Brisbane
Trip Start
Dec 30, 2007
1
46
Trip End
Jul 14, 2008
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Friday, June 6, 2008
At Singapore I therefore needlessly wade through customs and pick up my luggage, just so I can visit the Singapore Airlines desk and get an 'Electronic Visa'. It takes 5 minutes and costs me an unjustified amount of money. Then it's check in time once more and back through security. At the Aussie end I'm treated as some sort of criminal (historical payback perhaps?), they don't quite seem to get what I could have been doing in China for so long. Visiting drug lords perhaps? Recruiting an army of Triads? The contents of my bag get thoroughly rifled through. Luckily they didn't open the side pocket where I'd stashed a family of illegal immigrants. I jest, it all seemed a little full on but they were nice enough about it all.
That night I headed for a hostel in Brisbane that Si had booked online for me. I found it without much trouble, checked in and then went to the bar. Here I ended up talking to some Danish lads and we went out for a beer in town, where I was repeatedly asked for ID. They're incredibly strict and won't even serve you a beer if they think you're drunk. This leads to cloak and dagger drinking strategies, i.e don't have any fun when the barman or bouncer are looking.
The next day I arranged to meet Annie at the train station near the Gold Coast. I had no idea until this point how far it was between the Gold Coast and Brisbane! I was then whisked away to the luxury of the Rettie abode where I was spoiled rotten for the next 4 days. This was the first time I'd seen family since Emma came out to visit me in China and it was a very welcome break from travelling. I slept and ate a great deal. Pies, cooked breakfasts, pizza, roast dinners, the works. I'd even been fortunate enough to arrive for a long weekend as the Aussies were celebrating the Queens birthday (ironic that we don't get a day off for it eh?), so I was treated to a full sightseeing tour. We went for a walk on the nearby hills, visited an Aussie-animal zoo, walked along the coast to Surfers Paradise and had a pretty comprehensive tour of the local marinas and housing estates (my thanks to Andrew the tour guide). These estates are not to be confused with the British variety as they have boats, canals and massive houses (but tragically a distinct lack of style!). I even had an induction into the world of the Wii, where I was thoroughly thrashed by Charlie.
One of the biggest differences between Australia and the UK that I noticed was the focus on sport. They're sport mad. There are swimming pools and leisure centres everywhere. Both Lauren and Charlie train (quite intensively) for swimming competitions and by the sounds of it are rather good. I may book ahead for the 2016 olympics.
