So after 2 consecutive annual trips to Australia, where we spent a minimum of 8-10 days and about pretty much all our retirement fund, I can say I am somewhat of an authority on Australia and Australians. The key word being somewhat which is this case means as knowledgeable as a turkey looking at the space shuttle. Still I spent many hours close quarters with them. Our first trip in 2008 was to Gold Coast and last year to Melbourne.
To sum it up, Gold Coast was quite monotonous. Theme parks, souvenir shops, touristy places and predominantly Australian residents. Foreigners were mainly Chinese descent. Some years back during our first trip here, it was mainly Japanese. How things have changed. The Japanese stores were more elegant and stuck up. They didn't entertain you if you weren't Japanese. Either that they didn't speak much English. These shops closed early. and after 9, only the pubs were open.
With the Chinese stores, we had all kinds of crap being sold. Cheap knock-offs being sold at higher price. More crappy Chinese restaurants, selling crappy Chinese food because the Aussie don't know any better. They were cold and unfriendly and not in the mood to help you. In contrast the Aussie were great. I found them more warm, more approachable and genuinely ready to help. It also helped that the so-called menial jobs like sweeping the streets or clearing the tables were done by Aussies and not foreigners. Because of that, they do a much better job because of their pride to keep their country clean and respectable for the tourist.
The folks at the theme parks were very friendly to us. Maybe we guys had 6 kids running around us. That always garners sympathy. Tips for single guys, look helpless around kids. Women can't help but sympathize. If you can sell it that you are a struggling single parent, you are in baby! But the Gold Coast didn't have much other than the theme parks and the Australian Zoo. Everything was quite monotonous. It was also difficult to come by good Asian food which we only found on the last day. We found a Malaysian restaurant which was pretty decent.
Whereas in Melbourne, being the 2nd largest city, the variety was very obvious. We were also very fortunate that my sis-in-law got us to stay in South Yarra which we were told to be a chic area. There were a lot more Asians here. Mostly look to be Vietnamese and Malaysians. In contrast the Aussies here were not as friendly. They were cold and look at us as if we didn't belong.
There was a day when the weather was about 41-42 degrees and we happened to be downtown which was good and bad. Good because there were buildings where we can duck in and bad because downtown is always hotter. We lost my cousin for a while and I decided to go look for him. Phone reception was bad too. Instead of taking the whole troop, we walked into a camera shop called Michael's and just stood around in the comfort of the air-conditioning. The shop assistants came up to us asking us if they can help us and we said we needed to get out of the sun for the kids. The first 2 guys were not happy, hemmed and hawed until a 3rd guy came along and said with a big smile "Sure, come on in" and took the kids to the sitting area.
There were more things to do in Melbourne. There was the sea, the steam train, Grampiens National Park, Great Ocean Road, wild seals, penguins, dolphins, platypus and winged spawn of Satan, the birds at the sanctuary. Though all these didn't even come close to the Australian Zoo but these were most wild. There was a really interesting chocolate factory, a maze garden, 12 Apostles and lot and lots of Malaysian restaurants.
The weather was also crazy in Melbourne. Most days it was in the low 20s and one day it was suddenly 42 degrees. In Brisbane, on our first day, there was a wicked thunderstorm where billboards were torn down. After that, it was sunny as hell. So weather can be a bit flaky. Aussie food is pretty much like American food. Cold cuts, spaghetti, soup, steak, bread, sausages and let's not forget the damn fries!
There isn't something that is uniquely theirs. I find that very sad. Malaysians food is made up of the 3 main races' food but we have made it ours and many dishes are uniquely Malaysian (no matter what the damn Singaporeans say! Can you imagine saying Bak Kut Teh and Nasi Lemak came from Singapore? The only thing Singapore contributed is smugness and a whole lot of insecurity). I digress.
But there are Aussies who are hard at work and you can hardly find foreigners doing cleaning jobs. Most of them are professionals or criminals. I, on the other hand, enjoyed both my trips. Maybe as a Chindian, I am able to filter out the cultural crap. Both more importantly, I am a firm believer the company is more important than the place we go to. Both times, my family were with me and we went with my cousins' family who are families that has almost every characteristics conceivable (except homicidal psycho. That's not visible yet).
So, I will definitely recommend it and I know you will enjoy it too. Maybe one day, when we have recovered the blood we sold to finance the last trip is replenished, we can make a trip to Sydney. G'day mate!
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