I went to bed last night, faced down with a load of aftersun smothered all over my back with little hope of feeling much better by the morning, but certainly it was the best option I could take under the circumstances.
Waking up I was relieved to find that I was still faced down which meant that I had not done my back any further injury, but what woke me up was the calling of my name, or rather an asian lady calling out Springfield from the open doorway and I remembered that I had booked a trip for today at the same time as the others, this time a walk through the rain forests.
Unwilling to put my back under further risk I just cried off that I wasnt interested any more, and in truth visiting the hot and sticky inner rain forest was the absolute last thing I wanted to do at that moment, and luckily the deposit I was about to lose was only a 10% of the overall fee.
Drifting back to sleep I gave myself another couple of hours before I got up, took a cool shower and then decided that I was just going to have a very lazy day in and around the hostel premises, popping no further than about ten minutes walk away and doing my best to hug shade wheverer possible.
I managed to get as far as the nearest cinema and shopping complex where I killed a little time, grabbed a bite to eat and found a discount sweet store where I could buy a pack of marsbars cheaper than a single would cost me back in the hostel, and similarly only AUD $1 for a 1.5 litre of pop instead of AUD $2.50 for nought more than a can from the vending machines.
With the heat and humidity not really letting up I headedon back to the hostel with my new found goodies and then slipping on my swimming trunks went to see how long I could hide out in the pool before I actually turned from a wrinkle into a prune.
After the second hour I was joined by a couple from the UK, then a little later by one of their room mates and then by the other so that in the end there was five of us all just lazing about by the pool, cahtting about past trips and suggesting future experiences and locations to visit.
Like most of the travellers I have met they seem to have been out for as long as I have, though visited a lot less places and I began to appreciate what a hectic and breakness pace of travelling I had set up for myself.
Although I guess I could still crop a day off here and there but I am far removed from the relaxed month or two months that most proper travellers give themselves when visiting Australia. Listening to their stories I realised that although I am travelling with a rucksack I am not backpacking in the truest sense.
I am not just arriving at a place with no idea of what to do or where to stay, I have already tried to make contact with friends in teh city before I arrive, I am not staying anywhere for weeks at a time and I am not buying up stocks of food and drink to cut down on costs, mainly as they wont let me carry stuff through customs on flights and both food and drink are very heavy. Neither am I able to just bum around for weeks, going to nightclubs and parties in the middle of the night, buying up soveneirs, sending postcards home, braiding my hair, getting tattoos or working my way through using the onely planet or rough guide to just about everything from accomodation, food, trips or excursions.
Finally I am not inteerested in trying to do find temporary work in the fields, shelf stacking, cub hosting, working as a receptionist or cleaner in a hostel or even behind a bar in a local bar or club, mainly because I hate alcoholics and also because by the time I find a job it will be time for me to catch my next flight out.
Although I set out to experience all I could and planned on writing a travel book and my journey, it is not really going to be that much use to your average backpacker as my trip has been so far removed from that travel lifestyle as to be almost unrecognisable. It is true that I have tried to do many of the best trips advertised in the hostels, have collected probably in excess of 10 kilos of gumph, leaflets and fliers about what to do and where to stay, but even the fact that I am bringing along my laptop and try my best most nights to update it is flying in the face of the true backpacker spirit.
It is a bit like a wall street accountant going out and buying a black leather jacket, a harley davidson, getting a couple of tattoo's and calling himself a Hells Angel, or even just a biker for that matter. It is not enough to look the part, you have to act, behave, live and believe in both what your doing and why your doing it, and for those reasons while there is no question of me being a traveller, I cannot say that I am a backpacker.
My whistle stop tour of the world has been a great eye opener, it has given me many opportunities to take some great photos, some extremely interesting and unusual people and try things that would be impossible in my ordinary life back home, but I can't say that it has gone the way I expected it to.
Having said that, I do not reget coming or even always the way I have planned this, as there is always something new to experience the next day, always some new people to get aquianted with, hear new and funny stories and I am never bored for more than a couple of days as that is as long as I have currently given myself in any one city before moving on to the next one.
As we sat there floating and lounging in the pool we chatted about some of the places that they had been to here in Australia and I was surprised that they had been to Green Island and despite wearing stinger suits they had received their fair share of shocks from the local jellyfish population that lived there. Almost every part of their body was covered in the stinger suit yet still the tips of their toes and around their lips had been zapped a number of times, often no more than mild bee sting but sometimes the feeling would last several mintues, or until the next and fresher sting screamed out from a different part of their body.
The real shame was that they had not yet had the chance to spot any turtles, sharks or whales and of these I had seen a few and if I had of been prepared to turn up early enough and pay I could have myself fed the sharks while back in Sydney.
We also chatted plenty about the far east, as they had all been there and had plenty of stories about taxi or tuktuk drivers being personal guides for around £30 for an entire day, which included being a guide, translator and covering all the entrance fees for various attractions. It amused me that they were willing and open about their brother who went for one reason only and apart from the nighttime activities would take on a local girl as a personal chaperone and guide for his entire stay in Bangkok and all for next to nothing.
For me, this is not really an option as I have got plenty of friends already in Bangkok that I have promised to meet up with, not to mention that staying in hostels they are often against guests bring in visitors into the dorm rooms, but it sure is interesting to hear and makes a great story.
After the sun went down and my skin was about almost forming one giant wrinke I decided that I could not stay in the pool any longer, so made my farewells and headed on out to dry off and go grab a bite to eat. I had hoped that I could have met them after I got changed and we could all have headed out together but they said they were waiting on another pair of friends who must have turned up while I was getting dressed and together they all went off together.
Not wanting to spend any more money or go too far from the aircon, as despite the nighttime coming there was no release from the heat, so I just grabbed a bite from the nearest takeout restaurant, which ended up being KFC, where a meal and a drink was AUD $12 and then I came back and watched movies til it was time to get a good nights rest.
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