Random Laos observations

Imagine buying cigarettes from a 6 year old little Laos girl who doesn't speak a word of English.

You don't need a permit to build something here. As long as you have the time and money start building :)

Imagine a barber shop, 2x2m, three walls and a roof. One seat in the middle. Nothing more. It looks more like an abandoned trash dump.

Imagine bars at the river just selling all kinds of thee, pancakes, and fruitshakes with opium , mushrooms or marihuana.

Imagine on top of that there are severe jail punishments when you get caught consuming any of it. Or of course, you just pay :)

Imagine that when you actually go to jail, no one knows how long you are going to stay there. No one will even know you ARE there.

Imagine that in Laos jail you don't get any food. It's up to your family to provide you with food. If not, you just die.

Imagine that when something bad happens like an accident, people will run away instead of helping you. Just to avoid any responsibility.

Imagine the police is not here to help you at all. They're only here to get your money or put you in jail. Or just to make your life miserable :) Even if you didn't do anything wrong.

Imagine the average monthly wage in Laos is about 100 US dollars.

Imagine this country is like 80 % jungle with wild tigers, bears, elephants, leopards, monkeys and much more wildlife.

Imagine there are approximately 6,5 million people in Laos and more than 10 million unexploded landmines.

Imagine that subsistence agriculture still accounts for half of the GDP and provides 80% of total employment in Laos.

Imagine that approximately 77% of Lao farm households are self-sufficient in rice.

Imagine that this is the land of a million elephants.

Now imagine yourself traveling here, alone. Priceless :)

Looking for that something special

I'm looking for something extraordinary. Something others can only dream of. Help people transform their lives in a positive way. To open doors I didn't know even existed.

It’s about life transformations—both my own and of those around me.

I've now had some time to think about all of this. When I'm back home I'm gonna start saving money with a purpose. I wanna get my divemaster and teach people how to dive around the world.

Sounds like a dream, right? Dreams are there to make them happen. And I'm gonna challenge myself to do this. There will be many obstacles and difficulties to overcome. But that's what's gonna make it even more fun.

I believe I can do it. And so can you. Make your dreams come true! :)

Pat.

The world is a crazy place

Hey

It's been a while, hasn't it?

It's been a while for me too. It seems like months since I've blogged but it's only been two weeks.

I guess after being eaten alive by two nests of red ants during my sleep, my feet being completely destroyed from jumping on and off sharp rocks after buckets of alcohol, swiping those bleeding wounds in the most ridiculous mud pool filled with people I've ever seen, being lost at night alone in the jungle, not having taken any malaria medicine yet, having lost my iPhone at night on some jungle - fucking - island with random bars on it and having some unknown dude find it the next day .... and many days of tubing.... it was time for another blog.

I've been two months in Asia now, visiting random places in random countries. I just zoom in to the places I hear from people are cool and worth seeing. It's the moooost relaxing way of traveling possible. No dates, no deadlines, never in a hurry, never knowing what will really come the next day. The kind of adventure I've always wanted to experience.

After two ripping party weeks in South Thailand I headed north to see the "real" Thailand. And real Thailand I like :-)) Bangkok was way too messy when looking back, although I loved it at the time I was there. Not really a charming place to go back to :)

After a week in Bangkok I stranded for another week in Changmai. Cooking school, Jungle Tracking, Tiger Kingdom and other random anomalies made Changmai an unforgettable experience. Spicy was great and the people I met there even better.

It was when planning my trip to Pai, that I found out my visa for Thailand just expired. Yawn! Change of plans I guess. Skip Pai and book ticket out of Thailand asap. So off I went to Laos. It took me one day to make it to the Eastern border. There we got on some 'slow boat' which goes slowly over 2 days on the Mekong river to Luang Phrabang in Laos. The surroundings and visuals on this trip were absolutely amazing but the boat was HIGHLY uncomfortable. Never again :) But a must-do for at least one time in your life ;)

Once in Luang Phrabang i stuck around there for the Spicy anniversary and visiting the waterfalls for jumping and swimming. Again, lots of good times with lots of great people. After that i did the Elephant training camp. So I can call myself a "mahout" now. An "elephant handler" hehe. Two weeks in Luang Phrabang. Too long too long...

But you see, I travel and try to feel the places I go to in a bit of a different way. If they are good energy I like to stay there for a while and indulge myself in this positiveness. It charges me up and makes me very very happy. Yes, it's that simple. So no hurries. I'd rather miss a few destinations then let go of this feeling.

So then I arrived in Vang Vieng, Laos. The fucked up little tubing town where I've now been for 11 days. Stuck out of fun. It's that energy again I feel. "Relaxness" I call it. Tubing. Meeting new people every day. Drinking. Swimming and jumping into the rocky river. Risking my life. Day after day. I feel 18 again here. Careless. Irresponsible. Happy. Timeless. Alive.

