Thursday, June 22, 2006

Sydney, May 2006

Hi Guys, just came back from a freaking cold 3 weeks adventure in Sydney.The season was changing from Autumn to Winter and the coldest day I experienced there was 10 degrees C. The place is amazing. The first night when I arrived in Sydney, it was 9pm. I decided to stay over in the airport for a night before checking in to the Randwick Lodge. About 20 over people from around the world shared the airport chairs to sleep. Everybody was comfortable and asleep until one guy started to SNORE! I can't believe it!

My mentor, Dr Ernest Wong, arrived the next day at 3pm. By then, I have already explored the city center by myself. To me, the CBD is just like another Singapore. The pace of life there is as fast and as stressful.

Ernest and I took a cruise along the Sydney Harbour during one of the mornings. This was the first tim
e I saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It was totally spectacular! The Bridge and the Opera House are so majestic! The are truly the great icons of Sydney. On the cruise, we met a nice gentlemen from Holland and started to make friends with him. He has an interesting name--Yoz. Great Guy!

We also went for a 1-hour tour inside the Opera House. And the Opera House was actually a building built onto another building. The largest concert hall is huge and grand. Didn't have the time to catch a show there though. Maybe next time. Touring the Opera House is a must-do if you ever go to Sydney.

By the way, the cost of living in Sydney is really high. One simple meal ca
n easily cost up to AUD$8. However, there is one place that Ernest and I like to frequent for our dinner. It is called Charcoal Chicken along Belmore Rd, near Randwick Lodge. They serve simply the best chicken. Somehow, their chicken meat is so tender and tasty even after it is cooled. Simply delicious! Yummy!

We also went to the Sydney Fish Market, where you can get all kinds of seafood. The price is reasonable and the seafood is guaranteed fresh. Chinatown in the CBD is also a nice haven for good food. Everybody speaks Cantonese there. By coincidence, we met a past Super-Teen Graduate while traveling around. Polyman is from Indonesia and he happened to study there. He then brought us to a famous restaurant called, Pancakes by the Rocks. The place is near the harbour bridge and has a nice ambiance. The food is good too. Especially the ribs.

On one mourning, we decided that to go whale watching. It costs AUD$85. And in the brochure, it states that there is a full money back guarantee if we don't get the see the whales. Naturally, I was really excited as I have never seen a whale in close proximity before. Guess what? That trip was a disaster, at least for me. Not only I had to endure my seasickness, I got to see only the tail of the whale! And it was probably 2 times I saw it and then the whales just disappeared under the water. Man, it was a real disappointment. I vomited more than once on the boat too! Of course, no money back as I actually got to see the whale, part of it at least.

All in all, I enjoyed the trip. It was really special for me because I traveled with my mentor. There were so many fun and crazy things we did. If you ask me about Sydney itself, I would say that I prefer Melbourne. That's just my preference.

Of course for me, after this trip, Life was Never EEE...EE...EVER The Same AGAIN!