Author: Michael Eaton

So I took a further look into the 1918 flu epidemic (aka Spanish Flu). Can you believe that 50 million people died of this influenza virus over a two year period!? Also, I learned that the epidemic lasted for almost two years. Hopefully, we aren’t locked inside for that long this time around or I might go insane.

Nineteen-eighteen must have been a really shitty year for everyone. Imagine the amount of stress people were under. Not only did Europe and a large amount of the world just come out of a war that claimed 40 million lives. But then the next two years after that, another 50 million people died of disease.

I’m not trying to downplay the situation we’re currently in. Just trying to put things in perspective. Of course, I’m not happy with my current lot. I want to be traveling and putting my money to good use. But compared to the situation our grandparents and our great-grandparents found themselves in we have it a bit easy. Plus, we have the internet and Netflix to distract us while we’re hibernating.

Things are going to get better. After the Spanish Flu ran its course the Roaring Twenties began. A time known for economic growth and a radical change to previous social norms. I’m not saying that history will repeat itself. But big idea shifts usually occur after times of crisis. And I expect that to hold true in this situation.

For the majority of my life, I didn’t give healthcare a second thought. Up until the time I graduated college I was covered under my parent’s insurance plan. When I started working at PwC health insurance was included in my benefits package.

The money came straight out of my paycheck every month and to be honest, I didn’t check to see how much I was paying for it. All I knew was that I had coverage. And if I ever got sick I wouldn’t be stuck with a huge bill to pay.

Obviously, affordable healthcare has been a huge topic of debate in American politics for a while now. I never really got caught up in the discussion because I wasn’t adversely affected. I’ve always had medical insurance and it just wasn’t an issue I thought about much. But now I am understanding why it matters.

For the first time in my life, I am without medical insurance in the United States. If I were to come back to the United States I would have to purchase insurance on my own. I’ve done some research and I’ll admit, it’s a bit startling. I’m not going to go into the details but the average cost per month of healthcare in the United States is over five hundred dollars. And that doesn’t even include any deductibles!

To put it in perspective, I spent roughly half that for six months of coverage through a travel medical insurance company. And we’re talking internationally here. So basically any country that I plan on traveling to. I don’t have a deductible and I can go to a doctor or hospital outside of the provider network.

It’s funny though. Because based on the plan I have I can’t receive medical services in my country of residence. The United States is out. Which is fine. It’s travel insurance anyway. I get it.

But if you’re from somewhere else, let’s say Australia, and you travel to the United States you aren’t covered to the extent you are covered elsewhere in the world either! This must mean that health care in the United States is so unreasonably expensive when compared to other countries.

I’ve met various people while in Australia that flew home before the borders shut. They did this with the knowledge that home was the only place they were guaranteed quality medical coverage. They knew if they ever got sick they would be taken care of, no questions asked.

But I’m in the opposite boat. I know I have to stay abroad because I don’t have medical insurance back at home. And I know coverage will be unreasonably expensive if I do decide to return. Is it me or is there something wrong with this situation?

I decided to book another Airbnb in Sydney. I figure the situation is not going to be solved until the end of April at the earliest. Maybe even that is wishful thinking. But I have hope.

The apartment that I rented looks a whole lot better (and cheaper) than the apartment that I’m currently in. Where I’m staying right now isn’t horrible. It would definitely do for a four or five day trip to Sydney in which you were out and about most of the time. But definitely not the greatest place to be stuck inside.

I have been getting out more the last few days because the weather has cleared up. I’ve been walking around the city for two or three hours at a time in the afternoon, visiting areas I haven’t seen before. If I’m going to be here for a month I might as well see all of the city.

So today I decided to walk to Darling Harbour, the area where I will be staying next. It took about an hour to make the walk there and I’m pretty happy with the neighborhood. It’s right by the water and there are a few fairly sized parks in the area. That’ll be a welcome relief. There aren’t too many parks nearby to where I am staying now.

The new place has a balcony as well. Another blessing. I will be able to get some fresh air whenever I like. It’s the little things like this that make a whole lot of difference. I am excited to get over to this new place. I’m excited to get through this and get back on the road again. I think everyone is ready to get back to their lives at this point.

It’s been a few days since I started distancing myself and I’ll have to admit, I’m getting pretty bored. I am probably sleeping a bit too much but at the same time, I am grateful. When all of this passes and I am back on the road I don’t know when I’ll be able to get good sleep again.

I am trying to get myself into a rhythm while I’m here. For the most part, I have been doing all the things I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been exercising every other day and that’s something I’m happy about. It’s amazing how stiff my body feels. Even though I moved my body a lot while I was in New Zealand I still feel a lack of flexibility. Trekking up and down mountains is difficult but it’s just not the same as traditional exercise.

