Sydney (Day 88): Bondi Beach and Vivid Sydney

May 27, 2016

Three nights in Sydney was about right for the sightseeing but it would have been nice if we could just take it easy here and explore more of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Originally we had looked into hotel and Airbnb options and couldn’t find anything decent looking for less than $200 CAD/night. But we got lucky with Central Station Hotel and their room rate ($95 CAD all in) for the night ended up being cheaper than a lot of the motels we stayed at on our roads trips.

Central Station
Central Station

For our last day in Sydney I wanted to check out Bondi Beach. You can’t go to Sydney and not go to its most iconic beach (Tim: well, you could, but you’d be missing out)! We took the train from Central Station to Bondi Junction and from there we caught a bus to Bondi Beach (30 minutes). The weather today was nice and sunny but very windy (18 degrees Celsius, a very cold day by Sydney standards). Our friend, Julie, recommended a restaurant named Bill’s to go to at Bondi Beach so we headed there after we got off the bus.

Bill's in Bondi
Bill’s in Bondi

After looking online, Bill’s has other locations around Australia and even a few in Asia – like in Tokyo. Tim ordered a wagyu burger and lemonade (lemonade in Australia are more like lemon sodas) and I had the calamari papaya salad with a hibiscus lime soda. As soon as we walked in you could tell it was a fancy brunch place and their clientele were affluent “Sydneysiders”. We were seated sandwiched between two groups of women who were well dressed and talked like they were in Sydney’s top 5% (just from my observations and listening to them talk. Tim was probably not paying any attention to them the way I was (Tim: true!)). The food came and while it was good, I didn’t think it was worth the price. Also, in Australia since you don’t tip at restaurants, service is often not really great. I don’t mind at casual places but at a nicer restaurant, in my Canadian mind, I expect a bit more attention (I guess I’m a needy restaurant patron).

Tim playing Sim City
Tim playing Sim City
Hibiscus lime soda & lemonade ($9 AUD each)
Hibiscus lime soda & lemonade ($9 AUD each)
Fried calamari green papaya salad ($26 AUD)
Fried calamari green papaya salad ($25 AUD)
Wagyu beef burger ($26 AUD)
Wagyu beef burger ($26 AUD)

We finally made our way down to Bondi Beach and it was nice. It was too cold for people to be sun tanning, although there were a few people who were (probably not from Australia). There was a surf competition going on so we stood on the beach and watched for a while. The waves around Bondi Beach seem ideal for recreational surfing, not as crazy as the waves we saw along the Great Ocean Road, which were definitely for very experienced surfers only. We took off our shoes and walked the length of the beach towards the coastal cliff hike along the right side of the beach. There were some really cool rock formations and it was a nice and easy walk. At the beginning of the walk, you’ll see a really nice public pool ($6.50 AUD admission) that juts out into the ocean and the waves sometimes splash into the pool. I think Bondi Beach would be more interesting and lively during the summer when the beach is packed with people.

Windy day at Bondi Beach
Windy day at Bondi Beach
Lots of good surfers in wet suits
Lots of good surfers in wet suits
No swimming!
No swimming!
"Surf Aid" competition
“Surf Aid” competition with lots of seagulls hanging out
Bondi Iceberg Club pool, open to the public for $6.50 AUD
Bondi Iceberg Club pool, open to the public for $6.50 AUD
Coastal hike around the cliffs by Bondi Beach
Coastal hike around the cliffs by Bondi Beach
Interesting rock formations
Interesting rock formations
Bondi from the cliffs
Bondi from the cliffs

We caught the bus back and just took it directly to the Circular Quay (about 45 minutes) with the intention of going to Manly Beach on our beach tour day. When we got the Circular Quay, the ferry for Manly just left and the next one wouldn’t be leaving for another half hour. It was extremely windy in Sydney’s CBD and quite chilly. We decided to not go because we didn’t want to feel rushed since we had dinner plans in the city in a couple of hours. We walked around the opera house again and then through the CBD back to the hotel. I think we were both fairly tired so it was nice to have a quick break before going out again.

