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Reports

During my travels, I received free accommodation for a night in exchange for writing a daily travel diary. This diary documented how I reached my next destination, the hosts who welcomed me, the food I was offered, and other experiences along the way. Below, you will find the archives of these extensive reports. Please note that English is not my native language, and most entries were written quickly, often around midnight. Enjoy!
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Sunday, 11 August 2002
St. Kilda --> Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia

After last night’s chilling around, I didn’t really sleep out that long this morning. I thought I’d be beaten! However I was present at the 10 o’clock Sunday Breakfast at the Enfield House Backpackers, which means pancakes!

It was around noon when I said goodbye to the crew of the hostel. My next host in Melbourne was picking me up at the front door and took me along to the southeastern suburb of Beaumaris, where he lives with his wife and two kids.

It was Menno, who originates from the Netherlands. After living four years in Malaysia, the family ended up in Melbourne. Just recently Menno got sacked from the IT-industry, but he isn’t that worried about a next job. “I am the man of the house now, my wife Marian works and I take care of the house. It worry about getting another job, I am not sure if I really want that,” he laughs as we drive south.

Beaumaris is situated some 20km southeast of the city centre of Melbourne. The entire metropolis of Melbourne reaches out all the way to the mountains in the northeast and the same distance to the other direction. Melbourne is big and I have many invites here, but not much time left.

We pull over along the road for a photo shooting of the Melbourne skyline and me. “After two years in Malaysia, I started a new job in Australia. Melbourne reminded us of home in The Netherlands, where it is often rainy and wet,” Menno tells me.

At their home in the quiet suburb I meet up with mother Marian and son Jop, who immediately became my personal butler after his parents prepare me a little lunch. Their second son Daan was out skiing (!) at Mount Buller, just three hours driving from Melbourne.

Today was a great day for a walk along the beach, to walk the dog and to get some fresh air in the hair, so I was taken along for an afternoon walk. “That’s also good for your back, Ramon.”

Back at the house I settle myself in a living room in the back of the house where the couch becames my fold-out-bed for the night.

Since my arrival in Melbourne I had not been able to write and publish the Wayward-reports of the previous days. I had over 300 photographs of the last few days and a head full of stories to write. Menno and Marian totally understood my situation and left me with my laptop to let me do the necessary updates at their place.

In the kitchen Menno is being the cook, as he mostly takes care for most of the in-house jobs. Marian tells me about her job, as she is a journey therapist at a company called Human Nature. Indeed, I was like: a what?

If you have a problem, like a phobia or some unsolved family disturbance, journey therapy can take you back to the roots of the problem. By going in a sort of a trance together with the therapist, you actually dig into your own mind to see where the problem started, who is involved and how you can take away that problem by understanding it more and more.

Where a psychiatrist analyses your mind by talking and making you talk, a journey therapist travels with you down the line. It sounded fascinating to me, but also a bit scary. I don’t have many problems, but digging into that troubled mind of mine could give an incredible headache to the therapist, I'd say so!

During dinner at the kitchen table we chat about my travels and the things I have learned along them. The family is very intrigued by the fact that it is actually all working out fine with me and this internet project. Almost too good!

Menno stumbled onto my website only a few months ago. He was looking for a new laptop for himself and searched for a good one through a search engine. And suddenly, between all the search results: there was this crazy letmestayforaday.com website. And he decided to invite me over. “We know how good it is to be helped out by other people while travelling, so why wouldn’t we help you out a bit?”

(more tomorrow)

Good night Beaumaris!

Ramon.

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