Sydney - part 1

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Christchurch-Sydney
Michael Sneddon SYDNEY - PART 1

(Once again, not had chance to post blogs so playing catch up!)

My first impression of Sydney (and thus Australia) wasnt great. Sure, the flight was good - flying over NZ's southern alps (was a bit cloudy though), across the Tasman and into the green lush lands surrounding Sydney, circling the city for a great view before landing. I was excited. I rushed down to the bar bright eyed and ready for my first taste of Australian culture. Instead I was greeted by a wall of smoke as I learned that smoking in bars hadnt been banned here yet. I settled down for my first taste of Australian beer - a pint of Tooheys New. It was rubbish!

Nonetheless, never let first impressions decide your views of a place. Sydney and I got along fine after this shakey start. I have learned that as of July 1st the smoke problem will no longer exist, as the ban comes in; also Tooheys Old is the beer to drink not Tooheys New!

So the first night turned out to be a good night as we adjusted to the city but I was knackered - could be a little jet lag but more likely to be due to the heavy session in Christchurch the night before! I relaxed over a few drinks with Steph, from our New Zealand crew, who had landed about 5 minutes after I had in Sydney and I ended up staying at the same hostel as her. Interestingly they had party games in the hostel, one of which involved trying to eat 3 crackers as quickly as possible... Brought back memories of Uni days (and also in Toronto) where we tried to break the world record of 3 crackers in 1 minute!

The best way, I think, to experience Sydney (like any big city) is to walk (it's free also!). So I did. I walked for hours, taking in the sights, smells and sounds. It is 'winter' in Australia but we had a couple of cracking days in Sydney where it was sunny without a cloud in sight. On days like this all the attractions and buildings in Sydney are given an extra beauty against a light blue 'backdrop'.

Steph, Homer and I decided to take the opportunity on such a nice day to see Sydney's two main sights: the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Supposedly the best way to see the bridge is to walk across it... Or climb up it. Neither Steph or I had the money to do the climb - I'm now in full backpacker mode scrimping wherever I can as cash is very limited - so we did the free walk across, although we did pay a small fee to climb the pylons. On the cash front, luckily I have discovered you can buy 4 litres of wine for $10 - think I am going to be living off this stuff in Australia (it isnt that bad either!)...

Anyways, I really enjoyed the Harbour Bridge - more so than the likes of the, similarly famous, Golden Gate Bridge or Brooklyn Bridge in the US. There is just something about the style and shape that appeals to me. After enjoying the pylon views and having filled up with some lunch sitting underneath the bridge, we walked around the Quay to the Opera House.

I believe that whoever came up with the design for the Opera House is a genius - it is one of the most well known buildings in the world. The story of how he was inspired for the shape is actually quite surprising (we tagged on to a tour group!). Basically he was stuck for a design idea and one morning he watched his daughter peeling an orange and the shapes of the orange peel were the inspiration for the Opera House! It is very cool up front, the outside of the building is like a snake skin. Also it is set apart from the rest of the city, standing (or sitting) on the steps you look back at the city - very nice.

After an enjoyable days walking, Steph and I joined many people in the hostel in their bar to celebrate it's '5th Birthday'. There were party games and lots of fun, including a cracker eating competition that I thought was particularly hilarious - brought back memories of Uni days! I sampled more Australian beers and must admit that Victoria Bitter (VB) - which I believe I demeaned in my Vancouver blog after I had tasted it on Aussie Day - is actually a fairly decent beer...

Incidentally, there was a blond girl in my hostel room who I believe is a great example of the minority of blond girls who destroy the 'blond' reputation! She is quite good looking but more interestingly came up with some absolute cracking blond lines! My favourites were probably her thoughts on spiders - that she believes a spider lays an egg and thousands of spiders hatch from the egg and eat the nearest living thing(!) - or her thoughts on movies when she asked if the Godfather was that film with Will Farrell in it!

Anyways, as in New Zealand the hostel is British dominated but I have noticed a huge number of Scottish in Sydney! I met so many Scottish people there, out in bars and in the hostel - very strange!

I was joined in Sydney by some more of the New Zealand crew - Sebb and Pete arrived a couple of days after me. Pete and I were dragged along by a French girl to Darling Harbour for a drink (Sebb was too drunk and disappeared - turns out he was wondering around the streets with no shoes or socks, no wallet or phone talking to random people!)... Darling Harbour is a very nice area, cool at night - but a bit posh and expensive though, so we headed out to Oxford St which is supposed to be one of the most happening places in Sydney... After seeing several men walking around in drag we were a bit confused as to what was happening - turns out we had stumbled into Sydney's (huge) gay and lesbian area! We didnt stay too long, heading back into town - a quiet end to a good night...

