(The Ditch is the Tasman Sea in between NZ and Australia. I learned that a few months ago, and now I can be really cool and use that phrase just like the locals.)
At around 5 million people, Sydney contains more people than the entire country of New Zealand, so this was definitely going to be a different experience. My early morning flight arrived around 8:30 am local time with one of the harshest, most jarring landings that I can remember. The plane thudded to the ground, causing a bit of trepidation among the passengers and an overhead compartment or two to open, but everything was fine, and I was soon off the plane filled with a few obnoxious Aussie teenagers that thought it was fun to yell across rows of seats to each other. I had to take a quick break right before passing through customs, so that I could eat my apple and orange that I had saved from the Auckland hostel...otherwise I wouldn't have been allowed past the quarantine bin. Full of natural goodness, I found the information booth and attempted to call a hostel that was recommended by both my sister's friend and my guide books. I tried to ring them a few times with no answer or machine, so I assumed that the line was just busy, and I decided to just take the shuttle into town and try to book a room at the door. I took a van with a few other passengers, but the Chinese driver wasn't quite sure of the location that I wanted, so she put me in the front seat, gave me a huge book of maps of the city and told me to find it while she took the other guests around. It turns out that my hotel in the suburb of Glebe was just about a half mile from the last hotel where we stopped, but since it was "off of the main roads," I was charged $5 extra for the ride. Two less bags of sour worms for me, but that's alright.
Getting out of the van with my two large bags, I heard one of the women outside the door of the converted house saying something. Then, just as I exited the van, it registered that she was talking to me, telling me that the hostel I was looking for no longer existed and that I should catch my ride before it leaves me there. It looked as though someone had bought the house and was converting it back to a house or a nicer place, but I didn't have time to investigate. I flagged down the driver just as she was pulling away and explained to her about my problem. I didn't really know where else to go, and she handed me a brochure for one huge hostel that she had seen. I typically try to avoid large hostels, as they are way more impersonal and generic, often catering to louder, party type travelers, and I also feel like they are less safe in terms of theft, since there are so many anonymous people. The driver seemed to know the city pretty well, so I told her that I just wanted a smaller hostel somewhere in the center of the city. At first, she showed me the brochure again, thinking that "smaller" meant "cheaper," but I eventually explained it to her, as her English wasn't that great. Soon, we pulled back up to the main street of Sydney and she dropped me off on the corner, pointing to a nice, boutique looking hotel, telling me that it wouldn't have many people. Apparently in all of the fuss in explaining about a small place, she had forgotten that I was in the market for a very cheap place, and I could tell that the new hotel certainly wouldn't fit that bill. Not wanting to burden her more, I got out of the van and figured I'd just roam the main street until I found something.
She pulled away, and no more than 1 minute later, I saw a sign for City Central Backpackers, so I figured that would do for the night, not wanting to carry my heavy bags around town to find the best deal or nicest place. The facade of the four story building didn't look nice or new at all, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and buzzed myself in. The narrow, dirty, smelly hallway lead to a dark stairway covered in a few bits of graffiti, up which I found the reception desk. I didn't have a good feeling about the place, so fortunately, I decided to only book myself for one night. I got my keys and my sheets (which were surprisingly clean), and I found my room up the dirty stairs. I opened the door to find a musty, fairly old looking room with 5 seats of old, metal bunk beds spread throughout the room amongst messy backpacks and a few sleeping guys. The torn, thin mattress on my bed and yellowing pillow didn't look too appealing, but I decided that I could manage for the night. The single bathroom for the entire floor of 20 or 30 guests didn't look like it had been cleaned in a while, so I quickly left my room and began exploring the city. They also told me about the free internet upstairs, so I checked out the lounge, consisting of old, smoky furniture and a few computers chained to the wall. As I sank down in the couch to wait my turn as the smoke from my neighbor's cigarette filled the air, I decided that it wasn't worth it to wait around, so I headed down the stairs, feeling that I shouldn't take my chances with the elevator. The one good part about my hostel is the location, as I was immediately on George St, the main tourist street in the city, and I found a good Thai restaurant for lunch right next door. Unlike NZ, I'm able to find some cheap food choices here, so I'm excited about that. I passed by a few souvenir shops and some fake Chinese soccer jerseys, purses, etc that always fascinate me, but I resisted, telling myself that I can buy them on my way home through Sydney if I really need them.
Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the streets were packed with people. I hadn't seen such a mass of humanity in a long time, so it felt like I was in the center of New York city, bumping and dodging people with every passing step. The Asian influence here also seems quite large, in the people, the foods, the shops, the phonecards, etc. Speaking of phonecards, I've been calling back home to Marcelle fairly frequently, and I was getting a pretty good deal in NZ at about 6 cents per minute plus a 70 cent connection fee, but it's nothing compared to what I found here. The card advertised about 1/2 a cent per minute to the US, meaning that my $10 phone card gives me around 1,800 minutes. I have since found out that the card does charge a 59 cent connection fee every time, but that's still a great deal. Anyway, I walked the streets, beneath the huge buildings and the Sydney Tower (much like Auckland's Sky Tower), coming upon the beautiful Hyde Park. Named for Hyde Park in London, this one is about 3 city blocks of green grass, rows of beautiful, large eucalyptus trees, a central fountain and a lovely Victorian church alongside. I relaxed in the park for a few hours while trying to plan out a bit of my upcoming Australia trip, but I mostly watched the workers and tourists pass by. I then headed North to the edge of the city center, where the Botanic Gardens and another huge nature reserve border the Sydney Harbour. I spotted a few unique trees and a pair of very colorful macaws that didn't seem too happy about me passing too close to their nest, so they chirped away as I took a few pictures. I soon reached the tip of the gardens, providing me with my first view of the iconic Sydney Opera House, backed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Opera House is an unmistakable sight with its white arched spires and concert halls curling and pointing over the blue water of the harbour. Ever since I was young, I had dreamed of visiting Australia, and this was the moment in which I knew I had made it, staring in awe at the instantly recognizable shape of the building, designed by a Danish architect to look like sails of ships, being pushed outwards in the wind.
I followed the path along the coastline and was soon at the Opera House, along with a large group of other tourists. I touched the tile exterior, surprised that it was made up of thousands of small, white ceramic looking tiles, somewhat like those that you'd see on a kitchen floor. They are assembled in nicely geometric patterns, creating lines and crosses that only appear upon close inspection. As the sun was beginning to fade from the sky, I walked around the Harbour to The Rocks, the site of some exclusive office buildings and restaurants with views of the Opera House, and then I headed back to grab some dinner and fall asleep in the dreaded hostel. I was exhausted from just a few hours of sleep the night before and a two hour time change, so I hoped that I'd see very little of my somewhat revolting room. I had a quick kebab dinner with some chips (fries), and I was soon back to the hostel. Just above the main road, I walked into the room and heard my first problem. The windows were open and the road below was extremely loud. You could hear music, people, and mostly traffic. Horns honking, trucks stopping and starting, motorcycles revving...these all lasted throughout the night and into the morning. I was also greeted by an Irishman in the room who first decided to have a smoke in the room before bed and then apparently is not at all shy about flatulence or the resulting, resounding symphony coming from his bed. Luckily, he quickly fell asleep, though he also snored. On the bright side, the almost-constant road noise blocked out most of his snoring. I eventually fell asleep, though I woke up many times during the night. I got up and soon was on the road again, deciding that I'd actually feel cleaner by not taking a shower there. Fortunately, I found a hostel down the road that was a bit more, but it was so much nicer. Just a clean, basic place, this felt like the Ritz Carlton after my last night.
For the day, I bought a ticket on one of the tourist buses that circles the city, providing information and transport on many different buses throughout the whole day. I saw the Opera House again, and I even exited the bus on the North side of the harbour, and walked back across the road for some nice views of the city skyline. The footpath is a narrow walkway, enclosed on both sides by large fences and barbed wire, as this must be an attractive place for potential suicides. Luckily for me, there is a small opening in the middle of it, large enough to stick my arms through for pictures. After a nice chicken pesto lunch and some much-needed water, I rejoined the bus for a trip through the luxurious suburbs of tree-lined streets and million dollar houses overlooking the water before arriving at Bondi beach. The world-famous beach is the place to go and be seen during the summer for Sydneysiders, much like South Beach in Miami. As it is cooling off here, the beach wasn't packed, but there were still hundreds of people spread out on the nice yellowish beach. The water had a hint of green and a few decent waves, attracting a couple of groups of surfers. I walked over the sand towards the water, finding it to be quite cold at this time of year, but wanting to at least say that I've been in the water there. It's actually quite impressive that a city of this size has a world-class beach so close. From Bondi, I walked along the rocky cliffs for a beautiful overlook of the popular beach and an adjacent swimming pool below. I next encountered a few smaller beaches, mostly popular amongst surfers for their larger waves.