So what's next? I don't know. Every day I tell myself tomorrow I'm leaving :) Maybe I'll try to leave tomorrow again? If not you'll find me with a bucket at the river. Yeah. Good place there at the river. Kinda fucked up but really nice to forget about the rest of the world.

I guess the next best thing would be falling in love again :D


Peace to all the travellers and all the campers ;)

X

Intermezzo

I haven't been writing for a long time. I'm at Luang Phrabang in Laos at this point leaving to Vang Vieng in 30 minutes. Vietnam and Cambodja lie ahead of me. I have been looking back at the thousands of pictures I've made during my trip and I cannot believe I've been through all of this. It's simply amazing... The sheer amount of experiences that I've had is overwhelming. I almost get tears in my eyes when I see some of the pictures. Life can be so intruiging and intense. It's almost unbelievable. If I compare this to what I have been doing the past years of my life, I must have been asleep. Focused on work and career. Round the clock. Not tasting life in a way I should have done at a much much earlier stage of my life.

I wonder what I will do when I get back? Will I return to the system, blend in and return to all the mindless routines? I don't know if that will be possible. I'm gonna need a change. And it's gonna be the biggest and most positive change I'm gonna have in my entire life. The only really valuable things I can leave behind is my family and friends. No fancy cars, flashy businesscards and fancy sounding titles. I don't feel that is what I need to be happy. I used to though. I guess things change when you explore the world...and yourself.

The life I have right now is the most addictive drug I have ever tried.

I send out all my love to my family, my friends in Belgium and all the friends that i've made all over the world.

Happiness, success and love redefined.

Alice in Wonderland.

Koh Tao to Bangkok

I'm all sweaty. It's on average 35 degrees and raining pretty much all day. After arriving with the night train in Bangkok I was dumped by the taxi driver in the wrong place somewhere in this monstrosity of a city. I decided to wrestle myself on foot through it, without a map or any idea where I'm going to the place I wanted to be. I finally arrived soaked in rain and sweat. But I arrived :) This city is madness and chaos. But I love it. I love the diversity of the different neighbourhoods, people, shops, smells. The hundreds of little stands all over the streets with everyone trying to sell you something. From clothes to viagra, movies, music, porn, animals, samurai swords, drugs or even guns. If you got the money, they got the stuff. And everything can be bought on the street.

Most people don't seem to speak English too well so communicating with Thai results in really funny shit at times. The amount of stuff to see here is overwhelming. I just try to absorb it, like a sponge you wildly throw into a bathtub before it actually starts sinking. There is no time for nice and slowly. Bangkok is not nice and slowly. Bangkok is a smack in the face after the islands of South Thailand. No, Bangkok is just a smack in the face. Period. But I've always liked big cities. It's where life runs at it's highest gear. It's where you taste civilization in it's wildest, most dedacent forms.

Two more nights and I'm off to Changmai. From there I will be doing a boat trip into Laos for tubing. Aye. But first some tracking in Changmai. Gotta get my visum fixed for Vietnam too before I hit Laos or Cambodja. Fuck.

It's starting to be a hell of ride. I feel the best is yet to come. With best I mean...

Madness.

Well, maybe with the exception of Full Moon since that was madness in itself.

After all, that's what I'm looking for.

Madness.

Cheers!

Cakes were made to be eaten, not collected.

For some of you, what I am about to write might sound very disturbing. To others, very familiar.
If you are bothered at any point by what I am writing, then please read on. I just have to get some stuff off my chest now.

So here we go...

--------------------------

"What are your goals?" He asked.
"My goals"?
"Yeah, unless you know where you're going, you won't know how to get there."
"I guess my goal is quantity, quality and variety. My goal is to make out with women I just met, get blow jobs in club bathrooms, sleep with a different woman every night, and find myself in strange sexual adventures with multiple women."
He sat in silence, listening, so I continued. I'd never articulated it before, either out loud or to myself. This was several years ago, just after I discovered the Rosetta Stone of attraction in the form of an underground society of master pickup artists. "I want to corrupt young virgins, reawaken passions in bored housewives, seduce and be seduced by stars, students, centerfolds, busineswomen, and Tantric godesses. And then, from amongst these women, I will choose one to love."
"How will you know when you've found her?" He asked.
"I guess I'll just know, because I won't want to be with other women anymore."
"Well, that sounds like a good plan. And it makes sense to a certain point." I waited. I knew he was about to find the flaw in my logic.
"But what happens after a year or two years, and the sex isn't as exciting anymore? What happens if you have a child with her, and she becomes less available for you emotionally and sexually? What happens if you go through a rough patch and start fighting all the time?"

