The Traveling Klim

This is what happens when you let Klim buy a plane ticket.

[thetravelingklim]

Looking back on five years. Feels like worth noting the occasion. So much has changed. I never did return to Canada. As it is, I ended up in Berlin where I’ve taken up music- music.klimlevene.com

[thetravelingklim]

Day 207 (Jun 2) - Melbourne - St Kilda CS | No Jam

Late in leaving Hannah's. Off to a Couchsurfing host I found earlier (had a few turn me down lately). Another 3 day stint, maybe I can extend if needed.

Tim is a nice young guy, guitar teacher. Makes his living off teaching and gigging. Cool! Balaclava is a very Jewish community. Stores have signs for kosher sections. Sadly his apartment is really really cold too. Only Hannah’s was nice and warm. Unfortunately she was too busy to host me for any longer.

First open mic I stop at is pretty quiet. Not feeling it. My other plan was to test out my busking setup but with the heavy fog and freezing temperatures there isn't anyone about on the Esplanade from what I can tell. I'll try go downtown.

Bump into Steph on the tram, the cute UK girl from Ritz hostel. She gives me her number for anytime I'm out playing, she'll come by. Seems unlikely as they have plans for the next two days, and I’ll likely be gone soon. :/

El Coco jam night is dead too. Just the bands that are playing and doesn't feel all that likely that I'll get to play. The guy that runs it is unpleasant.

Bloody hell my Myki card needs top up already. I put $20 on it two days ago and barely travelled. You’re expensive Melbourne.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 206 (Jun 1) - Melbourne - UE Boom | Jazz Party at Bennet’s

Flights are stressing me out. Prices are climbing even higher. Over one thousand for an economy seat. Cripes.

First UE Boom 2 seller for $170 hasn’t replied so I contacted another that had it for $180 and he was just a few tram stops up Brunswick. At a shop that resold this and that. Seemed to be in perfect condition so I bought.

Found Bennet's Jazz Club in an alleyway that doesn’t feel like you should go down, dead quiet. Darcy failed to actually note me on the guest list (surprise) but the girl believed me and I was let in. Thanks Darcy. Typical.

Nadine was there with Bryce. Met Loretta, Darcy’s girlfriend. Great girl and good singer. Nice to see Bryce do a spot of singing backup. Fun performance all around. Some particularly good solos from Darcy. Had to leave after 11pm as I got a message from Hannah that she was going to bed- and I wouldn’t be able to be let in later. So had to leave before end of performance sadly. :(

[thetravelingklim]

Day 203 (May 29) - Melbourne - St Kilda Music Scene & Heroine Penguins

Freezing morning. Checking out and trying another hostel. Ritz Backpackers in the popular St. Kilda area. It's no Ritz, in name only.

Pop into JB Hifi to take a look at their bluetooth speakers but they’re expensive. And half I couldn’t demo. Aldi dumpsters were locked. So had to go shopping. Sucks.

Wanted to catch the penguins tonight at the beach. I wouldn’t have time to get back to the hostel to cook so I decided to try Lentil as Anything which was a popular vegan spot and on the route. Wow, the food was so nicely presented and tasted great. Not as big a portion as I’d like but still nice. Well, what do you know? Holland girl from last night came in. Minke was with a friend and told me she was just telling him about me and that this is just the sort of place I would probably go. Haha. What are the chances. There’s a couple other locations of this restaurant and one closer to the other hostel so interesting that we’d both end up here. She ended up inviting me to her town should I ever come by in Europe. Interesting how some things work out.

Ok, penguins. But on my way I run into a saxophonist and stop him to chat. Darcy looks a little drunk and invites me to come join his group of musician friend and forget about the penguins. "No one goes to Saint Kilda to see penguins. They're probably all heroine addicts anyways, they look like it." Planned to go to a CS Bowling/Lasertag meet but will skip that too. Can't manage it all tonight.

Bryce and Nadine - Nadine was a yoga instructor from Victoria so we bonded on a lot of Canada things. Bryce was from Australia. They were somehow making a long distance relationship work. Jess, Nick, Daniel and Gideon. Well, funny enough Gideon is from the indie band Husky, that was to open for Shearwater in Vancouver a few years back but was held at the border. And I remembered that!

