Viva Las Vegas

It's never a good idea to start off a six hour bus ride with a flat ipod. It's also a good idea not to rely on LA cab drivers to get you somewhere on time, let alone get you there at all. Hence, we missed our 8am bus from LA to Vegas. Great way to start off journey.. But after harassing the tour lady we finally were able to get another bus from across town, and finally arrived in Vegas at 7pm that night.

¨Backing up¨ seems to be a term used quite often between Ness and I, especially after the last week of shenanigans. It definitely gets progressively harder to do the more often the term is used. Vegas Vegas Vegas....that place could literally be the death of me. We located the best bargain possible - $12.50 a night each at Circus Circus - and laughed when we asked the taxi driver what it was like, only for him to genuinely reply ¨I'm surprised that place hasn't been knocked down yet.¨

Carpet dated circa 1950's, evil clowns lining the walls, and lights flashing an array of vibrant colours welcomed us to our new playground. We soon found out that the smell that loomed around the hotel, and in the hilariously titled neighbouring building ¨Slots a Fun,¨ was actually the scent that Vegas was seemingly branded for. We came up with the perfect way to describe it - it smelt like a rotten fart that would come out of someone with a purely ciggie and beer focused diet. Without doubt there were plenty of those types around.

The variety of food in Vegas is very very limited, or way out of our budget. And after one day it becomes disgusting... Pizza, Mexican, burgers, hotdogs. Ooohh hotdogs, Ness and I had a very bad experience with those bad boys. Craving them in a drunken state at 4.30am in the morning on the first night, we set out on a 30min voyage to locate one. Big mistake. The lady literally squirted - yes squirted - cheese onto it like it was from a sunscreen bottle. I can't even describe in words what it tasted like. I don't even think I want to arouse that memory....

The first night we met up with Ellie and four of her buddies, and tried to cover as much ground as possible in one night. Went to a fair few different hotels and clubs, and drank a lot of middle-aged desperate men's pockets dry. The second night was much the same, and by the third day our heavy hangovers were so incredibly bad if someone had thrown me a noose I'd have gladly wore it as a necklace.

The hotels in Vegas are really amazing though. Left right and centre there is so much going on, as though each hotel is trying to outdo the next. Not quite as glamorous as in the movies, it's still an insane place to visit, but any more than two nights in that place and we would've turned into shadows of our former selves.

So we are thanking our lucky stars that the America leg of our trip has finally come to an end. The food, the people, it just isn't exactly our cup of soup. And now.... excited is an understatement - we've been waiting so long to submerge ourselves in Central America's rich culture. Mexico, here we come!

xxx

Coachelling!

Coachella lived up to every single one of my expectations. Easily my favourite festival to date.. So much amazing music crammed into three days that I don't even know where to start. We were lucky to be staying with our buddy Shawn, who took care of all the organsiation duties. We arrived at Motel 6 on Friday already blinded with excitement and intoxication. Ness Ellie Emily and I shared a room, and we shortly found this unlikely foursome was going to be one of the greatest things to come out of the weekend. I honestly did not think it was possible for four human beings to be able to talk so much nonsense. But brilliant nonsense at that.

As for the highlights? LCD, Whitest Boy Alive, TCV, Local Natives, Dead Weather, Beach House, Edward Sharp, Gorillaz, Yo La Tengo, and Emily using Anne Hathaway's undies as a hair tie were the moments that seem to have consumed me the most. Jonsi (from Sigur Ros) was one of the most uplifting musical experiences I have ever encountered. To put it simply, his music is that of a magical kind. Sweeping you off your feet to a place where everything feels light, simple, perfect. His voice reaches such a highly immaculate level that it some how manages to enter your body, pulsing through your veins, permitting you to remember what a beautiful world this really is. Ness and I embraced each other, both feeling incredibly enlightened, allowing just a few tears to escape our eyes.