I’ve been meditating twice a day and that has helped me stay level headed as well. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed when I was staying at the hostel last week. It’s great to be around people in a time like this. Everyone wants the be social, it’s a human need. But the situation was developing so rapidly in Australia and around the world. And that’s all anyone ever wanted to speak about. My mind was not in a calm place at that moment. I was distracted and admittedly feeling a bit afraid.

I think it’s necessary to be mindful of how much attention you give the news at a time like this. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in every minor detail. It’s easy to get absorbed in all the different opinions. You begin to think that each opinion is a fact. But they aren’t. No one knows what is going to happen in the next week or the next month. All you’re likely to do is drive yourself crazy.

Of course, I am getting a bit impatient. I want to move on when my time at this AirBnB comes to an end. But I know that I am going to go insane if I try to predict what the situation is going to look like in ten days. Whatever the situation is I will have to accept it.

The best I can do is remain patient. Stay away from the news and the speculation and just focus on what I can control. When it is time to make a decision I will see where things are and make the best possible choice at that time.

I’ve decided to stay in Sydney for two more weeks (minimum) and wait this thing out. I don’t think life will get back to normal within this time. But I think I will have more information to understand what the next move should be. Right now so many different opinions are being thrown around it’s hard to know what to think.

The Australian government closed it’s borders to all non-citizens last week. And now each of the states in Australia are starting to require a self-quarantine. Visitors to most of the states in Australia will have to distance themselves regardless if they are sick or not.

So for example, someone arriving in Sydney (New South Wales) from Melbourne (Victoria) will have to stay off the streets for two weeks. I’m not subject to this quarantine but it will restrict my ability to travel anywhere outside New South Wales for the time being. So I’ll have to stay in the state for a while.

I reserved an Airbnb in the same area that the hostel I was staying is in. So that made the transition quite simple. I packed up my stuff, hung around the hostel for a few hours, and walked the ten minutes to the apartment building.

The apartment will suffice for the next two weeks. Nothing fancy but I have a kitchen and a full-size bed. The kitchen was the most important thing to me. If I am going to be on my own then I need to be able to cook for myself. Eating take out would get awfully expensive. I want to stick to my budget as best I can.

A part of me is pleased that I will have my own apartment for a few weeks. After six weeks of living in dorm rooms and having to share a kitchen with other backpackers, it feels nice to have my own space.

I want to use this time to cultivate healthier habits. I think it’s a matter of perspective. We can all use this time in a productive way if we choose to do so. There are few times in your life where you are handed two weeks to do whatever you please.

I will have some time and space to exercise if only push-ups and bodyweight squats. That’s something I have been missing in the last few weeks. I was exercising a lot in New Zealand because I was hiking so much. Since I arrived in Australia I’ve been more sedentary.

I’d also like to take care of my mind while I’m distancing myself. It’s very easy to get bored and fall into poor habits. So this means reading and meditating. It’ll be nice to have my own space to meditate again.

I’m trying to stay optimistic as this situation develops. I don’t think that this situation will be resolved in the next two weeks but I am hoping that if I bunker down I will still have a chance to continue my travels at some point in the future. Very few people could have imagined how fast the disease was going to spread. So maybe we will be surprised by how fast the disease can be contained.

Saturday happened to be an absolutely beautiful day. Eighty-five degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I jumped on a bus towards Coogee Beach which is southwest of the city center. Only a thirty-minute bus ride from the place I’m staying in. It was a fairly easy trip.

The first thing that I did was find a quiet place in the shade to meditate. I’ve still been meditating since I arrived in Sydney last week but it is difficult to find a quiet place to sit. Staying in a hostel will make finding a tranquil place to meditate difficult. I am trying my best under the circumstances.

Afterward, I started on the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach. In total the walk is about seven kilometers, mostly along the coast. Over cliff ridges and through small beaches and bays. The landscape really reminded me of the San Diego and La Jolla area.

The beaches here are much smaller though. There really isn’t a long stretch of beach on this side of Sydney. I suppose Bondi is the longest stretch that I saw while I was doing the walk. A few of the alcoves don’t even have a beach. Just a bay with enough boulders for people to hang out on.

I stopped at Gordon’s Bay and which was one of the bigger inlets that wasn’t really a beach. I found a nice boulder away from the crowds of people, read a bit in the sun, and took a dip in the water.

The whole walk took about three hours. I stopped at various places to rest and had some lunch about halfway through the walk. I finally got to Bondi around 4 o’clock and I was surprised by how busy it was. The government here released social distancing advice but the beach was still filled with people. It doesn’t seem like many people are taking the situation seriously.

