Where should I go in Australia?

That's a good question.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say your one stop check-in spot should be Brisbane.  This sprawling city chillaxes on the southeast tip of Australia and is the third largest in the country.  Here's the play-by-play on how I enjoyed Brisbane for my visit:

10 AM - Arrive at Brisbane and check-in at the Conrad Treasury Casino.  It was a good hotel with all the frills that most modern hotels boast - not that we would spend much time there.  Actually, I think more time was spent in the casino than in the hotel room.  Oops - backtrack to about 9:30, where we stopped at a liquor store and picked up this:



Then at the hotel, I did this:

Then this happened:

But I digress,

High Noon - We wandered around the streets of Brisbane, which offered many sights and sounds any great metropolitan city does.  Much of the shopping was spattered across the city, and we spent most of an hour at the Queen Street Mall.  Lots of retail stores and bistros here.

2 PM - Arrive at the Gold Coast, a beautiful beachtown just an hour south of Brisbane.  This "surfer's paradise" showed miles of soft sand and perfect waves.  Not only did we find a great surf and turf diner for some grub, but we also snacked at a few of the plentiful streetside vendors.  And don't worry about getting a parking ticket - the city is overrun with scantily clad women who feed the parking meters for you.  Isn't that convenient?

Recently terminated meter-maid.

5 PM - Back to Brisbane.  We spent a few hours at the casino gambling, and losing money.  Typical.  After a quick shower, we headed out for a night out in Aussie town.

9 PM - The Alhambra Lounge.  This was a super cool club with plenty of areas to lounge and more areas to dance.  The DJ of the night was playing good house music.  Not too loud and not too soft.  One of the best parts of this club was the atmosphere.  No vacationers here, and once the locals heard our accents - they stuck to our sides for as much talk as they could get.

After about 2:00 AM, everything gets hazy and I think I end up somewhere back at the hotel.  I remember trying to finish off the bottle of absinthe and eating the remainders of an "Aussie burger" (hamburger, egg, beets and lettuce in a sesame seed bun).  Good aftermath eats.

And a tip to the wise, when they cheer, "Aussie Aussie Aussie..."  You yell, "Oy Oy Oy!"

What you can do in Singapore

If you find yourself in Singapore, what do you do?  Where do you go and how do you spend your bucks?  It really depends on what kind of wave rocks your boat.  I like exploration and culture.  It's a good thing that we can find both in this small island republic.  I have spent several different outings in the pursuit of exploring Singapore and have compiled a small list of things that you must do if you ever find yourself in this unique little place.

• Chinatown - a great cultural experience, unlike any other that you will find in the states.  It is a souvenir and Asian tasty treat carnival.
• Sim Lim Square - an electronic retail highrise where any traveler can pick up a necessary outlet converter or haggle an outstanding deal on a new camcorder.   
• 

  

  The lift back up top

  Sentosa Island - make sure you allot a whole day for this adventure.  We took the cable-car over the harbor to reach the island, which dropped us off in carnival heaven.  After milling around for a moment we found the street luge rentals and raced each other down the hill.  To where?  The beach paradise of course.  It was first necessary to take the ski-lifts back up and luge back down several times, just to make sure we were having enough fun.  Afterwards, we spent most of the day exploring the island and all the sights.

• Clarke Quay - this is a great place to spend your evenings in Singapore.  Alongside the water, this colorful promenade houses many restaurants, bars and clubs to choose from.  And shopping?  Why yes, of course. 

Mexican food in Asia???

This city is immaculate.  I was hard-pressed to find trash on the sidewalks or people smoking in the streets.  Every vacation in Singapore was a new adventure for me and my friends. 

Oh and if you see this building -

A word of caution.  It's called the "four floors of whores".