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Published: January 31st 2009
One of the things Sunjay wanted to do while in India was to go to Australia. We decided to take advantage of Maya's long Christmas break to do this. We left on Dec 30th, were in Hong Kong on Dec 31st and in Australia on New Year's Day. So we completely missed ringing in the New Year. We got back on Jan 10th. Sunjay's friend Dan and his girlfriend Kim were in Australia around the same time. Here is a link to their blog:
Dan and Kim's blog . One of the highlights of the trip was having dinner with Adrian Grenier, from the show Entourage on HBO.
Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. It has been blessed by Mother Nature with several harbors. It’s very easy to get around. We bought a weekly pass for unlimited rides for the ferry and light rail. With this and some walking you can get to any place in Sydney. The hotel was in a good location and so we didn't rent a car. It was nice to take public transportation and walk around without having to rely on a driver to drive us around. It was nice to be independent again.
I have always wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef. But being a non-swimmer, I wasn’t sure I would get to do this. But we went up to Port Douglas anyway. Sunjay and Maya really liked their snorkeling trip in Hawaii and wanted to do this again. We decided to take an excursion with a big touring company called Quicksilver. This was a mistake. We were all disappointed in some ways. Sunjay and Maya didn’t like the snorkeling here as much. Although I took advantage of the unlimited submarine rides, I decided it is probably better to let the experts film it and for me to watch the documentary. I had very high expectations I guess. It was still spectacular though.
We couldn’t find a good travel guide to Australia here in India. We love Frommer’s guides and the only one we were able to find was a 2007 copy. So some of the restaurants that were recommended by Frommer’s were no longer around (makes you wonder why they were recommended!!). If you are traveling to India, beware, I may ask you to bring me some travel guides.
One of the things we wanted to do
in Australia was get some of the food we missed eating here (mostly because we are dependent on our driver to take us anywhere and we live far away from the city). However, we made some really bad restaurant choices and this goal was not accomplished. The two memorable meals for me were both in Port Douglas. One was a small café which served Mexican food and the other was a Frommer’s recommended Salsa Bar and Grill which was just fabulous. The most memorable restaurant in Sydney was a Thai restaurant, but it was more because we dined with Adrian and not because of the food.
Two more regrets for me: We did not get to see the outback and experience Aboriginal culture. The closest we came to Aboriginal culture was meeting an Aboriginal man by the name of Goombala in Blue Mountains. He was playing the didgeridoo which women are not supposed to play by the way. We were told by our guide that he is married to an Irish woman and has 5 kids. He was in the movie Crocodile Dundee. We also went to a shop called ???? which is the only shop run by aboriginals
in Sydney.
Note: The following paragraph summarizes Sunjay’s sentiments and not mine.
Couple of things about Australia: We were surprised to see so many places charging you 1.5% to 3% for using credit cards. As Americans, we expect credit as a birth right. So this was hard to adjust to. It may be better to carry a little cash and use ATM's which appear to charge $2 per transaction. Shopping in Australia was interesting. I would walk into stores in Aus and the sales person would say Hi but almost never asked me how they can help. India is the other extreme - sales people will be two steps behind you even if you are browsing. I also had a bad experience in Hong Kong about returning something, well, there are no returns. I now appreciate Costco and REI more than ever.
In addition to the jump shots which Dan introduced us to, we are now starting a series of Nintendo shots (shots of maya on her Nintendo in front of famous attractions). Look out for her Nintendo shot outside Sydney Opera house. There were a couple of interesting comments from Maya on this trip. I had bought
Maya a book with facts about Australia. We were reading the book on the bus, and I asked Maya a question from the book: where does the Australian Parliament sit. She looks at me with a funny face and says “On chairs Mommy”. We were in the Sydney Tower taking a simulated ride about Australia and she makes a comment about how the bumps on this ride were nothing compared to the bumps on Bangalore roads.
One other interesting thing we came across was a vine called “Lawyer’s vine” so called because like the guide said “Once it gets hold of you, it does not let go”.
We saw Billabong signs all around Australia. We thought this was just an Australian brand. But we found out that Billabong was the Aboriginal name for water that is not flowing.
The rest of this are my journal entries....
Dec 31st (layover in Hong Kong): We had a long layover in Hong Kong. We got our Dim Sum fix at Serenade, a restaurant with good food and a great view of the Hong Kong harbor. We walked around the harbor for a few hours walking alongside stars like Bruce Lee
and Jackie Chan (sculptures of course) on the Street of the Stars. We took the ferry and trains to get around. We would like to come back to spend more time in Hong Kong.
