Taranjit
Kangaroos, Koalas, and the unique accent are things that usually come to mind when one thinks of Australia. Non-natives of the country have formed many stereotypes about Australians and they are some things we all associate them with when we think of them. After my recent trip to the land down under, I wanted to share with you 7 of the things that I didn’t know about Australia until I went there. Hopefully, the myths and stereotypes will be corrected.
1. Drive on the Left
Living in the U.S., I am sure this is not something you think about when planning a trip to Australia. You are so accustomed to our driving laws and conditions, that this small detail may slip your mind. The only reason I even considered to look into what side the Aussies drive on is because my family and I were considering renting a car. Oh, man. Could you image having to retrain your brain, only for the week or so you were there, to drive on the left and not the right? I could see myself accidently going on the wrong side of the road in numerous scenarios. My trip would be over, and I probably still would not have adjusted to the opposite side. Or worse, I would have managed to adjust and then it would be time to come home, and then my brain would be confused again. Nope. Couldn’t do it. Thank goodness for taxis and relatives that live there. One less thing we had to worry about.
On the bright side, I noticed their roads were in such good condition. My uncle was telling me that they put a lot of effort into ensuring the roads are in top condition. And I am over here, in the U.S., swerving around ditches and dips in the roads. Not to mention, they have really upped their sign game. All their signs are electronic. The speed limit signs, the no u-turn here signs, etc. All electronic. Even their crosswalk signals were amazing. Here in the U.S., you are used to a red hand for don’t cross and a white man for cross. First, they have a green and red man. Makes sense! It matches traffic lights. Green means go and red means stop. Second, their crosswalk green and red man is so much more realistic than our white, crime scene outline man.
2. Environmentally conscious
Australians are huge on recycling and keeping the environment clean. When we first landed in Sydney, all we noticed was how everything was biodegradable, and recycling stuff was everywhere you looked.
Since our flight was delayed, we decided to grab a bite to eat, and instead of being given plastic utensils, we were given biodegradable utensils. Now this is something I can run with! I love how they are trying to reduce waste and protect the environment as much as possible. And here we Americans are not caring as much. If we put in even half the effort Aussies do, then planet Earth would not be in the condition it is today. We are literally putting ourselves closer to death every day. Our life expectancies as a species is declining rapidly.
It just kept getting better when we landed in Melbourne. I saw so many signs explaining all they do to reduce water use and conserve it. Their toilets use way less water and are way more powerful than ours. When I went to the bathroom at the Eureka Skydeck (don’t worry, I will spare you those details), I noticed signs posted in the stalls and by the sinks describing how they use less water and how much they have been able to save as a result of this. Now this is something Americans need to learn. There are so many places that have droughts or scarcity of water, and if we implemented a similar system, then we could help those places out.
Oh, and plastic bags! They don’t use them. Well, I mean they have plastic bags, but they encourage reusable bags. And if you want a plastic bag, they charge you. A great way to get people to recycle! We went into a K-mart in Melbourne. Yes, a K-mart. They still exist in some places. We went to K-mart because one of our suitcases was destroyed, and after purchasing a few items, we noticed that they only had large plastic bags. And if you wanted one, you had to pay. For the most part, they don’t even keep plastic bags by the checkout. You would have to ask for one if you wanted it. And, I am sure the cashier would probably ask are you sure you want one. Go Australia and your environmentally friendly practices! Now if the rest of the world followed suit, then our Earth may be an event better place to live.
3. Tap water is cleaner than bottled water
Did I hear that right? Yes. It’s true. My aunt was telling me that the tap water in Australia is really clean and way better to drink than the bottled water. Apparently, they don’t put as much effort into purifying the water when it is bottled up as they do into the tap water. Mind blown! But yet again, it makes sense, since they are big into protecting and saving the environment. I guess it is there way of making people drink tap and not from plastic.
You know how you are often told not to drink tap water in another country because of the difference in bacteria which may not settle right with your body? Well, that is the opposite for Australia. At first, when my aunt gave me a glass of tap water, I was hesitant about drinking it because of the above fact. But, then when she told me about how clean they keep their water, I drank it. And guess what? No issues!
4. Wild Kangaroos are EVERYWHERE
Before I even landed in Australia, one of the things I really wanted to do was see some Kangaroos and Koalas. My plan was to go to some zoo or sanctuary to go see them up-close. Never did it ever cross my mind that kangaroos would be just roaming around in the wild. No duh! They are native to Australia. Why wouldn’t I be able to see them in their natural habitat? I didn’t need to go to a zoo to see them. What was I thinking?