Yesterday was a rest day for me. I have been thinking about what my plan will look like moving forward. Right now I have a bus pass from Sydney to Brisbane, with stops in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. I am unsure if I want to get on public transportation and I’m strongly considering staying in Sydney for a few more weeks.

I’ve also been looking into renting a car or a campervan. It’d be a good way to distance myself and get out of the cities for a bit. But renting a campervan, at least by myself, is going to be fairly expensive. I’ve come to the conclusion that living on a budget is not going to be reasonable for the next few weeks. I have some thinking to do.

It’s been a busy and yet relaxing couple of days. I have a few to catch up on so I’m just going to get straight into it.

On Wednesday I met up with my German friend Svea. We met through some friends while I was in Melbourne and we reconnected when I arrived in Sydney. She had already been to Bondi Beach, which is the most famous of the beaches here. So I decided to join her on her trip to Manly Beach which is a neighborhood about a thirty-minute ferry ride from the city center.

The ferry ride was quite spectacular. It offered views of the entire skyline and I grabbed a few nice pictures of the opera house as well. We chilled by the beach for about an hour or so. We couldn’t stay much longer after 4 o’clock because of how the pine trees were planted. After that time the sun begins to set behind them and there is no longer any direct sunlight on the beach.

We walked around for a while, up and down the neighborhood and we discovered some pretty cool spots. The best by far was the walk along the boardwalk area south of the beach. There was a certain point where you could watch the surfers and it was amazing how close to the rocks they were surfing. All the way at the end of the boardwalk was this little, almost secret, beach and it offered some great views of the town and the main stretch of Manly.

I got off to a little bit of a late start on Thursday but still managed to have an eventful day. I walked down to this neighborhood called “The Rocks” which is where the Sydney Harbour Bridge starts off. I decided to walk over the bridge and it was a great idea. The views of the city and the opera house were fantastic. I arrived in North Sydney, bought some lunch, and ate in the park tucked underneath the bridge.

Afterward, I took the train back into the city center and walked around a neighborhood called Surry Hills. A nice little area with a ton of little restaurants and cafes along Crown Street. I really wanted to make an effort to explore the different areas around Sydney. It’s not something I felt I pushed myself to do when I was in Melbourne.

Eventually, I made it to Centennial Park, which was not as nice as I expected but still a relaxing time. I stayed there for a bit, read some of the science fiction novel I’ve been getting into and made a beeline back to the hostel for dinner. I’ve been walking a ton around the city and I don’t hate it. Not only is it good exercise but it’s a better way to explore a city. You can really take in the energy of each area as you walk through it – something you can’t do on public transportation.

About a week and a half ago I was pretty damn happy to be out of the United States. New York seemed to be in a state of panic and Australia seemed so far away. I didn’t think it would be touched by the virus anytime soon. But just like most people I underestimated how fast this thing was going to spread.

It doesn’t seem that Australia is panicking nearly as much as Europe and the United States have been. The Australian government has closed down most of the sporting events and other public gatherings. From my understanding schools and most places of work are still open. But it might be a matter of time before they are also closed.

Understandably a hostel might not be the best place to be during the outbreak of a contagious disease. I am not scared of catching the virus but every day it gets a bit scarier. Everyone I meet has something to say about it. I’m talking about it all the time, understanding how other people’s plans are being affected.

It’s been a mess for some of the people that I’ve met. They’ve been on a work visa in Australia and they are finding it extremely difficult to find a job. Since tourism has been brought to a standstill there isn’t as much hospitality related work available. Not all of them have the savings to survive overseas without a job. So if they can’t work it out they’ll have to leave.

I’ve been frustrated by the way things how gone down in the past week. It’s hard not to feel frustrated. But when I see things from another person’s perspective I can’t help but feel that I am lucky. Imagine planning a year abroad and having to go home a few weeks into the trip? That is the reality for some people over here.

I have a three-month tourist visa here in Australia. So worst case scenario I can stay here and do more traveling. My original plan was to do the east coast all the way up to Darwin and fly out to Bali after roughly six weeks in Australia. But if things develop in the wrong direction I’ll be able to take my time and explore the west coast as well. Not the worst thing in the world.

Anyway, I arrived in Sydney today from Melbourne. I was seriously considering staying in Melbourne for another week just to see how things developed. But after thinking more about it I felt that if I was to stay in Melbourne I would be committing to at least another month there. And I wasn’t ready to do that. I’ll do the week here and then move on to smaller towns along the east coast. I think that is a good plan.

I didn’t really do all that much today. Got into the city around eleven o’clock and dropped my bags off at the hostel. Then I decided to take a walk around just to get familiar with the layout of the city. I started off in the Botanical Gardens and got all the way to the harbor after maybe an hour. I look to my left and without knowing it I ended up right by the famous Sydney Opera House.

