Can you imagine visiting Australia’s famous Gold Coast, known the world over for its surf, and not even going to the beach? In fact, we didn’t even see the beach, except from afar while standing on the 77th floor of the Q Building at Surfers Paradise. When I say “we” I mean eight other journalists and me who were invited by the Queensland Tourist Office to promote White Water World. (See last week’s Weekly Travel Feature for that report.)
When director Leong told us that we’ll need a week to see all that there is to see on the Gold Coast, I thought it was an overstatement. Now I see that she was so right. In a few days we enjoyed the fireworks in Brisbane celebrating Australia Day, visited the Farmers market and cruised down the river. We tasted wine at Sirromet Winery and took in the rides at both Dreamland and White Water World. We also dined at some fabulous restaurants like Pier Nine, Oyster Bar, and the River Canteen, another restaurant with excellent seafood.
And there was still more to do, and we didn’t even go to the beach. “You haven’t experienced the Gold Coast unless you looked at the view from atop the Q1 Tower,” someone said. And another insisted we don’t leave the Gold Coast with taking a voyage on the Ultimate Space Odyssey and still another said we must experience the latest thrill—Infinity. “What’s that?” I asked. “You have to experience it to know it,” was the reply. And there was one other thing that I wanted to do before returning to Bangkok, and that was to take a cruise on a tall ship, which at the Gold Coast is possible.
We had no room to complain. Ms. Leong arranged it all for us, beginning with an elevator trip to the 77th floor of the Q1 Tower. What an impressive ride that is. It’s billed as the world’s fastest lift. One doesn’t realize the intricate waterways of the Gold Coast until they look down upon the scene from far above. Other then the view, the Q1 is a remarkable modern-day structure. For readers who like statistics here are some: As the tallest residential tower in the world, for those who want to walk, there are 1380 steps from the ground to the Observation Deck. Q1 Tower is taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris and The Chrysler Building in New York, and it’s the 20th tallest building in the world. It has 18,926 panes of glass.
At the Skylight Room we watched an impressive cinema presentation of the history of the Gold Coast from its beginning 20 million years ago to what it is today.
Then we went to Infinity. I had no idea what we were getting into. It’s right in the heart of Surfers Paradise where you can have all your senses challenged. I knew this was going to be an experience when we were given white socks to put over our shoes and white gloves. I would soon know what they were for. “You must feel your way,” Don Jolly explained. Don runs the place and is their marketing man. We were split up into groups of five, and I soon realized this would be rather interesting, feeling our way, as I was with four women.
In the blackness of the interior, the gloves and socks glowed, often the only light available that we had. What happened next was a hodgepodge of everything. Infinity is actually a series of around 20 multi-sensual environments filled with strange and puzzling special effects, with even stranger sounds emanating from behind walls. The illusion is that we appear to go all the way to infinity.
We had entered an electron maze of thousands of miniature light sources that simulate being an electron inside the circuitry of an infinitely large computer that extends forever in every direction! Visitors dance in what looks like a 40-storey high, transparent skyscraper with kaleidoscopic walls, while immersed in ultra trippy music! In Crazy Wobbly we danced to music that became a challenge for us to stay vertical on a pulsating floor, while our hands and feet glowed in the dark. This was one time I didn’t mind falling over, with four girls falling on top of me.
In the Star Chamber we walked in space through the centre of the galaxy where millions of stars extend in every direction for as far as the eye can see! Then we intrepid adventurers negotiated the challenging Light Canyon-- an Indiana Jones-style suspension bridge that crosses an apparently bottomless abyss of lights and sound effects.
Whoever would have imagined that one day at Surfers Paradise you could go for a walk in space. At the Ultimate Space Odyssey you can do that. SPACEWALKER is an amazing, two-hour inter-galactic journey. You really feel you are in space. Here you experience the thrill of micro-gravity in hyperspace, a journey through bizarre wormholes to distant parts of the cosmos. You space walk through the planets and across the Milky Way to the edge of our universe and disappear into other dimensions inside a Black Hole. The sad part of this journey is that it’s all too short. You could actuality spend hours studying our universe.
The bright side was that when we came out of Space Walker we arrived at Voyager Bar and Restaurant at the End of the Universe and dined on a fantastic menu of space themed food and drinks imported from across the galaxies, or so we were told.
But now it was time to come back to earth or, this time, back to the sea. Ms Leong had us set up for a tall ship cruise. And indeed, a tall ship it was—the Sir Henry Morgan.  We boarded the square rigger at Marina Mirage, a short drive from Surfers Paradise, and set sail for McLarens Landing. Seamen before the mast never had it so easy as the crew aboard Sir Henry Morgan has today. No cat-o'-nine tails here. Only bikinis and suntan lotion and cold drinks to quell the thrust. It’s all luxury and comfort, under awnings to ward off the downpour of tropical sun. But there was more than sitting under an awning. The ship’s tender took those parasailing who wanted to go.
McLarens Landing came as a surprise. The ship slides right up to the dock and passengers step ashore into a beautiful South Sea island of natural bushland setting. While an Aussie chef right from the Outback got the coals hot for a barbecue lunch, Ms. Leong had us set out in a four-wheel drive Toyota on a breathtaking trip though bush country and, at the beach, chasing up and down sand dunes. We came upon a beautiful beach that stretched for miles, and not one occupant in sight.
The barbecue lunch was gargantuan and it was all we could do to climb back aboard the square rigger for our voyage back to Surfers Paradise.
Our last night in Australia was a night on the town. We went to a fabulous show at Conrad Jupiters hotel. The hotel has a 24-hour casino where you can bet up to $150,000 at the flick of a card, or there’s the Tempo Rouge, a vibrant, high-energy extravaganza, incorporating a lively musical score, energetic choreography, flamboyant costumes and a host of talented specialty acts. The show took us on a whirlwind journey around the globe from the Latino beats and extravagant costumes of Rio Carnival, to the heart of Africa, the backstreets of America's jazz scene and the opulence of Bollywood. We were all awestricken when the light went on after the show.
That was Australia for nine journalists from Southeast Asia. There are a few things I haven’t mentioned, like a drink in an ice bar at minus 5 degrees Celsius and, would you believe, we didn’t get to the beach. But, we did see a few of those legendary metre maids and we went bowling. That must be some sort of record, bowling instead of the beach at Surfers Paradise. 

