :)
From there, it was a long walk back to the backpackers. Listened to my music, bought an almond magnum, a chocolate milk which turned to be too thick for my taste, and when i got to the center of the city, i ended up at hungry jacks (a.k.a. burger king). I don't really know why, since all the times I ate in fast food places here i got disappointed. I order the Ausie Burger, which has egg and ham and cheese, and realized yet again that it's junk food, and promise myself not to eat there again :).
Once i got back to my room, i stared at the TV for half an hour, and went to sleep.

Today I had to move again, since they were fully booked, and I didn't plan on paying full price for the room, but it seems that luck is on my side again, and I payed for 3 nights at the place I originally stayed at.

Hope to get some salsa this weekend, but in the meanwhile, I'm out to buy some groceries and have a nice dinner.

Take care all :)