Well I made it to Sydney twice over my travels. I have come to the conclusion that the city, no doubt has bi-polar weather. It just so happened whilst I was in Australia, the worst summer they have had in 50 years. Some days I admit it rained, however I also found myself caught up in a heat wave that scorched up to 37°C.
Arriving from Hong Kong, but back to a western style of living I still experienced some culture changes. The biggest things I picked up on were:
1. You can’t by alcohol in supermarkets. You have to go to a ‘bottle shop’. A lot of these are in fact Drive-Thru boozers. Does that make any sense?
2. Woolworth‘s is a thriving supermarket that sells absolutely everything you need, and not a run down sweets and toy shop.
3. Without any warning at 2 am a nightclub transforms into a Football loving pub. I went to the toilet and returned to the music off, the clubbers gone, and Arsenal v Norwich kicking off. Not only is it strange watching your team scrap a win at 2am, it’s even weirder following a heavy session of Jagerbombs.
4. The cost of living in Sydney is very expensive. For example, $3.90 (£2.70) for a small bottle of coke, not on my watch sonny boy! On the other hand, buy a bigger bottle and get your name on it!
Places I recommend:
New South Wales Art Gallery
The Rocks, Sydney Harbour Front.(below) A great place to stop for a drink, enjoy the harbour views, explore some unique market stalls and buy a kangaroo bollocks bottle opener.
Wake Up! Hostel near Central Station. – Out of all the hostels I stayed at in Oz. Wake Up was certainly one of the best, cleanest, and spacious. I stayed in a 10 man room and had my own lockers, loads of space and no waiting time for the bathroom. It’s quite pricey, but believe me sometimes it’s not always better to go cheaper in Sydney.
Hyde Park Barracks ( below)
Take an interesting, and quite cheap (with a student/young persons card) tour of the old prisoner barracks restored to its prime. See how the UK’s prisoners lived and were distrubuted into developing Sydney.
Hyde Park – It’s not as big as ours but its just as epic!
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