Mark's Travels

10 years of travel blogging from 35+ countries around the world

A day in Surfers Paradise 5th September 2004 in Surfers Paradise, Australia


I had woken up last this morning. It was exactly ten o'clock and I had to check out immediately and catch my train down to Nerang. There was a long queue to checkout which is something I had never seen in a hostel before. That being said this is probably the biggest hostel I've ever stayed in.

After checking out a walked across the street to Central Station and for $9 I got a ticket that would take me 90 minutes south to Surfers Paradise. The train ride was beautiful and laidback, as have been all my train rides in Australia. I was quite amazed about how inexpensive the service was. $9 wouldn't get me too and from work let alone 90 minutes from my home in London.

Surfers Paradise is more touristy than I remembered. The people were mostly made up of Surfers, Old people, Asian tourists trying to look classy and hoping-mad Australians swearing on payphones.

After buying some new clothes, a beach blanket and a pair of Oakley's, I laid down on the beach and felt extremely happy to be alive. I couldn't believe that I had managed to circumnavigate the world, let alone under ideal conditions. I wondered if all the people that had made this possible realised their part and if they knew how happy I was.

I got a massage in the afternoon which did wonders for my back. Afterward I played on the internet a bit and watched a beautiful sunset.

When I got back to the hostel I noticed there were a lot of people watching TV in the dark, they looked like the same people I saw watching TV earlier in the day when I was checking in. I try to get the most of out of my travels but I imagine there are times when you need to take a break and do nothing for a while.

I took a shower then relaxed in my room watching the Simpsons for a bit. At one point my roommate came in, a Londoner whom lived close to where I do now, and we had a good chat. I prepared some dinner afterward and met with some of the others from the hostel. There seem to be quite a few Canadians and Germans there as well as a few Austrians. I remember telling on of the Austrians that my father was born in Salzburg. She told me that is a wonderful place to live to which I replied that he was born in a refugee camp in 1947.

I had some hot Korean noodles and a vanilla coke for dinner. I ended up watching movies and chatting with the others for the rest of the night.


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