AUSTRALIA
By the time we left Japan we were eager to go to Australia, where English is the official language, books and magazines in English would be available at reasonable rates, people are laid-back and welcoming, and food would be more similar to our usual fare. At Narita Airport in Tokyo, Tom was heard to say that he craved a hamburger and milkshake. He settled for a mediocre pastrami sandwich.
We had looked forward to our trip to Australia for several reasons. It was to be Tom's first visit there, we wanted to have a reunion with our good friend, Emma, and spend time with her lovely family, and we were eager to explore the Outback. Our original plans were to visit Sydney for a few days, go to Melbourne, and then spend some time exploring Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. As it turned out our we had to adapt our itinerary as we went along.
Before we could have any adventures in Australia, however, we had to get there and we needed to get entry into the country -- not always an easy thing to do. The first part went okay. As soon as we boarded the Qantas flight there was an enormous contrast in the informality of the crew, compared to those of other airlines. They were loose. It felt welcoming. Maybe the crew's attitude was partly due to the plane only having 120 passengers. It was great for the passengers as it would be a long overnight flight and we would be able to stretch out across as many seats as we liked. That was especially nice for this longest flight (about 9 1/2 hours) of our entire trip.
However, Australia is very strict about who can enter the country and what can be brought in. For one thing, it was the only country that we would visit on this world tour that required a visa. During previous trips we had needed visas only for China, India and Vietnam, as all the other countries we have visited only required a passport. In most cases it is a reciprocal deal, but in this case Australians are not required to get a visa to visit the USA or Japan. Tom's theory is that this is a mechanism to restrict or screen visitors to Australia from Asia. It has a long history of excluding Asians. This seems paradoxical to us since the country seems so welcoming in so many ways.
As one approaches Australia by air, constant warnings are broadcast over the plane's PA system about not bringing in any food, plants, and so on, and so on. On Marie's earlier trip there, (that time on a plane from Hong Kong via a Japanese airline), the plane was fumigated with the passengers on it, prior to the landing. This time that was not the case, but we did hear repeated messages that we should discard anything that might get us into trouble if we tried to take it in to the country.
Having the overdeveloped superegos that we do, we were especially eager to comply. We threw away snack foods that we had carried for eating during our flights, peanuts that the airline had given us, and asked if there was anything else that might be a problem, mentioning everything we had in the way of food, no matter how ridiculous. The customs guy kind of smiled at us indulgently and waved us through, telling us to go through the "nothing to declare line."
However, at that point one of the inspectors motioned for us to come to his inspection station, where he asked us to open all of our luggage so he could inspect it thoroughly -- which he did. It seems that they chose every third or fourth passenger to inspect their luggage regardless of who they were or what they looked like, unlike other countries we entered, where they only checked people who looked suspect. Wouldn't you know that this guy found some sealed packets of instant meal mixes that we had totally forgotten about in a piece of luggage we hadn't seen for almost a month. They were things that we never would have thought would be a problem even if we did remember them. He carefully read the labels and discovered that some contained chicken products and others contained dried milk. He confiscated them, we got a chewing out, were warned that we could be fined $100, and lectured ad infinitum. At that point we would have preferred the fine to the condescending lecture, but we listened deferentially.
We were totally exhausted and just wanted to get to our hotel and sleep for days. We didn't need to be berated at this particular time. We really hadn't tried to get away with anything and we also were certain that if we had shown customs the stuff in the first place that they would have dismissed it and us as being overly concerned. In retrospect, we felt that this guy was determined to find something, no matter how insignificant, as that is his job. Meanwhile, we felt like school children who had been caught doing something really bad. This was the lowest point of our trip up until then and it was definitely a morale buster, especially when we had so eagerly anticipated a welcoming Australia and letting down our guard, after traveling in more formal cultures for so long.
We needed sleep more than anything else and we just had to put that unpleasant experience behind us as we looked for the shuttle to the Sydney Airport Sheraton. It was a stroke of pure genius or luck when we had decided to stay there on the first and last days that we would be in Australia.
Besides the hotel offering a free shuttle ride; it is close to the airport and we didn't even have to leave the airport to find transportation, as the driver came in to find us; it had good food, a well-appointed room, very efficient and friendly service; and we could leave our large suitcase there at no charge (other than a tip) until we returned for our exit from the country. We had to pay a little more than for other hotels in Australia but it was well worth it for the convenience and service. And at 135 AUD it was about 1/3 the cost of the Hilton where we stayed our last night in Japan. We would recommend it to anyone.
It was morning when we arrived but the staff allowed us to check into our room and, in fact, upgraded us at no extra charge to a deluxe king where we also got a complimentary bottle of wine. We were especially excited to find three popular magazines in the room -- in English!!. When you are normally a daily reader, which both of us are, it is difficult to go for weeks without easy access to something to read. We donned the thick terry robes that were provided, picked up the magazines, read for a while, and slept for most of the day, only waking up long enough to get room service for dinner, before sleeping through the night.
