18th August 2012

‘Ed? Are you alive?’

Mark shook me awake and as I murmured ‘I’m sexy and I know it‘ Mark gave me an extremely tired look with pillow marks on the side of his face and dried drool at the corner of his mouth. Then I lifted up my head, hair matted on one side and immediately regretted it. My friends, I am hungover. I felt like a hundred elephants were sitting on my head. Mark looked the same and he crawled back to his bed. We had been out in Sydney last night and didn’t get back until very late or early that morning.

I reached over and checked the time, it was nearly noon. Damn. As I surveyed the hostel room, I was glad only Mark and I were the only ones left in this 16 bed room so this meant for a peaceful nap.

‘Mark….MARK!‘ I shouted out to him, he winced at my voice and grunted. ‘Bondi?’

Our plan to visit Bondi Beach today possibly didn’t look good or to be fulfilled.

‘gnnnnn, no…‘ Mark replied weakly.

Agreeing, I opened my iPad and searched the Internet for good deals for holidays in Greece, I need a holiday when I get back frm my travels.

An hour later whilst searching flights to Rhodes, Mark stumbled out and reminded me of the Rugby Match later on that we were going to see. This, I immediately brightened up!

It’s been a great dream of mine to watch the All Blacks play in the stadium I would be spectating from. Wait, you may stop me…isn’t the All Blacks New Zealand and why are you supporting them in Australia? Therein lies my dark secret, I’m an ozzy turncloak when it comes to rugby. Bring on the All Blacks to crush the Australian Wallabies!

As Mark and I surfaced out of the hostel many hours later, we jumped on the train to the Olympic Park after being heavily mocked by the ticketing officer. We walked up to the ticket desk at the train station and asked for 2 tickets to Olympic Park. The woman looked at us coolly and then replied with ‘have you ever read a marriage license?‘ mark and I exchanged puzzled looks….what? The woman sighed heavily and told us in a patronising voice that the tickets we bought for the game also includes public transport to and from the stadium. Oh! Well, we didn’t know that. Patronisingly thanking her back, we muttered dark curses on the woman until halfway across the station, Mark suddenly exclaimed as he looked at the game tickets,

‘oh! It says that!’

Then I changed the recipient of my dark curses.

After a long train journey when mark and I argued who the pretty girl was looking at only to walk off with her rugby boyfriend, we surfaced and took in the atmosphere that was absolutely electric and buzzing ready for the game ahead.

Time for photo of the both of us with the stadium behind us. You can tell how hungover we looked lol.

Admitting defeat as we entered inside, we decided to treat our ever presence hangovers with the ‘hair of the dog’ by purchasing a few pints each. Soon, the stadium roared as the rugby teams entered the pitch and both of us watched with glee as the All Blacks did the Haka.

Then we all decided to do a Mexican wave!

Throughout the match, I boomed my voice in support of the All Blacks and kept jumping up and down thinking they were going to score a try.

I absolutely enjoyed the night and very much enjoyed that the All Blacks won the game! I had to stop myself from grabbing an All Blacks shirt and parade it in front of the ozzies…that’s wouldn’t have been too smart no.

But as we left, both Mark and I felt different…we realised…our hangovers were gone!

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