Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sydney Trip Day 5 ~ Bondi Junction + Bondi Beach

Time flies~ Today is my 5th day at Sydney and I'll be going back to Adelaide tomorrow =( But 5 days is enough for me to explore the place, at least I've seen and been to the places that I had planned beforehand.

So for today, we'll be going to Bondi
Junction & Bondi Beach. We need to board a train to reach Bondi. So the first thing in this morning is to find our way to King Cross station. We spent some time trying to find where's the entrance. And guess what? We managed to find it after asking around, you can't see anything near a train station anywhere on the street at King Cross, but a lift!! So, we actually need to take this lift, from the middle of the road, down to the station. This is something i never tried before~ Weird but interesting at the same time~ haha...

So when we finally reach Bondi, we started off by strolling along Bondi Junction, where there's lots of souvenir shops, restaurants and boutiques.

Again, we settled our lunch at one of the food court then board
a bus to Bondi Beach. It seems to be Sydney's most popular beach, especially during summer. Heard the beach would be as crowded as pasar malam during that season of the year. Lol!! What a bad description for a beach~ Haha~

Anyway, we went to get our beach wear ready to take some nice photos at the beach =p Previously I went to Glenelg in Adelaide, and that was during winter so the beach was quite deserted. Haha~ But its totally different at Bondi, we were there on a Wednesday and there was quite a lot of people. The waves were great and thats why surfing was the main water sport. The weather was ok but still a bit cold cos its just the beginning of spring, or i should say winter is still in the air during that period of time. Luckily it was a very sunny day, makes me feel more comfortable with the weather, haha~ never ever loved the sun so much in my life~ not at all when I'm in Spore or Msia.

Around evening, we took a train to North Sydney to meet Li Eng's
ex-tuition teacher who migrated to Sydney about a year ago. Along the journey, the train actually traveled across Sydney Harbour Bridge. Cool~ At least i get to go across the bridge, not by myself but with the help of the train. Haha~ We went for Italian cuisine and had Japanese green tea ice cream for desserts. It was a super duper full night~ Lol!!

So, that marks the end of my Sydney trip...The next morning, its time to say Bye-bye to Sydney and Hello~ to my home sweet home in Adelaide~ ^_^

Friday, October 19, 2007

Sydney Trip Day 4 ~ Sydney City + Sydney Tower + Sydney Aquarium

On our 4th day in Sydney, we went to explore the city. We did look around on the 1st day after we arrived but didn't really took any pictures of the surroundings so today is the day!

First, we reached St Marys' church, its a super big cathedral. Very beautiful~ Need to walk super far from it to take a full picture... I took this from Hyde Park, our 2nd stop of the day. Its a very large park situated right beside Sydney's city. Here's a couple of photos of the park. Just a few corner of it =( But its nice though~ The fountain and the cute cute X'mas-like tree =p Bet I'll be able to take its full picture once i reached the top of Sydney Tower. Hehe =p

Continue walking, we reached the Town Hall of Sydney, a very nice sandstone building built in the 1880s. This is where the city government situated as well as the venue for most of Sydney City Council's meetings.

Queen Victoria Building is just the opposite of Sydney Town Hall. This Victorian style building was completed in 1898, served as a government building until 1986 when the City Council decided to change it into an upmarket shopping complex with boutiques and brand name shops. The interior design of QVB was uniquely crafted. Its really very beautiful~ Can't stop starring at every single corner of the building once i entered. Hehe~ But the things there were expensive!! So its not really a shopping place for me, but more of a photo-taking spot. Haha~There's two very special clocks inside QVB, The Great Australian Clock (on the right), showing 33 scenes of the Australian history and The Turret Clock which screens a puppet show every hour about the English royalty. Very cool clocks...haha~

Next, we went to Sydney Tower, the tallest building in Sydney. You'll get to see the 360 degree views of Sydney from the top of the tower. Using the optical binoculars provided at the Observation Deck, you can see as far towards the Blue Mountains!! And of course, take lots of photos of the whole of Sydney!! I finally get to take a full picture of St Marys' church and Hyde Park! They looked awesome from the top of the tower.

After that, we went for the OzTrek, its a 180 degree cinema using 3D technology, and there's real motion seats also, so cool and super fun~ Really enjoyed it!!

