Author: rodney

Coming down on the approach toward Bronte. Then I met these three.

Two students and a JET
The trail goes around a cemetery that is located on a cliff. Many famous Australians are buried here.

If you ask anyone that knows me, they could probably tell you that I like beaches. I don’t LIKE beaches as it’s something I must do on a hot summer day along with 30000 other people and the problems that brings.
I “like” beaches because of the serenity, the sand and water. Sunsets look great while walking on them. And beachfront houses rawk!
Today, I did a bit of an walkabout journey, walking the Coastal Trail that begins at the world famous Bondi and ends about 4 clicks above and below 3 other beaches. This walkabout began poorly. It rained (actually, it’s still raining as I type this). What is the deal with me and rain? Do I bring it with me? This rain caught me in the open, requiring me to duck into a cafe to sip an overpriced coffee for an hour.

Then it cleared up.

Continue reading “Coastal Trail”

I visited Bondi Beach and the Sydney Opera House today (which will be chronicled later). I came across something amusing and something hella tacky involving mainland Chinese tourists. They’re very easy to spot because of the behaviour.
First the amusing part. Remember the picture of Richard Nixon walking on the beach in a suit? Despite what you may think of the man, business wear does not go well with sand and surf. I mean, if you’re going to the beach, dress the part! And don’t pull off the macho man thing unless you’ve got a surfboard to stand with!

Of course if this macho man (in leather dress shoes) stood next to a board, it would look silly…
The tacky thing I saw was in the gift shop of the Sydney Opera House. Two mainland tourists (I could tell because of the putonghua they spoke) were taking pictures of postcards. Literally. Holding up the postcards and taking pictures of them with their digicams.
COME ON! If you’ve got the renminbi to travel to Oz from the PRC, buy the damn thing! It makes you look tacky and by appearance, makes the rest of us (who are Asian) look tacky (even though we aren’t)!!!
Grrrr….
On the other hand, while I was picking out some postcards to purchase (not take pictures of) there was a gaggle of Japanese schoolkids. Guys and gals. We had to squeeze by each other because the aisles were small. By force of habit, a quick “sumemasen” came out at the same time an “excuse me” came out of her mouth, followed by a LOT of giggling.
Either they weren’t expecting Japanese to be spoken or my accent is really THAT bad! It’s probably both, with my command of that language..

Remember a few days back when Cyclone Larry hit Brisbane? I mean it was a BIG cyclone. Now Sydney is waaay south of Brisbane, but the weather is all messed up. It’s overcast and hella muggy and will continue to be so for the next few days. But is IS nice to be able to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt and not be cold! Now if they could do something about that humidity…
One of the joys of puttering around is meeting people and getting their take on the towns that they live in.

This is Kel. She’s from South Africa, been in Oz for 8 years and works in the Crumpler store on George St in Chinatown. Crumpler is a local brand that makes messenger and laptop and accessory bags a’la Timbuk2. Except they’re loopier. Visit their website with the sound ON.
Anyhoo, I poked inside to see what kind of travel bags they had. You know, a small shoulder bag to carry the tour book, camera, iPod and newspaper. They didn’t have was I was looking for. However, I did leave with about 15 recommendations for places to eat, drink and check out (Queen Victoria bldg good, Sydney Tower, bad).
After my visit to the tourist bureau, I mean the Crumpler store, I decided to walk down George Street until I hit water. Instead, I hit the bottom of the Sydney Bridge.

This bridge is really big. It’s impressive. And for AU$50, you can walk across it via those tall arches. But I don’t see that happening. It’s a bit high, ya see…
At the bottom of the bridge is a Park Hyatt and related fine dining. These are some of the guys that bring you that fine dining. Just think of Kitchen Confidental’s “pirate crew”.

The Rocks is the area near the bridge and the waterfront. This is the area that was first settled by convicts when Sydney was founded. Many of the houses are either old and preserved or new condo developments with neat design and built on piers. The new construction is incredibly expensive. Almost as bad as back home.


The old…

…and the Pricey!
This is as close as I got to the famed Sydney Opera House.

I hear it looks cool but the acoustics don’t match the aesthetics. Maybe if there’s a bargain show and if I know what’s being performed, I may attend a performance. I’ve got long pants so it’s all good.
Bank Report! Citibank has branches here, but does not run their own ATMs (WTF?). They slap their name on the machines but they don’t run them. There may be a service fee (boooo!) in my future. On the other hand, there are a LOT of HSBC branches here. So if you’re planning a trip down here, those are the international banks that are here in force.
Yes, sometimes this blog posts useful information! Besides where to eat, I mean…
The jet lag has caught up to me. Probably will hit the sack early this PM.

Arrived Sydney. First impressions: It reminds me a LOT of Singapore. I think it’s because of all the old low-rise colonial buildings and because of how (relatively) clean it is out here. A fren said that (Sydney is) “different but familiar”. Well, that turns out to be true.
I will now begin my obligatory rant at United Airlines…ohhh about….NOW
Service: Indifferent. And about 20 years past it’s prime.
Food: Well, the hotcakes they served for breakfast were edible.
Flight: It was half full so I was able to get AN ENTIRE ROW to myself!
I curled up into a ball and slept for 9 hours on and off.
Just checked into the hostel and got out of the shower. Pix and pithy commentary forthcoming!

I’ve got my guide books, my place to crash, almost all my flights and (most important) lists of Citibank and HSBC ATMs ready to go (will need money). Figured out the SIM card thingy already so will be able to stay in touch (need phone, yes I’m weird that way).
Got my long-legged aisle seat on that 14 hour flight over there that somehow (!!!) makes me lose TWO days in transit. Yes, it’s on UA =_= but they had the good price and I need EQMs. Maybe will get lucky with Oz based flight crew?? Knowing my luck lately, wouldn’t bet on it.
All I have to do now is figure out how they dress over there so I know what to pack…