UTMC

It's been about 10 years since I lived in Australia, and 4 years since my last visit to where I'm from. On my return to my regular life in Japan I have a few observances I'd like to relay:

1: Meat Pies: Must be made available universally. My wife is Japanese and, naturally, brought up on Japanese food. She was verging on recanting after her 2nd meat pie. Dear God I miss them already. Best served from a petrol station dripping hot gravy and sauce onto your lap whilst trying to navigate your way back onto the highway driving a silly fucking huge 4WD (of course I didn't do that!...).

2: Pub Food: Just pure comfort. For some reason didn't have as much as I wanted, but what I had was brilliant: fish and chips with snapper caught from the ocean viewed from the window from where we sat and ate. If you ever visit Paynesville, VIC, then go the The Old Pub. Order the fish. You won't be disappointed.

3: Bikes: Was blown away by the amount of bikes on the road in Australia these days. Never seen so many riders before, and I'm sure it has to do with petrol prices. On the highways there were a fair amount of sportbike riders, but far and away the bulk of riders were on Harley/Cruiser style bikes. Good luck to 'em. Just good to see people on a bike (not to mention the full-face helmets. In fact, every cruiser rider I saw was wearing gear. Sportbike riders were either atgatt or helmet and Nikes 80/20).

In the city bikes were totally different. Firstly, it seems you can park a bike on the footpath (sidewalk) without fear of the ticket-wielding man. Secondly, easily the most popular bike to ride in inner-city Melbourne is a late '80's to mid '90's Honda CBR250. I couldn't walk 10 yards without seeing a CBR250 parked. Made me smile a lot. Fucking brilliant bike, and great to see them parked all over the shop.

4: Traffic was more than a tad intimidating to begin with and took some getting back used to. Japan really is a walk in the park. Drivers in Australia (at least on the bypasses and highways) are so much more aggressive and unpredictable. Tailgate is the new black, I believe. I was glad to be driven about for the first day to get my bearings a bit. A world apart. A little hilarious to hear from some Australians "how terrible Asian drivers are" when I feel more threatened by my Orstraalian brethren. Mad fuckers we are.

Good to be back "home", but my posting will still be curtailed somewhat: the next week-odd is dedicated to moving to the recently purchased abode. We should be moved within the week. God knows when the internet will be up...

Cheers!

Welcome home.

Now, you closeted kangaroo fucker -- WHERE BE THE PIX???



--Jaeger

Yeah, CBR250's pics please.

Jonny wrote: the next week-odd is dedicated to moving to the recently purchased abode. We should be moved within the week. God knows when the internet will be up...

Cheers!

Congrats!

Jaeger wrote:Welcome home.

Now, you closeted kangaroo fucker -- WHERE BE THE PIX???



--Jaeger

Kangaroo fucker??? Well I never!

Well, not that I never tried, but they jump so much; very strong tail and legs. Sheep on the other hand, much more pliable.

Wait, what were we talking about?



If you want photos, they mainly consist of the food we ate and my son. Didn't take any pics of the masses of CBR250s planted on the Melbourne footpaths, although I should've.

Here are a couple of Aus vibes I have for you all:





Don't know about the roo, but the CBR look like a fun ride.

Johnny 3-Pints -- The Perv from Down Under.

Lemme ask this: are the speed laws/cops as draconian as I hear? I'm told that the penalties for speeding are harsh enough to actually prevent people from speeding (mandatory license suspension for minor infractions and the like). Zat true?

--Jaeger

Jaeger wrote:Lemme ask this: are the speed laws/cops as draconian as I hear? I'm told that the penalties for speeding are harsh enough to actually prevent people from speeding (mandatory license suspension for minor infractions and the like). Zat true?

--Jaeger

Yup, fines are pretty massive. I got my only speeding ticket (!) as a lad about 17-odd years ago and even then the price was steep: about $180 for doing 106kph in a 100 zone. From what I hear it is more expensive now.

Major roads are also peppered with speed cameras. The highway between Melbourne and my dad's house (100kph zone) has at least a half dozen unmanned cameras that will catch you if you are doing 103kph or over, not to mention the manned cameras, patrol cars, and helicopters. Pretty full on. Mind you, people drive like absolute shits, so I'm happier they do it at a manageable 100kph instead of the crazy bullshit that I used to see along that road.

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier that the TAC (Traffic Accident Commission) is currently focusing on bikes and riders, with massive roadside billboards encouraging ATGATT, like this:



There are also some spots on the telly:
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T5oNjmbkog4&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T5oNjmbkog4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6mz8d7hUIPY&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6mz8d7hUIPY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BqlvDkI-ywI&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BqlvDkI-ywI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Could encourage some people not to ride, but could also encourage others to gear up.

