So picking up where we left off from the previous entry, we boarded Tiger Airways for an intercity flight from Melbourne to Sydney. We arrived late again so there was only time for dinner before we hit the sack. But first, a quick recap of my unique experience with our hotel.
Thanks to travel sites like Booking.com, I was finally able to locate an accommodation in Sydney with the same amenities as Tribeca (our hotel in Melbourne) with a price difference of only about P2,000/night. I booked us a 6-night stay in WOOLLOOMOOLOO WATERS APARTMENT in...well, in Woolloomooloo. I'll give you time to chuckle.
So anyway, despite its slightly comical name, Woolloomooloo is actually a good location within Sydney. It's near the usual tourist spots (Royal Botanical Garden, Sydney Opera House), plus the hotel is run by Australia's known apartment chain, Waldorf Apartments. It's not within the CBD but has easy access to transportation towards it. Sounds perfect? Well, almost....
Before we left Melbourne I sent the hotel an email stating our final arrival date and time. There was no reply so I relied on my confirmation number from Booking.com. Upon arrival (about 6-7pm), the main doors opened so we expected there'd be someone at the reception. But an empty reception desk reminded us that almost everywhere in AU closes by 5pm. The lobby was empty--deserted, if you will--and there was no landline phone available so I had to use MY cellphone to dial the number in my Booking.com receipt. Someone picked up, and just like that, I was in a Mission Impossible scene. The guy on the phone gave me step by step instructions (more like ORDERS) on where to get our room key. Basically I would need to:
1) step out
2) climb down a short flight of stairs
3) locate a gray (it looked blue though) box
4) enter a code that he dictated by phone, and
5) wait for an envelope with my name on it to drop together with the key.
Done. I half expected my phone to self-destruct. Everything else went smoothly for the rest of our stay though. No other spy-like activities. Bummer.
Dinner was just at a nearby hotel's restaurant as we were too tired to walk around. And there weren't really that many restos open at the time (5pm rule, remember?). As usual, our meal consisted of battered fish fillet, schnitzel, calamari, and the ever-flowing french fries. Australia is just too generous with their potatoes, I have to say.
The next morning, we waited for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus and bought tickets (you can purchase them on the bus) for a 24-hour tour. We got off -- you'd never guess -- the Sydney Opera House. Surprise, surprise. LOL. Took a thousand and one photos of the place and the Harbour bridge. But I'll just post a few here, don't worry. :) We also learned that tickets to Macbeth, a play that was showing that week, were discounted for the following day (Wednesday). We grabbed the chance and bought four, to hone our already literature-cultured selves. ;) We got on the Hop On bus again to have lunch at the Fish Market. We ordered just one seafood platter to share since the amount in one Australian serving is enough to feed a family. But you also have the option to buy fresh seafood there and then have it cooked in one of the restaurants. Sort of what we have in Dampa or in Boracay's D'Talipapa. We then rode the bus again to The Rocks, an area with old style buildings of shops and cafes. There, I was to meet my mom's bestfriend, Tita Feng, who had been living in Sydney since...oh, I don't know, since I learned to say her name? :) Our meeting was short so we agreed to meet again later for dinner at Bondi Beach, where the rest of her family lives. Before we left The Rocks we first checked out the interesting galleries at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Well worth the visit. Dinner was at Bambusia, a Chinese restaurant in Bondi Beach. By the way, special thanks to Tita Feng, Magdi, Tita Feng's sons Ron and Donnie, and Donnie's girlfriend Anastasia for dinner and for the company as well. ;)
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Sheila buying our tickets for Macbeth. And her 2 pretty friends behind her. :)
photo cr. Liezel |
Sydney Fish Market
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| What we ordered |
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salad and seafood for 4
photo cr. Liezel |
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Finger-lickin' good!
photo cr. Jel |
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Aaaand, the aftermath. Lol
photo cr. Jel |
The Rocks
Museum of Contemporary Art
The following day we got up early to maximize our Hop On tickets, which would expire by about 10am (24 hours from our first ride). We rode the bus to Circular Quay, where we were to ride a ferry to Taronga Zoo. We had so much fun seeing so many animals, some we've only encountered for the first time. I was just disappointed that we didn't see a wombat, but other Australian icons such as the kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies were all present. I was only able to take photos of some of them since my camera was being a diva and died on me. We left the zoo by about 4pm and rode the ferry back to Circular Quay where we had dinner before we watched Macbeth.