Kinda hungry after exploring so many places, its time for lunch!! But nothing great about
lunch today cos we just ate at the food court. Haha~

After lunch, we walked through Darling Harbour to go to Sydney Aquarium which is at the other side of the harbour. As you can see from the picture, it has a very funky entrance, haha~ I kinda like it, as if you are entering into another world, a world full of sea creatures~

The Aquarium has basically everything you can find under the sea, Penguins, seahorses, crocodiles, jellyfish, seals, platypus, fluorescent corals, turtles, etc. Oceanarium is cool, its like an underwater world. We have to go a few levels down to watch sharks!! Its nice watching them swimming above your head, lol! I took video instead of photos. Too bad can't upload it here. Haha~


There's also the biggest display of The Great Barrier Reef at Sydney Aquarium. Lots and lots of beautiful corals, tiny ones...as well as gigantic ones. But overall, its just beautiful. The actual Great Barrier Reef is at Cairns, and I'll be going there around December!! Will be able to experience the real one by then. Anticipating~

I saw Nemo also. Again, i video-recorded it as it kept swimming and playing around, so hard to capture a picture of it, its not just me ok~ Many of the tourists beside me were having a hard time trying to snap a photo too. Haha~ I do have one pic of Nemo, but its a bit blur, anyway, here it is...

Friday, October 12, 2007

Sydney Trip Day 3 ~ Blue Mountains + Jenolan Caves

This day, we have to wake up early again~ Cos gonna join a day tour to the Blue Mountains (to see the Three Sisters) and Jenolan Caves. Its a fairly long journey, passing by Anzac Bridge, brings us out of the city, then Parramatta River and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Park. The coach driver was very nice, explaining every single corner of the journey, but i nearly doze off...Haha~ Not that its boring or what, but maybe i'm just a bit tired of all the walking for the past 2 days.

When we reached Blue Mountains Visitors Centre, i bet its very cold cos i can hear the wind blowing sound even though i'm still inside the bus!! So my first thought was - prepare to run into the building once i got off the bus!! Lol!! Seriously no kidding ok~ I felt as though my face was gonna crack when the cold wind blow against it @_@

So we quickly run into the visitors' centre and queue up to buy our tickets. We get to choose between 3 different ways to go around the Blue Mountains, Cableway, Railway and Skyway. I did my 'homework' before i go and knew that the Railway would be the BEST cos it'll travel along the steepest track in the world!! But to my disappointment, it was not available on that day!! So sad man~ Anyway, we decided to go on the Skyway instead (at least its better than the Cableway, lol! But the Skyway is actually the recommended one as its the newest, and there's a glass floor which will become transparent mid-way over the Three Sisters. We will then be looking down to the rainforest which is 270 metres below us. Sounds cool huh? And yes It is!! Fantastic view~

Let me tell you the story about the Three Sisters, they are Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, 3 young beautiful ladies of the Katoomba tribe. 3 brothers from another tribe fall in love with them but the tribal law forbid them to marry one another so the 3 brothers decide to go the hard way - capture the 3 sisters which ends up causing a tribal war. A witch doctor during that time 'volunteered' to turn the three sisters into stones to protect them from any harm, BUT he was killed in the battle before he even got the chance to reverse the spell. And thats how the three sisters are still remaining in their rock formation until today, serving as a reminder of the battle. Sounds so sad but quite interesting though~

Anyway, lets move on to our next stop, the Jenolan Caves. Its one of the best caves in the world open to the public. There are 4 caves in Jenolan and the one i went to was the BEST - Lucas Cave. The other 3 were Imperial Cave, Chifley Cave and River Cave. Lucas is the most popular cave of all.It has the largest and highest chambers and its not easy to explore, highest level of difficulty, all together 910 steps. But lots of people in my tour group finished the whole journey. There's lots of beautiful & stunning limestone formations inside Lucas. Their most photographed feature would be "The Broken Column" -------->

But my favourite pic of all is this one, the one on the left, i love it so much~ stunningly beautiful formation~

Its so hard to take photos inside the cave cos the lighting was not very bright. Inside a cave...what do you expect~ I forgot how long was the whole journey, perhaps around 1-1.5 hours. But one thing i remembered is that the weather was super duper cold~ Up on the Blue Mountains and into the caves, I was freezing every single moment outside the bus @_@ But still manage to take pictures, as i always do, haha~ Here's a pic after finish exploring Lucas. You can see there's another cave right opposite it.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Sydney Trip Day 2 ~ The Rocks + Sydney Opera House + Harbour Bridge

2nd day, we took a train to Circular Quay, the nearest stop to The Rocks, the traditional home of the Aboriginal Cadigal people in Australia. This place has the most historic landscape in Aussie. From the shops to the streets, everything looks so...full of heritage. Haha~ Gives you that kind of 'old village' feeling~

I purposely go on a Sunday so that i get to see The Rocks Market which is one of Sydney's premier weekend market. I love the feeling it gave me cos the whole stretch of stalls were housed under a unique sail-like canopy. Many things to see over there, they have art & crafts, homewares, souvenirs, gourmet food, and much much more =p

Finish strolling the market, i guess its time for lunch!! We went to Pancakes on The Rocks, a cafe selling pancakes of course, but! I was told that their pork ribs is very very nice. Haha~ So, its definitely a 'must-see/try/eat' for us. Lol!! I bet its popular enough among the locals cos the queue was quite long when we went in. But everything is worth it cos the food was really really nice~ Perhaps i should say its awesome!! Have a look at the pork ribs and our pancakes. Yum-yum~

After a fulfilling lunch, we head off to the Sydney Opera House. Walking along Circular Quay, we were snapping photo at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Its so huge that we need to take a few rounds of photos, cos as we walk further from it, the view is better. Haha~ There's a bridge climb thought, but we didn't go for it cos it costs a bomb, 180 Aussie dollars!! You'll get a cert saying that you've climbed the bridge but taking photos of it is more than enough for me. Lol!!

