The city’s skyline.
The meandering river gives the city its charm.
When there is a river, there are bridges and I like bridges. The Story Bridge is the most famous of all but my favorite is a footbridge connecting Queensland University of Technology to the other bank.
The way QUT merges with the city’s botanic garden that sits on a convex bank is another factor that makes the city likable. Yes, I particularly like the settings of QUT. The trees make the campus beautiful. And somehow, while the buildings on its campus are close to each other, it does not give out crampy feeling. The size of open space there is just nice that it is neither crowded nor empty.
Talking about being crowded, the Queen Street Mall is crowded. It is a magnificent pedestrian-only street that is full of activities at night, signaling that the city is no cowboy town. It has nightlife. There are stalls in the middle of the street so full of people, making the atmosphere livelier. The sound of people laughing, of forks and knives hitting the plates, of music, everything. Here and there, performers were lighting up the night, as if streetlights were not enough.
There are a number of old colonial buildings across the city but modern skyscrapers outnumbered old ones. The Mall is one of few places in the city where that statement in untrue.
At the end of the Mall, there is a plaza flanked by a colonial-style structure called the Treasury Building and what I believe is the state library.
Treasury Building
If I am not mistaken, the plaza is called Brisbane Square. During my last night in the city, the plaza came to life. People were just dancing merrily. Some were just happy standing watching people there until late night. I have a feeling that they were university students, given that many universities in Australia start their semester in either late February or early March.There are two universities nearby that I know of that are within walking distance from the Square. They are QUT and Griffith University.
This is a direct contrast of how the day looks like.
The city appears empty and does not exhibit the kind of traffic large and dense cities have. Having experienced living and visiting a number of world cities, I can say that Brisbane does not have a real rush hour. Nevertheless, on the way to Moreton Island to the northeast, the highway was clogged-up for several kilometers.
The fact that the city lacks intracity system probably strengthens the notion that Brisbane is small. There is a rail system but it is only as part of bigger intercity system. Buses and cabs have monopoly over public transportation here. Oh, and there are water taxis too.
Its transportation hub blends into the city. Another way to put it is that it does not stand out. The only reason I know that the city has a transportation hub is due to the fact that my train from Gold Coast dropped me there. Let me say this frankly. It is an ugly gray cube-like building. I am unimpressed with it.
And like Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane has a war memorial of its own. Less impressive but a memorial it is.
Brisbane’s memorial with a torch in the middle keeping the Eternal Flame alive.
Would I live and work here?
I rather be in Kuala Lumpur. I do not see big names in its central business district. That suggests employment opportunities here might be limited and not diversified. It seems less diverse too in terms of people. I might be wrong here but this does not look like a multiracial city.
Brisbane is a good city for vacationing though. It is a good base to go to multiple places outside of the city. I myself made it my base with Gold Coast and Moreton Island in mind. There are other places to visit but a week is insufficient to visit everything. Hundreds of kilometers separate those various attractions.
But if you want to visit the just the city, two days would probably be enough. There is really nothing in Brisbane. It is just yet another city. Without the river and natural attractions outside of the city, Brisbane would not have been on tourists’ radar.
That might be an unfair statement, given that I spent my most of my time in the central business district and in the Southbank only.
The riverside walk along Southbank is nice. The Southbank is located opposite to the row of buildings across the river. The many bridges and water taxis make it accessible without the need to invest too much effort. It is walkable. A saltwater pool with an artificial beach is the cherry on top for the riverside walk. It is also a great place to take a shot of the city.
A shot from a boat.
