AUSSIE WEEKENDER 16

Day 2 in Brisbane:
The previous night’s broken sleep and the day’s walks and go–around had made us so tired to get up at 7! We had to get ready and take the breakfast before the pick-up bus turns up at our hotel at 7:50.
After been picked up at 7:50, our real trip started by 8:45. We were out of the city in 15 mins! Big buildings gave way to houses which were raised above the ground with logs! There are two reasons for this: one, to escape from the floods, and two, keeping away from the heat (coming from the ground) in summer. But in another half an hour, we were completely out of the suburbs (if you can call that villages suburb). We travelled through Pineapple plantations, Strawberry farms, and took an exit to drop a few people in the ‘Australian Zoo’. This is the place of our famous Discovery Crocodile Hunter - . He is in the effort of making this one the best in the World, raising money through television shows and documentaries. He inherited this flair for loving animals from his father who started the Zoo.
The Australian Zoo trip is planned in such a way that our Sunshine coast bus will drop them in the Zoo and on the way back, we will pick them up on our way back.
We went on, through sugarcane, mango trees and a lot of pines too, our destination was the so-called ‘world’s largest ginger factory’! The ginger farms, were surrounding us entering the factory premises. A big shop selling their products which are already in the market, welcomed us. A small train taking us around the premises, and some more shops, looked like making a good business out of it J. A tour in to the factory’s working, processing, and products constituted our 1 hour stay there. There was a coffee factory just, but the prices of coffee beans were as same as the stores back in the city.
During the tour there was a mention that volcanic soil is suitable for ginger and that is why it is so suitable here. But I couldn’t find any volcanos nearby!
Our next destination was Noosa, one of the main beaches in the Sunshine coast. It was fully crowded with people enjoying the Sun, and packed with resorts filling the coasts. A walk through the coast, and the busy Hastings Street; the street was full of people walking after the Sunbath to their rooms in the resorts. Had a lunch in one of the restaurants sitting outside – a Margeritta pizza with some basil flakes on it.
Sunshine coast is actually full of beaches; it would count to some 30 plus in all. The law goes like, you start from one end and keep walking till you find a lonely beach. Once you find it, the beach becomes yours for the day!
Started our journey back by 2, and stopped at the underwater world which is one of the replicas of Sydney Aquarium. We started from there by around 4 after the Seal show. It was heavy traffic and we could manage to enter Brisbane back by 6, late by about 5:30.
There was another surprise waiting for us in the Parkland gardens in front of our hotel - a multicultural Festival! It was just happening for a day, and we were in! There were some 10 stages where art forms from different countries were happening (stages segregated by dance, folk music or instrumental – not by country)! We had a chance to see a sitar recital and bhangra. Three girls took the whole crowd to dance on their will and the huge crowd dominated by Aussies were dancing in full! We happily went to try some Indian stalls for supper and they were closing down and dumped us with whatever they hadL. Mostly Sri Lankan people making all dosai and all saying Indian food, and it was junk. We could eat some that night, and threw away the rest next day morning as it was doneL. In between an old guy came with a receipt and managed to pull a 10$ note from my pocket for renovation of a temple in Brisbane! Who knows! Another Sri Lankan!
That ended our time in Brisbane.
Day 3 :-
We started by morning train, my intention was to travel and see the places in daylight. The train left Roma Street by 7:30. There was another mother who came off to see off her son( this son is around 35 plus), and she was just not ready to leave him J, going out of the train and coming back in. The guy got a bit embarrassed seeing us watching them, and said ‘she is not always like that J’. Anyway, as soon as the train left the station, he started his making of cigarettes with some powder and jumped out at every stop to smoke, it smelt horrible!
Farmhouses, horses, hell lot of huge cows, the countryside was beautiful. Lunch didn’t go well, we both got some roasted Pumpkin ravioli in cheese sauce! I could eat it somehow, but that was the only vegetarian dish available in our lunch car.
We reached Sydney back by around 9:40. We got down at Strathfield, a station which is more nearer to Parramatta and took another train home. That was a long journey in deed as Krithi was not enjoying sitting the whole day in the train.

Tailpiece: I think Aussies are one of the most tolerant people in the World as far as I have seen. I will start putting some events, one-by-one in the tail piece from next week onwards.

Information: Most of the railway is not electrified here in Australia. The local trains and suburban one are all electric lines, but the long distance trains run with Diesel engines!