Reunions

My last post took 3 or 4 attempts to figure out what I wanted to say but I knew I was missing something. Yesterday I met up with someone from high school and it is pretty cool to meet up with someone who you went to high school with and you are meeting them on the other side of the world. The same day I also met someone who was backpacking in Mexico near the start of my trip. In total I have met up with 5 friends in Australia not a bad way to be in a foreign country! I have several more friends to meet up with in Australia along with Laos, China, Japan and New Zealand......not to mention the friends I haven't even met yet. Yet some of you were wondering why I wanted to travel the world.

I am amazed at some events nearly caused me to forget about this. Incredible. Don't let things drag you down always look up because you never know what is ahead.

Tuna Tom

PS one day I am going to be able to look back on this and see my stories, see the pictures and may not believe I was able to do this. I am finding this blog is making my journey that much more exciting. Thanks everyone for continuing to read and share my journey across the globe.

Knowing when to move on

This post has taken a few attempts to write up. So I am going to leave it short and sweet which is he opposite of me. I have a private room today to try to repack and reevaluate what I have I also needed time to think. One thing noteworthy in Australia free wifi is rare and a real treat! I am looking at my tins of tuna and realize I have things I need to get rid of before I depart to Asia. I fly into Singapore on Thursday and am there for the night I think a 20 hour layover before heading into Vietnam and my 2 month excursion in Asia. Right now I am debating what I want to do besides clean up the mess of odds and sods from my backpack........I am a traveler I do not want to clean! I am finding on this trip that there are times when how can I put it there is a sense of it is time to move on and that has come upon me for Sydney. Tomorrow I may head to the Australia capital but I am not sure yet that is the beauty of living the traveler like that I am options are limitless if you don't like the people are situations you just leave it all behind and it is as easy as that. I am not sure how it will be in Asia if I will have access to my facebook and blog but I shall find out soon enough until then it is time for me to go do something.

Tuna Tom

4 months ago

It was 4 months ago I was hours away from a life changing event leaving my job to travel the world. It feels like a lifetime ago but then again what doesn’t feel like a lifetime ago? Sometimes I ask myself what I have done. I was looking through my pictures and am trying to reflect on the things I have seen, places I have been and everything in between. Not everyone gets an opportunity to leave their life behind to travel the world. So far I have swam with sharks and rays, taken Spanish classes, experienced a different culture, gone to festivals, had powder filled days on the mountains, talked for endless hours with complete strangers, made so many new friends, visited Central America, Montana, drove across Canada, visited family I haven’t seen in years, I have seen New York, and San Francisco, I have met musicians, experienced a volcano explosion, been close to a tornado, enjoyed the wonderful flavourful coffee in Guatemala, and their fried chicken the orange fanta, eaten amazing fish dinners, had fruit so fresh it was like eating a piece of heaven, had guacamole so moist and tasty that it was like butter melting in your mouth, had seafood in San Francisco, ridden on roads in the back of trucks hanging on for dear life, heard children singing, painted with my nephew, had cheesecake in New York, had bowls of soup so big you can dive into them, slept on the most comfortable beds, I have had friends show me their cities, I have been on a racetrack, seen a dolphin jumping in the water, I have gone to hidden bars, made friends from Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Amsterdam, London, the US, spent lazy days in hammocks, been offered jobs, left at a moment’s notice, on 3 separate occasions in Sydney I have had experiences that I could have never planned the more I write the more things come to my mind that I have done. Suddenly looking at this list I realize I have done so much in the past 4 months but my journey has hardly begun

3rd free and random Sydney event - Vivid Sydney

For the 3rd time in Sydney I have found an interesting free event in Sydney which you can read about in the link below I am not gonna lie its gorgeous out and I don't really want to write I just want to dump so pictures and enjoy the day.

http://www.vividsydney.com/

Bathurst and blue mountain region

Passionfruit cheesecake, beef stroganoff, lamb cutlets, and pancakes with ice cream strawberries bananas and Canadian maple syrup sounds horrible doesn't it? I have been in Bathurst for a few days and have been spoiled with home cooked meals fantastic views of the blue mountains and quaint towns. When traveling it is great to get the local perspective and meeting up with friends. It can be hard to put into words what you have seen and done and that is what is great about taking pictures. It has been great being away from the city and being able to do things I want to do back home but wouldn't. At times back home I wanted to do things like go for drives to nearby communities, see the sights and just enjoy life but when you are single and live alone at times you get frustrated with the constant being alone. This trip is really making me realize the importance of good friends and spending time with family but also the importance of alone or quiet downtime. The city of Bathurst where I am currently at is well known for their racetrack and my friend took me for a drive through the racetrack. It was really neat to be on the track and see what the drivers deal with on it although car racing is not quite my thing. It would be amazing to experience being in a town during that time especially watching it grow from 40,000 to 120,000 people. I just may have to return but it is also a hard fact to accept that you will never see and experience the world has to offer you do have to realize you will miss out on something in life.

Tomorrow I head back to Sydney and will start the process of applying for a visa for the various countries I will be heading to in SE Asia. I have my return flight booked for Vietnam and will be meeting up with a friend in Laos who owns a backpacker bar there. The next few days I will also be exploring areas around Sydney and getting ready for my upcoming trip through SE Asia. It will be great to be backpacking around from country to country for a few months before heading to New Zealand to work hopefully somewhere in the mountain regions around Queenstown.

 A big thanks to my amazing friend Joyann for taking care of me while visiting this spectacular region!

For now I better start some of my research while I enjoy some peace and quiet time before I head back into the hustle bustle of a city and dorm rooms again.

Tuna Tom