Sydney

Hi Mates,

Greetings from Aussie land.

                          Australia has only 17 million people and 3.5 million live in Sydney. If you can put together breathtaking harbor views, decent art scene, friendly people, white sandy beaches with topless women, good golf weather year around and cricket; you have Sydney. Other people have had different views- D.H. Lawrence said in 1922, “ Australia has a marvelous sky , air and  blue clarity about it with a hoary land beneath it like a Sleeping Princess on whom the dust of ages has settled. Wonder if she will ever get up.” I  have been searching for a city that has good weather(not too cold), views, English is easily understood and has a decent art scene. I believe this is it, except it is so faaaaaar from every where. It took  8 hours from Bangkok, I hate to think about my return flight to US.

 

                                                            Sights

                  There is the famous Opera House which was designed by a Scandinavian Architect who resigned after 8 years and Australians completed at a budget of 100 million after the initial budget of 8 million. Apparently the interior suffered. So I did not go in preferring to keep my view of the outside. It looks like  a giant tortoise made of little ceramic tiles which are actually the color of siena. Who else was in town but Winton Marsalis? The harbor bridge built in the days  of great depression is quite a sight. Then there are the rides on ferries to innumerable beaches and the trip to Blue Mountains. I got close enough to Kangaroos to take pictures as they bounded off on their hind legs. And then there is Bondi Beach, sort of like Copacabana at Rio and Huntington Beach,CA put together. Women are definitely not shy and the surf invites “icebergs- a bunch of guys who swim every year of the day in a pool and use ice to cool off the water in summer.”

Every one told me I had to go to the Great Barrier Roof and rest of Australia. May be next time.

 

                                                            Politics

                        Australia is a constitutional monarchy. They are approaching their 100th year in year 2001 and have begun a debate over their identity. There is a Republican convention going on to “get rid of the Queen” and the Monarchists making fun of the Republican attempts claiming that electing their own President or some thing else could be “disastrous.” Australians in general were rather tight lipped about it. The polls indicate that most people would rather have their own republic but it has to go to a referendum. And there is the debate over Aborigines and their rights to the land taken away from them by the European settlers. I was surprised to find out that 20% of their population is Asian and thereby the Multiculturalism is here to stay and so is Political Correctness.

 

                                                            People

                        Most people I met were genuinely friendly and I got invited to people’s homes and got directions on the street and proudly shown around. The streets of Sydney have Orientals and mixed races everywhere so it has become a melting pot of sorts with an Asian twist(Polynesians, Chinese). In some ways the Australians seem to have arrived in 80’s by US standards. Crime and drugs are beginning to show their ugly side. Interestingly enough the youth suicide is only second to Japan. The reason given is that the Australians have trouble defining their identity- for a large continent but a very small homogenous population and nowhere to go, they have an island mentality. “No Worries” was the phrase I heard most often. They are now beginning to lose this in Sydney as life picks up pace.

 

                                                            Economy

                            Although they seem to be doing OK and are looking forward to Olympic 2000 there are shockwaves from Asian flu. Australians have difficulty finding business since Europeans and US effectively cut them out. So they shifted the focus to Asians and have learnt Japanese and influx of Chinese money has helped the Real estate skyrocket over the past 10 years. Prices in Sydney for owning a harbor view can get exorbitant. However, now that the Asian money is going back there is likely to be a collapse in Real estate especially in 2001.

 

                                                            Food and Art

                             Sydney is a cosmopolitan city and there is indeed good food from everywhere. I ate lots of Indian food at cheap prices which was not “hot” and did not give me indigestion. There is plenty of Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese food as well. In fact there is a whole street where one can try different nationalities. The museums have traveling exhibits like “Orientalism; Delacroix to present”, the rest does not compare to international standards. However, the music scene is quite alive and there are numerous exhibitions and art galleries. Botanical gardens and nature offer quite a compensation. And you can drive in Australia and own a decent sized home. The food quality is as good if not better than US.

 

Now the time for Questions and comments:

Will Australia successfully make itself an outpost of learning for Asians and a business expansion in the region?

Will they become Independent and more like US or develop their own brand of nationalism?

 

I did come away with a lifetime of wisdom summed up in,

“In Melbourne all views are equally depressing so there is no point in having one...Noone is Sydney ever wastes time debating the meaning of life - It’s getting yourself a water frontage. People devote a lifetime to this quest.”

