Lo-fi weekend reads - on eastern Australia cities and culture
Issue #10 - Hotly anticipated takes and musings on my recent trip to Australia, what did I love, what made me cringe, what will keep me coming back for more
A New Zealander visiting Australia is about as groundbreaking as a Japanese visiting Taiwan, an American visiting Canada or a Brit nipping over to France but alas; deep diving is minutia is what we do here at Lo-fi weekend reads. Having not travelled abroad for years and having felt more than well acquainted with my homeland after having lived in Taiwan for a year and not intending to stay back in NZ as long as I did (thanks COVID honey), subtle differences in Aus felt very noticable. So letβs just go through it location by location.
Sydney
Iβve only been to Sydney once before as a maybe 12 or 13 year old visiting an aunty (who now lives in NZ), and obviously as a minor I didnβt have any freedom and was whisked around by my parents. My most prominent memories were of heading to the zoo (amazing) and peering out the car window thinking of the Sydney skyscrapers in the same vein as I thought of the city Esthar from the Playstation game Final Fantasy VIII.
This time around things are different. Iβm 30, got a few coins to throw around and Iβve also travelled a fair bit. I know what I like and what I donβt. I think my first observation arriving at the airport was like okay this is really an international city. In the airport alone I had to traverse a baggage claim for a flight clearly from Vietnam - hundreds of Vietnamese people! Reminded me of my good old days living in Da Nang. You simply donβt get that in NZ. Perhaps you do in Auckland at the right time, but never in Wellington.
One of the very first things to happen upon arrival in Sydney was meeting my absolute favourite pop star Kim Petras at the airport. It was so exhilarating, fortuitous and exciting that I swear I could have hopped back on a flight back to Wellington and it would have been worth it.
The trains from the airport to the city are absolutely sleek, modern, efficient and easy as pie. Being able to tag on and off with your credit card is a god send! I made my way to my aunt and uncleβs place on the north shore in Wollstonecraft with ease. I knew they lived in nice area but I didnβt envision it wasnβt going to feel absolutely luscious and tropical. Iβm enormously appreciative for the chance to stay with them because it was nice on so many levels - reconnecting with family after many years, a fantastic close-to-central location and they kindly took me around to some fantastic hot spots like Manly and Balmoral beaches.
Iβd say almost immediately beaches and proximity to the water was quickly one of my favourite things about Sydney. It suggests a certain kind of lifestyle - work and play intertwined. Ever since I was a child Iβve adored being in the water - swimming pools, beaches, lakes, water parks, baths, hot pools etc. I love them! I remember as a kid going down to the local school pool by myself in the evenings just to splash around and play, and befriend random kids. Fond memories. My relatives had a fantastic book called βPlaces We Swimβ specifically for Sydney, and laid out all the great little spots, salt pools, inlets etc where one could enjoy a cooling dip. God knows you need it.
I overall had a super enjoyable time in Sydney and must say it really blew me away. Sure I only saw the nice bits, but letβs be honest, I wouldnβt be going there if it meant suffering in the western suburbs and enduring some daily horrid commute. Beautiful city, great weather. My one sticky point I would say would be that Australian customer serviceβ¦ it ainβt it. I found dealing with shopkeepers and cafe staff to be generally so much more abrupt and upfront than in New Zealand. Niceties be damned βWhat can I get you?β is about as sweet and welcoming as it gets.
Gold Coast
As Aretha Franklin once said when asked what she thought of Taylor Swift, βbeautiful gowns, beautiful gownsβ¦β I might say of Gold Coast the same about its beaches and weather. The people? The culture? The state of Surfers Paradise? Hand me a noose.
I joined up with my friend here to commence two nights each in Broadbeach and in Surfers Paradise and hmm, I think we were immediately thinking βokaaayyyβ¦.β wistfully, but hopeful first impressions werenβt everything. Again, have been to GC before but not on my own as an adult.
Itβs simply a trashy place thatβs extremely commercial, set up primarily for tourists and then locals that reside there areβ¦ well, I dare not summarise but it does seem drug use is extremely prevalent.
