Mark's Travels

10 years of travel blogging from 35+ countries around the world

I'm finally back in Australia 3rd September 2004 in Brisbane, Australia


The final stretch of my journey from London to Brisbane took only 7 hours but felt like forever. The one bright side was that the two girls I shared a seat with walked around the plane for a bit so I had a chance to sleep on all three seats. This was such as nice treat since the body has not been designed to sleep upright.

During our decent they played a movie from the Australian Immigration Authorities saying that Australia has some of the strictest entry requirements and that everyone can expect to be searched for any type of food or dirt. This I can fully agree with seeing that no one would want to see this land harmed in anyway given its amazing beauty.

I was quite shocked to have gotten my bags within 15 minutes of landing and going through immigration and inspections in less than a minute. When they were inspecting people's bags for food and dirt they asked if I had brought any with me and I said I didn't have any food and that I had washed everything prior to travelling, they pointed me toward the exit. I was expecting for things to take forever like the last time I was in Australia but this time ended up being one of the quickest checks I had ever been through.

The train to the centre of Brisbane only cost me $10 and it took about 15 minutes. I noticed there were a lot of people getting on the train to going work yet it seemed a lot more peaceful and laidback than any morning commute in London. I had never felt so relaxed and relieved to be in such a beautiful paradise, I felt as though my mind could work at it's own pace as opposed to the frantic rate I subject myself too back home. This is a place where I could chill out, relax and not think about what I think about when I'm not on holidays.

I saw quite a few Queenslanders on the way into town. These are a special type of house that was designed to cope with the high temperatures this part of the world sees during their summers. One of the reasons I planned my trip for this time of year was so that I could enjoy a climate that I'm most comfortable in, between 18C and 26C, any cooler and I feel I've been ripped off, any hotter and it's too much for me to handle.

I finally arrived at reception and got my room. I was quite amazed at how friendly the staff were and how clean the rooms were. In the UK, hostels are setup to make cash, seldom are they cleaned and even more rarely to they contain a cool, relaxed atmosphere. If they do, this is fucked up by Nutters gaining access and going insane on while drugs, masturbating on pool tables and sexually molesting everything in sight.

One of the first things I realised after 28 hours of travelling was that I forgot my shower gel back home. I ran down the street to go buy some and to get a few other things. It's quite amazing that every shop I went into people were really nice and friendly. I often read about Australians living in the UK find that shop owners are assholes and can't speak a word of English.

I gave Anja and my Father a call to let them know I was ok. After having a shower I began exploring Brisbane. I had arrived early in the morning so there were a lot of people on their way to work all around me, which is weird when you go on holiday. I guess I tend to take city-breaks were others might go to Spain or Turkey and mostly see other tourists in more confined environments.

I spent the morning walking around Brisbane, marvelling in its beauty and noting all the construction that is taking place. I imagine this place will see a lot of growth in the coming years.

One thing I had noticed which was missing from Brisbane that no other Australian city I had been too was missing (except for Canberra) was a beach. Brisbane is on a river which doesn't appear to have any sand along it but there is a nice man-made beach on the South Bank. I walked by it but when I was there it was completely empty. I guess no one wants to go for a swim at 10:30 on Friday morning.

I walked over to Fortitude Valley after lunch time and checked out the dodgiest part of Brisbane that I could find. If you see people with free time on Friday afternoon hanging out on street corners they tend to be unemployed Nutters.

One thing that there is no lack of in Brisbane is 7-11's. There were more here than Copenhagen or Oslo. I hadn't had a Slurpee in such a long time; it was such a nice treat. Another thing is that Brisbane is quite quiet during the week. Part of me would feel a bit of isolation during my time in Queensland and this was no exception.

One of the major reasons I live in London is that it is in the middle of everything. There are a lot of people here and a lot of important things going on. I always felt I was out of the loop when I wasn't living in London. I hope I'll get over that one day and not get trapped in London.

During the evening I met an Irish guy I shared a room with. We had some dinner at Hungry Jacks and drank a few beers in a couple of bars near the hostel. There was a rugby game going on that night so we ran into aggressive and unfriendly males where ever we went. For every nice person I had met there seemed to be an arrogant wanker right around the corner.

I felt quite ill from my journey throughout the night but I pushed through it trying to make the most of my experience while I was here. If you can forget about your health status and aren't reminded of other people's, you tend to have a better time.


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