​Train travel in Australia can be luxurious. It can be a pleasant 24-hour trip from Brisbane to Cairns. Or, it can be something less. I wasn’t able to book a railbed seat on the trip (apparently I needed to book that a couple of months in advance), so I had what I heard referred to as a “sitter” seat. This was in the back of the train, not necessarily a bad thing since there is far, far fewer people passing to and fro. And, since I was a last-second booking on the train, I think I got the very last seat available – and not a window seat.

For the first six hours or so, it wasn’t terrible. Although the seat didn’t recline as far as the Amtrack seat I had years ago when I railed from Reno to a race in Colorado and back, it does recline a bit more than that of a typical airline seat. The padding level was minimal for an assless person though. Over the course of the next 18 hours, a lack of padding got to me. I spent a lot of time in the club car where the seats were more comfortable and the coffee decent and at a decent price: $2.50 A ($1.80 USD) for an 8 oz cup. Compared to the prices in Briz ($3.00 for about 4 oz), that’s a fantastic deal. Also, a personal pizza was $9.00 A.

The stewards were militant about falling asleep or even reclining across the bench seat in the club car though. Nobody in the place, and I was harangued to sit up. Took me back to my imagined time dealing with the persecutions of Sister Mary Elephant at Our Lady of Perpetual Torture Catholic School.

It wasn’t as bad as a long flight though, since I was able to get up and walk around when I wanted. And I did. A lot. It just meant that I wouldn’t get a lot (read: no) sleep. The train also took about 6 hours longer than the equivalent bus trip. That was odd. I think if I am to go the other way and take land transportation back south, I will take a bus instead. I can ensure I get a window seat that will allow me to lean and look, and buses stop periodically that allow me to get out and move. That is, if I don’t take a plane. And, I’ll bring snacks

Uber in Cairns was cheaper than Briz by a lot as well. $8 for a ride from the train station to the hostel, where I was greeted with $7 A ($5 USD)pints of beer. Coral Sea IPA was my choice. It may not be a World Gold medal winner, but I liked it, and for the price it was excellent. Found my way afterward to a Thai restaurant that had Chili Basil fried rice. Damn, but that was good! After dinner I made my way to the sea. I felt the obligation to put my feet in the water, and, after reading the sign, and carefully eyeballing the area, I kicked off my flips, trotted from the paved path the fifteen feet to the sand, and quickly got them wet and moved back up. No crocs for this guy.

Today is going to be settling in and getting a tour or two set up. I think I will extend my stay at the hostel for a week. First night went well, and the price is good. Even with my current room being on the first floor adjacent to the bar and pool, and the takeoff path for the airport directly overhead, I slept like a dead thing.

Well, maybe not literally jet, but train rather. After ten days in Briz hanging out with a bunch of twenty-somethings, I'm hopping a freight (not really) train north to Cairns later today. The train takes about 24 hours to get there, so I'll be a full day in transition. I've heard the scenery is nice along the coast, which is one reason I decided to travel that way. I didn't compare prices to flying, but I imaging I'm also paying a bit more than flying as well. I guess it costs more to travel slowly.

Briz is nice, though maybe a bit more expensive than I expected, and the hostel decent. I was somewhat surprised by the number of young folks smoking though. Most smoked weed -- even though it's not legal -- but a close second was cigarettes. Vapers was a distant third. Overall, if I was held at gunpoint and told to guess I would say probably 60% of the people here partook of at least one inhalant. The jackasses who smoked at 1:00 am directly outside my window were the worst; why they didn't smoke outside their own window confused me. But when I got up at 4:30, I got rid of the ashtrays, and moved the tables. Didn't happen again.

I hope you enjoy this morning's (Monday, 22-Aug) sunrise. I did.

Yesterday was a pretty mild kind of day: walked a bit in the city center, looking, listening, and stopping occasionally to read a bit and enjoy the sunshine. Happened to encounter a promotion event for an upcoming boxing match, complete with a ring and an announcer set up in King George Square. That was – to a person who has absolutely no interest in boxing whatsoever – interesting to watch. I was in the square to visit the Brisbane city museum in the City Hall building. I think it’s the only one called a city hall, whereas all the other capital city municipal buildings in Oz are referred to as town halls. Point of trivia that, if true, is useless and of interest to probably only me. I would be curious as to why the originators deviated from the norm, though. Possibly just to piss off someone. I can see that scenario playing out for sure. The museum itself was low key and pretty small, though. It took me all of about 30 minutes to do it all
 
Food vendor stalls were set up along my path south across the river. I decided to splurge and hit up a bratwurst wagon for a spicy New Zealand cheese and jalapeno brat. It was tasty to be sure, but I didn’t get even a hint of the cheese. I skipped the sauerkraut, too. That stuff just is (a) too strong a flavor and would dominate the experience, and (b) yucky regardless. At $12 AUD, it was reasonable, I guess. Made for a tasty lunch.
 
I revisited the Queensland Museum, dodging groups of young kids. I didn’t ask to find out if they were in school this time of year, or if it was more of a camp experience. I’m leaning toward the latter, though given the quasi-harried herders looked more like college-age and not professionals. Purely speculative on my part, though.
 