As I was making my way to Bronte Beach, I realized that I'd probably be close to missing the next bus, so I looked back around the bend and saw the big blue bus just turning the corner, about a kilometer away from me. Not wanting to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus, I immediately began sprinting down the windy road, hoping to make it to the next turnout before the bus. I ran hard for about 5 minutes, and just as I turned the corner, I saw the blue sign for my bus stop. I looked back and didn't see the bus yet, but I knew it had to be close. I kept running and arrived just 3 seconds before the bus. I quickly pulled out my camera and took a picture from the overlook while the other passengers boarded and disembarked, and then I jumped on as the bus was ready to depart. Perfect timing. We passed the last main beach, Coogee, and then we headed back into town, where I was able to catch a nice mix of orange and a bit of pink sky emerging over the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House before heading back to my new hostel and stopping at the same middle-eastern fast food shop, Ali Baba, for another quality dinner.
So far, I've been pretty impressed with Sydney. It definitely has a large city feel, but its parks, beaches and accessibility make it fairly easy to navigate and find a place to relax. The food choices are more than ample, though I still didn't see any Mexican places, but the prices are also pretty good. The climate at this time of year is perfect also, and I think the ocean keeps the weather pretty temperate all year round. As I don't have all that much time here, I was looking online and found some cheap flights out of here, so I'm going to Melbourne tomorrow. It's just an hour and a half flight from here, and it's supposed to be the other of Australia's great cities. In fact, some people prefer it to Sydney, so we'll see how it compares.
At around 5 million people, Sydney contains more people than the entire country of New Zealand, so this was definitely going to be a different experience. My early morning flight arrived around 8:30 am local time with one of the harshest, most jarring landings that I can remember. The plane thudded to the ground, causing a bit of trepidation among the passengers and an overhead compartment or two to open, but everything was fine, and I was soon off the plane filled with a few obnoxious Aussie teenagers that thought it was fun to yell across rows of seats to each other. I had to take a quick break right before passing through customs, so that I could eat my apple and orange that I had saved from the Auckland hostel...otherwise I wouldn't have been allowed past the quarantine bin. Full of natural goodness, I found the information booth and attempted to call a hostel that was recommended by both my sister's friend and my guide books. I tried to ring them a few times with no answer or machine, so I assumed that the line was just busy, and I decided to just take the shuttle into town and try to book a room at the door. I took a van with a few other passengers, but the Chinese driver wasn't quite sure of the location that I wanted, so she put me in the front seat, gave me a huge book of maps of the city and told me to find it while she took the other guests around. It turns out that my hotel in the suburb of Glebe was just about a half mile from the last hotel where we stopped, but since it was "off of the main roads," I was charged $5 extra for the ride. Two less bags of sour worms for me, but that's alright.
Getting out of the van with my two large bags, I heard one of the women outside the door of the converted house saying something. Then, just as I exited the van, it registered that she was talking to me, telling me that the hostel I was looking for no longer existed and that I should catch my ride before it leaves me there. It looked as though someone had bought the house and was converting it back to a house or a nicer place, but I didn't have time to investigate. I flagged down the driver just as she was pulling away and explained to her about my problem. I didn't really know where else to go, and she handed me a brochure for one huge hostel that she had seen. I typically try to avoid large hostels, as they are way more impersonal and generic, often catering to louder, party type travelers, and I also feel like they are less safe in terms of theft, since there are so many anonymous people. The driver seemed to know the city pretty well, so I told her that I just wanted a smaller hostel somewhere in the center of the city. At first, she showed me the brochure again, thinking that "smaller" meant "cheaper," but I eventually explained it to her, as her English wasn't that great. Soon, we pulled back up to the main street of Sydney and she dropped me off on the corner, pointing to a nice, boutique looking hotel, telling me that it wouldn't have many people. Apparently in all of the fuss in explaining about a small place, she had forgotten that I was in the market for a very cheap place, and I could tell that the new hotel certainly wouldn't fit that bill. Not wanting to burden her more, I got out of the van and figured I'd just roam the main street until I found something.
