Yesterday before I left Bali, I told a friend that I was nervous about going to Australia. I wasn't sure why I felt that way; the best I could come up with is I was nervous about how much it would cost. But even that felt like a weak reason, because I had a pretty good idea of the costs and my budget. /shrug/ Anyway, it turns out it was silly of me to be nervous about Australia, because of course it's really nice here.
Darwin, at least the parts downtown that people would want to visit, is small-ish. There are visitors guides all over, and definitely things to do, but it's not a place one could spend days and days, unless they spent most of that at the nearby national parks. My hotel is about a 15-minute walk from about half the things I'd want to see in one direction, and about a 25-minute walk from the other half in the other direction.
Today I walked south, to the older part of town. I followed one of the walking tours in the guidebook, which makes it sound like there is a whole lot to see. And there sort of is, except not everything is very interesting and a lot of it is just a building one can stare at for a minute before moving on. Like:
One of the few things I "did" in town was see the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels, which were built to house and protect the area's oil from Japanese air raids during WWII. The tunnels themselves were mildly interesting, but one room has been converted into a small museum featuring dozens of photos showing life in Darwin during the war. So I learned a little bit about the area's history.
The town shuts down pretty early. I was the last (maybe only?) visitor to the Tunnels, which closed at 1pm. Then the burger joint where I had lunch and used wifi closed at 3pm. All the way back to my hotel I passed shops and coffeehouses that closed between 4 and 5! There are several restaurants open for dinner, but I shouldn't dawdle, in case they close early too.
[About an hour later.] I'm sitting in a bar, at the bar, eating dinner and drinking beer. Turns out, most people don't actually sit at the bar around here, and many bars don't even have seats (I checked a few places before picking the one I'm writing from). And no one stands at the bar either. People just order their drinks then return to their tables. The only other two people here who are drinking at the bar are speaking a european language, so they're not locals either. So much for an easy way to meet people lol.
Darwin, at least the parts downtown that people would want to visit, is small-ish. There are visitors guides all over, and definitely things to do, but it's not a place one could spend days and days, unless they spent most of that at the nearby national parks. My hotel is about a 15-minute walk from about half the things I'd want to see in one direction, and about a 25-minute walk from the other half in the other direction.
Today I walked south, to the older part of town. I followed one of the walking tours in the guidebook, which makes it sound like there is a whole lot to see. And there sort of is, except not everything is very interesting and a lot of it is just a building one can stare at for a minute before moving on. Like:
 |
| An 1880s mining exchange, now a community theater with a missing box office. |
 |
| The old town hall, destroyed by 1974's Cyclone Tracy. |
 |
| The Beagle Bells, part of a sculpture group honoring Charles Darwin. |
 |
| Christchurch Cathedral (Cathedral, really?), whose 1902 structure was mostly destroyed in 1974 and replaced by this ugly thing. |
 |
| The wharf. |
[About an hour later.] I'm sitting in a bar, at the bar, eating dinner and drinking beer. Turns out, most people don't actually sit at the bar around here, and many bars don't even have seats (I checked a few places before picking the one I'm writing from). And no one stands at the bar either. People just order their drinks then return to their tables. The only other two people here who are drinking at the bar are speaking a european language, so they're not locals either. So much for an easy way to meet people lol.
No comments:
Post a Comment