Climbing in Sydney

I went climbing for the first time in a few months. Arms were hurtin' the next day. The gym is nice and pretty big but there were a couple of differences that threw me. First of all, the climber doesn't tie in. There are 2 carabiners on permanently on the rope that you clip into. The belayer also doesn't tie in. The rope is permanently attached to a ground tether and the belayer clips in to the tether. So really, you don't need to carry any hardware. Apparently, the "correct" way to belay is to have both hands out to your side and then switch which hand is holding the rope. I tried to ask the guy about it and he got pissy. (which was annoying). Let's see. Whats else....
Oh. The courses were not marked by tape. Each hold was a specific color. So for example, one route would be all yellow holds, or all red. The problem comes in when they all become white from the chalk, which also was annoying. The route ratings are different as well. I was climbing 18s, but it's been a while so I think I should be doing 21s when I'm back in shape. I have no idea what the correlation is to 5.#. A level 14 is like a 5.3, so I have no idea what the numbers under 14 signify. stairs?
Lastly, and most troubling, when someone new to climbing comes, they get a 5 minute course on how to put on the harness, how to climb, and how to belay, and then they are sent off to have fun. now, i know belaying isn't exactly rocket science, but it takes more than 5 minutes. So you walk around and see some pretty scary stuff.
Oh, and there is not a pancake place anywhere to be seen!

For all that, it was still great to be back on the wall. And I'm looking forward to making it a regular event.