Day 15 - The Sydney tower eye

Sunny

From the observation deck of the Sydney Tower Eye you can see up to 80km in we each direction.  The best time to go during summer is around 19:30. You can catch the sunset and also the night view.

Pull of the day - a very young Korean girl by the name of Sora solicited my help for a photo with her mobile phone camera;  the result was of course less than satisfactory

I explained (or tried to) in disconnected English words that she needed an adjustable camera like mine for a proper photo. I proceeded to showing her the several ones I captured. She was immensely impressed and demanded a wefie. What a notch! 

 Before things got hot and steamy she left hurriedly saying she had an appointment.  

I went to Newtown after that. I arrived too late and the shops were closed and it was not photo worthy. Art enthusiasists (or vandalists) would probably dig that place much.  It does have some lovely shops, pubs and eateries. 

Day 14 - The Sydney harbour bridge workout

Sunny

I'd had decided do a run around botanic garden, opera house or harbour bridge. Today in the view of time I did them all in one evening.

I took my first selfie in years (!) . Just couldn't resist it.

The harbour bridge climb cost $248 - $4xx; depending on duration and time of the day (for example 'twilight' climb was most expensive )

I decided just to run on the bridge instead of signing up for the climb. At that height and without a conducive walkpath (you need a safety harness all the way up) it may induce inherent acrophobia. Don't want to take the chance.

Wikipedia says
'The top of the arch is 134 metresabove sea level and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a spacious 49 metres. '

So I reckon I got about one third of the thrill, at no cost and at subjected to no severe physical risk.

Damn selfies are so gay.  In hindsight I should have asked for help witthe photos. 

photo pose ideas

https://brightside.me/article/20-of-the-best-poses-for-a-photo-shoot-8555/

Day 13 - The Beach and the breakfast

Sunny

A full day of soaking up the sun and sea breeze.

Watson's bay, Bondi beach (couldn't do it proper; too hot in the afternoon! ), Manly beach

Did I mention I had a hearty breakfast to give me the energy for the long day?

Day 12 - Blue mountains

14 Jan - Very Sunny *

The local travel agency quotes $210 per person for a day excursion to blue mountains near the town of katoomba.  They throw in a lot of touristy gimmicks like cable car ride, fancy scenic lunch, champagne, also they pick you up from the hotel.

I decided to do it on my own, not just to save cost but also to get the full travel adventure experience.

I got up late and wolfed down my 3 course buffet breakfast. This meant I would reach my destination late but it was a worthwhile sacrife for getting good rest and fully charged!

I took the train (a train replacement bus service was involved; it took us to Penrith which looks like a typical East Australian town; actually the ride was rather refreshing).

On the bus and train an old lady Cheryl gave me a running commentary of various sights along the journey. She also filled me in on some local cultural knowledge.

When I reached Katoomba I hopped on the local hop-on-hop-off bus. I alighted at Echo point to catch sight (and photos) of the majestic 'three sister gorges', I covered also the leura cascades; did a reasonable amount of hiking and walking including the walk back to the Leura station through its town centre.  I can't really put into words but it is rather fascinating that people live such a different lifestyle here in a foreign country town.

It really is pleasant, the place.  I draw upon my experience in the UK and there are some similarities except food and the weather in Australia are much better.

And yes, my trip cost about $50 in transport and refreshments.

I prefer doing trips this way; I may appear a sad old man but I really am having a blast and chilling the shit. Everything is just on my terms; I can take as much time I want to make a good photo.  I got lost several times but I made a laugh out of it and I enjoyed the view on my way back from the detour.

* Sunscreen should be 50spf; anything lower is simple not good enough. Also remember to apply and reapply throughout the day; any less frequent than that is simply not good enough.

Sunscreen just one of the several things we should do to protect ourselves against harmful UV rays.  First and foremost  you should stay out of the sun, then if you can't avoid it wear protective clothing items like a hat or a scarf, lastly apply sunscreen properly as the last line of defence.

Day 10 - The Sydney and Singapore price war

12 Jan - Sunny

Singapore is a world class city with world class living expenses, consistently voted amoung the top three of most expensive cities to live in the whole world.  However I feel (notion supported by my local friends) the main factors that tilt the scale were property and car costs; if those taken out of the equation Singapore would be very expensive but not crazy expensive.

Anyway as I am in Sydney let me perform a thorough financial assessment of the living expenses of these cities;  let me juxtaxpose these two.

Food : Sydney comes on top.  Restaurant meal prices are comparable with each other buy Sydney has no cheaper alternatives. Even food court are restaurant prices.

Transport:  Sydney definitely.  I just took a several stop ferry ride and it was $5.45.  It's preposterous.

Shopping:  Singapore.  I find everyday items are more expensive in Singapore including shoes and your toothpaste.

Coffee:  Sydney.  At least $3.50 per coffee. Again no cheaper alternative.  Did I mention mineral water is $3 from the vending machine?

Accommodation: Singapore win marginally. A basic room goes for $800-900 per month;  that's perhaps 10-15% more than Sydney.

Touristy stuff:  Tie. Both places are complete rip offs! Spending like a tourist because you are a tourist is pure stupidity.

Services: Singapore.  Based on the prices I gathered for pedi and mani, Sydney seems cheaper.

Alcohol:  Singapore is more expensive,  hands down.

Car: No other country can top Singapore. No one even comes close.

So all in all I feel it's a tie. Both countries are very expensive.  I would put them in the middleweight category.  London would be heavyweight.  The Scandinavian countries would be super heavyweight.



Epilogue

After there's been a bit more action in the evening.  I remember back in 2004 when I visited Sydney as a toothless tourist with a guided tour, we stopped by at Darling harbour for a shirt while (a really short while ). The tour guide explained nightlife was wicked yada yada, I nodded absent mindedly and looked around.  Before I could form my own opinion we we're ushered away to the next destination. Guided tours really are that shallow.

Almost 13 years later I revisited Darling harbour. I rode the ferry, strolled along the quay, listened to live music, watched street performances, spoke to locals, had a sandwich by the quay sat on the floor, fed some sea gulls, witnessed seagull bully bully fellow seagulls,  had a pasta by the Quayside, danced salsa (in a Chinese restaurant that doubled as a popular Salsa joint by night(!), went food shopping at Woolworth and finally caught the late train back.

There is just no comparison

Day 9 - The flight out

Thursday, Sunny

It's early morning; I had insufficient sleep last night as I was scrambling to get my packing up done for a 2 week work trip to Sydney.

As with most people I'm not particularly disciplined at planning ahead but I usually do better than that. I deliberately delayed packing the weekend before because I resolved to 'live in the current moment'. Actually there really isn't any handsome payoff to leaving things to the last minute and it's not cool either.

Well I don't suppose I'll be seeing fireworks on the 8 hour flight so boarding the slick Singapore airlines will have to do for the highlight of the day.

Many hours later...

Good evening Sydney