With life's troubles pushing me to my limits, I booked my overnight train and bus tickets to Melbourne, Adelaide, and back to Sydney with frustrated clicks on 'buy tickets'.
It wasn't cheap, especially when I booked my ticket so close to my travel
date (more like
time as it was on the same day...). Expensive travel fares don't generally agree with me but this time I half-willingly forced it to. No matter how expensive it was, I was paying for a break, which I desperately needed. The Sydney air was stale. I needed to go somewhere fresh.
And so, with a small luggage as my companion, I left Sydney to Melbourne on Monday night, left Melbourne to Adelaide on Tuesday night, left Adelaide to Melbourne on Wednesday night, and from Melbourne back to Sydney on Thursday night.
Yes, it was a trip where I got to spend all the nights in a seat instead of my warm bed in Sydney. A new experience, I thought, though my real intention was actually to save on lodging by combining transportation and lodging together. I am a light-sleeper, so I thought I could take it.
As it turned out, it wasn't exactly comfortable or even healthy to have to sleep in a seat for four consecutive nights. Especially when you're walking around everywhere during the day. Though I am a light-sleeper, I only managed to sleep an average of 4-5 hours every night. And it wasn't 4-5 hours of
quality deep sleep; it was sleep that was on and off, woken up every hour or so by the hardness of the seat or the stopping of the bus for a break.
Well, less about the complains and more about the things I did during the 4-night trip. Well, for one, I managed to visit my brother in Melbourne, who I had missed. It was only 2 months or so since we last met but it still felt great to see him again. I gained a lot of insight from his lifestyle, and he made me realise that I had under-appreciated my life in Sydney. In addition to my brother, I also met Zi Yan, who was settling down in Melbourne extremely well. His optimistic view of the future inspired me to try to do the same. I met Kevin (Fan) and his family in Adelaide, and they were extremely warm and welcoming. Besides visiting people, I also managed to breathe in the air of two similar yet different cities from Sydney, enjoying all the new sceneries and appreciating what the trip had to offer. I didn't spend a lot of money as I walked quite a bit and minimised my spendings on food as much as possible. In fact, my single largest transaction other than transportation for the whole trip was the $25 I lost in the Adelaide casino.
By the end of it all, I don't regret my compulsive decision; it served me well. I definitely feel more refreshed mentally despite my sick physical state (got a cold due to fatigue when I got back). I had a great time in Melbourne and Adelaide and the trip made me reflect on my life in Sydney and how much I had under-appreciated it. Refreshed, I seek to work hard for the remaining of the semester. Let's take the days as they come and utilise every one of them fully.
I owe it to myself.
1 comment:
It's Bourke St (not Lonsdale)
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