[Originally sent as email travelogue, Saturday, February 25, 5:02 pm Australian Eastern Dayligt Time; Friday, February 24, 11:02 pm Pacific Standard Time.]

Day One, Sunday, February 19: Delay

So guess what! We missed our flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane, because the connecting Alaska Airlines flight out of Seattle was delayed so significantly—first due to an apparently mechanical issue. Then, once they boarded the plane, suddenly they made an announcement that we had to de-board because it turned out their Security Officer could not make it for another hour. There were some very upset people, as you can imagine. I saw one woman on the phone crying.

Shobhit and I did our best to go with the flow. The biggest irony here was that when we first booked all these flights, we booked a round trip ticket from Seattle to Sydney, which included a layover in Brisbane, that being the Los Angeles - Brisbane flight. We wanted to visit Brisbane (the one new city for us this trip) first, and so we called up Qantas Airlines to see if we could just push that flight from Brisbane back three days, so we could save money booking a round trip fare that technically was to Sydney and back, but still spend three nights in Brisbane first. And they did it for us for only ten more bucks!

And then? We missed that flight to Brisbane, and wound up flying straight from Los Angeles to Sydney first anyway. We spoke to agents at Alaska Airlines in Seattle who rebooked it all for us, getting us on the 10:30 to Sydney out of LAX instead of the 8:30 to Brisbane out of LAX thanks to the delayed Alaska flight. (Side note: I am fully aware that this may just be random luck, but every time I hear people singing the praises of Alaska Airlines, I wonder what they hell they're talking about. I have had issues like this on Alaska far more often than I ever have on any other airline, and I have found Alaska to be a pain in the ass for literally decades now. I always avoid them if I can—not always easy, since I live where they are headquartered.) We were then also booked to a connecting flight from Sydney then to Brisbane. This meant that, instead of two flights and a 20-hour itinerary getting to Brisbane, in the end we had three flights and a 29-hour itinerary. Even that was longer than it should have been once we finally got to LAX.

So what's with the screenshot of the LAX Airport map, then? Did you already forget you scrolled past that? Well, we learned something new on this trip about LAX: ever since 2016, you can get from Terminal 6 (where the Alaska flight landed) all the way over to the Bradley International terminal via pedestrian tunnels, without ever having to go outside the airport and back in again. Shobhit lived in Los Angeles for five years, moving back to Seattle in 2016, and he was still assuming the same was the case now: back then, to get to the international terminal, you had to leave the terminal literally outside, re-enter the airport, and even go through security again. Not anymore! An agent informed us that she had personally timed the walk not long ago and, from terminal 6, it took about 15 minutes to get to the international terminal. Those thin lines connecting the terminals are the tunnels, which probably saved us at least half an hour compared to exit and re-entry. Shobhit had been concerned about having enough time even to make it on the Sydney flight after getting on the delayed Alaska flight we finally got on, but with this option it turned out more than fine.

One more thing! Well, about all this, I mean. That delayed Alaska flight had a physical downgrade—instead of waiting for the mechanical issue to be resolved, they gave us a new flight. With 30 fewer seats. Alaska got so desperate to get people to "volunteer" to get on a later flight, they gave anyone who stepped up a $1,500 voucher for travel! Had this been a domestic journey for us, I'd have been sorely tempted. But, even $1,500 isn't worth waiting another entire day to get down to Australia, which was what we would have had to do had we taken that option. Luckily, a lot of other people took the offer pretty quickly, with just one more offer made with a plea announced after we all got on the plane: just one last person needed to volunteer, for $3000 credit! The lady announcing that said she had never heard of that offer happening before. One person took the offer, and away we went.

Saturday, February 20: We literally flew right through this day!

Day Two, Tuesday, February 21: Delay / Wheel of Brisbane

We made the Sydney flight out of LAX. That was about 15 hours, I think. I can't remember for sure now; Brisbane from L.A. was going to be fourteen and a half. And except when eating, I wore a face mask the entire way. I brought both KN95s and N95s, and at first decided I would just stick with the KN95. But, I wound up wearing it for so long that the straps literally chaffed my ears, at a point when I was trying to sleep. I actually switched out to N95 just to relieve my ears, and slept in that for a couple of hours. But then I woke up due to the difficulty breathing, and switched back to the N95.

