Surfing on a Wave of Benevolence

I arrived in Sydney on Sunday after 12 hours on an overnight coach from Melbourne - my attempt at reducing my already King Kong sized carbon footprint. Every little helps I suppose.

The first day, Matt and Naomi (the latter an ex-member of the Elsevier mob) drove myself and Dan - a current subscriber to the Elsevier wage slip - around on a little tour before heading to the pub, which was definitely a very Elsevier thing to do indeed. The next day I had an admin day uploading pics and writing blog entries (as you've probably noticed), so quite a non-event. However, dinner was spent at Naomi's sister's restaurant, Bodega, which is much lauded by the local gastronomes. The food was beautiful, the wine was excellent and the toilet was superb - all aromatherapy oils and soft lighting. Plus it was a disabled toilet so it was roomy. I could have happily had my dinner in there, if not for the fact it would have been a tad anti-scocial.

And today, I'm in Bondi trying to find a surf instructor. I've had one recommendation - a guy called 'Skippy' - but I'll try and be rational, look at a few other places and try not to base my decision just on his name. Although that's quite a good pull for me. Despite the fame, Bondi is quite relaxed during the week. I've had some Israeli food in a place that has been visited by the likes of Keanu Reeves and Ratface Orlando Bloom (unfortunately) and once I've finished typing this I'll take a look around. One thing that shouldn't surprise me, but has all the same, is that there's quite a few ripped people walking around. It's like being at the climbing centre. I've got the guns out, but I'm keeping the rest under wraps for now. For now...

So, I haven't organised this blog very well at all. Most of you have no idea who Matt, Naomi or Dan are. Well... Dan's visiting from the UK and Matt and Naomi live in Sydney as they are Australian, which helps. Dan, Naomi and myself all used to work together at Elsevier. Dan still does. That's the story. Sorry, no twist at the end of the tale.

Their place is situated at the border of Surry Hills and Redfern. When I told my uncle in Adelaide that I was staying in Redfern, he listed drugs, assaults and riots. Looking round the area, there's very little of that. The immediate area we're living in is very leafy, tranquil and far-removed from city bustle, but it's only about 50 minutes walk from the city. It's a great little base.

I'm sleeping in the living room, which is a continuation of my past few days where I was initiated into the world of Couch Surfing scene in Melbourne. Now, Couch Surfing - for the uninitiated - is a site where people offer their couches/futons/floor/spare beds to weary travellers as a place to rest their heads. People leave references so you can avoid the psychos quite easily and most people I have met on the site have had nothing but good experiences. Mine certainly were. First I spent a few nights 30 minutes walk from Melbourne city centre in a funky little area called North Fitzroy. I stayed with a girl, her girlfriend, the first girl's mother and their three cats. Everyone was really friendly, relaxed and I loved the area. It was like Hoxton in London or the Northern Qtr in Manchester, and it's where I got my cut-price pizza (see previous blog entry).

Alas, however, a family friend was coming to stay so I found another couch 20 minutes train ride outside of the city. It was a little out of the way, but it was plush. I walked into the living room and there was a 50" flatscreen TV. Ferrero Rocher were laid on the table and when I made myself a cup of tea, they didn't stock normal old sugar: they only had aesthetically pleasing cubes. And I had access to free internet!

If you compare that to hostel life, it's pretty sweet.

Tony has noticed a gradual fall in the aggressiveness of flies since leaving South Australia. Maybe it's because the people in Adelaide make such good slow moving targets. ;p He's also expecting a less than favourable reaction from his family when they read that he has been doing this couch surfing business.

Trust him. He knows what he's doing...