Frustrations about the backpacker scene

I found an amature website while I was living in London put up by a
hostel manager in Plakias, Greece on the island of Crete. I emailed him
and made a reservation. That place was awsome. It is not listed on any
travel brochures that I am aware of, so it is only know to the
backpacker circle and is spread by word of mouth. The year I went was
the first year a web site had even been posted (about 3 years ago). The
prices were not posted either, but I figure that it cost me the
equivilent of about $13 US dollars to stay in the hostel for a week
(Not including food). I highly recomend going there to anyone that is
traveling europe. The web site is http://www.yhplakias.com/

in article 2004021414144850878%misterfree55@nospamcom, Marcus Lee at
wrote on 2/14/04 3:14 PM:

On 2004-02-14 03:31:35 -0500, (Brian Orion) said:

Miguel,where do you live for $450/mo.!?A one bed here is 1000/mo.
However,I've been to S/E asia,in fact I spent 3 months there.Although
it is pretty cheap, for me it was intolerably hot {Bangkok} and a
miserable experience overall.The filth,abject
poverty,corruption,unchecked pollution,ubiquitous crime,intolerable
all-night loud-speakers ,deadly snakes,spiders and rampant disease ,made
me quite glad on my return to the U.S. to be paying $1000/mo once again.

I can relate a similar story... when I moved to London, UK I hated at
first. It was filthy, crowded, cold, wet, expensive, people were rude,
etc.. but it's full of outgoing people willing to talk to strangers,
nightlife, culture that simple don't exist here in North America (not
even NYC IMHO). Of course I'm back, but that is a different story...

I found Australia utterly devoid of life - landscape and people... so
that is a place I'm glad to have left.

Marcus


I guess if we all thought the same, we wouldn't need assorted biscuits. I
don't know how one could have this conclusion about Australia (except maybe
the Sydney CBD).

Granted, IMHO Sydney is the prettiest city in the world (I was there
smack dab in their summer), Barcelona second, but I couldn't tolerate
the blandness after a week or so. I prefer Melbourne, it's all about
the people in the end. None of Australia's natural environment was
breathtaking (was there in drought times). The beaches were nice and so
was the Great Ocean Road, but I hear New Zealand is beautiful (heading
there in a few months!)

Yeah I'm all for assorted biscuits....

I guess if we all thought the same, we wouldn't need assorted biscuits. I
don't know how one could have this conclusion about Australia (except maybe
the Sydney CBD).

On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 14:14:48 -0500, Marcus Lee
wrote:

I found Australia utterly devoid of life - landscape and people... so
that is a place I'm glad to have left.

Marcus...can you expand on this and explain what you mean?

Ive never been to Australia.... but have always dreamed of moving
there

I found Australia utterly devoid of life - landscape and people... so
that is a place I'm glad to have left.

Marcus...can you expand on this and explain what you mean?

Ive never been to Australia.... but have always dreamed of moving
there

Hold on to this dream of yours and move to Australia :-)

Of course it's alright for each of us to have our own opinion about a
certain country.

I've been to Australia two times for a couple of months and I just LOVE the
country - the aussies are very friendly, the nature absolutely beatiful and
a very relaxed atmosphere in general. I've been on two RTW and met a lot of
different people from different countries on my way - and I have never heard
anyone saying anything bad about Australia.

/Sanne

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:50:50 +0100, "RH" wrote:

I've been to Australia two times for a couple of months and I just LOVE the
country

How is the cost of living there? Say compared to the midwest of the
USA? Rural areas of Missouri that is

in article , at
wrote on 2/15/04 12:19 PM:

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:50:50 +0100, "RH" wrote:

I've been to Australia two times for a couple of months and I just LOVE the
country

How is the cost of living there? Say compared to the midwest of the
USA? Rural areas of Missouri that is

How long is a piece of string?

In Sydney, half-a-million (AUD) wouldn't get you a toilet block in a
respectable neighbourhood (I recently saw a parking spot listed for $200K).
The same amount would get you half of Hobart.

in article , RH at
wrote on 2/15/04 11:50 AM:


I found Australia utterly devoid of life - landscape and people... so
that is a place I'm glad to have left.

Marcus...can you expand on this and explain what you mean?

Ive never been to Australia.... but have always dreamed of moving
there

Hold on to this dream of yours and move to Australia :-)

Of course it's alright for each of us to have our own opinion about a
certain country.

I've been to Australia two times for a couple of months and I just LOVE the
country - the aussies are very friendly, the nature absolutely beatiful and
a very relaxed atmosphere in general. I've been on two RTW and met a lot of
different people from different countries on my way - and I have never heard
anyone saying anything bad about Australia.

/Sanne




Marcus sounds like a city-to-city backpacker, which is fine - Australia's
cities are, with some modification, variants of many other western cities
(with counterintuitive traffic directions, seasons, and water drainage for
those of us from North America). If you get bored with rural areas easily
(as I surmise from his "wilderness was crap because it was in drought
season" comment) you will not appreciate a good part of Australia's
uniqueness. In a desert ( Australia has 13 of them) you can easily go
through three ecosystems in a day.....

On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 00:31:35 -0800 (PST), (Brian
Orion) wrote:

Miguel,where do you live for $450/mo.!?A one bed here is 1000/mo.

So get a 3 bed with 3 friends... (or strangers, or blokes you met down
the pub - unless you're too young to visit a pub, when you can get it
with some blokes you met at your Church Group or whatever it is you
might do at that age)

I page $600 a month for a nice room (whoa it sounds a lot in dollars),
if I wanted a crappy 1 bed place it'd be more like $1400, but I'd
rather have the cash to travel.

Jim.

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:50:50 +0100, "RH" wrote:

I found Australia utterly devoid of life - landscape and people... so
that is a place I'm glad to have left.

I'm sure they miss you.

I've been to Australia two times for a couple of months and I just LOVE the
country - the aussies are very friendly, the nature absolutely beatiful and
a very relaxed atmosphere in general. I've been on two RTW and met a lot of
different people from different countries on my way - and I have never heard
anyone saying anything bad about Australia.

OK. Here it is: flies. billions and bilions - no, make that
googleplexes and googleplexes of flies. Learn the Aussie national
salute. (...waves hand in front of face...)

If you can ignore them, it is a right fine place.

Turby the Turbosurfer