Alone for 9,000 Miles

The first day

So. That's day one over and done with. I feel drained after hardly any sleep on the way to Kuala Lumpur, followed by potentially the most boring 4 hour stop that, thankfully, was made a little more exciting for a couple of reasons.

Following this came the flight from KL to Perth, Australia. I felt more excited on the second flight but I was still a bag of nerves. Wondering how everything would pan out.

After landing, I went to the arrivals for none Australian/New Zealand citizens where there were two women serving. One was mid fifties and seemed a lovely woman, the other was about 25 to 30 and she was horrid. The way she spoke to people were as if they'd asked if they could bring a demolistion team to Ayres Rock. I prayed I got the elder of them, and I did. She stamped up my passport and away I went to the baggage collection.

There's no other activity in life like waiting for your bag to come around, while having a cheeky nosey at what you co-travellers have brought for the trip, and wondering why they need so much when I've got bugger all. That came around too and everything was going jolly swimmingly. I headed out to start my adventure, after a 10 minute wrestle with the secure taping, I had wrapped around my bag to keep everything in check.

I wandered out after milling about the airport for half an hour of facebook and a telephone call home. And found a nice shuttle bus waiting for me. Fantastic. It took me right to the door of my hostel, and I was there for 10. The woman on reception told me I could leave my bag there and could return at 2 to check in properly. I thought fantastic, I've got 4 hours to just get my local bearings.

This is where my experience went downhill. I'd done as much thinking and daydreaming in the past 3 days to last a life time. I walked through the parks, I walked all the way basically to town, I walked to the other town, since the city has a centre and the district has one too. And I'd done all that, in shoes which I forgot are horrendously uncomfortable. The blisters on my feet are a sight for sore eyes, and I need to buy some new shoes. Which in Oz means 'ka-ching' for the lucky shop keeper since everything is mega priced. The other shoes have come all the way to end up in the charity clothes bin.

I made my first 'friend' of hopefully many as I wandered into my dorm. She was just leaving to move to another room down the hall and I gave her a hand. Called Clare and from Kerry in Ireland. What she's saying, a few times I've no ideas. But we had a pint, got a chicken for tea and bobs your uncle. After some chicken and tzatsiki sandwiches had been made, outside I went and a Kiwi fella just came and sat with me. Called Alex and hes been traveling 2 years now. To be honest it's amazing how quick people will plonk themselves at your table and strike a convocation.

I'll be honest though, so far I don't know if I'll fit in with the travelling life. The idea is amazing, it's just the people and the stories they tell. Odds are they are the truth, but have been fertilised by bullshit to make them sound more horrific, but last night here in room 1, I'm in 4, sounded crazy and ended with a drunken fella falling from his top bunk, and having a wee on the floor. Lovely. Also, its all about going out and getting smashed, which isn't what I want now at 23. Apparently this is the quietest hostel Alex has ever stayed in, but for me it seems perfect. I want quiet and laid back. Id rather a chat over a table and I wouldn't even need a drink, water does fine enough for me. I can go out and get wrecked at home, with my actual friends who I trust, for much less, and why come all this way not remember whats happening!?

Only time will tell if I stay the full 12 months, but so far, it's looking less then likely. Other then have a chat with my two 'friends', I've yet to do anything I'd class as fun, hopefully that'll start soon.

So I'm in bed for 10, ready to head to the city to get my bank card, and some shoes.

Quote of the blog: Cogito ergo sum. I'd say that's quite fitting for how much thinking I've done while travelling.

Leaving Sheffield.

As you read this it might seem slightly disjointed, but I did it throughout the day, recording different emotions. And as you'd all expect from me, I'm blunt and honest.

So, as I leave the city, looking through the dirtiest window in history from my £3 megabus seat, I remember something I was told years ago, that the viaduct at tinsley was one of only 3 of it's kind, the other 2 were in New York, and Tokyo. They both collapsed. Always reassuring to know.

Other thoughts and feelings run through my head too, but the only one that seemed to make any sense was that this is the right thing to do, at the right time in my life.

Since I'm known for my lack of punctuality whenever anything is arranged, I decided to set off from my home a good 2 hours before I needed to be at the coach station, which sounded a fantastic idea in my head, yet in reality it wasn't quite that. It took me a little over an hour to get to the station, meaning I had an hour of people watching. And there is nothing finer to pass the time. Watching people go about their daily business is interesting anyway, but when you know they'll still be doing that same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and I'll be jet setting to Australia to experience something knew, it adds a whole new dimension to the 'sport'

So, after 3 power naps, and over 3 hours on this coach, which for some reason the driver decided to set the thermostat at the same temperature he'll be cooking his Christmas turkey, I hit London. Its one of those cities I hate being in, but from in a coach through a dirty window it's amazing to watch people running around, trying to get from a to b via a hospital. The amount of people ice seen nearly get knocked over is unbelievable. It seems like a city which should set it's alarm a good 10 minutes earlier each morning.