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| At the hop-on bus |
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| Circular Quay |
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| Buying tickets for the ferry to Taronga Zoo |
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| View from the ferry |
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Sheila and Jel on the ferry to Taronga Zoo
photo cr. Liezel |
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Liezel and I on the ferry to Taronga Zoo
photo cr. Liezel |
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| Chill Koala bear |
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| Cute wallaby! |
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| Kangaroo |
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| Tazmanian Devils |
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| View from Taronga Zoo |
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| Taronga Zoo bird show |
Thursday was for our Blue Mountains tour, as per Liezel's recommendation. We made the booking through our receptionist (yes, that Mission Impossible guy. We're good acquaintances now.) and were to be picked up at the hotel before 8am. How I managed to wake up early and be at the lobby on time, beats me. But I sure regret it. Our tour guide-slash-driver was late...by an hour. Tsk. When we were finally on the bus, it was a long ride to the park where they gave us refreshments, and another long ride towards the first viewing deck. The travel time wouldn't have mattered much if the tour guide didn't talk too much. That wouldn't have mattered much either if he had talked about Sydney or the Blue Mountains. BUT NO... he talked about music. With little or no relation at all to Australia. Gah. When he finally realized that he was driving a bunch of tourists and not band groupies, he turned serious and warned us that there might be snakes (note the plural form) on the short hike to the deck, and proceeded to teach us guidelines on what to do should the snake/s choose to show themselves. Why, thank you very much for that bit of information! Thankfully, the snakes were a bit shy that day and I lived to write this blog entry.
The Blue Mountains was like the Grand Canyon but with vegetation. Nothing special, if you grew up in a Philippine province like moi. But they are beautiful mountains nonetheless...and the cool weather helped make it a mooning spot. The nearby Wentworth Falls was also a sight to see. For the thrill-seekers, the cable car rides and the teeth-gritting, less-than-a-minute fast ride down a 52-degree angle at the side of the mountain were worth the additional AU$25.
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| At the stopover for refreshments |
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| The Blue Mountain |
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| Beautiful Wentworth Falls |
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| Our tour guide |
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Ready for the fast ride down!
photo cr. Liezel |
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| The Three Sisters. Can you spot them? |
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| At the bottom of the 52-degree angle thrill ride |
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| The Three Sisters in human form. Plus the fourth sister. LOL |
We passed by a lovely small town called Leura for lunch, and then proceeded to my favorite site, The King's Table. The tour ended with a scenic ferry ride from Parramatta to the Sydney CBD. We got off at Darling Harbour for dinner and just wandered around as this was also Liezel's last night in Australia.
Town of Leura
The King's Table
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| My favorite place in the world |
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| photo cr. Liezel |
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| Ferry back to Darling Habour. Awww |
The next day we went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, due to Jel's insistence (hehe). Sadly, though expected, the autumn season wiped the flowers and leaves off the plants so that the garden wasn't painted its usual vibrant colors. Though that didn't stop the bats from flying around. Yes, bats. In the garden. And it was noontime. Australia continues to surprise me. We decided to take out food at a nearby cafe and go back to the garden to have a picnic lunch. We then visited St. Mary's Cathedral and then purchased a bus ticket to Bondi Beach, since we wanted to catch the sunset there. Oh I cant even explain how much I loved Bondi. A city with a beach beside it...what else is there to wish for? We surrendered to the call of the sea and took off our shoes to sink our feet in the soft, white sand. After sunset we just bought yogurt for dinner as I still had to get ready for an overnight stay at Tita Feng's place at Parramatta. :)
Royal Botanic Gardens
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| Hello there, bats! |
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| St. Mary's Cathedral |
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| Hyde Park |
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| Artists at Hyde Park. Love this city, so much creativity! |
Bondi Beach
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| Laid-back lifestyle. I just love this city. |
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This girl was just sitting there playing her percussion instrument that has this
very soothing sound...kind of like a faint kulintang.
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| Bondi shore |
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| Those fine grains of white sand |
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| Can't help but sink my feet |
On the last day of our Australian vacay, Tita Feng, Magdi and I boarded a ferry to the city, and on to Paddy's Market where I were to meet Sheila and Jel. Paddy's was Sydney's version of Melbourne's QV market, and was filled with stalls selling souvenirs, apparel, food, and even handicrafts. After I've bought my pasalubongs, I met Sheila and Jel and bid goodbye to Tita Feng and Magdi. We stayed for a while to watch 3 kids perform on the street. Later we set off to Darling Harbour to watch the fireworks, which we'd like to think were a farewell celebration for us for our last day in the country. ;)
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| With Tita Feng at the Ferry to Paddy's |
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| Kids busking near Paddy's market. They sounded good, too! |
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| Ending our AU trip with fireworks at Darling Harbour. See you soon, mates! |
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| Getting take away dinner. Our last meal before we leave! |
Melbourne and Sydney are two cities with very different characters. If personified, Melbourne would be a royalty of the Victorian era, while Sydney would be a businessman who goes surfing on weekends. I liked both cities so much that I actually considered living in one of them. But I'm leaning more towards Sydney. Although, there ARE those other parts of Australia I haven't visited yet. I'll hold my decision until then.
