Share Some Time With Me: Safe Journey Trilogy book 2

By Hugo Vaes

Share Some Time With Me - Safe Journey Trilogy book 2 tells the story of Julia Meier before she travels to Australia. It is about a dream that she wants to fulfil. She knows one day she will be able to go and travel all the way to Australia.
The story starts with Robby Henson who is then a successful hostel owner and meets Evelyn Meier, Julia’s elder sister. She meets Joe a young, tall and beautiful Dutch backpacker who has the same dream and together they will travel through Australia and Southeast Asia.
Julia Meier lives in the southwest of Holland and she works for a small supermarket near her fathers and grandmother’s apartment blocks. The job is boring and the wages are not high enough to save enough money for her future journey. She needs a better job so she can fulfil her dream.
Her life changes when she reads an ad in the papers. The ad promises her a good job in Mallorca, Spain with lots of fun and guaranteed good income. What the job doesn’t’ say is that it is a commission based income. The more she can send the more she can make.
She gives the company a call and goes to a seminar a week later. She hears about the work and applies for the job. She tells her father and her employer about her new job. They both don’t want to see her leave. She needs to convince them so she can go and give it a try.
The first two months aren’t so bad. She works hard but the job is harder than was told. She still thinks she can earn enough money so she can travel within a couple of months to Australia. Her dream comes to an abrupt end when she loses her passport and money in the north and her faith in the job.
She goes back to Holland she follows a new course what would be fruitful in the future. She learns from her sister that she bears some good news. She comes back home when Julia is helping her grand uncle and grandmother who needs her help.
The death of her mother and later in life the death of her grandmother’s sister marks the end of the life of her dear grandmother. She sees no more interest in life and starves herself to death. The path of death is a long, slow and painful one and asks too much from Julia and her family. She can’t deal with it and runs away.
Another ad in the papers is her escape to the same island where she had been before. This time she is more successful but with success comes failure. She can’t keep up with the others and after three and a half months’ time her luck is running out.
This time Julia is wiser and finds her luck with a small Dutch grill bar. She gets a job and works very hard in a kitchen what is unpractical but she manages to keep the job till the end of the season.
During her period till the end of the season the family loses grandmother who dies in the presence of her remaining daughter and grandchild and brother. Evelyn, her aunty from England and uncle are there when she dies in peace.
Evelyn starts a search party to find Julia so she can bring the sad news over to her. After the death of grandmother they learned that she was a wealthy woman and that both sister inherit a nice amount of money what would change their life.
She finds Julia in Mallorca and brings the sad news over. Julia bursts in tears. She hears her sister is a mother and is happy for her and her new life. After the long season in Mallorca she travels back on Christmas Eve and looks for work in Amsterdam. Through an agency she finds a job with a McDonalds and works for 9 months for the American fast-food company.
Three months before the end of the year and Millennium she receives her share of the heritage and she starts to plan her trip to Australia. After years of dreaming she finally can plan her dream and sees it coming through when she waits for a train that will bring her to the airport where she can board a plane that will bring her to the land of her dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hugo Vaes
• Release date: Nov 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370044924

Hugo Vaes

I am a Dutch traveller abroad writing stories based on my own life experiences in my own country and on the road.My first book - Safe Journey Trilogy - An adventure in Sydney Australia is based on my own travel experience when I lived in Sydney Australia in the year 2000. It's about friendship, relationships, travelling and life experience.I use a fictional character named Julia Meier who represents me. With all the mishaps in life and people I meet I try to express myself as a person who loves travelling, meeting others and take life as it is.

Book preview

This work is all based on my own life experiences before I went to Australia. The relationship I described between Julia and her mother and grandmother is what my relationship was with my own parents and grandparents.  

Most of the events I wrote have taken place in the period 1995 - 1999. This work is very biographical as I describe how I lost my mother and grandmother.  

I am the youngest of four children. They are all older than me and all live and work in The Netherlands. Although I don’t use them as base of my story in my heart they are always with me. 

PROLOGUE

On the wall in her living room hung a big map of a country where she hadn’t been. It was almost an obsession for her. She knew one day she would be there. Till the day would come she could only dream of the country and read many books what she kept in her book collection. Two shelves were books that were based or partly based on the land of her dreams; Australia.

