Wednesday, September 28, 2011
It is known by a fact Australia is a freaking expensive place to live in; it does not matter how you search online or who you consult with, almost any Aussie city will be in that list. Even worst, almost all the time Sydney and Melbourne will be in the top ten.
And why do I think Australia is so freaking expensive?
Because I suffer it on my bone and flesh every single day, every single time I am paying rent and every single time I go to the mall to acquire any good I notice the huge price difference in comparison to the same products in the US or Asia.
Being honest, I don’t have a clue of why Australia is so overpriced; maybe lots of taxes, import duties and what else only god knows but you could find lots of goods with huge overprice margins regardless to the country of origin of the product.
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| To those who does not know what a PS3 Controller is... |
For instance (and I don’t have intentions to sound trivial with the item I am going to post in here) you could buy a PlayStation 3 Controller Dual Shock 3 SIXAXIS on any retail store for A$90... If you find a very cheap place where to buy it from.
OR you could go online to ebay if you want and buy it for A$30 plus postage, or you could even go to Amazon and buy it online with a bundle (most of the time bundles are not available in Australia) and get it for A$40 including postage with a brand new game (depends on offer and season).
Maybe the PS3 controller is a bad example because you could argue there are websites selling those controllers directly from China with a retail price of $30 flat; and there is the light possibility of someone telling to compare a wide range of items, because one item is surely not enough…
Let’s take a shiny new 3D LED TV (I am going top of the line here just to show the difference in prices).
The Sony Bravia 60” Full HD 3D LED LCD Smart TV (I don’t like Sony as my display, but I went to the JB HIFI website looking for any brand).
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| See the tackle coming at you... you will definitely will feel it with the price! |
On JB HIFI it cost A$3496 (you could ask for a deal, actually I went there and asked for one and they gave me the ubber awesome discount of A$500)
On Amazon (US)*(1) it will cost US$1258 (at the time I am writing this post), including shipping, exchange rates and taxes it will be A$1800.
*(1) Could not find it on Amazon.co.uk for the comparison… But it will probably be cheaper as well.
Difference in prices: A$1.200!
If there are differences on these prices, go to JB HIFI and Amazon websites, note down the prices and compare.
Now I could argue this price stuff and blame entirely on extreme taxes (yes, bonji jumping extreme) or very bad policies applied to certain products.
Let’s study then a scenario that to me is totally absurd; I present thee Holden Cruze (I was about to select the Commodore... more about that later).
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| Holden/Chevrolet Cruze |
Why the Holden Cruze?
Holden brand is Chevrolet on the states (and several other countries as well) and the Cruze has the exact same name everywhere, so I thought it could be easy to related between different models. And there is another reason to select the Cruze; turns out is a fine Australian made car (at least those sold in the US are)... So, if the theory is right, the Cruze should be cheaper down under than anywhere else, right?
WRONG!
The Holden Cruze CD (the cheapest you could get) costs in Australia A$21.990 (without changing anything to it); that is US$21.700 with the current exchange rate of US$0.98 per each A$ (if I had posted this before the US price goes up for few hundred).
Its description is:
- Model: Series 2 Cruze CD
- Engine: 1.8 Petrol (gasoline) engine with manual transmission, 6 (gears/speeds).
- Colour: Heron White (not that makes a difference, double checked).
- Trim (Seats and Interior): Jet black cloth.
The Chevrolet Cruze LS (again cheapest that matches previous description) costs in the US$17.275.
Aussie price for the Aussie built car is 126% the US price.
That is ‘BUGGER!’ in Aussie slang or ‘what the funk?!’ in American.
So... how come Aussie will pay more for the same car? Is it that shipping stuff to the US is so cheaper than shipping within the same territory?
I can't understand it at all...
What could I find while doing my research?
Australia will get higher prices on 80% of the items; you name it! If you are whiling to spend some of your time searching online, try to establish similar products from different places and you will notice the great difference between prices.
Whose fault is it?
There are three different groups to blame on any society (Australian or not).
- The Merchants, manufacturers and retailers; huge companies will always try to get more profit without taking into consideration markets or societies. I call this group ‘the bitches’ or industry prostitutes because they will charge you as hard as you want their services.
- The Government or the market regulator; this group are the pimps, they use their prostitutes to get money out of the public on many different levels.For instance, you pay levies or taxes on those goods you are trying to purchase (just like the prostitutes charge you for their protection paying it to their pimp) and on top of that you also have to pay taxes deductible from your income.
- The customer or client; this is the worst of all (to my point of view) because it won’t matter how much people would like to sell themselves for money or how hard the pimp will hit others to get his money, the customer is the one supporting the entire system. Without someone looking to get an easy ‘date’ there are no prostitutes, without prostitutes there will be no pimps.
What do I want to say with this?
Well my dear Aussies, you need to hunt a good bargain and to know when to say no to a huge overprice, no matter how madly/desperately you want it just say no and keep looking for a better bargain.
Think ahead, plan your investment. That means, if you buy something regardless its cost try to get the best value out of it.
What do you think? Am I wrong with my perception?
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Yup, Kathy and I have officially turned two years down under and what’s the best way to remember those two years than checking the balance.
Sadly, this post is being written as the migraine strikes back, so please forgive me if is total nonsense.
This story has two sides, one happy and one sad. Let’s start with the sad one (that why you won’t end depressed at the end of the post... maybe a little in the middle).
