10:15pm – Finally have a chance to write! Right now I’m
watching some magician show with my dad and brother in our apartment that
reveals magicians’ greatest secrets. I never understood why these magicians
tend to have the ugliest girls, at least in this show. These girls were
probably too dumb to become weather girls and not hot enough to be real models,
and this is the gig they got stuck with. The magician himself is also masked,
which probably says something about his own appearance. Hot magicians have hot
assistants. Masked magicians have girls that should be wearing masks. It’s a
pretty simple correlation.
I should probably start this post off by explaining what
happened last night before I hastily finished my post. Suny and I were sitting
in the mall food court on our laptops (I was on my parents’) and this man, who
was originally sitting down the table from us with a friend, decided to come
over and start talking to me, his introductory line being – “every day I’m
shuffling” in an Aussie accent. Alright, LMFAO-wannabe over here…If this man didn’t seem to be
over 30, I might have stopped typing, but I was too absorbed in what I was
writing. That’s another one of my pet peeves – when I’m in my writing zone,
don’t bother me! When he kept repeating himself, stopping briefly in between to
giggle to himself, and I wasn’t responding, he started talking to Suny, who
didn’t understand what the hell he was saying. I’ve been able to understand the
Australian accent fairly well, but the rest of my family still has a little
difficulty sometimes. He also wanted Suny and me to shake his hand. He even
waved his hand in front of my computer screen to see if he could get a reaction
out of me. The guy was just a little drunk, and having dealt with such
situations more times than I can count, I didn’t even bother to flinch. He came
back the second time and kept asking if Suny and I were boyfriend and
girlfriend so he could hook Suny up with a girl sitting in the row behind us in
the food court. The girl wasn’t amused by his theatrics either and soon the two
men just left. Suny thought they might come back though so he wanted to just hurry
up and leave.
In any case, on to today’s activities! I am so exhausted
right now and just want to get this written out before tomorrow because I’m
sure I’ll have a lot to say about what we’re doing tomorrow. Today we went on
one of those double-decker red buses that you oftentimes see associated with
London tourism. They have the same thing here with 34 different stops
throughout Sydney and you can hop off the bus to check out the specific
location then hop back onto another bus that comes around whenever you’re done.
There are a lot of buses and one will hit a spot about once every 15-20 minutes
so the waits aren’t too long at all either. The Sydney buses share a few spots
with the Bondi Beach buses too so we were able to go on both tours. The day was
all together pretty fun, but just mad busy and SO exhausting. I’m too tired to
even go back to the mall to post this so I’ll probably just be posting it
tomorrow because I don’t feel like paying for $5 for an hour of internet at the
hotel.
Alright so our tour began in Darling Harbour right outside
Harbourside/the Convention and Exhibition Centre. The creation of Darling
Harbour (the harbour that I keep referring to) was a multi-million dollar
project undertaken to help restore the culture and vibrancy of Sydney. Before,
the area was falling apart and turning into a slum, but after the completion of
this huge project, they created an amazing mall with tons of stores, a
beautiful boardwalk area with restaurants right along the harbour, and
spectacular views for tourists and locals alike to enjoy.
Our first stop on the tour was the Chinese Gardens/IMAX
theatres which we didn’t hop off to visit. The IMAX theatre here is actually
the largest in the world – with screens up to seven stories in height. The
Chinese Gardens were made to represent the close relationship between the
Chinese and Australians. It has a beautiful botanical garden and zen room, and offers
a wide selection of calming and relaxing teas for its visitors. It’s made out
to be quite a romantic setting, so Suny and I are trying to get our parents to
go one night while we go and do something more up our own alley.
We passed by the Sydney Aquarium, King St. Wharf, Campbell’s
Cove, and The Rocks before hopping off the bus to explore Circular Quay. We
already visited the Aquarium yesterday which houses more than 12,000 aquatic
animals. We decided to get off at Circular Quay since we could see most of the
previous stops while there by just walking around. Plus, Circular Quay is HUGE!
It’s about the size of Darling Harbour, so it has a million restaurants and
things to do, but the most unbelievable part of it (which is the reason it
trumps Darling Harbour) is the view of the Sydney Bridge. I can’t even begin to
describe what a jaw-dropping, stunningly gorgeous sight this is. We took a
million and a half pictures while there so you’ll see what I’m talking about
when I post them, but OMG it is absolutely mesmerizing.