Lucky for me, my uncle lives near a natural park where wild kangaroos roam all the time. The morning before our flight to return home, we took a walk through the park. And you would not believe how many wild kangaroos we saw. Too many! So many, that I couldn’t even count how many. I couldn’t believe my eyes. And there were so many ranging from adults to little babies. They were so cute in their mommys’ pouches. We even saw a real buff one, which my sister and I pegged to be the alpha male of the pack. Because he was watching us the entire time, probably trying to scare us off. And he watched us and didn’t leave until all the other kangaroos went out of sight. I think we scared them all off because we kept following them as they hopped further away, until we reached as far as we could go. But, now I can saw I saw real kangaroos. And it was amazing!
I even ended up seeing one right in front of my uncle’s house, in his neighborhood. So close and personal. But since it was dark, and a car came down the road, he ran away into the bushes. Apparently, like how in the U.S. we have car and deer accidents, they have car and kangaroo accidents. I have gotten in accidents with numerous deer before, but I would never want to be in an accident with a kangaroo. Could you imagine the amount of damage one kangaroo could cause? Way more than one deer caused to my car. Not to mention, they can literally flip your car. That’s how strong they are.
5. It is very dry
Be prepared to be in a constant state of dehydration. Especially if you came from the east coast (of the U.S.) like I did. From the moment I was in the air space of Australia to the second I left, I was super dehydrated. No matter how much water I drank, I always felt like I was thirsty and needed more.
Tip: Carry a drink with you at all times. You never know when you will need it.
6. Apparently Aussies are rude…
On my flight on the Australian airline, my sister and I were talking about how much nicer and more polite the flight attendants were in comparison to the ones we encountered in America. We were talking about how nice Aussies were. You know how, at least in America, when you say thank you, the other person usually says you’re welcome? Well, every time a flight attendant gave us something or answered our question, I would say thank you. After all, it is the polite thing to do. And they would always say thank you back.
Like, one flight attendant was giving us our dinner. She was like ‘ Ma’am you’re dinner.” And she handed it to me and was like “Thank you.” Wait, what? I should be saying thanks. And every single flight attendant on the Australian airline did that. So, here I was thinking how nice Australians are.
But after talking with my uncle, he was telling us how Australians are one of the rudest people ever. Now this I had to see. I, personally, didn’t notice any rudeness. But yet again, we didn’t really get to go out much and explore since we were only there for 3ish days and spent most of our time in wedding festivities. But, if this is true, I would like to hear your stories. It might just seem like they are rude because they tend to say it how it is. They don’t hide anything. Very direct and honest. No lessening the blow of the truth.
Although, the few that I did come into contact with, I loved their accents! I could listen to them all day. I enjoyed hearing them speak. Some had stronger accents than others, but it was very cool to hear it. I would admit, at times, those with strong accents were hard to understand. Which was not very pleasant to hear when we were landing into Sydney late and the flight attendant was explaining what to do next if you would miss your connection. In that moment, I would have liked an American accent.
7. They do so much for tourists
Usually, wherever you go, people try to make as much money as possible off of tourists. Often trying to rip them off or get them to pay more than they should. Right? But, Australia is the opposite. They try to save you money if they can.
First of all, they have a tram that was created for tourists and is free. You heard (or read) that right. FREE! And you can hop on and off it as much as you would like from attraction to attraction. This saves you the money of transportation and helps you get from place to place without any worries of directions or getting lost. No other place does that.
Second of all, when we went to Eureka Skydeck, our plan was to purchase admission tickets and the edge experience tickets. When we went to buy tickets, the guy behind the counter asked my sister and I if we were students because he would give us a discount. No one else does that! They wouldn’t try to save you money. They would charge you for the regular price unless you initiated the topic of discounts. And it didn’t stop there. We had asked for the edge experience tickets in addition to general admission, and he went on to inform us that we would have to buy them from upstairs. They like to let people see the edge experience first and then decide if they want to buy the ticket. Again, no one else does that! Other places would make you buy the ticket and then if you chickened out, oh well, money gone.
Conclusion
Australia is a very interesting place, and if I ever have the chance to go back, I am going to jump on the opportunity. It was such a fun trip to experience a different culture in a different country. I really enjoyed it and learned quite a lot about the country as a whole. If you have any fun stories or interesting facts about Australia, comment below because I would love to hear them.
Until next time, remember to keep laughing, loving, living, and learning.
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