Back to Sydney for a few more days

Trip Start Sep 13, 2006
1
56
85
Trip End May 25, 2007


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Australia  ,
Thursday, March 22, 2007

On our second visit to Sydney we were invited to stay with our new friends Huong and Trong in Dee Why. They had a lovely home with ocean views and a short walk to the beach. When we arrived Huong's sister and her boyfriend were also visiting. We had a nice visit with all of them, learning more about Australia from locals. They gave us more tips on things to see in Sydney. Of course eating more homecooked Vietnamese food was an added bonus. Trong even brought home some Coopers (it is Coopers, not Fosters, that is Australian for beer). It is always a treat for us to stay with friends. We now have stayed with two couples (along with Valerio and Lucia in Bologna) who we have met on our trip.

We did a few more things in the city, including Darling Harbor. In a city where many activities were out of our price range we did find a few cheaper things to do. Fineas was able to take a few days off and drive us all around the city and suburbs, which was great. We got to see Bondi beach, Coogee beach, the mouth of the harbor plus Lady Bay beach with great views of the city (and naked old men if you aren't lucky). It is amazing how big this city is! 

Fineas' company installs digital lines in people's homes so he could tell us who lives where and which neighborhoods have the richest residents. He would tell us funny stories about different customers he had. One Chinese couple was watching him and his partner as they were installing wire. When his partner bent down to install a low outlet one commented to the other (in Chinese) "Wow, even their butt-crack is black!" What they didn't know is that Fineas' partner (a fellow Tanzanian) got a degree in China and was fluent in Mandarin. When he started chatting with them their own language they were embarrassed but were even more impressed to see an African who know Mandarin. He also told us about an elderly Jewish client who told him "We need to stick together, son. We [Jews and Blacks] are the most hated people in the world." Fineas thought about it and figured the guy might be right. In a country where you are a minority you need all the solidarity you can get.

On our last night in town we visited Kings Cross, Sydney's own red light district. We had a great buffet dinner at the Casino in town with Fineas and stayed in the city to be closer to the airport. We thought our flight was leaving very early but for the second time on the trip found that our flight time had changed to an hour later. We need to double check our flights before we get to the airport! Luckily they had free internet kiosks that we were able to use to pass the time until the flight left. Julius also took photos of planes. Of course we had lots of research to do as my Mom and Dad were meeting us in New Zealand. They would expect some plans to be made!
Print this entry Sydney hotels