Culture shock (by Joe)

After a total of nearly 5 months in India and south east Asia, we suffered considerable culture shock on touching down in Sydney.

We were caught off-guard by cars reliably stopping for us on zebra crossings; in wonder at being able to drink water straight from taps; spooked by joggers running up behind us on pavements and in parks; shocked at the lack of mopeds around town; and deeply unnerved by the general sense of orderliness everywhere we went.

Boggled by the great technical and social achievements in the securely democratic world, we did like the Romans, and sought solace in food and alcohol.

In our first 36 hours in Sydney, we consumed:

- 9 x cafe lattes
- 2 x full cream iced coffees
- 1 x all in fried breakfast
- 5 x bananas
- 5 x large toasted falafal sandwiches (1 with extra chicken breast and one with lamb burger)
- $25 x fine cheese
- 2 x packets of crisps (extra value family size)
- 1 x packet of rice cakes
- 1 x packet of mixed nuts
- 1 x packet of lebanese flat bread (8 slices)
- 2 x spinach, feta and olive pizzas (small)
- 4 x diet cokes
- 1 x supermarket fruit salad
- 2 x large choc chip cookies
- 1 x turkish pida pizza (chicken and pineapple)
- 3 x bottles + 7 x glasses of Sauvignon Blanc
- 8 x pints of lager
- 1 x portion of chips

(... and two sachets of ketchup)

All this didn't come cheap. In our first two days in Sydney, we spent as much as we spent in our final 10 days in Thailand. Great days, nonetheless!

Below - Laura completing the 36-hour consumption session (with a strong push to the finish tape). P.S. She confirmed I could use the pic!

Joe