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Published: January 27th 2009
Seven months in Sydney is by far the longest we have stayed in any one
place since we left Dublin a year ago. What kept us here for so long?
Lack of money and place to work is the obvious answer. Another is the Sydney
trap with so many people coming over to Australia and failing to see much outside of Sydney. Initially we planned to earn some money and move on but it’s easy to see why so many never do. Sydney is a beautiful city with the climate, facilities and opportunities for Sydneysiders to enjoy their selves; their quality of life is one of the best in the world. Having settled in Sydney, the next seven months would a totally different experience to travelling Asia but it would a different adventure that would allow us to meet so many interesting characters, making new friends and going to some wild parties along the way. Freedom of living away from home gave us the opportunities to enjoy ourselves whenever we wanted and also celebrate our first Christmas away from home.
"It’s cold and expensive" was our initial impressions. We landed on the first day of
winter down under,
there were three of us. Podge and Adam had stayed on for further 6 weeks to travel Malaysia and Indonesia. The rest of us were broke, homeless and unemployed. Thankfully, Ed and Ger put us up for a week when we first arrived. We then found a small 2 bedroom apartment in Bondi; we all got jobs were able to enjoy our new lives in Sydney.
Sydney is a fabulous city with breath-taking views, iconic buildings and skyscrapers at dizzy heights (In the bank I worked in, I was on the 25th floor of 46 and had astonishing views of entire city from work every day). With ambulance of city parks and stunning beaches along the coast, the opportunities and facilitates on offer makes Sydney one of the best cities in the world. During our stay, Sydney held numerous international events, a few of which we attended including, World Youth Day which was held in July, a pilgrimage and celebration of Young Catholics with the pope himself presiding over proceedings. Like Good Irish Catholics, a few of us queued up for 2 hours along George Street to see the Pope in the "Pope Mobile". However, he was running
All dressed up!
Halloween Party
Cock n Bulla bit late by the time he reached us, he was at breakneck speed, a lot faster than any 80 year old religious leader would like to be travelling. It was so fast that cameras were fumbled and no photographic evidence was captured.
Sydney was also host to Rugby League World Cup and a few of us went with Ed and Ger to see the Irish take on Tonga. Unfortunately, the Irish lost out on the night by a few points in a closely fought match with no one giving the Irish much of a chance before the match. It was as entertaining Monday afternoon as one can hoped for, exciting match, great company, superb weather and at least I can say I seen the Irish in a world cup (of sorts).
Sydney has vibrant music scene, with clubs offering high quality dj sets and live bands weekly and abundance of music festivals on offer to keep everyone happy. A group of us went to the Parklife Music Festival in October. Only 15 minutes from Bondi, (or a 2 hour journey home thought a dark park, followed by a bus and a taxi!) The music was
3 Sisters
Blue Mountains kicking all day with 2 many Djs producing a rocking set to draw a fun filled day to a close.
In December, Royal Sydney Golf Club (which we could see from our doorstep) played host to Australian Open. All the top Australian golfers competed as well as some high profile international talent such as Irelands own Darren Clarke who unfortunately failed to make the cut and American John "Wild Thing" Daly who didn't fail to entertain even if he failed to make the cut. Thursday morning, I am standing beside the 9th fairway when a ball flies over my head and careers into an elderly spectator shoulder then rolls into a bush. The ball belongs to John Daly, known for his wild behaviour and bad temper, he grabs a camera (which are banned by the way) from another spectator and sends it crashing against a tree. As bizarre an incident you ever likely to see at an international golf tournament. The rest of the weekend went without a repeat of such an incident (probably due to John Daly missing the cut) but it was as good of weekend as avid golf fan like myself could have hoped for.
Glorious weather, world class golf and a Carlton Draught (our new favourite beer) bar in form of truck located beside the 13th hole. It will come as no great surprise that I didn’t wander to far from that as the weekend progressed. South African Tim Clark went on to win after a dramatic play-off. Although Sydney had so much going on every week, we spent most of time in Sydney in our home away from home, Bondi.
Bondi is the international / backpacker suburb of Sydney. A place where travellers can lay down their bags for a while, earn some cash before moving on again, although many stay for a lot longer. It’s no surprise really with the world famous Bondi Beach on your doorstep and atmosphere around Bondi which can't be matched with a real international feel to the place. An Irish accent is as common as Aussie accent in Bondi, with a mini Irish invasion taking place. We got a small 2 bedroom apartment which would quickly feel like home. "313" as it was affectionately known became the place to meet new friends and party all weekend. Some our favourite pubs close by were Beach Road
Hotel and Bondi hotel, where we spend many a sunny afternoon and even more late nights, knocking back Carlton beers at a tremendous rate, meeting new friends and partying to the early hours. The Cock and Bull would also become a favourite particularly closer to Christmas, where the Irish session on the a Sunday evening would have the place awash with Irish, singing and dancing all night long
Like so many places we have been in the last year, its people who we have met along the way which has made it what it was. Bondi was no different. And living in Bondi, we met an extraordinary amount of Irish (seriously is there anyone left at home, because they seem to be all over here). On our first day in 313, we met a guy from Swords living above us. 313 had a distinctive Irish feel to it, and over our time in Sydney we had neighbours from Dublin, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Kilkenny and Tipperary, as well Dutch, Swedish, English, Aussie and South American to complete what seemed like a United Nations of Bondi. We also met some old friends from home, with one deserving a mention, Donal
Imagine
Sculpture by the sea
Bondi "Doey the Legend" Sheedy. Absolute legend, regular of 313 with a great "party on" attitude who was sorely missed when he eventually left Sydney! Bondi was place to meet new friends as there are so many like minded souls travelling the world, stopping in Bondi for a while. We even met up with some old school friends, thousand of miles from home, only in Bondi.
Living away from home gave us the freedom to party whenever. With 313 having the party vibe from day one, we had some unforgettable nights, the place been packed and music be blaring from the ipod. As summer fast approached, the opportunities to have barbeques and parties were endless. Every weekend, it seemed someone was throwing a party with the other Irish in the building and the South Americans nearly taking turns to party it out all weekend. The whole apartment block would be kicking with people all over the place. After a few parties, 313 was gaining a reputation as a place to party. It wasn't long before the Police were called to shut down our parties with one night in particular when 3 police cars and 10 officers were called and
issued out warnings to all tenants. A Letter would arrive in the door a few later from the local council to confirm the warning in writing. 313 was the place the party and we looked forward to Christmas in Bondi.
There is no doubt that the month of December was our best month in Bondi. However it could have been a whole lot different. Towards the end the November, I would get a call from Kris our landlord to inform us that we had 2 weeks to vacate the apartment. A frustrating saga which involved 2 ill-advised letters, a text calling Kris a bitch accidentally sent to her by myself and prospect of possibility being homeless for Christmas. The end of 313 as we know it and the possible ruin of our first Christmas away from home. Just a few weeks before Christmas we moved out of 313 and literally moved across the road into an Irish guy named Trevors apartment. It was a lot more expensive but meant we could still enjoy all the parties of 313 without cleaning up the mess or been responsible when the Police arrived. "Trevor saved Christmas" was the repeated throughout the
Halloween Party
Cock and Bull
Bondi Junction Christmas period.
So we were free to enjoy our final few weeks in Bondi, I was particularly free after
been let go from the bank a few weeks short of Christmas (even Ptb can't avoid the credit crunch). However, I made great use of my free time, watching some of the greatest golfers in the world at the Australian Open, visiting the picturesque Blue Mountains and also taking up Body boarding in true Bondi fashion, grabbing my new board and hitting the waves on Bondi Beach whenever I could. During the month of December the opportunity to go drinking, barbeques and partying were endless especially for those of us not working. December also signalled Podge's return after a trip home and stint in New Zealand, adding to the party feel around Bondi in December.
Following Christmas dinner at Kim’s (Chrimbo at Kimbo's) it was down to Bondi beach to celebrate Christmas with thousands of other backpackers partying all day long. Bondi Beach was packed with revellers partying all day long, Christmas Aussie style. The party didn’t stop when the sun went down, as back in 313, festivities were in full swing and it would come as
no surprise that the Police arrived very late that night. St Stephens Day was celebrated in true Irish fashion with trip to Randwich Races where international passport holder got in free while the Aussies had to pay 50 dollars! Its was another glorious summer day in Sydney, but unfortunately I didn't have any winners all day and had to console myself with more beers and fun in Coogee Bay Hotel.
After all parties we had in Sydney we saved the best to last. Sydney must be the best place in the world to celebrate New Years Eve. The city was chock-a-block with people queuing all day to get a spot to watch the world famous fireworks. We were in the city early and went to Mercantyle Street Party in the Rocks. The street was heaving with people dancing and singing while a band was playing on the roof. When 12 midnight came around, the fireworks didn't disappoint a spectacular display that was worth the wait.
After seven months in Sydney, it was time to hit the road again. We made so many friends, had some unforgettable nights (some of the best of my life). It is
experience I will remember forever and having been travelling for over a year now, I am glad that Bondi is the place I decide to call home for a little while, its great place to call home.
Authors Note:
Cheers again to the lads for use of their photographs and Adam for the use of his laptop.
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KeenoT
non-member comment
another great entry to the blog!!!
bondi sounds like fun!! donal is back dancin the night away in wrights :) great to here your all still havin a ball enjoy the coast and talk to ya soon KeenoT