Sydney & Bondi, Australia, February 2014


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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney
March 27th 2014
Published: March 27th 2014
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After a short hour and a half flight we had landed in Sydney. We got the airport transfer to our hostel (Sydney Backpackers) which was situated just off George St right in the heart of the city centre. The hostel wasn't great but we got bottom bunks and after a quick change of mattress for the best one I could find in the room, I'd made the most of the situation. The room was also very spacious which was a nice change as you didn't have to climb over everyone else's stuff to get to yours. We popped out for a Subway and had a look around one of the shopping malls nearby, but didn't get anything, we are backpackers after all. By the time we got back to the hostel Tayla and Leanne had also now arrived but we were all shattered so we stayed in the room sorting our stuff out, doing washing etc etc. We were all going to have an early night until a guy from Hong Kong that was in our room asked if he could take us all out for a beer to celebrate his first day in Australia. It was an offer we couldn't refuse as he seemed like a really nice guy and was also offering to buy us a beer! We went around the corner to Bar Century as we had seen it advertising $3 drinks all night which was unheard of in Australia! However as we walked up the stairs and entered the bar it became apparent why the drinks are so cheap, there was a disgusting smell that hit you right in the nostrils, it smelt like a mixture between fart, beer and sick, all of which had probably came from people like us that went to take advantage of $3 drinks and got too messy... Not to be deterred we grabbed a table, got a drink and it wasn't long before I asked our new friend Wanjune to teach us some Hong Kong drinking games! We were having a good time so one beer soon lead to 6 but luckily we managed to just keep it under control and left around midnight, but it had been a good night and I'm glad we got to meet Wanjune as he was a bit of a legend!

I set my alarm early the next morning as Vicky's ship was docking in Sydney so I got roped in to seeing her... The ship was huge so it was nice and easy to find at the harbour and as I walked round the corner her and all her friends came over. After a big squeeze I chatted to her friends and then me and Vicky had a romantic date at McDonalds where I had two sausage and egg mcmuffins a with a hash brown, not fat at all.... We had a walk around the opera house but the weather was really bad so we ended up just going shopping in the huge malls that Sydney had to offer. Being the gentleman that I am I walked Vicky back to her ship even though it was pissing it down so I got wet through there and then for the whole half hour walk back to my hostel. It was so surreal to see her on the other side of the world and that our travels actually crossed paths, but was good to compare stories from our journeys. That evening I met Birdy, Horse and Ben (3 lads I used to play football with that now live in Sydney) for a few beers at the smart opera bar right on the harbour with incredible views. It was really good to catch up and tell them what I had been up to and to hear their stories about their new football team in Sydney. Birdy offered me a ticket to the open air cinema but i had already agreed to meet freeman and the girls so the lads went off to the cinema and I stayed for a drink with freeman, Leanne and Tayla. We considered going out after but instead we decided to just walk home and have an earlyish night.

After breakfast the next morning we walked around the corner to Hyde Park, had a stroll through there and then went to an amazing view point of the opera house and harbour bridge. On the way I found an iPhone 5 randomly on the floor so I picked it up and kept it in my pocket knowing that the owner would end up ringing it. At the view point the phone rang so I answered and told the Chinese man on the other end of the phone that I would meet him wherever to give him his phone back. We agreed to meet at the opera house so we walked back through the botanical gardens, grabbed a McDonalds and then went to the opera house. As I walked up I could see him and his family looking around with worried faces, which suddenly turned to joy as i walked up the steps and greeted them with a big smile and their phone, I don't think they expected me to turn up. They were all jumping up and down in excitement shouting 'yayyyy Englaaaand, England very nice people' and then asked if they could have a photo with me on their phone I had handed back. To see how much I had cheered them up and knowing how horrible it is to lose your phone with all your memories on it even gave me a boost and I was buzzing and smiling for the rest of the day. That reaction was worth so much more to me than stealing someone's phone! We then walked back through 'The Rocks' which is the oldest part of Sydney. Back at the hostel freeman and the girls decided to go to the cinema but I just chilled and caught up on my diary and we all had an early night.

