Things are looking up :)

Ok, so the obvious place to start is: WE BOTH HAVE JOBS!!!!!

Sophie is starting at Hungry Jacks (Oz's Burger King) next week, which she is actually very happy about. Not just because we have no money and have now been forced to transfer some more of my hard earned savings across from the UK, but because it looks like she'll actually enjoy working there. Her manager is in a metal band, there are no under 18s working there and she gets paid more than most Hungry Jacks workers do because it's a franchise store at the aiport and is owned by a different company.

I, on the other hand, am working in the Adelaide Festival Centre (basically a huge theatre/arts space/dance studio/indoor & outdoor venue) doing merchandising and sales. The only downside is that it's casual so no guaranteed hours although it should be around 10 a week on average. This does mean I'm unfortunately still applying for jobs as we need to be on about 35 hours a week each to manage our savings target of $2000 (£1300) a month between us. The beautiful thing about this country is that Hungry Jacks pays over £10 an hour thanks to pound being damn awful so when we've earned enough we'll be heading back home via New Zealand and (at the moment) the USA.

Yes, we we're supposed to be going over Asia after Oz but it's... just... so... hot! I'll mention more about it in my Singapore blog, which I promise won't take me as long to write as this one did. And who can miss the opportunity of seeing the US over thanksgiving, christmas and new year. It's going to be epic!

Jon

Hungry Jack's Rejection

Well well. We're in the new house now and it is an epic house. We have a pool that we haven't used because it's so dirty, a massive TV that we barely watch because it's next to our landlord's room and no door. Well, the house has a door (with a keypad!) but our room is just up a flight of stairs. It seemed adventurous when we moved in but now it's just annoying because of the noise. Last night I was coughing a bit and this morning our landlord offered me some cough medicine. His room is a floor down and on the other side of the house.
Everything's been a bit gloomy today. I must have applied for over thirty jobs by now. Jon has been rejected by Hungry Jack's (Australian Burger King) but I've heard nothing so maybe they're considering my application. Part of me hopes not. It's been cold today too and we've worked out that the washing machine didn't actually wash our last load, it just made them wet as it flooded the outhouse so they all smell a bit still. But they only start to smell after you've left the house and you're on the way to chat to someone about a job. It's like they know...
More job applying tomorrow. Fun fun. We're employing a tactic of walking up and down rows of shops tomorrow instead of applying by phone or online. Maybe it will change our fortunes but so far I want to ditch Australia, write it off as a loss and head on to Asia. But it's not been all bad. While Jon's been online I've had plenty of time for computer games. Bad day.
Sophie

Singapouring

We are in Singapore. So far we have been very hot, got snappy with each other, not slept (jetlag), re-planned the entire trip (again) and had to tackle with a toilet that is a hole in the floor. We did sleep in the end from around 4am until 1pm which wasn't ideal (especially as there have been loud drilling sounds coming from the next building for hours) but it was sleep and now we're up and raring to go and it is bucketing down with rain and the thunder is actually louder than the drilling. Earlier today I imagined nothing could be louder than the drilling. I was wrong.
Aside from this rant I have high hopes for Singapore. We're going to a local market for dinner tonight and we're staying with a guy that plays guitar and wants to jam with Jon so that will hopefully get me some reading time later. We're also planning on going to Universal Studios, the zoo, lots of air conditioned malls, a wave water park and lots of other cool places. There's like a tourist island full of stuff to do so we won't get bored. Oh, and we're going to a pub quiz tomorrow night with our next host. And he has a bed for us! JOY!
Life is alright.
Sophie

Welcome to couchsurfing

Hi,

For those stumbling upon this blog from a google keyword match, we encourage you to read on and to come back anytime to check out where we happen to be in the world. This is a travel blog telling the story of my girlfriend Sophie and I as we work, travel and couchsurf our way around Australia, New Zealand and Asia until the money runs out and we are forced to book that final, depressing flight. We'll be spending 7 or 8 months working in Adelaide before surfing New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong. Last month I won 1st prize in the STA Travel 'Where's Your Head At?' photo competition - a week long trip to Egypt - so we'll be sticking that on the end of our tour. If we've still got something left after that a mini tour of northern Africa would go down very well, but thats far to far away to be considering right now.

For those friends who are actually reading this - wow, thanks guys. We hope you enjoy.

But it's late and we have a flight tomorrow. We've been in Abu Dhabi for 3 days now and it's onto Singapore before returning to Australia in a week or so - stay tuned for our thoughts on the Emiratis, Grand Mosques and surviving some of the most dangerous pedestrian crossings in the world.

Jon