A “Vacation” from My Travels

I’m sitting in only my knickers (underpants in Aussie/British speak) all alone in my hotel room. Well, I’m not actually, but I could be… because at long last I’m all alone in my own plush, fabulous hotel room! Yippee!

Nearly three months into my journey I was getting a bit burnt out on the whole ‘share a dorm room and have no privacy’ thing at the standard backpackers’ hostels. For a gal who loves her cleanliness, I think I was doing pretty well at being comfortable in these places and looking past the possibly less than hygienic standards I was used to. Now, don’t get me wrong, many hostels completely surprised me and were spotless, but there were a few that were a bit scruffier. But, I also needed a break from the constant on-the-go sightseeing activities of the last few months.

I’ve journeyed about an hour south of Sydney to the beachside town of Wollongong. And I’ve treated myself (a nice Christmas gift for moi) to my very own hotel room, complete with a cushy, crisp white-duvet adorned queen-sized bed, flat screen TV, my very own bathroom (it’s the little things, my friends), and minimalist wood décor.

It’s a brand new hotel and I can even walk around barefoot on my nice new carpeting. It’s the lap of luxury. Well, okay it’s the Hotel Ibis, not the Peninsula, but it feels like a 5-star hotel after some of the no frills joints I’ve been staying in as of late. I’ve actually unpacked my backpack for the first time—something you just can’t do in most hostels because there’s nowhere to spread everything out, plus I wouldn’t want anything to touch the floor.

I’ve lined up my shoes, took my few sets of clothes out, and even was able to put out some very special trinkets my mom had sent me off with back in October. One is a big, sparkly crystal that I’ve hung in the window to catch the sun’s rays each day. My mom told me ‘as the light passes through it, think of me on the other side of the rainbow of light.’ My mom is the most special person in my life and she’s given me incredible support and love on this trip. Thanks Ma!

This time of respite also coincided with the fact that I was completely without a place to sleep in Sydney for the New Year holiday. I’ve become so much better at planning less and being spontaneous, that it completely did not occur to me to pre-book my hostel in Sydney over the holiday season. I think in my whirlwind world-tour state, I honestly just completely forgot the holidays were coming. And of course the warm weather did not help me get a clue. So, try as I might, I could not find any accommodation in Sydney or the ‘burbs of Sydney at all. That is where my beach vacation came in.

I’m here in, say it with me, Wollongong, for eight nights. Eight nights?? I don’t think I’ve ever had a beach vacation that long in my entire life. I’m sure to get bored, but hopefully I will just be catching up on writing, reading, sunning, and just overall doing nothing in my own room while I have the chance. Since I’ve lived alone for the last fourteen years, you can imagine I’ve become accustomed to having my own space… and loving it. It’s taken a bit of getting used to on my part to share my 5 X 5 living/sleeping space with random smelly guys and gals doing the traveler circuit. Hopefully I’m learning some tolerance and strive to become a heavier sleeper. But, at least for now, I can do whatever I want—even if it is walk around in my ‘skivvies’. Well, at least I can change my clothes without having to put on my shoes and go to the ladies bathroom and do the ‘balance on my flip flops so I don’t have to touch the nasty bathroom floor’ dance.