Day Three
The last two days have consisted of shopping, mainly for furniture and mainly at Ikea. As a South African, many of us haven't experienced the heady sense of overwhelm that comes from meandering through the double-storied furniture and storage warehouse, but it was something I'd experienced in Bangkok and so I gave DocCoffee express instructions not to set foot in the place until I arrived. Man, it did not disappoint! Although we found our couch and an armchair at a different store, we bought storage boxes, lamps, candles and all sorts of other fun and funky stuff for our new pad.
Then yesterday I fetched my two boxes of extra clothes, shoes and homewares that I wanted to bring from home, from Qantas cargo services at the Melbourne Airport. I needed to get some forms approved by the customs people, and was comforted to know that civil servants really are the same all over the world, although here they certainly are friendlier.
And I must say, people really are friendly here. It's something I picked up on my last few trips, and although hubby assures me not everyone is, I can't help but be struck by it at almost every turn. Whether it's a coffee shop (cafe as they say here) or a supermarket, people genuinely greet you, smile and ask how you are, and are often quite happy to engage in a proper conversation. In fact, the reason we bought our couch from Freedom Furnishers was because the lovely sales assistant offered to waive the delivery fee if we were serious about buying the couch that day. This from a chain store and not a small family-run business! I was very surprised.
Things I've learnt so far: now that I have a bank card I don't need to hand it to anyone, I can just wave it at the machine and it's all taken care of. Self-service check-out's are not to be feared. The coffee is great everywhere. Scary situations like passport control or customs are made infinitely easier when are willing to be chatty. Watch out for trams. Rescue remedy comes in a sleep spray. And $30 is cheap for a bedside table. (Especially when the one you liked was $379!!)
I think the last two days have caught up with me a little though, and today I've felt rather emotional and tired. So we've had a relaxed day that consisted of meeting a friend for lunch and buying a dustbin and some crockery from a shop down the road. (Well, it was right there and we couldn't resist!) I'll unpack my boxes later, and we'll spend one more night watching tv from the carpet before our couch arrives tomorrow. Exciting times.