The obsession for her big dream started when she saw together with her elderly sister the film ‘Crocodile Dundee’ in the cinema. Both had the same passion for the country where the film was based and shot. Both of them wanted to go to the land they both knew as Down Under. It was just a matter of who would be first to go. Who would be the first to travel to the land of their dreams?

1 WELCOME TO BONDI

Robby had no reason to complain in his life. His career as a hostel owner went well and his business was constant full. Many young backpackers loved to stay in his place as he provided more and better service than all the other did around him in Bondi. He looked at the latest copy from one of the leading travel guides; Lonely Planet. His hostel was number one in Sydney and recommended by the writers of the travel guide. That was good news for him. If backpackers read it, they would come to his place and he would make them happy while they made him rich.

Robby made his fortune for a few years as a drummer in a Seventies rock band. They were no longer together and the DJ’s in town didn't play their songs. No one remembered even the name of the band. Robby didn't care. He made his money and used it for his investment in some property in Bondi. He loved the place and his wife was from this part of Sydney. He himself was from the sunshine state Queensland.

He grew up near the sea and the water. From a very young age he learned to swim and to surf and whenever he had time he grabbed a board and went for a surf. Nowadays he didn't have much time to catch some waves at Bondi but now and then he organized some surf trips to a few friends up north in Byron Bay or even further to Surfers’ Paradise.

Valery his wife kept a close eye on his work. She did some work in the hostel but spent most of her time for the council where Bondi Beach was part of. She liked politics and was a good representative for this part of Sydney. She loved Bondi and cared about its people. The hostel was only a sideshow for her. She helped her husband as he needed someone he could trust. He adored his wife and did his best to love her. She played her game and let him play hotelier in Bondi while she was dreaming of other things.

A No.380 bus stopped not far from Lamrock Avenue on the Campbell Parade close to the beach. People left the bus and others boarded the short ride up north to North Bondi where the bus would terminate. A young woman with short spikey hair walked towards Lamrock Avenue and looked left and right for the name of a hostel where she had booked a bed for a week or so. She carried two heavy bags and was glad when she found the hostel that was close to Campbell Parade. In the street there were a few more hostels but none of them was the one she booked a bed.

Robby went through some papers when she entered the lobby of his hostel. He looked up and checked quickly the list of arrivals. He searched for a name that would match and showed a big smile to her when she finally dropped her heavy load on the floor next of his reception desk.

G’day, mate. How can I help you?

G’day, I have a reservation under the name Meier, Evelyn Meier.

Robby picked up her booking and nodded. She got her passport out of a side pocket of her travel pants and gave it to him. He checked it and inspected her visa. She had a working holiday visa so she would probably look for work. Excellent, he loved to help young travelers like her. He could help her and would search asap for a job if that was what she wanted of course.

I have a booking for two weeks but I am not sure if I will be here for two weeks.

Don’t worry about your booking. You are at the right place. I see you have a working holiday visa, am I right?

Eve nodded and ran her hand through her short bristles. She had it cut not long ago and it felt awesome. She still had to get used to her new look but it was so much better than the long hair she had before. Short hair was easier to maintain and the cut was still feminine although her barber did his best to give it a masculine look.

I don’t know how easy it is to find work in Bondi. If you can help me that would be great.

Robby pointed to a few boards that hung in the lobby of his hostel. There were other backpackers who read the many notes and some placed a new note next of an old note. Robby inspected the boards regular and removed obscene notes but allow the young travelers to share their information with others.

Let me tell you, Eve. You are in the best hostel in town. You won’t find any better place than mine. I am voted as best hostel in Sydney according to the Lonely Planet. I am their Number One hostel. I hope I even can make it as the Number One in Australia. There are a few others who are as good as mine.

Good to hear. When I booked a bed for this hostel the staff of Travelers Contact Point were talking very highly about you. They encouraged me to stay in this hostel.

Excellent choice. I do a lot of business with them. I am what you can say their embassy and I can do more than anyone else can and want to do for you.

Wow, that’s amazing.

Eve looked up and had a look around. Robby disappeared in the back where his little office was situated and grabbed a bunch of keys of some rooms he wanted to show to her. She could make a choice in which room she wanted to stay.

