A couple of weeks ago I was standing in an escalator during my lunch break (well, to be honest, I was actually shopping - I am not quite so sad that I would spend my lunch break traveling up and down in an escalator). The same way it took me a while to get used to the left-hand traffic in Australia, it took me a while to remember to stand on the left-hand side in the escalator, pass people on the left and look right before crossing a road.
However, after two and a half years of living in Melbourne, I was quite confident that I knew where I was supposed to stand and took my place on the left-hand side of the escalator – only to realise everyone else was standing on the right. This happening in the middle of winter, when there surely aren’t any tourists here, was deeply confusing and enough to make me question all my learnings since I moved to Australia.
And then it happened again. I was walking towards the tram stop after work one day and half way there I almost pumped into a woman after I tried to pass her on the left and she tried to pass me on the right (which was my left). We did that awkward little dance where you both move to the same direction simultaneously for ten seconds or so, before finally managing to continue our respective journeys.
Now, did I miss a memo or what is happening in here? Has the rule recently changed or is the whole nation just trying to pull my leg?