Jan 1st (Sydney aquarium): We arrived in Sydney on Jan 1st jet lagged and tired. We had two red eye flights. We stayed at Sydney's Swissotel which is within walking distance to many attractions. Our first stop was Darling Harbor which is a bit touristy, okay, it’s very touristy but like a lot of things in Australia it does not seem too kitschy or tacky. We saw the Sydney aquarium which has a great collection of coral reef based life. We walked around the harbor, watched some of the street performances, watched Maya play in a water park and went back to the hotel. It a bit late and so we ended up eating Chinese food near the hotel which was the only restaurant open at the time. The lady who was dining next to us sent her food back pointing to something in the food - not a good sign!! We shopped at a store called Gayala which is the only store in Sydney
that is run totally by Aboriginals.
Jan 2nd (Featherdale Wildlife Park): This was just excellent. We got to see, pet and hold Australian wildlife. We were allowed to feed Wallabies and kangaroos. The koalas were very soft and cuddly. Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves four hours of the day and sleep the rest of the time. What a life!!! Good thing they don’t work in a different time zone! We also saw Cassowaries’ (endangered) and wombats. We didn’t see the Tazzie devil which Sunjay claims is one of his favorite animals (I hope he was being sarcastic). Whenever I am grumpy now, he calls me a tazzie devil. One interesting thing we learned here was that Australia has 22 out of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world. Yikes!!! We met Dan and Kim at a Mexican restaurant that evening. They had just returned from a trip to New Zealand. They both love Mexican food. We were all disappointed with the food though. After dinner, we walked along Circular Quay to Sydney Opera House, took a harbor cruise on the river and walked back to the hotel. The walk back reminded me a lot of SW Portland, especially the
HK apartments
Tall buildings that look like Lego blocksarea around Salmon Street. One regret, we didn’t see the interior of the Opera house. I wanted to take a tour inside and Sunjay and Maya were not too keen on doing this. It was spectacular from the outside as well. The history of the building is interesting as well. A Danish architect Jorn Utzon won an international competition to design it. The money for the construction was raised with a lottery. The architect returned home without seeing it finished since many Sydney folks believed it was a monster. It was estimated to cost 7 mill A$ and was finished at 102 mill. It was finished in 1973. The cruise was very good as well. Luna Park which is an old traditional, theme park is all lit up at night. The night ended with us scrambling to find tours that would take us to Blue Mountains. Most of them were booked by the time we called except one.
Jan 3rd (Blue Mountains) This was on all our list of things to do in Australia. We were glad when we were told that ‘Tours R Us’ could accommodate the 5 of us (Dan, Kim and the 3 of us). We
were picked up at 7:30 from our hotel. We drove on the Anzac bridge which is referred to by locals as Madonna’s bra (I can see why). We were told that Kate Blanchatt has a house around here and is a very friendly lady.
Our first stop was the Olympic park which was built with eco-friendly features. Factories around there were shut down, native Australian plants were planted, solar panels were installed, recycled metal was used, rain water is treated and reused. The national birds of each country are next to the flag from each country. The Olympic rings go to the next country. You can play tennis at the tennis courts here for 2500A$/hour. Our guide/driver told us of a hotel here where most everything including the check-in process is automated - not a good thing for hotels in Bombay.
Our next stop was in the town of Katoomba which is a neat little town with a candy shop which has over 2000 varieties of chocolates from around the world. Maya wanted some jelly beans and boy, were they expensive. Katoomba Falls is an Aboriginal name and is thought to be named after the sound of the
water when it hits the ground.
‘Blue Mountains’ is a World Heritage Area. It gets its name because of the blue haze caused by light striking the droplets of eucalyptus oils that evaporate from the leaves of the surrounding forests. We learned some interesting things about Eucalyptus trees along the way: when there is fire, they release oil and so the leaves die, but the stumps continue to stick around and they regenerate. They also release poison into the soil, so other trees can’t grow around them.
The most visited attraction here are the rock formations known as the Three Sisters. We rode the world’s steepest railway, Scenic railway to get to the bottom. The maximum incline is 52 degrees. We walked back to the top through forests of ancient tree ferns. An Aboriginal Legend has it that three sisters lived in the Jamison valley. Since they were in danger from Banyap, a monster, the father turned them into stone and became a lyre bird. He then lost his magic bone and hasn’t been able to turn them back into humans again.
We got back early and decided to walk across the Sydney Harbor bridge for some
spectacular views of Sydney. For those without a tag along 9 year old, I hear doing the bridge walk along the arch of the bridge is quite a thrill.
Jan 4th (Sydney + Adrian Grenier): We spent the day in Sydney and visited Sydney tower, Hyde park, Hyde Convict museum (which was quite interesting) and the royal botanical gardens. The Australian cricket team was playing South Africa when we were there. We were able to see the stadium from the Sydney tower. Sunjay had remarked that morning while reading the newspaper that Adrian was in Sydney the previous night to play with his band and that it was a missed opportunity. We went to a Thai restaurant that evening and who do we see, but Adrian, the lone man surrounded by a pack of girls just like in Entourage. We sat in the bar and there he was right across from us. We were then seated in the same table (the restaurant has a long table that accommodates 10 people. We were star struck, but too proud (er-chicken) to approach him. When he got up to leave, he stayed back to take some pictures with other star struck fans.
