|
THIS
writer just got back from an almost weeklong trip to
Australia’s Gold Coast, which is fast becoming the
object of an annual pilgrimage of local horsemen
attending the Magic Million National Sales.
This
writer remembers the time when he attended the same
event several years back. Things have really changed in
just so short a time and the Gold Coast has now become
the summer capital of Australia.
We
arrived in Brisbane on June 12 at 4 in the morning (2
a.m. in Manila) and were picked up at the airport by a
member of the Magic Million staff, who had been waiting
for us for two hours. We got aboard a Toyota Previa and
traveled for almost an hour on the highway leading to
the Gold Coast.
One
distinct feature of the expanded highway was the
high-walled barriers that lined most of the way.
Although it was still dark, the bright highway lights
clearly illuminated those barriers from both sides.
Groggy and somewhat sleepy from the eight-hour plane
ride from Manila, this writer slept for 30 minutes after
a half-hour chat with the driver while four of my
cotravelers—Sharon Uy of the Australian Trade
Commission, horse owners Roland Lim and Nap Chua, and
Alex Tan—were already slumbering.
It was
winter and although the temperature hovered from 16
degrees centigrade to a low of 10 degrees centigrade,
tourists from neighboring states and countries continued
to arrive in throngs.
Traffic?
You could hardly notice it in the Gold Coast, even
though roads were full of vehicles during rush hours.
During our stay there, crisscrossing the whole island
was a zip because of the smooth roads. Although the
volume of vehicles was light during winter, our driver
said that “the whole Gold Coast is a mess as it looks
like a huge parking lot” as vacationers arrive in
November and December during summer. Yes, it’s
summertime there when we feel the cold December air here
in
Manila.
Winter
in the Gold Coast is like entering a huge refrigerator
that is not switched on to its coldest setting. You
don’t see any snow but the weather is cold. That being
said, any long-sleeved polo or shirt is more than enough
to go around in late in the morning and early in the
afternoon.
Smoke-belching vehicles in the Gold Coast is a rarity
and this writer hardly smelled any smoke coming from the
vehicles even during rush hours.
One will
also notice that Australian drivers and vehicle owners
are very courteous. Although there are hardly any
traffic enforcers or policemen on the streets, drivers
always stop when the red light is flashed.
Even
when the stoplight switches to green, drivers won’t move
forward as long as there are people still crossing the
street. One driver even waited for our group to cross,
although we were still a few steps away from the corner.
This
writer can’t really help but notice the way they fix
roads out there, just like in many progressive countries
that he has visited. They are professional and quick in
fixing any road problem. Traffic enforcers are
ubiquitous where roadwork is being done. Lots of orange
plastic cones and barriers are looped around the area
where diggings and repairs are being done while
emergency red and yellow lights illuminate the whole
place at night.
Although
only one or two lanes are left passable when roads are
being fixed, vehicle owners don’t complain simply
because they know that it won’t take long to finish.
On the
way back to the airport during the last day of the trip,
those barriers again caught my interest. No, this writer
didn’t sleep it off this time, thanks to a lively chat
he had with the old lady who drove for us.
She said
that those fixtures are called “noise barriers” and they
“protect the neighborhood from the noise emanating from
the vehicles that travel the highway.”
I wasn’t
able to ask what materials they were made of but I guess
it was some kind of sturdy wood. They had images of
animals or birds painted on them and they represent the
animals that live behind them. “When you see the
pictures of koalas painted on the noise barriers, they
simply mean that there is a koala reservation just
behind them,” our driver, who was in her 60s, said.
“Government officials who tried to relocate the
reservation to make way for a major business improvement
in the area were voted out of office when the move
turned into a major issue against them,” the lady driver
said.
During
the morning drive, I also noticed a line of auto shops
and dealerships sitting right between the Gold Coast and
Brisbane. “Yes, this is where our car dealerships and
accessory shops are located. It’s a 4-km stretch where
you can shop around for any car that you need—either a
brand-new one or a second-hand one,” said our lady
driver.
Overall,
that trip gave this writer a welcome respite from the
hot and maddening roads and crowds of Metro Manila. |
