Monday, 10/09/2012 - 87 A.D.
“A friend of mine would never leave a place until he’d had a good time there. Another friend would not leave a destination until he had learnt something encouraging about the people and their culture. Both are currently stuck in Brisbane.”
Peter Moore, author of The Wrong Way Home & No Shitting in the Toilet
The day started badly when I woke up to a massive cramp in my right calf. I stayed strong and didn’t yell out like a wuss, then went back to sleep. About ten minutes later I awoke to a massive cramp in my left calf. Can’t remember if I yelled out like a wuss that time (probably). I get those kind of cramps about thrice a year, but usually only the one leg at a time. Must be due to the Brisbane Effect, whatever that it is, not sure yet – give me another day or so.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday about City Backpackers is that they have unisex toilet and shower rooms – great places to meet girls! But not first thing in the morning when I’ve got a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp. And is it just me, or does this corridor of power look not too dissimilar to a university hall of residence…
No wi-fi is available in our room down on the first floor, but it’s free up in the “lounge” area – a place to sit on tall wooden stools, rather than lounge. The connection is actually pretty good, but this means you inevitably sit next to someone skyping their parents back home in their own language, which is okay for ten minutes, but it starts to grate after 30. One guy was so annoyed that he couldn’t get a decent connection that he stormed off and kicked the bin as he went. Probably French.
Bizarrely, Tim and I put on what would look like the same clothes, from a distance, i.e. black T-shirts and grey/beige (“greige”?) shorts. Why has this never happened before? One of us had to go change and it ended up being me. Then we went to the supermarket to stock up on supplies, but definitely no alcohol. Oh no, no way. That’s not allowed, and some amongst you may think the break will do me good. Hmmm.
I officially gave up the hunt for my iPod today. After making a couple of calls to Qantas and Sydney airport lost property I got no joy, so that’s that. It’s either been discovered and kept by some git, or I accidentally binned it with the rest my food from New Zealand...not sure which of those scenarios I like best! Time to move on, though finding another one is turning out to be a mini-obsession when I should be concentrating on more important things like accommodation and cold turkey. Oh, and with netbook being strike one, iPod being strike two, I fully expect strike three to be mobile phone – you just wait and see!
Leaving our earlier supermarket sweep aside, we didn’t really get moving from the hostel `til around 14:00, heading in the vague direction of the city centre, which we’re not far from. After crossing the river, we came to GOMA – Gallery Of Modern Art. Nope, we’re still not tired of looking at galleries yet, and modern art is always good for a laugh. I’m not a huge fan of this medium, though occasionally it scratches me right where I itch. Today’s favourite was the following take on Piet Mondrian’s abstract paintings, which probably just looks like a shelf with some stuff on it if you’re not into Mondrian.
[Mathieu Merceier – Drum `N` Bass Lafayette, 2005 – Shelving system, blue plastic, red towels, yellow plastic sheeting rolled.]
We messed about in GOMA for about an hour and then walked through the city’s South Bank Parklands, which contain yet another lagoon for the more bronzed amongst us to mess about in. They had a job today though because the skies were cloudy grey from 15:00 onwards and there was a slight chill in the air. We expected it to get colder as we went south, but there felt like a chance of rain today. If there is one thing that Brisbane does not need then it’s to be remembered as the place where the Australian weather turned for us!
The rest of the evening was taken at a leisurely place as we returned to City Backpackers and braved the kitchen with our tins of meaty soup. In terms of utensils you have to give ten dollars deposit at reception and they provide you with a plate, a bowl, a mug, a knife, a fork and a...wait for it...spoon. The pans are fair game and it’s up to you whether you want to trust who “washed” them last or have another go yourself (which I did). The kitchen is a pretty crazy place, regularly packed with people and to be fair there’s always lots of nice smells drifting out and onto the roof terrace, where we ended up eating against the night time Brisbane backdrop.
Tuesday, 11/09/2012 - 88 A.D.
I think I am a prophet of doom. About 30 minutes after completing yesterday’s blog, the screen went on my phone. This is absolutely true. Everything is dark when I try to use it, the keyboard lights up, but the screen is black as coal. I assume the phone still functions, but it’s too dark to use the camera. I have a replacement screen, but funnily enough I didn’t bring it with me, nor the precision tools I’d need to get under the lid. Oh well, strike three!
I have to look to the positives – the other day I was moaning to Tim about how I end up shooting things on three different instruments at once – the video camera, Tim’s smaller camera, and my phone. With phone now up the wall, I’ll only be shooting on two different instruments. So, I guess it’s one less thing to worry about, but do you ever get the feeling that you’re jinxed when it comes to electronic equipment?
We had a very productive morning in the lounge area, sitting on the most uncomfortable wooden stools ever invented. Despite the howls of protest from my rear end, we managed to book our accommodation for Sydney and Melbourne, and took a good, long look at Canberra.
Keen to get out of the hostel in the afternoon, but with nowhere especially to go, we hit the shops and then the botanic gardens. Every town in Australia seems to have botanic gardens. Still, with their climate you can’t blame them, and the weather of Brisbane made up for its poor performance of yesterday by laying a scorcher on us today. It’s almost as changeable as back home!
So we had a bit of a wander, discussed life, death, semolina and everything else in between. And that’s about it really for today. I could go on to write a few more things (though not about erotic encounters in the unisex toilets), but I’m a bit pushed for time tonight. I’m not too down about my phone – fast getting used to these little setbacks now, and I’m prepared for when my electric razor malfunctions, cuts my throat and short circuits the entire building, thus releasing me of my deposit.
In the end, City Backpackers wasn’t too bad a place to stay – the room was quiet(ish), the bed was comfy and I’ve only had one new bite come up on my leg (may well have been from Australia Zoo). We didn’t exactly set the city on fire, but I don’t think that’s Brisbane fault. And how did we cope with the rule of no alcohol in the hostel? I think you already know the answer to that… [winks]
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