Kangaroos and Boomerangs

Okay so the closest thing I got to a kangaroo was 'Essence of Kangaroo" in pill form at the airport, but I did see a lot of souvenir boomerangs. And a surprising amount of Sydney for being there for business meetings. One thing that was heartbreaking was that I was invited to the opera on Friday night...the same night that I was taking a flight to Melbourne. Sigh...next time?

Australia is pretty awesome. It's a tad like the US in that it was kind of founded on the same grounds around(ish?) the same times. The big difference is that I suppose we fought for our freedom, and Australia is still part of the Commonwealth. Also, I heard a surprising amount of penal colony jokes. Quaint. Another thing that is kind of frapping (you know what is the the English equivalent of frapping? not shocking, not stunning, hmmm) is that there are so many Asians. It makes sense seeing as Australia's nearest neighbor is Asia. In Australia, the region is called "Australiasia" WTF! HAHAHA

Because of the mining and perhaps the fact that it's so isolated from everywhere else, Australia weathered the 2008 financial crisis rather well. That and China's government when on rampant spending spree to prop up it's economy and thus bought a whole bunch of natural resources from Australia. And what's the most apparent sign of this mining wealth - the good wages but expensive prices of everything. It's rather surprising just how expensive food, cabs, everything is.

But this is definitely mitigated by the FANTASTIC QUALITY OF LIFE in Australia. Not bad you Aussies!

So yes, I saw a bridge, an opera house, a few wharves and harbors. AND I even saw some big o' manufacturing plants!

Damn you, you delicious hot as hell chicken wing!

Then I got on a plane to Melbourne, which is a total college town. Whereas Sydney seemed more refined, Melbourne (or at least the parts I saw) seemed younger, buzzing with life. There are tons of restaurants and bubble tea places, pie shops, churros galore!

The inner suburbs can be compared to the cute neighborhoods of Brooklyn...but not really. A little more small town, Philly? Not sure. But lots of fun.

And then I rode on some old roller coasters and bruised my shins up and down. Fantastic fun.

All in all a great introduction to a land far far away.

Next stop: NEW YORK! And then Dubai :)