Arrival in Brisbane and first impressions

I arrived in Brisbane on 10th August 2012 via a transit at Perth. Reading through the countless posts in public forums online about indefinite immigration and customs queues at the Perth international airport, I was slightly concerned whether my just-above-two hours of transit time would be sufficient to get clear and drive to the domestic airport (the international and domestic airports at Perth are at quite a distance apart). But, surprisingly, there was hardly any queue at the time I landed (4:40 AM; probably the peak rush is between 12:00 - 3:00 AM), and everything got done in about 40 minutes. I took the 7:30 AM flight and had a smooth landing at Brisbane airport close to 2 PM. A Haryanavi (from the Indian state of Harayana) cabbie (who said his name was Suneel) drove me to the "shared house" (a two-storey wooden Queenslander) which I was to call my home for at least the next six months. The Mr. Kind, Piyush Madhamshettiwar, whom I had met and befriended at a conference in Melbourne and who helped me a lot in hunting for this house, was waiting there to receive me.

Something to call my home: Moving and settling-in has been quite okay so far. I found most of my everyday groceries at Coles and other stuffs at K-mart. My house is about 20 minutes walk to my workplace (UQ), on the lovely Eleanor Schonell bridge (locally known as the Green bridge) across the Brisbane river. The walk across the bridge during the winter has been lovely and scenic, but I am not sure how its going to be during the hot, humid and rainy summer, which is fast approaching in a couple of months. I share the house with four other friendly housemates, one from Iran, one Singapore, one Hong Kong and one France. The house is a two-storied "Queenslander" made of wood, and my room is downstairs. The house has a nice backyard with a lawn and some shrubs, mostly used for laundry and cloth-drying but can also be a nice sit-out if you like to read or barbecue. We share the kitchen and clean the house by turns.

In and around: About 5-mins walk from my house are the Boggo Road markets, located on the lawns just outside the Boggo Road Gaol and facing the Ecosciences Precinct building. Organized every Sunday, local farmers set up their stalls to sell organic vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, bread, etc. The markets are a perfect place for weekly grocery shopping (though a bit expensive because of being organically grown) as you enjoy some gourmet breakfast -- rosti, stuffed pancakes, burgers along with tea, coffee, ginger beer, juices, etc. There is also a small band playing music to add to the liveliness of the environment.
Check out 'Home to UQ walk'.

Brisbane is the capital of the sunshine state, Queensland, which officially boasts of more than 200 days of sunshine a year (rainy days coincide with the hot summers, attracting rain-laden clouds from the sea into the low-pressure hot lands). Brisbane is bright and sunny, slightly laid-back, clean and a friendly city. It is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was the Governor of New South Wales (the state south of Queensland) between 1821 and 1825. The city is centered around the Brisbane river which adds a charming character to the city. Brisbane has a sub-tropical climate, which means hot and humid summers and moderate winters. The population of Brisbane is around two-and-a-half to three million, spread out through the metropolitan and suburban areas. Brisbane has a decent (although expensive) public transport system covered by train (Queensland Rail), bus and ferry (City Cat) services.

Brisbane has quite a liking for arts and entertainment. The central business district (CBD) houses several centers for arts which include the spectacular Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the Queensland Performing Arts Center (QPAC). I visited GOMA and was amazed by its weird yet interesting pieces of modern art (including a sculpture of a seal balancing a piano five to ten times its size on its nose!; see picture).

Updated on several accounts:

1. Mark's library. On 7th September, we had a high-tea party at Mark's house. It was a farewell party for the interns who were returning back to their home countries after spending a few months in our lab. Mark gave us a tour of his wonderful and resourceful library. It has an amazing collection of some of the original works by great biologists (mainly botanists) written in Latin, German and Russian, and on subjects like the algae, protozoa and human anatomy. It also has a impressive collection by the Darwins, interesting Asian cook books, books on art including one on Edvard Munch and his paintings, and many books on the philosophy of science. There also books on political figures like Ho Chi Minn, Mao Zedong and some famous Russians politicians. This close-to-an-hour tour thrilled us all. We were so impressed that we suggested he include this tour as part of the lab induction to all new joinees, for which he jokingly replied he would have team meetings in Latin for them! :)

2. The Brisbane Festival is held in the month of September of each year. This year (2012) it was between the 8th and 29th. Most of the events were held in and around the CBD area. I visited the CBD to witness the festival on two evenings. On the first visit (15th Sep), there was a splendid display of light and sound from a ship sailing slowly on the Brisbane river, with spectators enjoying it from two watch-points, the QPAC on the river-bank and the Victoria bridge. The second visit was on the last day (29th Sep) of the festival, which had an awesome display of fireworks (called Riverfire) around the South Bank and Story bridge areas (see picture). Some cool helicopter and motor-boat stunts added to the fun during the whole event.

3. Home to UQ walk: My house is located close to the university (UQ) and it takes me about 20-25 minutes by walk to get there. Its a scenic refreshing walk (except if its not hot and humid) across the Eleanor Schonell bridge over the Brisbane river. I usually start around 7:15 - 7:30 during the mornings before it gets too sunny and hot.

  

4. The City Hall, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum and Gallery of Modern Art (updated: 15 April 2013)
All these together form the cultural hub of Brisbane, and house the cultural, social, economic, political and wild-life history of Brisbane, Queensland and Australia in general. Inside these you will find spectacular collections of,
-- specimens of wildlife and biodiversity: species unique to Australia including spiders, insects (you will be awed by the large stick insects!), kangaroos, kaolas, emus, crocodiles and turtles reflecting the wild life of Queensand, especially in the Outback and the tropics (north Queensland);
-- of Aboriginal art and crafts;
-- of minerals, gems and stones unique to Australia, especially the colorful opal;
-- of fossils of dinosaurs and pre-historic animals that ruled the Australian continent about 100 million years ago;
-- of priceless paintings from medieval and modern Europe and Australia; and
-- of modern art including intruiging paintings and sculptures (see pictures of the up-side-down elephant sculpture and seal balancing a piano).

The Queensland Museum has the skeleton of a Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (affectionately called Mutta), a pre-historic herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now northeastern Australia sometime between 112 and 98.6 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period.

On 06 April, the City Hall, which houses the Queensland state legislature, was reopened after a period of renovation offering free tours for the public for a week. I went for a tour on 14 April. The tour showcased a priceless collection of paintings and photographs depicting the rich history of the Brisbane river and the city.

++Some paintings from the Queensland Art Gallery++
++Some pictures from the Gallery of Modern Art++

6. Kangaroo Point: This is located north of Woolloongabba along the Brisbane river. It is formed from rhyolite rocks along the Brisbane river. Towards the north is the Story Bridge (see pictures) that connects the CBD and Fortitude Valley suburbs. The cliffs (in the picture) formed by the rocks are a popular attraction for climbers. The Story Bridge is also a landmark for climbers. All along the river (called the River Terrace), there are plenty of restaurants and BBQ places to dine.

7. The ANZAC and King George Squares

8. Gold Coast Gold Coast is the closest beach to Brisbane. Its about an hour drive from the Brisbane city center. There are several locations to visit in Gold Coast to enjoy the beaches, but I have only been to the Surfers' Paradise. This is easily accessible through public transport as well. There are many hotels and backpackers' places closeby, and also shops, restaurants, pubs and shopping malls, making it an excellent destination for tourists. There's also a convention center in Gold Coast which houses many scientific conferences throughout the year, making it easier for conference and tourism.

9. Fortitude Valley