Three days ago (on September 7th) I was having a lovely moment with my missus, watching a movie when I received a call.
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| This was the movie we were watching on that day... Confessions of a shopaholic – if you are a guy and your girl brings this movie to your place... Run! Run away from her, leave her behind and never look backJust RUN! Save yourself while you can, it was too late for me! I think my testicles shrank twice while watching it |
At first it was confusing and could not understand what the person in the other side of the line was saying to the phone because there was too much interference, but I decided to give it a try and replied:
‘Alo? Hello? Anybody there?’
At that precise moment, the sounds coming from the other side resembled someone crying and mumbling something...
‘Today... is two years... have been two years since you are gone. I miss you so much!’
My chest felt instantly heavy, it was difficult to talk, to breathe and I had to stand up and stepped out to the balcony replying:
‘Hi Mom! I was not expecting your call! How are you?’
The conversation went on for another ten minutes, with my mom crying more and more, my dad trying to make her smile (unsuccessfully) and I... I was trying to maintain my calm.
Must admit, it has been one of the most sad, complicated and depressing conversation I have ever had with my mom, but I fully understand that for her is not easy. But for me it was extremely difficult to respond to some of her questions, such as:
“How do you feel? Are you happy?”
Are you happy????? What am I supposed to say here? I know there is no right answer to this... maybe a
‘No mom, I am being miserable in here. I am being treated like shit, less than rubbish and because of my masochist tendencies I am going to stay for as long as possible?’
Obviously that is not the case, telling her that I feel utterly happy and comfortable was not very well received; triggering a new river of tears, with eventual phrases saying ‘I know you are very happy... it was your choice of leaving us, pursuing your adventure of trying to be happy... is just that I miss you so much!’
Up to this point you might be wondering... but why isn’t your mom taking the first plane to Oz?
Economical issues will be my first answer and probably lack of interest to take a plane for more than 20 hours.
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| To my mom, anything that is not America or Europe is far far away. |
Why am I not taking a plane to go and visit her?
Yet again, economical issues will be the first answer. Flying to Venezuela is very expensive from this part of the world, but sadly enough is not the main component of the full answer; Venezuela has become very hostile place to anyone, categorised at the moment as one of the most dangerous country in America and the world. You don't believe it? Google it and you will find in no time posts and articles pointing it out.
But... Why am I telling these stories and thoughts?
Being far away from my family has been hard. There have been times when I would like to be with them, share some of the same experiences, enjoy my nephews and nieces, play with my brothers or just take a seat and chill out, hear them talk about baseball, or what was the last big move with the national soccer team, or my sis laughing of my stupid jokes or sarcastic comments about different situations.
I miss those tasty treats my mom used to cook for me, even though she was going to tell me later on I am eating too much and that is why I am too fat! Or going bald or whatever.
I miss them, all of them very much and the feeling is neither getting worst nor decreasing as the time goes by. This is part of the decision I choose when starting somewhere else.
Now... the happy and more appealing side of the post!
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| There is always a bright side. |
The 9th was our second anniversary since our arrival to Australia! Heey!
On these two years we have been able to:
- Start different projects and studies. Kathy has been back to her belly dancing, and I have been reading different types of articles and magazines, most of them related to photography and how to improve the image composition and general appearance.
- Buy the camera we always wanted (and now we are fighting to get a chance to use it... and highly probable we will have to buy another one). I was not going to include material things into the list, but the camera (for me) isn’t part of those material things. The camera give us the opportunity to show to our families and friends how we perceive and appreciate Australia (and our lives).
- Establish our home. With all the crap need it for it.
- Make friends, very dear friends.
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| Say whaat? Two years? |
These two years have been great yet a bit melancholic... or should it be melancholically great? In general the balance is still pretty good! We are deeply, truly and madly in love of our new home.
I am unimaginable grateful to this country for giving me the opportunity of being part of it and I will try to do my best to be a great investment for its future.
Thanks to our friends (in and out of work) for being great with us, to make the effort of understand, comprehend and share our journey.
Till next post.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I think I have lost my muse for the last couple of days. There are so many things I would like to share but at the same time I don’t know how to write it or how to remove the depressing tone from my words.
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| Dear Calypso, bring your tunes and give me inspiration Image from evike |
I have tried to evoke Clio, Erato or Calypso to take my hands and use them to put down into words my mood and make me feel better... but nothing. So I had to force myself to express what’s on my head, draining some stress and getting calmed.
So, my dear blog, you might ask me, why am I so depressed? Why the blue mood dragging me into the limbo?
So many things, for starters as days goes by the situation in Venezuela is getting worse and being honest, I can’t see the tipping point where people will say “I can’t stand it anymore, this has to change”. My family (as certainly any others in Venezuela) is having serious economical issues thanks to the wrong policies and schemes the government has taken for the last 12 years, plus the water supply, electrical power, roads and health systems has become a mere joke... a bad and tasteless joke which keeps me worried.
On the other hand I am not getting many distractions at work; I do not like the code or the design I am producing, but I have to concentrate to deliver stuff and to be easy going, but my head and my heart are telling me to do something different, to act, to change the situation... but how?
Probably I am just in my blue era, just like Van Gogh, with the big difference that I am not a genius, neither a great artist, nor an alcoholic, nor Dutch... definitely not going to cut my ear and not going to kill myself... and this blue phase eventually will go.
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| Van Gogh - Almond Tree |
So... What to do? What to do?