In the morning when we were awake enough to notice, we discovered that autumn had come to Australia. That meant that we skipped summer altogether. We had gone from mid-spring in Japan to late fall in "the land down under". In fact, by the time we arrived in Melbourne it was almost winter (which begins on June 1). Although we could still get by in short sleeves in the middle of the day in Sydney, there definitely was a chill in the air. By the end of our stay in Melbourne we could have worn some of our winter clothes. An odd sensation.
After an excellent cholesterol-laden breakfast in the dining room of the Sheraton, we took the bus to our hotel in the city. We had a GREAT bus driver who had a wonderful sense of humor, was patient, kind and let people take their time, and even helped everyone with their luggage. It was notable in that this was a regular city bus even though this route ended up at the airport. This would be invaluable as people flocked to the city for the upcoming Olympics. Many other places weren't so service oriented.
It was clear that they were very busy getting ready for that event. One of the first things we saw was the 305 meter AMP Tower which reaches far above the skyline. In honor of the upcoming Games, it now contains three sculptures of Olympic athletics, including one wheelchair bound basketball player. If you look on the left of the picture you can make out one of the sculptures.
Some of our drivers complained about the Olympics coming to Sydney, the traffic problems, the crowds, etc. but it was always with a good sense of humor. While in Australia, we enjoyed hearing all that we could about the upcoming games, seeing the qualifying heats for swimming, and reading all about the accompanying scandals. Now we will be even more interested when we watch the Sydney Millenium Olympic Games in the fall of 2000.
Another clue that the Olympics were not too far around the corner was seeing the official Olympic mascots, Millie, Olly and Syd everywhere. Millie (in the middle) is an echidna which is a type of anteater with quills on its back (not furry or cute like the stuffed animal). Olly (on the right) is a kookaburra (or laughing jackass) known for its loud braying sound. Syd is a platypus. Aren't they adorable? -- (Thanks for taking the pictures, Sayaka.) Throughout our stay we had all kinds of conversations with people about which was which. Amy was the only one who always seemed to get the names right. The nurses and other staff at the hospital, where we detoured for a few days, made a point of doing their homework to get the information for us. They joked that they didn't want us to think they were dumb about the Olympics although they did acknowledge that they weren't all that interested.
Of course the first place we headed was Sydney Harbor where we would find the magnificent Sydney Opera House; Circular Quay; the Rocks, site of the original Europeans first settlement; and various other interesting sites. We watched the constant flow of people go to the top of the Harbor Bridge, a major activity in Sydney since they began allowing people to go up there. But not something we wanted to do! Frankly we were puzzled as to why normally sane people would spend good money to connect themselves to a cable and walk to the top of the bridge which is more than 400 feet above the harbor. (The brochures do warn that the climb is not for the faint-hearted, so we guess you know where we fit in!)
Instead, we opted for a fascinating tour of the Opera House and a later boat ride through the harbor. Prior to coming to Sydney we had checked the schedule and were disappointed that there was no special concert or performance going on at the opera house during the time we would be there. So we were thrilled to witness a rehearsal of the Sydney Symphony during our tour. We were lucky to be able to hear a whole movement and were quite stirred by the performance which featured a violin solo. What a bonus!
The Opera House is a spectacular building in a beautiful setting. We were fascinated with the details that we learned about the design, construction and history of the building and surprised to hear that the design of the roof has no particular symbolism, although people often think it represents ocean waves, sails, birds, etc. It reminded Tom of the Baha'i temple in New Delhi which also seemed to be sculpted in marble and represented a lotus opening.
It was a cloudy day with a little bit of drizzle and the area looked very dramatic when we cruised the harbor area. It allowed us an overview of the history, architecture and various attractions that the city had to offer, which included numerous mansions and the only major zoo situated in a harbor. Overall, we remember the cruise as a mellow experience. Primarily we enjoyed the great view of the opera house, framed by the Harbor Bridge at sunset.
The next day we headed down to the Rocks to see the historic section of the city, where the original settlement was. We were a little bit disappointed with this walking tour but must admit that, by that time, Tom's health and stamina were declining so we couldn't explore it as dynamically as we normally would want to do.
We also were disappointed that we couldn't walk along the 4km promenade that borders the harbor area, linking the Circular Quay and the Opera House and going through the Royal Botanical Gardens. However, we did enjoy sitting at the Circular Quay and having meals in the cafes overlooking the harbor. Perhaps our most memorable lunch was the one we had in the Rocks area, with a gorgeous view of the Opera House. The thousands of gulls also enjoyed the area, and as we discarded one bit of roll after eating a sandwich, myriad birds swooped down to help themselves and one, barely missing Marie's Diet Coke and the remaining food on our plates, relieved itself on Tom's jeans.
