I stayed at Bunk Backpackers in Brisbane. It is a party hostel so take that for what it’s worth. The bar was packed every night with locals and tourists alike. On the weekend it was especially rowdy. Bunk seems to be popular with the locals looking to meet someone new so don’t be surprised if you run into more Aussies than travelers.
Aside from the bar, the place is alright, it could use some updating and a good deep cleaning. I stayed in an 8-bed mixed dorm for the first couple of nights and the shower room was less than ideal. There was some pretty serious mold growing on the ceiling. I later stayed in a 4-bed female dorm and the bathroom was practically sparkling. The 4-bed female dorm was CRAMPED though as the top bunkmate there was zero room for my bags so they ended up in an awkward corner fairly in the way. The 8-bed mixed room had a bit more space but not much. It is in a fabulous location though, minutes from bus stops going all over the city. As well as within walking distance from great bars and restaurants.
Day 1
The day started off pretty bad/weird. At 3 am I woke up to my bottom bunkmate having sex with some girl. The bunk beds were shaking and squeaking quite loudly. Are you kidding me?! Is what I should have said but it was awkward and I’m not very confrontational so instead, I started moving around a lot hoping that they would pick up on the fact that I was awake any move somewhere else, like the bathroom like a normal person!
I know this is the risk I take staying in hostels but I feel like there are a general set of rules about this kind of thing. If you’re going to have sex in a shared room you go to the bathroom, I couldn’t care less if you want to have sex on your trip we all do just don’t wake up other people over it!
Thankfully they did take the hint and moved to the bathroom for a little bit and then they were back ugh. I guess they moved to her bed after because they weren’t back for long. Thank god. Needless to say when I woke up for the day I wasn’t exactly in the best mood but I had a lot of exciting things on the agenda so I just kinda put that out of my mind and completely ignored the people in the bed below me.
As of earlier this year, I became vegan but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy food anymore, it just makes finding good food even more challenging. Brisbane was full of amazing options for herbivores and omnivores alike!
My very first stop was at the Piggy Back Café, now this is a good hour-long bus ride in each direction from fortitude valley but they make rainbow coffee there and as a barista, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it. Thankfully they do have alternative milk, I got my rainbow coffee with almond milk and it was still just as gorgeous. Personally, I found the food coloring to add a slight flavor that wasn’t for the better but it did make for a gorgeous photo!
The Piggy Back Café does have plenty of options for food as well if you’re hungry, their prices are a little high for café food in my opinion so I skipped on the food for my visit.
While I just went vegan this year I’ve been vegetarian for a year and a half so when I saw that there was an all vegan burger place I had to go! I hadn’t had a good burger since going meat-free so I had high hopes for VeganBurgz. They exceeded my expectations, and being an American those standards are pretty high for burgers! The classic “cheese” burger was delicious, I got it on a Matcha bun, apparently, weirdly colored food was my theme for the day.
After lunch, I decided to spend my afternoon on my own little brewery tour. Coming from New England I’m pretty spoiled when it comes to good craft beer, so whenever I travel I try to check out the local beers. Brisbane happens to have quite a few craft breweries! I found 3 that were within walking distance from each other and set off on my brewery tour.
They were all in New Farm and within walking distance from the hostel, how convenient. My first stop was Newstead Brewing Company. They had a good selection on tap but the set up was kind of awkward alone. The whole place is open seating which is great but there’s no real bar. To me sitting at a table drinking alone just feels a bit uncomfortable. I got their porter, 21 feet 7 inches is the name, it was good but not mind-blowing.
Next stop the Green Beacon which was just about a block away. The bartender there was super friendly. He gave me a quick rundown of their beers and suggested one from their newest line of barrel aged beer. Yum, don’t mind if I do. The bartender recommended their Chardonnay Barrel-Aged cherry raspberry sour that was absolutely perfect.
The sour was crisp and refreshing but not overly tart. A fantastic beer for a warm Friday evening.
Being a dark beer drinker I had to try their American Oak Barrel-Aged brown. This beer was much more in my realm of comfort. This beer just felt warm and inviting, so I stayed for several hours talking to the Aussie next to me.
It was funny to me how this guy who had spent his whole life in Australia had never seen the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing how the Great Barrier Reef was my whole reason for flying 22 hours to Australia I would have thought a 3-hour flight would be worth it to most people to see such an incredible sight. But then again I’ve lived within 3 hours of New York City my entire life and have only been a handful of times. I suppose when we live so close to these amazing sights they lose their sparkle. We take for granted that they will always be right there.
Range Brewing was supposed to be my third stop but after 2 beers at Green Beacon I was feeling a little tipsy and very tired so I decided to head back to the hostel. It was only about a 20-minute walk, in the cool night air it was quite refreshing. By the time I got back to the hostel, I had convinced myself to go to the hostel bar for my free drink at 8. It would be nice to meet some other travelers.
