Infrastructure
A word that my boss Rohan likes to use when comparing American to Australia is "infrastructure". As in "Australia doesn't have quite the infrastructure to America when it comes to goods and services."
Like, no pay-at-the-pump at most gas stations. No online bookings for many hotels. You get the idea.
One place this was very apparent was this weekend as Lisa and I rode the very long train ride to Frankston and then on to Stony Point with the intention of taking a short ferry ride over to French Island national park. Weather forecast looked good. We get to the pier, and to purchase our ferry tickets (which, it did look like a very short ferry ride... we could see most of French island from the pier) we go to the stony point general store/ferry service station.
The woman behind the counter tells us that we can take a ferry over, but there's a chance that the winds might pick up and the ferry wouldn't return. We would have to spend the night on this island, a place that one website told us has no electricity anywhere. No alternatives, no other way to get back: weather get bad, ferries just stop.
This was something that we, as Americans who are using to having lots of "infrastructure", were completely unprepared for. What do you mean we can go but can't come back?
Needless to say we didn't go, as the thought of being stranded on this island overnight was not too appealing. I must say this makes me a bit nervous for our trip next month to Tasmania, as apparently, mainland Australia is a technical marvel compared to Tassie.
Like, no pay-at-the-pump at most gas stations. No online bookings for many hotels. You get the idea.
The woman behind the counter tells us that we can take a ferry over, but there's a chance that the winds might pick up and the ferry wouldn't return. We would have to spend the night on this island, a place that one website told us has no electricity anywhere. No alternatives, no other way to get back: weather get bad, ferries just stop.
This was something that we, as Americans who are using to having lots of "infrastructure", were completely unprepared for. What do you mean we can go but can't come back?
Needless to say we didn't go, as the thought of being stranded on this island overnight was not too appealing. I must say this makes me a bit nervous for our trip next month to Tasmania, as apparently, mainland Australia is a technical marvel compared to Tassie.
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