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Published: April 11th 2009
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Within 2 weeks of Sidd’s parents’ visit, our second visitor, Margaret, one of my best friends, arrived from Washington D.C. to explore our little piece of Australia. This time, as we had full week, we decided to head down to Sydney, home to the famous Opera House, Bondi Beach and more importantly, lots and lots of tasty restaurants!
Originally, we had planned for 12 hours in Brisbane to let Margaret sleep and adjust to the time difference. However, due to unfortunate circumstances (HK airport is damn big and the trains/planes are punctual), Margaret ended up missing her afternoon flight and instead landed in Brisbane a mere 1 hour before our flight to Sydney. Ever the trouper, I was shocked that not only was she able to keep up with us but was also able to cram in a few hours of work to boot. Fortunately, unlike in Canada, domestic flights are not exorbitantly expensive and it is possible to fly from Brisbane to Sydney for a mere $60 AUS. Given that it’s the same length as the flight from Calgary to Vancouver, it’s a bargain!
After settling into our little serviced apartment located directly under a bridge (with a
Awaiting flight to Sydney
Within one hour of touching down in Brisbane, Margaret was awaiting another flight... and working in the interim! tiny slice of the promised view of Darling Harbour), we headed out in search of dinner. Our destination was “The Rocks”, a famous area known for many good restaurants and pubs. Unfortunately, we somehow got lost and instead ended up near the Opera House (note that “The Rocks” is maybe 5 minutes from here - oops). Deciding to forego the expensive, touristy restaurants, we headed down a few deserted streets full of heritage buildings and found ourselves on a bustling street complete with rainbow flags and suggestively-names stores. By this time, Sidd was starving and was ready to eat just about anything. Margaret and I, however, were a bit more discerning and were not as keen to eat at a place sandwiched between “Lick-Her”, “Urge Urge Urge” and “House of Fetish”, no matter how appetizing the pictures (...of the food). Instead, we compromised and found a cute sushi restaurant and proceeded to devour large bowls of rice and fish, followed by a $2 hunk of red meat.
After allowing a few hours for Margaret to work the next morning (she’s on vacation, take the laptop away!), we headed off to Bondi Beach, a destination for tourists and locals alike...
Sydney Skyline
Check out the funny torch building. It seemed to creep into every picture and need I mention, home to some of the best-looking lifeguards!? Expecting nice warm water, we were unpleasantly shocked by the coldness. Yikes - there are definitely advantages to living up in Queensland! But, we soon adjusted to the chilly water and were cruising around on our boogie boards (so much easier than surfing). Midway through the afternoon, Sidd’s cousins, Kavita and Yagnesh met us to enjoy beaching, with Kavita actually trying out boogie boarding despite not knowing how to swim! After reducing a lovely Portugese chicken to a forlorn carcass, we headed back into town to do a bit of shopping. Poor Sidd! Margaret and I found UGGs and proceeded to try on every combination of style and colour. We’re still debating if they’re authentic, but hey, they’re cute and cheap, so who cares?
The next day, we went golfing at Bondi Beach Club, a rather rundown course with golf clubs older than my dad’s set, which were bought when woods were actually made of wood. However, it was redeemed by its spectacular views of the city and coastline. Thankfully, my game has somewhat improved and I no longer have to count to the double digits. Margaret, however,
Opera House Antics
This required some good balance... was more interested in capturing the beautiful scenery and somewho managed to hit the ball while balancing her camera on her back! After golfing, we headed to Watson’s Bay, a little cove known for its fish and chips. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the Sydney harbour by ferry. An interesting fact - although the Sydney harbour is only 20 kms on the map, due to the undulations in the coastline, there are actually 250 kms to explore. Also, while there are sharks in the harbour, you have more chance of getting struck by lightning than attacked by a shark... but I’m not taking any chances.
Sydney is a large metropolitan city, home to over 4 million people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Yet, the old adage of “6 degrees of separation” holds true even here. One of the highlights of our Sydney trip for me was unexpectedly meeting the “Banjo Man”! Anyone who has ever taken the train to Dalhousie Station during rush hour in Calgary knows the Banjo Man, an ever smiling busker garbling some faintly recognizable tune. I had mentioned to Sidd in the Fall that he had disappeared - well... I found him!
Napoleon on Kent
Right under a bridge... Yup, the Banjo Man has picked up and moved to Manly Beach, Sydney. Why, I asked him? “Just because.” Love it!
At any rate, the rest of Sydney trip was spent in our ever-obsessive quest for good food, including fabulous Chinese dumplings, fresh-off-the-boat sushi from the Sydney Fish Market, decadent red velvet cupcakes (not for me - boo), Kavita’s pani-puri and spicy Indochinese. Luckily, Margaret is just a big a foodie as Sidd and I, and will go to great lengths to find a good meal. All in all, a great trip and it was wonderful to share it with Margaret!
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Arvind
non-member comment
Wow You seem to be having fun
Your blog brings back the memory of our visit. All the familiar nanes of beaches Bondi beach, delicious fish and chips and grubs etc. Well enjoy you rest of the stay.