Failure in the City - Night 10

Me and the 5 British folk jumped the 10:45 into the city. Following a brief venture down Queen Street Mall, we dispersed, each going our own separate way. My first stop was the old Treasury Building, which had recently been turned into a casino and 5-star hotel. My intent was not to gamble, but to merely check out the place and see of what casino life down under was all about. I made it no farther than the door when I was told in no uncertain terms that anyone wearing sandals was not allowed. Strike one.

I wandered from there down to the Botanical Gardens, a massive spread that occupies the entire west end of the triangular shape plot of land that downtown Brisbane is built upon. The Gardens are a very nice place, though the interpretive signs could use some improvement for us visitors who are not at all familiar with the local flora. Nonetheless, the royal palms and various varieties of root-dropping fig trees are most impressive. From here I walked clear across downtown to the Roma Street parkland, another large botanical setting located just north of the main train station. The Roma Street greenspace functions more as a picnic park than anything and being Saturday it was filled to the brim with barbecuers and people watchers. I am finding that Brisbane, as a city, has one of the nicer set of parks of anywhere I have been, Paris aside.

Post Roma Street Parkland I ventured down Milton Street past Suncorp Stadium, the large rugby and cricket venue on the east side of town. This monstrosity rivals the large sporting stadiums found throughout the United States. Past Suncorp was the equally large XXXX Brewery. After some trouble locating the entrance, I found that it was only open for tours Monday through Friday. Strike Two. Rather than walk the few miles back to the city I waited for the train at the Milton Street station. Arriving back in town, I had originally planned to visit the Queensland State Museum, but with my luck today it probably required jacket and tie dress or had burned down in the middle of the night. Defeated, I decided to do my shopping and head home. The soap and toothpaste were easy finds, but I’ll be damned if any store in Brisbane carries a flyswatter. My plan was to be the savior on our next trip to the outback, but instead I wound up the fool, running to and fro in search of this non-existent piece of plastic. When I asked the clerk at Crazy Clark’s Discount Store (basically a Dollar General) if they had any, her look told me that either I don’t know the Australian word for flyswatter or they have yet to be invented over here. Strike Three

Back at the house, we had originally planned to go out at midnight to watch the finals of the rugby world cup, but a last minute time zone calculation discovered that the game was on at 4am not midnight. We all went to bed a bid defeated, though none as deeply as I. Strike Four.

What I Learned Today: Throughout most of my adolescent and adult life, hanging out with friends meant drinking, gambling, or otherwise leaving the house to spend money somewhere. I don’t say this as an admission of my degeneracy, but rather to indicate my usual expectations of time with friends. Being with a bunch of travelers, who like me are on a strict daily allowance, has opened my eyes a bit to the art of hanging out and not spending money, or drinking for that matter. There is a certain art to simply and cheaply existing in the presence of others and I fear I am sadly underdeveloped in this area. I hope this trip will cure me of this ailment.

written by  exumenius on October 20, 2007 from Brisbane, Australia
from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos
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