Update from sunny Australia!
It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought it was about time I caught up on some blogging. Home Sweet Home, Australia! It’s good to be back! After finishing the cycle trip and leaving China it was finally time to return to ‘normality’. No more peeing outside, sleeping on the floor or worrying about where to get drinking water, or worrying about how the hell we were going to fund the rest of the trip. All the ‘little’, (though important) things that we usually took for granted.
It was time to live the ‘spoilt’ life and head back home – literally, back home to my parents’ house in Perth. Finally, I could relax and have someone look after me. Broke and tired, I arrived home… to an empty house! My parents decided to take a 3 week holiday in Vietnam the week of my return. So much for having someone look after me. Instead I spent 3 weeks trying to figure out how things worked in the house (I couldn’t even get the TV or heating working) and trying to find things that had been packed away in boxes (or thrown out).
I’ve always found it hard returning to normal life after travelling and this time was no different.
Well, that’s not entirely true, this time the feeling was magnified x100. I constantly felt like I should be doing something or going somewhere, and felt a bit… well lost! It took at least a month before I started to feel myself again… at first everything was just so overwhelming. Life was simple on a bike!
During the cycle trip we were so conscious about waste and keeping things until they literally fell apart and were unable to be fixed. It really shocked me seeing how wasteful people are. In my head Australia has always been mindful in things such as waste, recycling and the environment – which might be true in comparison to countries like China, however I forgot that this only went so far. You might not see someone throwing litter on the floor in Australia (which definitely is something I’m proud of) but people chucking out perfectly good TV’s on the bulk collection, seems to be the norm. It’s a kind of cultural shock I guess, and transition back to what we know as ‘normal life’ and it took some time to readjust.
Though completely irrational, it’s hard to not to subconsciously think that nothing has changed since being gone, that things are still going to be just as they were left. When my subconscious is reminded that life goes on, it’s hard to not feel out of place, like you no longer belong there. I’ve come and gone from Australia more times than I can count, so you would presume I wouldn’t feel like this anymore, but I still do.
One thing I was looking forward to was running again.
It had been almost a year since my last run. Anyone that knows me, would also know, I’m a bit of a running-addict. So, of course the first week being back, I went out for a 10km run, sprained my ankle and couldn’t run for 2 months. Apparently all the cycling had caused my feet to flatten out. I started cycling because I could not run, and now I could not run because I cycled! Eventually my ankle was on the mend, and though I still couldn’t run, I was able to get a job waitressing on Rottnest Island (just on the weekends).
I only had 3 months in Australia before I was due to leave again.
3 months to catch up with people. Prepare for the next trip and most importantly rest. Oh and earn some money. Time flew by and before I knew it I was on a plane and out of there. I wasn’t entirely sure that I was ready for the world of travel again so soon. I was sad to leave. If given the choice I would have stayed longer, but my visa entrance cut off date for Canada was growing closer. So the choice was to stay longer and miss out on Canada, or go, and start the next adventure. So, of course I choose to go.
Before heading off to Canada, Michael and I spent a week in Victoria. “The Wedding” that had influenced all our plans for the past 12 months had finally come around. It was because of this wedding that we cycled to China and even decided to work in France. It was hard to believe the day was finally here and it did not disappoint. The wedding was beautiful! It was also lovely spending time with Michael’s family for a change. After the wedding we drove down the Great Ocean Road with Michael’s parents and some of his family from the UK. My last chance to enjoy some of beautiful Australia for who knows how long.
It was then time to say “goodbye.”
Not only to Australia, but to Michael. I was leaving him in Australia for another 2 months, while I head off to Hawaii and then Canada. Michael had a difference entrance date for Canada than I. So he decided to stay in Perth and earn some more money before meeting me in Canada in a few months time. Ah, home sweet home Australia – I will miss you, but I will be back.
Excited for some solo travel adventures – it’s been a while! Aloha Hawaii!