Next week we will have a change of pace. I would like to tell readers about some special motor trips with a rent-a-car that they can make around Thailand.

The Q1 Tower in Surfers Paradise, tallest residence
in the world

View from the Observation level

Good pay, Window Cleaners at 80 storeys up

Our correspondent from Singapore enjoys the view

An out-of-thiis-world experience at Infinity in
Surfers Paradise

A cold drink in a cold place at the Ice Bar

Sir Henry Morgan seen from the stern

The square riggers leaves the marina

How romantic can a voyage be?

Climbing aboard

Our director, Ms. Leong, points the way

 No cat-o'-nine tails only good food

No cat-o'-nine tails only good food

Para gliding from the ship's tender

Disembarking from the vessel at an island

Barbecue Australian style

Miles of empty beaches

A casino that never closes for the night owl

Who needs sun and beach when there's bowling?

QUESTIOINS & ANSWERS

Q. Dear Mr. Stephens, we read that the wet season in Thailand is from June to November. Does that mean this is not a good time to travel? What is the wet season?  Margaret Tan, Vancouver, Canada

A. Dear Margaret. That is correct, the wet season is from June to November, when warm, humid air masses flow northeastward from the Indian Ocean and move toward the large low-pressure zone over mainland Asia. This southwest monsoon brings the rainy season, which continues until the winds reverse direction in the early winter. The amount of rainfall, however, varies. Towns in the northeast, for example, receive minimal rainfall. Some feel the rainy season is the best time to visit Thailand. Rainfall is sporadic and intermittent, not continuous. Most days are crisp and clear. The downpours that arrive in the late afternoon or early evening are heavy but relatively brief. Monsoons mean the kingdom is green, vibrant, and alive: nature at its most beautiful. Rather than view brown landscapes and harvested fields, you'll gaze across brilliant green paddies to glistening mountains covered with exuberant vegetation. The rainy season also insures there will be fewer tourists, lower prices, and plentiful rooms. --HS

Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail:   ROH Weekly Travel

Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited.

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