Shobhit wore a disposable mask maybe half the way. He had it on in the airports on the way there, but about halfway through the trans-Pacific flight he could no longer abide it and took it off.

No fewer than four people within about a four-seat radius of me coughed regularly through this entire flight. Including the guy on the other side of me, sitting by the window. Fun!

But I haven't even gotten to the other delay we had to endure! This happened at the Sydney Airport, so it was especially frustrating after already having to get re-routed through Sydney to begin with. In fact, at first we were thinking of the first delay as a blessing in disguise, because our original flight to Brisbane was to land at 5 a.m. local time and we couldn't check into our hotel until 2 p.m. We wound up on a later plane that didn't land until 2:30 anyway, so, problem solved, I guess!

And: why? Well, perhaps we should have known better, but we didn't think about this at all, when Shobhit, who works at Total Wine & More, bought two liquor containers on clearance and with his employee discount: in the shape of gas canisters, with the words HOLIDAY FUEL stenciled on the sides. (You'll see a photo of me holding these later in this email.) Well, it turns out, Airport Security gets spooked when they see what looks like gas canisters in their luggage scans.

Shobhit and I had picked up our luggage and taken it through customs already at this point, had even made it to the gate for our 10:05 am flight, we thought barely. We even assumed we would get bumped to the next flight when we checked our luggage at the domestic flights counter, but the agent there told us the flight was slightly delayed and we would barely make it. We took a shuttle bus from the International to the Domestic terminal. We went into the bathroom and brushed our teeth, having spent the night (and then some) on an airplane. We were waiting to board in a matter of minutes, when Shobhit was paged by name at the Qantas customer service desk.

The lady there told us some "camping equipment" had been seen in his suitcase, so he was pulled off the flight. We were going to have to shuttle back to International Terminal and discuss this with Airport Security. They hadn't pulled me off the flight, so we had them do that too, and make sure they also retrieved my suitcase.

Back we went. After a short while, we met a young man I felt very comfortable heaping twenty tons of resentment on for assuming we had checked actual canisters of gasoline. Shobhit even opened both canisters and let him smell them. A Qantas agent had to rebook us on another flight, and while Shobhit made several complaints the man said Airport Security is totally different from the airline and this was entirely out of their control. Very convenient! Well, we saw the security guy a couple of times and, after understanding that there was no point in resenting the arline agent, I spent a lot of time looking at the young man from security and thinking things along the lines of Fuuuuuuck you!

I was pretty lax about the setbacks up to this moment, but was reaching a breaking point when the agent told us that, although there are hourly flights from Sydney to Brisbane, not only were we clearly missing the 11:05 flight, there weren't even seats available at 12:05. Or even the 1:05. We wound up on the 2:05 flight, delayed a further four hours from the itinerary we thought we had after re-booking at LAX.

To say I was relieved when we finally actually touched down in Brisbane—at 2:30 local time, because the Australian state of Queensland does not observe Daylight Saving—would be an understatement. And if you actually read all of this, congratulations! I don't think any of the other captions will be this long. We can only hope. Let's pray!

The hotel we booked in Brisbane was called Pacific Hotel Brisbane, it has nine floors but was up on a hill we had no idea was so steep, and we convinced them to put us in a room on the 7th floor. This is a selfie I took of us on our balcony shortly after we checked in. Across the street from the hotel and behind us is Roma Street Parkland, a large and very cool city park that we explored the next day.

There was a moment on Thursday when a local city transport ferry started suggesting some of the natural wonders just outside the city as points of interest, and I'm sure many would be astonished that we did not ever wander more than a couple of miles away from the city center. Just remember: both Shobhit and I love cities; staying in city centers suits our interests; we always find plenty to do right there, especially in a city we've never been to.

So: first on my agenda once we were settled in, was the Wheel of Brisbane, a 60-meter (197 ft) tall Ferris wheel just across the Brisbane River. For points of comparison: the High Roller in Las Vegas is 550 ft tall; the Seattle Great Wheel is 175 ft tall.

