Sunday, May 28, 2006
Sydney Trip: Day 1
As promised, I shall begin blogging about my trip to Sydney with some of my platoon mates. Actually, I kept a diary while there, but I won't put it all here as it's too long, about 3 to 4 A6 pages a day. Also, Kev is still sorting out the pictures, so I only have the ones I took from my own camera. I shall start on the day we landed, 190506.
The first thing we bought there was a 1 week Travelpass, which gives unlimited bus, train and ferry rides in the red and green sectors. These sectors are actually quite large, and we never entered the green sector except on the trip to the Blue Mountains.
Took the train to the Central station and placed our bags there, then we proceeded to explore the area on foot. It was still early and most of the shops were closed. At Market City, we went up to the food court and saw the crazy prices. Check out the menu.
Next, we walked to Darling Harbour and waited a few minutes for the National Maritime Musuem to open. Admission is free. There wasn't much there, most of the exhibits are passive, with lots of words. We looked through quickly before taking a ferry to Circular Quay as we wanted to see the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The trip by ferry gave us great views of both as we passed under the bridge and had to pass the Opera House as the ferry entered the quay.
After lunch, we checked into the Sydney Central YHA (Youth Hostel Association) and took an afternoon nap. We chose to stay in the YHA because of the low prices, in this case A$37.50 per person per night. That price is for a dormitory, which can take 6 people. There were 5 of us, so we had the room to ourselves. The toilets are common, as are the TV rooms and laundry. There's also a common kitchen and arcade downstairs. The only complaint I had was that there was way too little lighting. Every bed has a light, but the room itself had too few lights.
The original plan was to take a 2 hour nap or so, but all of us overslept and we only woke up at around 630 pm, just in time for dinner. After dinner, we went back to Circular Quay to see the bridge and Opera House by night. Took a few pictures then walked over to the bridge. We found the stairs leading up to the pedestrian walkway and crossed the whole bridge on foot. The view was great, although the walkway on the bridge was surrounded by a very high fence. See the pictures and judge for yourself.
After we reached the other end, it was getting late and we were too tired to walk all the way back, so we caught a train back. For a different perspective on day 1, refer to CH's blog. Click on the link "Hock" in my Links section.
The first thing we bought there was a 1 week Travelpass, which gives unlimited bus, train and ferry rides in the red and green sectors. These sectors are actually quite large, and we never entered the green sector except on the trip to the Blue Mountains.
Took the train to the Central station and placed our bags there, then we proceeded to explore the area on foot. It was still early and most of the shops were closed. At Market City, we went up to the food court and saw the crazy prices. Check out the menu.
Next, we walked to Darling Harbour and waited a few minutes for the National Maritime Musuem to open. Admission is free. There wasn't much there, most of the exhibits are passive, with lots of words. We looked through quickly before taking a ferry to Circular Quay as we wanted to see the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The trip by ferry gave us great views of both as we passed under the bridge and had to pass the Opera House as the ferry entered the quay.
After lunch, we checked into the Sydney Central YHA (Youth Hostel Association) and took an afternoon nap. We chose to stay in the YHA because of the low prices, in this case A$37.50 per person per night. That price is for a dormitory, which can take 6 people. There were 5 of us, so we had the room to ourselves. The toilets are common, as are the TV rooms and laundry. There's also a common kitchen and arcade downstairs. The only complaint I had was that there was way too little lighting. Every bed has a light, but the room itself had too few lights.
The original plan was to take a 2 hour nap or so, but all of us overslept and we only woke up at around 630 pm, just in time for dinner. After dinner, we went back to Circular Quay to see the bridge and Opera House by night. Took a few pictures then walked over to the bridge. We found the stairs leading up to the pedestrian walkway and crossed the whole bridge on foot. The view was great, although the walkway on the bridge was surrounded by a very high fence. See the pictures and judge for yourself.
After we reached the other end, it was getting late and we were too tired to walk all the way back, so we caught a train back. For a different perspective on day 1, refer to CH's blog. Click on the link "Hock" in my Links section.
posted by cosine @ 10:44 PM 