Also, since I've started writing about our capital city, I have hardly moved, which people seem to pay for the privilege. A congestion charge hasnt helped at all from what I can see. Every road is full of cars darting from lane to lane. This chaos hasn't even been organised.

So as I write this now, I'm sat waiting, looking at the plane that's going to whisk me away, wondering why I've sat a the window looking at it, because as all the other passengers have a nosey, they can quite obviously notice me sobbing my little heart out. Why... Who knows. I'm about to embark on the trip of a life time and I just can't stop the tears rolling down my cheeks. Strange how human emotions can convey themselves. Deep down I'm excited and can't wait to start exploring, but my face is telling everyone else around me different. I guess it's the fear of the great unknown which came over me as I waited on the platform to get the train from london to gatwick airport. But there is no backing out now... My bag is on that bloody flight and I'll be damned if anything is going to stop me. Next stop... Kuala Lumpur.

I don't have a saying for this entry... I can't think straight, never mind look for one as ive been travelling

So, here it is. I'm sat at my laptop for potentially the last time for 12 months, day dreaming and staring at a list that is way too long considering I go in under a day and a halves time. It's just the simple stuff like bung my toothbrush in my bag, make sure I have my earphones and the such, but still.

So today I've packed my bag, and realised I could well probably take a whole load more, since I got on the weighing scales alone, to weight my huge mass, and then with my backpack on my shoulders, and the difference was only 11lb,which is about 5kg, but still have a few things to pack. It came as a shock since I can treble that weight with my luggage.

So for the next year or so I have 5 different t-shirts, one kindly donated to me, cheers Lucy, which has the slogan of my mates band on, Scrim (click here for a listen), 2 shirts, 4 pairs of shorts, 2 trousers, some boxers, a pair of pumps, some flip-flops and that's pretty much it. Well I hope someone friendly is working in the laundrette, because it would seem I'll be visiting them enough to be considered for rent charges.

It's still a very surreal feeling knowing that in a few days time I'll be locking my front door for the last time in ages, but it's an exciting feeling too. So many people seem to comment how brave it must be to take off like I am doing, but I think it's just a normal thing to do. The hardest I reckon will be the 30 odd hours door to door, but its all fun and games.

I've decided I'm going to try and end each blog entry I do from now on with a quote that I've either heard or seen on my travels, who knows how long this idea will last for, but here it goes.

"Time is like a river. You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life…"

See you on the other side

Having finally got a backpack, a few shorts and a camera, I'm almost ready for the big day. Only a couple of things to sort and it could well have finally hit me that I'm leaving my home at half 9 in the morning on the 6th of December, and I will step off that plane on the 8th at half 5 in the morning local time. That could be a fair amount of boredom to overcome, but I'll be made up with excitement and anticipation, which will hopefully drowned that out.

As the number of weekends I have free dwindles, it does start to make me realise I'm actually going and these blogs and Facebook will be the only means of contact with the people I know. It doesn't scare me in the slightest mind due. That I have only 5 Saturdays left before I go, and just 15 shifts at work left is an incredibily exciting thought.

There's still a slight feeling of confusion about my trip, in a way it won't feel real until I am hit by that wall of heat in Kuala Lumpur, where we pop into for a refueling stop, as I get off the plane. In some ways I think it'd have been good to stay in Malaysia for a few days or a week, but there could always be a stop off on the way back.

It's not long now, and it feels my last blog was only written up a few days ago, not 3 weeks back.

So, with under 2 months until I'm heading down under I thought it could be a good time to start my blog.

So I leave my house to get to Meadowhall for the coach down to London about 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, and don't get to Perth, Australia until about 5 Thursday morning. Travelling on bus, then tram, coach, train and finally plane to get the 9000 miles to the other side of the world.

I still have a shopping list as long as my arm to get, including a backpack which is quite essential if you are heading off backpacking, a bank account for while I'm there and a few other rather important bits and bobs. I do have the main things, a means of getting there, and somewhere to lay my head once I land. What more does a traveller need?

One final thing, is it strange I'm excited to see the water going the wrong way around the plug hole?

Just me then.