I’m finally back from my trip to Adelaide. I’ve always been told that it’s an old, backwards town that barely deserves to be called a city, but to their credit, they had like two skyscrapers there. I assumed that people walked from place to place, or rode on horses. I was expecting a town still stuck in the 1800s. Instead, it seems they’re only stuck in the late 1900s. Not anywhere near as bad as I expected.
When my grandmother bought me a plane ticket to go visit the city where my family had come from, I was quite taken aback. I didn’t even realise Adelaide had an airport. I didn’t even think its people would know what an aeroplane was. Turns out I’ve been very misled.
When I first landed at Adelaide Airport, I was further surprised to find that many of the people had smartphones. Hang on, I was thinking, where are all the old western-style saloons and the standoffs out on the street? Apparently they don’t do that anymore. As I collected my luggage, I saw a booth where you could rent out a car. That shook me to my core. They had cars in Adelaide? Surely you couldn’t buy a car here or even get auto repair. Around Adelaide, things are supposed to be like the old days. I asked one of the locals and he told me about how he drives everywhere. I was amazed. It really wasn’t what I expected.
With this realisation done, I decided to rent out a car, rather than take the train everywhere. Of course, I was surprised that Adelaide had trains, since those were around in the 1800s, but I was surprised at the quality of them. Their trains are just like the ones in Melbourne! Incredible. As I drove through the city, I did indeed see a car mechanic, and a bowling alley, and a theatre. All marvels of the 20th century! It seemed the city wasn’t anywhere near as backwards as I thought.
That was until I got onto Main South Road. Despite being a main road that led to the outer suburbs, the speed limit was only 60 kilometres per hour. What is this barbarism? How could they possibly justify such a speed? So despite my shattered expectations, it turns out Adelaide is a bit backwards.