Hanging around a Coat Hanger

When I first saw and realised where my hotel was in Sydney, my heart actually sank a bit. I'm put up in the Courtyard by Marriot at Talavera Road. Now, for Malaysians who might not get it, it's like being sent for a business trip in KL and then being booked in a hotel somewhere in Rawang. Or further. Maybe it's Kuala Kubu Baru. Whatever. The idea is that since the Australian office is actually in Macquarie University's grounds, this is one of the nearest hotels to stay in.

Here's my story so far in Sydney. As usual, click on photos to see a bigger image. Do it, you'll not regret it. If you do regret clicking the photos, well, sue me.


What is means is ... I only get to go Sydney on the weekends.

And because of some late night work on Friday, I didn't get into the city until late =(. However, my old pal Eric happened to be in Sydney as well, and we did get to meet up on Friday night at Chinatown to have a meal at this really popular restaurant - remember the name - Golden Century. When we got there, the waiting list was 1 hour long. There were 40 names ahead of us. How about that?


Eric, who is now staying in Canberra, recommended this dish ... the Lobster Yee Mein with Ginger and Shalots. The damage on this dish alone? Around A$ 130. Notice Eric across the table, cleaning his hands, preparing to dig into the lobster. We just ordered a rainbow trout to go with this dish. And we couldn't finish it. Even after 90 minutes of sincere effort.

So after all the hard work on Friday, I naturally woke up late and only got into the city at lunch time today. At first, it looked like the day was going to be washed out - it was drizzling when I got there, but the weather cleared when I was having lunch, and for a winter day, it couldn't have been better.

Lunch was over at The Rocks, overlooking both the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Here's my lunch view ... oh, well, the ocassional birds did drop by, hoping for some leftovers to pick on. But really, I had Risotto for lunch - there wasn't anything leftover ...

And for dessert, I had the Apple, Pear and Wildberry crumble, served with homemade Butterscotch ice cream and sauce. Yummy indeed .... yummy ...

Oh, and not forgetting a nice glass of Australian Reisling. Here's a little tip for you guys ... when having a wet dish, such as Risotto, pair it with some dry white wine. They complement each other well.

Well, I really didn't stray very far from Circular Quay, Sydney Harbour and The Rocks today, so you could probably tell I was all about the Opera House today. I planned to have lunched and then move elsewhere in the city because the weather was really poor before lunch, but when the weather turned for the better, I couldn't help but decide to do all the Opera House photos today, while the weather is cooperating.

I walked over to the Botanical Gardens, which is quite nice, full of trees and flowers, and better still, had great views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge - Coat Hanger - to the locals.

This picture of the Opera House and Coat Hanger against the backdrop of the setting sun is taken from Mrs Macquaries Chair, a natural niche in the sand stone cliff in the Botanical Gardens. It's beautiful.

I took some rest along the water in the Botanical Gardens at sunset, resting my foot after a day of walking. All day long, there were groups of visitors doing the Harbour Bridge climb. If only I had someone to go with me ... I wanna go, but I'd like to have some company. You can probably spot some Harbour Bridge climbers in the photo above.

This is just another picture of the Opera House and the Coat Hanger. Too bad we're not allowed to stay late at this point - a night shot from here would have been priceless !

But night shot, I did get. This one is taken from The Rocks. I was a little disappointed they didn't put up different colored lights - it was just white lights. Maybe it's an identity thing, I dunno. From this angle, I can see why they say the Opera House looks like a sailing ship. It's a beautiful building ... a worthy landmark of a city such as Sydney.

And finally, here's a night shot of the Harbour Bridge.

I can't wait for the tomorrow, and after that, the next weekend. I'm really looking forward to discovering more and more of Sydney.