Brisbane feels a lot slower and more relaxed than the bustling Sydney that hits you when you step off the plane on the first day on your Aussie experience. You can walk up the streets in the city centre at a slower pace and not feel your keeping people from getting on with their business.
The first thing you notice in Brisbane is the amount of Irish backpacking revellers that are in every bar and hostel drinking and noise making, which is fine as you will meet a lot of great people, but it can get a little tedious after a couple of days. A lot of the Irish guys are working during the day doing various labouring jobs and then hit the bars immediately after work and don’t even seem to have time to change out of their work gear, including aluminous day glow vests. Funnily enough each hostel room will have a drunk guy still in his day glow vest crashed out in bed stinking out the room with the smell of old B.O and linx spray no matter what the time of day.
The area down near the Botanical gardens and river side in Brisbane is a great place to have a wander and a stroll. Various cafes and restaurants line alongside the river which will look great all lit up at night. In the middle of this area is a street beach with salt water and sand that has bikinis and speedos sunbathing not too far away from the shops and bars. Various free concerts appear in a small stadium here, I could hear the high warbles of Japanese opera as I was heading past.
There are various hostels quite near each other just a little walk from the main city streets some better than others I stayed in the only Brisbane to offer free internet and had both wireless and computers to use. I think in this day and age all the hostels should be offering free wireless at least as not that many people travel with their laptops especially when they charge the same price for using wireless and their computers. One day and their monthly internet bill is paid I’m sure they can afford it. I’m positive that the offer of free wireless would bring in more people I for one would be more likely to go somewhere that did.