In the meanwhile I keep taking pictures (which aren’t good either), studying new technologies (well... not really studying... more reading than anything else...), browsing for hours the Internet trying to find good deals and trying not to forget to watch the stars at the end of the days.
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| Van Gogh - Starry night |
Do I have any news for you?
Well... I got officially older on July and so did my mom (kind of sad to sing the happy birthday on the phone because the freaking Venezuelan’s Internet is shit and I could not video call my mom)... I finished one book I have been reading for at least 6 months now... On September 9th it will be two years since I arrived to Australia.
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| Broken communications... that's our experience with Venezuelans failing systems. Image from corbisimages.com |
And I have rewritten four times three posts of which I have published none... and I still don’t like‘em.
Anyway, I am going to go back to editing those posts.
Hope to get it ready anytime soon.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
If you are a computer affectionate (A.K.A geek, nerd or computerholic) or love photography, taking pictures of very attractive-artistic-astonishing rubbish, probably you have bumped into the inevitable I-am-running out-of-disk-space problem... or the very well known my-mom-does-not-know-how-to-check-my-facebook-photos-and-it-will-be-better-if-I-just-send-the-link-on-an-email.
In those case you need an image storage service to upload some of your pictures to share it with your mates and maybe (it depends on how attached to your photos you are) store it on these services and have it available anywhere at all times.
There are tons and tons of those services, for instance:
Google has Picasa Web which connects to Picasa (on desktop computers or Picasa plug-in for IPhoto on Macs), I use this service to host the images used on my blogs, why? Is so easy to click on blogger, upload my images drag it where I want it to be and that’s it. There is another reason; if you just want to store a bulk of images Picasa will be a cheap option for small storage. Right now Picasa Web allows you to upload up to 1GB (Giga byte or 1000 Mega bytes) for free; $5 per year if you want to upgrade to 20GB and if you need more space than add 5 bucks for every 20GB you want to expand... Obviously, when you need lots of space, for instance 1TB (= 1000GB) you will be paying $256 per year.
Microsoft has Live Photos (I don't know if it was re-branded to skydrive, but it exists for two years now...) which works great with Live Photo Gallery and you get awesomely 25GB of storage for free... But I have not used it... ever... so I can’t give you a nice comment related to it with the exception of the great free space.
And Flickr (I don’t plan to post in there the entire list of services available) is a very nice photo sharing site where you could easily upload your images, include comments and post them online. The one thing that made me use Flickr to post my photography experience is the nice experience of beautiful user interface (do you imagine gorgeous photos in an awful web page layout?). The second reason related to my selection is based on scalability; when I get to the point where maintaining the pictures in my computer is not possible and the amount of pictures I can upload surpass the monthly allowance imposed by Flickr, then they will charge me $25 per year for unlimited storage... Right now my data storage is pretty low and I don’t think that any time soon I am going to exceed 300MB per month, but something more important is that Flickr has a better photography-related community in comparison to Picasa’s.
So I present thee (drums please)... my photostream!
I am still uploading images now and then; currently (at the time that I am writing this post) my most active stream is related to Vivid Sydney 2011, but fell free to take a look of my inspirational moments. Comments, observations and constructive critics are highly appreciated.
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| If you are looking for this Queen... you won't find it inhere! |
For those of you who does not live or have knowledge of the Queen’s birthday, every second of June the members of the Commonwealth celebrate the birthday of the Monarch.
But what does it means and why am I writing a post about it?
The meaning
It means that the current Queen, Elizabeth II will be celebrating another year of experience in the crown.
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| And here... The monarch of the Commonwealth... Elizabeth II |
Why is celebrated in June? Isn't the real date on April 21?
Apparently this holiday was first established in 1788 (in Australia), honouring King George III (Monarch at the time) who’s birthday was the 4th of June 1738, but every other king or queen born after those dates was celebrated on their own birthday...
So... Who decided to celebrate anything in June? King George V in 1936 decided to celebrate any Queen or King Birthday on June and later on the Commonwealth fixed the date to the second Monday of June.
... Not that interesting really... I was expecting a drunken aunty dancing around naked in the Buckingham palace to which consequence and in an attempt to distract public attention decided to celebrate the queen birthday that day... Anyway... now you know we are not that crazy =P on celebrating Queen’s birthday on her non-real-birth-day.
Why am I writing about this?
Because is long weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!
The queen’s birthday is a public holiday in Australia (with the exception of the people of Perth, that decided to celebrate it on the first Monday of October... why? No idea!) in which friends take advantage of the long weekend to visit between each other, or many just crack a beer between mates. In any case is a wonderful opportunity to rest and enjoy the cold but lovely weather.
In Sydney you will enjoy some fireworks at Darling Harbour, the end of Vivid Sydney (which reminds me, I have to share with you the pictures that I have been taking from this event), The Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues festival, different events in North Sydney and so on.
So, if you are in Australia, enjoy this awesome and well deserved long weekend.
Edited: added the reason of why is celebrated in June instead of April, thanks xerxesb for your observation.
Edited: added the reason of why is celebrated in June instead of April, thanks xerxesb for your observation.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Well… I am still getting ready to publish the bazillion pictures I took last Saturday on this fantastic show called Vivid Sydney.
Vivid is a very quiet yet colourful and marvellous that it represents the great (and simple) things you could create with a bunch of lasers, lights and an outstanding building.