If you want to follow me I will take you straight away to your room. I will show you where you can find the showers and toilets and you can pick the bed that you might think would be best for you.

He took her big heavy backpack and carried with one arm. She was impressed with his strength. The bag waited more than 25 kg. and was a bit too heavy for her. He didn't mind and walked with it as if it weighted nothing. He went up the stairs and she followed him. He opened a few doors of some dorm rooms and showed them which room she wanted to stay in. Both the rooms were empty but would be soon full.

Oh, I like this room and I will have a bottom bed if you don’t mind.

No problem. I will put it in your files which room you are staying and which bed number is yours so I can’t make a mistake. Unfortunately, mistakes are made by me and others. Please forgive me if you can.

No big deal. I am glad I have arrived in this hostel.

Eve dropped her bags and followed Robby who showed her where she could find the showers and toilets. They both went back down where she received her passport after he made a few copies and paid the balance of her booking. What she didn't know and what a lot of other backpackers didn't know he was skimming them. He added a few more things on the bill and made sure no one asked him particular questions. He waved them away and said they were special charges what every other hostel also claimed.

They were only small amounts of money but with a full hostel it was a nice revenue for Robby who stashed the money in a special container where no one else had access to not even his wife who knew nothing.

In a few weeks I am going to Surfers Paradise to see an old mate. He runs a surf school so if you want to learn to surf just put your name down on this list and you can pay me later. It would be nice if you can join the others who already booked a place. It will be fun.

Oh, ok. How much do you charge for this?

Only a few hundred bucks. My friend provides accommodation meals and lots of fun on the water and on the beach. He’s a nice guy and we do this quite often.

Yes, put my name down. That would be cool. I have never surfed before and I want to do all the crazy stuff that goes around in this part of the world. Please add me to your list.

Robby wrote Eve’s name down a list of other girls. Later in the week he called his friend and arranged some flight tickets to Surfers Paradise. His friend would pick them up and keep them for a week in his hostel next of the beach close to the water. It was one of the many good things Robby did for his guests.

At least once a week he organized a barbecue. It was a typical Aussie thing with lots of beer and meet plus salads and bread. His guests loved the activities he did for them. He did so much more for his guests and was a good entertainer. People played music what he loved and he regular joined the jam sessions in the evening. He was constant in control of his hostel and his guests and kept a small list of possible trouble makers. None of them knew they were listed but he used it now and then when one of them caused a stir in his successful business.

2 EVA’S TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Julia and Eve were at Amsterdam International Airport Schiphol where Eve was about to catch her flight to Sydney Australia. The two sisters were for the last time together in Holland. It felt so strange. Eve was about to leave for a long period while Julia dreamed for a couple of years about this moment and the big trip her big sister was about to start.

They both shared the same dream but it was Eve who was the first who flew to Australia. She managed over a period of five years to save enough money for her big trip. She did all kinds of work in between her studies and asked only a few times for some help from their father. He didn't mind to help her. He knew she wanted to go. The idea of travelling to Australia all started when one film hit the cinemas in 1986; Crocodile Dundee. It was that film what changed their lives. Both girls wanted to see the rough parts of Australia. It also helped that their aunty lived for five long years in Australia before she moved back to Europe. She lived nowadays in England in East Anglia in a small village while their uncle worked full time for a big insurance company in Norwich, Norfolk.

When is your plane leaving?

In two and a half hours. I first need to check in this heavy bag and it will be a while before we will see each other.

Eve gave Julia a long warm hug and looked at the check-in terminals. She saw the one of Cathay Pacific whom she would use to fly to Sydney with a stopover in Hong Kong. It was all booked and arranged by a specialized travel agency in Alkmaar. This company provided customized packages to Australia. Their’ headquarter in Australia was in Sydney, Australia and it was part of a bigger company that started in England.

How long is your flight?

I don’t want to know, Eve replied when she checked her printed booking confirmation of her flight to Sydney. I will be in Sydney in two days. Tomorrow I will arrive in Hong Kong where I have a long stopover and from there I fly further to Sydney. I could have a stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but I want to see that country on my way back the same for Singapore. It will be a couple of years before we will see each other, my dear sis.

