I was happy to get my wallet back with all my important papers, even if my money was gone. Sure enough it was turned in by a taxi cab driver, and he took all my money. The first thing I did was head to the R & R Center and see if someone turned it in. I reached into my back pocket and my wallet was missing. The next day when I was getting ready to go back downtown the unthinkable happened. I believe he was from Michigan, but chose not to discuss it because he would probably never return. They were expecting a baby, and I learned he was a GI that went to Sydney on R & R, met his wife to be and failed to return to Vietnam (AWOL). Her friends were a young married couple that looked to be in their early twenties. We pulled up in front of an older two story house, paid the cab driver and went inside.
In Sydney, they drove on the left side of the road (which freaked me out) and apparently had no speed limits. That was my first ride in a civilian vehicle in over eight months and what a ride it was. The young lady and I caught a cab and headed to the house owned by her friends. She talked me into staying the week in a house close to Bondi Beach with some of her friends at half the price of the hotel… As I was leaving the hotel I was approached by a young lady that offered me a better deal. King’s Cross is where the night life was supposed to be, so I checked into a hotel in that area of the city with-in walking distance of the hot spots. I still had to find a place to stay for the week.
WHISKEY A GO GO MOD
I walked out looking like a ‘Hippie’ on the TV program “The Mod Squad” and a hundred bucks lighter. My first stop was a clothing store, and they definitely saw me coming. There we were briefed on what Sydney had to offer GIs for the next seven days. Upon arrival in Sydney, we were bussed from the airport to the United States R & R Center in the King’s Cross section of the city.