And as for the best moment of my weekend? And probably the best moment of my entire life to date.... Allowing Thom Yorke (Atoms for Peace) to welcome me to his bizarre, mesmerising world, and suck me into the most beautiful melodic trace you could ever imagine. Thom Yorke is God. In my opinion he's the greatest wonder of the musical world. It felt as though the zig-zagging lights on stage were once again pulsing through me, making us all understand how powerful his creative side really is. It was impossible to look away from this enthralling performance. The term "sucked in" is entirely appropriate, because that is exactly what Yorke does. He sings notes rather than just lyrics, and celebrates every single aspect of his music. Yorke creates powerful moments simply by stringing out the best parts of the song in the greatest way possible. And what a match the blue haired beast Flea on Bass is for him. It's one of those things you really do need experience to understand. Trust me on this one, put it on your 10 Things to do Before I Die list - you won't regret it.

So it is with minimal sleep and a mind that is only half present that I remember that Vegas beckons me tomorrow. Seven months of this lifestyle is going to be incredible. How am I ever going to manage??

x

First stop: San Fran, Baby.

We made it! 40 hours in total travel we finally made it to San Francisco. To think this is only the first leg of our destination.. We have already seen so much and met so many people. I don't think I could sum it all up in one update, i'll give it my best shot.

One of the best things about this city is most definitely the people. From the homeless to the fortunate, it seems just about everyone we have come across so far has impacted us in a big way. Left right and centre there are insanely interesting things going on - people fighting, dancing, singing, swapping tales, overdosing, tripping out. Smiles and laughter galore.

I've never been to a place before where so many people are so eager to interact with each other. It's a special place, in all the wrong ways. Certainly a backwards city, I already know this is going to be one of my favourite places I will travel to on this adventure.

The other best thing about this city is the history, and coupled with an intriguing history comes a shit load of ripping vintage clothes. So alas, Ness and I have found our little slice of Thrift Store Heaven. And god it tastes good.

Seeming we've spent more money than we really should have, we've tried to keep partying to a minimum. (Ha, yeah right). Backpacking is wildly beautiful lifestyle. Every day we have hung with new people, made new friends, and learnt so many things about this wonderful world. Drinking games tend to occupy a lot of our time, 40oz's being the main fuel source.

One of the funniest stories so far is what happened last night. We'd overheard some lesbians on the bus talking about 50c drinks at 80's themed night at a gay bar. Passing up such an opportunity would be a dreadful crime, so we tricked the whole hostel into coming along, accidentally on purpose forgetting to let them all know it was a gay bar. Tee hee hee.

Unfortunately 50c drinks also translates in Gaynese to a horrible hangover. We ended up going to Golden Gate Park for a picnic + frisbee with our new Danish friends, Simon and Leonard. Simon would have to be the most quirky, eccentric, fun-filled guy I have ever met. Never short of a random game or a laugh, or something hilarious to say, he lives on a different level to anyone I have ever before met. Everyone should have a little bit of Simon in them, the world would be a much simpler place.

Off to LA tomorrow, Coachella is oh-so close... More updates to come!

xx

Here we go.....

OK, so I guess this is a way for all you to stay updated with my life for the next eight or so months. It's really exciting so far. We had a lamb curry on the plane. Was pretty tasty. Got to Melbourne Airport. Sat on some fabulous leather couches next to a chinese man who kindly invited us back to his abode for some sexy time. He was giving Ness 'rape me' eyes and she got a little turned on. Now we are googling gig guides and free things in San Fran. There are so many free things, like food and shit.

So far, 4 hours down, 36 to go. Yeaaaahhh mate! First via New Zealand and then LA before we actually arrive, not so cool. We are trying to not fall asleep but it's pretty hard. We are going to bribe the Gloria Jeans girl for coffees with some movie vouchers. I think it will work. The guy next to us is reading a book full of music notes and I'm not joking - he is humming along. Okay I take that back now. He's fucking singing a classical tune shit. Ha ha it's getting louder. Ha now he's recording it on his iPhone. Gosh the airport is fulll of weirdos...

I have a Qantas Club pass, but it's fricking shut. What a load of crap. Ohh man, we put on our backpacks before and we were both negging so hard. A light gust of wind would definitely blow me over. And Ness has been pretty gassy lately, so I'm a little bit worried. Okay, back to the free stuff. How good is google. More updates to come. Stay tuned I promise to be more interesting next time.

Big love x x x