Tiffanytasker's travel blogs:
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Sydney and some Family Love
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After a long, long bus journey from Melbourne i arrived in Sydney at arround 7 a.m. and managed to navigate myself to the central train station and edged my way along down stairs and along busy corridors to get onto a train to kings cross whilst laden down with my enormous backpack, handbag and two bursting bags full of food and books. Not great first thing in the morning with a grey sky and drizzle. Victoria Street where i had been advised to stay was only a couple of stops away, at the Kings Cross station. I wandered into a friendly-looking hostel and luckily was able to check in and go to bed straight away. I was in an eight bed all girls dorm with an en suite that turned out to be about the size of my backpack. There was a fridge and an area to store your food, however upon boiling the kettle and pouring the water into my mug i discovered that about a thousand dead ants were floating in the water. I was revolted, quite literally. I climbed up into my top bunk and promptly fell asleep.
As the other girls in the room woke up and got dressed i managed to rouse myself and introduced myself to a couple of them, including a lovely French girl named Marine who everyone thought i was as we looked so similar. I fell asleep again and awoke at around 3p.m. I showered and got dressed and planned to go for a walk to Chinatown and Spanish Quarter but unfortunately was hindered by the pouring pouring rain. My lack of umbrella did not tempt me to venture out so i was stuck inside a grimy hostel all alone with only my book for company. Sadness and slight depression sunk in as i realised how much i miss my family and being at home and I missed Jess my travel buddy who was still in Melbourne with all our friends down there. Luckily my ever supportive mother was on the other end of the phone and i found the pathetic fallacy quite amusing. Every cloud has a silver lining though, and indeed when i was on the internet at reception i met my friend Jasper who i am now travelling with. Hooray!
After an uneventful first day in Sydney where all i managed to do was go to Coles and buy groceries i was up at 10 on Friday the 25th for ANZAC day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the day comemmorates all those who fought during the first world war. I walked from my hostel to Hyde Park which is the home of the ANZAC memorial. Unfortunately I walked in the wrong direction at first, and only realised this after about 15 minutes when i came across a random harbour which wasn't even on my map. I didn't mind much as the park was quite pretty and i definitely needed the exercise. I turned back around and a half hour later i had arrived at my destination. The memorial was beautiful, with a "pool of reflection" in front of it. Inside there was a stunning statue of a soldier holding a sword, symbolising all the soldiers gave up to fight for kingdom and country, and there was also a small museum area with artefacts and stories of soliders. I bought a small pin of an Australian slouch hat as my donation and was on my merry way. I was lucky with the weather that day - after two weeks of rain in Sydney it only drizzled a little that day and i was able to walk all through Hyde Park and up to the Sydney Opera House. I got far too excited by this, and ran around getting randomers to take photos of me in stupid poses. I loved every moment. It was just so exciting to be somewhere that i have seen in photos hundreds of times. It was slightly different than i thought it would be though, less shiny. Other than that it was awesome. Afterwards i wandered around the harbour and into the Rocks area and then i walked along Sydney Harbour Bridge which afforded some amazing views of the harbour and the whole of Sydney. I was feeling quite sleepy at this point and so wound my way through the crowds of people who were out getting hammered for ANZAC day and wandered down the famous George Street before hopping back on the train to go home.
After my first day of sightseeing in Sydney i had noted a few differences between here and Melbourne. In Melbourne i really liked the contrasts of the shiny glass skyscrapers which would surround a tiny little church nestled in the modern city. In Sydney though i saw a lot of old government buildings near Hyde Park, and the old hospital with the statue of a boar outside. On my way from Hyde Park to the Opera House i noticed the palm trees which flank the boulevards filled with modern buildings and skyscrapers. It had just rained and smelt like rainforest, and directly behind the Opera House was a rainforesty-type area with enourmous trees and lush vegetation. It reminded me a bit of Hong Kong - a modern hustling and bustling city mixed in with a tropical paradise. I also enjoyed the water fountains everywhere - perfect for a traveller on a budget!
Once back at the hostel i tried to control my hunger urges as i waited for the free BBQ. Waiting for the food and not knowing what was going on was just too much for me, and I got stuck in there and took control of cooking the meat. I have never seen so much meat in my LIFE. There was kangaroo, steak and beef sausages, and A LOT of them. It was quite shocking. The meat was to be enjoyed with baked potatos and a bit of salad, and of course, ketchup. The kangaroo was tasty, a bit like steak but more gamey, and the steak was good. HAving lived like a vegetarian for weeks this meat overload soon gave way to a monster tummyache and i just sat and watched the boys tuck in to more and more steak. That evening i went out on the town with the people from the hostel, Marine, Stefan and Jasper. Stefan had been in Koh Tao at the same time as me and we thoroughly bored Jasper by chatting for ages about how much we loved it and the people we both knew. All in all a very fun day.
