Sunday, October 08, 2006

Weekend in Canberra

Over the weekend, I went to the capital of Australia. Yes Folks, Canberra is the Capital of Australia. Not Melbourne or Sydney. About 3 to 4 hours from Sydney, Canberra is one quiet town nestled in the valleys of several mountains. This is where all the parliament houses in Australia are. This is also where a capital doesn't look like a capital.

First, Canberra is freaking ulu. I mean it. We drove through alot of forests, suburbs and small towns before arriving in the capital. There was not a single skyscraper in sight. Everywhere I saw buildings no taller than a few storeys high. The roads were practically deserted. A few lost souls drifted around. Hmm, the capital. Probably the first in the world to be so strangely deserted.

I sometimes wonder why Australia can't make up their freaking minds between Sydney and Melbourne. It's this indecisiveness that led them to picking a middleground between these two major cities. And they chose Canberra. Hence, due to severe underpopulation, they could not relocate millions there to make it look like a real capital. So they decided to flood that place with parliament buildings and make it look really important. I can imagine the majority of the town folks there who suddenly realize that their town will be the capital of Australia. Their reaction will be prizeless. And imagine how far John Howard has to travel just to host his foreign delegates assuming he stays in either Melbourne or Sydney.

There is no international airport there. So the foreign delegates have to take a plane to Sydney and 'trek through the jungle' (quoted from a textbook) to attend a meeting with the PM of Australia. What's the hassle for? To earn tourism dollars? Besides, all the shops there close freaking early. It's a dead town during weekends. I wonder how the people survive.

My friend complains to me non-stop. I was wondering what the hell is wrong with Canberra. Its the capital after all. After going there I realized that Australia has a different capital from everyone else. Nice, quiet and peaceful. It symbolizes Australia I guess. Laidback and relax. The capital is just like that.

I practically sat at the cross junction of a road at 2am in the morning in Canberra. You can't do that in Sydney but you can do that in the capital. I guess, it's a great place to go to if you are really sick with congestion and all. There is one thing you can do.

Have a picnic at the cross junction in Canberra at 2am.

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