SSAB - June 27, 2025

Aaaand we’re all but done!Chinese road trip accomplished!-Big tour group, big bus of people, 45-minute stays in each locationHow was it understanding everything?ViiTor Translation - use this for live translation30 people * $20  =  $600$60 x 12 hours  = $720·hour$720 for the driverDriver was from Shandong, been in Australia for 20 years, makes $60 an hour driving a bus (and we had to tip?).-asked him why Australia doesn’t have a high speed train system yet - says that corruption stops it = subcontracting to subcontractors-2 hour reverse trip - that is, we went to the end and then worked our way back-12 Apostles rock formations (actually was only ever nine but one fell down on July 3, 2005, so now there’s only eight.)-Lord Arc Gorge - site of a shipwreck in the late 1850s-saw koalas in the trees, but we didn’t stop to take any pictures-Apollo Bay town - best scallop pies = I would agree (hard to find anywhere else)-kangaroos-Great Ocean Road Arch - the road was meant as a make-work project for veterans returning from World War 1.-And the Split Point Lighthouse - helped people not hit the rocks like the Lord Arc didDropped off again at the same point.Rozzis pizza for dinner (takeaway pizza) = $5 a slice.Girls were dressed up to go out. Didn’t look like many of the guys were.City was a bustling.Back to the hotel to netflix and chill! Donate to the show! PayPal link below!https://www.paypal.me/stevensirski?locale.x=en_CA***Show notes n tracks up on stevensirski.comAnd on Notion: https://stevensirski.notion.site/SSAB-The-Audio-Blog-of-Steven-Sirski-00acfe344e164bfab191d3cddf6952b2?pvs=4Newsletter over at stevensirski.substack.comLanguage vlog on http://www.youtube.com/@stevenslanguagevlogHope you have a great weekend!00:00 Introduction and Melbourne Wrap-Up00:32 Travel Plans and Itinerary01:36 Wildlife Encounters and Missed Opportunities03:46 Tour Costs and Logistics06:47 Chinese Road Trip Experience06:57 Language Barriers and Translation Tools13:52 Driver's Insights and Economic Observations18:39 High-Speed Rail and Corruption20:46 Understanding Business Criticism21:19 Observations on Australian and Chinese Societal Differences22:26 The Great Ocean Road Trip Begins23:02 Exploring the 12 Apostles and Surroundings25:27 Lord Ark Gorge and Historical Insights27:45 Apollo Bay Town and Local Delicacies31:12 Concluding the Great Ocean Road Tour35:49 Back to Melbourne and Final Thoughts