"If those things happened, I'd probably want to sleep with other women." I watched him as he lifted his legs off the floor and crossed them on the couch in a position of spiritual superiority.
"But I'd just have to control myself. I suppose I could think of other women like cigarettes. Even though I desired them, I would refrain from indulging because I'd know it was bad for the health of the relationship."
And then I waited for it, the inevitable question. He was a music producer, yet he never seemed to work. Instead, I'd meet him at his house in Brussels, and we'd spend hours discussing the meaning of life while his Indian houseboy brought us bottles of water and plates of vegan food.
"So, " he said, " you'd be okay spending the next fifty years sleeping with only one woman?"
He walked me into the weakness in my romantic strategy, and probably in most men's.

I love women's laughter.
I love their lips, their hips, their skin, their touch, the way their faces look when they're in the throes of sexual ecstacy. I love the way they nurture, feel, care, intuit, understand unconditionally.

I yearn to create that bubble of passion, which draws us into the moment and connects us to the energy of he universe. And I cherish, more than anything, the moment in bed right after the first time, when all that there is to hold on to has been given.
"Well that would be difficult for me, " I admitted. " Ideally I'd like to be able to have my cake and eat it."
"I think that's a reasonable request, " he said. " After all, cake was meant to be eaten. Who actually orders a cake, then doesn't touch it?
"So what you are saying is that there's a way to be in a commited, loving relationship, yet still sleep with other women??"
" I didn't say that. All I said is that there is a way to have a cake and eat it."
"How? Even a monogamous relationship is a challenge. That's why twenty-five percent of all crimes are domestic violence, that's why the divorce rate is fifty percent, that's why the majority of most men and woman have cheated. Maybe the relationship paradigm that's been forced on us by society isn't natural."
He looked at me disapprovingly.
I continued anyway.
"Even if you're faithful for those fifity years, you still may check out a woman walking by or leaf through a copy of Maxim or look for porn on the internet one night. And this IS going to make your partner feel like she's not enough for you."
"This is true. You can't have a healthy relationship if you're partner doesn't feel secure."
"Exactly. So, considering the the nature of men, how is it possible to make a woman feel secure in a relationship?"
"Probably by not wanting to have your cake and eat it, " he said.
"But that's not natural. You just said that cake was meant to be eaten."
"Well then, " he said, "you'll have to find a way to eat it without hurting someone you love."
I hated him sometimes. For being right.
In the days that followed, I sifted through the conversations in my mind, searching for answers. I talked to men and women everywhere I went, asking each the same question: " If you didn't have to worry about having children and you didn't need someone to take care of you when you were older, would you still get married?"
Most men said no. Most women said yes.
And that's when I realized that the traditional relationship model is defined by a woman's needs, not a man's.
Then I started asking a new question:
"Let's say you met someone, clicked on every possible level, and wanted to date this person. But the person said that after two years, he or she would disappear from your life forever and there was nothing you could do about it. Would you still date this person?"
Most women said no. Most men said yes - some even said the scenario would be ideal.

So where does that leave the "one woman, one man, happily ever after" myth that is the basis of our entire civilization? Apparently, on an unbalanced scale, because the natural insticts of men seem to be to alternate between periods of love relationships and periods of hedonistic bachelorhood, with some traumatized kids thrown in as an evolutionary imperative.

When I next met my friend, I shared my conclusion. "That's kind of sad way to live one's life, " he said.
"Yeah, and the problem is that's exactly how I've been living mine. Except for the kids part. I don't want to traumatize them, so I'm waiting until I figure out a solution to this whole relationship dilemma that satisfies the need of both sexes."
"You'd make a good politician, " he said, not as a compliment. "You'te the type of guy who can't kill a fly,a bee, or a cockroach himself, but has no problem hiring an exterminator to kill a whole swarm of them."
"What's that supposed to mean"?
"It means, " he said, setting down his bottle of water, " that your ethics are fucked up."

We live in a society that likes to make clear-cut judgments between good and bad, right and wrong, succesful and unsuccesful.
But that is NOT how the universe works.
The universe does not judge. Since the dawn of time, it has operated on just two principles: the creative and the destructive. We have come to terms with the creative impulse - that, after all, is why we're here - but we live in fear of the detructive because that, one day, will be our reason for going.

I don't want to offer you any fancy advice and tell you that if you understand all of this your life will be better. There's another side to the game: the destructive side. And, the more succesful you are, the more you're going to rub against it. Especially since, more than any other instinct we have, the sexual impulse contains both the creative and the destructive.

The inspiration for this writing was the preceding series of conversations, which point to a seemingly irreconcilable disparity between the sexual and emotional needfs of men and women - not to mention a reluctance to admit and express them. They also underscore a similarity that transcends gender:
The fear of being alone - and the dramas and comedies that occur because, as the director Rainer Werner Fassbinder put it, "we were born to need each other, but we haven't learned how to live with each other."

So why did I write this all down? I have quit the game some time ago. It has given me good and bad, but in the end, it has messed up my own morals and ethics when it comes to relationships.

