Bumming around Sydney Day 2-4

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The next day, I began my exploration of the city on foot. I started from central district and walked southwest to Darling Harbor. Along the way I took pictures of city gardens, fountains, sculptures, museums, stadiums and interesting structures scattered around the city. Sydney is a very modern and new-looking city. It certainly has metropolitan ambiance. And its citizens are as diverse as a salad bowl - a little bit everything. Matching with the city perfectly, Darling Harbor has many new and trendy lounges, bars and restaurants along the boardwalk. The Real World in Sydney actually picked their party pat right here on the strip. Next I visited the talk-of -the-town the Zoo which is actually called Taronga Zoological Park. The Zoo is not part of the mainland nor in the city. It is rather a short ferry ride away and northeast of Sydney Harbor. Oh yeah, something funny happened at the ferry ticket window. When I was purchasing a packet with ferry tickets and a park admission, the Aussie behind the window tried to pick me up. It got funnier that he suggested I should buy him a beer when I return from the Zoo. I joked back “last time I checked I still have breasts. So you see I don’t buy drinks for guys.” Perhaps he didn’t get the message. He actually wrote his phone # on the back of my receipt and winked at me and said “I get off at 5pm”. I had no idea where on my face said I could be a cheap date. Walking in Taronga Zoo is like being on a hike since the park loops around the hills by the bay. But the views compensate for the hard work. I particularly enjoyed the view which is shown in the picture below when giraffes stand side by side in the foreground, bushes, blue ocean and city skyline are in the background. It is just such an odd combination of Africa wilderness and urban scenery. It is neat!

One night after dinner, I wanted to check out Kings Cross, the notorious red light district. My cousin and Xue Gang were too tired to go out, so I decided to venture the nightlife in Sydney alone. Just like Friday night in any city, Sydney was very energized and exciting. Young people in groups were everywhere in sight walking along the street, eating at the cafés or waiting in long lines to get in bars and clubs. I stayed in central district to be near my hotel so that I could walk home after the festivities. The area kind had a Midtown New York City feel where bars were sophisticated and cosmopolitan. I ordered a vodka & red bull cocktail at the bar, it was very watery. So I asked the bartender to add more vodka in my drink, I was shocked to find out it would cost me extra to make my drink stronger. In OZ, the law requires the exact amount of liquor served in drinks. But in contrary, you can get more liquor as long as you can afford to break your wallet. Someone explained to me later the law is enforced at bars to protect Aussies from partying and drinking too much unless they are willing to pay the price, literately the price. After talking to few people at the bar, I met two guys one was a local and the other was a steward at British Airline. We hit off in conversations. The night turned into a series of laughing, joking, talking and bar hopping. The local guy who I can’t remember his name introduced us to some popular bars on the strip. We sat, drank, smoked cigarettes, told each person’s traveling stories and laughed at funny things about people and cultures of places we have visited till bars were closed. It was a nice feeling to have a good time with perfect strangers. And the experience proved that the world doesn’t have to be a scary place.

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