This post is the first part of ‘Vivid Sydney’ post series and the next one will contain no less than 30 full colour pictures capture by me :) (My camera actually).
Here you will find a time laps of the show, enjoy it
Friday, May 27, 2011
Yes... I have falling very low... and I had to make a post of it...
I am still struggling how to put this into words... especially when I have said before that I would hate myself if I ever opened... I found hard and strong, like a knight would fight a dragon, trying to slay it just to proof his bravery, chivalry and honour... but at the end the fool dies saving a friend, a hot chick or just something as stupid as treasures...
Something that life has taught me is that when you have a problem... you got to share it with a friend because it will give you the first step in a very long recovery; that first step is called recognition of your problem.
There is no good way to say it... so here I go...
I... I have opened a twitter account...
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| Yes... I can't believe it either... Can't say that I was forced, neither I did it by mistake... I was totally aware and in control of my faculties. Image from brutalion |
Yes, I did...
so sorry fellas... Now I will be able to share my silly and stupid thoughts in twitter as well instead of having it contained and concentrated on this blog.
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| The little blue bird who tweets... Image from alpercakici |
So if you want to follow me (yeah right) you could do it @rodrigoelp; I will try to do my best to not let you down and share good stuff.
Cheers and till next time.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
I have to finish Perth’s post series and I wanted to end in a very positive note, those things I liked the most about it. In a way, I need this positive note right now because of different factors:
- Firstly, the hideous migraine has been visiting me more frequent in the past few weeks and is highly probable that I am not handling it right.
- Secondly, sometimes I feel I am not at my best at work... I really would like to give more of me but I have been bumping against walls and I haven’t been clever enough to early detect it and change accordingly.
- And thirdly, I just need to get a couple of things out of head to make room for new ones.
In response to those points I have decided to take a sit (while I eat a meat pie) and start taking a look to 23 gig of pictures recently taken, stored in my hard drive and share with you a couple more of our Perth adventure.
As you may have already read in previous posts (such as 'hop hop hop and off to Perth we go', 'how did we get to Perth', 'Perth first impressions' and 'Comparison Sydney/Perth'), Kathy and I went to Perth to spend some time with close friends and the result was outstanding; our friends were delighted taking us out every single day (to all of them I am truly grateful) trying to sell us the best of their city and nearby areas; we were delighted as well with their attentions, treatment and love.
Even though I have written a comparison between Sydney and Perth, impressions and a very descriptive report of how Virgin Blue raped our wallets took us to there, I felt obliged to add those things I liked the most from Perth, and here there are:
Bell tower
Also known as the home of the Swan Bells(1) is a gorgeous crystal and copper building between the Perth’s CBD and the swan river; it was built to host 18 bells provided by city of London and the British and Australian mining company in commemoration of Australia bicentenary.
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| Colours and shapes... that incredibly attractive, isn't? |
I don’t know if I am in love of the wave-alike shape, or its similitude with the Opera House, but truly is a magnificent building that everyone has to visit once in Perth.
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| I love that shape, it was extremely well played and beautifully finished. |
We got there elevenish with the purpose of walking around the city, have some meal and keep our tour, Kathy took advantage of our good friend to take as many pictures as possible (and took my camera and started taking pictures of whatever; it really did not matter what it was, she was taking a picture of it. Meanwhile I stood there watching it, impressed with the shape and how crystal-like fragile seems to be as seen from the outside with its huge amounts of glass and its two shells on each side. It kind of reminds you a big, big clamp with a piece of glass on its middle and I was totally intrigued about the internal structure and the sound that could produce. So we walked in all the way to the highest level we could get... and at that precise moment, a bunch of blokes and two ladies started pulling the cords through series of pulley, generating leverage on the mechanism that finally rotated the bells, striking its clapper against the walls of the metal cup, making a very loud ‘CLANK!!!!’ followed by other different clanks and bangs which variates on intensity; pushing the entire structure to its maximum, vibrating its pillars inducing you into the feeling of being in a boat with small shakes every now and then. At first I could not understand how the entire building was moving just by the fact of someone playing the bells... till I actually got the look of the 2 metres high bells and weight up to 1480 Kilos.
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| From level 5 of the bell tower the view is outstanding |
I know there are plenty of stuff in Perth, and some of those could be even more important than the Bell Tower, but for me this building casted a magic spell on me and now is one of my favourite modern buildings in the entire world (right behind the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Chrysler Building in New York City).
The Swan River
Water has been always a topic of fascination among the human kind and I am not the exception to the rule.
Our first encounter with it was while our welcome committee was picking us from the airport and driving us to Maccas (McDonalds, btw) while our friend Victor told us ‘Now that you are looking at the swan river you must feel great, don’t you? Is here where is celebrated the biggest event of Australia... Perth Skyworks...’ to what I remember and made the immediate analogy of the grateful and independent republic of Zulia (one state in Venezuela where anyone and everyone believes they are not Venezuelans, they are citizens of Zulia which has been giving the royal honour to Venezuela to be part of it). Anyway, I took a look to the brownish waters, the shores and the view around it. It wasn’t something extraordinary and I must say I could not understand why lots of people were so excited about the river... I mean, the water wasn’t crystal clear as the Parramata River (in some areas I must remark), beside the bell tower, the blue house (to which I still don’t know its name) and the CBD’s view from the south shore I could not find any extraordinary thing about it...
