Just some short notes on my Day 2 here. I promise I will update more based on my notes and photos once I get home.
Today has been an extremely tiring day. Perhaps it was because I got lost in the city TWICE within the same night. By the time I get back to the hotel room it was almost midnight, and my feet were killing me.
So that explained why I woke up late this morning and missed the (supposedly excellent) hotel breakfast. Afterwhich I checked out from the hotel and went to Bart’s house. We then had some yum-cha (which was, by the way, far surperior than anything I have tasted before).
We then parted way and I went on my own for my city tour. Managed to cover only some parts of this increasingly fascinating city – Paddy’s Market, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Tower, Dymock Books – where I met up with Ewan again.
We then went for a long walk towards and around Sydney Opera House, talking about polictics and stuff. Then we had dinner at Star Bar, which was previously the Planet Hollywood. After which I bad him farewell as I am not sure when will be the next time we will meet again.
Now back at Bart’s house and I am so dead tired, not able to move a muscle. But damn being near Chinatown has its own benefits.
Supper beckons, I guess…
Notes after this section are written about a month after the trip, as only then I have the time to sort through my travel log and photos and record my wonderful Sydney trip properly
Yum Cha and Shopping
Woke up late today. perhaps my flight here has been that exhausting. I mean, those kids that have been running along the aisle throughout the damn flight certainly didn’t help my much-needed slumber.
Oh, did I mention that for the first night I was staying at a hotel? My friend Bart (yes, as in of The Simpsons) got me a night stay at Hotel Novotel at Darling Harbour, as his place wasn’t available the night before. So I get to stay at this amazing hotel, which was very minimalist and stylish, located within walking distance to Chinatown! Here are some photos of the room and the view from the window.
Then I checked out of the hotel and moved my stuff to Bart’s place, which is located at Dixon Street, in the heart of Chinatown. I liked his place! A studio apartment for one, and all well equipped. If only I can find such a place in Singapore! As I was admiring his toilet, my stomach choosed that moment to give an almight grumble, and then we headed to this restaurant for breakfast.
This has got to be the BEST dim sum breakfast I ever had in my life. No it is not because of the weather – we were indoor, with trollies of food pushed around like those in real dim sum restaurant. Such breakfasts, apparently, is called yum cha in Sydney, and both local and Asians alike enjoy it very much.
I had reservations at first looking at the price tags, which were on the high side. A small plate of dim sum cost A$3.20! But my misgivings were put to rest as I had my first bite. The quality is simply superb. I particularly loved the egg tarts. It was soooo fresh – just sweet enough, and the pastry was so fluffy and crunchy at the same time. The dim sum here are even better than those I had in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Sumptious dim sum – my stomach growled just by looking at them
My lovely, lovely egg tarts. I must have eaten at least
10 of them throughout my trip!
One of the few self photos I took in Sydney. I look tired eh?
This is my friend Bart. He is one nice guy!
Single guy alert for you gals out there!
Now is the time for me to get started on shopping. Haha… as I am writing this at a Starbuck Cafe along George Street, I have just bought some… girlie stuff for a friend from Paddy’s Market and a pair of nice Italian shoe for 50 bucks! Here are some pics I took as I shop my way down George Street – I hope I won’t be spending too much!
Right outside Paddy’s Market. I am off to start my shopping spree!
This is where I got my shoes. The shop sell loads of branded clothes!
Here’s the selection of shoes available from the shop.
Alas, I didn’t take a photo of the shoes I bought. Silly me :P
George Street – the main street in Sydney, strecthes from Chinatown
all the way to the Sydney Harbour. It takes about 30 minutes of brisk walk
to walk the entire length of this busy, busy road
The Starbuck where I sat down, had a cuppa, people-watched and
wrote this entry. It is nice not to be all sweaty when you sit outside for coffee,
unlike Singapore. Heavenly!~
(The entry below describes my experience up at the Sydney Sky Tower. Prior to that I walked down the entire stretch of George Street, snapping photos as I go. Here are some of the nice ones I took. These places were described in my faithful Lonely Planet guide book, of which I relied on religiously throughout the trip)
St. Andrew’s Cathedral – one of the many churches that dot around Sydney
The inside of the church – the architecture is pretty amazing, albeit a bit stuffy.
Statue of Queen Victoria outside the Queen Victoria Building (QVB).
Throughout the trip I kept mistaken this statue as Queen Elizabeth.
Don’t ask me why! :P
Even the dog of Queen Victoria got a statue of its own.
The entrance of QVB. Gotta be the biggest shopping centre along this street.
Inside QVB. The shops are rather high end, similar to Paragon in Singapore.
Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything from here!
Another shopping centre.
State Theatre Building
(Now here begins the entry proper)
Would you pay A$22 for a trip up to the sky? I did.
Sydney Sky Tower exceeded all my expectations on typical tourist spots. Of course I did not take the exhorbitantly expensive Skywalk. In Sydney, there always seems to be cheaper options for everyone.
This is the Sydney Sky Tower – right in the heart of Sydney!
The fun started with OZTrek – a 3D simulation show. I sat in this spiffy rotating room, bringing the audience through four different screens that represent the four dimensions that Australia has to offer – outback, wildlife, urban and beaches. Then we were whisked to this 3D ride, much like an amusement ride kind of thing. A bit dizzy from it though.
The 360 degree view from the top was pretty amazing, though I reckon the impact was somewhat lessened after my experience at the Pylon Lookout yesterday. Plenty of telescope to go around at the tower too. Here are some bird eye shots I took.
I’m writing this at the Tower Lounge, sipping beer. It’s strange that they disallow “intoxicated” people going up the tower, but alcoholic drink are sold here. Oh well… I’m about to go off meeting Ewan again later on!
(After coming down from the tower, I met up with Ewan at Dymock Book Store. After a cuppa, we went around to walk along George Street again, taking in the sight like Martin Place (see below) and Sydney Opera House at night. Then we had a fantastic value for money steak at the former Planet Hollywood – now called the Star Bar – at which we sipped wine and people watched, before calling it a day)