Down under and repercussion’s of unreal expectations

I don’t think I had totally unrealistic ideas about Australia. I think I went into it quite logically. But things started wobbling when we realized we had an hour to get through customs in Sydney to make our connection to brisbane. There were roughly 500 people in a winding single file and only 3 customs booths were open. By the time we got through that, all 500 people (with all their luggage now) we’re lining up to squeeze through the only gyprocked cutout in a wall they were renovating.

By the time we got to the other side of the airport to the Quantas we found out we still had a 20 minute transfer to the domestic terminal and only 5 minutes left before the plane left. They kindly transferred our tickets to a flight 45 minutes later and before we knew it we were landing in Brisbane. But that’s where things got worse.

We went to the meeting place we had previously discussed and waitied 2 hours for our friend only to discover when we Finally could unlock someone’s wifi that he had a 24 hour flight delay. Two emotions instantly overcame us. We felt horrible for Geoff and then we had to figure out where we were going to sleep since the Hotel was in his name.

We were relieved to find out that the hotel would let us stay without Geoff. It seems good faith still means something here,but it isnt the same without him.

Speaking of hotel, false advertising seems to be allowed here. No large spacey rooms with new kitchens and appliances and designer bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s all very “travelers inn” with sea foam cabinets, painted counter tops and hard beds. Not to mention the awesome pool is literally 10’x12′ with a tiny 2-4 man aged tile hot tub.

The cherry on top was the tropical storm that hit gold coast and Brisbane only hours before our arrival. The kind of rain were you poke your head outside and a moment later you look like someone dropped a bucket on your head. So it’s been pretty gray and wet.

Needless to say, today’s one shining light was the aussie people. Our Canadian friends weren’t lying when they say aussies are the Friendliest people. We had people talking to us smiling and waving and bending over backwards to help us even when we didn’t ask for it. Just an all around wonderfull people. I’d say that They were trying to kill us kindness if it wasn’t commonly known that they have one of the highest overall happiness ratings in the world.

Here’s hoping the rain stops tonight so we can go out and explore in the morning.
Caitlyn