That all being said - I was there for a silly little holiday to have fun, catch some rays, chill at the beach and that was certainly achieved. Gold Coastβs long 70km (I think, from memory) beach coast line is exquisite and surely one of the worldβs best surf spots. Thereβs also the large Pacific Fair mall which is of course, a mall, but it did have a Uniqlo store which doesnβt exist in New Zealand. Perish the thougth! So I shopped up large and grinned, so thatβs not all bad.
We also went to the Draculas cabaret show whichβ¦ hmm, is hard to summarise but I fear itβs probably something that was extremely titillating and edgy in the early 2000s but in the cold light of 2023 is a tad past its best. How many jokes about blowjobs and anal can one really laugh at? On the flipside, the performers were genuinely impressive with great vocalists and impressive acrobats. Plus it was genuinely the best meal I think both my friend and I had on our entire trip - so overall it was a good experience and I would recommend it. Just be prepared for a fair amount of silliness.
Despite my best efforts to βlet looseβ and just have fun itβs really not in my nature. Examining the clientele, peering at the weird urban planning of enormous high rises with absolutely nothing going on in the ground floor, noting a hell of a lot of acknowledgements to the countryβs first people, but never seeing them, itβs all justβ¦ hmm. Australia has some deep undealt with issues I fear.
Brisbane
For our final part of the trip, and where we were flying out of, my friend and I bussed (because the trains werenβt running - itβs like I never left NZ!) to Brisbane and met one of the grumpiest and least welcoming faces Iβve ever encountered at the Brisbane YHA where we had a private room (where we were AGHAST they didnβt even offer a cup of tea!).
Brisbane CBD hmm once again, impressive buildings and honestly a hell of a lot going on. A little grubby and messy though. Lovely big pedestrian areas but then cafes jammed into the centre making it all seem a bit cramped? IDK. Thrilled to see a Uniqlo once again, and had a very delightful but very expensive cake and coffee at a wee Japanese-themed cafe.
Attempted to get yum cha at a highly recommended (on Google) restaurant, only to be seated and open the menu and see that THREE regular dumplings were $17 AUD. We ordered two plates and RAN to a humble little ramen shop. Thereβs no amount of yassifying yum cha that will make me shell that much coin out for reconstituted pork innards wrapped in rice roll.
What was absolutely pleasant and delightful was the South Bank Parklands area of Brisbane, on the south side of the city. An enormous, delightful park absolutely beautiful! Lush greenery, charming waterside walks, bars, cafes, restaurant, a fantastic public pool open for free in the evenings. Now that really was some βbig cityβ shit New Zealand couldnβt organise in its wildest dreams. This area alone gives Brisbane an enormous boost in my books - what a nice place to fraternize, socialise, bring a date etc. Pressed for time, and quite frankly not in the mood, we didnβt make it to the museums or art galleries but Iβve heard good things and, from the outside, at least the modern art museum looked very impressive.
In conclusion
No absolutely groundbreaking thoughts, but there is something a little oblivious about Australian culture. Race wars absolutely raging in America, New Zealand deeply focused on relationships between MΔori and PΔkehΔ, but Aus clearly hasnβt quite decided to give a shit about its Indigenous and First Nation peoples as of yet. Itβs also very decidedly commercial - chains everywhere. Finding a cute independent cafe, store or restaurant seemed to be a revelation.
People are absolutely hotter in Australia. I was seeing absolutely gorgeous, tan, tall, muscular men everywhere and for a single, vain man such as myself - this is significant. I guess I do live in an infamously cold weathered city with poor housing quality, so everyone looking pale, βindoorsyβ and blotchy shouldnβt come as a surprise.
Of the places I went, Sydney was absolutely the most alluring. Itβs got A LOT going for it. Would my gorgeous 15-minute-city life continue as divinely there? I fear not, but with gorgeous rapid transport on those trains perhaps things wouldnβt be so bad. Who knows. Iβm not about to run overseas any time soon but itβs now squarely on my moodboard for βaspirational life goals.β Never saying never to it.
(Editors note: I didnβt proof read this because I was too lazy lol, consider this a squarely βlo-fiβ, no perfection or refined points intended or strived for. I got a full time job where I do that.)