We didn’t get a chance to visit the bridge up close
unfortunately, or as the locals here call it, “the coat hanger”. The decision
to construct the bridge was made during one of the worst economic depressions
the country has ever seen back in the 1920s. Creating this bridge meant that
3,000 men were able to have steady, full-time jobs for the 9 years it took to
build it. It was a huge benefit to their economy, and for many reasons an icon
to the Australian people today. I can’t remember what else was said about it,
but basically everyone and their mom loves this bridge, and I can hardly see a
reason not to.
We spent most of our day at Circular Quay, starting off with
visiting the Crime and Justice museum. Since Australian was once used as a
detainee encampment/prison for fugitives, it has a rich history of law
enforcement. While we have the Crime and Punishment museum back in the states,
I guess the Australians view how they treated these criminals as “justice”. (I
am honestly so tired right now I can hardly keep my eyes open so sorry if some
of this isn’t coherent…) We got to see a lot of the weapons they used and we
learned a bunch about AISO, the Australian Intelligence Security Organization
(I think), which used to track people and keep tabs on who was a communist spy
and who wasn’t. It took 14 people to track one person, and if you were a POI
(or Person of Interest), you better watch your back. We got the chance to use
their database to see if we were being followed, but the search came up with no
results at all – suspicious much? I’m a little worried. What I thought was most
cool about this museum was how they replicated real-life rooms that they used
to have back in the day. For example, they created a court room, and for all of
us used to the normal court room scenes from Judge Judy or whomever, it was
pretty similar, except for one thing –the bird cage. I forget the proper term
for it, but basically way back when, when prisoners were on trial, they usually
had a huge group of them at one time that they kept in these long, rectangular,
bird-cage-like devices with iron bars. It kind of reminded me of Harry Potter
and how the prisoners like how Barty Crouch and company were tried in those
kinds of holding cells while everyone else looked on and gawked at them like
they were some sort of freak show.
We next went over to the Museum of Sydney which wasn’t too
memorable besides for the Surf City exhibit they had on the top floor. We
weren’t allowed to take pictures in there, but it basically explained the rise
of surfing in Australia and how it began with a Hawaiian native coming over to
Australia and the Aussies catching wind of his talents and forcing him into a
surfing demonstration – just another thing the Australians picked up from
America. He brought up a little Sheila to sit on his board as he surfed, so
technically the first Australian surfer was a girl! They also talked about the
crazy lengths people will go to, just to get recognized out here – they’ll
brave the most ridiculous waves and weather just for a chance to steal some
glory and get some attention. I read an interesting article there about the 30
things all boys should look for in their female counterpart – I think the
article came from an old surfing magazine or something, but the suggestions
were actually pretty cute and on point. I don’t know why I’m writing this, but
there was a craft corner in the Surf City exhibit too! I made my own female
surfer using the cut-outs they provided and brass pins to hold her together,
and then I made Suny one too but I don’t think he was as stoked about it as I
was.
We left the museums and headed down to the Quay for lunch
where we found another street performer. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to these
funny-looking men with their obnoxious amplified headset microphones and
strange hats, but they’re so amusing. This one was juggling sharp swords when
we approached, and his big trick at the end was to use two random men from the
audience that he asked to stand about a foot apart facing each other, and to cross
their arms…he then jumped onto their crossed arms and juggled four flaming
torches! This guy was apparently from Scotland (I’m starting to not believe
them when they say they’re from somewhere other than Australia. Their accents
all sound too alike.) Turns out this genre of entertainment has a name –
“street theatre”.
On our way to the infamous Opera House, we stopped to eat
lunch along the waterfront. We settled on an Italian restaurant called Eastbank.
My parents ordered fish and chips which was made to perfection (and priced to
reflect it). The fish was so fresh and the crust was deliciously crispy. Suny
ordered KANGAROO MEAT. I can’t even begin to describe how upset it made me, him
eating one of Seth’s relatives. It was served with this weird pink rice and
looked a lot like steak. I ordered off the kids’ menu – a Hawaiian pizza! I had
them substitute the ham for jalapenos, and this was yet another one of my
soon-to-be-infamous trends that the Australians just didn’t understand until I
explained it like five times. No ham. Jalapeno slices instead. Not that
difficult. In any case, the food was really good!