                                                          New Zealand

 

                      The Kiwi land is a nation of 3.5 million people in a land the size of Colorado. To an American visitor, it appears to be in a time warp. The wide city streets no more than two stories high with a slow pace of life reminds many of the 50’s in US. The quality, quantity and access to nature is unparalleled. The sights of South Island are breathtaking. I found myself pulling my camera out of the bag just after I had it put it away numerous times. There is yet another photo opportunity around the corner. Rain forests, glaciers, fjords, blue water lakes and ice capped mountains all with in an  hour’s ride. Must see are Milford sound, Queenstown and Fox glacier. You can go whale watching, penguin watching, glacier walking and yes Bungee jumping. Bungee jumping was invented by a New Zealander who jumped off the Eiffel Tower to popularize the sport. You wonder why? Let me see if I can come up with an explanation: In a land of plenty with generally peaceful, non-violent, easy going population; one has to find something exciting to do. How long can you watch the sheep?

 

Politics

 

               NZ has a system based on their British rulers whom they still view with considerable regard. They have abolished the upper house. I did go to the Parliament to watch a debate in a small round hall with its noisy exuberance not unlike the British House of Commons. They have a multi party democracy with  women as  Prime Minister and leader of Opposition. 11% of population is the original Maori who came from Polynesia. The British signed a treaty with them in 1840 and then failed to honor it and sold the land anyway. Now there is a movement to undo the injustice. Interestingly enough the movement has picked up pace only recently as Maori have become more  visible since they are blamed for most of the crime(40%). The Kiwis insist that they do not want to have the racial problem of US and want to integrate them. The signs on Government office buildings are in English and Maori. The new national Museum built at the cost of $300 million gives a significant portion of its display to the Maori heritage. Kiwis also insist that they do not have any desire to become a republic like Australia. They want to keep their Queen and the titles. One has to learn to look for the Royal Society of Physicians, Ballet etc. in the telephone book. At the same time they claim to have an identity problem. The only way for them to define themselves as different is to either become a Republic or have a Maori flavor and rewrite the history. Time will tell which way they go.

 

People

 

            NZ society is essentially British who wanted to “drop out.” One story goes that some British aristocrats(in contrast to convicts coming to Australia) came to NZ in search of an idyllic island. Then they had to import labor to take care of their farms. The labor came and decided they did not want to work for the rich but would rather work for themselves. Therefore the fierce independence of their views such as the anti-nuclear stance in defiance of US and France. However it is a stratified society. They have been caught between the influence of Europe and US (class vs quantity according to them). It appears that US has won and their society is going through a radical change. Violence has doubled in last few years and is likely to double again as the society restructures to less taxes and mass police resignations. It is no longer safe to walk at night in Christchurch. If you like hiking, backpacking, bushwalking, fish and chips and rugby - you know where to go.

 

Economy

 

                   NZ has not been a agriculture dependent society for quite a few years. In fact agriculture accounts for only 8% of GDP. The average per capita income is half that of US($12000) and expenses much higher. They have shifted their trade from Britain to Asia which accounts for 20% of their trade. The tourists are also from Japan and Korea. The Asian friendly solution to their economic problems led to opening their borders to Asian immigration and now the Asian crisis. It is hard to find most computer goods since the size of the market is so small. Their market is quite dependent on Australians. The sizable emigration of 12000/yr. to Australia a year speaks of better economic opportunity elsewhere. Health care is now being rationed and there is a horror story every day in the papers.

 

Sights

 

             The most spectacular train journeys, cruises and bus rides are in NZ. There are beautiful sights elsewhere but do you want to get in a line a mile long and crane your neck to see it? If you want to experience nature in all its glory with comfortable, clean and good natured access- NZ is the place to be. Be forewarned that they are likely to minimize the difficulty and danger inherent in the nature excursions. You may find yourself skidding down the side of a mountain or swept away in a mountain stream. The lawyers have not discovered NZ yet. You can tour in a car if there is more than one of you or take comfortable bus and train combinations that can be arranged for you at a modest price. You can fly, ski, bungee jump off the mountains or go jet boating. You can always go skiing in July and lie on the beach in December!

 

I will be going back for my farmstay soon!