Upon my return to the hostel, I bought soap ($1 AUD) and a token good for a load in a washer ($4). I went all out and went for the dryer too – another $4. All told for a wash & dry cycle: $6.50 US. I feel I’m über rico, since most folks air dry. I’m not only mixing the languages I've heard here, I'm doing my bit for the economy. While I was hanging about in reception where I bought my soap and tokens, Alejandro (from Chile) came by and invited me to join him…somewhere? All I understood was “friends” and “want to come”, so of course I did.
 
It turned out to be a free market event in a space down the road where a charity sets up and distributes food to people in need. He, and a fair number of other hostel residents lined up to participate in the distribution. I felt odd being in my financial position taking free food, so I excused myself from Alejandro and wandered to the front of the line. I’m sure I got some weird looks along the way, but I wasn’t going up there to jump the queue, I went to ask if I could help. I met Mark, the man who runs the operation every Wednesday, and explained I didn’t need free food, but could I offer a cash donation (I had some in my pocket) and maybe help on the other side of the tables.
 
He eagerly accepted both offers. It was a very rewarding experience handing out yogurt, tea, watermelon, and shots of milk (the ones for coffee) to those who needed/wanted it. Down the row was some pretty good looking fruit and veggies. It’s a pretty good operation. It was fun to see the expressions on the faces of the other hostel residents when they saw me on the other side of the tables. Afterward, I told Mark (and Carl, who was next to me) that I would be happy to help another time when I was in the area on a Wednesday. It feels good to do good.

I gave the Goat beer a go. Go Goat. I liked it. As it says on the can, it's a very enjoyable beer. It's low in AVB, which is just fine for me. It – and several of its friends – would go down great on a really hot day. Three other shots are from my visit to the museum. The last two are of a regular visitor to the hostel, but I don't think he pays, and the dawn as I wrote this post. I couldn't pass up adding it. So beautiful.

​I’ve decided to hang out in Briz for another week, staying in the same place. I’ve found a great microbrewery called the Brisbane Brewing Company that serves up a quite tasty stout (among other nice selections), with a friendly tender who’s been here for only a couple of years from England. Dominic and I, and a “local” (from up country) named William shared a few yesterday. I’m possibly going to meet up with William tonight at a place called The Burrow (really eclectic mix of furnishings, but less good beer than BBC), where there is going to be live music tonight. Looking forward to that.

​I went for a run yesterday for the first time since I left FoCo. It wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible. The river trail is quite popular, and there were a lot of others out running, walking, riding E-scooters and cycling. It struck me that the folks on bicycles are either in a group riding nice, lightweight bikes or are on e-bikes, with the E-bike crowd outnumbering the “serious” cyclists. I’m beginning to wonder how close we are coming to the tipping point where electrical assist will outnumber personal transport without it. I saw a number of electric Segway-like contraptions, with only one wheel. One guy had a baby strapped to his back while riding one of these.
 
I also walked through the Botanical Gardens and through the city center to the north. I stopped at a Walgreens for chicken fingers, Doritos and cookies: lunch of champions! While eating in the park between the court buildings, I was accosted by an Australian Ibis who, when his begging from the front failed, quietly circled around, jumped on the bench behind me, and started poking into my stuff with his twelve inches. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like getting poked from behind by twelve inches, at least not without warning. Sneaky bastard.

Today's forecast is for rain most of the day, so I think I may use it to suss out where to go on the 21st. North to Cairns, west inland for a bit, or south towards Sydney? Regardless of direction, I plan to take a train whichever way I go to see more of the country. Maybe I’ll see a roo.

I've been here now for one full day in Briz. And first reactions are…I like it. The hostel (Somewhere to Stay) is quiet (for the most part), and I’ve met a few interesting people. I find it somewhat amusing that I’m kind of looked at like an interloper, since I’m not sporting dreads, my socks match, my laptop isn’t an Apple and I don’t have a fog of weed smoke or vape following me around. Or, it could be that I’m old and the rest of the residents are as young as my kids.
 
I’ve heard at least three languages other than English, and I haven’t heard a North American accent yet. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any staying here, though. Overall, after the first two nights, I’m inclined to extend my stay here for another week or so before moving on – to either another place in Briz, or to another city. I’ve not yet discovered buses, but I do know where the train station is.
 
If I do say so myself, I think I did well with selecting the location. There are at least three breweries within 1 km, a multitude of restaurants, and I’ve sussed out a decent running route that I’ll give a whirl later today. Even with the close proximity of the retail, the hostel is definitely located in a residential area. There is a meter that measures the sound levels. I spoke to the night guy, and he said they use it to monitor the activities so as to not annoy the neighbors. Perhaps my “it’s quiet” declaration may not survive the weekend. I shall see.
 
My plan to identify birds got off to a rollicking start with a magpie, and a magpie-lark. The magpie-lark is the one in the photo. However, I am disappointed not to have seen a single kangaroo or other marsupial yet. I can’t believe there aren’t herds of them roaming the city streets like thugs. My disappointment has been attenuated, though, by the five month old puppy named Roo that I met at The Bearded Lady. Roo was stretched out and sound asleep on two sisters’ laps. The music must have put her to sleep.
 
That’s it for day one. Enjoy the photos.