I try and loosely trace the metaphorical arc of a man's dating life, building toward the question that none of the pickup gurus I met while learning the game was able to answer:
What do you do after the orgasm?

Fiction writers are lucky: They can hide behind the flawed characters they create. Here, the only flawed character is me. In the process of approaching thousands of people to master the game and myself, the three engines driving my behavior - hereditary instincts, family upbringing, and social forces - came into constant conflict.

As a result, I hurt peoples feelings, made bad choices, took unhealthy risks, missed opportunities, and commited irreversible blunders.

I also had some amazing sex.
And therein lies the conflict.
From each of these experiences, Ive tried to extract a lesson. And that has not been easy.

Because some of these experiences never should have happened in the first place.

X

Pat.

The show must go on

Here I am again, my ass behind the pc. I started to hate computers lately. They are time-eaters. Passive time-eaters that just keep u seated in one place, for hours. Lifeless.

But thats not why I'm here. To whine :)
I'm here to tell U something else.

Stop reading my blogs and staying with your lazy ass in whatever office or on whatever couch you are, and...

TRAVEL

Guys, this is by far the most enriching experience I have had in my entire life. The amount of things you learn about people, the world and yourself is just massive.

I repeat again:

TRAVEL!!!!!!!

Divorce your wives, dump your girlfriends, find new tenants for your houses/appartments or whatever it is that you have, quit your jobs.... Do whatever it takes to do it. Just make sure you start before you are 30. I mean its never too late, but don't wait. PLEASE. It will make the experience so different then when you get older. Trust me.

Travel and taste the world. You will LOVE it. The first day I landed in Sydney i was wondering what the fuck am I doing here. Three, almost four months later, I understand it's purpose.

Travelling is my destiny.

And I need to find another half that is just like me on this to do it together. And maybe I will someday, hopefully. Cross my fingers.

I just left Ko Pah-Ngan after partying from half moon to full moon. 11 days. That island is insane. Its one big long party that just does not stop. And plenty of places to relax from it too. Little hidden paradise beaches here and there. Simply put: Perfection.

I think I have to mention Kyla, the craziest, funniest, most loveable and charming female traveller I have EVER met and probably ever will. I so enjoyed the time with you. Just luuved it :) She's the kind of person that radiates TONS of positive energy.
You gave me plenty of new energy to continue my trip. I needed to be around someone like that for a few days. Thanks for that babe. Respect :-)

I now moved on to Ko Tao, 1 and half hours away from party island(by boat).
Its time to do some diving and explore this little island too.

Can't wait for all the new adventures just waiting for me around every corner. I don't wanna stop travelling.

This is my food now. And if I don't eat, I will starve.

Love you guys.

Pat.

Paradise...?

Australia was a blast. I loved it. Amazingly friendly people, beautiful nature and ocean, awesome surfing, loads of sun, parties everywhere. And the amount of new friends made is massive.

Australia, I miss you. I really really do. I will be back, sooner then you might think :)

I'm in Thailand, Ko Pah-Ngan right now. One of the little islands in the South. The infamous full moon party island. We're staying in Haad Rin in a great resort called Coco Hut Resort for a few days, until after the full moon party.

I'm renting a Quad for a few days just checking out the island here and there. Beautiful places around here...shit...this actually does look like paradise. Amazing. Aside from the fact that there is no toilet paper anywhere unless you BYO (Bring Your Own) you have to use the little shower + hand, it's great seeing all of this :)

But then again I realised here what paradise really is.

It is not a 'place' you should look for.
It is being part of something you truly believe in.
Even if it's just for a moment.

Being in paradise ... it's a state of mind.

Love to all of you.

Pat.

Change of plans

So, due to a number of reasons (like weather conditions aka monsoons, friends being in certain places, full moon party and other external factors which I shall not further bore you with) I have modified my trip to fly straight to Bangkok from Bali and hit the bus and boat combo to Ko Pan Nang the same day. I should arrive in Bali on Tuesday, Bangkok on Wednesday and Ko Pan nang on Thursday morning if all goes well ( and it will go well).

And I still think Darwin sucks :)

Cheers !

The end of one thing is just the beginning of another

Where to start?

Good question coz it's been ages since I blogged.

I'm at the backbone of civilization.
I'm in Darwin.
Northern Territory. Australia.
Home of the aboriginals, the oldest people on this planet. Yes, even older than the Incas and the Mayas or the old Egyptians. Way older.

Exciting isn't it?

Well it's not.

How we see the world and experience things around us are mostly just a reflection of our own state of mind. I guess my state right now is just not what I would want it to be.
But that's good. It means I'm learning.

When I look around I see hordes of young people getting pissed and drunk each and every single day over and over again (Me being 28 means I'm OLD here). I see the aboriginals stumbling through the streets in their old, dirty and smelly clothes, unshaved beards and long hairs begging around for cigarettes or money...getting pissed and drunk too. I see no beautiful white beaches and nice people, but black dirty uninviting sands...and once U go in the water, it's all sharks, crocodiles and deadly jellyfish. So you stay out... On the land it's all English, Scottish and Irish getting as pissed as they can every single day. No offence, I have nothing against English, Scottish or Irish people but I'm a bit tired seeing the same thing over and over again. My room is filled with...that's right. Same thing. I wanna have my own room now. Just for ME and not 5 others getting pissed.

Don't I like Darwin then? As I said it's probably just a state of mind, but at this point I'd have to say I resent it. The only place I can go in the evening is sit at a bar and drink...I wanna walk on the beach with my feet in the water. See the sun go down and feel utterly relaxed. Have some rest from all the crowd.

I think it's time for something different for me now. Something exotic. Something magical. Time for a different culture, or better, some culture of any kind, just not drinking culture :-) 3 more days and I do the jump to Asia. Boy am I happy about it right now. I'll sink myself into the deep serenity of Hindu culture. Until I'm ready to party again ;-)

Let's go a few weeks back in time now and see what happened.

The Whitesunday Islands :-)

Probably one of the little gems here in Australia, these islands lie scattered around the northern eastcoast, just below the Great Barrier Reef. I spent three days on a sailing boat called "The Card" sailing between the island and visiting various beautiful snorkling spots. The trip was amazing. We visited some of the most beautiful beaches in the world on our trip. Stunning. Really the kind of places you wanna just be alone with your girlfriend sipping a delicious cocktail.
The group on the boat was ok, not even close to as good as on Fraser Island but it was fine. It was a time to relax a bit and enjoy the sailing. So that's what I did. The boat apparently used to be one of the fastest sailing boats in the world. A true Ocean Cruiser. Really really nice...
The only funny thing is you always have to wear a stinger suit when U go in the water. Going in with just your swimming is a no-go.

Why??

Irukandji. Little Tiny jellyfish, the size of a fingernail but DEADLY poisonous.

After the Whitesundays I travelled back South to Little Ozzie in Coolum, my Australian special girl. I spent almost twenty days there just chilling out with Little Ozzie and her MuM :-) It rained for almost two weeks tho. That bigtime sucked. On top of that I had a nasty cold AND an even nastier rash all over my body from using bad washingpowder, which I'm still struggling to get rid off. We didn't get to do too much coz of the rain and Ozzie having a normal life like work 'n stuff but I still had a great time. At least we made a visit to the Australian Zoo where we had lots of laughs hehe. No details :-) I hope you clear your head up from all the ghosts from the past and we get to see each other again soon Little Ozzie :-)

Onward from there I flew to Cairns, back North, where the rainseason just ended. The hostel I ended up at first was a complete shock after living for almost 3 weeks in a normal house.

Smelly little room with almost no place, and on top of that...empty. No roommates. I really needed some good company at the time leaving Little Ozzie but bad luck. So I booked a rafting trip for 1 day and a diving trip for 3 days. The rafting was great but the diving was amaaazing. I did my advanced open water certification while we stayed on the boat for three days. We saw pretty much everything there is to see underwater, ranging from sharks to turtles and sooo much more. The night dives were insanely cool, so was the photography and the deep dive. Next thing I wanna do is wreck diving ! I LOVE diving. It's insanely cool.

After the diving trip I moved to the Greenhouse; a really really nice hostel where I instantly met the right people and off we went to party and have fun in the city of Cairns. I love Cairns. Great town, really. Definitely a place I'm going back!

After about 5 days in Cairns and 3 days in the Reef I flew over to Darwin.

And so we come back to where I began. I guess I don't need to refresh your memory of what I think of this place?

Let's hope the following few days will be better because these are my last days in Australia :-)

I went to see a movie today in the local open air cinema, just to get away from the crowds of drunk people. Almost no backpackers there, just locals :) The movie was "Burn after Reading". Funny. I liked the movie a lot :)

My plane to Bali leaves on Tuesday at 7.30 pm. I just can't wait to get there. Time goes too slow now :) I'm thinking about going to the national parks here for a day but I wanna save money coz I still have a long way to go. Hmm dunno yet. Just want it to be Tuesday really quickly! hehe.

Peace out bro's 'n sistah's.

X

Summertime Whalewatching

Right now I'm in Airlie Beach. That's right. Where I am is irrelevant anyway. What matters is that I'm travelling and I feel fucking great.

We just got off Fraser Island after a 3 day safari sleeping in hot sweaty tents with 2 huge dutch guys. See facebook 4 pics. We were so too big for the little tents but at least we got so wasted that sleeping was no problem at all. :) Fraser was a blast! The driving was soooo much fun and I was pretty persistent at doing most of the driving and the group seemed happy with that.