Julia played with Eve’s long locks of hair. She had no idea she was about to cut it off as soon as she would be in Sydney. It was one of her big things she wanted to do when she would be for a long period on the road. It was time for a new look and during this trip she could do what she always wanted to do. She didn't know anyone in Australia so she could do whatever she wanted to do with her hair for instance. A new short look was in the planning. She almost had it cut a while ago but she stopped herself. It wasn’t the time yet. She had to be a little more patient before she could change her looks.

That will go. As soon as I am in Sydney I will look for a salon and have it cut.

Julia looked at her sister and burst into laughter. She didn't believe her sister but Eve promised to send her photos of her big changeover. She had no idea how she would react when she would receive the photos but she was looking forward to them.

Yes, send me lots of photos. I want to know what I can expect when I will go to Australia.

You will, sis. You will.

Julia sighed. She wasn’t happy. She still didn't have enough money for her big trip and even if she had their father didn't allow her to travel while Eve was on the road. She had to wait when she got back before she could go. He was afraid to lose any of his kids. The death of their mother was still hard on both of them.

Well, you seem to be more optimistic than dad. He thinks I shouldn’t travel.

No, he wants you to go too but you have to need a little bit more patience. As soon as I am back it will be your time to go and you will have your adventures while I will search for mine. I have no idea what can happen and I will let you know how it was. Promise me to write. I love to hear from you and I will do my best to write you as often as I can. I will bombard you with photos and postcards that you can show to dad and grandma. I will keep them up to date so they don’t have to worry. And please, spend as much time as you can with grandma. She needs comfort. I have a bad feeling that her end is near.

I will, sis. Julia promised. I will see her on Sundays when I am off. She likes my company and she lives close to me and my work.

Oh, I forgot. Can you help uncle when he needs your help? He’s getting old and needs more help. I know you have a busy full-time job but see if you can make time for them. They love you and need you. If I didn't plan this trip I might have stayed and lived for as long as possible with them and helped them with whatever they needed from me.

I know you would, Eve. I know you.

Julia kissed her sister and waved her goodbye. Eve walked to the check-in desks of Cathay Pacific. He big backpack was just under the 20kg’s and got tagged. The check-in stewardess gave Eve her boarding cards and her passport back and wished her a pleasant flight. Eve looked back and saw Julia. She waved again and left her alone. Eve walked further on the airport and went through the first checkpoint on the airport on the departure floor. They checked her passport and her flight tickets before they let her through. She continued her walk and spent her time in the duty free zone. She left on time the zone and found the gate where a big Boeing 747-400 was waiting for the passengers on their way to Hong Kong and further destinations.

The two flights were long and boring. Eve slept most of the times and only woke up when they served the meals during the flights. The seats were hard and she had others next of her so she couldn’t stretch her legs for a comfortable sleep. Still she was on her way to her destination and she was looking forward to spend a whole year in Australia before she would travel further in Southeast Asia. She had no big plans what she would do when she would be there. She would see when she would arrive the next day. The only good thing she knew the weather was much better compare with the cold and wet weather when she left Holland.

Julia took a train back to Zealand and went straight to see her grandma. She was alone in her flat. She looked up when she saw Julia. She opened the door and made some coffee.

How’s Eve? She looked while she boiled milk for the coffee. She added the milk to two cups what already had very strong coffee on the bottom of each cup and sugar. She filled the cups with milk and gave Julia her coffee. Did you see her before she went?

Julia nodded. She walked with her coffee to the living room where grandma took a seat in her old chair.

Yes, everything went fine she should be by now a few hours in the air on her way to Australia.

Grandma showed a big smile on her old face. She knew how long those flights could be. She had been to Australia five times and she didn't like it to be so long high in the sky to the other side of the world. She was glad when her daughter announced she would start a new life and career in England. It was so much easier to see her more often.

England wasn’t so far away and there were daily ferries that went to Felixstowe from where she could be picked up at the terminal. Besides uncle had a passion for England and he knew the roads to drive faster to the place where her daughter lived instead of using constant the big motorways. He loved to drive in England where there were plenty of narrow roads with a nice view of the countryside. He had been many times in the country started in 1940. He had still a couple of old friends whom he knew from his long career in the Armed Forces. His military career started in England but ended in Holland.