Saturday the 26th promised to be a sunny day so i headed to the famous Bondi Beach only a few stops away on the train, and from there a short bus journey. I joined the throngs of people heading towards the beach and lay down on the sand reading my book, listening to music and watching the plane write letters in the sky for a while before i got too cold with the wind and was forced to put my clothes back on. I couldn't even muster the courage to go in the sea as the wind was chilling my bones. I walked back up to the grassy area and ate my packed lunch (gotta love the budgeting) before accosting a random man to take some very bad photos of me. I made him put down his bike first so he wouldn't cycle off with my camera. I hopped back on the bus back to Bondi Junction and wandered around some shops, gazed longingly at Miu Miu bags and other things i can in no way afford and then i was back on the train to the hostel.
Sunday the 27th was an early start - i was up at 8.30 for free pancakes! Peanut butter and jam was a classic combination and i ate two. Yummy. From there i went and sorted my life out by booking my bus ticket up to Byron Bay for the 29th of April, and then back to the train station where a kind man gave me his dayrider ticket for free! Feeling happy with my budgeting i jumped on the train to the central station and then trammed it to the Sydney Fish Market. It was huge. And not just full of fish stalls but tons of insanely busy fish restaurants. I wandered through and oggled the hundred different kinds of fish before walking from there back to Darling Harbour.
I love Darling Harbour. It was a bit like Disneyland, or what i imagine Heaven to be like. The sun was shining and reflecting off the water and there were flags flapping lazily in the breeze and it seemed to be a really friendly place. The monorail overhead scared me a little, but all the birds flying around happily and people walking as if they didnt have a care in the world soon remedied that. I walked around the harbour and came to a kids play area with lots of climbing frames and swings, and a water feature and a lake where you could go on peddle-boats. I walked past all this and down along another water feature and found myself and the famous Paddy's Markets. My trusty Lonely Planet had told me i could "pick up some cheap sneakers" there which i was hoping for as mine had been held together with duct tape since China. Thank goodness i found a nice pair for a small $15. The markets reminded me greatly of the largest market in Asia which i visited in Thailand. The only difference was that in Thailand the market was bigger, hotter, sweatier, smellier, more crowded, more stressful, but more fun. At that moment i missed Jess and our love of market shopping. From there I walked back up George Street which is such a long street it probably lasts forever, and then back round to the other side of Darling Harbour. Feeling knackered it was time to go back to the hostel for a cheap supermarket dinner and more reading.
Very kindly, Julian had offered to come and pick me up from the hostel that night and i went to stay with the family for two nights in Manly. It was so nice to be with family, and feel like i was actually part of a family. Also having my own room was amazing. A bed which wasn't a bunk! Incredible. On the first night i didn't do much but enjoy tea and biscuits and the use of the internet. On Monday i slept late til about 11 and got up and ate breakfast just in time for Mariam and the boys Eddy and Oli to get back from swimming. Mariam and Emily had arrived back from England early that morning and Emily was fast asleep in bed. It was cold and rainy outside so Mariam decided the beach was a bad idea. I firmly agreed. Instead we drove up to a high point in Manly where there was a beautiful view of Sydney. Whilst in the car the weather brightened up a bit and we drove past the pretty beaches and got out so the boys could have a play in the playground. Feeling tired and lethargic i felt it was my duty to join in and perk up a bit. Spinning round on strange spinny things succeeded in doing this before the heavens opened and we ran to the car getting soaked. Back home it was time for a cup of tea and a biscuit. So English. So delicious. Emily got up at around 4 and walked the dog. Duke, another member of the family is a hilarious dog, so misbehaved but loveable and friendly he chewed on everything.
That night i was in for a treat as Mariam was cooking roast chicken with roast poatatos and vegetables and cauliflower cheese. It was amazing. I had firsts, seconds, thirds, fourths... And then pudding which was stewed apples and berries with ice cream and custard. The first pudding i'd had in ages. It was delicious.
After gorging myself the night before, on Tuesday i felt some exercise was in order. The Julian Shelbournes live along the Manly Scenic route so i donned my running trainers for the first time since China, put on some sporty-ish gear and headed out. I walked/ran when i could as there were a lot of steps and boulders. I saw some amazing views out across the ocean and at first i was running through sandy desert and then through rainforest and rocks. I freaked myself out thinking there might be snakes but i didnt see any wildlife at all, i just heard birds hidden in the trees and bushes. I was out for about two hours which i was very proud of! And it was a lovely sunny day which i felt i'd made the most of. I met up with the family back at home as everyone finished school and work and as i was only just coming out of the shower i'm not sure they believed me when i said i had been out... That night was another corker food-wise as we had delicious lamb chops, cauliflower and broccoli cheese and roasties and PEAS which i love and miss. With swiss roll with custard and ice cream for pudding i was stuffed and ready for twelve hours sitting still and not moving on the bus to Byron Bay. Julian gave me a lift to the bus station and i was sad saying goodbye to my lovely family who had been so kind to me for two days, offering me food, shelter and a washing machine!
At the bus stop i met up with my friend Charlotte who i'd met in Koh Tao and who i'm now travelling up the East Coast with. We boarded the bus which was horrific - absolutely ZERO legroom, seats which didnt recline and no space to store our bags. Brilliant. It was time to say goodbye to Sydney and sleep sleep sleep until Byron Bay.
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