Brisbane

My next destination is Australia! Thank you mommy for the greatest Christmas present of my life. Nothing is going to top this present. (My feelings will change as my Aussie travels continue.) I landed in Brisbane in the morning (December 22, 2013). The weather was fantastic seeing that I just came from Seoul where it was -3 Celsius; it was great going into summer. I got caught up in the excitement of Australia that I almost lost my swim bag. (This bag is going to be the death of me.) I get on the train to get into the city, so I can do some exploring before checking into the hostel. I saw the Treasury Casino, Queen St. Mall, Anzac Square, and City Hall within like 2 hours, and I was on my way to the hostel! My hostel was really far away. Note to self, don’t book hostels when you are intoxicated and busy packing. I got to my hostel, and checked in. I took a shower and a quick nap, and I took the train back into the city for some more touring around. I went into Roma St for their park and saw a cloud of spiders hovering over my head and thought, “This is how my life will end.” I walked all the way through just a little bit quicker than before to get to the city. (I don’t do well in nature.) I got to catch a light show displayed on the city hall building in downtown Brisbane. It was their first year doing the show and it was really cute, and it perfectly silhouetted the building. I walked from downtown across the Goodwill Bridge, which is their walking bridge that crosses the river in Brisbane. From there, I walked through the South Bank area, where they had really cool walkway with flowers and greenery all around. Once I got to a certain point, I sat on the riverbank, looking at the lights from the city, and the thought that ran through my head was “How awesome is my life right now?” Got home, booked a tour, and bed.

So Brisbane’s train system is nothing like Seoul. The train doesn’t run every 5 minutes; it runs like every 45 minutes. Not realizing this issue, I gave myself very little time for error on my journey to the city to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. The river-cruise to the sanctuary leaves at 10:30am, and I arrived to the boat at 10:28am after a run to the dock. Hot flashes are real again. Once I got on the boat, it was smooth sailing. We got to the sanctuary, and I got to feed kangaroos and hug a koalas. The way I’ve learned to deal with home sickness now is to see something and try to associate it with something from home or friends or anything that makes my feel safe and home, so when I saw a picture of Cher holding a koala, I knew I was on the right track and felt good about my decision.

After the interaction with the animals, I was back on the river cruise to Brisbane. I walked from the dock to this lookout called Wilson’s Outlook, which has the best view of the city. It was an hour or so walk to this outlook, and by the time I was there, the sun was beginning to set. It was beautiful for the eye, not so much for the pictures. I stayed there for a while, and reflected on my trip even though it has only been two days.When the reflection was over, I took the Citycat (Brisbane’s ferry system), and the train home. I slept like a baby.