Oz

Home sweet home. Only back in Oz 2 days I have been struck by several things.

1. Australia has become expensive. Not helped by the outrageous exchange rates on offer from Travelex at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne where I sold GBP/AUD at a rate not seen since when. 

£40 got me 49 Australian dollars. 49 Australian Dollars!!!! 3.5 years ago when I left this ''Lucky Country'' 40 quid would get me 100 bucks. It strikes you at every corner. 50 Aussie bucks for brunch at a cafe for 3 of you? 55 bucks for 3 sandwiches and soft drinks from a seaside cafe? 250 Aussie bucks for a two course dinner for 3 where no one drinks more than a glass of wine each? 160 Bucks to get a taxi from the airport to home? 

2. No one but no one dresses up for a good restaurant meal. I've come to the conclusion that the idea of dressing up for an evening meal for an Aussie man is simply to ensure your shirt has sleeves. 

3. The Aussie accent is broad and you know you are home when the waitress says '' Hi guys watchya think you will have to eat?'' and then when you tell her she replies '' good onya'' and raises both thumbs upwards. I kid you not. God bless. 

4. Australia has become a police state. An hour drive to the beach yesterday and I counted more camera's than you'd see in Dixons.

5. Almost every car is Japanese and it's a rare sight when you see something from Europe.

So very similar to the vista at Brighton Beach in the UK...or.....not!

Another crowded Aussie beach