Circular Quay is very nice, lots of cafe along the harbourside. I like the feeling of seeing people dining outdoor along Circular Quay, its kinda relaxing~ But of course its because of the view over there is very beautiful~ This whole stretch of harbour, something like a 'U' shape, leads you from the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House. So they are actually right opposite each other. Here's 2 pics i took at the very end of each side.

I bet everyone knows about the unique architecture of Sydney Opera House. The finals of Australian Idol will be held there!! I'm crazy about it at the moment, every Sunday 7.30pm, i'll lock my eyes on the tv. Haha~ Okok, back to the main topic, this unique building actually has a name for its design, the engineer called it his "key to the shells". Very special right? He did explained the reasons why the design was named after that, as you can see from the pic, but i still don't get it. =(

Guess i just don't really have
any architecture genes in me~ But i do believe i have some capabilities in taking nice pictures, haha~ at least i like to take photos, and so far its quite nice also right?? =p

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Sydney Trip Day 1 [15/9/07] ~ Sydney Fish Market + Chinatown

Ok...I'm really sick of assignments, been doing it for the past few days~ So boring!! And i think i should start writing on my trip to Sydney and thats why i'm here again. Haha~ Oh well, lets start! I actually learned a lot from organizing this trip. Its really a brand new experience for me as i have to do all the travelling stuffs by myself, from booking air tickets, research on where to stay, where to go, what tours to book for sight seeing, etc. Its kinda tedious but really interesting~

So on 15/9, woke up at 4am @_@, what to do~ have to reach airport by 5am cos our flight is 6 something. We reached Sydney at around 8.30am, grabbed our maps from the airport and board onto a shutter which brings us to City Resort Hostel at Palmer St. This is the first time i stayed with a backpacker's hostel, well, not too bad after all, its a 3 bed dorm, sharing with another Korean guy (No worries, he's a kind & friendly person). Here's a pic of the dorm.

Then, without any 'dily-dely', we set off to the Fish Market for our seafood platter. Haha~ Not familiar at all with the big city, we start to 'learn' how to read the map and find our way around. I think we almost walk from one end to the other, cos not too sure what bus to take, so its better to walk instead~ So we walk...and walk...and walk...crossing the city, Darling Harbour, and of course, the tourist information center, haha~, just to make sure we are going the right way. Finally!! We reached the Sydney Fish Market! Its a place where the locals did their seafood marketing, very fresh seafood they have, and perhaps cheaper than those sold in the supermarket. Its kinda crowdy when we were there, but i love the crowd!! Hehe~ Have a look at our seafood platter, looks nice huh??








After lunch, we went back to the city. Passing by Darling Harbour, my favourite place of all in Sdyney, simply because its beautiful~ and it is really a great spot for a photo-taking. Haha~ From there you get to see the harbour view of Sydney which is really nice, got lots of boats and ferries, and also tall tall buildings in the city. Wah~ I really love and enjoy every single corner of Darling Harbour.

On our way walking back to the city, we found Chinatown, its bigger than the one in Adelaide though. Lots of Asian food and shops. I think we must be tired of walking that we ended up buying buns in one of the bakery. Lol!! The shop was full of mooncakes as the festival is approaching, but you know what? They are selling one for 10 Aussie dollars!! Its just sooo expensive~ Definitely a 'no-no' for me, and i'm glad that i was not dying to eat one at that moment. Haha~

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Fruitful 2 weeks break

Hi guys, i just got back from my wonderful 2 weeks semester break~ Haha... Went travelling, eating, playing, taking pictures, basically...enjoying life~ Wahaha!! Never ever had this kind of opportunity in NTU cos sem break was meant to rush for assignments :S

During the past 2 weeks, i went to Sydney with Li Eng for around 6 days. Then, came back to Adelaide and rest + do my assignments =p. A couple of days later, i flew to Tasmania with Shirlin and her Mexican friend, Santiago. We spent about 1 week travelling around the beautiful island.

Now that i'm back to Adelaide, it'll be another round of photo-processing, resizing, before i can upload it onto my photo album. Bet i need more time to update my blog cos there's so much to share with you guys...haha~ Just stay tune ya, i'll try my BEST to write everything asap!!