Popped into Clay Pots to watch an amazing band, more friends of Darcy’s.

So bloody tired but met Steph (UK) back at the Ritz and end up chatting till. I have no self control.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 202 (May 28) - Sydney - Train to Melbourne

Despite leaving the hostel at 7am, and central station being but three stops away, I arrived with only 6min to spare to catch the 7:33 train. That was a tad stressful.

Playlist of Crowded House and Sodastream.

Did I mention I love trains? The scenery is amazing. Some parts remind me of what I feel Scotland would look like, particularly as the weather is moody. My first hopping kangaroo, really close to train! And then a group of kangaroos later on.

Yesterday's leftovers for food. Also muesli and milk (eating separately). There's also the strange healthy carrot juice from the dumpster dive- which is a little hard to tell if it went off or not because it has paprika and pepper in it so it's got quite the spicy sting to it.

I wish the train was longer really- not enough time to catch up on all my podcasts! And wish reception was better out here to do more research. Even at train stops there are places with no 3G. How do they live here? How!?

Checked into the Nomads, it’s free with my skydiving voucher so why not? Well I’m not staying here more than one night. Freaking cold. So so cold. Maybe colder than outside. One of the girls was checking out that night so she gave me her blanket for extra warmth. Thanks! And sold me her transit card, but I would later find it had a credit balance on it so essentially I lost out. Wonder if she knew? Cooked dinner in a tiny kitchen, ever so dirty. Ate at a table with UK and Holland. Holland asked, "Have you tried Timtams?" "No but-" "Today is the greatest day of your life!" Hated to bring her enthusiasm down. "Well actually... Sorry but I'm vegan." "Oh god." She looked at me with pity and concern. She’s cute. A neuroscientist. Never got her name. UK praised me for using butter (vegan) instead of liquid vegetable oil. It was all I had, not really a preference. But he couldn’t accept my veganism. We had a good laugh over our differences, he was a funny guy.

Well shit- it's 12am. Need. Sleep.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 201 (May 27) - Sydney - Vivid Lights Show

Book train. Tomorrow. 7:33am. $45. Decent price for 11hrs. Looking forward to it. Had to call them, their website was down. "Sorry, I don't remember my number, let me look. I'm from Canada." "It's ok, I won't hold it against you."

Packing. Going to trash my busking sign. Will create a new one later if needed. Wish I took a photo of it. G’dammit.

Saw a deal online for the same busking amp I have at home, with mic stand included. $370. Pretty steep still for me but was considering taking it- not having much luck busking with just the sax. Then went downstairs to the kitchen and bumped into an Italian with a Bluetooth speaker and it hit me- I don't need an amp. I can get a decent portable speaker for less and it will be lighter! He offered me to test my iPad loops on his device and I found it was quite loud enough and sounded good. He said it's about $150 in stores. Will have to take a look.

Took longer than expected to prepare food, so will be leaving later for the lights. Tried to use up as much food as I would rather not take a bunch to Melbourne. Going out to see the Vivid Sydney light show with a group of Germans. All taller than me and most just out of highschool it turns out. I’m terrible at gaging ages. Bloody cold tonight. Wish I had a hat. My right ear is hurting.

Couldn't find Botanical gardens lights so skipped them. Wish we could have seen them.

Lots of projection mapping installations. A group of business folks carrying around an award stopped one of the Germans to have him take a group photo . "Hey, are you trustworthy?" "I am German."

We came upon a large picture frame people can pose in with the opera house in the background with a professional photographer- and witnessed a love proposal. Kudos to how the guy managed it, you have to quickly cycle between three poses and on the third the girl was in for a surprise. Good spot to do it, wonder how often they get it.

We were all pretty dissapointed with the light setups at The Rocks district. Not anywhere as good as shown on the photos. Walked on to Martin place. A few nice things there. Then caught a train back to the hostel ahead of the others as they figured out their transit cards. I needed to finish packing and was exhausted. Was able to pass on my museum pass to another guy who mentioned he was interested in seeing them. Good thing, I got it free from the guy in Byron, and never got a chance to go.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 200 (May 26th) - Sydney - Busking and Diving Disappointments

200 days on the road! Inis didn’t enjoy the vegemite roll I got her from the dumpster. But she was happy she didn’t have to pay to not like it.

