Queen Victoria Building and Surroundings

In the past few days, I’ve been busy organising a few things for my stay in Australia — but one constant has been going to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) every day. The building is kind of mesmerising: it was built for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1898 — just three years before her death. Its stately design is matched by its impressive size: a five-storey building with over 150 shops! You can find just about anything in there — even the most delicious macarons. Though, in all fairness, I wasn’t looking for them… they found me. True story. I’m sure.

Despite the large crowds (which I never enjoy), I can’t deny that I like strolling through the building. You never know which shop you might have overlooked. For example, on my second day, I found a Cinnabon shop. I thought it would be wise to get a small one. After three bites, I was aching for more… but I stayed strong. So today, I went back — for the six macaron flavours I hadn’t yet tried on my first day. 😄

Sydney impresses me with its architecture in general, and so far, it seems quite clean! The only thing I’ve noticed rather strongly is how much people keep to themselves — they avoid eye contact and don’t reciprocate a smile, or they simply look away. It was the same in Auckland, really. I notice it so strongly because in Vanuatu, it was completely different.

Yes, on the one hand, people in Vanuatu made it clear more than once that I wasn’t one of them — the bus wouldn’t stop for me, only for locals; at the airport, while standing in line for the so-called “online check-in” (which was just a regular check-in, because the website didn’t work), I was first in line and still got shoved aside or ignored four times in favour of locals. And they weren’t subtle about it.

But on the other hand, no matter where you went in Vanuatu, it was customary to make eye contact with people you passed on the street, smile, and greet them. Depending on who you encountered, the level of enthusiasm varied, of course, but by and large, everyone followed this unwritten rule — and I was glad to join in. Whenever I passed children, they were especially happy to greet me. Usually, I was walking past them, giving them plenty of time to get excited about the encounter. But even in Tanna, when I was being driven along the good part of the road, children would wave and say hello. That was pretty sweet.

So now, the contrast hits quite hard. And I must confess: I didn’t expect to find it so difficult to adjust to this new (but also old) reality.
Also — getting used to walking on the left again. (In Vanuatu, you walk and drive on the right.)Read more