Fraser is a beautiful little Island with nothing but jungle, jungle, beaches and beautiful lakes. Loved it. Lake Wabby was the greatest spot and the views there were mindblowing... Our group was great too and again I met shitloads of fun new people. My 2 personal favourites are Miss (Sophie) Love and Princess Anika with whom we went on to Airlie and partied for 2 more days. The highlight was Miss Love asking us out to dance, dressed up as a pirate and drunk as hell ;P Maybe it's good that U don't even remember hehe. Off course, we politely declined the dance :) Thank you so much for the hats girls!! We LUV them and wear them all the time :)

Im still stuck with Gert, the Dutchie, and he's stuck with me, but were naturals together, each doing our own thing but somehow it matches anyway so we just stick together.

Life is so good here. Tomorrow morning we head to the Whitsunday Islands for three days and once we get back we each go our own way. Me south, Gerth North.

Whitesunday is gonna be amazing .... I just cannot wait.

Airlie is full of beautiful whales btw. English whales mostly. You see them often at the McDonalds buying cheeseburgers, fries and other fat stuff after which they go to bake at the beach. Dear God! This is Whale Country! ;-)

I LOVE AUSTRALIA

I never wanna stop travelling :)

And to the people back home, enjoy the first rays of sunshine. I'm already so tanned that I can't get any more color :)

Big Big Kiss and so long

Pat.

well yeah...

That's right. I suck at this blogging. I can't get myself to sit in an internetcafe and write my blog. Most of the time it's so hot in these places anyway so all I do is upload pictures.

Australia is amazing. Byron Bay is a little gem on the East Coast. Skydiving was absolutely insane and so were many many more things. I got my open water diver certificate in Byron too and saw a looot of turtles and sharks on our dives. Diving is amazing too... The peace you find underwater is unmatched by anything else in the world.

Surfers Paradise was fun to see but thats it. Too many skyscrapers for me :)

I stayed in Noosa for 11 days due to some rainfall and had a bit too much party there. The surf festival kicked off 2 days before we left so we got a taste of that too. Felicia and Jani were still with us in Noosa (or we with them) but now we've all seperated to go our own ways. Im still travelling with Gerth(G-Money), the crazy Dutchie. The last remainings of surfcamp I guess. I hope to see some of you guys in Europe, if I ever go back. :)

Next up is Fraser island. The biggest sand island in the world. Supposed to be paradise so let's see bout that. Were gonna drive around a jeep there for 3 days and camp here and there on some of the nicest spots.

Oh yes, and then there's Little Ozzie. She's gonna mess up my plan but I don't really care if it gets messed up. But that one I keep to myself :-)


Peace out.

Surfcamp and arriving in Byron Bay

So off we went for surfcamp. A wicked track we were supposed to follow from Sydney to Byron Bay, along the Eastcoast, hopefully ending up somewhere along the coast preferably in no man's land.

And that's exactly what happened.

First of all the feeling of driving around with a bus or van when the hot sun is shining, with the windows open and the wind flowing into your face and body, with the right tune in the background is, to me, an awesome feeling of freedom of which I want to taste more. It is that experience that made me thinking to rent my own van. Now all I need is find someone to close the deal with and we're off. So that's what I'll try to do after I reach Brisbane. :-)

Back to surfcamp. The first two days actually sucked due to excessive rainfall. When you're from Belgium this is unacceptable! I do not want to see rain!!! (It's raining now btw, that's why I have time to blog :))) On day three the sun kicked in tho.

The surflessons were sweet and we got a pretty good idea of how the waves do their thing and the ocean controls these little waterhills. And of course, how to ride 'em. Now I did some surfing camps some years ago in France, but we did not get too much explanation there what to do, just take a board and go figure it out. So that really sucked compared to this.

The Australians take surfing way more serious then the French. It's a way of life here as compared to in France. We learned the different types of waves, the tides and the ocean bottom and how it influences the waves, we learned about curls and rip curls, righthanders, lefthanders and general board control.

The parties were not too shabby either since most of the folks ended up pretty smashed night after night. Especially Tuesday night was big since the second group arrived too and the general programme was "drinking games". We were complete and ready to kick-off the week. There were about 70-80 of us. Result: bad end :-P Or depends how you see it of course :-)

We stayed on some sort of old farm with cabbana's spread around the domain and a central cabbana with swimming pool and a large room for eating, partying and bar etc. The domain was filled with kangooroos, possums and probably snakes too. For more insight I refer to some of the pictures on facebook.

We drove the little bus back and forth everyday to different beaches, most of which quite deserted and people-less. Good for making a fool out of yourself while learning :)

On the fourth day we moved to a new sleeping place to surf our final day. I guess it's too much writing to explain everything that happened, so to sum things up: lots of new people, lots of surfing - almost every time after a hangover - and lots of beer, sangia, goon and other tasty crap.

