August 24, 2012

August 24, 2012

This is our last day in Sydney so we pack our bags and put them in the hotel locker. We head downtown again, this time stopping at several malls. These aren’t the American types but the old world versions from the 19th century. They have been beautifully maintained with glass ceilings, heavy ironwork and mosaic tiled floors. We wander the floors amazed at the many small specialty shops lining each floor and several cafes in the hallway. This is how shopping used to be. For Australians it still is. There is not a single Walmart here. This is probably another reason Australia is so expensive in comparison to the US. Excess overhead caused by high labor content.

We stopped for lunch at a sidewalk café and then walked thru another section of the Botanical Garden. The list of plants in this garden is huge, most I have never seen before. The diversity of Mother Nature is astounding. The garden also has a lot of curved beaked birds called an Ibis. By coincidence this is also the name of our hotel. We thought they were pretty birds until we saw them use the long bill to reach into garbage bins.

Unfortunately our day is cut short. It is time for us to catch our ride to the airport. We ran the gamut of duty-free shops looking to spend the last of our Australian money. At 7pm we board our flight home. I think flying east is much worse than the other direction so we decide to break it up. We fly only ten hours stopping in Honolulu.

I have given all the reasons not to go to Australia. Now why would one still want to go? In some ways Australia is not a place to go to visit, more a place to live. My favorite part is not the terrain or scenery, there is little you won’t see better in the US. Culturally Australia is midway between America and Europe, not quite European and not quite American. Perhaps what the US would be like if we had stayed a British colony.

Australians are more fun and not as stuffy as Brits. Unfortunately they have embraced their Euro counterpart’s love of socialism. After watching TV and reading the local newspapers, I am convinced Australia is turning into a nanny state. Australians also seem to have habit of abbreviating everything. If it can be shortened they do. Victoria Bitter beer is VB, an aluminum boat is a tinnie, poker machines are pokies, motorcycle riders are bikeys. You get the idea.

Australia in many ways is like America in the 60’s. Life is slower paced, jobs are plentiful, gas stations don’t have credit card slots, there are no Walmarts, stores are open shorter hours, highways are all two lane and airlines serve meals.

My favorite part of Australia has to have been the plants and animals. They are so very different from the American experience. Surprisingly though you have to work to see the differences. Kangaroos are not simply jumping around downtown Sydney!