After getting our fix of food, we headed over to the world
famous Opera House. Since we were still on that hop-on hop-off bus tour, we
didn’t want to spend too much time in one place, so we decided to save the tour
for another day. We checked it out from the outside, and honestly, it is
probably the most amazing building (architecturally) that I’ve ever seen.
Google Sydney Opera House right now and you’ll see what I mean. It’s STUNNING!
Apparently the Opera House has a world recognition factor of over 4 million,
meaning that if you were to show a picture of the Opera House to everyone in
the world, about 2 out of every 3 people would be able to recognize what it is.
That’s insane! It’s one of the most highly recognized buildings in the world.
We got back on the sightseeing bus tour to check out the
rest of the city. Some highlights: We drove along Pitt Street which is the 7th
most expensive street in the entire world in terms of retail shops. That’s
where you can find all the high-end stores like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel,
etc. among so many others. This area reminded me a lot of Times Square what
with all the different shops, shining lights, skyscrapers, billboards, and they
even had an Apple store with the huge glass windows and lit Apple logo. There’s
also this amazing mall near George St./Market St. which is dubbed to be one of
the most beautiful malls in the world. Hopefully we can go shopping there
before we leave. The architecture is gorgeous – you would think it’s like a
church or castle or something, but it’s a mall! We also passed by Kings Cross,
which is known more famously as the Red Light District of Sydney. If you’re
looking for prostitutes or strip clubs – that’s your stop! It was formerly
known as Queens Cross, but because there’s also a Queens Square, people would
get confused and about a century ago they changed the name to Kings Cross (like
in Harry Potter!).
After a bit, we switched over to another sightseeing bus to
go to Bondi Beach – omg. I don’t know where to begin with this. We took a tour
around Bondi and everything about this place just solidified my desire to pick
up and leave America to come live here. The water was a clear light blue, and everyone
around was having such an amazing time. The boardwalk was filled with cool
restaurants, small shops, and dessert parlours, kind of like Ocean City
except…a million times better. We spent some time walking along the shops and
got ice cream at Cold Rock Ice Creamery, which was very similar to Coldstone in
that you pick your ice cream flavor then add whatever candy or toppings to it,
they mash and mix it up, and then they serve it to you. I tried the Aussie
Vanilla flavor mixed with Cadbury caramel chocolate and a caramel square. As
much walking as we do here, I feel like we’re just packing the pounds right
back on with all these ice cream trips. No worries though, we’re on vacation!! :)
Just a note about coming to Australia though – I don’t care
if you’re a guy or a girl – never, ever, ever come here if you’re feeling
self-conscious about your weight or aren’t ready to strip down into a bathing
suit at any time of day. The people here are so amazingly fit and perfectly
shaped that if you’re not one of them, you’ll constantly feel like a 400-pound
gorilla with all these beautiful, scantily-clad people surrounding you. The
only comfort you have is the other tourists who also forgot to devote an entire
year to sculpting their bodies before coming here. Good thing I’m not at all
self-conscious…
Bondi has a rich surfing history which began with that
Hawaiian who came over and taught them how to surf. There’s also an exclusive
surfing club of Bondi Beach, and membership is only given to intense surfers
who show up every single Sunday to surf, regardless of the weather or whatever
else, for four consecutive years. It’s a pretty exclusive club, and only the
most die-hard surfers can be found within it.
Overall, Bondi beach was incredible. If you’ve ever watched
The O.C., remember how they show houses up on cliffs/mountains that overlook
the water? Well, that’s how Bondi is. There are so many houses of all sizes
along the cliffs/mountains that offer million dollar views of the beach. Don’t
worry – I took lots of pictures here too! When I retire after making my own
Kingpin Bowling Lounge/Cupcakery in the states, that’s exactly the kind of
place I plan to live. Seeing as how Sydney is sunny and warm about 280 days out
of a year, I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this at all.
