I got up at 5 AM because I'd slept at 8 PM last night. I felt much better. My headache had gone away. After a long shower and more fruit, I got down to planning my time in Queensland. I was disappointed to see the weather forecasts for the next few days: rain and thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday all over Queensland. Because a lot of Brisbane's attractions are indoors, I decided to see Brisbane later on a rainy day and spend today outdoors in the Gold Coast.
Gold Coast
I arrived at Surfer's Paradise before noon. I started with a stroll on the beach. The beach here stretches as far as the eye can see. It's a beautiful, wide strip of sand along the coastline that runs for several kilometres. The weather wasn't perfect. It was windy so sand was blown in my face when I laid down to relax. The sky was cloudy and the water was too cold to swim in for more than a few minutes. So I just found a sheltered piece of the beach where the wind didn't blow and enjoyed the on-and-off sun and relaxed for about half an hour.
Some Japanese school girls came up to me screaming and asked to take a photo. I accepted. They did the same thing to some Aussie guys. It seems they love white looking guys!
Surfing Lesson
I took a 2-hour surfing lesson for beginners in the afternoon. What could be better than surfing at Surfer's Paradise?! Fortunately we had tight wetsuits to keep the cold water out and keep us warm. We had a short lesson on the beach before practising it in the water. We were taught how to walk and paddle into deep water, turn around and catch a wave. It was my first time so I had a hard time balancing myself on the surfboard. But I gradually got the catch of it and managed to catch a couple of waves in the laying down position. I couldn't do the standing position though. I'll need more practice for that, which I think I will get. I enjoyed surfing this time so I think I'll do it again soon.
Commercialization
I met a couple of Canadian guys from Calgary on my way here. They said this town looks like Miami or LA. High rise hotels and apartments mark the skyline and higher ones are being developed still. Real estate here is a ludicrous industry. The centre of the city is lined with fast food stores, shops and high end designer outlets.
Later tonight I'm going out to a few nightclubs.
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