I am going Down Under!

Naira · January 15 2013, 07:15 PM

I am visiting Australia for a couple of months for a collaboration at a University.

I was not sure I was going to make it (since I also have a 9-5 job besides my PhD) but it seems that I am!

I'll be leaving in less than 24 hours. I have all my stuff laid out on my bed waiting to be packed in my suitcase and then I am off for a quick 26 hours long trip to the other side of the world!

I am really excited about this!

I'll be in Brisbane. Any suggestions for sightseeing or other activities?

Kestra · January 15 2013, 08:19 PM

Wow! I have no suggestions but that's very exciting. Have a safe journey!

Lindley · January 15 2013, 08:24 PM

I hope to visit Australia sometime this year. Really expensive plane tickets, though.

Deranged Nasat · January 15 2013, 08:36 PM

Congratulations, Naira.

I've never been to Australia, though I dearly hope I'll get to go someday.

Miss Chicken · January 15 2013, 10:26 PM

When he was in Brisbane my son enjoyed going to the Lone Pine Koala Santuary and the Sciencentre (he took the Behind the Scene tour).

CorporalClegg · January 15 2013, 10:36 PM

I'm a bit jelly. Australia is one of the places I really want to visit.

Good luck, be safe, and have fun!

And long live the Men at Work!

1001001 · January 15 2013, 10:47 PM

Brisbane is lovely. Definitely check out Great Keppel Island. It's gorgeous (outside the very touristy parts). There is an underwater observatory (or at least there used to be) toward the Middle Island, which was quite breathtaking.

Have a great time. My year in Australia was incredible. One of the best decisions of my life.

Have a XXXX on me!!

teacake · January 15 2013, 11:01 PM

Wow that's great!!! I haven't been to Brisbane but I hear it's quite nice looking, lots of cafes on water. Small but you'll probably love it!! Middle of the summer, you'll have a shock! I'm sure you will get some feedback from people who've been there in this thread eventually. I hope you have a great time!

Please post all about it!

Tiberius · January 15 2013, 11:09 PM

1001001 wrote:

Have a XXXX on me!!

Of course, we Aussies have a saying...

Queenslanders only call it XXXX because they can't spell beer.

teacake · January 15 2013, 11:23 PM

You know I've probably tried 200+ beers in my life, it's a bit of a hobby.. but I've never actually had 4X. I actually forgot it existed.

Relayer1 · January 15 2013, 11:29 PM

Please bear in mind that Australia has most of the worlds top ten venomous snakes. Same again for spiders. The rivers are full of crocodiles and the sea is full of sharks. Pretty much everything in Australia wants to kill you !

Also, having spent several weeks in a house full of them in London, I can confirm that Australians are pretty deranged !

You'll have a great time - enjoy

Ar-Pharazon · January 16 2013, 01:21 AM

Make sure to take a side trip to Tasmania and visit Miss Chicken.

1001001 · January 16 2013, 03:19 AM

Tiberius wrote:

1001001 wrote:

Have a XXXX on me!!

Of course, we Aussies have a saying...

Queenslanders only call it XXXX because they can't spell beer.

When I was there, there was a jingle running I can still remember today:

"I can feel a 4X...coming on!"

Ar-Pharazon wrote:

Make sure to take a side trip to Tasmania and visit Miss Chicken.

I had a great time in Tasmania. I spent 4 days in Hobart. It's quite lovely.

Mr. Laser Beam · January 16 2013, 03:25 AM

Australians loathe Foster's lager, don't they? IIRC, there's absolutely nothing about it that's actually Australian, nor was there ever (the Aussie angle was just a marketing gimmick), and they hate it when tourists come down there expecting to order it.

1001001 · January 16 2013, 03:32 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

Australians loathe Foster's lager, don't they? IIRC, there's absolutely nothing about it that's actually Australian, nor was there ever (the Aussie angle was just a marketing gimmick), and they hate it when tourists come down there expecting to order it.

My experience was that Foster's is their Budwesier. It's relatively cheap and sells a lot, but no one considers it to be "good beer". I remember drinking a lot of Victoria Bitter when I was there.

Remember, I was there a long time ago, so my experience may not be valid now.

That reminds of a joke I heard in Australia:

Q: Why is American Beer like making love in a canoe?
A: Because it's fucking close to water!

January 15 2013, 07:15 PM	#1
Naira Rear Admiral Location: Greece	I am going Down Under! I am visiting Australia for a couple of months for a collaboration at a University. I was not sure I was going to make it (since I also have a 9-5 job besides my PhD) but it seems that I am! I'll be leaving in less than 24 hours. I have all my stuff laid out on my bed waiting to be packed in my suitcase and then I am off for a quick 26 hours long trip to the other side of the world! I am really excited about this! I'll be in Brisbane. Any suggestions for sightseeing or other activities? __________________ TBBS Card \| "Don't Panic!"