After a circle around Bondi, we went back to the Sydney city
tour bus and stopped off at the Powerhouse Museum. The Harry Potter Exhibition
that is traveling the world is currently docked there, and I’ve been dying to
see their exhibits. When we got to the museum around 5pm, the Exhibition was
still open till 8pm, but the rest of the museum was closing, so we figured we’d
come back another day, especially since we were already so tired and had plans
for the evening. We got back on the bus and headed towards the hotel to freshen
up before setting off again. I didn’t get a chance to write earlier today since
I showered instead of typed this up, which in hindsight I regret since I have
so much to write now and I’m so tired!
Alright so we got dressed and then hopped back on the
sightseeing bus to get to Hyde Park. Today was the commencement of this huge
festival throughout all of Sydney, created to commemorate Australia Day on
January 26. (They basically party for like three weeks in anticipation of it.)
Hyde Park (this gigantic park in the middle of Sydney) was hosting a fair type
of thing with entertainers, music, dancing, and food. We walking around a bit,
listened to a few songs by a group called Electric Empire, then walked around
to see what else they had. We were intrigued by a food kiosk advertising “Fairy
Floss”, but when we approached the stand, we realized Fairy Floss to
Australians = Cotton Candy to Americans. In another part of the park, we found
a band playing live jive music and even had professional dancers teaching
audience members the steps. It was really neat and the created such a fun jive
about the place. We continued walking around the park and found locals more
around my and Suny’s ages. Suny picked up trace smells of pot and so many
people were walking around with open containers. They even had a section roped
off as an above 18 section for alcohol and I guess weed. These people were
jamming to some strange psychedelic trance music, if that tells you anything
about the group. Around this area, Suny ran into a guy causing the guy’s
sunglasses to fall off and one of the lenses fell out of the frame. The guy
looked like he was going to kill someone, but Suny has this weird goofy gift of
appeasing people and just making friends with them so they don’t give him a
hard time about such an awkward encounter. The guy kept saying something like
“I will do unto you as you do unto me” but eventually just walked away. I guess
Suny apologizing and being nice to the guy made the guy nice to Suny in return.
Also, this guy was pretty drunk so I don’t think he even realized what he was
saying.
I feel like my writing skills are deteriorating with each
sentence I type for this blog – either that or I’m just really tired and there
are way too many background noises here to concentrate on what I’m writing.
We left Hyde Park around 8pm to get to Darling Harbour in time for dinner and the fireworks at 9. By the time we walked back to the harbour we only had about 20 minutes to eat before the fireworks show so we grabbed something quickly from the food court and went out to the waterfront to see the show. As we raced back from the park, we saw a lot more street performers but didn’t get a chance to stop and watch their shows. Just when I thought there weren’t any smokers or homeless people in Australia (because I’ve hardly seen any!), the walk back changed that belief. We saw a few homeless people along the streets of the Central Business District (or CBD) which we partially walked through to get back to the harbour. Also, there were a bunch of smokers in the park at the festival. Another interesting sight – tents for “Occupy Sydney” with “support the 99%” etc. banners and paraphernalia. My dad wanted to go up to one of them and ask “What do you do if you’re in the 1%?” -__- It’s like the time we went to the circus when we were younger and there was this group of protesters standing outside, promoting against animal abuse and whatnot, and my dad, supposedly not realizing who they were, went up and asked one where to buy tickets for the show. My dad’s a funny, funny man. (He really is though.)
I hope these posts aren’t getting too boring. I’ll probably
go back to this blog once I’m in the states to edit/spruce up my writing since
most of this doesn’t make coherent sense. I’m essentially just trying to get
all my thoughts down and write down everything we did before I forget, which is
why these posts are so long. I’d rather write more than less just to ensure
that I cover as much of this trip as possible. I don’t have the opportunity to
travel a lot, and my memory for the most part sucks, so writing this down
really helps me remember what we’ve been doing! (This blog is more for me than
it is for you haha, sorry!)
Thanks for reading!
P.S. – I never knew brown people could get sunburned, but
all of us got sunburned from today! I didn’t get hit as badly, just my V-neck
area beneath my neck since I put lotion on my arms and legs and wore makeup. My
mom got a little sunburned on her nose, but Suny and my dad got hit the worst –
face, legs, and arms. After that encounter, we decided to buy some suntan
lotion for our future escapades.
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