Another selfie with blue skies at the Sydney Opera House
Another selfie with blue skies at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney's CBD, on Pitt St. by outside the Westfield (mall)
Sydney’s CBD, on Pitt St. by outside the Westfield (mall)

We met my friend, Amanda, in an area close by called Darlinghurst. It was about a 25 minute walk and the area looked pretty nice at night. She made reservations at an Indian restaurant named, Malabar. We hadn’t had Indian food since leaving home so it was a nice change of pace. She moved to Sydney in 2008 and I haven’t seen her since graduating UBC so it was nice to catch up with her. She and Tim went to the same high school, but neither of them knew each other since they’re two grades apart. We shared three different main dishes (butter chicken, goat, and paneer), naan, and rice, which were all very tasty.

Malabar in Darlinghurst on Victoria St.
Malabar in Darlinghurst on Victoria St.
Palak paneer, goat curry, butter chicken, naan, rice and mango lassi ($88 AUD)
Palak paneer, goat curry, butter chicken, naan, rice and mango lassi ($88 AUD)
Me and Amanda. She took us to a nice view point of the CBD
Me and Amanda. She took us to a nice view point of the CBD

After chatting for a while we headed towards the CBD for Sydney’s “Vivid” festival. We were pretty excited to see Sydney come alive at night and see all the different lights and displays around town. The highlight was seeing the Sydney Opera House so colourful. There was a video being projected on the “sails” of the Opera House that was probably about 20 minutes long and just looped over and over to music. All (Tim: some) of the historic buildings around the CBD had cool projections or light show displays. It was all really awesome to see. We were expecting the crowds to be crazy but they were all very manageable. The city did a good job of keeping things under control. Vivid is on from 6-11pm every day from today until June 18th.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Light and sound exhibits
Light and sound exhibits
CBD all lit up
CBD all lit up
One of many projections on the Sydney Opera House
One of many projections on the Sydney Opera House
Exhibit outside the Opera house
Exhibit outside the Opera house
Customs House had a projection show. This was one of the scenes.
Customs House had a projection show. This was one of the scenes.

After walking around Circular Quay and through the Rocks area to see the different exhibits, we walked back to our hotel. It was great to see Amanda in Sydney, she is doing really well here and I’m always happy for her. She’s doing something she’s enthusiastic about and always looking for new business ideas. I also found out she’s Toi San like me (Toi San pride).

Cool lights around the Circular Quay
Cool lights around the Circular Quay
Amanda's camera took much better photos at night of people
Amanda’s camera took much better photos at night of people
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Mondrian Cube
Love Sydney!
Love Sydney!
Art Museum had paint "dripping" off the building with this projection
“Matter of Painting” at the Art Museum

We had planned on having an earlier night but we got pretty carried away with Vivid that it was our latest night out in Sydney. By the time we washed up and packed up, we only had 4 hours until we had to wake up at 5am for our flight to Auckland.

Sydney is a beautiful city and it actually reminds me a lot of home. I can see why Sydney’s real estate prices are crazy because so many people want to live there. Even walking around Sydney we overheard a few conversations of people complaining how they will never be able to buy a house in Sydney and it reminded us of Vancouver.

Steps today: 29,000

Sydney (Day 87): Surry Hills, Newtown, QVB

May 26, 2016

Today was our first full day in Sydney. The weather wasn’t supposed to be very good so we decided to explore some of the neighbourhoods outside of the Central Business District (CBD) and save the beaches for tomorrow.

We layered up for the rain and headed out towards an area called Surry Hills. It’s an area that’s been gentrified and known for good brunch restaurants. When looking at the map, we realized our hotel was basically at the Chinatown/Surry Hills border so everything was quite close. For lunch, we went to a restaurant called Reuben Hills. It was around 11am and the restaurant was already pretty full. I tried the “NOT Reuben Sandwich”, Tim ordered their “really F***ing good fried chicken”, and of course I ordered a flat white. Tim and I aren’t really coffee drinkers but since we’ve been in Australia, we’ve enjoyed their flat whites with our brunches (and Reuben Hills roasts their own beans).

Reuben Hills in Surry Hills
Reuben Hills in Surry Hills
Inside Reuben Hills
Inside Reuben Hills
My "NOT Reuben" sandwich. Wagyu beef brisket with pickled veg and horseradish mayo ($21.50 AUD = $20 CAD)
My “NOT Reuben” sandwich. Wagyu beef brisket with pickled veg and horseradish mayo ($21.50 AUD = $20 CAD)
Tim's fried chicken was good but not f***ing good. ($19.50 AUD = $18.25 CAD)
Tim’s fried chicken was good but not f***ing good. ($19.50 AUD = $18.25 CAD)
Flat white ($4.50 AUD = $4.20 CAD)
Flat white ($4.50 AUD = $4.20 CAD)
Surry Hills
Surry Hills
Kit & Ace. Vancouver in Surry Hills
Kit & Ace. Vancouver in Surry Hills

After lunch we walked through Surry Hills and came across Bourke St. Bakery, a bakery Chloe recommended but we were too full to try out anything. The bakery smelled really good so maybe if we have more time tomorrow we will stop by.

Bourke Street Bakery
Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills
Cute little garden shop in Surry Hills
Cute little garden shop in Surry Hills

The other area that we wanted to check out was Newtown, which is an area close to the University of Sydney. The weather went from gloomy and rainy to blue skies and sunny, so we were in a walking mood (especially after eating a heavy lunch). When we told our friend from Sydney that we walked from Surry Hills to Newtown, she was shocked and compared it to walking from Downtown Vancouver to Richmond (but it was probably a bit of a stretch since it’s only about 3.5km away but it’s two areas that people don’t usually walk between).

Walking through tree lined Sydney residential streets.
Walking through tree lined Sydney residential streets.
These truck/vans are common in Australia. I've never seen cars like this before.
These truck are common in Australia. I’ve never seen cars like this before.

The walk to Newtown from Surry Hills through the southern part of Sydney was nice. We both really enjoy walking around without a firm plan and it was interesting to see more of Sydney’s residential areas. We went from seeing some very affluent looking condos and then in about 5 minutes we saw a bunch of complexes that looked more like social housing (and a lot more police presence) (Tim: based on our very small sample).

Somewhere in south Sydney
Somewhere in south Sydney
Sydney St. in Sydney
Sydney St. in Sydney
On the other side of the tracks from Sydney's CBD. You can see the CBD in the distance.
On the other side of the tracks from Sydney’s CBD. You can see the CBD in the distance.

After about 45 minutes, we made it to Newtown. There were a lot of vintage stores, street art, and vegetarian restaurants in the area. Tim remembered coming here when he visited his cousin, Christina, back in 2009.

Lots of buildings with character in Newtown
Lots of buildings with character in Newtown
Martin Luther King Jr. with the Australian Aboriginal flag
Martin Luther King Jr. with the Australian Aboriginal flag. A guy with a homemade didgeridoo.
Colourful buildings in Newtown
Colourful buildings in Newtown
Lots of street art around Newtown
Lots of street art around Newtown
Love all the Aussie street art in Sydney and Melbourne
Love all the Aussie street art in Sydney and Melbourne

We walked through the University of Sydney and felt like students for a little bit (and probably looked like ones too). We continued on our walkathon and walked through Pyrmont (south west of the CBD) to get to the Sydney Fish Market. We weren’t planning on going here but wanted to check it out since we were kind of close by. The Sydney Fish Market is the largest full functioning fish market in the Southern Hemisphere. 95% of the people in the market were Asian and same with the vendors.

Victoria Park
Victoria Park
At Victoria Park at the University of Sydney there's a totem pole donated by the government of BC. I knew it was from BC as soon as I saw it.
At Victoria Park at the University of Sydney, there’s a totem pole donated by the government of Canada. I assumed it was from BC as soon as I saw it from a distance.
Broadway Shopping Centre across the street from Victoria Park
Broadway Shopping Centre across the street from Victoria Park

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Peter's seafood inside Sydney Fish Market.
Peter’s seafood inside Sydney Fish Market.
Fishing boats docked by the fish market
Fishing boats docked by the fish market
Ibises and seagulls everywhere
Ibises and seagulls everywhere

After our quick visit to the fish market, we walked back into the CBD and went to the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), which is now a mall. The QVB is one of the nicest malls I’ve been to because of it’s in such a beautiful building. The mall has a decent selection of stores, but I was more interested in admiring the architecture than going into any stores. We hung out at the QVB and then the Westfield mall beside it before dinner.

Pyrmont Bridge at Darling Harbour heading back to the CBD
Pyrmont Bridge at Darling Harbour heading back to the CBD
QVB from the outside
QVB is a 19th century building that is now a mall in Sydney’s CBD
On the top floor of the QVB
First floor of the QVB
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Top floor of the QVB
Meeting Julie on Pitt St.
Meeting Julie on Pitt St.

For dinner we met our friend, Julie, outside of the Westfield for dinner. We met her two years ago in Vancouver when she did a work secondment with her accounting firm for 5 months and have kept in touch (such a sweet girl). We were really happy we got to visit her in her hometown! One of the first things she said to us was, “I missed your accents!”. We walked to her favourite Thai restaurant called, Home Thai, about a 5 minute walk away for dinner. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share and had a great time catching up with her. There are tons of Thai restaurants in Sydney and Australia in general, and from what we’ve had so far it’s all been really good. Julie treated us to an awesome meal. She’ll be coming to Vancouver at the end of the year so we’ll get to see her again then.

Home Thai on Sussex St.
Home Thai on Sussex St.
Fresh spring roll
Fresh spring roll
Green papaya salad that was supposed to be mildly spicy but it was extremely spicy
Green papaya salad that was supposed to be mildly spicy but it was extremely spicy
We had Pad see ew, pork belly with green beans, and green curry (not pictured)
We had Pad see ew, pork belly with green beans, and green curry (not pictured)
Mango sticky rice. My favourite Thai dessert!
Mango sticky rice. My favourite Thai dessert!
We forgot to take a picture with all the food. This somewhat blurry selfie will have to do.
We forgot to take a picture with all the food. This somewhat blurry selfie will have to do.

Looking forward to seeing some of Sydney’s beaches, including Bondi Beach tomorrow. It’s also the beginning of the Vivid Festival which is supposed to bring crazy crowds into the city. We’re lucky we get to see some of it and hopefully get some good pictures tomorrow night of the city all lit up.

Steps today: 27,000

Sydney (Day 86): Walking Around the CBD

May 25, 2016

After 85 consecutive days, Kaitlyn is finally taking a break from writing our daily travel log, so I (Tim) will be filling in today. 85 days is quite an impressive streak… What does it take for such an amazing streak to be broken? Just the season premiere of the Bachelorette.

Our flight today to Sydney was at 12:15pm. Late enough that we didn’t have to rush in the morning, but not so late that we could do much in Brisbane before we had to leave (especially considering we normally sleep in). This was my first time here, and although we had less than 24 hours in Brisbane, it really left a good impression on me. I’d definitely want to spend more time in the city the next time we’re in Australia. (Kait: I agree. It’s usually skipped by most people but I think it’s a really nice city)

We checked out of the hotel just after 9:30 and drove the rental car to the airport to return. Of course, you always need to fill up the tank before returning a rental car. One interesting thing about Australian gas stations (or at least every single one that we’ve been to) is that they don’t have pay at the pump, and you don’t have to prepay either. The gas stations are all like the good old days in Canada where you use the pump first, then go into the station to pay. It’s also interesting to note that since Australia doesn’t have pennies anymore (like Canada), when you pay for gas with cash, you can always give yourself 2 extra cents of gasoline 🙂

