Woohoo! 200 days! 100 days ago I was heading to RCA in Bangkok with no idea what I was doing. I'm fairly sure I didn't really get up to much today - sat around the Arts factory, hung out with Ben down at the beach (my ribs are too bruised to surf for a day or two), then came back and met the Teepee girls, who had been to Mardi Grass today. Pran came back giggling her head off, absolutely mashed off the Nimbin special cookies. We hung out by the hammocks for a while with a few others, drinking and chatting, and after a while the suggestion was made that maybe we should head into town for the night, which I accepted as I hadn't been out in town at all so far. This turned out to be a bit of a bad idea - Pran and her friend Liz couldn't come as they were rather incapable by this stage, so it ended up being just me, Jason & Anna, and Pran's American mate Sarah, who had been giving me the eye in a none too subtle fashion for the past hour or so. She is alright, and fine in her own way, but there was literally no chemistry between us - you know when people just click? In my opinion we did exactly the opposite. She, however, did not share this opinion. She started saying stuff like "I thought you didn't like me" and so on - not wanting to say that she was almost entirely moot to me (something I have never said about a person before, I hope she never reads this) I just mumbled denials and confirmations as seemed appropriate. Somehow (and I'll never figure this out) I ended up dancing on a table along with 90% of the rest of the bar, and was swiftly face-raped by Sarah. Short of screaming and running there was little I could do to avoid it without causing dire offence. We headed back to the Arts Factory together (via some chips) where I stood outside the Teepee and tried to think of reasons why I couldn't come in and join her - all of these were swiftly dealt with by Sarah, so in the end I simply turned around, said goodnight nice to meet you and all, and walked straight to my room without looking back at all. Oh, and the next morning I hid behind a vending machine when I saw her walking by on her way to town. Classy and not at all cowardly.
Day 201 (Saturday 3rd) - Mardi Grass
A disaster awaited me when I awoke today - my camera has absolutely disappeared. I lost it either in the Teepee or somewhere in between my room and Cheeky Monkeys. I have reported it to anyone who might be interested, and hopefully I can claim it on insurance and buy a fresh one in Brisbane, but I don't hold out too much hope for finding it. Anyway, as a result a speedy purchase of a disposable camera was necessary before I could board the 10am Grasshopper bus from Byron to Nimbin, on which I slept most of the way. The town was nicely decked out with all sorts of Cannabis paraphernalia, along with a large Police presence as well. I paid $20 to head into the Peace Park to witness the Hemp Olympics - events included the Bong Throw & Yell (chucking a bong as far as possible while yelling a slogan of your choice), the Growers Carry (lugging chook shit and water around an obstacle course), and the high point, the Joint Rolling Competition. This had four categories - Speed Rolling, Blind Rolling, Rolling under Adverse Conditions and the Artistic Roll. The last one was the most impressive, as the contestants produced a little boat with anchor, a petrol pump, & a stick man holding a flag - all of which were smokable too. Oh, there was the Kombi Konvoy, a huge procession of VW campers rolling through town - I can't remember how many, but it was a lot. Also there was the world's biggest smoke-up, where as many people as possible all lit up (legal herbal joints were being handed out for those wanting to stay on the right side of the law) at 4:20 in protest at the current state of the drug laws in Australia and the world. I had a bit more of a wander round before getting the bus back at about 5 - this turned out to be far too early, as things were just getting started in town. I ended up getting some food and going to the cinema again, to see No Country For Old Men, which turned out to be really intense. There was no music in the entire film, and it involved an immense number of shootings. I came out of it a bit shocked, not really knowing what to do with myself as I was wrenched from the gritty and violent world of Texas in 1980 and returned to this nice comfy Hippy idyll.
Day 202 (Sunday 4th) - Happy Birthday Clare! (also I have been ditched By Oz Experience)
So I got up, checked out, headed to town with Jason, Anna & Joe, and went to the Sunday Market, filled with all the hemp clothing and rainbow-coloured nonsense a Hippy could desire. I settled on a flannel shirt to keep me warm like a true Aussie, and a Burrito. We headed to the beach for one last session of sun, before I had to leave to wait for the bus. Here's a breakdown of my day since:
1430: Ring Oz Experience and confirm that I'm booked in, and also check where the bus leaves from.
1515: Still no bus, it is now 15 minutes late. Concerned, I double check where it leaves from, and call them up to check - they say they can't get through to the driver, but traffic problems can occur and they'll get back to me.
1600: Still no bus. Various Greyhounds and Byron2Brisbane shuttles are leaving with depressing regularity.
1630: Lisa from Oz Experience calls me - apparently there were two pickups from Byron today, but the other guy walked to the Holiday Village and got picked up there, and I wasn't on the driver's manifest. Noone knows why this is, so after a lot of holding Lisa says she'll buy me a ticket on the next Greyhound to Brisbane.
1700: I get a fax sent down which is my ticket on the 2045 bus, and Lisa advises me that I can't get up to Rainbow beach until Saturday at the earliest, as all the buses are fully booked except one leaving Brisbane at 0630 tomorrow morning, which can take me as far as Noosa, from where I can get to Australia Zoo easily (I opt to hop off at Mooloolaba, as I have been told it's a nice place - I know nothing about it though). Also she sorts me out with free accomodation tonight, as she was kind enough to warn me that most places in Brisbane are full tonight. Phew.
1730: Sit down and start typing this. Hassle.
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