Created: 02 Jul 2003
The last two days have been very wet and slightly depressing. On Monday I moved out of the centre and went to stay in Glebe Point YHA and on Tuesday and Wednesday I got wet. I’m enjoying staying in Glebe, but I wish the weather would sort itself out.
On Monday I checked out of the Maze Backpackers on Pitt St. and went to look at Glebe. I caught the train from Museum to Circular Quay and went to find the bus to Glebe, which left from George St. The bus ride was fairly quick and before I knew it I was in Glebe Point Rd and passing cafés and bookshops. I left the bus to get my bearings and discovered that the YHA was a lot further down the street. Happily this gave me a chance to see the entire street, but unfortunately it was carrying a full pack.
Glebe has a slightly down-at-heel look, with paint peeling from the walls of buildings and some rather tacky signage. However, the shops, particularly bookshops, and caf&ecute;s make up for this - you won’t go without a focaccia or expresso or lack anything to read. All in all there is a certain quirky charm to the place and it grew on me very quickly. The YHA is located at the quieter end of the street and comes replete with rooftop BBQ area with views of the city and an Internet room ($4/hour). Beds can be anything from $21 upwards, depending on how many people are in the room and how many nights you pay for up front. I paid $27 for a bed in a 4 bed dorm.
Having sorted out my accomodation for the night, it was time to head back to the centre to see a few more sights. I wandered back down Glebe Point Rd, browsing in a couple of bookshops, including the award-winning Gleebooks and then caught the bus to Circular Quay. By thuis time it was mid-afternoon, so I decided to catch the ferry over to Mosman and explore one of the suburbs on the north shore.
I had a very pleasant walk from Mosman Bay to Cremorne Point and then took many pictures of the landmarks and harbour activity as the sun began to set. Time to catch the ferry and bus back to Glebe and then find somewhere to eat. Choosing the right place when there is so much choice can be difficult, but eventually I plumped for the Top Thai Café. A good choice. The staff were very friendly and helpful, bringing me a paper to read so I wouldn’t feel to isolated as a lone diner. The green chicken curry was deliciously aromatic and refreshing.
I awoke at about 6.30am with solid rain outside. I decided to go for a run and needless to say, got absolutely soaked. The route I took was also rather less scenic than Monday’s run - I had views of Rozelle Bay, which has a distinctly industrial feel to it and passed such sights as the local Paceway. On the plus side, I saw the Anzac Bridge from a new angle.
After showering I went out in search of rainy day activities. The Powerhouse Museum was a bit of a disappointment. The exhibits seem to be not so much curated as scattered. Perhaps I am too used to a stuffy formulaic arrnagement of museums, where things are grouped by subject area, rather than slotted in willy-nilly. Also, there is a patriotic spin on things, so you may learn that Australia leads the world in state-run totalisation betting. This may be something to be proud of in some accountant’s dream, where interesting new forms of taxation are an event, but it bored me.
Lunch in Chinatown, however was a real treat. I simply found a food court and picked a busy, popular stand. I had an excellent and cheap meal.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is small, but most of the exhibitions are free. I chose to pay for the Wim Wenders photgraphic exhibition (Pictures from the Surface of the Earth) and at $10 it was money well spent. All the photos are enlarged to a truly impressive scale and there are some very striking pictures. Sadly, I haven’t been to enough photo galleries to compare the quality of the pictures aith any works by a professional still photographer.
Following this, I caught the JetCat, which sped me to Manly in a quarter of an hour. I cruised the brash and busy Corso and walked the beach, or Steyne. In more welcoming weather the charms of the beach would have been more obvious, but I was trying to avoid a drenching and soon decided it was time to head home. There didn’t seem to be much more to do, as I didn’t want to go surfing and besides it was time to see if Derek had arrived in Sydney. I picked up Derek’s email at the hostel, but couldn’t phone his mobile with my phone card as the access number was permanently engaged. Popped out for Felafel followed by a couple of beers in the Ancient Briton. Barman was amused by my request for ‘Vic Bitter’. “Haven’t heard it called it that in a while” he commented. I shall call it VB from now on! Extremely drunk example of Aussie female in bar. Scared me rigid.
Breakfast was interrupted by the fire alarm going off. We didn’t have to stand in the drizzle for long - it turned into torrential rain inside two minutes as everyone tried to fit under the porch of the hostel. Nothing burned.
Phoned Derek and arranged to meet at Cremorne Point. He picked me up in his hire car and we ended up driving up to North Head for a great view, unfortunately obscured by a large quantity of water rolling in from the South. In Manly we had a tasty lunch and chatted to a couple of locals on the prom. Then rolled into the centre to be ensnared by traffic heading towards Kings Cross. Then back to Glebe for a drink and a great Indian meal in Dakhni. which brings me up to the present time.