So we decided to pile on. Sunjay got the nerve to ask him for a picture and he graciously accepted. We asked Maya to take the picture, but his girl friend said she would do the honors. Maya had been reading her book the entire time we were eating. So interestingly, Adrian asked Maya what book she had been reading. His girlfriend seemed to know cause she asked Maya “What are the rules for girls?” Maya had been reading a book titled “Rules for Girls”.
Jan 5th (Flight to Port Douglas) Port Douglas is in Queensland state which is in north Australia. Queensland is called the Sunshine State and Smart State. Nobody seemed to know why it was called Smart state. Hmm!!!!! It is hot, sweaty and tropical. We wanted to see the world heritage Daintree rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. We took a Quantas flight to get there and were pleasantly surprised when they served us a hot lunch for a short 2.5 hour flight. They even gave us ice cream.
Jan 6th (Daintree national forest): We took a tour with a company called Billy Tea tours to the World heritage Daintree national forest. Billy tea
is a special way to make tea in the bush. The kettle is called Billy can. You boil water in the can, add tea leaves and swing it around 360 degrees to mix the tea with the water. Damper is bush bread made by pouring beer into flour. It is only good while it is hot and hard as a rock after a few hours. Billy beef is a kind of bullion beef.
We passed the city of Mossman which is a big sugar producing region. Sugar cane grows for 5 years and it is then harvested. Navy beans are planted between harvests since it adds Nitrogen to the soil. Mossman has one of the largest operating sugar mills. Sugar is exported from here to Asia. Italians, Greeks, Germans and Asians were brought here to work the fields. Asians were repatriated after their tenure was over to their home countries because of Australia’s white only immigration policy which lasted till the early 70’s.
We took a cruise along the Alexandra/Daintree river. The mangrove has an aerial root system and grows up to 4 metres/year. We passed the majestic Mt Thornton (the guide emphasized “majestic”). Apparently Thorntons are big
Darling Harbor
Bit touristy, but nice around here. There is even a beach named after them. The most famous Thornton was the head of the exchequer (read taxman) in Queensland. There was a wild croc resting on the shore. They are cold blooded reptiles and have a slow metabolism. So they feed once or twice a week. We saw several other wildlife: green tree frogs, snakes, white breasted woodswallow, jalaroo ,kingfisher birds (they lay eggs in termite mounds), monitor lizards, communal and tent spiders. Barramundi is a kind of edible fish found in these waters. By it’s ubiquity in QLD’s menus; it appears to be QLD’s equivalent of the catfish. Ferrell pigs are a kind of wild pigs in Australia.
Our next stop was the Daintree national forest which is a wet, tropical rainforest. There are over 800 varieties of plants. There are angiosperms that are 80-100 million years old. Sunjay chatted up the driver/guide along the way and found out a lot about Australian “culture”. We found out that the pickup trucks were called Utes (short for utilities). Interesting the utes are really falt beds not real trucks. Thye are mostly Toyotas, sorry GM and Ford. Aussies call hippies - ferals.
Our next
stop was the Daintree national forest which is a wet, tropical rainforest. There are over 800 varieties of plants. There are angiosperms that are 80-100 million years old. It was amazing!
Cape Tribulation is a beautiful stretch of beach along the Great Barrier Reef. One thing striking about the beaches on this stretch is how unspoiled they are. Florida must have been like this before people from Long Island found it. The great English explorer Caption Cook had a ship wreck nearby and spent months fixing the ship (hence the name) which delayed his return to Hawaii where he was eventually killed in a dispute over a pig. Perhaps he should have stayed in Australia! There were a lot of dangerous blue jelly fish around this time of the year and we couldn’t get into the water. Vinegar, we found out helps reduce the pain when stung by jelly fish.
We had dinner at a restaurant called “Salsa Bar and Grill”. Food was awesome. A restaurant definitely worth going back to!! We ordered some excellent jumbalaya which had crocodile sausage. Yes it tastes just like chicken.
Jan 7th (Great Barrier Reef): Maya and Sunjay went snorkeling. I
took the submarine ride a couple of times. I was a bit disappointed I have to admit. I expected to see what you see in documentaries. But…
Jan 8th : We went back to Sydney, spent a day there, shopping and going to Borders. We stopped by the Queen Victoria building later in the evening which is beautiful.
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A Travel Story
Wanderglobe
Yah!!!
Bindu, Wow ... now I know why everyone is so jealous of our travels!! This is so in your face cool. My blog sucks compared to yours. I need to start writing captions for my pics like you do. I just never have enough time. Your writing is really great also. I thought Sunjay gave up wearing tights? Later, Dan