Nap. Catching up on trailers in bed. Lazy. Laptop housekeeping.

Felt like a relaxing day but decided I should push myself and go out and try busk. Who knows what I might miss without trying. I hadn't yet done it solo in Sydney. Well, unfortunately Town Hall area already had a couple of musicians working it. Tried to find a spot and failed. Moved on to Central Station, and found a place that looked like it had good traffic. Lots of people. But they ignored me. Not even a look. Suddenly a woman walks up to me and hands me cigarettes and a lighter saying she's just given up smoking. I don't want them but she insisted. She said I surely had friends who smoke- but why would I help them smoke?? I left them on the street. Not my problem. Thanks lady. Dark. Finally packed up, not working for me. $0 made.

Decided to take a crack at dumpster diving World Center Coles but this time there was a truck offloading there. I decided to ignore it and go ahead but the unloaded shook his head at me and told me that while he won't report me, it's against store policy and I really should leave. I decided to avoid confrontations and left. But at least I managed to sneak a package of two pizza bases which are vegan and look pretty good. Wanted to try make a pizza anyways. (never did end up getting the chance) Still, don't like the feeling of being told to leave. Added to my already pretty blue mood.

To top it off the showers weren't giving me hot water. Grrr. Brrrr.

Refrying yesterdays leftovers. The guy who took my free bin bread was excited to find that I got it free from Coles and asked to come along next time I dive again.

Yay day 200. Hope it gets better.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 199 (May 25) - Sydney - More Busking & Bins Met Javier at breakfast and we decided to head out right away to busk, as he’s got studies in the evening. Alighted at Martin’s and walked to Town Hall where we busked for a few hours. In addition now to Oye Como Va, I learned licks for Don’t Worry Be Happy, Hallelujah, some Avicii song, R U Mine, and… Wonderwall. Oh lord. Saw a young business man dance a little across the street, and a group of school kids came by and dropped some change- they were quite excited when we waved back to them. Cute. At the end of the session we each pocketed $16.50. Not even minimum wage for the time we spent but it is what it is. Much better than before!

Wanted to get the free/cheap haircut at the Hairdressing school but of course they were booked out for weeks. Went out all this way, darn. Was a long walk. Bought plastic food containers at Kmart. Have to finally start making leftovers so I don’t cook every single day. Dumpster diving again at another Aldi’s. Still feel nervous and weird, but this one is closer to the exit. Some manager lady comes by with what looks like some new employees she’s showing around. When she spies me I pretend to look at my phone. “Can I help you?" “No, I’m good thanks." She thinks for a moment then proceeded onwards. That was a close one. She didn’t look like someone to be messed with. Little old asian lady comes by and stats digging around as well. I help her get a few things out and she tries to hand me a lot of non vegan pastries. She also sees that I’m come pretty unprepared carrying regular plastic bags and gives me one of her own cloth bags. Thanks! Leave with a pretty decent grab bag.

Just before getting to Martin’s station I heard a sax in the distance and found a guy seated with eyes closed, playing strange riffs. He introduced himself as Floyd, he had a unfortunate twitch, not sure what was wrong with him, but he was quite jumpy. He invited me to stay but in addition to feeling weird I also really wanted to be back at the hostel and resting. I did oblige him by going and buying him a bottle of water with his money (I dropped him some change too, felt bad).

Maacika (Netherlands) is Lana’s replacement in her bunk.

Today’s meal: Onions, mushrooms, canned chickpeas, tomato sauce, green pepper, dried dumpster bread (crumbed), fried with yesterday's rice and served alongside today's dumpster lettuce with some remaining hummus. Even have leftovers. Yesterday's dumpster pears. Still very nice. Another hostel guy was thrilled to find the bread I dropped into the ‘free bin'. “Somebody threw away perfectly good bread! What!?"

Paid Grownups Read Things subscription. Good episode today.

/Ok, I messed up on the photos.. all those are for yesterday. There’s none for today.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 198 (May 24) - Sydney - Busking & Bins

Woke up to the sweetest note from Lana. Miss her loads already.