I didn’t end up meeting any travelers. I did, however, meet 3 people from Brisbane, Peter, Ashley, and Rachel. They were young, probably 18 or 19 and fascinated with me being from America haha. Bunk has live music on the weekends, the guy who was singing on Friday night was not only super talented but also adorable! Hmm, maybe it would be my lucky night!
The 3 from Brisbane hadn’t come together which I hadn’t realized until the 2 girls disappeared. Peter had come hoping to dance so shortly after we hit up the dance floor. Neither of us are good dancers but we were both having fun and ultimately that’s all that matters.
I felt a little out-of-place though like I wasn’t young enough or pretty enough to be there. On several occasions , I was pushed out-of-the-way to make room for younger girls and honestly that hurt. I just reminded myself that their opinion of me does not determine my value and proceeded to dance.
Towards the end of the night I asked a guy to dance with us, he ended up being a pretty nice guy. He was originally from Italy but had been living in Australia for a few years. We talked for a while, I ended up going home with him. It wasn’t anything write home about though, it just felt kinda awkward and I went home pretty much immediately.
Day 2
I got home at 6 am so I slept until around 11. The jet lag was starting to kick in, the first day was too exciting for me to really be tired. It was rainy and kinda crappy out all day so I ended up spending the day doing research in between naps. I deserved a day of rest right?! I felt a little guilty wasting a day but I needed to refresh from all the traveling and just distress from life back home.
I went out for lunch to Tea Master Café which was a 2-minute walk from the hostel. It’s a vegetarian café with very clearly labeled vegan dishes. I got sesame noodles which were delicious. I don’t quite know how anyone manages to eat noodles with chopsticks! I tried my best but I mainly made a mess.
That evening I decided to go back down to the hostel bar and see if there was anyone exciting to talk to. I ended up talking to a guy from Brisbane who was staying at the hostel for a few days in-between apartments. He was very talkative and friendly but almost pushy. He just seemed too into me? He wasn’t taking the hint that I didn’t feel the same so I decided to call it a night. He walked with me and at the elevator, he awkwardly asked if he could kiss me. I said no which was super awkward but I just wasn’t into him like that.
The next day I headed up to Cairns but at the end of my trip I had another day in Brisbane so day 3 in Brisbane was actually a couple of weeks later.
Day 3
I stayed at Bunk again because I was already familiar with the area and figured to optimize my time it would be helpful to know where things were. I stayed in a female dorm this time which was much better than the mixed dorm I had stayed in previously.
Bunk does offer a basic breakfast of bread/toast peanut butter, jelly, and cereal nothing fancy but it’s free. I checked out at 10 dumped my stuff in the luggage storage and went out to enjoy my final day in Australia. I had found an all-vegan bakery/café called Veganyumm and headed that way. It’s a bit out of the city so the bus only goes that way once an hour which was a little inconvenient but there is a bus stop practically across the street from it.
I ordered a flat white, the Australian drink of choice, with almond milk and a “chicken” and cheese toastie. I find it a little weird when vegan food is called meat, why are we calling it chicken? It’s not but anyway, they had a bunch of pastries as well including a whole gluten-free case. I figured I would start with the toastie and grab some pastries to go.
The flat white was tasty but for whatever reason, I didn’t find the coffee in Australia to have as much flavor as coffee in the United States. The “chicken” and cheese toastie was good as well, it had a pesto spread that was really nice. I loaded up on pastries before I left, I did have 24 hours of traveling coming up I needed snacks. I got a walnut brownie that was thick and fudge-like easily my favorite of the 3 pastries I got. I got a slice of carrot cake and a donut as well. The carrot cake was good but a little dense and the frosting on it was way too sweet for my liking. The donut was pretty good even the next morning on my flight.
I had a couple of souvenirs left to buy so I headed to Queen Street to stop into Australia the Gift. As it turns out Queen Street is a huge shopping area. Shops line both sides of the street with everything from clothing to Apple Products and everything in between. There are several souvenir shops in the area as well if you need to pick up some gifts.
There’s even a Lush Beauty store there if you need to stock up on sustainable vegan products for your travels. I switched over to shampoo bars about a year ago and I love them. They make my hair feel really healthy and soft and they’re good for the environment. I buy mine off of Etsy but I’ve heard a lot of great things about the ones from Lush as well. I did get a sample of toothpaste tabs and so far I’m a fan! They do take a bit of getting used to but after a couple of uses you’ll work out the kinks!
I still had a couple of hours before my shuttle so I decided to walk along story bridge over to Kangaroo Point. It was a beautiful view of Brisbane! I’m so glad that I decided to take the walk. Bunk hostel is literally a 5-minute walk from Story Bridge and maybe 20 minutes from Kangaroo Point. I walked around in James Warner Park and CT White Park it was really nice and peaceful. It also offered great views of the river and downtown Brisbane.
I sat and watched as a couple of people walk down the cliffs of Kangaroo point, it looked a little intimidating as someone who doesn’t enjoy heights but if I’m ever back in Brisbane I just might give it a try.