Highlight of the whole camp: Surfing is THE medicine for hangover :)

Once in Byron Bay the group spread out to many hostels, some of them leaving Byron and others staying for a few more days of partying, surfing, tanning, hiking, or whatever you wanna do. The memorable ones I have on facebook so I will skip mentioning names of people i've met :)

In Byron the first day I arrived in a cool "island resort" in the Arts Factory, surrounded by mosquitos, reptiles and weird-looking black chicken-like creatures with red heads. Seemed like a combination of a chicken, a turkey and a vulture. They looked like birds of death lol :P ugly as hell and they could kinda fly a little bit since they got into the trees too (unlike chickens). A must-see when visiting Byron. I met up there with Sara again too. It was time for a few days of Byron Bay.

Swimming with sharks, sandsurfing, wild dolphins and Newcastle

So another wild and intense few days have passed. I'm exhausted and I even got sick for 2 days due to "overdoing". Typical me yeah I know. Started off with a trip to go swimming with sharks in a closed kinda aquarium thingie. The thing was filled with stingrays and different kinds of sharks. It was really a-w-e-s-o-m-e to feed these creatures and swim with them, hug them and touch them. One of em almost bit my finger off, but it was my own fault coz I wasnt wearing gloves. The stingrays can be hugged, theyre kinda like pets, comparable to a dog or something lol...grab em, hug em, tickle em and laugh. hahaha. Loved it.

Next was the sandsurfing, which was amazing were it not for all the f***ing rain... We got two rides down and it was soooo cool, but we got so wet soaked that we decided we wanted to run from the rain.
Real pity for the rain, or i'd loved to have a few more rides in the sand.

After lunch we went on a boat trip to see wild dolphins. It was too cold and rainy to get into the waternet with the dolphins :( but seeing them was quite an emotional experience. Magnificent creatures. Very hard to take pics but I managed to get a few, see facebook for that.

I skipped the second day of the safari because the evening party at Newcastle was too intense. Didnt miss too much, coz it was wine tasting anyway :) We have enough good wines in Europe. :P I met Sabi from germany which I like veeery "mUch"(with Irish accent) so we spent a few great days together in Newcastle. I also met two Irish guys at the YHA which are absolutely insane fun :D So we kinda partied all weekend together with the rest of the peeps from the Hostel, both in pubs, clubs as at some Aussies place, to that extent that I got sick from sitting in the soaking rain on the beach at 5 in the morning, paralized by alcohol, with way too much wind. Marcel and Barry are the two Irishman, world travellers of a similar kind like me. Hope to meet the guys again in Byron Bay for another ride. Hope Matilda (its the name of their van) gets fixed so they get there by next week.

We drank way too much "goon" which is actually cheap australian wine which gives you a headache the day after. Its like superpopular here.

Today was goodbye day since I had to leave Newcastle :( Had to say Bye to Sabi and all the great folks there. Sabi I hope youll have good times at your new place with Connie! Say hello to her from me!! Can't forget to mention Rebecca, which I called "CCG", Crazy Canadian Girl, coz she is completely f***ing crazy (hope she doesnt read this :P) and she's canadian. She started calling herself CCG so we were kinda cool :P And not to forget the annoying american girls with their high heels and tons of make up :P Their room looked like a hurricane had passed by. Women tssss :) The guys' rooms were so MUCH more cleaner hehe. See pics on facebook hrhrhr. Tomorrow starts my surfcamp so ill prolly be away and offline for some time surfing between all the sharks that started to appear here lately. But no worries mates! We'll be fine ;)

Being back in Sydney today I felt kinda bit lonely/homesick for a few hours. It's a shock to be alone again after the intense days in Newcastle.

Newcastle really rocked. With such bad weather and so few things to do we had an absolutely great time. But the rain started getting to me in the end (and so did my cold).

Looking forward to Skydiving in Byron Bay :-)

Anyway...let the adventure continue. :D

And remember...No Worries Mates :-)

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Sydney

Sydney is HoT!
Nothing but positive vibes coming from this city. I especially loved the nightlife. Huge amounts of hot chicks (read: beautiful girls) and a plethora of night clubs. Perfect city for going out and pick up for whoever is into that. (not me tho :P) Darling harbour is a wonderful place and I could easily spend my whole day there and discover new stuff all the time. Actually darling harbour is what I liked the most. The opera house is nothing special, just another overhyped must-see. Chinatown is really cool too! I enjoyed walking around there. Feels like your in Asia and not in Australia. I'm at Bondi beach now. Its all surf here, so lets just do that and forget about all the rest. I dont feel like writing coz its too hot here in this room.
I have a week to fill before my surfcamp starts. Maybe i'll hit Melbourne for a few days and go down to Adelaide. Time for some beer now ^^

Dunno, who cares, as long as were rollin'

See ya ;) :p

First impressions

The flight was perfect. Being transferred to Gold Business class due to an overbooking on Economy was a blast. Thank you so much Etihad Airways!!

