Brisbane

“On going to war over religion: You’re basically killing each other to see who’s got the better imaginary friend.”

– Rich Jeni

Brisbane was the second penal colony next to Sydney and is also the capital of Queensland. I have heard how boring Brisbane was, but it was certainly not the case when I was there. I was in the middle of downtown one day talking to my wife on the phone and enjoying a STARBUCKS COFFEE <I was very happy about this cup of java man>. A large group of people came marching up from the south. They were protesting the bombing by the U.S. of Afghanistan and more importantly the involvement of Australia in what appeared to be an American war on terrorism. What scared me was the 50 or so riot police coming from the north.  I abandoned my telephone booth and thankfully watched a peaceful demonstration. I took a few pictures once I was sure things were safe. It was strange being in Oz during the tragedy of Sept 11. I saw a world view of the event and heard many interesting opinions. In the hostel I talked until the wee hours with a couple of Israelis on vacation. All I can say is that I was, as always, very thankful to be Canadian.

The next day I took the Sea Cat transit for $6 AU and took some nice pictures of the Brisbane skyline. I loved Brisbane because it had a Pizza Hut and super-fast ADSL Internet connection.   I was in heaven.