We we’re flying Tigerair for the first time today and the check in and bag drop process were all automated. After using a kiosk to check in (like a lot of other airlines), you have to deal with dropping off checked luggage on your own as well. First you have to put the baggage tag on your bag, then proceed to the back drop stations where you scan your boarding pass. The bag drop station then automatically weighs your bag (to make sure it’s within the weight limit you paid for), scans the baggage tag, and sends your bag down the conveyor belt. It was a little bit cumbersome because you had to make sure your bag and the baggage tag was oriented in a way that allowed it to be scanned, but overall, the process was fairly quick and painless.

Domestic Terminal at Brisbane Int'l Airport. There's direct flights on AC to/from Vancouver (which are heavily advertised)
Domestic Terminal at Brisbane Int’l Airport. There’s direct flights on AC to/from Vancouver (which are heavily advertised)

We knew there wouldn’t be any food (or drinks) on the flight, so we both got meat pies from Pie Face at the food court in the terminal. (We also shared a sausage roll from a cafe). We’d been meaning to try Pie Face since we arrived in Australia, and now seemed as good a time as any. We also got two more Bundaberg sodas: Sarsparilla (Kait: it was more like a root beer) and a Lemon, Lime & Bitters. This trip has been the first time I’ve had Sarsparilla from companies other than HeySong. (We also tried a Malaysian brand while we were in Singapore). While I enjoyed experiencing the diversity of flavours in the different Sarsparillas, I still think HeySong is the best.

Pie Face (an Aussie pie chain)
Pie Face (an Aussie pie chain)
Pie face ($5.95 AUD, a $1 more than outside the airport).
Pie face ($5.95 AUD, a $1 more than outside the airport).
Bundaberg sodas (2 for $6 AUD)
Bundaberg sodas (2 for $6 AUD)
See you soon, Brisbane
See you again, Brisbane

The flight was smooth and weather was good throughout the flight. As we approached Sydney, I could see out the window that there was a fairly large fire burning not far from the city. (Later in the day while we walked around, the air was hazy and we could smell the smoke.)

aerial photo

Getting into the city from the Airport was really simple with the train. We got transit cards (called Opal Cards in Sydney) and put 20 AUD on them. Unlike most cities with transit fare cards for tapping on and off, the Opal Cards did not require any cash deposit, so it was a no brainer to get them. From the domestic terminal at the airport, it cost 15.76 AUD and took 10 minutes to get to Central station. From the station, it was a short walk to the Central Station Hotel, our home in Sydney for the next 3 days.

Airport Link train
Airport Link train
Opal card
Opal card
Arriving at Sydney's Central Station
Arriving at Sydney’s Central Station

After checking in and getting settled in our small (but clean and cozy) room, we headed out to make the most of the remaining daylight. It wasn’t even 3pm yet, but the sun was going to set before 5. Kaitlyn’s mentioned this before, but I always find it odd when it’s a warm or hot day, and the sun sets early. Growing up in Vancouver, I’m conditioned to expect 9pm sunsets when it’s this warm.

Central Station Hotel
Central Station Hotel
Our cozy room. $95 CAD/night
Our cozy room. $95 CAD/night

From the hotel, we made our way first to Hyde Park. The park is named after the original Hyde Park in London, but it’s less than 1/10 the size. None the less, there’s a beautiful tree lined path that runs down the centre of the park, and a well kept fountain at one end. From the fountain, you also have a great view of St. Mary’s Cathedral, one of the many beautiful older buildings in Sydney. Sydney was founded about 100 years before Vancouver, and it really shows in some of the fantastic old buildings.

Hyde Park
Hyde Park
Ibises are everywhere
An ibis infront of the fountain at Hyde Park
St.Mary's Cathedral
St.Mary’s Cathedral

From Hyde Park, it was a straight shot down Macquarie St towards the Sydney Opera House. When you think of the most famous landmarks in the world, I think the Sydney Opera House is definitely in the top 20, if not the top 10. I was really excited for Kaitlyn to see it for the first time.

