havecarryonwilltravel

Some thoughts on Brisbane and Queensland in general, and some bits and pieces we missed in our last few blogs.

First, Chinatown. We strolled through yesterday and it was early in the morning but it was dead. I think we were the only ones on the street. The main street is all fairly new. Nicely done but it missed some of the seedyness that most “Chinatowns” of the world maintain. In my opinion the street level was missing the building interface that would allow for people oriented activity. There were things like offices and a parkade entrance instead of restaurants and stores selling herbal remedies, and grocery stores and, and, and. Maybe if we had gone in the evening it would be different. I hope so.

It is an unplanned day in Brisbane today but we manage to fill it up. We had planned to take the tram to Roma Street Parkland but once aboard we look at the map and decide to get off at the Central Station and take the free bus to the top of the park then walk downhill. I had read a little about the park so we thought it would be worth a visit. The park is grand. Lots of pathways wound and interlaced throughout a park on a very sloped piece of land.

There are manicured gardens, a kids park, water works and waterways lacing with the walkways and at least an hours worth of exploring. In my opinion this is the nicest park we visited in Brisbane.

There are public washrooms throughout Brisbane and it seems Queensland for that matter. For the most part they are well maintained. I only ran into a single ‘gross’ one and that was in Noosa, the most upscale resort we visited. In Edmonton there are fewer and fewer of this type of facility. I don’t know if it is because they are expensive to maintain, if the public are too prissy to use public facilities or if our winters preclude plumbing without major infrastructure but if Queensland can provide such a service Alberta should be able to as well.

Brisbane has an amazing amount of public art. I know Edmonton has a mandated budget for art but here there is art everywhere you turn. You don’t have to like every thing presented but it does make for points of  interest in the urban landscape.

Street lighting in Queensland is minimal. Everything seems dark to me.

Street signs are random. Some corners there are signs indicating the names of both the intersecting streets. Sometimes the signs only tell you one of the streets assuming you should know the name of the busy street you are on. Other times I could not find any signs what so ever. This may be fine for the person that knows where they are and/or where they are going but for the tourist it is a pain. Yes, Debbie and I eventually found our ultimate goal but some of the journeys were a little circuitous.

Road direction signs on the highways and freeways could be a little better. A couple of times we were trying to follow a certain road and the signs indicated where the road we did not want to take went but gave us absolutely no indication where the road we wanted was. No highway number, no street name, nada.

One of the advantages of being in a climate where the temperature does not go below freezing is it allows for water to be included in everyday life. There is a plethera of drinking fountains and they are not your standard bowl with a bubbler on the edge. The design of the standard fountain has progressed a long way. There are some real cool renditions here and all along the Queensland coast. Waterways and fountains are everywhere. They are a big part of every green park and most of the urban hardsuface parks as well.

There is very little rubbish or trash on the streets. It is a city of 2 or 3 million people and the streets are basically spotless. Edmonton is a clean city but it has to improve a bunch to match here.

It’s lunch time and the Queen Street mall is packed. Up till the twelve o’clock bell we had most of the street to ourselves. Noon arrives, I turn around look up the street it is wall to wall humanity.

Most of that humanity is conjenial and friendly. We stopped folks on the street and asked for help, they answered our question and continued to chat, store clerks are all interested in where we are from and what we are up to in Aus, everyone seems to have the time of day and is willing to help us out.

If you are on a budget, Brisbane is a place you can keep yourself occupied for a few days without spending a penny. There are two free bus routes traversing different areas of downtown. We rode one thinking it would be a good way to see a few things but felt it is  really only transportation. Both the modern art gallerey and the Queensland art gallery are free and can take up quite a few hours. The river ferry, CityHopper, costs nothing and it provides a different and wonderful view of much of the city, well worth the time spent. All the parks including the Botanic Gardens in Queen’s Park, and the Roma Street Park are free.

The river plays a big part of the fabric of Brisbane. Winding through the city quite similar to our home town Edmonton. I don’t know if anyone has ever said this but I might nickname Brisbane, ‘The City of Bridges’. No matter where you are in the downtown area you can see at least one bridge.

City Hall

Our unplanned day progressed quite well. We walked a few more areas we have not covered and ended up sitting on the Queens Street pedestrian mall watching the world pass by.

We do have some packing so we think it might be a good idea to head back to the hotel early and get that done. By some weird twist of fate we turned the corner and headed south when in fact the tram station was north of our location. As we were about to exit the pedestrian part of the mall and enter the regular street grid. A busker’s voice caught my attention. I stopped a few meters away and Debbie and I talk about how the busker sounded like someone we are familiar with. We queued up to cross the street and I had this odd feeling we should take a flyer and buy one of the CDs this fellow had for sale. I returned to where he was standing and started to read a couple of the signs he had propped up against wall when I noted the name on the CDs. Babar Luck. Damn, no wonder his voice is so familiar, we have one of his CDs. Right in the middle of a song I interrupt him asking if he is indeed Babar Luck. He is.

