Darwin

Darwin.
There are a couple of distinct differences between Melbourne and Darwin. Obviously. The first thing that hits is the temperature. I left Melbourne on Tuesday morning. It was cold, raining and 12 degrees. I shivered at the airport, as my clothes were all wet from the trip between house and tram, tram and bus, and bus and airport. I stepped off the plane into a somewhat humid 33 degrees. It’s warm, sunny, and constant up here. You don’t get so much as a cool breeze to break the heat. And you can’t do anything with your hair.
Everything here is so green. Darwin’s wet season is winding down, and the city is still oozing life from every pore. Darwin’s CBD is less ‘concrete jungle’, and more a little bit of concrete fighting against the jungle. It is a small 6-8 block district containing offices, retail services and plenty of air conditioned refuges from the heat outside. Mitchell Street is noisy, though nothing like any kind of busy street in Melbourne. It is lined with backpackers, restaurants and travel agencies. It is a block back from the waterfront, which is nowhere near as alluring as it might be, due to the constant threat of saltwater crocs and box jellyfish.
The local flora is beautiful with big tropical leaves weighed down under huge droplets of water. The frangipani’s sweet fragrance wafts through the streets, the crimson flowers on the tall flame trees glow bright in the northern sun.
Small and large lizards scuttle across footpaths as you wander the city and gigantic insects that inevitably give you the fright of your life, are quite fascinating in their colours, shapes and uniqueness.
And yet there is something unsettling about Darwin. It’s not that I don’t like it; it’s just the unshakable feeling that there is something not quite right. There are the ever-present groups of Aboriginals. They’re peripheral. It’s the only word I can come up with to describe it. They seem to be on the periphery of everything.
There are the teenagers who are hanging around in shopping centres, loitering, swearing, and generally running amok. Nothing unusual there, aside from the fact that these particular mallrats all seem to have babies and toddlers tagging along with them.
Another thing I noticed today, though not unusual in itself is the presence of hurricane fencing. You know the type, the 8-foot high chain-link fences often used around construction sites. Those are used as front fences here. And side fences. And back fences. Quite often, it is flanked with thick black plastic. Not the most welcoming of facades.
The city itself seems tired. Everything seems to be slumped, as though it has reached the end of a long and tiresome period, and it just wants to have a lie down. The houses in the suburbs seem laden the stress of years of preparing for and bracing against the ever-present threat of cyclones. It is as though the constant heat and humidity have worn the city down, and it is in that moment, that moment just before it throws up its hands in defeat. It seems to be heaving a huge, resigned sigh. To what it is resigned, I don’t know. I don’t know if it knows.
It has the feel of a temporary city, not quite so much as Yulara did, but there seems, on my at-a-glance appraisal, that there are few prospects here.
And so it is not with a great deal of sadness or regret that I won’t be here for long. Sure, it’s pretty, but there is little more left to maintain my interest.
I leave on Saturday, meeting Sabrina at the airport here before heading off to a grand adventure in tropical Saigon. Upon our return to Darwin, I intend to visit the much-raved-about Mindil night market, before driving off for the cool natural pleasures of Litchfield National Park and beyond.

Leavin On A Jet Plane

Welcome back. I am officially travelling once more.

As I trudged along Brunswick st in the rain this morning, I put my hood up, dragged my bag along behind me and hopped a tram to Southern Cross station, making my way to the airport through the cold, rainy, 12 degree Melbourne morning.  I do love Melbourne.

I am off again today, up to Darwin again, to take a trip to Vietnam. I will return to retrieve my car before driving home with my Ayer's Rock housemate, Sabrina.

I don't feel anticipation. I don't feel trepidation. I don't even feel excitement at this stage. I just am. I think once I am on my way to Vietnam, I will be thrilled, and once I have been successfully stimulated by K Rudd, even more so. But for now, I am sitting at Tullamarine, cold, wet and lonely. Looking forward to the 33 degrees that Darwin has promised, and the time when the excitement hits.

I have a new home... of sorts

So this is my travel blog.

At the moment, I am not travelling. I will be again in 3 weeks.

