TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

1:28 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Walking along the beach thursday afternoon, I thought to myself, this time last week I was tramping around the streets of berlin dropping off bags of second hand clothes that had somehow accumulated even in constant movement. Anyone with ideas on how to live a minimal life, bring it on!
Managed to spend my entire life in Australia never having set foot on the gold coast, until now.

Very bizarre place. Such naked greed and total lack of style or sustainability. Looked up from the train around Nerang and had a physical shudder of revulsion at the hideous skyscraper monstrosities propogated along the coast. Up close, it's even worse. Grotesque displays of 80's greedier is better ethic - if it can be called an ethic in any way shape or form - think of the drain on natural resources, qld is in stage 3 drought restrictions, not to mention erosion, and they are literally ON the beach. Sand dunes, apartment blocks. Ugh. The strangest thing is how beautiful the coast is, miles of golden sands and clear blue waves stretching into the endless horizon... until you look back at the shoreline. Passed the local highlights on the bus in from Robina, the prestigious Bond University campus, Jupiters Casino, a high-adrenalin fun-fair with terrifying rides, and got out just before seaworld.
Strange mix of lifestyle retirees, tourists and holiday makers and all the people who live here servicing those industries - window cleaners must make a fortune. Everyone has their own swimming pool, just had a bizarre walk down tedder st after breakfast, shops and stalls full of mushrooms for some food festival, even a stuffed mushroom on legs. Yes, life IS too short!

Still, as I'm actually here to see Philippa, the surroundings are merely another strange backdrop to a few days of relaxation and indulgence. London - Zagreb - Bratislava - Warsaw - Main Beach. Queensland, it's another world. At least this is the slightly less garish part, a few beaches up from Surfers Paradise, with the rare older two-storey holiday houses still clinging desperately to the coast, although as the waves of development wash over them. More lying around reading to do, and perhaps another visit to the sauna and pool, then paradise spa beckons. Philippa promised we can go for tea at the vesace hotel - go for the extreme, I say. Although we got a little worried at how we were going to fit in doing nothing, with all this activity.
Back to bridges next week, last days of unwinding from jetlag.