Briefly Brisbane

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21st March 2005.
Brisbane, Australia.

Am so glad I decided to spend first night of Big Adventure in Brisbane. Everything is unfamiliar but still Australian, still understandable. Spent yesterday and most of today with Jessie G, my old school pal, who's a Brisbanite, wandering about the city. The public transport system puts Cairns to shame. I don't think you can go three minutes without spotting a bus going somewhere, and when one was actually five minutes late there was a lot of consternation amongst the locals, whereas in Cairns we pretty much plan our schedules around the guarantee that the bus' will be late.

We stayed the night in a house-cum-backpacker hostel I found on the net, pretty nice with pool and all for only $20 each, but we didn't get in (after original check-in) until after midnight, so did not spend much actual time there. I've discovered quickly the folly of last-minute packing......I think my shoulders are completely done for.
Had to stay up til 3am (again) packing and trying to throw away as much as possible, but hey, it's all necessary stuff. I need that hair straightener and the 5-pound battery recharger is sure to be cheaper than buying new ones all the time. So what to do?

We spent a fair amount of time in South Bank, which is very pretty, and much as I remember it from a few years ago. The pictures attached here are actually from a temple/"pagoda" we stumbled across in Brissie, NOT Thailand! I don't think I can post all of them on a PG website, but for a 'peace pagoda', some of the engravings there were pretty raunchy(!)

We also went on a ferry but only got about two minutes out of that for where we were going - but transport in Brissie (apart from the Airport Airtrain) is super cheap, so hey, s'all good.

Brissie seems a fairly hilly city, which I suppose is why they decided to put a third of it underneath the ground. It's like a rabbit warren, I swear. Cool but a touch strange.

But mention has to be made of the lovely Brisbanites - a very friendly people by my estimation. Once Jess took off for her engagements and I was left to find my own way back to the airport the next night, I was a bit lost. But no less than four people were happy to chat and give opinions on he best way to get there, and talk about travelling and so forth, as they waited for trains or once in them. I even had a lady who I was chatting with catch sight of an old friend while we were all on the train towards the last port of call on the way to the airport, and then it was all three of us chatting, and then out of the blue the second lady asked how I was getting to the airport as the last Airtrain had left, and said no I couldn't possibly catch a taxi, and she'd give me a lift! How amazingly kind is that! I was flabbergasted. I mean, who wants to end their working day (and a late one at that) with giving a complete stranger a lift to the airport, where she wasn't going anywhere near? She was absolutely lovely - and full of her own travel advice on England and warnings n everywhere.

Anyway, I thought I'd share that - after everybody's dire predictions about thieves and waking up in bathtubs wihtout body organs and so forth, for me to start my journey with the kindness of a strangers and the particular genorosity of one lovely lady was just excellent.

This feels like a good omen.

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Photos

Jessie G
My friend Jessie G in Southbank, Brisbane.

Peace Pagoda in Brissie
Jessie G in front of Peace Pagoda in Brisbane