Birthday and New Year in Sydney (long lost family part 4)

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January 6th 2009

Published: January 10th 2009

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Kelly and Amers

Be a Darling...

Darling Harbour

It was really good to be back in Oz and this time we were going to 'do' Sydney properly. We stayed with my cousin Ritu and her family ion Mortdale once more but this time felt like we really got to know them well.

The day after we landed I turned 29 and for a treat Kelly booked us into a 5 star hotel in the centre of the city for a night. It was nice to have a bit of luxury and we spent most of the day walking around the Rocks, enjoying some drinks in the sunshine and taking in the great harbour views. In the evening we ate at the Sydney Oyster Bar opposite the Harbour Bridge, where I slurped down some of the slimy buggers along with a glass or two of champagne (backpackers shmackpackers!)

We also visited the Blue Mountains on a day trip- Alvinder was good enough to drive Kelly, my second cousins and I there on a glorious hot summer's day, just prior New Years. The scenery was spectacular, especially the "3 Sisters.'

Then came the preparation for New Year's Eve. Seeing as Sydney is one of the best places in

Carlton Draught, on the rocks

Birthday drink at the Harbour View Hotel

the world to see in the new year we wanted to ensure that we were as close to the action as possible. So we packed up an Esky (aka cool box) with lots of food and drink, slipped, slopped and slapped, and headed out early (well 10am-ish). We managed to get into the enclosure right next to the Opera House with unsurpassed views of the Bridge and city to our left. It was a scorching hot day as well so the brolly came in handy. We had such a great day, soaking up some rays and downing a few bevvies and the pics (well some of them anyway) of the fireworks speak for themselves. What a NYE! We're going to have to go a long way in London to top that! We had such a top time and were really impressed with how well organised it all was. Plus people were so friendly-no better way to see in the new year as far as I'm concerned!

Then for the remaining week or so after the New Year celebrations we split our time equally between taking the train into the city to explore Sydney and its suburbs and getting to

Opera House

As seen from the Harbour Bridge

know my extended family (my aunt and 2nd cousins were over from New Zealand and also staying in Mortdale, plus Ritu's brother Vikram, his family and their parents lived down the road). In between all of this we tried our utmost to get as organised as possible for the last leg of our travels, to India and catch up some emails.

It was all a bit of a whirlwind but the places that really stood out for us were Paddington (especially the Saturday Markets), Kings Cross for the nightlife, the Rocks (reminded me of Covent Gdn what with the arcitechture and history), Manly Beach (really nice beach with plenty going on) and of course Bondi (where after Kelly's surf lesson we met up with an old colleague of mine from Feref who's just moved to Sydney-small world!) It was also really nice to 'meet the family' face to face, I've always heard the names and the stories but it was really cool to get to know the people from the photo albums. Ritu and Alvinder in particular, made us feel very at home and we were very grateful for thier hospitality. Maybe we can return the favour one day.

Bridging the gap

Taking a walk

Next up, India. The place both fascinates us and unsettles us for many reasons. For one it's going to be a challenge to get back into the 'barter' mentality after spending so much time in 'Western' countries. However, there's so much variety there; from landscapes and climates to history and lifestyles, that in our minds, there's no better way to end our year. It's going to be spectacular.

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