Grandma looked at Julia who found the newspaper near uncle’s old chair. She started to read the paper and drank her coffee. Grandma thought again of her only living daughter in England.

I am so glad your aunty doesn’t live there anymore. Maybe it will be easy for you two then it was for me to fly to Australia. I saw it as a crime. You have no idea how hard it is to fly such a long distance. It took me days to recover from jet lag.

Julia showed a smile on her face. She wanted to travel but she didn't have money yet on her account so it was Eve who went first. She was always the first with everything. It was sometimes very annoying for Julia but so was life. She shrugged her shoulders and drank some more coffee. Grandma was so kind to give her a couple of biscuits with her cup of coffee.

Eve will be fine. She’s tough. She can handle it.

Oh, she will be. Grandma replied. Suddenly she looked outside and thought back of her times when she travelled so far to see her youngest child who lived then in Melbourne. She has too. It will knock her down. She should take it easy the first couple of days as soon as she arrives. She would be smart to stay in the hotel that she booked and sleep as much before she can do all these crazy things that she has in her mind. Why on earth does she want to do so many things, I don’t know?

Julia had to laugh. Grandma was right. She had seen plenty of young backpackers who had the same crazy ideas when they all flew to Australia when she went there to see her family. Luckily for her it was only once a year and a while ago. Nowadays she went for a month to the UK to see family. She still didn't like to travel but the ferry she took normally wasn’t so bad then flying all the way to a country where she had been only five times over the years. Nowadays she could take a cabin if she wanted so she could sleep during the night crossing or take the day boat that would arrive in the evening. The ferry crossing between Zeebrugge and Felixstowe was around 8 hours. It was an hour drive from her apartment to Zeebrugge. Once she was in England it was roughly two hours’ drive from Felixstowe to her daughter’s place what wasn’t so bad.

Uncle took her most of the times to the family where he would stay a few days before he went back after grandma was all settled with the family there. They loved to see her just as Julia. She was always very sad when grandma stayed for a month in England.

Julia was glad that grandma was at home in her apartment. She was alone and was very pleased when she had some company.

It was a strange feeling now that Eve was on her way to Australia. It was for Eve a trip of a lifetime. This was a journey she would never make again in her life so she was glad she was on her way to the land of her dreams.

The dream became reality when grandma helped her granddaughter with some money that she kept aside for her two granddaughters. The only person on earth who knew about that travel money was her mother. She knew that her two daughters when they were old enough wanted to travel and Australia was a dream for so many young people. She told grandma to put some money away on a special account so that could be used to help and support them with their dream.

A week before Eve left Holland she paid a visit to grandma when she gave Eve some of the money that was put aside for her and Julia. Eve accepted the thick envelope with money what she most likely would use as once she would be in Australia. The money would be her backup money as she hoped to find a job as soon as she found a temporary place to stay. She would open a bank account and keep her reserve money on a special account until she ran out of money. There was always a chance that she wouldn’t be so lucky with finding work but she kept faith. Australia was very popular among the so many backpackers so the chances in finding work were plenty.

Grandma kept another thick envelop ready for Julia. She knew that she wanted to go as soon as possible but she had to wait till Eve was back from her big trip before it was her turn to travel. She had to be patient. At least there was a nice sum of money waiting for Julia that she could use for her upcoming trip to Australia. It was only a matter of time when she could go. Till then she had to be patient and had to wait till her sister was back from her long journey. What no one knew their lives were about to change over the coming years. Their future would tell.

3 A BORING JOB

By the time she got home after her visit to grandma Julia was in a way a bit jealous that her sister was now somewhere in the air on her way to Australia. When she said goodbye to her sister on the International Airport of Amsterdam Schiphol International she wanted to join her. Life wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t she travel together with her sister so she could have a good time as she had when they were young. Then it wasn’t a big problem but now it was different.

She wanted to travel too but like her sister she didn't have enough money for a big trip to the land of her dreams. Eve played her cards very smart. She was always very close with their dad and asked for help. He bought her flight tickets and the working holiday visa. And if that wasn’t enough he even gave her a few thousand guilders what she could use for the first two months so she could support herself once she was