The Asylum

this is the outside lobby. if you wanted to use the internet- you had to purchase a tshirt and join the mad monday pub crawl-as well as wear it while at the PC

our crew, with Tom from da Nederlands

I can't begin to tell you how many times I put my hands on my face and asked "where the bloody hell are we?" or, is "is this real life?" whether it was looking at a surreal landscape or laughing at our living situation. A group of 12 of us flew out saturday night to Cairns ( pronounced Cans) which is north up the coast of Sydney- about a 3 hour plane ride. we arrived around midnight and waited for our shuttle to the hostel. A white van whipped around the curb covered in pictures of people getting drunk in white tee's. it was called The ASYLUM. and underneath the graffiti it said #1 party Hostel in Cairns. this was a "is this real life" moment. the driver hopped out in a ripped singlet and a sleeve tatt of colored cheetah print. he croaked in a very strong aussie accent " Which wannyas coming with me? His name was Dan and blasted Train so loud on the way to the hostel it impaired my vision. It was 15$ a night so really, what was i expecting? the town looked pretty bare for a sat. night then we pulled up to a shack connected to cylinder block buildings covered in christmas lights and a large group of people outside, the Asylum. most of everyone was pretty intoxicated at this point so we received a very warm Aussie welcome. they gave us thin sheets with suspicious stains and corn flakes for brekkie. the receptionist was pretty drunk when we got there, her name was Crackers and ended up being one of my favorite people that worked there. i was very grateful to be staying with the boys at this point, it was 6 to a room so sam and i stayed with Jordan, Jon, Lee, and Ethan.

We were all pretty hungry at this point and wanted to grab something grilled at a chill pub. we thought we found one. but upon walking in, we found it was anything but chill. there were people sucking face as you walked in, burly men cheering at the dancers on the bar and then you ran into people moshing to a Rage Against the Machine cover. insanity. this was a "where the bloody Hell are we? " moment. for someone who doesnt go out much, this scene was pretty educational. at this point in my night, im laughing- thinking holy crap this week is going to be incredibly memorable.