Welcome to Australia

Returning from Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur we were amazed at the shock of arriving in Australia. We hadn’t realised how difficult it has become to live here. We found a place that is rude, expensive and lazy. When you compare it to the energetic cultures of South East Asia you see that it is a country in trouble. In the course of 24 hours we experienced the following 10 steps to hell and back:

1. Queue at Immigration

I know this seems normal, and that is the problem! Getting in to Australia means queuing, even at one o’clock in the morning.

2. Throwing away tea

Quarantine is said to be essential to Australia, I don’t know I have to believe them. But it does get ridiculous when you have to throw away perfectly good chamomile tea bought in Australia because it’s not in the original packing! What harm is going to come of it?

3. Train to city not running

The train into the city runs at the times it sets, not at the times convenient to it’s potential customers. This is very typical of my experience in Australia. Service just does not seem to be important.

4. Taxi to airport hotel is expensive and unhelpful

We booked at an airport hotel because we were arriving in the early hours of the morning. The hotel shuttle is not running, of course. We get a taxi, he has no idea where to go. We dig around and find the address and he ends up, after asking the name numerous times, in an office block next to the hotel. He seems perplexed when we tell him this is not the hotel. After S.E.Asia, the taxi is extremely expensive!

5. No reception

The hotel advertises 24 hour reception. No… closed. A phone gets someone out of bed to tell us the key is hidden in a drawer in reception. OK, we get to our room.

6. Appalling breakfast

Breakfast is included in the room cost. We go to the dining room to be met by a man asking if we want hot or cold breakfast, that’s it, no menu. We are vegetarian and go for cooked and get bad quality mushrooms, fried eggs and baked beans. The eggs are brown and crisp on the bottom, and probably cooked in all the meat fat.

7. Difficulty and rudeness at reception

On checking out we are presented with a bill for a pre-paid room. It’s for the extra cost of the cooked breakfast. We complain that we were not told about it and get rudeness from the Manager/Owner. I find our voucher is for continental breakfast and pay the difference. We are told that they hope we never come back! Great customer service!

8. Restaurant at Riverside

That lunchtime we are at a new, smart restaurant on the riverside. I order coffee and croissants. Ahh.. no. They have croissants but they are on the breakfast menu and that finished at 11:30. So can I have one… No… the chef will kill me if I ask for one! The waiter was great (he was a visitor from Germany) but the intent to serve by the restaurant – crap.

9. Shops and Restaurants closing

We go out for dinner. We find the restaurants close at 9:30, that’s in inner city Brisbane, the bottle shop at 9:00. That creates a problem as many restaurants work on a BYO basis. Where do all the people go, bed?

10. Amazingly appalling grocery shop

The final straw for us is the local grocers in ‘The Valley’. It’s an IGA and Spar (??) and is a complete dump. It’s half refurbished with old ceiling tiles all over the place. There is very little on sale. When we get to the counter to pay we are given dirty looks by the two counter clerks who have to clear away their rubbish so we can set down the baskets. They then cash up and pack bags with nowhere to do it. Never again!

Each incident on its own can be put down to any one of a number of legitimate reasons, but for us the collection of them in such a short period of time is extremely depressing.

Australia what’s going on!

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@gphoenix @chetaurmila

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