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| Gold Coast, Australia |
I went there on a business trip actually. To be honest, I never imagined ever going on an international business trip so this took me by surprise. In fact, I was only told a little more than a month before my trip that I had to go to Gold Coast to attend a conference there. While getting a visa to travel to Australia is not as difficult and doesn't take as long as getting one for many other countries, there were some internal company approvals we had to secure before I could travel.
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| Broadbeach in Gold Coast |
The timing of my trip was also not that great. It conflicted with some plans I had, including a reunion that I really didn't want to miss. As such, I couldn't extend my stay by a couple of days to see more of the city, which meant that my trip was really purely business. I didn't really get to do much else.
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| View of Sydney from the plane |
If I had more time, I would've wanted to visit the SkyPoint Observation Deck and maybe even do the SkyPoint Climb Experience. A friend of mine who has been to Gold Coast also said it would be nice to visit Surfer's Paradise. Alas it was not to be. Thankfully, my hotel - Meriton Suites Broadbeach - was just a couple of blocks away from the beach so I got to see the ocean.
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| The ocean was just a couple of blocks from my hotel |
I took a short stroll along Broadbeach where I saw the Robert Gatenby Boardwalk.
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| The Robert Gatenby Boardwalk |
I was also introduced to Borobi, the blue koala who was the official mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. I later discovered that Borobi means Koala in the Yugambeh language, which is an Australian Aboriginal language. After the 2018 commonwealth games, Borobi has become the official mascot of the Australian Commonwealth Games team and a champion of Australian indigenous languages with the Yugambeh Museum.
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| Borobi, official mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games |
Right next to the beach was The Oasis, a shopping mall that had a Woolworths, a popular supermarket chain in Australia. I ended up going to that Woolworths on my first night and on my last night in Gold Coast. I bought a lot of Tim Tams, especially the flavors that you can't find in Manila, as well as a couple of bags of The Killer Coffee.
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| The Killer Coffee |
There was also a souvenir shop at The Oasis and I decided to get a couple of fridge magnets. I also got a really cute Barney Gumnut and Friends tea set from Ashdene that I gave to my mom.
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| Barney Gumnut and Friends tea set |
Arguably the most popular Australian animals are kangaroos and koalas which is why most people get souvenirs that feature these creatures. However, my personal favorite is the wombat. When I saw this mug with its really cute wombat design, I just had to have it. Not surprisingly, it is now my favorite mug.
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| My Ashdene wombat mug |
Since I didn't get to do much more while I was in Australia, I just tried to get as many photos as I could, including this one with a turtle statue right next to The Oasis mall.
I also saw several Australian white ibises in the city. In fact, the first one I saw shortly after I arrived.
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| Australian white ibis |
Over the next several posts, I will write about the rest of my experience in Australia, including the conference I attended, the hotel where I stayed, some restaurants I visited, and other experiences I had.
Next: Business Trip
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