She pulled away, and no more than 1 minute later, I saw a sign for City Central Backpackers, so I figured that would do for the night, not wanting to carry my heavy bags around town to find the best deal or nicest place. The facade of the four story building didn't look nice or new at all, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and buzzed myself in. The narrow, dirty, smelly hallway lead to a dark stairway covered in a few bits of graffiti, up which I found the reception desk. I didn't have a good feeling about the place, so fortunately, I decided to only book myself for one night. I got my keys and my sheets (which were surprisingly clean), and I found my room up the dirty stairs. I opened the door to find a musty, fairly old looking room with 5 seats of old, metal bunk beds spread throughout the room amongst messy backpacks and a few sleeping guys. The torn, thin mattress on my bed and yellowing pillow didn't look too appealing, but I decided that I could manage for the night. The single bathroom for the entire floor of 20 or 30 guests didn't look like it had been cleaned in a while, so I quickly left my room and began exploring the city. They also told me about the free internet upstairs, so I checked out the lounge, consisting of old, smoky furniture and a few computers chained to the wall. As I sank down in the couch to wait my turn as the smoke from my neighbor's cigarette filled the air, I decided that it wasn't worth it to wait around, so I headed down the stairs, feeling that I shouldn't take my chances with the elevator. The one good part about my hostel is the location, as I was immediately on George St, the main tourist street in the city, and I found a good Thai restaurant for lunch right next door. Unlike NZ, I'm able to find some cheap food choices here, so I'm excited about that. I passed by a few souvenir shops and some fake Chinese soccer jerseys, purses, etc that always fascinate me, but I resisted, telling myself that I can buy them on my way home through Sydney if I really need them.
Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the streets were packed with people. I hadn't seen such a mass of humanity in a long time, so it felt like I was in the center of New York city, bumping and dodging people with every passing step. The Asian influence here also seems quite large, in the people, the foods, the shops, the phonecards, etc. Speaking of phonecards, I've been calling back home to Marcelle fairly frequently, and I was getting a pretty good deal in NZ at about 6 cents per minute plus a 70 cent connection fee, but it's nothing compared to what I found here. The card advertised about 1/2 a cent per minute to the US, meaning that my $10 phone card gives me around 1,800 minutes. I have since found out that the card does charge a 59 cent connection fee every time, but that's still a great deal. Anyway, I walked the streets, beneath the huge buildings and the Sydney Tower (much like Auckland's Sky Tower), coming upon the beautiful Hyde Park. Named for Hyde Park in London, this one is about 3 city blocks of green grass, rows of beautiful, large eucalyptus trees, a central fountain and a lovely Victorian church alongside. I relaxed in the park for a few hours while trying to plan out a bit of my upcoming Australia trip, but I mostly watched the workers and tourists pass by. I then headed North to the edge of the city center, where the Botanic Gardens and another huge nature reserve border the Sydney Harbour. I spotted a few unique trees and a pair of very colorful macaws that didn't seem too happy about me passing too close to their nest, so they chirped away as I took a few pictures. I soon reached the tip of the gardens, providing me with my first view of the iconic Sydney Opera House, backed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Opera House is an unmistakable sight with its white arched spires and concert halls curling and pointing over the blue water of the harbour. Ever since I was young, I had dreamed of visiting Australia, and this was the moment in which I knew I had made it, staring in awe at the instantly recognizable shape of the building, designed by a Danish architect to look like sails of ships, being pushed outwards in the wind.
