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Anyone who travels for longer than a month knows about backpacker burnout. When I travelled Europe for six weeks after graduation, I became burned out after about four weeks. I was changing cities every two or three days and the pace of travel was very hectic.

Each city has its own idiosyncrasies and the stress of trying to find accommodation in an unfamiliar place surrounded by people who may not speak the same language adds up quickly. At the end of my fourth week, I spent three solid days in Berlin playing cards at my hostel.

On this trip, I had a plan to prevent burnout. I was going to move slowly, devoting at least four days to most of the cities I visited. At least once per week I was going to have a rest day where I would do no sight seeing or any other tourist activity. This plan carried me through half of my trip but when I got to Japan I realized I was going to need a holiday from my holiday.

I had originally planned a month long stay in Estonia as part of my travels. I wanted to get away from the backpacking scene and immerse myself in the local culture. My trip got delayed slightly so I put off my break until I got to Australia. I had met so many people from Melbourne during my travels that I felt very comfortable staying there.

I arrived in Melbourne just as the Formula 1 championships were getting started. I stayed in a nightmare hostel the first night, actually the dirtiest hostel I’ve seen anywhere in the world. I quickly moved to the YHA which, while having less character, is absolutely spotless. I stayed there for a week while doing some apartment hunting. The best way to find an apartment in London or Australia is Gumtree. I finally found a place in the CBD across the street from the Exchange Hotel. The location was great and I had my own room with an ensuite bathroom.

I decided to jump into the salsa scene while I was in Melbourne. I quickly ended up doing group classes three or four times a week and private lessons on the weekend. The work really paid off. By the end of the month I was comfortable doing level 3 classes, I could easily pick up the rhythm from most of the songs we used, and I knew how to lead. I was told by several experienced dancers that my progress was very rapid, but I think I would need several more months before I could really dance smoothly and unconsciously.

My time was well spent on salsa as I avoided doing any sort of tourist activity. No sightseeing, no walking tours, and I even stopped drinking alcohol for about three weeks. I spent most of my time just socializing with people, reading books and hanging out about the city. I found it very easy to meet people in Melbourne, and I am looking forward to showing them a good time when they visit me in the future.