May 2009

The skies have cleared and the sun is shinning again making the city of Oslo bearable once again, and what better time to write on my now stagnant blog on what the last year has being.

Alot has happened over the last year, the majority of it "working" and saving for this current journey. Maybe this is why I have neglected to write as nothing too exciting has being going on.
Well for the last year and a bit I have been working on one of those big luxury yachts as a deckie; which is basically a glorified name for a boat cleaner. Lots of washing, polishing, buffing, painting, scrubbing and things like dropping the anchor and making sure we didn't run into stuff. I did have a good time on board and although we were quite lucky in that the boat travelled round alot I think by a year a case of cabin fever started to kick in.
Some of the amazing things..... Well without a doubt it had to be Alaska, the deciding factor that made me join this boat in the first place. What a truly untouched and magical place. Words just can't describe the beauty up there, a little bloody chilly for this Aussie guy but soon forgotten when face to face with a glacier millions of years old pushing into the Pacific Ocean.
The lowlights would have to be of course getting up at 4am; in Alaska! whilst it is blowing a gale and buffing windows so to look a million dollars before the owner got up. We did spend alot of time in America's West Coast, I think a total of 6 months in the end which made it possible to see some of the sights and experience the truly unique American way.

Then it was off to New Zealand via French Polynesia and Tahiti. I wish we had have done NZ first as it really lost its impact after Alaska, was much the same but less well...grand!
Saying this, we were in a boat putting around the coastline so not really seeing the true NZ, I still one day hope to do a road trip of the place as it seems like a beautiful destination.
I left the boat in New Zealand, which being right next door to OZ couldn't resist going home for what had being 4 years away. first stop was Sydney, which surprisingly I had never being to before. So Mel showed me around her big old city before I went to visit the parents in Queensland. It just so happened that my visit home coincided with Easter, so all the family was around and up to there old antics. Then it was back to Brisbane to catch up with everyone and sort out a few thing before saying Bonn voyage again after 2 weeks in my mother land.
Was so nice catching up with everyone about the old and new time but the most special thing was my cousins. Totally caught me off guard but was incredible seeing them again, especially the two youngest who were just babies when I left. Guess they are kinda like my sisters.

The one thing I did manage to do on the boat was to get totally debt free and save enough for this year of travel. Alot of people were surprised with how far in debt I was, a rough estimate was around $16,000AU which was really inevitable as I hadn't really had a decent paying job since I left in 2005. the one person I just can't thank enough for what he did and how he helped me out is Steve. You did so much more than you should have and god knows where I would be now if you hadn't had helped.

So after the whirlwind that was Australia it was back on the place and to my second home.....London.
I don't really know how to write this, so I'm just gonna write and see what comes out.
Originally I was going back to London to catch up with everyone and sort out my visas that I will need for this trip. Then my friend Monica decided to join me as she had never being to London before so was happy to show her the sights. Had an interesting and wonderful time there and was awesome to see everyone again and go back to some of the old haunts. Thanks so much to Charlotte for letting us stay at your place and giving up your own bed!!
So that was London, lots of sightseeing and what not then after a week it was off to Stockholm and where Monica joined me as well. Ahhh Stockholm well not so good memories there, not going to go into it too much detail as it still hurts quite a bit but ended up being quite a sad situation. After a few day there we moved into separate places and went out separate ways, I managed to screw it all up and just hope that something can be salvaged.

Now I have moved onto Oslo in Norway where I'm just trying to get my head together and get into the travelling "vibe", which seems to be quite hard to do this trip. I can't help but feel lonely which in the past I have felt before and is to be expected when travelling solo, but this time it just feels like If I can't see it with someone why is it worth seeing if you can't share it. Perhaps this is a turning point; the end of solo Jason perhaps? whatever happened it all part of the process...right?

The other thing about this trip I'm about to undertake and something that is going to be totally different to all the others, is that I'm going to be CouchSurfing the whole way. Now I absolutely love the CouchSurfing Project and what its all about and what it does, but it lacks one thing and that's the possibility of travel partners; not in the long term but at that very moment. Generally the people that are hosting you are rooted in the city, weather it be for a long or short time it doesn't matter as they have lives there. Fair enough, all good! What I am use to is hostels and the abundance of "travellers" in them, which more often than not meant that you had someone to see the city with and even better someone to travel to the next destination with, creating a friend of a kind.
By CouchSurfing all the way, which I have no choice but to do, means that this truly be a solo trip which I'm not sure if I am 100% ready for. But that's what its all about, discovering yourself? Well fuck I think I'm in for one hell of a discovery mission.

So that's the story as it stands today, I plan on getting at least down to Bulgaria/ Northern Greece by September and then it looks like I will be shooting over to Hong Kong in November/ December to meet an old mate and see some more of SE Asia.

The sun is setting here in Oslo, along with the temperature. Thanks to the scarf that was kindly donated by Laura (you rock!!) it's marginally warmer, I just need to work out how to tie this thing right!
Tomorrow I'm off to buy a big arse jacket before moving to the west coast of Norway for a couple of weeks of glacier and fjord hopping before mentally preparing myself for the challenges that lie above the Arctic Circle.

Check out all the pics here >>>
http://redmonkey.smugmug.com/

Thanks to Dan for this amazing shot in Alaska!