So, here I am in the comfort of my chair, desk, under one roof trying to pen down my memorable adventures from down under. Hopefully, In the next few weeks, I shall be able to present my adventures in different blog posts focusing on each particular destination & activity.

I am gonna begin this blog post with Brisbane & Gold Coast, the sunshine city, and surfing mecca of Australia. Arriving in Brisbane on Sunday night on June 14th after a 20-hour flight from Bangalore with a stopover in Singapore was pretty exhausting, but I was excited to begin my journey down under. After breezing through immigration, there was an airport transfer waiting to pick me up from the airport to my Airbnb accommodation outskirts of Brisbane city. The driver was pleasantly surprised at my drop-off address, his remark was “It’s far out of the city and may take some time” and we arrived in less than 40 minutes. I smirked at myself thinking how long it actually takes in India to commute from airport to city and sometimes your travel time to the airport is more than your actual flight time.

I also noticed the stark contrast of no one pecking at me on my arrival, uncrowded airport, empty freeways which made me wonder, Where are the damn people? Only to realize that you are in a country which is twice the size of India but with a total population of 23 million which equals the population of Mumbai and its metropolis.

Arriving at my Airbnb accommodation, My friendly host made sure that I settled into my own private room comfortably. There were other fellow travelers who were also Airbnbing at the property who were delightful people. To my surprise, we all ended up having a two-hour conversation about world politics and the economy, which was an interesting way to begin my first night in Australia.

Jet-lag caught up with me the next morning and I couldn’t get out of bed before 10.30 A.M and I really wanted to explore the city since I was only getting to spend a day in Brisbane. By noon I managed to reach Southbank, the heart of the city. It was a lovely day to stroll along the banks of the Brisbane river. My Facebook friend Rasila Satra whom I had never met before in person was kind enough to join me and be my guide that day. She had been in Brisbane for a month now and knew enough of Brisbane city. We went around the historic Town Hall, Brisbane River Bridge, Art Gallery, and then to an amazing Mexican restaurant for much-needed food. Later, we spent a considerable amount of time along the wonderful Southbank along the river. Although I am not a big fan of urban cities & landscapes, I was quite impressed with Brisbane due to its laid back culture, amazing infrastructure, cafes & restaurants. I shot some interesting images of the city and had a wonderful chat with my friend Rasila on various subjects such as photography, travel, arts & history. It’s amazing how social media has made our world smaller nowadays, it’s incredible to have friends around the world, and being able to connect with them is something unique. Very soon, the day had come to an end and before it got too late at night, I had to say goodbye and thanked my friend Rasila for making my day in the city. I headed back to my suburb accommodation for another exciting day ahead.

Leave a comment