Sydneysider for a day ...

Sunday in Sydney. Clear blue skies on a winter day. The weather cooperated, I discovered a much easier way of getting from the hotel to the city, and boy, it was a nice day indeed.

As I normally do, I'm sharing with you the photos and some commentaries about my little trip. Click to see the bigger picture.

I took a bus to the city - and the first thing I did was to walk the Harbour Bridge. It's probably no big deal for the hundreds of other tourists and Sydneysiders, but it's a huge deal to me. Why? I'm afraid of heights. Ok - I wanna make clear I didn't do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, where you walk on the span, I simply walked on the bridge - besides cars, the bridge also has pedestrian walkways and also a train track running on it. Talk about multi purpose.

The reward for the climb was the few photos that I managed to take - they're all beautiful !! This is the pick - the Opera House. At last, I was able to photograph all 3 buildings in a single go. You won't believe how difficult it was for a person like me who has height fears !!


Next stop: The weekend market at the Rocks. It's a tourist market, alright, but still, set in the historical part of Sydney simply called The Rocks, it's not something to miss. There were cafes, food, the normal art and souvenir stores and also crowds. Not to miss as a tourist.


And after the market, it was straight down to Circular Quay - this time, with much anticipation. It's The Rocks Aroma coffee festival. All the best coffee in Sydney available for just $1 per cup. And here's why I came - there's a world champion barista there !!! Imagine - you go in line for around 20 minutes, pay $1 and get to sample the BEST coffee in the world !!! Angel ... jeles or not? Jeles ? Why drink all those cheapo Bintang Ringgit coffee back home and call 'em good??? Starbucks wasn't even at this festival .... bah ...


Walking along George Street after getting all the coffee I could possibly take without suffering from caffeine OD, I came across .... *wipes eyes* ... Angel Place !!! Wei ... Angel ... you so rich ka ? So, that's where your blog's first name came from ... City Recital Hall !!!


Still along George St., I went into the Strands Arcade. It's a normal shopping arcade ... but ... it's got this really Victorian style decor, which made it a must visit place for photos. Not too bad, a bit quiet, but still very nice.

But the real beauty amongst all the shopping places in Sydney must be the QVB - Queen Victoria Building. One trivia about this place: did you know the QVB is owned by Malaysian company Ipoh Gardens Berhad??


The QVB is an old Victorian building converted into a pretty posh shopping mall. It's maintained the old facade, the ancient grills and still has much of the original tiles. It's really very nice indeed. The lack of a wide lens made it quite impossible to photograph the building, interior and exterior and still do justice to the scale of the place.

Since it was lunch hour, I decided to have some good ol' Victorian Fish and Chips, with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, of course. But to end it on a sweet note, you have to have this - the Tiramisu. See it standing? It's baked with Viagra, ok? Or is it? But it's really nice - and the ice cream adds a very nice finish to it, indeed. Enjoying local food experiences like this one, takes time and also calls for some adventure - definately sometime an organized tour will not be able to afford. Which is why I love to travel on my own.

Next to George St is Pitt St, another major shopping area in Sydney. Not to be missed to. I just bought a new pair of nice formal trousers and matching cufflinks. Not much of a retail theraphy. Not like I needed any, anyways.

A short walk away from QVB, you would find Pyrmont Bridge, which stradles Cockle Bay Wharf and Darling Harbour. This is yet another must visit place - you can either walk, or you can take the monorail here. Across the bridge, you find the impressive Maritime Museum and also the casino. On Cockle Bay Wharf, you get really good food, and some great views of the harbour as well.

If you don't believe me about the view, here's something - this is Sydney skyline taken from near the Maritime museum, near the HMS Bounty display. You can see the Sydney aquarium, right ahead, just along the water ... plenty of sharks there. All of Australia's known aquatic fauna is found here. Well, I decided to give it a skip. Maybe if I have time later.

And from the end of the bay, where Darling Harbour meets Cockle Bay wharf, here's another shot of Sydney, this time with the Pyrmont bridge in view as well. I spent a lot of time just sitting along the water, gazing at the view, people watching, and getting some sun. Nice.


And finally, some of the restaurants and pubs along King Street wharf, again, all overlooking the water. I actually wondered aloud while I was there ... what if KL had all these waterfront? I just imagined mamak stalls hogging the waterline, and water full of ciggy butts and all sorts of rubbish and other unwanted trash. How sad.

There, people, Sydney on Sunday. I hope to get some photos tomorrow while I'm in Melbourne. Yes, I'll be in Melbourne for 2 days and 1 night. Hope to hear from you folks what else I should be doing in Sydney ...