On our way back to our hotel we stopped at QVB (Queen Victoria Building) for some shopping and stopped in other shops that beckoned to us with their goods in the windows. We must say, that of all the places we visited, Australia was the most compelling for us for shopping. We are not big souvenir hunters or rabid shoppers, but we found many things that we wanted to buy there. The quality was good and the exchange rate made things relatively inexpensive. It is the only place we visited where we wished we had bought more things. At that point we were waiting to travel to Alice Springs to buy most of our gifts for the men in our family because we knew they have great, authentic Aboriginal crafts there.
This is also the country where we saw the most reasonable and greatest variety of restaurants. That was a real treat and we enjoyed trying the local foods, including pasties and pies, as well as ethnic foods from many areas of the world. Sydney is a very international city and we were staying near Chinatown which we found especially interesting. Just to give you an idea, one night we had lasagna big enough for both of us for about $3 US at a Greek restaurant near our hotel. And we thoroughly enjoyed the various food courts that we found in the city and great pastries that we found in both Sydney and Melbourne.
We were pleased to see many US TV shows. We watched Seinfeld, Spin City, Drew Carey, and ER, as well as Bill Cosby's "Kids Say the Darndest Things", and a Christmas special honoring Art Linkletter!. The news commentators were fun to watch and had an edge missing in America's "big three". The Australians were more hard-hitting and penetrating in their questions than their US counterparts. They seemed to have had an especially good time interviewing people connected to the Australian Olympic Committee scandal. The chairman of that committee had the woman bumped who was to be the first Australian to carry the Olympic torch after it was lit in Greece. The young woman, who had been selected because she was a Greek-Australian, was replaced by the official's daughter, who, at age 12, was officially too young to qualify to carry the torch. The controversy went on for quite a while until the chairman admitted that, yes, maybe he had used bad judgement in his actions.
We were amazed at the gorgeous flora, even though it was late fall. The botanical gardens around Sydney and in Melbourne may not have been at their peak, because of the season, but they were still rich with color and unusual plants and flowers. When we arrived in Melbourne, we would be delighted to have more personal tours of gardens, and lessons to teach us about special plants and flowers, compliments of our gracious and charming host, Steve.
Firewheel Tree Golden Banksia
And so -- on to Melbourne, home of Emma, her wonderful family, warm and friendly people, a much more in-depth introduction to the culture and a memorable hospital experience, to say the least!
We were met at the airport by Emma and her mother, Michelle, and given a tour of the area and ate lunch at The Cove, a seaside seafood restaurant, before returning to their home. In the days that followed we would have several tours of Melbourne and drives into the surrounding areas. That was when we were able to get a better feel for what the city had to offer. We rode the trains, buses and streetcars (including the City Circle) to have an overview of the city and for easy transportation. While touring the city we were especially taken with the blocks-long train station that is impossible to photograph in its entirety. We visited Fitzroy Garden Conservatory and saw Captain Cook's cottage that had been moved to that area from England. We toured the Royal Botanical Gardens and ate at Shot Tower Restaurant where we watched the Melbourne Central Clock and heard it chime the hour and the accompanying strains(?) of "Waltzing Matilda." One evening Emma and Ross treated us to dinner at the elegant Sofitel Hotel. Besides a memorable dinner, we visited restrooms that had unique features. The wall overlooking the city was solid glass, providing a spectacular view of the city or the restroom, depending on your location. Oh, yes, we were on a floor high up in the hotel and no one really could see in unless they were in a helicopter. Even so, it was a weird sensation having the urinals next to a glass wall. We will talk about this experience more in our bathrooms page.
Sydney and Melbourne have the kind of rivalry that exists between Glasgow and Edinburgh and New York and Los Angeles. Each city insists it is first in culture, athletics, parks, business, etc., etc. People from Melbourne are fond of saying that they have everything that Sydney has and more, except for the harbor! We found Sydney to be fast-paced, brash and young in temperament. Melbourne was more laid back, mellow, and settled. We felt very comfortable and relaxed in Melbourne and Tom commented that, "I could live here."
The fauna is quite interesting and popular among visitors and it was in this area of the country where we were able to have the closest encounters with them. Many people are familiar with the kangaroos, koalas, kookaburra, and dingoes. They are intriguing for most visitors, along with wombats, the Tasmanian devil and the fairy penguins. However, we found other animals that we didn't know anything about and we were really lucky to have good guides, Emma and Ross, to show us the various animals and teach us about them.
