Mardi Gras in Sydney

The weekend of March 3rd I went down to Sydney for their Mardi Gras celebration. Absolutely crazy. I hopped a two-hour train about noon on Saturday from Newcastle to Sydney with one other American girl with really no plan. We started calling trying to get a reservation at a hostel and were repeatedly turned down. Two other girls we were friends with were staying in a hostel in the Bondi Beach area, so we just figured we'd head that way until we found something. Walking around a huge city with a heavy backpack in 25 degrees isn't the ideal situation. We got some help from a concierge at a mall, and eventually, after about fifty calls, found what I believe to be the last remaining room in all of Sydney. It was located in King's Cross, the "red-light district" of Sydney. We walked around aimlessly and finally found it. Sketchiest place I've ever been in my life. Had to hang around an hour until the guy who was supposed to check us in woke up. The room was a joke. One twin bed in a bunk with a table and ancient mini-fridge below it. We bought a box of wine and went to work. We eventually ended up going out, and hitting the unique night-life of the area. The thing is, in Sydney, Mardi Gras turns into kind of a gay pride type thing haha, so there was a lot of interesting people about! It turned out to be a pretty crazy night for us, definitely acquired a few good stories. The next day I met up with the two other girls at Bondi Beach. They had met some British guys who were once again, just taking months to travel and live abroad. Bondi Beach is so sick. There had to be a thousand people there, just a beautiful beach with some incredible surroundings. We then went back to the English guys' hostel where we made these mixed fruit drinks called "pims" and pretty much took over the hostel common area and threw a party. We went out that night, definitely an eventful night once again with some ridiculous stories, and then hopped the 3:45 am train back to Newcastle, where I had just enough time to head home and shower before my morning class.
Fun facts: A glass of beer at the bars is a schooner, bottles are stubbies. "How ye goin'?" is probably the most common phrase I've heard here thus far. Bathrooms are called toilets.