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| One of the multiple points were you could stop and enjoy the view. Is not precisely in the swan river shore. |
Our second encounter was the next day, Victor took us around to show us the beaches and nice spots to take pictures, and it was in one of those incursions that I saw a couple of old folks in their boat placidly driving it in the calmed waters. Maybe it was a matter of scale or maybe it was the moment, but I felt like part of it, so nice and relaxing... and I started wondering... is this the feeling some of the pertains have talked about?
Third encounter, fourth day of our holidays, driving to the Swan Bells and then to the blue house (that I am going to show the picture in a bit) to take pictures and I realised the entire city is surround it by the river, like a huge serpent around a leaf... a big leaf obviously. So pretty much anything you want to do in the water will be probably on the river.
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| A black and white image of the Swan river and Perth CBD I know... it looks extremely small... Click on it to see a bigger version of it. |
Fourth encounter, our last day there, we were coming back home from an amazing meal in ‘Eat Greek’, an all-you-can-eat restaurant where our friends took us to give us the farewell and enjoy with us the last night. Driving us back home we notice bunch of cars parked on the kerb (as well as a police patrol) staring at the water. We wondered what could be that impressive when it happened, dolphins jumping out and in, teasing between each other and teasing people to throw them things and then keep playing between them and with the occasional new visitor. It was an incredible and magical experience which I did not capture in photos (I am very sorry).
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| The blue house on the river, known as Crawley edge boatshed |
Sculptures around the city
In different occasions I wondered about events in Perth based on the number of pictures I have seen with mates and sculptures. And I always asked myself... why is everyone taking a picture of this bronze bloke?
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| And yes... we also took our picture of the bronze bloke... Otherwise people could had told us 'but you did not have the picture with that man!!' |
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| A 'pee-pee' man - Sculpture by the sea - Cottesloe |
Our first day we went to the beach when an interesting sculpture got my attention which made me start to play with my camera and the object, trying to get interesting images, capturing the texture, the colours and the shape... But more interesting was that I was totally pleased to find new shapes and objects every now and then.
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| Even in the fish market you will find it. |
Now, that last comment could suggest to some of my readers that Sydney lacks of sculptures or interesting stuff to see around, but I think the key difference in here is that fact that Perth is pretty much flat and trying to find sculptures is kind of easy; all you need to do is walk and look around, while Sydney gives you a more challenging situation because with its big buildings, streets and people rushing to their lives without taking a minute to look around, the Sydneysider has grown unaware of these little details, and most of the times they don’t even know where to find it.
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| Dragonfly - Cottesloe, part of the sculptures by the sea |
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| Walking men - Sculpture by the sea - Cottesloe |
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| Walking around the fish market we found a sculpture with interesting textures and beautiful mosaics |
So what’s the difference?
I was walking to friends that took the time to appreciate the city, which is a fantastic way to spend some of your time; it gives you the opportunity to share knowledge, ideas and creativity.
So Rod... is there anything else you liked about Perth?
Short answer, yes, there are plenty of stuff to remark... But if I highlight lots and lots of stuff, I will be totally unfair to another set of items present in Perth... I could spend a long time talking about beaches, parks, scenery, etc, etc but the main idea of this post was to highlight those things that I would recommend from Perth to anyone to enjoy on their trip plan.
I think this post completes Perth post series. I hoped you enjoyed these words and I will back in now time to take more precious moments with our friends.
Cheerios.
(1) Ring my bells website suck big time on Google Chrome (I haven't tried in Firefox). Use Safari or Internet Explorer if you plan to check it out.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
As described in Wikipedia, the Kookaburras are large to very large birds native to Australia and New Guinea, carnivore by nature, easily spotted in a wide variety of environments from humid forest to arid savannas, but also spotted in suburban and residential areas near running water where food can be searched for easily, including on its menu lizards, snakes, bugs and meat... like raw meat, sausages, fillets or steaks in an unsupervised BBQ or visitor’s plate!
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| IS SO FLUFFY!!!!! Image from wikipedia |
What I find more interesting about this bird is that it looks like a stuffed toy bird, with all its feathers puff up gives it the appearance of being super fluffy white, blown and blue fairy floss in the shape of a bird with a big waffle cone as beak (I was not starving at the time that I wrote the last paragraph!).
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| Laughing Kookaburra. Very common in Sydney |
Its name derives from the word guuguubarra, which is (kind of) the sound these little fellows do to call each other, producing a distinctive yet hysterical sound very close to the human laugh. Curious enough, their laugh is known worldwide, used on infinite number of attractions and jungle themed entertainments around the world such as wildlife parks, or the more characteristic monkeys laugh in Disney’s park attractions.
And why do I want to share this knowledge with you?
In case you think this is related to the blue bottle incident...
No... I was not stung by any poisonous Kookaburra while a mysterious man came out from the bush with an unknown yet catchy nursery rhyme about Kookaburras flying in blue skies... But I feel compelled to tell my experiences with these birds.
Experience #1 – First encounter.
I was newly arrived to Australia and I was walking with Kathy around the area (looking around... trying to find furniture to use in our empty apartment to be perfectly honest...) and we started hearing that laugh at which we quickly turn around to face the source of it, just to find a white and brown bird, looking back at us and no one else. At first I thought I might be a bit crazy... then I turned to face Kathy asking her if she heard it too and she replies says ‘Does Australia have monkeys anywhere?’
