This year the Routes Asia event was held in Adelaide, Australia from 18th to 20th April. From the previous post on the volcanic ash, you would know that I had trouble getting to Australia as Qantas’ hub in Singapore was in chaos on 16th and 17th April. So finally, after having bought a revenue ticket, courtesy RDG, I arrived in Adelaide at 0730 hrs on 19th April.
I quickly checked into the hotel – the Intercontinental – freshened up and joined my friend Amol and his colleagues from Sydney Airport from breakfast. Then on, it was a literal rollercoaster ride as I had a full diary from 0920 hrs to 1800 hrs. In fact, as always is the case, I had quite a few requests for meetings which were not slotted in and I ended up giving up my breaks to meet with these airports.
I had very little time to actually check out the stalls or the entertainment at the convention centre. But there was excellent wine served by the Australian airports at their stall. And the lamingtons at tea were also great.
With the racing cars
On 18th April in the evening, Adelaide Airport hosted a gala dinner at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The evening started off at the lobby of the AEC with drinks and canapés and light entertainment. There was an Aussie band, a lady twirling hoops and a couple enacting a slapstick comedy. We then proceeded to the main hall where there was a visual and audio treat in keeping with the theme “From the Ocean to the Outback”. They had 3 different bands playing with giant screens behind them depicting the treasures of Australia.
The Adelaide Entertainment Centre
The Aussie Band
The Hula Hoop lady
The Vaudeville Act
From the Ocean........
...........to the Outback
Australia is amazing.
They also had a family of whip-crackers who were aged from 6 to 14. This was certainly different and on a lighter note, had it been in India, there would have been a hue and cry about child labour!! It was amazing that they did not hurt themselves as I was informed that when a whip is cracked it travels at 1400 ft per second which is faster than the speed of sound and in some cases a bullet. A whip is capable of cutting flesh and breaking bones and it is possible to lose one's eyesight if precautions are not taken.
Source: http://www.australianwhipcracking.org/
The Whipcrackers doing their thing........
This one is age 6!
The Whip Cracker family
The last act was exceptional. It was by Raymond Crowe, Australia's only “unusualist”. He offers a captivating combination of visual comedy, ventriloquism, shadow puppetry and magic in every spellbinding performance.
http://www.raymondcrowe.com/
Raymond Crowe during his mimicry act
Source: www.youtube.com
It was a great evening with excellent wine, some amazing food (though we were still hungry at the end of the evening) and outstanding entertainment. I was glad I was able to make it and connect with my friends from the industry.
Anne, Amol, Kiran and myself
With Amol and Hans
The river Torrence
Outside the Adelaide Oval
The beautiful St Peter's Cathedral
Sunset along the river Torrence
Aboriginal art outside the Hotel Intercontinental
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