Javier is excited to find that I work in sound design, he’s very interested in music production. So we gather at the courtyard and share some of our work. Decide to head out and busk. Tried our luck in the Town Hall station. Packed with people, was sure we would be told to move along but played one hour with no problem. Unfortunately we didn’t make much. Moved out to street level and made absolutely nothing. Walked over to the harbour, The Rocks area, to this little Irish tea house where Javier knew there was a piano. Unfortunately the one day it’s closed is Tuesdays! What rotten luck. The owner was there however and invited us to play anyways. Javier played beautifully. I tried to follow along with the sax. It’s tough to improvise to music with no proper melody or rhythm. After hearing the music the owner invited us to come over the weekend and play for tips and food. Sadly I don’t think I’ll be able to make that. Or maybe? We’ll see.

Dumpster diving - by first solo trip. Using a reference map of some locations someone posted on the Facebook group. First one had empty bins, walked past two security guards that didn’t even look towards me. Was a bit (a lot actually) nervous as there was workers about and security. Just walked passed them trying to act normal (carrying a sax case and blue dry bag) and just nodded and smiled a greeting. Then tried to stay out of view. All the bins had tons of things inside!! At first I was disappointed to find them locked- However they had just enough slack to reach in and get surprised grabs, see what comes outs. Tons of bread and pastries (the latter sadly non vegan). Some fruits but fairly beat up so I just saved a bag of pears a juice and moisturizer lotion. Normally wouldn't touch San Pelligrino but was thirsty. Felt nervous to stay too long or bring too much- plus a loading truck arrived shortly after so I left.

Extended my stay for another three nights as it’s starting to get booked up and I need to make sure I keep my bed. Don’t think I’ll be going anywhere till Saturday. Will stay to watch a least one day of Vivid Sydney.

[thetravelingklim]

Australia - Part 3

The Blue Mountains and Beyond

[thetravelingklim]

Misc Pics

[thetravelingklim]

[thetravelingklim]

Day 197 (May 23) - Sydney - Opera House | Lana's Last Day

City sightseeing tour today!

Botanical Gardens are right next door but tis not the season for most of the plants. Rather plain and dead. Lana is teaching me some German.

Sydney Opera House! Strange to finally see this iconic building. We end up taking pictures of it from almost every possible angle during the whole day. Rather grand claim by the architect in a quote on the wall about the sun discovering it’s beauty but the reflections from the Opera House. Ok. Lego models big and small sold at the gift shop along with some rather neat postcards and other cute junk. Opera house ticked off.

Circular Quay, maybe my favourite place in Sydney in a way, because it looks so theatrical and beautiful. Very photogenic.

Took us some time to climb the bridge as we had to walk a distance to get on it but we managed to make it almost to the halfway point in the end. That’s the bridge ticked off. Can’t see the reason to pay the crazy fee of over $100 to climb just a little higher on the bridge. You get a decent view from here for free.

The ferry to Manly beach was quite nice but Manly beach was pretty uninspiring. It’s just a big beach. Looks like any other Aussie beach. We ate a rather tasteless spread on some pretty boring bread- wishing we had thought to pack something ahead, as we watched a crazy Christian lady tell a group of Muslim ladies that Jesus loves them. Didn’t spend a long time there before heading back.

St. Mary’s Cathedral. Thought there was two, but could only find this one. Lana pointed out that it looked very similar to the Notre Dame from one angle, minus the tower tips.

Cooking. Rice with a sauce consisting of diced tomatoes, left over coconut milk, some of the spices and pepper we bought today, onions, mushrooms, green pepper, zucchini. Came out very tasty.

The hostel put a note on the door updating who is checking out… as they have not yet updated that I’m staying, my name is on the door… but as Kevin Levin. Amusing. Lana particularly enjoyed this.

We grab a train and bus to meet Lana’s friend’s from Byron Bay in Cogee. A trio of Israelis, two of whom randomly met in Byron Bay, but knew each other from Isreal. And turns out Lana knows one the friends, it’s a day full of coincidences- she met him while she was traveling with friends in a camper van, he had walked up to them at a BP gas station asking for a smoke while drunk. He laughed remembering it. To pass the time on the bus I’m learning to count to 14 in German (Eins, zwei, drew…), as that’s how many bus stops there should be till… shit, after 12 we realize we are driving past our destination. Google messed up somehow, not 14 stops. Bit of a walk back. Bloody freezing. We try find a bar to hang out but everything is dead quiet. I find one that’s supposed to have an open mic but it’s completely dead there. We rib Lana for her decision to take a carshare with a stranger tomorrow for what would be about 11hrs. The guy has a few strange signs about him, and we find that maybe a flight would be better for her- after all it’s faster and actually cheaper than the gas she’d pay. She feels bad to tell the guy she changed her mind. We feel it would make us not have to worry about her.