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| The Kookaburra, watching at us and nothing more. The image is from Ian |
I was trying to find a recollection of an article of book... but nothing; I could not remember any Australian monkey famous for its mockery of bystanders.
Two more steps and we heard it again, facing back as fast as possible just to see the same puffy bird, sitting placidly on its branch. I remembered Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” where a raven gave visits to a man, just to remind him his beloved late Lenore...
“Once upon midday dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint a curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly walking, suddenly there came a laughing,
As of someone gently giggling, giggling at my bad joke,
‘Tis some visitor’ I muttered, ‘giggling at my bad joke
Only this and nothing more’ ”
Turned once more to face Kathy and tell her that I did not know the source of the laugh, but whatever it was, wasn’t moneys and then for third time we got the ‘GUU GUU UHA BA AAH AAH AAH!’ and to my surprise there was the bird, shaking with an harmonic yet spastic movement to which each ‘AAH!’ corresponded perfectly.
Full of excitement and curiosity; we rushed back home to try to find this odd bird whose singing was exactly like if it was laughing and googled ‘laughing bird Australia’ and there it was... first link ‘laughing Kookaburra’
I must say, it looked so puffy and huggable (just like a stuffed toy bird) that I skipped the carnivore part of the text (do not remember reading it) and ever since then I wanted one in my balcony, laughing to me, making happy each morning, day or night an hysterical opportunity to feel joyful.
Experience #2 – The Taronga Zoo
There had been few days since the arrival of some dear friends, when we decided to go and get to know the famous Taronga Zoo... and getting the very emblematic (yet mandatory) picture with a roo. In fact my mom told me several times, ‘without a picture with a kangaroo, you have no proof what so ever that you are in Australia!!!’ and so... that day of March we took the train to Circular Quay, walked to the wharf with the huge ‘Taronga Zoo’ sign and got the annual membership.
Why? (or why not to get a simple ticket? you may ask)
Well... lots of people told us ‘is a huge park and you will have to walk a lot!’ it was noon-ish already and the annual membership costed as much as two tickets for an adult. I thought ‘what the hell, I know that I am going to come more than once...’ (I did, later on... don’t take my decision back).
Once in the zoo, we went straight away to take pictures of koalas and kangaroos (Erm, I must clarify this, Taronga does not have kangaroos... in reality they show Wallabies, but it fits the purpose) and in our way to see the birds show Kathy and I stood petrified trying to find the precise location of the laugh origin. It was going to be the very first time to watch it up close and there it was, a big bird (30 or 35 cm head to tail bird) puffed as always, looking down at us, trying to invite us to give it some food.
I think someone from the zoo saw me and came by fast enough to cough while pointing to the sign ‘feeding the animals is forbidden at all times – fines applies’ to which I reacted instinctively to protect my wallet and told to Kathy to keep walking... Kathy just looked at me with her usual ‘I told you not to...’
I think someone from the zoo saw me and came by fast enough to cough while pointing to the sign ‘feeding the animals is forbidden at all times – fines applies’ to which I reacted instinctively to protect my wallet and told to Kathy to keep walking... Kathy just looked at me with her usual ‘I told you not to...’
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| 'What does it say?' 'Dunno... don't worry, humans seems to not understand it either' |
Yeah... I know... shame on me.
Experience #3 – The BBQ
We had less than a week of having bought the BBQ and have it assembled when Kathy told me ‘I am hungry... could you cook some sausages in there?’ Pointing to the BBQ with the look “I don’t want anything from the kitchen to get dirt”
I stood up, grabbed the tomato and basil sausages just like she said, warmed up the BBQ and put the protective cover of oil just like one of my mates at work told me, to then leave (unattended for five minutes) those sausages and keep playing God of War while Kathy was folding shirts in our room.
I started smelling the delicious aroma coming from cooking process when I heard the flapping of something close to the BBQ, just to turn around enough and see a Kookaburra standing in front of the BBQ and I thought... ‘Ouh! How lovely looks the... WHAT THE FLUNK IS IT DOING?????????’ whiles the bird jumped inside the BBQ, taking one sausage with its beak and flying away very very fast.
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| yes mister... you will eventually pay me that sausage! |
I stood there... totally speechless... Wordless to say, Kathy told me not to leave the sausages unattended. She did not foretell any theft bird stealing our lunch, but she was trying to avoid getting charcoal as meal.
As I walked to the table, I tried to think into very different explanations to ‘why are we one sausage short?’ to which in my imagination I was about to tell her ‘I just dropped the sausage to the floor and throw it to the bin’ or ‘I was hungry and got one ahead’ or ‘I think the pack had one less than usual’. Then she asked and all I came up was with ‘damn Kookaburra! Too long to explain, I will get one slice of bread and a sausage, you will get your sausages... don’t worry’
She looked puzzled... but at least I got one less ‘I told you so’ (and less sausage as well...)
Experience #4 – the one in Macquarie University.
I have been always marvelled of how careless to human presence some animals in Australia are, is like they know people mean no harm to them and as long as you don’t try anything weird, they won’t try to go away, which is the total opposite to animals (desirable animals) in Caracas; if you were walking, pigeons will fly away; if you stop abruptly, it will fly away. If you are talking to someone, it will fly away... if you are quiet... it will fly away... Does not matter what you do, it will fly away as soon as you are on its field of view.