After landing I hopped into bed at the Sydbey Beach House Youth Hostel to wake up at 6:30 and start my first day. Around noon I met up with Saartje and we went off for some drinks at a beach bar and discussed further plans. Thanks you Sara for the tips on Sydney!! In the afternoon I met Candice from Canada at the Youth Hostel. After a 15 minute chat we decided to hit the beach together and swim a bit in the ocean.

Once baked from the sun, we went off for some drinks and ended up kissing at some bar. Not bad for day 1 ;)

I ended the afternoon I met up with sara again and we had supper at some Thai restaurant which was pretty tasty. I had squid and she had coconut curry beef. Mmmmm. I even got to finish the coconut curry Beef :P Thanks again saartje :D

I decided to leave Collaroy and hit Sydney City for 2 days, that is where Im writing from now. Id rather stay at the beach but Sydney has to be seen. So thats up for the next two days, with Bondi Beach planned for Sunday or possibly tomorrow evening for some beach party. After that I think I will do a weeklong surfcamp which will take us along the coast to Byron Bay, a well known hippy-like spot. Im curious :)

Coming to Australia with a plan is useless. With hostels around every corner, this is a backpackers DREAM. Ive met and talked to people on the train, bus, beach, restaurants, bars...everywhere ... most of the time resulting in exchanging phone numbers and mails. I need an australian number ASAP. Safari trips, surf camps, waterskiing, skydiving, diving in coral reef, swimming with dolphins...you name it, anything is possible here. People here smile and say Hi on the streets, unlike in Belgium. Life resolves around nature and water here, not only around WORK like in Belgium it does. I simply LOVE this place.

I dont want any kind of plan...I just let myself be indulged in its beauty and sucked up into the reality of Australia. Its so different from Europe.

Its a bit like Alice in Wonderland. With the only difference, this being REAL.

Many kisses from downunder,

Blog to you soon.

I LOVE you guys.

Pat.

And off we go!

Many people, both friends and foes, have asked me the same question over and over again:Why do you engage on such a journey?

Ironically, most people connect such a trip to thoughts like "running away from something" or "looking for something that you won't find anyway if you can't find it here". What if none of both were really true? What about a genuine fascination to the world around us? What about learning truly being independant in the most difficult situations life has to offer, like having no food or water, or no safe place to sleep? What about learning about new cultures, not just from movies, books or documentaries or a cropped-up-three-weeks-bus-ride-call it how you like it-tourist-vacation.I could come up with tons of reasons, but those two answers just keep coming up in people's minds over and over again.

In reaction to those many strange opinions I've heard over the past few months, here is why I am doing this trip, and not why you THINK I'm doing this trip.

First of all, travelling around the world has become fairly easy these days and much more comfortable. It demands less and less physical requirements, and it is also much less dangerous then it used to be(apart from a few places that is). Even when we are in a dangerous situation, nowadays there are rescue teams and helicopters that will reach us far sooner then anytime in the past decennia was even thinkable. Equipment got much better and lots of technological improvements have been introduced; example: CELLULAR PHONE. Call anyone, anywhere, anytime you want. I don't want to say it's "better" nowadays. It's just different.

"The need for fascination; the desire for the unknown - that, which is on the other side - has always intrigued people curious of the wide world; curious of "something different" - Thor Heyerdahl once wrote.Be it in the bushes of Australia, the Gran Salar in the Atacam Desert or the Kilimanjaro which yearly more than ten thousand people climb nowadays, you will meet tourists representing all professions: students, nurses, lawyers, engineers, secretaries, doctors, bus drivers. It is known that contact with different cultures changes a person; it forms and shapes his views and helps him to better understand the diversity of the world, which in todays' times of conflicts, wars and ignorance is more important than ever before.

Some sceptics say "Know that just leaving as a donkey, will not make you return as a horse." But when leaving on such a trip, one must do so with an open mind ready to register new things, experience new situations and meet new interesting people. The Danish arch-bishop Christian Andersen once wrote "He who travels, lives twice". The famous French geographer Elisée Reclus once said: "A man who travels a lot, is like a a stone carried away thousands of miles by water; its shape becomes more rounded, and its sharp corners disappear. Its' roughness fades away and it becomes much more softer."I think travelling ensures a tremendous educational value, awakening emotions in a person which enable us to experience the beautiful, get to know different people, and most of all, ourselves. Winston Churchill, famous politican, strategist, historian and laureate for the Nobel Prize of Literature wrote that "Some travels may have greater value then 2 years of university studies".

I do this because I feel a NEED to do this. I always did. I'm too curious. I just never had the guts to break with every day life and experience something so completely different. Well, now I will.

I'm packed and ready to go, ready for adventure. I start in Sydney, Australia and will continue my way north along the eastcoast. Next up will be New Zealand or Indonesia. I don't know at this point yet.

I just hope you can understand :-)

P. x