Babar Luck

This is truly one of those weird moments in life. I had been looking for one of his albums for a couple of years and now here it is laying on the jacket of the man himself as he stands on a street corner singing for coins in Brisbane, Australia. The three of us chat for about 1/2 hour. I end up buying the CD I have been hunting for and the other one he has on display as well. He autographs them both. For some reason I encounter more than my fair share of these moments, maybe it is luck, and maybe it is the way I go about living but I will embrace everyone that comes my way. To me the half hour we spend on the street talking to this fellow is the pearl of an outstanding day.

Day 2 in Brisbane. We walk and ride the train and walk and ride the CityHopper and walk and visit the Gallery of Modern Art and the Queensland Art Gallery and walk and ride the Hop on Hop Off Bus through Spring Hill and walk and ride the train and collapse 7 hours later.

CityHopper

In between all that we people watch. All over the world, people are fascinating. Are the folks here any different than back home? In the way they dress and act?

Yesterday we walked past an area where there were maybe 60 students sitting on the walkway walls, all looking down at their mobile devices. There were one or two young adults not on their phones. We shook our heads and wished they could all see themselves. We happen to walk by the same spot today and there were just as many doing the same thing as yesterday. AH HA! It is a WIFI hotspot! That is why they are gathered at that particular spot! Makes sense now.

WIFI Hotspot?

We have seen school kids, both in the Art Gallery and riding the trains in the afternoons. They all are wearing uniforms. The boys in shorts or pants, blazers, ties and Panama hats. I actually felt bad for one fellow as his jacket and hat looked like some overzealous mother committee picked these out. Worst ever. The girls have on skirts, blouses, blazers and hats. They all seem quite comfortable in them. I guess if you have worn a uniform since first grade, you get used to it. The trains have small clumps of kids riding them home from school, dropping a student or two off at every stop. Do these kids have neighbourhood friends? Are there rivalries between the various schools, making you not want to talk to someone from another school?

Kurilpa Bridge

We sit in the Central Train Station for a bit watching the foot traffic. People are going about their business. Murray comments that most look normal enough and then about every 15th person looks like they are from outer space. One young women is racing for the train dressed in a skirt that is far too tight and wearing high heels she cannot even walk in. Then comes a fellow in a business suit, stylish enough but the pants are too tight and the jacket buttons are ready to pull off. The fellow that looks like he walked out of the 80’s.

We chat to folks, asking directions and kibitz with them. The city worker changing a light bulb on the bridge pedway, the elderly couple also wondering about the group of students on their cell phones, a businessman helping us find a bus stop. Friendly people here in Brisbane and good subjects for people watching!

After enough hugs to last six months, we say good bye to M&D and drive north to spend a few days in Brisbane before our flight home.

We are staying at a motel near the airport to make our departure day easier, so we take the Translink train into downtown Brisbane.

We brought with us a copy of a walking tour we found in a Lonely Planet book. We decide to follow it to get a sense of the downtown area. Meandering through the street peering up, first at a tall modern glass tower and then, at a stately historic stone building.

Treasury Building

We stroll along the riverside Boardwalk following the Brisbane River and then step into the edge of the City Botanical Gardens. Deep greens, shady, peaceful. Cross the Goodwill Pedestrian Bridge and find ourselves in the South Bank Parklands, which houses Streets Beach, a man made beach and park for all ages. Brisbane, in fact the whole state of Queensland, has beautiful and abundant parks.

South Bank Parklands

At the end of the park, are the performing arts center, museum and art galleries. We will explore the art galleries tomorrow.

We cross back over the Victoria Bridge into downtown again and wander a part of Queen’s Street, where all the shopping is. We may have to go back there! Past City Hall and back to the train station with tired feet.

Brisbane Skyline

An hour of rest at the hotel and the stomach says it is dinner time. The street we are on is mostly residential and does not have much in the way of food. However 5 or 6 blocks to the west is Racecourse Road with an abundence of restaurants and cafes.

Debbie has a hankering for sushi and damned if we don’t find a sushi place. Mediocre sushi but it does the trick and we are satisfied. Traversing the rest of the street we scope out places for the next couple of days dinner.

Farther afield down by the river is the Portside Wharf. The docking place for the cruise ships. Here is another cluster of eating places, with prices seemingly higher than on Racecourse Road. It is quite busy even for a Tuesday night.

Our walks today, this afternoon through the neighbourhood to a distant tram station, around the downtown area and this evening traversing another neighbour has left us with a good impression of Brisbane. It is a big city but to me quite homey, not alienating at all. We will see what day 2 brings.