Wait a long time for the bus. Lana is huddled frozen on the bench. We arrive cold and late back to the hostel. Lana is quite sick now and miserable. I hate goodbyes, but Lana will be gone tomorrow before I awake. Sad. It’s been a wonderful couple of days, the best of days, and she’s been the best traveling companion so far. We really made the most of our time together I feel. Like we’ve known each other all along.

[thetravelingklim]

[thetravelingklim]

Day 196 (May 22) - Sydney - Train to the Blue Mountains

At breakfast we tried to figure out what to do today. Btw, the breakfasts here are great! Fruit and plenty of good tasting jams on good bread, and peanut butter! All-you-can-eat, no charge. Found a tour on Groupon to Blue Mountains and asked around the table about it. Someone mentioned that it could be reached by train and didn’t need a tour- today the trains maxed out at $2.50 for the whole day. We quickly got dressed and caught the next train to Central… only to find we missed a train to Katoomba by 5min and the next would be in 50min. Bummer! So we wandered around the Hyde park region exploring a little of Sydney.

Brits are terrible terrible travellers. That’s nothing new. And the two sitting the next row over are just about the most obnoxious we’ve seen yet. They are talking ridiculously loud and I’m surprised no one on the train has complained yet. "Freaks and creeps!? I can’t believe she hard the nerve to call us that. I’ve never been called that." He sounded very hurt. They then proceeded to imitated bad southern US accents and dissed Canadians as well. “Marcus Fartus! hahahahaha. Marcus… Fartus!" For fcks sake guys! What assholes. This went on far too long. I cast glances at other passengers. They responded with miserable looks and rolling eyes. We’re all too polite to ask them to shut the hell up. I guess because they looked too unfriendly no one wanted to start a scene with them. Finally we just moved to a quieter wagon and chatted with a retired Belgian couple. The guy told us a few stories, particularly one where he fell into the orchestra pit in Berlin’s opera house as a young drunk guy amidst the violin section. Made the news the next day he proclaimed.

Absolutely stunning train trip. So so worth it for this alone. Love love trains. I know I keep writing that, but I can’t say it enough.

Katoomba is a rather large town for being a sleepy retirement vacation get away.

Honeymoon bridge - a very cool walkway build to the first of the three sisters. The view is breathtaking. Three Sisters

Prince Henry walk. Long walk with more great views to the cable cars, which were too expensive so we turned around and backtracked. Passed an older Italian man clearly on drugs who was saying how much in love with everyone he was, and leaning against the railing like he was posing for a fashion shoot.

Recorded a birthday message for Suzy- Lana suggested I sign off with the tag “Peace out. Klim over.” That became a bit of a running joke for the rest of our time together.

Shopping Aldi for tonight’s meal. Deciding what to cook. I wanted stir fry sauce, but Lana motioned that we get coconut milk instead. Ran into our Belgian train friends!

Cooking. We made too little rice the first try and had to make a second batch. Our sauce turned out rather well even if we forgot to buy herbs/spices.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 195 (May 21) - Sydney - Couchsurfing Adventure | Stray Underwear | Impromptu Street Music Woke up freezing. Couldn’t wait to get going and warm up the car. 6am we take off.

We run into pretty terrible traffic getting into Sydney.

Lana decides she’ll take a chance on this Couchsurfing spot I’m heading to. Ciro drops us off in some area near where he has to meet some friends and we try to find the train station. Proper fall weather. Looks like and feels a bit like San Fran.

Long trip to Marrickville on the train, a lot further out than I thought. Expensive ticket too. $4! This will add up quick if I want to go back and forth each day to the center.

