Created: 30 Jun 2003
Yesterday (Sunday NSW time) was a day to get a feel for the layout of the city and to see a few of the sights. It was also a day to try a new hostel. Read on for the full, tedious detail.
I managed to stay awake until about 11pm on Saturday night and fell into my bed gratefully. However I was wide awake by 6.30am and raring to go, so I wandered down George St in Search of breakfast. I found a place called DeliFrance on the outskirts of Chinatown and got coffee, baguette & orange juice for $4.80 (£2), settled at a table, read the guidebooks and people watched for a bit.
The city seemed quiet, with little traffic. There were plenty of cyclists and everyone seemed pretty happy and relaxed, despite the light drizzle. I passed one or two pubs still open and some determined drinkers alternating between Guiness and coffee! Keen to get on with the day, I walked back to the YHA, picking up an international phone card on the way - the posters claimed it offered calls to the UK at a flat rate of 1.8 cents / minute. Called Sally and caught up with her news.
The YHA, although adequate and clean seemed a bit impersonal and also a little expensive, so I went looking for Bakpak CB on Pitt St, as recommended by the Rough Guide. When I got there both this one and the one across the street had changed hands, but I went in anyway. A bed for the night is a mere $19 and I also rented a locker for $5. My first impressions of my room weren’t good. It smelt pretty fusty and I didn’t stay long to avoid disturbing the sleepers.
Walked North up Pitt & George Street, popping into a few shops and grabbing an early lunch at a cafe inside a mall. Then to Darling Harbour and the National Maritime Museum. Initially I wasn’t that impressed, but after spending a few hours and having had a tour with our amiable and knowledgeable guide, John, I felt that I had learned a few things and enjoyed it too.
Afterwards I attempted to case the Powerhouse Museum for a later visit, but decided to take the Light Rail (aka tram) somewhere. At this point I discovered that my expensive Sydney Travelpass did not allow me to travel on the light rail. To be honest I am starting to think that this travelpass is a waste of money. At $20/day it should allow me onto the monorail and light rail too.
Back to hostel for a freshen up and then caught the train from Museum station in Hyde Park. Unfortunately I went the wrong way and ended up in Central again. Changed and caught one to Circular Quay where the sun was setting behind the harbour bridge. Time for a few clichéd snaps and then hopped onto the Darling Harbour ferry for a ride under the bridge.
Structurally, it’s not an impressive bridge. It doesn’t have the length of the second Severn crossing, the elegance of the Pont de Normandie and I would be surprised if it had the jaw-dropping views that can be seen from the Tamar bridge that cause train passengers to gasp. However, Sydney Harbour is one of the most beautiful city harbours I have ever seen and heading under the bridge towards a anaemic winter sunset was a special moment. The ferry also stopped at some pleasant looking suburbs on the northern shore, so those will be worth investigating.
Feeling the pangs of hunger again, I stopped at Cockle Quay to choose somewhere to eat and settled on Blackbird Café. It was a great meal of squid and salad, that although inexpensive by British standards, pushed firmly me over my daily budget.
Met a friendly guy in my room back at the hostel. Mario is 26 and Croatian, although he currently lives in Slovenia. We talked for a while before he went to the cinema, then I read his Sydney Morning Herald and the succombed to sleep.
Waking naturally at 5.30am I lay in bed for an hour until someone arrived to take take the final bed. Mario had warned me that the bed was a bit of a deathtrap, so I got up and let the guy have mine. Went for a jog across Hyde Park and the Botanic Gardens to Mrs MacQuarie’s Point and then the Opera House, followed by a second loop of the Gardens and then back home. Grabbed a shower, a phone call to Sally and then a cooked breakfast and a coffee at Café de la Rosa ($12.50).