Fashion Design from Thailand and a New Army Graduate

I had another short shift at the airport this weekend but everyone I spoke to was very friendly and told interesting tales about their visit.

The first people I made contact with were a group of Thais. Two of the women in the group had been in Sydney for a month to train students in fashion design. While their English was limited (and my Thai language skills even more limited) we managed to have a good chat. They had enjoyed their time in Sydney - especially the shopping outings!

Also travelling on Thai was a young Polish girl who is studying tourism in Sydney and was going back to Poland for a sad and unexpected trip home - her father had just died and she was returning for his funeral.

Travelling to London on Qantas was a friendly young Italian backpacker who had spent 4 months in Australia and had seen much of the country, including a stint with some friends in a campervan in the Northern Territory. On the same flight was an Aussie who lives in England and was home for a short visit to attend the army graduation of his son in Wagga and visit relatives in Brisbane.

On a flight back to Christchurch was a very friendly 70's couple who had come to Sydney for a short visit, mainly to see the live musical 'Chicago' which they really enjoyed. They were originally from England and had settled in New Zealand 53 years ago. The husband told me the story of why he chose to go to New Zealand rather than Australia. At the time there was a ten pounds passage fee to emigrate to Australia whereas it was a free passage from England to New Zealand. This was what made up his mind and he originally went for one year to see how he liked it. His wife followed when he decided on a longer stay.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

International Students Going Home, A Scientist and a Contiki Tourer

At this time of year I come across many international students who are studying in Australia and are on their way home for their end of year break. One of these was a student at ANU who was staying at a residential college on campus just down the road from the one I used to live in a very long time ago - way back in the 70's. Brought back some pleasant memories. :)-

I also talked to a scientist who had been here doing some research in collaboration with Adelaide University. He did tell me his field of interest but it now escapes my mind, I'm afraid.

Then there was the young English girl who had just done a Contiki tour from Cairns to Sydney and a German sister and brother who took a campervan down the Queensland coast. Talking to some of these people certainly contunies to whet my appetite for all the parts of Australia I should hurry up and go and see!

Others on their way out of the country included a guy who had attended a friends wedding in the Kangaroo Valley area in NSW, a conference attendee at Sydney University and a middle aged UK couple who were disappointed about missing their Bangkok stopover on the way home due to the airport closure and political turmoil in Bangkok. They did have a good Aussie stay though.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

From Horticulturalists to Futures Traders and, Of Course, Another Wedding

I met a friendly older couple from the US who had just completed a horticulture tour of our East Coast visiting botanic and other public gardens as well as many private gardens. The gentleman was in his 80's and he and his wife had done horticulture tours of many other countries already. Japan and possibly China were next in their sight to explore.

In sharp contrast to the above was a chat I had with a US futures and commodities trader who had been in Sydney to run training courses. It was good to get his persepctive on the current doom and gloom in financial markets.

A group of Contiki tour participants was on a flight home this week to the USA. They had done a trip up the Queensland coast and while they had a pretty good time, it seems it may have been a bit rushed and tried to cover too many stops in the 2 weeks they had here.

Other visitors of note on their way out of the country included a Dutch couple who had seen a lot of our continent, others here for family visits and a couple who did a campervan journey from Townsville to Brisbane.

And of course, as I have struck continually over the last few weeks, yet another couple here to attend a wedding in Sydney. Spring must be the season for weddings.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse