Day 10: Bondi Beach and Wow are people on the beach in good shape

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Woke up that morning and went looking somewhere to have breakfast. I could have just gotten something at the convenience store but since I was going to be doing a lot of walking that day I opted for a full breakfast. I found a nice restaurant that served breakfast nearby and had a regular breakfast of egg sandwich with bacon along with some orange juice. It was not cheap being almost $11 dollars. I reminded myself to try to stay within budget for the rest of my Aussie trip.

First stop on the day was another post office. I should explain that I send a lot of postcards while traveling it does save me the trouble of buying gifts and bringing them in my luggage. This time I was posting a package to New Zealand. It was some dried fruit from Cambodia and a postcard. I did wonder if it would make it through the customs in New Zealand but I learned a few days later that it made it to the destination 😊.

So after the post office it was off to the world famous Bondi Beach. I had of course seen pictures of Bondi Beach before and was curious on seeing it in person. I took a train to Bondi Junction and from there a bus to Bondi Beach itself. There are least 3 buses that will take you from Bondi Junction to the beach. It is a popular route for tourists and locals. It is only a 10 minute bus ride to the beach and you can't miss it once you get close. I will say the beach itself is breathtaking when you first see it. It is a white sand beach and it is a curved beach and there are several observation spots overlooking the beach that you can see the entire beach. I am not a beach person but I really liked this one. I spent the next few hours wandering up and down the beach and laying down just watching the sky. At one point I was eating some Tam Tams on the beach when an aggressive seagull came in and stole one and flew away with it in their beak. So if you are going to eat on the beach watch your food or else the seagulls will get it.

One of the noticeable features of Bondi Beach besides the beautiful setting is the beautiful and really in shape people. It was not that crowded on the beach but almost everyone I could see had incredible bodies. I resolved to be in better shape next time I go to this beach. There were several houses on cliffs overlooking the beach and I imagined they would cost in the millions of dollars and I had considered a few of the hostels that were near the beaches but decided for a hotel in the CBD instead.

It started raining at this point so I decided to head off the beach. The rain drove most of the other bathers off the beach as well and I went looking for a Bondi burger. A friend had recommended the bondi burger specifically one from a place called Oporto. The Bondi burger is a chicken burger with cheese and special sauce. It is quite tasty and if you ever head to Bondi beach it is worth a try.

I took the bus back to Bondi Junction and on my way I did a good deed for the day. A Chinese couple was trying to find Queen St. I knew the number of stops they had to take to get there but I could not speak Chinese so I was trying to figure out a way to give them that information. Than I remembered my parents speak Chinese so I gave them a call and had them translate. The Chinese couple got the message and thanked me for my assistance. As I said travelers should help each other along the way.

My next stop of the day was a reunion with my Topdeck Tour leader. Kate I had not seen since my Topdeck tour ended last June. Kate had retired from Topdeck last year after 2 years of being a tour leader. 2 years is standard for tour leaders and afterwards they go on to other things. In Kate's case she had moved to Sydney and joined a travel company called Trafalgar. Oddly enough Trafalgar owns Topdecks main rival Contiki. I met her for tea/coffee during her lunch period. It was a quick catchup because she only had a 30 minute lunch break. It was a nice catchup and we got up to dates on our recent travels. I wanted to have more time with Kate but alas it was time for our paths to diverged again.

I had some options on what to see next either Kings Cross, Zoo or the Harbour Bridge. After some thoughts I had decided to go to Kings Cross. It has a certain reputation as a rough and tumble place but still quite interesting. I took a few trains to get there and I will say it is just as busy place the Kings Cross in London but with many more strip clubs and massage parlours. I was amused by the people touting this strip club or that strip club and trying to convince you to go in even thought it was not quite evening yet. I imagined even during the day they have customers or they would not be opened. Kings Cross is very popular with backpackers because of the number of hostels and I had considered staying a place called Asylum Hostel. It looked like a fun place to stay at but I liked the hotel I had chosen.

After this I grabbed some sushi for dinner and decided to call it a night. Tomorrow would be the start of my rapid fire airplane rides across Australia. First stop Brisbane.

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Photos

Writing on the Beac
What does it say