As I continued my journy up the east coast of Australia I came to my next stop, Brisbane.
I must mention that before this point, alot of people said to me "don't bother going to Brisbane, I hear it's not that good". "Its like a smaller version of Sydney". That's what you'll hear from everyone who jumps on the "don't bother" band wagon.
As a result, I was in a van with just 4 people including the driver and had basically lost the other 14 or so I'd met previously on the other bus..
It felt a bit weird seing as it was just me, an older couple and the bus driver. It turned out that the other two had actually done some reasearch and were staying in a much nicer more modern hostel than mine. From that day I've not seen them since.
I stayed in Nomads which was above one of the busiest bars in the city "The Down Under Bar" (and grill). Great...I thought, still recovering from my huge drinking binge in Surfers Paradise, another party hostel. 😩🙈
But more on that later.
One of the first places I headed for was of course, the Brisbane letters. As you can see, they are these big letters spelling out the city's name.
I had to wait a while for area to calm down a bit as I forgot that I am living in an era where people don't really care much for others as long as they get likes on instagram or facebook. To be fair, I did post this some pictures on Instagram but only because I ran out of storage on my phone and hadn't yet discovered google photos.
Another point people make when they talk about Brisbane is it's "dead", as in there's no one around.
Wrong!
There's plenty of people in this city and plenty of tourists especially if you go to the main shopping cross section. If you compare it to say London or Sydney, it doesn't have that buzz. But you feel so safe walking around and everything just seems to flow.
I took some pictures walking across the river bridges and around town. It really is a nice city to walk around.
Not far from here there is a gallery of moving art or GOMA which you should visit. It's free appart from donation so why not?
To be honest with you, the only reason I went was for Avengers convention. Yeh...I'm a nerd too. However to my surprise the price was quite high. At least for a backpacker with no job.
I managed to get a peak from one of the upper floors.
I'm sneaky like that 🙈
I took a few pictures of some of the main exhibits too;
There was one particular piece in there that really caught my attention because because how it made me feel. So much so I've decided to write a seperate post on it, so watch out for that one.
The beach
I know what your thinking, what beach?
I'm talking about a man made beach right in the city center!
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You have to give them credit for this, it may not be a real beach but the sand is real and the atmosphere is better because of the surrounding shops and markets.
When I was there it was closed but the outdoor pool next to it was open and there were still plenty of people about.
I carried on walking down the river enjoying the sights.
I like the little things, I'd never seen a coffee shop as hip as this one.
The Nightlife
This one really suprised me. The nights out I had in Brisbane were honestly the best nights I've ever had. To be fair I only went one place but the atmosphere and vibe was simply awasome.
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Perhaps because one of the night's was Canada day. You know they say that Canadians are always so bright and cheerful. Well they are! I met so many people that night, guys, girls. Some of which I'm still in contact with 6 months later. The vibe there was awasome, no trouble. If a drunk guy bumped into me he'd say "sorry". Not "watch it!" which I'm used to.
Maybe I got lucky the 3 nights I went there but honestly if you go to Brisbane, the down under bar is well worth checking out.
Overall I enjoyed my time in Brisbane, it's not the prettiest city but the vibe is great to be in. Like they say you really have to be there to see what I mean.
From this point on, my journy became even more epic and I started to visit some trully amazing locations and a few crazy stories along the way.
I'm dying to share the best moments but they're not till later on in my journy.
You will see what the world trully has to offer.