Gold Coast-Day Two

The next morning we woke up early and had a lovely pancake breakfast with fresh lemons and passionfruit from their tree in the backyard. After trying it a few times, I think passionfruit is a bit too sour for my taste and is good only in small doses. We went to the Gold Coast Horse Races (Goldies) at the GF Turf Club. The gates opened at 10:00, and we were the first ones there, so we could get the good seats in the air-conditioned rooms above the stadium seats. Although, I ended up sitting outside for the races because it just isn’t the same peering through a glass window. There were twelve races and were spaced out 40 minutes apart. It was my first time to see an actual race, and I felt a little swept away in all the betting and shouting and cheering. Instead of just observing all day, I decided to invest on one of the horses in Race Four: Cuban. We went to the stalls to observe the horses before each race, and Cuban just looked steady, calm, but fierce inside. He was black and shiny as could be, with muscles just crying out to be used. I walked up to the long counter where a dozen workers were taking the bets, and people lined up in a rush to get their money down before the race began. The amount of risk/value that each horse gained fluctuated every time someone bet on a horse. For instance, if I bet a dollar on a horse that was valued for ‘12’, I would win $12. The higher the number, the less likely people think that horse will win. So if you pick a horse that has a value of 50, people might mock you…that is, until that horse wins, and you placed a $2 bet, so are now $100 richer. As confusing at it may sounds, I caught on after a few rounds. I bet $3 on Cuban, and his value went from 22 when I first placed the bet, to 4, which meant that more people bet on him winning. Race Four began, and we went outside to better see the action. The starting horn went off and off they went! Around the 1800 meter track, you could hear only the cheering crowd and see the dust kicked up by the 8 horses in this race. I spotted the gold and red shirt Cuban’s jockey was wearing, and he started off in front! Then as they circled around the corner, he was going back, back, slower…slower. Fourth Place. I lost my small bet but gained an appreciation for my lack of gambling thirst. People there had just lost hundreds of dollars, and some won thousands. I had no desire to keep throwing money down, and am happy to remain a boring observer. Being at the races felt like going back in history if I was part of an exclusive very elite club, where ladies dressed like ladies and men were dressed like proper gentlemen. We weren’t allowed to wear flip-flops or anything less than formal footwear. Just walking around the grounds it felt like a different era. It was fun for a day, but I’m more than happy with the less structured way of life now. After a full day of races, we walked to Surfer’s Paradise (which is an actual city/town) and spent the evening there. We walked around very interesting shops, crazy people and lots of tourists. It felt a lot like Venice Beach in California. I’m starting to feel like no matter where you go in the world, the coastal towns are pretty much the same. Same shops, people, wild hairstyles, recreation, activities, scenery, weather. Sometimes I have to remind myself I AM in Australia. It seems I only realize that when I hear some thick accents, see a wallaby around campus or visit an icon of Australia like the Opera House. After a fun night of beach walking and people watching (I’ve never seen more people on a beach than on Surfer’s beach), we started walking back towards the bus stop. Tyler told us how the helicopters flying over the water were for shark watch and if some are spotted, they throw rolls of toilet paper down to warn people late night swimming. He’s seen it happen a couple times in Adelaide, and it’s funny at first then people realize it’s serious. We walked past the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, where they host schoolies. These are huge parties for everyone in high school after the year is over in November, like our graduation parties, but one giant one. They thought it was silly that we each have individual grad parties for each person because it’s inefficient and way less fun. After finding some dinner for shockingly under $12, we headed to the bus stop and took it back to Justin’s place. 
A good thing we got back on the early side, because the nightlife on the Gold Coast gets a little too wild for our taste. Or the wrong type of wild, I should say. We find plenty of adventure in our own way.