The building itself is a marvel of engineering and design, and I was awed even though this wasn’t my first time seeing it. It seems a shame if I were a local here and grew to take the building for granted (and it makes me wonder if visitors to Vancouver feel the same way about Vancourites taking our natural beauty for granted).

While the building itself was spectacular, the experience of trying to get a good photo of it (and more importantly to Kait, a photo with us in it) was not so great. There is an art to selecting a stranger to ask to take a photo for you. Normally at a landmark, it’s not too difficult to pick a person who is likely to take a decent photo. My general rule of thumb is to find a person using a camera worth more then every piece of clothing and accessory they are wearing. If they are with a partner or in a group, take everyone’s clothing and accessories into account. I think the higher the ratio between Camera Value vs Clothing Value, the higher the probability the person can take a decent photo. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have much luck getting a great photo in front of the Opera House. I shouldn’t complain though. Our friend Chris recently came to Sydney and his photo in front of the Opera House didn’t even really have the Opera House in the frame.

She squatted while taking this picture
Knew it wasn’t going to be a good picture when she squatted to take the picture 
Opera House details
Opera House details
Circular Quay and CBD
Circular Quay and CBD
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge

After the Opera House, we walked along the water past Circular Quay to The Rocks (not The Rock, or The Rock, or The Rock, but The Rocks). The Rocks is a historic area of Sydney adjacent to the Central Business District. It’s a great place to stroll around with lots of food and culture to explore. We made our way through it quickly though, as we were hoping to walk to Darling Harbour before the sunset.

Ferries at the Circular Quay
Ferries at the Circular Quay
The Rocks
The Rocks

Lots of areas around Sydney are being set up for Vivid Sydney, a “Festival of Light, Music, & Ideas”. I don’t really know what it’s all about, but it starts on the 27th so Kait and I will be able to check out the opening night of the festival before we leave for New Zealand on the 28th.

There were different light exhibits being set up all around the CBD and Circular Quay for Vivid
There were different light exhibits being set up all around the Rocks and Circular Quay for Vivid
Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall

At this point, we were starting to get hungry, and weren’t really impressed with our food options around Darling Harbour… They looked good, but a bit too pricey (e.g. 21.50 AUD for Chicken Schwarma with Rice). With that in mind, we decided we’d do a quick loop around Darling Harbour (and over Pyrmont Bridge), before making our way to Chinatown to find some food.

Darling Harbour at 5:00pm
Darling Harbour at 5:00pm

After strolling around Chinatown for a while, we settled on eating at Dixon House Food Court. Kait got fried noodles and I had a spicy noodle soup. The highlight of the noodle soup were the noodles themselves. They were thin, al dente, made in house, and they gave you a free refill of noodles with every order of noodle soup! I’m usually not big on kaedama (or gluttony in general), but it’s also tough for me to pass up a free offer in order to maximize my value. That sort of tells you a lot about my personality.

Dixon St. in Chinatown
Dixon St. in Chinatown
Dixon House Food Court. It was a lot busier down here than in the restaurants upstairs.
Dixon House Food Court. It was a lot busier down here than in the restaurants upstairs.
Kaitlyn's noodles for $9.80 AUD
Kaitlyn’s noodles for $9.80 AUD
Super spicy beef noodle ($12 AUD)
Super spicy beef noodle ($12 AUD) after a few bites

After dinner, we slowly made our way back to the hotel. We made a pit stop at Coles (our favourite supermarket in Australia apparently) to pick up some drinks and fruit. When we got back to the hotel, it was only 7:30! So early in the day, but perfect timing for Masterchef Australia. We hadn’t watched in almost a week, but I was happy to see that my favourite contestant (Sad Joey Fatone) was still in it.

We’ve got 2 more full days in Sydney, so we’re spending the evening making some plans (while watching Masterchef and Bachelorette).

Steps: 21,000