Mardi Gras 08

The Mardi Gras was fantastic. Of course I think of all the people I’d like to spend it with (That’s you, the gang from tp_aj.. Of course the blondes as well, though Nadia, you wouldn’t want to be in a position of a “see-no-touch” right? ;D) The colours, the sights, the sounds, the smells (Yes the smells, the hotdogs being grilled, which I burned my tongue on, to the piss in the back alleys)

I was gonna stay over at Danny’s place (Danny is a guy I met on the plane on the way to Sydney! Haha… Well, he’s a student from Thailand and he’s got really cute dimples.) So, after meeting dad (who passed me my winter clothing) I went to Danny’s, which thankfully was walking distance away and left my stuff at his place. He went to run some errands and I eventually met up with his at Arq, a gay-only club.

Eventually later on in the night, Danny decided to party till a staggering 8am (he ended up reaching home at 10am) Of course I wasn’t going to party to that late, and I have no idea what I’d have done, until Steffen (the 5th I’ve know here) offered me his room for the night. He’s a student with Uni of Sydney and stays in the Jewish college. He isn’t Jewish but says he likes is because it has less people and isn’t as rowdy.

He pays a whopping $365 a week with all meals except Sat and Sun dinners provided for, and he’s allowed to bring in an additional bed, which is provided for, unless someone has already taken it which was so in my case. No problem, he pulled in the couch. Lol. So, thanks to him I didn’t freeze my ass off (it can get pretty cold at night) and had him as my guide since my map got lost in the throng of queer people in the parade.

Tips on how to survive the Mardi Gras:

1. Get a chair / something to stand on.
The crowd was insane. And unless you are very tall, or managed to secure a good location (like the bus stop or a balcony somewhere) you aren’t going to be able to see much. Some guys were selling chairs, for ten bucks, or milk crates, for five.

2. Where shoes.
The people start drinking early – like 5pm early. So you can imagine the amount of bottles piled up in the bins by say… 7pm. So, with no more bins left, bottles fall, break and then there’s the odd rouge that actually breaks their bottles, so there’s glass everywhere.

3. Don’t be “pai-seh”.
The makeshift toilets would have long lines and that’s where you’ll be glad you were a guy – back alleys are your best friends. Every guy was pissing in the back alleys – some even right next to the doors. Oooh! So you do see the odd girl who just can’t hold it anymore and decides to mark the road with her piss.

4. Plan your route.
It is madness, to try and get to the other side of the road. There is no way to cross to the other side during the parade. And I was supposed to meet Danny at Arq, a local club, and I thought it was on the other side. So, I was on the left side of Oxford St and walked all the way down all the way to the stadium – that’s a good 30 to 45 mins away. And when I eventually reached the right side, and walked about 30 mins down did I coincidentally bump into Benjamin (Who came down from Queensland) and he pointed out Arq, just across the street. I was so bummed. So, plan before you embark. (Yup, I’ve sealed my fate as a fantastic navigator)