The next day Sebb, Pete and I revisited Darling Harbour to see all the different fountains and statues - very nice place. We watched a bit of a street artist who was very funny (in an 'insult everyone walking by' kind of way) but was dragging out his show for a bit... So - on another glorious day - we took a trip out to Manly beach, about 30 minutes away from the main quay. Taking a trip on the Harbour is another 'must do' in Sydney - it was pretty cool. Manly beach itself is a small beach town which was busy when we visited - loads of surfers out. Also there was beach volleyball and I cursed myself for not bringing some shorts!

After a trip to one of McDonald's new McCafes that are sprouting up everywhere - where I ordered a McTea (the girl behind the counter didnt find it as funny as I did...) we jumped on the ferry hoping to have timed it right for sunset behind the city... We did and it was amazing! This is probably one of the highlights of my week in Sydney - the sun setting behind the Harbour Bridge was just out of this world... I had heard that sunsets in Australia are supposed to be the best anywhere in the world and judging by this one I wouldnt argue with that too much (although Western USA sunsets would be up there for me).

Sebb and I took on all comers at pool in the evening, a combination of my potting and his safety, we were almost invincible till the alcohol started to drag our game down!

Walking around we had discovered a bar called Scruffy Murphys that was selling $5 steaks. We thought we'd give it a shot and it turned out to be quite good! Apparently meat is a lot cheaper across here... In fact it was so good that we went back 2 more nights as well! With meat that cheap, it is no surprise that it makes up such a huge part of an Aussies diet! After our steak we went out to see some live music at a place called the three monkeys, before heading to the Kings Cross area of town (Note: everything in Australia is British named. Everything.) which is supposed to have a really good nightlife... It does. After deciding not to go into World Bar (the same one they have in Queenstown - also with teapot cocktails) due to the ridiculous entry price, we settled down in a nice little bar equipped with comfy couches - a nice relaxing end to the evening.

Looking for more free walks to check out the three of us, along with an Italian girl called Joanna we met, headed out to the Botanic Gardens area of town. It was nice but the best part of the day was a new game Sebb and I invented which we have named 'bottled'. Instead of throwing a frisby or ball around the park, we decided to throw a water bottle! The rules are simple: the bottle is thrown back and forward until it bursts and someone gets wet! Our water bottle appeared to be invincible though and, after about a half hour, the game ended as the bottle got lost in the bushes...

So far I have randomly found Rabbie Burns statues in the USA (New York), Canada (Vancouver) and New Zealand (Dunedin). I hadnt been in Australia for 1 week when I found one in Sydney - just outside the Botanic Gardens. I really didnt know how respected and famous Burns was worldwide but these statues are an obvious sign that this was the case.

Indeed, the old adage goes that the world is a small place. Travelling I have discovered this to be the case. Walking back from the gardens was another example of this: in a city of 4 million plus people the chances of randomly bumping into people you know arent high - but this is what happened! Walking down the street I randomly bumped into Denis and Paco! This would be the second time this has happened - the first being Franz Josef in NZ. Very strange - but cool!

A catch up session was arranged for that evening in World Bar out in the Cross... It was great to see them again - there was no absinth drinking on this occasion! Paco is away back to France and Denis is heading up the east coast, so we may meet again!

I am sad to be leaving Sydney - this is always the best indicator of how much you enjoyed somewhere. However, I will be back. I have to still visit the likes of Bondi beach and since I am flying out of Sydney I will be able to revisit the city.

Just now, I am on a plane to go and see the Whitsunday islands. These are out by the Great Barrier Reef - a must see during any visit to Australia I think. Flying is actually cheaper than taking the bus here if you get a good deal. But it is a good way of getting around in a huge country - someone told me the other day that, if you didnt include Alaska, Australia would be bigger - in terms of land mass - than the USA. However, this requires 'planning' a word I'm not a fan of whilst travelling but if it helps me save money and see the country so be it!

So I have sat down and sorted my plans, which also has meant I have changed my onward flights. Sadly I wont get to see Perth in Australia - too little time and too little money but I now have an additional stop: Singapore! Basically, I wanted to change my flight from Thailand to London to give me more time travelling... but there was nothing available. There was, however, a flight out of Singapore so I decided to take it. Rather than looking at this as a bad thing, I'm going to look at it as a new adventure to be had!

So I'll fly back to London on August 17th... But I dont want to think about that right now! Just now I want to make every day count and enjoy every last second of this trip.

Starting with the Great Barrier Reef and (hopefully!) some beach volleyball.

I'm excited!

Mich

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