We were very lazy the next day and didn't get up until 11 and then didn't move out the room until 1! We had a bit of a walk around the city but didn't really do much that day. In the evening Danny (our mate from back home who now also lives in Sydney) picked us up, took us to his apartment which was really nice and then Cherie dropped us down to the bars at Bondi. We had a couple of beers and then went to Bangkok Bites for some food. Danny had work early the next morning but me and Freeman went to Bondi Beach Hotel bar to meet Clarson and Jenna as they were also on holiday in Sydney! The bar closed early around 12 so we headed back to the city centre closer to our hostels and ended up going to Ivy Club as it was free entry on a Thursday. The club was unreal, it was rammed and must have had 6 stories with a swimming pool on the roof! We all got smashed and then Freeman lost us so he went back to the hostel and the girls found him fast asleep in our corridor!! Me Clarson and Jenna stayed out till the early hours and all had a banging night.

Although we felt pretty rough in the morning we managed to drag ourselves out of bed as we had agreed to meet Cass and Becky, two girls we had met all the way back in Brazil in our first week of travelling. We went for lunch and them two were cracking us up with stories of them fighting each other on nights out, crazy girls! We then had a walk by the opera house as the weather was really good, everything looked so much better when it was sunny. They then went home so we chilled at the hostel and then Danny met us at Darling Harbour for a few beers. We also met up with Danielle and Natalia, two girls I know from back home, as they now live in Sydney too! After a few drinks we all headed back to get showered and changed, then Chapman came to our hostel for pre drinks with me Danny, Freeman, Leanne and Tayla. By the time we left the hostel I was smashed and can't remember hardly anything from the night but we had headed out to the Red Light District of Sydney and the lads said I managed to stay with them all night, happy days.

Hungover once again in the morning we packed our bags, checked out and Danny picked us up as we were staying at his that evening for Cherie's birthday. We put all our clothes straight in the wash and headed down to Bondi Beach. On the way down one of Danny's mates rang and asked us to go for a beer with him at the Bucket List, a smart bar down by the beach front. Some other lads were also there and we ended up getting the swanky sofas outside, best seats in the house, and the crew kept growing and growing. It soon got way out of hand with all the lads just constantly buying buckets of Corona so it turned into an all day session and we all got quite rowdy, with people accidentally smashing bottles and making loads of noise. The bouncers and management came over a few times to ask us to calm down a bit but didn't kick us out luckily. Anyway, after 14 coronas each on a mad all day session we had to go back to Danny's as we were having a house party there for Cherie's birthday that started in an hour. On our walk home there was a mattress in the street so us three ended up wrestling and body slamming each other on that for a bit... We made it back, via Dominoes pizza and the liquor store, got showered and changed and then got on the vodka. The party was really good, Chapman brought his decks round and was DJing which was sick! We then all got taxis to Pacha at Ivy Club in the city centre to carry on the party. It was absolutely pumping in there with incredible DJ's so we all just bounced around with a bottle of wine each and it was an unreal night! However, it ended prematurely for me as I got chucked out around 2am for looking too drunk even though I wasn't doing anything wrong (a common occurrence in Australia as they are really strict on drinking). Apparently around half of us managed to get kicked out that night! I can vaguely remember stumbling around the city centre for a while until I took refuge on a bench in Hyde Park and ended up sleeping there all night!

In the morning i woke up about 10am red hot, fully clothed on this park bench in the sun, I must have looked like a right mess! Danny then rang me so I got the train back to Bondi and met him and Freeman, I was still hammered! Back at Danny's they all went down to Bondi Beach but I felt horrendous so just slept on his sofa. I finally dragged myself down to the beach at about 4pm but as I got there they all came off the beach so we just sat on the grass bank for the rest of the afternoon, meaning I'd been to the famous Bondi Beach twice, but actually never touched the beach itself... I took another turn for the worse that evening so I couldn't eat when they all ordered a takeaway. It was then time to pack our bags and rush to the train station to go back to Sydney for our overnight bus to Byron Bay. We struggled to find the bus as the signposts in Sydney were terrible and we ended up missing the 11pm deadline to get on the bus, so we accepted we had missed it, were gutted and didn't have a clue what to do next. However, at 11:10pm we randomly strolled around a corner and saw our bus! We ran over and the driver told us we were really lucky as the only reason he hadn't left on time is because two random people booked on the bus there and then. About time we had some luck with the buses! So, panic over, we had made it, now just a mere 12 hours to sit on a bus, lucky us.

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