First Sample of Australian Culture and I Was Impressed

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There was a great crowd on the bus south, except for the fact that the Japanese guy beside me had a bit of a personal hygiene problem. Luckily, he got off the bus at 2.00am literally in the middle of nowhere, which had the added bonus that I had two seats and was able to lie down to sleep. After a while travelling on the buses, you learn that they tend to fill the bus from the front, so if you ask for a seat at the back, there is a good chance that you will get two seats and hence a more comfortable night's sleep. No matter how comfortable it may be, getting a good night's sleep on a single seat is not easy. Once the bus starts moving, people from the front will check the back for empty seats. As you are already there, an empty seat beside you will be yours by default.

So my Travel Tip number 5 is "Always sit at the back of buses".

After finding a guesthouse, a girl I met on the bus and I were walking round the Museum of South Australia when who should we bump into but Alan and Mike, also soaking in some culture. It's strange, and a bit sad, that in England it's very rare that we would go to a museum or art gallery, but when travelling we couldn't get enough of them. We could spend hours looking round and enjoy every minute of it. I can say, but with virtually no authority, that Australian museums and art galleries are the best in the world.

There was tonnes to do in Adelaide, but I basically couldn't be bothered. No insult to Adelaide intended, but I had been on my feet since Darwin and I knew that the moment I arrived in Melbourne I would want to throw all my energy into looking for a job. I would come here again later (see Going It Alone), but for now it was my chance to slob.

Adelaide was my first taste of the cold weather that I had left the tropics for. In many ways this was quite depressing, but it did mean a dammed good night's sleep, wrapped in blankets rather than lying on top of the bed covered in sweat, getting eaten by an assortment of insects. I followed this good night's sleep by a lazy day of doing next to nothing.

There were loads of people who I knew from my various bus journeys in the terminal building, all trying to keep warm and all regretting leaving the tropics. Unfortunately, my trick with the seats didn't work on the journey to Melbourne as the bus was packed.

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Photos

Festival Hall
The Adelaide Festival Hall