Shobhit and I roamed around a little bit, killing time until we could board the Wheel of Brisbane, which was rather slow on Tuesday, during dusk. As I'm sure you would expect, I took a bunch of photos, but this one is probably my favorite.

Even the view from the ground wasn't so bad either!

Day Three, Wednesday, February 22: Train Day Trip to Gold Coast

Behold! Australia's tallest building: Q1 (2005, 322.5 m / 1,058 ft, 78 floors), even though they are total cheaters with that 250-ft spire. But, those dingbats over at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat have declared that spires get included in the structural height of buildings. In this case, though, the roof height is 804 ft.

Still pretty damned high! Check out that view, of the skyline of Gold Coast, which is massive for a city its size (metro population roughly 641,000). This city alone has four buildings taller than 600 ft and three taller than 700 ft, which can all be seen in the background here.

When we decided we would add Brisbane to our Australia itinerary this year, I discovered Gold Coast is quite close—in fact, truly the only two major cities (out of six, if you count Gold Coast) in Australia that are within proximity to each other at all. Gold Coast is all of 46 miles south of Brisbane.

It should be noted that, like most other Australian cities, the public transit is fantastic. We were able to make an easy day trip of it just taking local trains: first, a 68-minute express from the Brisbane city center to the transfer stop in north Gold Coast; then, a 38-minute local light rail train to a stop in Gold Coast that was all of about a block from the Q1 tower.

Knowing Gold Coast is also famous for its beaches, once we were done with the Q1 observation deck, I figured we would make a beach day of it. In the above shot, you can see both the Q1 tower, and, if you look closely, Shobhit sitting on our blanket tote.

After a delicious veggie burger lunch in Gold Coast, and meandering a bit through local shops, we caught the light rail train back even earlier than anticipated. Once back in Brisbane, we spent a good amount of time exploring the aforementioned Roma Street Parkland across the street from our hotel, which we really, really enjoyed. Well, Shobhit was freaked out by the more than 600 Eastern Water Dragons, likening them to the deadly miniature dinosaurs from The Lost World: Jurassic Park and always giving them a wide berth even though they were really harmless. Well, okay, we did have more than one person tell us they bite. So, I refrained from sticking my finger in any of their mouths.

Day Four, Thursday, February 23: River City Cruise

I had initially hoped to eat at a rooftop bar I found online in Brisbane, but then when Shobhit found a deal for this River City Cruise on Groupon, I decided I was happy to do this instead.

We had yet another adventure regarding this one, before we even saw the boat. Had I been thinking I would have checked the direct website to see that they have a departure location right downtown, in fact not far from the Wheel of Brisbane. But, I stupidly trusted the address provided by Groupon, which directed us to the far end of the river tour route upstream: Shobhit and I walked two and a half miles from our hotel to get there, only to find ourselves at Newstead Park with no sign of any river tours.

We asked two different people in the park who had no idea what we were talking about. We walked along the river around the park, and finally went into a restaurant to ask, and none of them knew either. But, because Shobhit and I are not paying for international cell service most of this trip, an incredibly kind and helpful woman at the restaurant—and I must say, we found several such people in Brisbane in particular—found the phone number on her phone and called them directly for us, then allowed us to speak to them.

It turned out there was a boarding spot right there in Newstead Park; we had walked right past the pier the boat came to—there just wasn't any boat or even any signage we could see, when we walked right past it. Once we got the directions over the phone and actually walked onto the pier itself, then we saw the sign: River City Cruises docks here daily at 11:15 am and 1:15 pm. Uhhh . . . der. In our defense, this sign faces the water and you only see it if you walk out on the pier, which we didn't do because we didn't see the boat we were expecting.

But, then the boat did come floating up to us, and that was when we learned the tour had started nearly an hour before . . . closer to where the Wheel of Brisbane is. But we could still board here, so it finally all worked out!

And doing this tour was really fun and absolutely worth it. I got some really great photos of the city from the water, which does several switchbacks as it winds through town. (There's even a Brisbane skyscraper with the Brisbane River meandering down its facade.)