They took us to a particularly interesting place, the Healesville Sanctuary in the Dandenong Ranges, one of the best places in Australia to see the animals living in areas that is closest to their natural habitat. There we saw wombats, many kinds of kangaroo, lyrebirds, various kinds of bats, eagles native to Australia, emus, koalas, cockatoos, platypus, echidnas, dingoes, and other birds and animals. We also were treated to a presentation by an aboriginal man who taught us about the music, lifestyle, and clothing of his people and gave a demonstration of boomerang throwing. All in all, it was a very interesting and pleasant day.
Emma also took us to the Royal Botanical Gardens where, in addition to all of the magnificent flora, we saw the infamous grey-headed flying foxes (bats) that are rampant in the area. Can you see the bats hanging all over the trees in this photo? In a controversial (among bat people) action, the Gardens are moving as many bats as possible out of the area because of the health and sanitary problems their large numbers are creating. In fact, the area where the bats make home is cordoned off from pedestrian traffic.
Another topic that we found of great interest is the scope and variety of sports that the country enjoys and the enthusiasm of the fans. Again, thanks to Steve and Amy, we learned a lot about Aussie rules football, rugby, net ball, cricket, and various other sports, including Steve's sport, lawn bowls. Australia rules football and rugby have to be the roughest sports we have ever observed. Imagine playing NFL football in your underwear and you get the picture.
"Footies" --A
ussie rules football fans -- are as enthusiastic as any US sports fans. On game day, most fans don the colors of their team (check out Amy on the right) and head for the stadium. The stands then are ablaze in the colors of the opposing teams. On the way home one evening, we were on a train full of fans. They were very friendly but seemed subdued. We had nice chats with a few of them. Tom assumed, from their attitude, that they had lost (Philadelphia sports fan trauma). Later Emma informed us that their team had won and that their complacency was based on their team's 13th consecutive victory.
Amy is any excellent net ball player. The game is a club sport that people of all ages play with many people returning to when they are older. From Marie's description of the game, Tom was reminded of girls basketball rules from his high school days. Six players on a team, three on offense and three on defense. There are restrictions on dribbling, which don't seem to slow down the game. Another big difference between net ball and US basketball is that the former does not have a backboard!
We also tried to learn as much about the culture and the language as we could. Thanks to our hosts we became more enlightened. An Australian vocabulary lesson:
capsicum -------------- sweet green pepper
footy ------------------ football
tea time --------------- dinner
tea -------------------- dinner, lunch, tea, snacks, etc.
sister ------------------ head nurse
mister------------------ a medical rank higher than a doctor, i.e. surgeon
mate ------------------- good friend
post ------------------- post office
boot ------------------- trunk of car
bonnet ----------------- hood of car
"top you off" --------- phrase used during Tom's blood transfusion
pokies ----------------- slot machines
pasty ------------------ like a meat pie, eaten with your hands
jumper ----------------- sweater or sweatshirt
pensioner -------------- a retired person
Vegemite --------------- a god-awful, yeast-based spread
jelly ------------------- Jell-O
snowballs -------------- pyramid shaped marshmallows coated with chocolate and sprinkles
school council ---------- school boardAll of this activity took place even as we knew it was inevitable that Tom would soon be heading to the hospital where he would probably be admitted for some kind of treatment. Since we left home, where he had had abortive surgery to remove a kidney stone, he had suffered from a bladder and/or kidney infection that he tried to ignore. He was successful up to a point but was becoming weaker, was losing blood, and obviously had some kind of infection since he suffered from fevers and nightsweats -- plus all the other complications of a kidney infection that you can imagine -- without our going into too much detail.
By the time he was admitted, he was suffering from acute nephritis, needed a blood transfusion and was a medical mess - even though there didn't seem to be anything life-threatening. (Later his doctors back home called him a "medical enigma.")
Our in-depth discussion of the hospital experience will be included in our hospital page, but for the moment we want to say it was an excellent experience given the other possibilities; Emma's family took care of us with compassion and common sense; and if we had to have a medical crisis at all, we are glad that it was in Melbourne rather than any other place during the trip.
The biggest disappointment was that we were not going to be able to go into the Outback as we had hoped. The medical people had forbidden it when Tom was discharged from the hospital after four days, with the admonition that he was only being discharged because we were returning to the US. His urologist said that he was able to travel but "just." They said that Tom would not be able to get medical care in the Outback if there were an emergency. We were sorely disappointed, as it was to be one of the highlights of our whole trip, but we are not stupid. Thus --- another "next time."
We hoped that the "next time" would be soon and that then we would take much more time to see other parts of this intriguing and inviting country, as well as exploring the Outback at our leisure.
And so, after heartfelt good-byes at the airport in Melbourne, and promises to see one another soon, we headed to Hawaii where we hoped we would soak up the sun, heal, and recuperate.
G'day -- as we leave Australia. We hope you will join us for the next leg of our journey. Meanwhile, put another shrimp on the barbie!
