Yes... really. Well... here I am! As I'm writing this, it is 9:12 am in Brisbane. Overcast, a good respite from the unforgiving sun. About 27 degrees outside with 10 million degrees of humidity. Here, even the water sweats. But it is a good thing. I'm sitting down on the sofa, watching the Superbowl, live. In the morning. How about that. Outside, the crickets are buzzing like mad and the parrots are singing away. And not just any little parrots.
This type of parrot!
So... How do I feel? Overwhelmed. Surprised. Exhilarated. Exhausted. Happy. I've only been here for a few days now. But this place is so amazing, it's almost ridiculous. Almost everything is different. I'm serious here, folks. This place is different. But in so many good ways that it's almost intimidating. Sure, my buddy kept on telling me that i shouldn't be so Finnish, but being here, I never knew how Finnish I was. Everyone is so friendly, so open, that I feel almost shocked. Everyone smiles and greets when I go out for a morning or evening walk with the dogs. People sitting on the porch, or watching telly, having a jolly old time with the family, playing games and laughing. Music playing lightly in the air. This is just a normal day. Never, would you see any of the like in Finland, except on Vappu when everyone is so shitfaced that they really don't care anymore. Customer service is wonderful, or in the least as it should be. Helpful, attentive, friendly. Some of you might be thinking, yeah, but they're just being polite, they aren't REALLY friendly. But trust me, folks, they are friendly.
The wildlife is also friendly!
You can also find KFC, Starbucks, Domino's Pizza and Burger King. Except Burger King isn't called Burger King. It's called Hungry Jack's. But it's Burger King. Perhaps it's some local thing. Nice butcher shops with all the meat one could ever hope to have. Even butchers who specialize in Kobe beef! You got proper sausages, some of the best ham I've ever tasted, lamb, steaks, Barramundi... Pretty much everything is specialized and mostly local. They are very adamant about that here. Local produce. Which is great. We went to a local farmer's market yesterday to see some of the huge fruits that were on sale. Great stuff. Huge pineapples, bananas, avocados, dragon fruit. All grown locally. This is stuff I usually bought imported in Finland. The local honey here is also VERY nice. And they have some funny chili sauces too with such colorful names like, Aussie Backburner, Smack my Arse and call me Cindy, Calypso Tropical Butt Burner, Bhut Jolokia Rectum Wrecker, Aussie Ring Stinger. Yep, that kind of stuff. So the food here is pretty good.
It's still going to be a week till university starts, so I got time to look around and get a lay of the place. Gotta have learn how to use the public transport system and how to get around on the cheap. I was told to get a Bush Bike (normal bicycle) to get to uni easily. Have to see. But most importantly I have to go around and start looking for a part time job soon. I'm all the time thinking about a full time job, which is kinda daunting, but then remember its only part time. So, it should be ok. Right now, aiming at EB games or Games Workshop, since I've worked for them before and I'm familiar with their products. Hope for the best.
But I guess you all want to know how my travel here went? Well, let me tell you, it was a snap. But just very long. And perhaps, even a bit exciting!
Ok... Maybe not THIS exciting.
I took off from Helsinki/Vantaa at 1600. the flight to London was fine. The food was alright. Frozen meatballs and potato salad. But it was warm. Landing in Heathrow, I had to take a bus to the Terminal 4. It was a ways away, but got there easy enough. Grabbed myself a Coffee (lousy) and a muffin (twas alright) and headed to my gate. Then I boarded the Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi. Now that was a sweet flight. Met some nice people and had a blast watching movies and playing with all the tech that was at my power. You could see your GPS position on the map, with how long the flight still lasts and a choice between front mounted cannons cameras and bottom mounted cameras. Landing at Abu Dhabi, gave me my first hit of a HOT climate. Abu Dhabi was barren, but beautiful. I could see outside the window how constructed it was. They are really building land. Quite an achievement. The airport was alright as well. I hung out with two guys also heading out to Brisbane and finally we got on our final flight, with a stop at Singapore.
Now, Etihad is a REALLY good airline. I'm REALLY happy with it. Great service, greater food. Actually, LOTS of food, drinks every 5 minutes. They even bless the plane before every take off. You have no idea how comforting that is for someone like me who really doesn't like flying too much. But Etihad made it easy, even fun. the only thing that was a bit uncomfortable was how cold it was. At some points it was freezing. Bearable, but not really easy to sleep in.
Landing at singapore was cool. Got to see out the window at all the pretty lights. Finally as the plane came to a stop and everyone was happy to be on the ground for a while, then they said this; "Welcome to Singapore, the jewel of Asia. We hope you enjoy your stay, and remember... If you are carrying any illicit drugs, you will be served a mandatory death sentence. Have a nice day!"
"Have fun! Shop, party, celebrate. Chew gum... WE KILL YOU!"
Yeah... I was all happy until the death threat. After that, I was just happy to leave. Mind you, Singapore seemed like a lovely place (the five minutes I was there) but, I don't take kindly to death threats, even when they don't pertain to me. So we quickly got back on board the plane after they swiped it for security reasons. Then we had a delay of about an hour when some dude in the flight seemed to be dying and had to be taken off the flight along with his baggage. Then we flew to Brisbane. The flight was cold. so cold in fact that it ended up with me and the person next to me sharing body heat.
Landing in Brisbane was a welcome relief. All my baggage arrived and going through customs was easy. I was a bit concerned with the customs document you had to fill with the strict quarantine rules. So I checked that I needed to declare my golf clubs, just to be sure. They smiled, checked quickly, everything was fine and a blood hound came over and sniffed my bags for food and stuff. Everyone was nice and polite and helpful. Unlike going into the US where police hold on to their guns and intimidate you with fear. Hell even in Singapore they smiled (Though that made even more disconcerting). After that. I had arrived. 31 hours. The air was hot. The sun was shining and my buddy was waiting for me.
Right away, we went over to my friends place. I changed clothes and we headed off to Surfer's Paradise. That place is awesome. Like Miami and Vegas. Colorful and beautiful. Then we headed home for beer and bbq. The next day we went to Australia Zoo and I got to finally see the local wildlife. Koalas, Crocs, Tasmanian Devils, kangaroos. Lovely animals. Although Koalas smell funky. Not a bad smell. But kinda funky, like old menthol. Cute little buggers tho. But I gotta say, it was the kangaroos that really got me. That was when I knew I was in Australia. There was eight of them around me, all friendly, trying to eat my food. And they weren't dumb. They were smart! I think they can even open doors...
They surround you first, playing it friendly. Then they begin to eat you...After the zoo, we came back, had more beer and made hamburgers on the bbq and then I passed out on the sofa. It's still hot, but I guess I'll get used to it. Now I have this week to look around and get used to it before I begin my new routine here in my new home of Brisbane. I'm really excited to begin this blog in earnest now. My skype will always be open during the day. So check your time zones and feel free to call. See you all in the slipstream!
