It's different if you're driving; maybe the whole concept of getting paid for it?!
The entire commuting thing is tiresome, and everything it encompasses. I used to commute for over 9 years, some legs as short as Cleveland-New York City--let me tell you, that was tiresome. And it's always loose-loose: on the way home you're tired as $hit and dead after you get home; on the way to work you're always stressed out about any glitches getting there.
I can only imagine how a HKG-Aussie commute must suck...