Hello Dear Readers!

Now, you guys know I’m not a snob, right?

Right?

Ok, listen, I know that perhaps I spend a little too much time in really nice hotels, and maybe I brag about having elite status all the time (you should get it too), but this trip I was utterly determined to live that hostel life.

Which is how I found myself in a ten bed dorm at the Blue Parrot Sydney, which I had splurged an extra $2 on in order to have a private toilet (shared with only 10 others!). Actually, in all reality, this place was pretty nice. Yes, it was a 10 bed dorm, but there was only one other girl staying there, and we made friends pretty quickly, even spending my last day together.

See, it’s currently winter in Australia right now (what? Shocker!), so the travel season down south is pretty slow. This suited me just fine, and I spent all my days in Sydney happily bundled up and gloating about the extreme heat in California.

They even have a Chinese friendship garden!

No but seriously, my last two days in Sydney were really great. I explored Bondi beach, rode the ferry over to Manly Beach, and generally decided that Australia is one of my new favorite countries.

Next up- Brisbane. Oh god, Brisbane.

–Carissa “The Backpacker” Rawson