The Reality of Travel

There comes a time in a backpackers journey when he looks online at his maxed out credit card statement and cries out "Damn it! Alright, I'll get a job". Seeing as I'm coming ever so close to that point, I've decided to preemptively jump on any job that came my way...Enter the Fair.

A few friends and I were able to snag some sales jobs at the two fairs in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Even though the tag reads "made in China" We are "Made in Australia, for Australians by Australians". To increase sales I'm come up with a new sales pitches "I've gone completely nuts, I can't believe I'm I'm selling these wheels for twenty bucks!"


I'm flanked on both sides by The christian outreach booth , the Bible League booth and by a mattress salesmen from Chicago who keeps a healthy supply of free candy to entice customers to stop by. One of my co-workers decided to drop in and ask for a piece. The salesman said "If you've been a good girl, you get one candy. If you've been a naughty girl you get 2 candies"....I love Adelaide.

I pretended to be a fruit market salesmen and the embarrassment just melted away. Plus its a great way to practice your voice projection. Christine manning the trolley booth.

Shown the ropes of carnie sales, I'm told that any pitch goes "recommended by the chiropractic association of South Australia" "Micro fibers line the fabric" "Life time warranty" "Step right up mom! Dad, Come try our revolutionary new back supports! 20 bucks!" I'm positively knackered in this shot.

Sell Amy Sell! " My pitch for this was "Sit Right" back support systems! Sit tight and you'll feel right! Step right up folks, the chairs won't bite but the prices will reel you right in!" Actually puked a little while saying it :)

Naturally the nicest and most normal people at the convention. "Oh we don't sell anything here Dom, well I guess we're selling the word of God"

They were kind enough to provide me with holy reading materials to pass the time and free coffee. Bless your heart.

"Getchyer dirty Spice/Root/Flower/Herb packs".

Helped Pete with his sales pitch. "No Wheat no Rice no Worries".

The week was worth it, I guess. Not sure if I came out of it a better person though. Got enough to get to Melbourne, drop a few weeks of rent and partay!

Oh the hippies. O.k. I may have joined in on the 15 drum jamboree for a few minutes...come on, its Byron Bay! These pictures were taken about a week before starting the jobs.

Great live music here in Aus.

Too much Goon! A type of cheap wine here that comes in a 4.4 litre bag, contains fish part and can be used as a pillow afterwards. I was lost in the woods at arts factory here.

Staying with friends in Freshwater. They've got a bunch of guitars!!

Manly Beach, located just north of Sydney. Pretty nice for winter weather.

Ah... the infamous Opera House.

Blur House.

The Iron Lung linking Sydney to the north end.

The botanical gardens here are so beautiful you tend not to look up!

Massive Botanical Bat.

St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Its the Largest church in Australia.

Having finished Adelaide, Syndey and Byron I'm now in Melbourne for a little while. The City rocks so far!!! I'll have a post up soon!

Australia

Well its been a solid month since my last post. Been chilling in Brisbane, Byron bay and Surfers Paradise for a month doing some odd jobs and enjoying first-world cities again. Found myself washing my hands at the hot water tap for about a minute then snapped out of it. Its so nice to have hot water and little extras you take for granted without having to pay extra for it. On the other hand a water bottle cost $3.50 and a can of coke is around $2.50 at most places so getting a job was the order of the day!

Gold Coast at dusk. Was lucky to get a job lined up in Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.

Surfers Paradise!

Most easterly point in Aus, Byron.

Byron Bay Handstands.

The Brisbane Wheel of death on South Bank. Great Running paths here.

Cool urban planning.

Tim and Jess. Tim was able to get us all jobs for the 10 day Ekka festival in Brisbane. Helluva guy. Helluva guy.

Trance-fest on the Brissie riverside

Dancing/Epileptic seizure.

Jess pictured here killing some pins.

Steve ended up beating the rest of us with a triple digit score...at least I beat the girls right?

Don't touch the stash dude!

Traffic control at Ekka.

Air-Cycle.

The girls got the German "super wipes" rolling gig for the first day at the fest. 1000 rolls to go...999 to go...998...997. I was flipping steak, burgers, making wraps and burning myself on the fryers, felt like I was 17 again! Oh Aus you make me feel so young!

So flying down to Sydney for a week then Adelaide for another show and then its off to Melbourne to finish off the work circuit and enjoy the Aus outback!

Waterfall Hunter

The Guest writer this post is none other than the infamous Randelle Davis...Take it away Sailor! Rainy days in Ko Lanta. Dom attempting to battle the waves.

Trekking to the waterfall. We are hard core and trekked the entire way there walking through the stream. Got a little deep at times.

Finally made it to the falls. Superhero power pose in front of the lovely fall of water.

Since day one in Ko Lanta we had been talking about trekking to "the waterfall." Finally after 5 days of not leaving our 5 star resort, motorbiking around and almost making it there, getting caught in torrential downpours etc.

We finally reach the waterfall on our last day. We climbed to the top and that's where the Domtron photo shoot commenced. Full photo spread to be in GQ magazine this August of 2009.

No drugs, no alcohol...just Dom.

Still in stitches over the Shoot.

Jungle chillin'

Dom has a severe 7 eleven addiction. He spots one from a distance and you can see the excitement rise in his eyes. Entering the store is like recharging his batteries. He thrives on the cold blast of air conditioning, the bright colours everywhere, the foreign Japanese snacks and tuna sandwiches all at low costs. He tried explaining the high to me. Comparing it to casino's, the temporary insanity that people get when they enter a casino because they pump in pure oxygen, give you free drinks and the constant flashing lights. This is 7 eleven for Dom.

If he knows he will be away from 7 eleven for a few days. He stocks up his pack to get him through it.

He broke 3 out of the 5 rules of 7 eleven that day. Like the winner he is he accidentally shoplifted and was caught with a bag of salty bread sticks under his arm. He wore his helmet into the store AND was taking photographs inside the store.

Refueling the bikes. Sweet sweet farmers tan with a facial expression to match.

Sweetest setup ever.


Gearing up for Full-Moon.

Porch chillin at bungalow #10 with a dirty bottle of SangSom rum in my purse.

Tough guy at the fishing village. Sailor Dom.

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Working hard at our 5 star resort. Running our room service dishes back to the kitchen and probably placing another order.

O.K. Time to start roughing it again! Thanks Randy! I'm off to stay in the dirtiest Bangkok hostel I can find and Randelle is hitting up Splendour in the grass Fest in Australia.....must be nice :)