They also set up this bike-oriented website (which I'm yet to check out properly, but looks interesting). http://www.spokes.com.au/#/home


Oh, Motorpsycho, you're half Aus so you should know that no-one here eats mushy peas (apart from possibly Adelaide-ians with their pie floaters (meat pie swimming in green peas). Just wrong). Bet you miss the pies, too, eh?

Jonny wrote: Oh, Motorpsycho, you're half Aus so you should know that no-one here eats mushy peas (apart from possibly Adelaide-ians with their pie floaters (meat pie swimming in green peas). Just wrong). Bet you miss the pies, too, eh?

I was proffering that link for the meat pies. I wouldn't eat mushy peas either, or any other peas. Wait, that's not true; I like wasabi peas, but they're dried.


I miss everything about Australia.

Meat pies, fish & chips, Tim Tams, Jaffas, Bondi beach, the pubs, Wynyard station, Coogee beach, Manly, Circular Quay, Kings Cross.....

motorpsycho67 wrote:I was proffering that link for the meat pies.

Ah, gotcha. thanks for the heads up.

A semi-funny anecdote: An American friend here in Japan did a bit of shopping at a Costco just outside of Tokyo and called me all excited saying he'd just bought a whole lot of Australian meat pies, just for me, to help me with my seemingly apparent homesickness (I guess I talk about pies a lot). Couldn't believe my luck and slung over to his place quicksmart. He hands me the package, looking so proud. Straight off the bat I am a tad suspicious: Aussie Meat Pies is the title (sounds wrong) and there's a cartoon picture of a koala looking far too happy. Frozen pies in Australia never look so pleased with themselves. My doubts are confirmed when reading the slightly fine print: Aussie pies with chicken (shudder!) and vegetables (Good God NO!). Just fucking incorrect! A meat pie is meat. Beef, that is. Can be enhanced with kidneys (my fav), pepper, mushroom, or onions. Lamb pies are a different beast and worthy of a separate post. I checked out the wrapping of the offending gift some more. Made in USA. Fuckers!

Are there real meat pies in the US? Consider this question to be reconnaissance for my future-God-knows-when trip to the US.

motorpsycho67 wrote:I miss everything about Australia.

Meat pies, fish & chips, Tim Tams, Jaffas, Bondi beach, the pubs, Wynyard station, Coogee beach, Manly, Circular Quay, Kings Cross.....

You're the real deal. You know about Jaffas! Never been to Coogee beach (I'm from around Melbourne. Never got to know Sydney so well) but I must say, you're a man after my own heart. Ahhh, the Cross isn't what it was. Last time I was there was maybe '94. Fuck aren't we ageing?!?!?!

That first video was pretty good. Nice way to end it.

Random question: How/is there Mexican food down under?

Jonny wrote: You're the real deal. You know about Jaffas! Never been to Coogee beach (I'm from around Melbourne. Never got to know Sydney so well) but I must say, you're a man after my own heart. Ahhh, the Cross isn't what it was. Last time I was there was maybe '94. Fuck aren't we ageing?!?!?!

I haven't been to Aus since 1985! I know things aren't the same.

I remember spending quite a bit of time in the Cross in the mid-70s, when it was very different from what it is now. The Cross used to be pretty shady.

I was hoping to go next summer, but looks like it's Ragnarok instead.

I haven't had a meat pie here in the US, but there's an English shop near the beach that has steak & kidney pies.

Jonny wrote: Are there real meat pies in the US? Consider this question to be reconnaissance for my future-God-knows-when trip to the US.

We have really good meat pies in my area, but they are different. They come from a French/Canadian tradition, brought here by fur trappers back in the colonial day, and are more of a savory pork paste than beef-in-gravy. They are awesome if you know the small family shops that produce them and where to find them.

Kind of the same things I miss about the UK, chippies, mince pies, bakeries on every fucking corner, and some of the best Chinese and Indian food I've ever stuffed into my pie-hole.
Though there is a chippie place nearby off of Broadway (and they're damn good) it's pretty expensive.

Oh, and I literally yelled, "Oh shit!" at the end of the first video. Scared the hell out of my kids. Then I showed them the video, my daughter looked at me and said, "No shit, indeed!"

I was in Australia in 98. I didn't get to ride, but I loved every minute of it.

So you moved back for good? Now who will send me my crazy Jap porn?

This thread makes me hungry. Who knew Oz was so delicious.

Flatline wrote:Random question: How/is there Mexican food down under?

There is Mexican food, which can be enjoyable, although there's a lot of shite restaurants around so going to an unknown Mexican joint is a bit of culinary Russian Roulette.

Mind you, I've never been to Mexico, let alone the US, so I have no idea how it compares to the real deal. I'd imagine it's a bit of an imposter.



Oh, I am still in Japan. Aus was just a holiday. Plenty of porn available.

Mexican food in Australia has got to be hilarious.