As such, I have started a new blog, exploring the wonderful goodness that an abundance of time, a lack of money and a fresh view on life has created..

Check this baby out at 

http://evieandmabel.blogspot.com

tell your friends.

I'm hoping to make a little community of sorts...

Ahh Melbourne

So I have been back for awhile, and cultivating my Melbourne lifestyle in preparation for when I am back and settled.

Interesting Melbourne-y stuff I've done:

went to the Ian Potter gallery with Karen

went to the footy with Bec

got a wicked cool old Malvern Star and have started hotting it up.. next stop - red spokes!

been rollerblading

indulging in many hours of planning crafty projects

made a load of badges

went to Laverton Market! Yay!

jam donuts

hanging out alot with my girl, which is awesome

caught a tonne of trams

went to nova's comedy festival broadcast and won two double passes to shows

dinner at Northcote Social Club

drinks at the bar in the lane off Chinatown

Shanghai Dumpling

Vegie Bar

Melbourne is a city I love, but oh, how nice it is to rediscover it with fresh, traveller's eyes.

I am back to settle from the first week in June.

I will be looking for work. Preferably teaching part time, and doing something that is FUN on the other days. Crafting. Market Stalls. Art Shop. Pub. Something where I can meet people, always a big problem as a teacher, learn something, and work to live, not the other way around.

Exciting times!!!

home again, home again, jiggity jig

and so I arrived, with little to no fanfare in Melbourne this morning. I had an overnight flight, and very very little sleep in 24 hours, so I took myself home to Mum and Dad's and promptly went to bed.

Very little to report at this stage.

Heading into the city tomorrow, in an attempt to maintain the travellers' eyes. Taking loads of pics and meeting up with Anita tomorrow evening, which will be ace.

Any and all advice and suggestions on ways to get through this next 6 weeks while holding onto the freedom and autonomy that I have developed and nurtured while I have been away will be greatly appreciated!!

What do I Want?

Has been asked a bit of me in the last couple of days.

After much (much, much, much, much, much) thought, I am in the process of contemplating making a decision about temporarily coming home.

I think it's what I want. 

I miss Melbourne.

I think I have achieved so, so much since I left. I have so many ideas, plans, thoughts, stuff I wanna do.

I was looking at jobs in Melbourne, preferably short-term, easy, well-paid jobs. And I was so excited at the prospect!

I am thinking of coming home for about 6 weeks. Working. My ass off. Then coming back. Hitting Kakadu, meeting up with Sabrina, heading to Vietnam, and road tripping back to Melbourne to start my 'new life'. (Of course, stopping along the way to take a fuckload of pictures.)

I know why I left.

Have I achieved everything I wanted? Maybe not.

Am I well on the way? Hell yes.

I am rediscovering myself. I am trying damned hard to do things on my own terms. I am taking good, good photos (all of which have been removed from facebook, lest I manage to get enough of my shit together to exhibit them). I am feeling inspired.  Most of the time.

I am exhausted. I feel the constant pressure of worrying about food, money, accommodation, petrol, weird room mates etc is wearing me down.

My thoughts at this stage involve taking a break, heading to Melbourne earning some cash. Setting things up for my new life as it were.

argh!!!

My little spaz out

happened on Knuckey street in Darwin.

As I walked out of the employment centre, having been informed they will only help me if I am a permanent resident of Darwin, I realised, I am possibly, completely screwed.

No one wants temps. No one wants backpackers.

No one wants Melburnians. No one wants me.

Mum is coming on Friday. She leaves on Monday. At this stage, I am beginning to think my options are going to be to leave as well. Try my luck finding work at a roadhouse perhaps?

If I had the money, I would head south tomorrow, and drive till I got home. In fact, I probably could do that. But where would that leave me?

Tickets to Vietnam on May 2nd. From Darwin.

It would add about $500 to the trip before I started. But maybe that's okay. Maybe that's manageable.

I just don't know what to do, but I do know that I am struggling right now. I know that I could go home, and likely pick up emergency teaching work within a week of being home. I know that I have somewhere to stay and food to eat.

Hmmmm.

Advice?

Solutions?

Lifelines?