Mother nature did her best to upset my nights sleep on the bus. She treated us to an almighty firework display. With bright lights flashing and rain lashing on the windows, there was no chance of sleep. What with the fireworks and the bumpy roads, it made for a very uncomfortable start to the journey.
After Savannah (Georgia) the roads got better, but we were joined by a Japanese girl who insisted on talking on her phone at very high volumes. When she was told to shut up she eventually did, but she couldn't do anything to stop the bells on her bag from clanging. She really thought that through. Not even Robbie Williams on my CD Player could drown out the din.
She got off at Jacksonville (Florida) at 3.00 am, but my torment wasn't over. Air Con man joined me in my seat. Almost as soon as we got going he shouted at the driver to switch on the Air Con. He then proceeded to point both the blowers at me whilst he went off to sleep. I was sitting by the window so I had cold air blowing up the window too. In short I was gibbering, so I pointed the blowers at him and tried to go to sleep. He woke up and pointed them back at me and so the game continued all the way to Orlando (Florida). I would have taken him out, but he was bigger than me (who isn't) and he was probably a convict (knowing my luck).
Tonights journey also had an element of confusion. The route I got off the internet, suggested that I changed at Ocala (Florida), but the driver insisted that I'd be quicker to change at Jacksonville. Sure enough he was right. I arrived in Orlando 5 hours before I was due to. However Orlando isn't Kissimmee (Florida) and Kissimmee is where my accomodation is. I had to wait 5 hours in the terminal to catch the same bus that I would have caught anyway. At least I had a nice comfortable and peaceful terminal to get some sleep in. I duly did before eventually making the 40 minute transfer to Kissimmee.
From downtown Kissimmee I decided to walk to the hostel. Well, it didn't look that far on the map. The hostel is the Palm Lakefront Resort and Hostel, 4840 West Irlo Bronson Highway. When I joined the Highway I was confronted by more fast food joints and hotel chains than you can ever imagine. The first number I saw was 110, but they seemed to be rising rapidly. And rise rapidly they did until about 4000 when they practically stopped, as did my energy. In the end it took me 3 hours of walking, with my backpack on in the mid day sun.
When I eventually rocked up at the hostel I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a former motel that was takeng over by Hostels International, who have subsequently sold on to a former employee, Aaron, about 2 months ago. It's got all you need, it's clean and it only costs $15 a night for a bunk in a 6 bed dorm. Some people actually call this resort home.
There were no other guests about when I arrived so I went in search of cheap Disney tickets. I quickly discovered that there are no cheap tickets to the theme parks. There are lots of people that offer cheap tickets, but they are all linked to times shares. Basically a ticket to a park is gonna cost you around $50 (that's the budget gone). In the end I didn't buy any tickets and decided to seek some advice from my fellow hostellers.
When I got back to the room I met Romford man who concurred that you can't get cheap tickets, unless you're female and offer sexual favours. I had a good chat with Romford man who is on his homeward leg having spent 11 months in Oz. I haven't got a clue what his name is, but he's a happy hammer and seems alright. He told me that we were sharing the dorm with another chap.
I was knackered so I hit the sack. At about 23.30 the third man arrived with a big black dog. I thought this a trifle strange, but rolled over and went to sleep.