Anyway, some birds in the Macquarie University campus aren’t the exception. Some time ago I was going back to the office and I see this lovely and puffy Kookaburra standing in a handrail and I thought of pulling out my cell and capture the moment... but as soon as my hand got to my pocket the bird looked afraid so I stopped in an attempt to not scares it. Apparently the Kookaburra was curious about me either and started walking towards me, while still in the handrail getting puffier and puffier and then stood there, in front of me at a distance where I could grab it easily if I wanted. So I start moving my finger towards its head to try to touch it when I heard ‘If you really love your finger, put it away, mate!’ as the student went passing me by, acting as if he wanted to bite his finger... then I looked back at the Kookaburra just to realise that it was opening its beak as I was rising my hand.
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| Looks small... but its beak is very intimidating... |
Experience #5 – the one in the park.
Yesterday (Saturday 7th of May) a couple of friends, Kathy and I went to Lane Cove National Park with the intention of getting some good food, talk and enjoy one of the multiple national parks that this wonderful city have. Our friends picked us up at 12 PM with pretty much everything except the wood for cooking, which we bought 5 minutes later from the petrol station and off to our picnic.
First thing was start the fire, to which I began my explanation of how to set the wood in a squared shape with a bit of oil in the middle (or combustive material) trying to get the centre as hot as possible to get the wood burning...
Most of the times I remember when one of my older brothers was explaining to me the same technique and telling me how the kerosene gave a nasty taste to the meat, while I was emptying a jar of kerosene on top of the charcoal to then throw a match on lighting up... it was like slow motion movies... my brother watched the match descending into the grill while screaming ‘what are you doi...’
[CHAKAWOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!]
This is a video of what happened when the match hit the grill.
He just stayed there, quiet, staring at the grill burning from the ground up... literally from the actual grill till the floor... with the subsequent phrase ‘I should have known you planned something like this... that’s it, I am not going to teach you anymore...’
Gladly for me, I was the one among my brothers that really loved cooking BBQs and eventually (taking far away from me anything combustible with the exception of a paper napkin soaked in oil) he did teach me how to light it up without getting the entire forest burned.
Back to the story; we got the wood ignited and cooking sausages, meat and some sweet corn while I was looking at the nearby trees while trying to refine my hearing, just in case some Kookaburra was close by, waiting to drive in our picnic and steal some food... but then between the chatting and eating I saw a Magpie getting ready to jump to my friend’s wife plate. I took one small piece of meat (I was not going to eat it anyway) and throw it away... My mate tells me ‘you should not throw them stuff... they are not going to jump in our plates to get anything...’
But as I was explaining to him one encounter I got with a magpie at Guzman & Gomez, where the bird tried to peak my burrito but I was a bit faster, moving my hand enough to cover it and continued saying ‘plus we should be wary of any Kookaburra around here... they tend to steal food from people and.... hey!! Look a Kookaburra!!’
But my warning was too late; the Kookaburra was already stealing the biggest part of my mate’s wife steak and flying back to its branch... to which I completed ‘as I was saying... the Kookaburra steals food to people just like us... chatting about Kookaburras stealing food...’
I realised at the moment I was the mysterious man with the not very well done rhyme of Kookaburras eating behaviours.
So in conclusion... be wary of clear skies because a Kookaburra might steal your bite!
Cheerios
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
And I have come to the topic I have been asked ever since we came back...
How can I compare Sydney to Perth?
Simple, I can’t...
Both cities are very different; in their lifestyles, flavours, weather, people and entertainment. On each city you will find opportunities, issues, pros and cons, but the key factor is what kind of person are you?
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| My mental image of Perth before going there... Everything was built... no one was there. |
Talking to some people in Sydney, we got the odd idea that ‘Perth was a mixture of city, isolated ghost town and Dubai... very small, undeveloped, with lots of money, nothing to do there... really...’ But we found something totally different; it was a nice place where anyone who wants to reside there will enjoy lots of different activities to those who likes Sydney (like me).
Perth is a young city, on its way to become something really great, while Sydney is a city with a bit of history, it has grown already and right now is trying to find its right spot into a bigger world.
So... asking a comparison between Sydney and Perth is like establishing a comparison between young wines (verdelho) versus one that has already matured (Cabernet-Merlot)... Different flavours, different palates, different tastes... just different.
How is the cost of living of Perth in relation to Sydney?
Food, services, petrol... is about the same with the exception of the property market; which is the big, big difference.
Our friends (almost all of them) have bought their homes in the first year (max two) which is a very nice record in deed. Sydney in average will be 50% or 60% more expensive than Perth (or any other city in Australia) which is a huge disadvantage to my favourite place... Sydney.
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| Was thinking to publish a different image... But I bet some of my pals will feel id with this one =P |
But if you compare the renting market, is again, about the same in term of price. The difference will be the size of it. Sydney will give you units for about 300, 350, 400 or more per week... And Perth will do the same but for houses...
Which city offers me more entertainment options?
Again, is not a matter of comparing both cities and specify which one will offer you more attractions and options. What is really important is to describe which city might be more related to your personality.
Sydney and Perth are cities in which you will be able to express yourself in outdoor activities... You will be able to walk or run to the closest park, enjoy the scenery and take a bit of sun and off to your next activity. The difference will be found in the number and frequency that each city prepares those events.
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| Sydney's food festival |
Sydney is well known worldwide by their food and cultural events, but Perth also has great events and plenty of activities to do. Plus I got to tell you, it feels extraordinary to walk on the streets at 10PM and find yourself watching the stars in a quiet night.
