Brisbane -- Day Three

November 29, Saturday
Australian Time: 2051

3rd Day

Location: Brisbane
Accommodation: Southern Cross Motel and Serviced Apartments
Cost: $245 per night
Currency (Singapore is to Australia): 1 is to 1

McDonald’s Breakfast this morning (the portion was a lot smaller than we expected), and we’ve come to the conclusion that McCafé is simply not the same as what Singapore offers. Their coffee tastes bland, they do not serve Double Chocolate Frappe (what I always drink) and their hot chocolate tastes too sweet. A pity, really, since I was expecting the same kind of food in outlets all over the world. Obviously, Australians prefer something else rather than Value Set Meals with drinks and harsh browns included.

Things are awfully expensive around here, what with drinks costing $3 or more any old how, which irk the hell out of me. Did you know that water and coke costs exactly the same? You’d think that in a country where water is in abundance and sometimes more than enough or needed, water would cost cheaper than Singapore, where we have to buy water from Malaysia.

After breakfast we headed to South Banks (finding another free parking lot :P), where we had a lovely stroll along Brisbane River, all the while searching for a bicycle rental outlet. They have a huge public kiddies pool there, and also a makeshift beach where birds swim with humans. Everyone was dressed so scantily that you eventually got used to it and I had a fine time staring at those with…erm, more delicious body figures, males and females alike. I think that those who had better bodies were either blessed with super metabolism rate or they’d had to work hard to attain their dream figure, since the rest of the population appeared to be extremely…voluptuous.

In the end, we didn’t find the bicycle rental store, but we came across a marketplace where stalls were set up within faded white tents, where they provided services like temporary tattoos, 10-minute foot massages and psychic readings (palm/face/tarot). Of course, what was a marketplace without selling dresses, ornaments and paintings? We came across a stall where he handcrafted all sorts of modern-looking, sleek and interesting clocks. Usually, they were made in silver and black, and occasionally with red to boost its attractiveness. Some clocks looked like a guitar, others just took up various lopsided shapes such as oval, square and cone, all distorted of course.

What we bought was an awesome looking clock at $55.

Eventually we came to the local flyer, similar to the one in Singapore, though it goes around a lot faster than what we usually see. Adults: $15, Children: $10. It’s a lot more affordable than Singapore’s $27.90.

And that was about it for South Banks. We headed to the city (over the Story Bridge) to have lunch in a food court, and then headed to Borders and Gloria Jeans as it started raining cats and dogs.

I searched vehemently for a book on analyzing handwritings, but it wasn’t where the search engine said it ought to be. Needless to say, I was disappointed. The rain stopped its relentless downpour and all of us headed home to rest and prepare ourselves for the upcoming dinner at Pineapple Hotel at 1830 just two blocks down the street.

It certainly was a novel experience! The waiter led us to table 26, where we had a look at the menu and decided on Pineapple’s Signature Steak, Eye Fillet Burger and Chips, Pizza Bread, Soup of the Day (Pumpkin) and Kid’s Meal Nuggets and Chips. We were absolutely under prepared for the size of the portion of the food. The T-bone was huge, nuggets thick and juicy (do NOT imagine the ones you see in McDonald’s), French fries elongated, larger and thicker than fingers and the bowl of soup enough to wash your face in it by dunking your head into it. I think I was already half-filled when the food came into my vision.

The beef was juicy and the mushroom sauce lovely, with a glass of red wine to go with it that upped it to perfection. The pizza bread was crunchy but tasted nothing like pizza, whilst the mushrooms (that came together with the T-bone) tasted freaking fantastic – just the right amount of saltiness.

And guess what – everything under $100! Unbelievable, since my estimated bill amounted to about $120. Wow.