Is "Story Bridge" in Brisbane considered iconic? I have no idea! Wikipedia says it's the "longest cantilever bridge in Australia," whatever that means. And, you can buy tickets to climb to the top of it, just like you can the Sydney Harbour Bridge (we did not do that). We thought we might walk across it, but then we decided we were satisfied with all the great views of it we got from the River City cruise.

But, this shot is not from the cruise. Instead of getting off at the downtown spot, we returned to Newstead Park, and then we walked to what's called "New Farm Riverwalk," which is essentially a long boardwalk over the water running alongside the river shore. At the end of it we got this particularly spectacular view of Story Bridge. And then we went in and got drinks at a place called Felons Brewing Co. It was a cavernous space with the word "FELONS" written in gigantic lettering across the huge windows.

Brisbane has a pretty large fleet of passenger-only commuter ferries, with a particular zone in the city center where boats they call "City Hoppers" are free. After our drinks, we caught a nearby City Cat (this one written as "Kitty Cat") ferry to get us the rest of the way back upriver.

We then walked for a while through Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, which are very pretty, and also features several banyan trees. A fascinating tree species indeed, but an information plaque notes they are native to India, in which case: they the hell do they have them here? (We saw these trees in more places than just the Botanic Gardens.)

Continuing our massive amount of walking on this day (25,871 steps!), we crossed a pedestrian bridge back to the Wheel of Brisbane side of the river, and walked through South Bank Parklands, which include Streets Beach, a man-made beach alongside the Brisbane River that is one of several free public pools in the parklands. We had even brought swimsuits in case we wanted to swim here, but it was late enough in the day by this point that we didn't really have it in us. We had both spent plenty of time in the water at Gold Coast the day before anyway.

Dinner back at the hotel: and how we ate dinner every day in Brisbane. Just as we had four our first trip to Australia in 2020, we brought a bunch of Indian meal packets with us to have with tortillas and/or rice. This hotel is the only one we booked that did not have a kitchenette, but they happily heated up our food for us downstairs on the lobby level where they have a restaurant. which we had them do all three nights we stayed there.

What we're using as a table here is a sort of lower bench that we pulled away from the wall in our room.

Day Five, Friday, February 24: Breakfast by the Riverside

The do-it-yourself meals notwithstanding, I was still keen to partake in local cuisine at least once while in Brisbane. So, we went to a place Shobhit found online down on the river, a 0.7-mile walk from our hotel.

It should be noted that "portions" are very different in places outside the U.S. And I'm good with that! What somewhat disappointed me, however, was ordering eggs benedict and not getting them on english muffins. To be fair, this breakfast was still delicious. And Shobhit loved his avocado toast.

The “Holiday Fuel” saga continues! This time with a happy ending, at least.

After what happened at the Sydney Airport, we had the wherewithal to tell the lady at Brisbane Airport checkin about the canisters. After leaving to consult with her supervisor for a minute, she came back and told us that indeed the same was likely to happen here, if airport security were to see the shapes of gas cans in our luggage scans.

This was when we learned that there are no limits on liquids in carry-ons for domestic flights in Australia, and the lady suggested we just carry them with us on the plane. We had no idea that was even an option. Just inform an agent when we go through security, she said.

So: that’s what we did. We wound up talking to several airport staff in the process but in the end it was still fine. After I said, “It’s just liquor, it’s not actually gas,” the first guy we spoke to was so casual about it he quipped, “Gas coming through!”

But, the young woman actually looking at these security scans was clearly a little unsure about it. Once again I explained. Another guy came over, said “I’ll just have my supervisor sniff these,” and away he went.

Within a couple of minutes the canisters were back again, now with yet another young woman, doing some kind of official test on them with a machine. Then came the most fun part: after they were quickly cleared, this young woman, unprompted, said, “I see a T and a V, is that for tequila and vodka?”

Ha! Indeed. A woman after our own hearts.

[Full disclosure: this last caption was the only one I just copied and pasted from my Facebook post about it, so some of you may have re-read this one verbatim—if you bothered to read this at all. But hey, cut me some slack: I'm already two days into our first weekend in Sydney and I wanted to get this travelogue about Brisbane out as fast as I could!]

(Click here for next travelogue: Kangaroo Island 2023)