Canadian couple backpacking across Australia reveal the things that shocked them most while travelling the country in a van
- Canadian couple recently moved to Australia on one-year working, holiday visa
- They have documented features of Aussie life that have left them shocked
- These include TAB machines, people with mullets, the price of alcohol and utes
A young tourist has called out the things that shocked him and his partner as they travelled down under, in particular Australians’ love of gambling.
Backpacker, James Jones, 25, and his partner Micaela Snow, 24, who are from Toronto, Canada, recently moved to Australia on a one-year working holiday visa.
The pair have documented some of the uniquely Australian features they’ve experienced and how they compare with Canada, including pub TAB machines, mullets, the price of alcohol and utes.
James Jones, 25 (pictured with his partner Micaela Snow, 24), from Toronto, Canada, recently moved to Australia on a one-year working, holiday visa. The pair have documented some of the uniquely Australian features they’ve experienced and how they compare with Canada
In a video on his TikTok channel @vanmanwithoutaplan titled ‘Things that shock me as a Canadian in Australia part 2’, which was posted on Wednesday and has received more than 27,000 views, Mr Jones shares his surprise about seeing so many TAB machines inside the Sports Bar at Highpoint Hotel in Maribyrnong, Victoria.
Mr Jones told Daily Mail Australia: ‘We popped in for a drink at a bar to celebrate a new job that we accepted in Queensland and decided to check out the betting as it seems so popular.
‘We only bet $5 for a bit of fun, not knowing the first thing about what we were doing, and lost it pretty well instantly. We had fun nonetheless!
‘Our intentions aren’t to criticise Aussie culture in any way, just to highlight the differences that we notice along the way,’ he added.
The video was captioned: ‘This was just a corner of a regular pub. Aussies seem to love a good gamble!’
The couple were surprised by how many TAB machines (pictured) and TVs there were in the sports bar section of a Victorian pub
After making their way into the TAB section of the sports bar at the pub, the couple were left shocked at the gambling options on offer: ‘Betting machines EVERYWHERE!’
Reactions from Australians to the video included one person who said: ‘Yeah we kinda have a big problem with gambling and our version of the NRA for gambling has their claws deep in our politics.’
‘Ahhh that makes sense…’ Mr Jones responded. ‘I can’t believe how open it is compared Canada! We can only gamble in casinos and they’re heavily regulated and not common.’
Responding to comments, Mr Jones said: ‘Back home it’s illegal to bet outside of a casino/online. So strange to see in a bar for me’
Another asked: ‘You’re surprised by betting machines in a sports bar?’
Mr Jones replied: ‘Yeah! Back home it’s illegal to bet outside of a casino/online. So strange to see in a bar for me.’
A third said: ‘Every pub has a horse racing/dog racing room and poker machines lol. It’s ridiculous. We also have online betting companies that sponsor everything.’
‘Get on a few dogs,’ a fourth commented.
He responded: ‘If you said that in North America they’d think you mean something else completely.’
In one of her videos, Ms Snow was left shocked after seeing Australian prices of alcohol (pictured)
Some other uniquely Australian features they’ve experienced include high prices of alcohol, some of which Ms Snow suggested were almost double what they would normally pay in Canada.
In another video, Mr Jones pointed out the growing trend of people walking around with mullets and said: ‘The differences between Canada and Australia continue to shock me’.
Meanwhile, the couple were also left surprised by how many utes they have seen on Aussie roads: ‘Why does everyone have one?’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk