On the train...

I've got a bit off track from my aussie adventures!So,here we are back on track with my 2 day train journey to Adelaide!I did previously try to post this blog and had written heaps on it,then it crashed and i lost the whole lot!i honestly don't think i can spend so much time typing it all out again so i'll give the "shortened version".

So i left perth on a sunday morning on the indian pacific train.i was quite anxious about who i would be sitting beside as 2 days is a long time to be spent beside someone you don't want to be beside!i ended up beside a japanese girl who didn't speak much english so our conversation over the 2 days consisted of "sorry" when she wanted to get past me and "thank you" when she came back again - ha!i didn't really mind as she was nice to sit beside and i spent most of the time gazing out the window and listening to my ipod as we crossed the Nullabor,which is the longest straight stretch in the world.i tell you buying that ipod the week before i went to oz was the best purchase i've ever made,it became one of my best friends of the year!

we only had 2 stops on our journey where we were able to actually leave the train.the first one was 9 hours into the journey at Kalgoorlie.It was 10.30pm by the time we arrived there and we were to stay there for 3 hours.i was lucky enough to have my cousin living there,she came and picked me up,took me back to her house,fed me,made me a picnic to take back on the train and let me sleep on her couch for an hour - amazing!i had been to Kalgoorlie previously near the start of my year in oz as i went up to help my cousin who was helping to run a youth week up there.i had great fun!

i was back on the train just after 1am to try and find my seat in the dark and walking past rows of sleeping travellers.i eventually found it and settled down for a night of very broken sleep.i think that was the hardest thing about being on the train,i just didn't get much sleep.i was amongst the rest of the backpackers who had chosen the cheap option of just having a seat for the whole of the journey.they didn't recline much so sleeping on them was a tad difficult.i have to admit trying to have a shower was fun,sliding around the very small cubicle as the train was chugging along and trying to get washed was a challenge!i was more worried about crashing out through the door to be revealed to the rest of the carriage!

our 2nd stop was at a place called Cook,right in the middle of the Nullabor,where apparently only 4 people live - can you imagine that isolation?!as you can see from my photos,we were greeted by some interesting signs!

we finally arrived in Adelaide early on the tuesday morning.i really enjoyed the experience of the train journey,but part of me was glad to get off it and experience freedom again.the train travels on further to sydney,i think i might have been going a wee bit nuts by that stage!it was funny how being on the train that long affected your balance,i had 'train legs' for the rest of the day,i was so dizzy and felt like the ground was moving under me!

it was a great reflecting period for me as i spent most of the time in my own thoughts.most of the people around me were japanese so didn't speak much english so my only conversations happened in the food car with american,irish and german backpackers.i think it was a good time for me to think back on what the year had held for me and how much i felt i had grown and how blessed i had been with my experiences and the people i had met.it was an enjoyable time to sit and think back on everything.

soon i will blog about my time in Adelaide.