Sydney - Vegimite-arians and Poisonous Beasties

7/16 – Sydney


From the instant I got off the plane in Sydney, coming from Vietnam in the midst of its humid summer, things felt odd... very un-Vietnam in fact. From the sparkling terminal filled with the type of cafes and restaurants you'd see in airports from SFO to Heathrow, to feeling the sensation of actual cold for the first time in a month, it was clear Australia was different... way different.

Nowhere more so than in price... gone were the days of the $15 spiffing hotel room, or the massive and filling $8 top end restaurant feast. Within the first 30 minutes, I had to pony up for a $39AUS phone card ($30 or so) and a $54 ($45) train/bus/ferry pass for the next few days – enough money to fun 2-3 days of travelling back in Vietnam. Ouch.

On the plus side, I was back in a land of spiffy sparkling conveniences including, wonder of wonders, sit down toilets as standard. The whole squat-style version so common in Asia never caught on with me – dang hard on the knees and requires a the precision of a US Air Force bomber pilot.

To the casual eye, Australia (or "Oz" as the abbreviation-loving Aussies go for) is a mix of the oh-so-commonplace and the incredibly exotic. On one hand, you've got fluent English plus the Starbucks, Hungry Jack's (their Burger King), and other urban sights that you'd be accustomed to seeing in any major city in the US or the UK. On the other, from their unique language terms (Eski = cooler, Bogan = white trash, Schooner = pint) to their wildlife, Australia is in a league of its own.

For example, one night I was walking back through a city park. Clean, calm and organized, it could have been anywhere from SF to London. Except for one thing... in the distance, I saw some cat-sized shapes on and about some trees.

“Hm – those are some rather large squirrels...”

Nope – when I got closer and saw their large eyes beading up at me, they were possums – just really BIG possums.

Toss in the fact that it seems that Australia has about 90% of the world's most dangerous/poisonous or just sheer bizarre animals, and I couldn't help keep a wary eye on my surroundings. Sheesh - they've even got a cheeky song that encourages the tourist to visit Oz, where "you might accidentally get killed"...

My trip in Sydney got off to a great start, as I caught the modern and fast train from the airport to Circular Quay downtown, where I got my first sight of the Sydney Opera House. And just like millions of other tourists, in a Pavlovian reflex, I instinctively reached for my camera...



I then took a ferry over to Manly Beach, one of the many small town enclaves that cluster the bays and beaches around Sydney, to meet up with my friend Becky from SF. Man, does she have a tough life – an apartment with a view of the stunning beach, plus a 30 minute daily commute to downtown. Here's the wharf, with her building in the background:


...and a view of the entrance to Sydney Harbor and Manly Beach:


First things first – after a shower, with her friend Danielle from SF, we loaded up on breakfast at In Situ, a local cafe. We even tried for the “it's almost noon” beers, but were foiled by the license laws. Curses.

Then it was Danielle's and my chance to do more of the tourist thing in Sydney – we ended up walking by the Opera House, and through the amazing park and Botanical Gardens:




…before rolling through Chinatown and into Darlinghurst, the tourist quarter down by the harbor. Exhausted by our wanders, we decided to fuel up at one of the many German-style bars popping up. We took in a few big German pilsners, and even saw a video of a guy carrying literally 18 full liters of beers in one trip, Octoberfest-style. Kee-razy.

Danielle and I had similar impressions of Sydney... it's a great city on a stunning harbor, but the actual downtown feels like any other major city, with lots of skyscrapers and impersonal office blocks. It's only when you get to the outlying areas like the beaches that Sydney's charms really shine through.


The night went well – we met up with Becky and her merry band of friends at a bar right under the Opera House. A bunch of mostly American ex-pats, we had loads of laughs over some tasty Australian beers (including their Pale Blonde), that eventually turned into pizza and yet more beers playing a Top Gun drinking game back at Becky's, which amazingly, unbelievably resulted in ZERO hangovers. Whew!