And That Was Just a Bit of Australia...

As I was waiting for Kate Polybank today, I found an internet cafe that provided an hour's worth of internet for only $2AU (comparative to only twenty minutes at my hotel). We walked over to Chinatown to shop at Paddy's Market, argubly the largest open market in Australia. One can find anything here from flowers to fresh fruit to jewelry. This market is unique to others in the world as it has multiple stories.

Full-circle at Westfield

After buying some "authentic" Australian boomerangs for $9, we headed off to a Westfield shopping mall, where I bought a yellow travel purse from Sportsgirl. Running into a weirdo who kept raving about "High School Musical," we settled down and had some delicious hot chocolate before heading off to Darling Habour.

Kate at work!

Unfortunately, there were no fireworks as previously advertised because it was rainy and windy. Hence, we ate at the Pontoon Bar right by harborside and finished up drinks at the Cargo Bar. Too bad two drinks were $23.50AU!

Pontoon Nightclub and Bar at Darling Harbour

Cargo Bar...sigh...no celebrity sightings

The environmentally-friendly toilet. Half-flush and full-flush - the U.S. should adopt this!

I will miss you, Sydney! I shall return and visit your Taronga Zoo!

Getting Cuddly with Koalas & Climbing Bridges!

With Darling Harbour only a ten minute walk, I headed off to the Sydney Aquarium - VIP status! Opened in 1988, the aquarium features over 650 underwater creatures. I really got stuck at the Little Penguins habitat at the Southern Ocean exhibit. Over a dozen pictures and twenty minutes later, I finally left to the shark tunnels.

Little penguins at the Sydney Aquarium. So cute!

Shark tank at the Sydney Aquarium

I headed off to the newly opened Wildlife World next door as I was on a mission to kiss a koala! It costed $20 to get close and cuddly while you could take as many pictures as you wanted. Incredibly worth it!

Koalas are actually sluggish by nature because their diet is incredibly low on nutrients. Hence, koalas cannot afford an active lifestyle and uses their relaxed state as a defense mechanism.

He was so sleepy! Obviously, he had too many eucalyptus leaves

Just getting close and cuddly with the cutest koala!

I jumped on the Captain Cook Explorer Cruise (unfortunately an incompetent taxi cab driver made me miss the 11:45AM ferry cruise because he took me to the Aquatic Center). The cruise around the Harbour lasted about 1.5 hours and I took the ferry down to Circular Quay for...THE SYDNEY HABOUR BRIDGE CLIMB!

At the top of the list of any "Must-Do" while visiting Australia would be the Bridge Climb! Opened in 1932, it is the widest long-span bridge and measures almost 135 meters above sea level. I was lucky as when I reached the front desk, my climb had already been covered by Contiki. Yay!

We strapped on our astronaut gear and had our mini-training on the proper ways to climb the upper arches of the Southern half of the bridge. Lucky us that the night climb was held in the pouring rain! Haha, that definitely made some fun adventure.

We had the opportunity to watch a proposal and learned that they actually have an ERD (Engagement Ring Device). Too classic.

Soaked, I took the train back (only $1.30AU) which saved about 25-30 minutes of walking. Unfortunately, once I got back to the hotel, I heard screaming next door. It didn't even sound like real words and hence, I called the hotel front desk. The manager was already on his way up and no one answered when he knocked on the door. He then called the police to which there was more yelling. Pretty soon the police came and kicked the man out! Oh, geez, I guess every traveler gets these stories eventually right?

Weird ending, but otherwise, utterly amazing day!

An Simple Second Day Exploration of Sydney

I usually can't stand those "Hop On, Hop Off" tourist tours, but Contiki sent me on a complimentary one, so I figured why not take the free transportation. I hiked up Observatory Hill located in the area the locals call "The Rocks." A quaint area, one feels like they've stepped back into a simpler time of small streets and mom-and-pop shops.

It was too cloudy to do a night tour and see the stars, so I just checked out the photography (I'm a bit of an astronomy lover, may I say so).