So what I have been blabbing was, Sydney will give more events prepared by the city or the government while Perth will give you the opportunity to make your own arrangements to go and have fun in the wild, near small town or city.
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| Some of the sculptures at the sea I had a great fun taking this picture. |
Something I did notice... and it might be totally related to the fact that we were escorted all the time by our friends; Sydney gives you gastronomically more options than Perth and I think is also related to how busy the life on each place is, Sydney being more complex and busy and Perth being more relaxed and family oriented.
Transport system and commuting times.
Most Aussie cities have a series of developed transport system in which you might be able to go from (almost) any suburb to the city or another suburb. The transport system will include trains, buses, ferries, light trains and trams with their different fare system, different rules and different schedules... but at the same time coordinated for the common good.
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| Sydney's lightrail |
Sydney’s system is based mainly in the train, with some areas highly related to bus or ferry or both at the same time. And some minor routes that are covered by light train or monorail (but these last two are more ornamental than functional).
Perth’s system is based mainly in bus lines, covering the entire city and a bunch of train lines going from the north to the south and some lines covering the west coast (currently in development... so is highly possible that upcoming years will bring more similarities between Sydney and Perth).
So... where is the difference?
Sydney’s system is having delays (every now and then); it could be related to lack of maintenance, abuse of their boundaries or lack of commitment of their staff. Anyhow, Sydney’s system needs to improve a little bit, but is still comparable against any first world transport system.
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| Sydney's double deck trains. |
Perth’s system is struggling as well... but against the city. The city is growing too fast and too frequent for its commuters, so is highly possible that your bus gets 5 minutes delayed because it got stuck in the middle of the city while some trucks moved blocks or concrete from one place to the other, or multiple lanes were closed because of the nearby construction, or the actual road is being expanded.
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| TransPerth. |
The basic difference is, Perth system is still growing, is a bit young and you will totally need a car to do basic stuff such as going to the market, movies or something like that. While Sydney is a bit more developed even though delays might strike in your schedule (nothing in comparison to delays in Caracas or New York... although I must be honest, I haven’t been in New York for ages... their subway could have improve tons ever since I was there).
Issues and problems on each city.
Each city has their issues and problems, and each city must find a way to solve it for its resident’s sake (even though most politicians don’t give a sheet... mistyped on purpose) and here I am going to try to show some which I don’t like (and I could notice).
I know that I could sit for days writing long descriptive specifications of the multiples issues Sydney and Perth have... And being totally honest with you, I did... in a second though (and reading again my post) I decided to remove it to avoid touchy topics. Instead I am going to give you a small list of things I think each city could improve a bit.
Sydney’s list.
- The buses need to meet regular schedules.I have found myself several times waiting for a bus that never comes... More common though is the one that does appear... 20 minutes later.
- People’s attitude towards bus drivers, or as the matter of fact, people’s attitude towards someone else that gives you a service... I know my building manager hates some of my neighbours because they treat him as their slave.
- People’s tidiness.I don’t know what happen to people in Sydney... and believe me, is something you would not notice at first. But I have seen people throwing rubbish on the streets rather than hold it for two metres and dispose it appropriately.
- Respect to pedestrians traffic lights.I have seen lots of people crossing right at the middle of the street or when they shouldn’t do it. Apparently no one cares and it got to the point that I started doing it; Now (and thanks to my wife’s stare of death) I am on my way to remove this nasty behaviour in my day to day basis.
Perth’s list.
I will have very few items to post in here... you know, there are very few things you could catch in a week with lots of people being constantly taking care of you.
- Transport coverage.I know Perth is growing and there are things missing... But at times I felt the only way to travel from one point to the other in Perth was by car... and being honest, I am not a huge fan of cars, in fact, I think a big chunk of our society depends insanely in cars to the point that some people have it as a need more than a commodity. Sydney might suffer issues on its coverage, but Perth low density yet wide residential areas to cover will be a huge challenge to solve leading to bigger traffic issues than any other city in Australia. Hopefully I will be wrong.
- Little control over some sectors of society.Is highly probable this issue is bigger than just in Perth, but I did notice people take precautions when they are walking towards refugees or aborigines because they might act unexpectedly to your presence or even your behaviour. I have no idea if these sectors of society are as worrisome in Sydney as in Perth but a common comment in Perth is that residents feel these sectors are above the law.
Common list.
- I have come to the simplistic approach to say... In Australia, to get to know a bit more than the city’s basics, you need a car. In Perth is closer to a must than a need.
- Teenagers respect to others.Again, I have come to the simplistic approach to say... teenagers are not people... they are a proto-human being with a total lack of respect... I wish I could pack them all, and send them to Caracas, Venezuela so they gain a bit of appreciation to this country.
Uhms... Given that a second thought... I shouldn’t send more socially unfit members to Venezuela... The country has enough and I really would like someday to look back and feel proud of the country I have come from.Could I send them in a ship titled ‘Titanic II’?
How awesome is this???? Let them feel the kings/queens of the world while the ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean. BUHUHAHAHA - People’s respect to others.Especially in the train. Some people really struggle with the phrase ‘where your rights ends, mine rights starts’ and I have seen lots of people eating really disgusting things on the train without respect to others noses... And lots of people put their nasty shoes on the seat...I mean, what’s wrong with you people?
But anyway, if you have anything else to add to these points, please point them in the comment section below and we could expand it later on.
Cheerios!
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