Quit my job and had 9 days left before I head to Bali. Where do you go? I wanted sunshine, surf, fun beach bars, and accommodations at $30 per night. One ticket to Byron Bay! If your from Australia you know about Byron but if your not then here's what a typical week looks like in this hippy beach town.
Arrived on Saturday at Aquarius Backpackers. My hostel had 16 rooms, each room is double-level and sleeps 10 per room. I claim a bed, put on board shorts, and begin screwing my fins into my board. I'm greeted by 3 girls traveling together who want to go surfing too but they have job interviews today at a local pub and can't go. I walk out the door and 5 minutes later I'm on the beach! The sun is blazing, the waves are pumping, and the beach is scattered with a mix of surfers, stoned hippies, and travelers from all over the world. It's exactly what I wanted! I paddle out and spend the next 3 hours taking wave after wave until I'm completely surfed out and starving for a burger.
Walking back to Aquarius I run into the girls from my hostel. They got the job at Cocomangas! The girls give me a few cookies and I promise to meet them at Cocomangas later. Back at my hostel I grab a beer and a burger and meet a guy named Rafael traveling from Brazil. The bar in my hostel is sweet! Yes a bit over the top and later I learned it use to be ranked the #1 bar in Byron with all day $3.80 beers! Slowly the bar fills up and moves into an aggressive bar crawl through town. And yes we always ended our night at Cocomangas!
Wake up at 7:30am with a pounding headache. Eat a banana, chug some water, grab my surfboard and run to Rafael's room. This guy is so hungover all he can do is give me a fist pound and mumble the words 'I met a girl. She was crème de la crème.' I laugh at him and he goes back to sleep. Day 2 is very similar to Day 1 with an earlier start time. Here is what Day 2 all the following days looked like:
8am Morning Surf
11am Nap on Beach
12pm Chicken Burger or Burrito lunch
2pm Beer in hostel bar/meet new people
3pm Afternoon surf with Rafael and Jenny
5pm Swap stories on the beach about why we left home
7pm Beer in hostel bar/meet new people
9pm-3am Bar crawl, dancing, karaoke, pizza, etc.
(wake up, rinse & repeat...)
My buddy Nick showed up on Day 3 which meant things escalated even further. Nick quit his job the same week as me and this was our week to party, surf, and escape reality. By the end of the week our surfing group expanded to: Nick, David, Rafael, Jenny, and myself! Solid group! We did nothing but surf, eat, and party at Cocomangas! If you ever go to Byron please take my advice and stay at Aquarius Backpackers, you'll have the best week of your life!
Arrived on Saturday at Aquarius Backpackers. My hostel had 16 rooms, each room is double-level and sleeps 10 per room. I claim a bed, put on board shorts, and begin screwing my fins into my board. I'm greeted by 3 girls traveling together who want to go surfing too but they have job interviews today at a local pub and can't go. I walk out the door and 5 minutes later I'm on the beach! The sun is blazing, the waves are pumping, and the beach is scattered with a mix of surfers, stoned hippies, and travelers from all over the world. It's exactly what I wanted! I paddle out and spend the next 3 hours taking wave after wave until I'm completely surfed out and starving for a burger.
Walking back to Aquarius I run into the girls from my hostel. They got the job at Cocomangas! The girls give me a few cookies and I promise to meet them at Cocomangas later. Back at my hostel I grab a beer and a burger and meet a guy named Rafael traveling from Brazil. The bar in my hostel is sweet! Yes a bit over the top and later I learned it use to be ranked the #1 bar in Byron with all day $3.80 beers! Slowly the bar fills up and moves into an aggressive bar crawl through town. And yes we always ended our night at Cocomangas!
Wake up at 7:30am with a pounding headache. Eat a banana, chug some water, grab my surfboard and run to Rafael's room. This guy is so hungover all he can do is give me a fist pound and mumble the words 'I met a girl. She was crème de la crème.' I laugh at him and he goes back to sleep. Day 2 is very similar to Day 1 with an earlier start time. Here is what Day 2 all the following days looked like:
8am Morning Surf
11am Nap on Beach
12pm Chicken Burger or Burrito lunch
2pm Beer in hostel bar/meet new people
3pm Afternoon surf with Rafael and Jenny
5pm Swap stories on the beach about why we left home
7pm Beer in hostel bar/meet new people
9pm-3am Bar crawl, dancing, karaoke, pizza, etc.
(wake up, rinse & repeat...)
My buddy Nick showed up on Day 3 which meant things escalated even further. Nick quit his job the same week as me and this was our week to party, surf, and escape reality. By the end of the week our surfing group expanded to: Nick, David, Rafael, Jenny, and myself! Solid group! We did nothing but surf, eat, and party at Cocomangas! If you ever go to Byron please take my advice and stay at Aquarius Backpackers, you'll have the best week of your life!
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