Written by Aussie on the Road October 14, 2011 7 Comments

Road Trip!

In approximately twelve hours a very bleary eyed Aussie on the Road will be stumbling out into the hall, shrugging on a backpack, and piling into the back of a brand spanking new Ford Focus in preparation for a weekend in Port Stephens.

While I am as far from a morning person as one man could be, I do relish the prospect of waking up bright and early to go on a new adventure. It’s been far too long since I’ve experienced the thrill of a day laid out before me without so a new adventure to be had.

It’s all come about over the past few weeks after a representative at Ford emailed me about test driving the new Ford Focus, snapping lots of photos, and writing about my road trip experience. I didn’t let a little thing like the fact I don’t drive get in the way. I quickly contacted my old friend Dave, lassooed in Annie from Wayward Traveler and Mel from The Mellyboo Project, and got a good old fashioned road trip organized. Two cars, six people, and a whole lot of beachside shenanigans.

The original plan had been to visit Jervis Bay, but with no hostels in operation this weekend due to rennovations (I shit you not), we turned our eyes to the north and opted to spend our weekend at the Lazy Paddles hostel in Tea Gardens. It’s about 2.5 hours north of Sydney and nearby beautiful Port Stephens. I’ve been in the area once before and had the thrill of swimming with dolphins.

I’m eager for a second slice.

What’s Going On?

I’ve had a busy week. In addition to my earlier Bite with a Blogger with Mel, I’ve also caught up with the aforementioned Annie to set up next week’s segment. I won’t spoil anything, but suffice to say we found a bloody amazing old school cafe that offered up everything from root beer floats to chicken & waffles to banana cream pie.

Jazz City Diner might just be one of my new favorite places on earth. You can read more about it in yesterday’s Vintage Sydney post.

I’m a week away from my Queensland trip and it keeps picking up steam. I’m not sure where I’ll find the time to actually write about all of the stuff I’ll be doing – and scuba diving just got added back to the itinerary after Tangalooma re0opened their dive shop. Happy day!

I’ll be sure to post a real itinerary for the ten day Queensland expedition sometime next week. There’s also Annie’s Bite with a Blogger segment; a Bite with a Blogger interview at Sydney’s Night Noodle Markets with The Travel Maverick; a third visit to the markets with Nicole from Hola Chica Travels and Jessalyn from Diary of a Wandering Student; and a fifth Bite with a Blogger interview with Nicole next Friday at Vivaz.

That’s a lot of socializing and a lot of good food. Pray for CWB.

I’m also on the move again, although it’s across the city rather than across the world. I’ll be leaving my digs in sleepy Lane Cove and heading to Sydney’s inner west to take up residence with some friends in Marrickville. Cheaper rent and being closer to my buddies were a huge factor, and I’m looking forward to putting that extra cash towards more adventures.

Like the three week trip to Fiji I’m planning with my brothers for next August. Dun dun duuuunnnnn!

But it’s time for those much loved Recommended Reads and here’s this week’s slightly smaller dose.

Bon appetit!

The Reads

Your Guide to Hosting Korean Food Wednesday by Runaway Juno

In the past week I’ve somehow managed to eat galbi, bibimbap, seomgyeopsal, bulgogi, and lots of kimchi. It’s probably more traditional Korean food than I’d manage to eat in an average week when I was ESL teaching in South Korea. Needless to say, all of this delicious food has meant lots of Twitter chatting about the merits of Korean food and Juno (herself from Korea) was kind enough to point me in the direction of this post.

Now I can host Korean parties in my own house! Be prepared new housemates!

Tajikistan’s Wild East Photo Essay by Art of Backpacking

I’m becoming more and more interested in the use of media in blogging – and photo essays like these are something I’d love to someday intergrate into Aussie on the Road. This particular photo essay highlights an area I can honestly say I’ve never even contemplated visiting and I’m doubting the sanity of that mindset now. Tajikistan looks so beautiful!

It’s a Man Eat Dog World by Man on the Lam

I’ve eaten some pretty weird shit in my time. Whether it was fried grasshoppers at the Arizona State Fair, live sea cucumber during my first month in South Korea, or constant exposure to the skin crawling grossness of boiled silkworm on virtually every street corner in Korea – I’ve grimaced my way through my fair share of meals.

Raymond shows that the weirdness is unending here. Pig’s ovaries? Mmmm! Fried chicken complete with beak? Yummo!

And all told with the trademark Man on the Lam style. Laugh out loud stuff.

In between the gagging…

The Day I Was Mistaken for a Racist, Homophobic Bigot by Man vs Clock

I hate it when that happens!

I think there are few things more offensive to a traveler than being accused of being small minded. I mean, honestly, isn’t it our open hearts and minds that push us to explore new places and interact with new cultures?

I got a bit of a chuckle (mixed in with some sympathy, I promise) as Anthony talks about the time his bald pate and poor choice of football jersey got him lumped alongside the skinheads in a riot. A really entertaining read. And one that I, as a suffer of male pattern baldness, hope to never experience myself.

Up Close and Personal at the Gathering of Juggalos by The Matador Network

This one just stood out from the many, many blogs I read this awake about dream travel destinations or how to budget. I went through a phase of absolutely loving all things Insane Clown Posse during my first year of college and was drawn to the garish makeup and talk of faygo. To be honest, I didn’t think the Posse were still together.

There’s some video in this one and a lot about the Juggalo subculture that will doubtless fascinate a few people. Go look!

The Time We Worked on a Swinger’s Cruise by Kaypacha Travels

And I thought that my brief brush with working as a stripper was a strange job…

Mica recounts her brief stint working as a condom distributor, bed-sheet changer, and occasional DJ on a swinger’s cruise and I really just need to leave it there. Go read. And look. There’s photos…

How to Get From Your Desk to the Places You Want to Travel by Fox Nomad

Fox Nomad is starting to become one of my favorite blogs when it comes to practical advice and inspiration. This is yet another great post (Fox Nomad’s third to make my Recommended Reads) and it’s about turning those idle-at-work daydreams into a reality. I’m actually going to print this one out and pin it up on my wall.

I’ve been guilty of making excuses, I said as much last week, and maybe I need to surround myself with the reasons why my excuses are stupid. Fox Nomad has a pretty damn comprehensive list here.

Coming Soon…

This past week might have been the most prolific week in Aussie on the Road history. Of course, two of those were guest posts…

Next week promises to be bigger still. I’ve got the Bite with a Blogger interview with Annie from Wayward Traveler; my itinerary for Queensland; a few entries about this weekend’s trip to Port Stephens; a bit of day-dreaming about next year’s Fiji trip; a review of road tripping in the new Ford Focus; and whatever else enters this sleep deprived brain of mine.

I’ve still got a lot of content from Korea and the United States that I’ve never really managed to do justice to.

There’s also the upcoming Aussie on the Road podcast, plenty more video content as I test out my new Kodak PlaySport camera, and I’ll start recruiting writers from around the world to contribute to my Relationships on the Road eBook.

Interested? Let me know!

Safe travels amigos. I’m out!

From Facebook

Guest Post: Vintage Sydney

The Queensland Odyssey : Itinerary

Friday’s Recommended Reads – October 14th