Place shaped as a spike

Mian-jin, meaning Place shaped like a spike, is the name given to Brisbane by local indigenous people. Brisbane is the capital city of Australian state, Queensland. With a population around 2 million, it's the third most populous city in Australia. The river flowing through the city, as you see in the picture, is Brisbane river. In fact, the city was named after this river[1].

I arrived in Brisbane in February 2010, but, still did not get a chance to explore the place much. It is a little strange compared to how I covered most parts around Perth in Western Australia within just few weeks from when I arrived there. Well, at lease those that were accessible by public transport.

From what I have experienced so far, Brisbane has a nicer climate than Perth. Probably the best climate out of Australia's all major cities. Being sub-tropical, it does not get too cold here during the winter. And, definitely not as hot and uncomfortable in summer as in Perth, where the temperature goes up as high as 40 degrees Celsius. Apart from this lack of extremes temperatures, here it is not so humid either. Thus, it does not sweat as much as it does back in my home country Sri Lanka.

When it comes to fruits and vegetables growing in the area, I observed an abundance of tropical varieties. Specially, in the riverside traditional market held on every Saturday morning in the suburb called West End. I was surprised to see most of these food, as I had not seen them ever since I left Sri Lanka. For many reasons, in terms of natural environment, Brisbane feels pretty much like the wet zone of Sri Lanka. When I first landed in Brisbane, after my 6 hours flight from Perth, as amusing as it might sound, the first thing I noticed was the grass. Grass here seems to be the same species as what is common back in Colombo.

Another thing I found so different to what I had experienced back in Perth was the behavior of people. 'Brisbanites' seem to be more social in their day to day lives. People are talking with their neighbors, children are playing on the streets and more people on the roads in suburbs.

Yet, I still feel a mysterious allure towards Perth. A strange call, calling me back. Perth, although the harsh semi dessert it may be, with annoying insects, still has the ability to calm my mind down. I miss watching the sun set over the Swan river, I miss watching dolphins in Canning river, and I miss the streets and shops selling souvenirs in Perth city and Fremantle.

I wonder if I would miss Brisbane the same, when I leave it behind one day.

References:
[1]. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Brisbane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane. Accessed on May 29, 2010.