The Sydney Observatory atop Observatory Hill

Of course I lost my ticket, so they provided me with a fake "show pass" and then I headed back to Circular Quay. The $5.95 for a burger was utterly shocking, but when you need a fix of McDonald's, you pay it!

The Museum of Contemporary Art proved one of my favorites as the artwork was right up my alley (and of course, the museum was free). The taking of pictures was not allowed, but let's just say there were bubbles and large horses attached to the ceiling!

The Museum of Contemporary Art

I jumped back on the bus to the famous Bondi Beach. Orange Country beaches are MUCH better, but I was able to explore and discover the Bondi Pavillion Gallery. Next time I will take the jazz and hip hop class for only $12AU. We drove by the Olympic Stadium and Coogee Beach (another tourist trap, but still nice nonetheless).

The world-famous Bondi Beach

Purely exhausted and still jet-lagged, I went home and watched some good old Australian television. " The sarcasm of the news anchors were predictably welcome as they covered American politics! On to tomorrow!

Australian Idol, not as talented as American Idol, I may say...

From Los Angeles to Sydney

After the 14.5 hour journey from Los Angeles, I had finally arrived in Sydney! As I must look like a sketchy individual (or as the Aussies like to say, "dodgy"), I was stopped at Customs for only having one backpack and vacationing in Australia for only four days. Sorry that I'm a light packer and that I have to head off to Europe in a bit! After he cleaned out my backpack utterly ruining my packing and getting the misspelled name on my Visa fixed, I was finally good to go!

The hotel was in the center of the city at the train stop of Museum Station close to Hyde Park. Excited to see the town, I took a stroll down Macquerie St. to head toward the Opera House of course!

Tip: Don't take Macquerie St. to see the Sydney Opera House, otherwise, you can easily be disappointed by it's small size. Go across the Harbour by the Museum of Contemporary Art for a more impressive view! And make sure to go on an Opera House tour!

The Pool of Remembrance and the ANZAC Memorial. Hyde Park was named after the original in London

At last...The Sydney Opera House!

Although the Opera House appeared small at first, the Essential Tour proved that the performing arts venue was as magnificent as the hype surrounding it. Contrary to popular belief, the House is not actually one large arts center, but rather several separate venues. For example, the two largest "shells" actually comprise of the Opera Theater and the Concert Hall. Finally completed in 1973, the $102 million House originally designed by Jorn Utzon proves to be a magnificent architectural structure that was well constructed before its time.

Afterwards, I took a tour of the Botanical Gardens where unfortunately I was attacked by a damn pelicans. I will never understand why wild animals seek revenge upon me.

The over 100-year-old Dragon's Blood tree! It's believed that the roots were unable to support its rapid increase in weight because of recent rainfall

Beyond flight and accomodations, Contiki actually provided with numerous "excursions" for my stay here in Sydney. One of them consisted of a ride on Oz Jetboating. Originally described to me as a relaxing boat tour in the Sydney Harbour, I figured this would be a relaxing way to start my trip in my jetlagged state. To my surprise, Oz Jetboating is actually at thirty minute adventure ride in which each jetboat rides up to 80km an hour! Sigh...there goes my relaxation!

Oz Jetboating...speeds of 80km per hour in the Sydney Harbour!

After meeting some friends Californian folk, we headed off on our adventure. Right as we began the journey, fate decided to make it rain on us, while our driver decided to do about half a dozen 360 turns. He hit the gas and popped a wheelie to which the rain made it feel like nails were smashing our faces. We caught some air and continued this madness...for twenty-three more grueling minutes. How do I always get into situations like this?

Sydney Harbour Bridge is the fourth-largest spanning arch bridge in the world. More details later!

After an amazingly warm shower, I headed back to the Opera House to watch "Instructions for Modern Living." Student tickets, as well as adult tickets, were pretty affordable at $25 and I just couldn't resist seeing a show here! It was a great satire on things we never think about in our daily living, such as how astronaunts probably get bored just sitting in their spacecrafts and radio deejays not having anybody call. I wonder what they must think. The local student I met and I felt it was a show worth the money; I just wish I had more time to see all the shows!

The city of Sydney at night - gorgeous!

Good night, Sydney. I'll see you in the morning!