P – Population

I am always curious about the population of cities I visit.  Mainly because when I moved to China, I was fascinated and shocked about the fact that within a 150 mile radius of where I live is the entire population of the United States. Let me spell that out for you.  Within a 150 mile radius there are more than 300 million people.

That is just amazing to me.

There are 10 million people in the city of Shenzhen, where I live; 25 million in Shanghai, my favorite city in China, 19 million in Beijing and 8 million in Dongguan where I work.  In all there is a total of 1.3 billion people in China.  That is a hell of a lot of people.

So, when I heard about the population in Australia, this time I was shocked and fascinated.

There are only 22 million people in all of Australia; 22 million.  In a place that has a land mass bigger then the United States there are only 22 million people.

300 million in the US and 22 million in Australia.

The US doesn’t feel overcrowded.  At least not where I am from.  I figured that Australia would be even more spares.  Although 85% of the population live within 50 km of the coast line.  In a way it just doesn’t feel like there is a lot of people in this city.  We went to play golf today at The Australian yesterday.  A private club that was established over 130 years ago.  Even though it was raining, we were the only people at the course that day. Even in the rain, you would never find an empty golf course in China or the US for that matter.

Having dinner at any major restaurant in any major city in the world and you would need to make reservations at least a day in advance.  For some restaurants you need to make reservations weeks in advance.  We had dinner at one of the best seafood restaurants in Sydney.  It is called Manta.  There was no one at the restaurant.  We got right in.

In general, it feels like fewer people are in this city and that is a strange felling for me after living in congested Southern China.

But, there is one other population fact the I believe Australia has every other nation beat.  There are more sheep in China then people.  I am talking 4x more sheep in Australia then there are people.  If the sheep every got together and wanted to take over, they would have no problem.

Moral to this story, keep the sheep happy.

G – Golf in Australia

Australia is known for its beautiful golf courses and its mark on the world of golf in general.  I have been a part of the golf industry for over 6 years and in that time, I have seen and been exposed to just as much drama in this industry as there is on any day time television show.    Australian golf is right in the middle of it all.

Let me introduce you to Mr. Greg Norman.  Norman is the most successful Australian golfer.  His story book romance with tennis legend Chris Everett Lloyd is the stuff fairytales are made of.  If, your fairy tales involve adultery, betrayal, quickie marriage and an even quicker divorce.  Ah, romance.

Next I would like you to meet Mr. Adam Scott.  The most attractive man in professional golf.  He is a good player in his own right, but was involved in some controversy lately when he hired Tiger Wood’s former caddie.  Adam can also turn his upper torso 180 degrees.  Super flexible and oh so hot.

In China, we get a lot of golf tourist from Australia.  It is typical to see a new group of Australian men on their annual golf trip every week.  Why do they travel to China with all the beautiful courses in Australia?  Well, they come here for the golf and the amenities.  And, to have beautiful Chinese women fall all over them.  It may sound like a cliché but I have watched if for 5 years.  Chinese women are still trying to snag them a foreign husband.  It is a stereotype that just happens to be true.

On my Australian trip, my fantasy is that I meet a tall, gorgeous Australian who not only surfs, plays golfs, cooks, has beautiful tattoos and by the way, is a multi millionaire.  They are on every beach, right.  Well, if my memories serves me correct, the Australian men are how do I put this, ambitionally challenged.

I have had the opportunity to work with two Australians.  The guys were very sweet, but so different from American guys in every way.  They don’t lack confidence, that is for sure, but they are lazy and drink a lot of beer.   I had a great time partying with these guys, but they weren’t boyfriend or husband material.

Don’t get me wrong, I am open to any Aussie hottie who wants to try and change my mind.

Playing golf in Australia is going to be so much fun.  I usually play better while on vacation and when I haven’t played in awhile.  Last time I played golf was on December 25th, so I should be good to go by next week.  I have had a birdie in every country I have played golf in, so I hope to keep that streak alive.