First Impressions of Darwin

Now don't get me wrong - I'm all for debauchery, but at first I thought Darwin was HORRIBLE. I wrote my thoughts stated here when I had just got back to my room after sitting on the pavement for an hour because some dumbass set the fire alarm off by smoking in their room. That time I spent on the pavement really created a strong first image of the town.

The first thing I noticed about Darwin was the difference in the type of backpacker. Where before it had always been more female, all my age, and very chatty, now it was predominantly male, thirties - think builder tan, the kind of tattoos you would expect to find on a sailor, tank tops, and a general look of someone you do not want to mess with - this was the main kind of inhabitant of Darwin, so it seemed. Most people appeared to be workers and stuck to their already formed friendship groups.

So I decided to have a look around town to see if Darwin had anything better to offer. It didn't, to put it simply. It was however the first time an Aborigine person spoke to me, previously they have remained very secluded. He was very friendly, and I felt kinda bad that I didn't have the cigarette he asked for.

Back to the hostel and Darwin's scummyness: As I was cooking dinner, I soon learnt that the nobs for the hobs weren't working - it was a case of some being permanently on and some being permanently off! Fair enough, as long as I could still get my dinner cooked I didn't care too much at that point, but it did cross my mind that places get shut down for less fire hazards!

Shortly after this, though thankfully after I'd finished my dinner (otherwise I would have been going no where!) the fire alarm goes off. So everyone leaves the building in what must have been the most lethargic evacuation of all time and the fire brigade comes. I overheard some of the more permanent residents complain about how this happens every night. From observing some of the people in the street however I learnt that three more days here was probably three more days too much (so I thought at the time). It was half nine in the evening, some people that had miraculously made it out the hostel were passed out on the pavement, some lying in the road even, with the traffic being diverted round them! Others were falling about all over the place and trying to drag the unconscious bodies down the street. As I said earlier, I'm all for debauchery, but overhearing people's conversations pushed me into the understanding of the place: "When I was last arrested....", "Oh yeah, this guy who the police tasered the other night....", "When I was charged with assault the other week....", "Who are those guys on the other side of the road? Do you think they want to fight?...."

First impressions of Darwin: This was a city of nothing to do, nothing to see, and full of annoying, scummy people. A bit of a dump, to say the least..... I ended up having a hell of a lot of fun in the end!