I followed the path along the coastline and was soon at the Opera House, along with a large group of other tourists. I touched the tile exterior, surprised that it was made up of thousands of small, white ceramic looking tiles, somewhat like those that you'd see on a kitchen floor. They are assembled in nicely geometric patterns, creating lines and crosses that only appear upon close inspection. As the sun was beginning to fade from the sky, I walked around the Harbour to The Rocks, the site of some exclusive office buildings and restaurants with views of the Opera House, and then I headed back to grab some dinner and fall asleep in the dreaded hostel. I was exhausted from just a few hours of sleep the night before and a two hour time change, so I hoped that I'd see very little of my somewhat revolting room. I had a quick kebab dinner with some chips (fries), and I was soon back to the hostel. Just above the main road, I walked into the room and heard my first problem. The windows were open and the road below was extremely loud. You could hear music, people, and mostly traffic. Horns honking, trucks stopping and starting, motorcycles revving...these all lasted throughout the night and into the morning. I was also greeted by an Irishman in the room who first decided to have a smoke in the room before bed and then apparently is not at all shy about flatulence or the resulting, resounding symphony coming from his bed. Luckily, he quickly fell asleep, though he also snored. On the bright side, the almost-constant road noise blocked out most of his snoring. I eventually fell asleep, though I woke up many times during the night. I got up and soon was on the road again, deciding that I'd actually feel cleaner by not taking a shower there. Fortunately, I found a hostel down the road that was a bit more, but it was so much nicer. Just a clean, basic place, this felt like the Ritz Carlton after my last night.
For the day, I bought a ticket on one of the tourist buses that circles the city, providing information and transport on many different buses throughout the whole day. I saw the Opera House again, and I even exited the bus on the North side of the harbour, and walked back across the road for some nice views of the city skyline. The footpath is a narrow walkway, enclosed on both sides by large fences and barbed wire, as this must be an attractive place for potential suicides. Luckily for me, there is a small opening in the middle of it, large enough to stick my arms through for pictures. After a nice chicken pesto lunch and some much-needed water, I rejoined the bus for a trip through the luxurious suburbs of tree-lined streets and million dollar houses overlooking the water before arriving at Bondi beach. The world-famous beach is the place to go and be seen during the summer for Sydneysiders, much like South Beach in Miami. As it is cooling off here, the beach wasn't packed, but there were still hundreds of people spread out on the nice yellowish beach. The water had a hint of green and a few decent waves, attracting a couple of groups of surfers. I walked over the sand towards the water, finding it to be quite cold at this time of year, but wanting to at least say that I've been in the water there. It's actually quite impressive that a city of this size has a world-class beach so close. From Bondi, I walked along the rocky cliffs for a beautiful overlook of the popular beach and an adjacent swimming pool below. I next encountered a few smaller beaches, mostly popular amongst surfers for their larger waves.
As I was making my way to Bronte Beach, I realized that I'd probably be close to missing the next bus, so I looked back around the bend and saw the big blue bus just turning the corner, about a kilometer away from me. Not wanting to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus, I immediately began sprinting down the windy road, hoping to make it to the next turnout before the bus. I ran hard for about 5 minutes, and just as I turned the corner, I saw the blue sign for my bus stop. I looked back and didn't see the bus yet, but I knew it had to be close. I kept running and arrived just 3 seconds before the bus. I quickly pulled out my camera and took a picture from the overlook while the other passengers boarded and disembarked, and then I jumped on as the bus was ready to depart. Perfect timing. We passed the last main beach, Coogee, and then we headed back into town, where I was able to catch a nice mix of orange and a bit of pink sky emerging over the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House before heading back to my new hostel and stopping at the same middle-eastern fast food shop, Ali Baba, for another quality dinner.
So far, I've been pretty impressed with Sydney. It definitely has a large city feel, but its parks, beaches and accessibility make it fairly easy to navigate and find a place to relax. The food choices are more than ample, though I still didn't see any Mexican places, but the prices are also pretty good. The climate at this time of year is perfect also, and I think the ocean keeps the weather pretty temperate all year round. As I don't have all that much time here, I was looking online and found some cheap flights out of here, so I'm going to Melbourne tomorrow. It's just an hour and a half flight from here, and it's supposed to be the other of Australia's great cities. In fact, some people prefer it to Sydney, so we'll see how it compares.
(The skyline of the CBD (Central Business District) from the Botanic Gardens)
(Looking back towards the city and a nice tree from the Opera House)
(That's me. The white one. No, that's the Opera House. I'm the white male in the foreground.)
(Hyde Park and St. Mary's Cathedral at dusk.)
(The Opera House and Harbour Bridge and all that other stuff)
(The Harbour from the bridge that traverses said harbour)
(Bondi beach from above)
(The sun sets on my long day of touring)
1 comments:
You write very well.
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