Thursday, June 12, 2008

Where else but Queensland

Where else do you find muggy weather, frizzy hair and unhelpful people!!!

I think the folk in the hospitality industry have forgotten the meaning of the word 'hospitality'!!

Experiences so far have been:

1. We go to Brisbane Botanical Gardens, have a coffee in the garden restaurant and ask them how to get to Mt Tamborine.

Us: Hi - can you tell us how to get to Mt Tamborine?
Brisbane-ite (insert stereo-typical blonde voice here and tilt head to one side): Noooo ... that's on the Gold Coast
Us: Yes we are aware it's near the Coast however can you tell us how to get there:
Brisbane-ite: Noooo ... we don't go to the Gold Coast
Us: Thanks for your help

2. Had a meeting in Mansfield yesterday (about 14km away from where our office is) so I caught a taxi.

Taxi driver (insert stereo-typical italian taxi driver who wouldn't turn on air conditioner but windows down): Where to
Me: [give him address]
Taxi driver: do you know where that is
Me: No .. but I'm guessing in Mansfield
Taxi driver: Do you know how to get there
Me: No ... that's why I am catching a taxi
Taxi driver: Do you know what the name of the building is
Me : No ... I'm from interstate .. I've never been there before
Taxi driver: [insert heavy sigh and tut-tutting as he has to look up Melways for directions]

3. I get on a bus last night to get back to apartment, but got on wrong bus. Got off at first stop I could and walked to a street I was familiar with. A bus comes along so I ask the driver:

Me: Do you go anywhere near Turbot Street
Bus Driver: I go straight down Adelaide Street
Me: Yes I know you go down Adelaide Street but does it go far enough to be in the vicinity of Turbot Street
Bus Driver: I go straight down Adelaide Street
Me: I am trying to get to the corner of Bowen & Turbot Street .... will this bus take me within a 4 block radius
Bus Driver: I go straight down Adelaide Street

Where else but Queensland indeed!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

.....and QLD reckon they are a great tourist destination..................God help the tourists.

Toni said...

hehehehe.. Being a past Queenslander I had a good laugh at this!!!

Mt Tamborine, just head to the Gold Coast and follow the signs!

Turbot Street - get off on corner of Adelaide and Wharf and walk two blocks up!

Taxi Driver needs to get a NAVMAN!!!

Anonymous said...

Hahahaha!
I lived on the Gold Coast for 4 years, then Brisbane for another 4.
I think that after a while of being a local, the constant heat seems to make it far too hard for the locals to think and even harder to string an intelligent sentence.
So I left and moved back to Melbourne. Now I can't string an intelligent sentence because of the cold.
Great post! Laughed my belly off.
Liana

Anonymous said...

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