A living legend

On to Brisbane, capital city of Queensland, and time for some real parties! Byron Bay, where I arrived after the Mojo 'surf' week is advertised as Australia's party town. They don't tell you that there are only two-and-a-half clubs and a handful of pubs though. Sigh. Byron Bay was a major let down: bad hostel, bad surf, bad people, bad everything. I decided to leave after a couple of days and make my way to Brisbane. Because of these lesser times I was really looking forward to Brisbane. The sanity of a major city, more stuff to do and see during the day instead of Byron Bay's Main Beach and some new people. Also, I needed a job, as my money is running out fast. Bring it on Brisvegas!

I was desperate to get some good parties going in Brissy and the Met, a young club in the Valley didn't let me down; they lined up Carl Cox for me on my first weekend in Brisbane, and Axwell on my second! Carl Cox is a legend, up and running for two decades now.

Axwell is a younger swedish DJ (part of the Swedish House Mafia together with Ingrosso, Angello, Prydz) and a very big name in the dance scene right now. Both nights I had a blast: the Met was a great host, the crowd was wild, the DJ sets amazing. At Carl Cox set, I was able to get all the way to the podium and dance the night away. When Axwell played I was standing at the front too, but as it was really busy, that meant I almost got ass-raped several times, because everyone was pushing forward. Other than that it was pure class.

You wouldn't suspect it, but I do other stuff than partying, too. Really. I sleep a lot, definitely. No without jokes, I've been looking for a job the last week, and also getting some loose labour work done.

I came in contact with a dutch backpacker who was recruiting people for a job as fundraiser. Sounded alright to me, but at the group interview I quickly decided that that was not for me. There were some thirty people for three of four jobs and they only wanted workers for three or more months. I packed up and left and on my way back to the hostel I ran into some real fundraisers, who started harassing me. That moment, I didn't really care about getting the job anymore, and I was glad I moved on. The next two days I did some loose labour work, shredding the skin from me palms digging trenches and holes. While that hurt pretty bad, it felt good to be active and get some work done. After that work was over, I applied for a blue labour work card, which you need for official labour work. Hopefully I'll receive that within the next few days and get some real work.

What's more this week: Happy birthday Australia. Last saturday was Australia Day, "the day to celebrate this great country of ours". Beer, BBQ and beaches? I'll tell you what, Australians are proud of their country. I didn't really partake in any events, mostly because I was still detoxing from a wild Axwell night. The fireworks along the Brisbane river were alright, but after that I got an early night instead of feasting on (Australian) meat with (Australian) beer or (Australian) wine.

Because I'm running out of money so fast, I've decided to skip Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and Cairns - for now. It's the highseason, piss expensive and full with tourists everywhere along the coast, and I need to money bad. I've got some five weeks left in Australia, before I move on to New Zealand, and I might as well get some use out of my Working Holiday Visa. I'm returning to Australia in July, and I'll have plenty of time for the upper east coast then.

This blog is a mess, I'll be tidying it later. I'll also update some Carl Cox videos, so make sure you check back later!