Welcome to Australia

Can you spare a buck?


My flight down was pretty uneventful – as it should have been. I got out of the airport and on the train to Sydney with no problems. It was still early in the morning and the city was just waking up. It seemed like everybody was on their way to work.

Which explains why I had such a wait for a taxi.

I’d figured I’d get off the train at Central Station and be in a cab to my hotel in no time, but things didn’t quite go that way. Not a big deal though. The weather was awesome (about 10 degrees cooler than any morning I’d felt in Tokyo that week), so I didn’t mind waiting at the taxi stand for a bit.

Until he showed up.

This guy walked up to me and was all “G’day, mate,” which I found kinda cool, since you usually only hear that in movies. I responded with a cheery, “morning!” Then he asks if I can spare a dollar.

I was suddenly less cheery towards this guy.

I said I couldn’t and he walked off.Now, I know there are panhandlers everywhere (pretty much), and this wasn’t the first time I’d run into one, but still….

It’s hardly a good first impression for a city to make on a visitor.

Of course, in fairness to the beggar, Australia’s not like Tokyo where it’s easy to spot the foreigners. I’m sure I looked like any other person to him.

Actually, that was the second time that morning I’d been mistaken for an Aussie….