All that glitters is gold

I was in the Gold Coast last week and believe me when I say its the best place on earth, ever.

The theme parks were fun. I can see you guys squirm. Not a big fan of theme parks myself. Can you believe it when I say that I have never been to VGP Golden beach. I was in Chennai all my life and I have never been there even once when my cousins from Mumbai and Delhi go there every summer. The only time I was ever in a theme park before was 'MGM Dizee world' and it was so crowded and so hot that I don't have a fond memory of it. And the rides - I believed that only fools loved the rush of adrenalin and go for life-threatening roller-coasters. (euphemism for I am terrfied of the rides).

Eeks! not me. But quite unbelievably, I actually went on and loved the roller coasters in the MovieWorld (dad, if you are reading it, I know how proud of me you are). OK! Loved is a big word... didn't puke and didn't curse my friends is as good as it gets. WB MovieWorld is good fun for those who like movies and for those who like rides. I especially loved when Neo and Trinity walked past me. (It was like they were visiting the Matrix and at any moment would turn to me and say, "Do you think it is air that you are breathing?")

And the Police Academy Stunt show was hilarious. (The show before the actual stunt event was the best silent comedy I have seen. That guy could give all the Jim Carreys and Mike Myers a run for their money. That without even speaking a word)

Sea world on the other hand was more about marine life and though there were a coupla good rides I would say it is mainly for the dolphin and sea lion show, shark feeding, polar bears and the kind. (Again a few people did the Shark Diving - I wouldn't swim with a shark if someone gave me a million dollars... and why the f would someone pay to go swimming with them is beyond my grasp)

If you think that the theme parks was all that was to Gold coast... noooooo.... the best part was the beach. The sand, the waves, the surfers around, the little kids hoping to catch a wave (and the hot chicks tanning themselves) it was everything one could hope for in a beach. Wait a sec... I still wish they had MulagaBajji there. OK! other than that it had everything. We had fun in the water like crazy enjoying soaking ourselves in the warm water (Canberra is already freezing).

We were camping at a place not far from the Gold Coast (in Springbrook national park) and they had some amazing walks. The Purling Brooks Falls and the forest around (is it tropical rainforest, I wonder) were scenic and calming. I would love to stay in a place like that for a coupla months and write a book.

We did drive by Brisbane and what I have seen of it is good - loved the river and the ferry service. You can take a day ticket for just 5 bucks and sit in a Cat all day, travelling between UQ and North Brisbane (Cat is short for Catamaran...i.e. our Kattu Maram. But it is kinda sophisticated..like Muligatawney soup which I am told was Milagu Thanni)

Didn't have much time to go around Brisbane but for the Queen Street Mall (with their frightfully expensive designer labels) and Mount Cootha (for a night skyline view). Ofcourse for a trip like this (we drove from Canberra), the company matters and my friends were fantabulous.

It was, as I said before, the best place I have been to... until next time... is it NZL????