Toybox & Sydney

 I haven’t written in a fair while, obviously.  Kinda a combination of can’t-be-botheredness and part didn’t really think about it.  I’ve been in Sydney the past week and got back Wednesday.  I was meant to come back Monday but decided last minute before boarding the plane that I was gunna stay longer, because I hadn’t had the chance to catch up with my Sydney mates, and I really wanted to see them, so I told my best mate I was gunna stay, and he got on the plane without me.

I suppose I should backtrack.  The reason for the trip to Sydney was to attend Toybox, which was part of the Mardi Gras celebrations.  It was sort of like a closing celebration party the day after the afterparty, which was the night before.  A lot of people there had attended both parties.  I dunno if I could do that – party from midnight until 8am, and then party again from midday that day to 8pm.  I’d be fucked!

I had a pretty good time at Toybox.  We caught a cab there as it was easier, and just split the fare.  Walking through Luna park was pretty cool, but as it was daytime I had to wonder how they had set out this party.  i soon found out.  Unfortunately we decided not to bring our cameras because they were SO strict on no recording equipment and we didn’t really want our stuff confiscated.  So unfortuantely I only have a few pics from my crappy phone, which pretty much didn’t turn out at all.  When we got in there, it was completely dark, like a nightclub.  There were huge rooms with dancefloors and a bar in each room.  Drinks averaged for around $8 so it wasn’t too bad.  Mind you the entry fee TO the party was $135 lol, but that’s typical for a mardi gras party.  The afterparty last year I remember cost me just as much.  But this year I decided on Toybox, as I’d never been, and I wanted to find out why exactly it always sold out every year.  I soon did find that out.

My mate and I were in one of the upstairs rooms just dancing amongst all the other guys.  Pretty much every one of the thousands of guys there was shirtless.  It was a damn good perve!  My mate and I kept our shirts on though although I was really tempted to join everyone else.  I mean, it was dark and it’s not like I wouldn’t have fit in, even with my white skin lol – with the nightclub lights and all it woulda looked awesome 😛  I looked ahead to an open doorway and saw all these lights, and I said to my mate ‘What the hell is that?’  We walked into the area and it was a massive upstairs balcony with stairs leading down both sides of it, into a gigantic dancefloor FULL of dancing guys, all once again, pretty much shirtless.  Not only that, there were all different coloured lazer-lights.  If anyone was epileptic, they woulda had a seizure right there.  It was CRAZY!  I’d never seen anything like it in all my life.  I did manage to sneak a 9 second recording on my phone, but the quality is so crap there’s probably no point.  On the other hand I was standing right next to the guy who took this video so you can see what it was like.  Pretty insane stuff.

I didn’t end up staying around for the finale because I got to the stage where it all got too much for me to handle.  That many gay guys all in one place and all hooking up with each other and probably all on drugs, I just didn’t feel I fitted it anymore.  I was glad I got to experience it though and I let my mate stay and flirt with his friend, and I let myself out.  I knew that once I left I couldn’t get back in, but being out in the daylight when Luna Park was just closing up for the day felt so good, and relieving.  I found the train station and caught the train back to the hotel.  Never felt so good to just crash into the bed.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time.  It was insane.  I was there for probably about 4 or 5 hours of the 8-hour dance party.  It’s also hard for me because I work during he night, so staying awake and dancing my arse off at a daytime trance party was really exhausting!  My mate did convince me to go on the Tumbler, which was the ride dedicated to us and shut off from the rest of the park, just for thee patrons of Toybox to use.  I seriously felt like I was gunna hurl before getting on the ride, considering the amount of Barcardi Breezers I had downed at the party, let alone the Long Islands I had had the previous night and morning before going there.  I managed to hold it in though 🙂  my mate was like, ‘Don’t you dare hurl on me!’  I couldn’t promise him anything 🙂

These are the few photos I took on my mobile 🙂

So yeah that was Toybox 🙂  Definitely recommend.  Probably moreso when I’m not tired as all hell though, but hey that’s what ya get when you’re a nightshifter.

Yeah, so as I was saying, i ended up staying in Sydney cos I hadn’t gotten to see my mates, who were kinda enough to let me stay at their place for the night.  It was really good seeing them again, and I met up with my friend’s boyfriend in the city, and we went back to their place from there.  My friend got home later on that night.  His boyfriend and I went out for dinner and one of his friends joined us.  It sucks I didn’t get any photos of thethree of us, but I had a really good time and it was funny listening to their stories, and feeling slightly tipsy from the alcohol we had at the bar later on.  

Here’s some photos I took and then some I got back at the apartment.  They own the most gorgeous dog, Hugo, whom I was told is a Japanese Shitzu.

Here’s a bad red-eye over-exposed photo of me in the hotel we stayed in.  It was so tiny.  I guess I should’ve known when it was advertised as ‘Boutique’ – that’s always a dead giveaway that a place is a shoebox.  It was alright though.  The bed was comfy.

Here is my mate and I being absolute idiots just exploring the city haha.  Hadn’t done my hair at ALL – ergh lol

Now of course you can’t go to Sydney without getting the token Harbour Bridge photo.

This is the gorgeous Hugo – isn’t he adorable?  He was so excited to see me – probably cos I gave him food.  he kept climbing on top of me when I was trying to watch TV, was hilarious.

I love this one

 
Here’s me and my friend 🙂

Him and Hugo 🙂

That’s all the photos I got – but oh well, I’m back down in June so I’ll be sure to get more then.

I caught a cab to the airport the next day to catch my flight with Tiger airlines.  I scored an $8 flight online back to the Gold Coast, and I figured I could make my way home from there.  Problem was my mate was stuck late at a meeting and even though I got there early in the cab, they wouldn’t let me on the flight because they have strict rules about being there 2 hours before flight departure.  It didn’t make ANY sense to me, but my mate explained the Tiger have no power over the other airlines, and therefore have stricter rules.  So, that was twice I’d been at the airport and hadn’t gone anywhere.  Thankfully my mate came and picked me up, and we went to Bondi for dinner, which was yummy, and back to the apartment.  I felt like I was overstaying my welcome, but I was very thankful for their wonderful hospitality.  I couldn’t ask for better friends.  My mate gave me a lift to the airport the following afternoon and I caught a Qantas flight back, which was good cos they give you free food, even though I only had a quiche, which isn’t my favourite food in the world, but I wasn’t being too fussy.  So yeah I’m really looking forward to heading back down in June, so I need to save up so I can do some more fun stuff when I get down there 🙂

Yeah I’m still alive – I’ll just have to try to write more often.