Brisbane Winter?

Woah, it's been a while since I wrote my last post eh? I thought it was good to have a moment's radio silence to take a break and to give myself a little privacy for a while.

So what did i do in Brisbane? What IS there to do?

First few days I just chilled out and didn't do too much, a look around the city, a Boardwalk Cafe coffee at Southbank.

It was great to drive my car around.

I got a surprise visit from my brother in Sydney. Before I left Tokyo I was thinking of going down to Sydney to visit him. Lucky. It was a surprise that could've gone horribly wrong.

We went to Steve Irwin's ("The Crocodile Hunter") Australia Zoo, an hour's drive north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast. They let us touch the kangaroos and koalas, as well as feeding the elephants. It's a little pricey at $54, but I think it was worth checking out.

Another worthy excursion to do in Brisbane is to ride the City Cats, the commuter ferries that run up and down the river. For $4.40 (off-peak), it's cheap and a great way to see the city from the water.

During the day, the temperature was great. It was constantly around the 26 degree mark. Hard to believe it was winter. A night it was a little chilly but there were still people going out in T-shirts.

It was great catching up with old friends. A drink at the Down Under, visiting a friend in Toowong, eating a nice Korean meal. I even visited my old workplace to see who was still around. I was surprised to see a lot of the old faces. It was great to feel that familiarity. It's the thing that makes me miss home the most.

I brought back the usual "food run" of cheese, Di Bella Coffee and biscuits. I also brought emergency supplies of medicine, deodorants and other bits and pieces.

My hard drive is running out of space so I got a 500GB portable drive and DVD DL burner for backups. I think I'm prepared. I left my SLR to my dad so sometime I'll be looking for a new one.

I watched a few movies while I was there.

I rented out "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" (good), "The Science of Sleep" (looks good, but confusing), and watched "Yes Man" (better than I expected) on the plane.

I hadn't been to the cinema in years now, so desperate to watch a film on the Imax I settled for "Bandslam". It's a typical FAMILY film. Vanessa Hudgens was in it. 'Nuff said. All I could think about was her leaked internet pictures, to excuse her bad acting. Not a bad film, definitely forgettable though.

It's been almost a week now back in Tokyo. Business as usual really. The week went by so fast.

Tokyo says "Irrashaimasu", but I think she doesn't mean it.