We are greeted with a very messy & dirty warehouse in the industrial district. Even dirtier kitchen. And only Lana dared to take a shower there. Met Nicholas, our host. He was recovering from a bad hangover, and making plans for another party tonight. It’s not likely we’ll get any sleep if we stay here. In fact that’s pretty guaranteed we won’t. Nicholas also had the problem of sorting out a message to his girlfriend so address the issue of him having been caught with other girls. Man of many problems.

The other residents here are interesting. Sophia is heading to work, and has an amusing exchange with Hamish. Much like Mrs. Raven and Arnie. "I hope they fire you because of your face!" “I hope you die of boredom without me!" Ok, not the most wittiest, but definitely a strange relationship here. There was more, if only I managed to write it down sooner.

Lana and I decide to go for a stroll and think about things. In the park we go on couchsurfing to see if we have any other options. One potential one only wanted couples. I suggest to Lana we just say we are. Surprisingly she seemed rather keen and found it cute. We both agree that the warehouse just isn’t our scene. The people are nice but we didn’t feel a connection. So for tonight we need to find a hostel. Settle on Backpacker HQ. Fantastic first impressions, wonderful girl at reception, and comfy room. Lost my underwear somewhere along the way, whoops. So, uh, I had put them into my shoe bag as they hadn’t dried and the bag ripped. The shoes stayed. But no sign of underwear. Lana would tease about this later on.

We still have time in the day left surprisingly. So on my suggestion we head to the harbour for a walk in the dark. Turns out to be a lovely stroll. We have a Coles just around the corner which is convenient, but not too cheap here downtown. Cooking up pasta with a sauce made up of zucchini, onions and paprika. I prefer to call them peppers, but Lana thinks paprika is a better word.

By chance we run into Javier, a Chilean practicing guitar in the hall. Lana suggests I ask him to play- quite glad that she did. He jumped straight at the idea to go right out and busk. It’s rare for people to be so ready at such short notice. So in 5min we were out at the mouth of the metro station jamming away. He taught me Oye Como Va and we had a wonderful moment when a group of girls began dancing in front. Javier motioned that we join them as we played and Lana got up and danced over as well in her silly way. It was a lovely moment. The girls never did tip, just danced away but no matter. Soon Javier’s friends from the hostel arrived and together we moved on over to the park in front of the police station. Despite that no one ever bothered us or told us to move or stop. We didn’t have a tip jar or hat out, but one guy insisted we set one up and put in $5. He also improvised some blues singing over our jam. All in all a rather great night. Good start to Sydney after a few interesting twists and turns.

[thetravelingklim]

Day 194 (May 20) - Byron Bay - Road Trip To Sydney | Sleeping In Car

Was super lucky to wake at 7:12, as I was supposed to set an alarm for 7am but it turns out I stupidly set it for 8am. Whoops. Saved. Coooold.

Catching a ride with Ciro (Dorito’s real name) and picking up Lana (German) from Arts Factory.

We make a stop in Yamba for the other two to sample the ice-cream and to look at the coast. Supposedly the birthplace of Billabong sports line? Nothing special. Very much a retirement place and strange to see them having a big hostel there.

Can’t say I’m a fan of Ciro’s playlist. Sara Bareilles' version of Dock of the Bay is just terrible. Likewise with anything from Kings of Leon- yet Ciro and Lana bond over their love of the band. Anyone else think it’s terrible? Anyone? Finally Ciro runs out of music and offers for me to take over. I try my best to find things they might like. Don’t think I succeed.

One kangaroo! Woohoo!

Tonight we are sleeping in the car. We arrive at our campsite pretty late. Lana is unimpressed to find everyone else on the campground to be German as well. She feels it’s hardly traveling when everywhere she goes she feels like home. Ciro cooks up some good pasta and sauce on a little portable stove. As Ciro has a long call with his girlfriend, Lana and I lie on the wooden log (snake carving?) and watch the stars, identifying some with StarWalk app. Chat of this and that. Bats fly overhead. It’s getting pretty darn cold. Takes me forever to blow up the air mattress for the tent without any pump. Lana would like to sleep alone in the tent, she’s uncomfortable as she has a boyfriend. Ciro and I try to make ourselves as comfortable in the car as possible. It’s bloody cold. So bloody cold. Sleeping in bucket seats isn’t easy, no matter how far they recline.