Hi Gabriel,
Many thanks for your very reasoned and pleasant reply.
I think most of us, (except perhaps Mario) are agreed that no one Western
country has all the good points compared to any other. However, without a
doubt, Australia has a great deal going for it, and perhaps, if I were
younger, I might have been tempted to consider it as an alternative to the
UK for several reasons.
However, I have often wondered as to why such a huge continent has only
about 20 million people (apparently the annual birthrate of India) even
granted that the middle is largely desert. The view I consistently get is
that "it is too far away from anywhere else...and one is too isolated
there." Of course this depends on where one is looking from, but at present,
flight times are incredibly long but once these are hopefully reduced, OZ
should become a more favoured destination I think. My last trip there from
London took 11 hours to Tokyo and then another nine to Sydney. Even though
my family and I enjoyed the business class we happened to get at a reduced
rate and our bit of the plane was virtually empty, the trip there and back
was an absolute slog. Yet, I'd like to visit again but may have to travel on
my own next time, to this great faraway destination!
Regards,
Cornel
PS I particularly liked your city Melbourne, even though it just happened to
be bitterly cold and windy there on a Christmas day-- something I had least
expected!