Unfortunately, it is closed due to the coronavirus fears but at least I can take pictures of it from the outside. The harbor area around the opera house and the bridge is extremely cool. It reminds me of a nicer Southstreet Seaport.

Afterward, I just walked around the downtown area with no particular plan in mind. It definitely has a bit of a New York feel to it. The city reminds me way more of an American city than a European city. But on first impressions, I definitely feel that I will like Melbourne more when all is said and done. We will see what happens over the next week.

If I am going to be honest, my experience in Melbourne has been a bit of a mixed bag. No doubt, I’ve met some really awesome people and I learned a lot from each of them. I’ve made some great memories here. And I can easily see why people find this city such a good place to live.

However, my routine has gone to utter shit ever since I arrived. I went a little overboard that first week here. I was so excited to be moving to a new country and as I previously said, it’s difficult to say no to good people when they invite you out to have a drink.

After a week of mostly partying I feel a bit empty and unfulfilled. Which is natural I think. That type of lifestyle was never going to be sustainable. It’s an odd feeling really and a bit difficult to explain. I know that it’s impossible to meet someone new every single day. I know that I need to take certain days to take care of myself. To lay low and reset. But I also feel like I’m wasting my time if I’m not going out and creating new friendships. I have to have more compassion for myself and understand that every day doesn’t need to be an adventure.

I think it really comes down to my mindset. I have to think about this trip in a different way than I have been since I arrived in Australia. This needs to be more of a living remotely type of thing as opposed to just traveling around and being on vacation all the time.

I think the hostel environment has a big part to play in this. In Melbourne, the hostels are very large. There are a hundred-plus people staying in the same place and the hostels are very party-centric. I feel like I am staying in a hotel or a college dorm. With a set up like that, it’s a bit more difficult to behave yourself.

When I was in New Zealand the hostels were much much smaller. It was easier to meet people that I felt were looking for the same things as me. It felt like I was staying in a home. I felt like I was living at each place I was staying in. And obviously that type of feeling helps to maintain a healthy routine.

I have to be careful when I move on to Sydney on the 17th. Just because something is available to me doesn’t mean I have to indulge in it. I don’t think the hostel scene will change very much in Sydney and it’ll be up to me to make a decision for myself. This trip is a marathon, not a sprint, and I’d like to get back to treating it that way.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty quiet nights compared to the nights prior. I was hurting pretty bad from going out four straight nights so Tuesday I slept in until pretty late. I wanted to get some things done for myself so I ventured out and did some laundry after breakfast.

On Wednesday I moved from the city center to St. Kilda which is a suburb of Melbourne located southeast of the city. It has a really good vibe to it. Very laid back, parts of it remind me of San Diego if I’m being honest.

Again, not much else to report. On Wednesday evening we went to the Victoria night market which was located in the city center. Only a twenty-minute ride from St. Kilda. The public transportation system here is pretty good actually.

We stayed at the night market for a bit, got a bite to eat there, and then we went to get a few beers afterward. I have been spending a lot of money on going out since I arrived. To be fair, it’s difficult to say no when you enjoy the company. At the end of the day, I was just happy to have another quiet night.

Yesterday (Thursday) was a bit more exciting. I spent the afternoon with a French woman that I met while I was in Te Anau. She lives here and she showed me around to a few spots around town. For the most part, we just chilled by the beach. The weather was perfect. Eighty-five degrees and few clouds in the sky.

We parted and I went back to take a nap because I had plans for later in the evening. I met up with Dana around dinner time and we headed over to a barbeque she had been invited to. She is part of the couch surfers network and she frequently goes to these types of meetups.

When we arrived no one that was a part of the group was there yet. There were a bunch of other people there and we mixed in with them. Eventually, the group grew larger until it was about fifty people drinking and eating right on the beach. It was a beautiful spot to watch the sunset. I should have taken a picture really.

Once the sun had set we moved further down the beach. Every Thursday there is a drum circle there. It was a really fun party. The drumming didn’t stop once and we were there for maybe three or four hours. Just a bunch of people dancing and hanging out on the beach enjoying a beautiful night. Hard to escape the good energy here.

We went into the water after one of the women that we were hanging out with made a cool discovery. We found that when we walked or splashed in the water the movement we created would light up. It would show as a neon blue stream of water. We looked it up and it seems there are bioluminescent algae in the water. It was a very cool sight to see.

Today I am just taking it easy again. I didn’t stay out very late last night. But it has been raining here all day and it just feels like a recovery day to me. I have not been cooking for myself so much this past week and I have to get back into doing that or else I will blow my budget for Australia out of the water.