Moar random travel…

Posted on by January 23, 2014

The ‘hand towels’ in the hotel here are bigger than the BATH TOWELS in Japan…  Sigh…

And the Aussie military has apparently dumped Land Rover as the provider of choice for light vehicles, and have bought Mercedes trucks/utility vehicles… The reason? Apparently maintenance issues…  Dunno the prices, didn’t stop and ask…IMG_1517

And I got a chance to get out a little bit yesterday afternoon, walking by the train station and decided to wander in…

Looks like it was built in probably 1920s and it reminds me of either Union Station in DC or one wing of Grand Central Station in NYC

IMG_1522

And the interior ‘hallway’…IMG_1518

And the original ticket windows are still there (albeit no longer used).  Interestingly, they are barely three feet high to the counter…IMG_1519Chatting with one of the waitresses in the hotel yesterday, she complimented me for tipping, then told me not to bother…

She said they make $21-25/hr, and all tips are ‘shared’ and taxed too.  So if I gave a $10 tip, depending on the sharing and taxing, she would only get maybe $.60 of that ten dollar tip!!! I asked what if I gave it directly to her, she said she’s still obligated to share it…

So thanks, but don’t waste my money tipping, just thank her…  Interesting way to put it.

Comments

Moar random travel… — 22 Comments

  1. I wonder what sort of problems one would encounter by trying to import said Land Rovers into the US?

  2. Those Aussies just tell it like it is, the plain unvarnished truth.

    Hey – what is it about train stations that they have to hang the ceilings that high anyway – are they expecting a tower (group name of giraffes – had to look that up!) of giraffes to wander in someday ?

  3. land rovers are RIDDLED with problems. it’s one reason the dealer up north of Baltimore is so busy…they’re constantly doing repair work.

  4. That’s an interesting take on the shared tips. While your waitress might have only gotten $.60 from you, it still adds up. My youngest worked part-time in the hotel cafe’ while the pastry shop was slow last summer, and made enough in tips to buy an iPad after two months.

  5. I take a dozen or so two dollar bills with me when I visit Oz.
    I find out if the waitress has youngsters, then give her one or two “for the kid”.

  6. There is an interesting article on those Mercedes vehicles in the March/April 2014 issue of Truck Trend. Have $400,000 to spare?

  7. The tipping thing was hard to explain to a couple of Aussie friends who came up and stopped by for a visit. They didn’t see the need, and when told it was proper here the had a hard time trying to figure it out. Take math courses much?

  9. I think Europe is generally the same way on tips, or used to be. Waitstaff does it as a profession with a pay scale considerably higher than here and consider it just doing their job.

  11. If the object in your mirror was closer than it appeared, it must have been welded to your bumper!

  13. A friend in NC is very familiar with the Land Rover problems. He picked up an older one at some expense and blew the motor within a couple weeks. Not happy, my friend.

  14. Road The Ghan into Adelaide station. Is that your 20?
    Sure looks familiar … but it’s has been mumble-mumble years.

  15. LL- They’d be grey market, I don’t think you CAN import them.

    j.r.- I asked that question, it was go clear the smoke out… Those high windows were always open to allow the fumes a way out of the building.

    Laura/OldRadar- Yeah, good luck finding an engine…

    Rev- Good point!

    CP- If you’ve never done it… 🙂

    WSF- LOL, yeah seems high until you understand that includes ALL maintenance/repair costs over the life of the vehicle (estimated to be a min of 10 years).

    ADM- It flopped over into the bane category a LONG time ago… 🙁

    PH- Yep

    Buck- More tomorrow…

    JD- Yeah!!! 😀

    Keads- Tryin…

    Stretch- Yep! Actually at the Intercontinental next door.

    • Ah so – that makes sense! Never would have thought of that – thanks!

  17. I had a landrover on a trip to Kenya, I was thankful I never had to outrun a Hippo in it.

  18. Enjoying Adelaide again? At least this time you won’t have to investigate the strange noise outside your hotel window…
    Lucky you, still traveling. I’m no longer supporting the project that took me to Australia and UK, so no more overseas travel on the Gov dime. Drat… I really liked visiting the Aussies. Great folks.
    Have a great time, see you in a few weeks, with more stories.

  20. NC- Yep, it’s called a Tahoe! 🙂

    Brigid- GOOD point!

    WN- Copied all, sorry to hear that, I finally found a GREAT steakhouse there!

    Rick- You’re welcome!

  21. Did you find your steak at the Stag Hotel (299 Rundle St, Adelaide), a.k.a. “Worlds worst vegetarian restaurant”?
    If not, you should give it a try…