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Published: December 26th 2008
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Sydney is my first stop in Australia for one reason to see two of my cousins who I haven’t seen over tens years. It is funny that we all went abroad but to different countries. I moved to the U.S. with my family while they moved to Sydney. My cousin Jing Jing’s boyfriend, Xue Gang, picked me up at the airport. It was very sweet of him to come and get me even though we never met before. But it is the Chinese way to show families and friends your hospitality even you never met them before. He was adorable! Lucky for me, they lived in Oxford Square, a central district which is a short walk to the metro and Chinatown - I was sure they chose this location strategically.
Opera House
I hurried Xue Gang to go sightseeing with me after I refreshed a little at their apt. We took a bus down to Circular Quay where the famous Opera House and Harbor Bridge were in immediate sight. After flying 22 hours from SF, I was amazed at the sight of both structures right in front of me. It just felt unreal that I was looking at these things
which I used to see on postcards. “This is great! I am in Australia! And the best part is that this is only the beginning of my trip.” The Opera House sits on the corner of Sydney Cove. As it is photographed in many famous pictures and films, it is a building all about its overwhelmingly eggshell white colored roof. The roof is, of course, the greatest piece of art of the architecture yet it is simplistic. They look like giant carved sails with fish scales print. The opening of the sail-like roof is enclosed by tan colored glasses which blend in with the rest of the building pretty well. As I approached closer to the Opera House, I saw the base of the building in mocha color which extends the building into the ground and makes a nice contrast with hovering white roof.
Harbor Bridge
To the left of the Opera House, the Harbor Bridge was conveniently in the view. I thought it is monstrous yet old-worldly charming. The bridge body serves its utilitarian purpose to allow traffic through. The gigantic steel arch spans across on top that truly creates the architectural beauty of the bridge. The bridge
climb company also takes people on tours to climb on the arch and enjoy the breathtaking and panoramic views of the harbor or city. The price to climb the bridge didn’t come cheap, especially the currency exchange with American dollar was about the same when I was in OZ (a nickname Aussies call their country). It cost me approximately $120 to climb the bridge which included a scenery tour on the climb, three photos taken on two sides of the bridge and the summit. Only one photo was included in the ticket. Other photos cost me extra if I desired to keep them But the entire experience was well worth if you have time and are in good shape to go up and down stairs or climb through tunnel-like staircase. I thought it was one of the most amazing bridge experiences I had in life. Among many iconic bridges I visited around the world, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the London Bridge and the Nan Jing Bridge, the Harbor Bridge is the only one that allows people to set foot on the skeleton of its structure. We wore a space suit, ear muffs, gloves and a headset like
we were ready to launch on the moon. But the warm clothing proved to be useful as we climbed higher on the arch, the wind picked up and temperature dropped increasingly. We even got mysterious fog, mist and suddenly saw a rainbow across the harbor. We also spotted some sea turtles in the water. Our guide said we were lucky to be able to see all these things on one tour which usually take several tours. When we reached the summit, the city and the harbor presented themselves from every angle and in many different lighting. The views were spectacular!
China town
At night, I met with cousin Jing Jing and Xue Gang to explore Chinatown and mainly to find out just how authentic the dishes are. All of us are from Xian in northern China. Noodles are a big part of our diet. We decided to eat at one of their local favorites, a noodle shop that makes our hometown dishes. I was impressed how clean and orderly Chinatown was in Sydney. It was a busting community with souvenir shops, tour companies, grocery stores and endless restaurants that probably represent cuisines from China and other Asia countries. It
has a typical ambiance of Chinatown, prosperous and the smell of food lingers in the air. It reminds me of SF Chinatown which is one of the nicest locations among many Chinatowns in the U.S. Actually, I need to correct myself the Chinatown in London was very nice too. In the next few days, I was a frequent customer to various restaurants accompanied by my cousins. I must say my pallet was thoroughly impressed by the Sichuan cuisine, dim sums, Singapore stir fries and hot pot. Thumbs up to the authentic Chinese food in Sydney!
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