January 15 2013, 08:19 PM	#2
Kestra Vice Admiral Location: somewhere beautiful	Re: I am going Down Under! Wow! I have no suggestions but that's very exciting. Have a safe journey! __________________ Dammit Jim!

January 15 2013, 08:24 PM	#3
Lindley Moderator with a Soul Location: Fairfax, VA	Re: I am going Down Under! I hope to visit Australia sometime this year. Really expensive plane tickets, though. __________________ Lead Organizer for EVN: Firefly. "So apparently the really smart zombies have automatic weapons!" -Torg, Sluggy Freelance

January 15 2013, 08:36 PM	#4
Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Location: Warped off into the sunset. With fond memories of most of you, and not a little sorrow at leaving.	Re: I am going Down Under! Congratulations, Naira. I've never been to Australia, though I dearly hope I'll get to go someday. __________________ We are all the sum of our tears. Too little and the ground is not fertile and nothing can grow there; too much, the best of us is washed away.

January 15 2013, 10:26 PM	#5
Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Location: Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania	Re: I am going Down Under! When he was in Brisbane my son enjoyed going to the Lone Pine Koala Santuary and the Sciencentre (he took the Behind the Scene tour). __________________ Big Brother, the people are watching YOU

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

January 15 2013, 10:36 PM	#6
CorporalClegg Vice Admiral Location: Nuevo México	Re: I am going Down Under! I'm a bit jelly. Australia is one of the places I really want to visit. Good luck, be safe, and have fun! And long live the Men at Work!

January 15 2013, 10:47 PM	#7
1001001 Putting the F-U Back in FUN! Location: People's Gaypublic of Drugafornia	Re: I am going Down Under! Brisbane is lovely. Definitely check out Great Keppel Island. It's gorgeous (outside the very touristy parts). There is an underwater observatory (or at least there used to be) toward the Middle Island, which was quite breathtaking. Have a great time. My year in Australia was incredible. One of the best decisions of my life. Have a XXXX on me!! __________________ “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States...The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'.” - Isaac Asimov

January 15 2013, 11:01 PM	#8
teacake Admiral Location: Militant Janeway True Path Devotees Compound. With Sehlats.	Re: I am going Down Under! Wow that's great!!! I haven't been to Brisbane but I hear it's quite nice looking, lots of cafes on water. Small but you'll probably love it!! Middle of the summer, you'll have a shock! I'm sure you will get some feedback from people who've been there in this thread eventually. I hope you have a great time! Please post all about it! __________________ Rider: I can't believe you'd kill me for a field of empty holes. J'onn: It's all I have. ■ ■ ■ Janeway does Melbourne

January 15 2013, 11:23 PM	#10
teacake Admiral Location: Militant Janeway True Path Devotees Compound. With Sehlats.	Re: I am going Down Under! You know I've probably tried 200+ beers in my life, it's a bit of a hobby.. but I've never actually had 4X. I actually forgot it existed. __________________ Rider: I can't believe you'd kill me for a field of empty holes. J'onn: It's all I have. ■ ■ ■ Janeway does Melbourne

January 15 2013, 11:29 PM	#11
Relayer1 Fleet Captain Location: The Black Country, England	Re: I am going Down Under! Please bear in mind that Australia has most of the worlds top ten venomous snakes. Same again for spiders. The rivers are full of crocodiles and the sea is full of sharks. Pretty much everything in Australia wants to kill you ! Also, having spent several weeks in a house full of them in London, I can confirm that Australians are pretty deranged ! You'll have a great time - enjoy __________________ Soon oh soon the light, Pass within and soothe this endless night, And wait here for you, Our reason to be here...

January 16 2013, 01:21 AM	#12
Ar-Pharazon Admiral of the Rear	Re: I am going Down Under! Make sure to take a side trip to Tasmania and visit Miss Chicken. __________________ Rimmer, on what period of history to live in- “Well, It’d be the 19th century for me, one of Napoleon’s marshals. The chance to march across Europe with the greatest general of all time and kill Belgians” - (White Hole).

January 16 2013, 03:25 AM	#14
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: I am going Down Under! Australians loathe Foster's lager, don't they? IIRC, there's absolutely nothing about it that's actually Australian, nor was there ever (the Aussie angle was just a marketing gimmick), and they hate it when tourists come down there expecting to order it. __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.