Australia Day 1: First Impressions

10:00am – It’s kind of sad to think that we haven’t even been in this country for six hours yet, and I’m already on a computer to write down what’s been going on. I didn’t bring my own laptop on this trip because I wanted to try to be as tech-free as possible, but by the time we touched down in Sydney, I knew I wanted to keep some sort of a journal for this trip. I mean, how many times am I really going to have the opportunity to fly across the world and go down under!? Plus, I love writing in my other blog, but this one I wanted to be able to share with others.

In any case, I guess I should start with the flight then. The flight that for all intents and purposes, I was perfectly fine going on before I arrived at LAX. When we were originally booking tickets for Australia (about two weeks before today), my dad had a near panic attack when he realized our flight from LAX to SYD would be about 12+ hours. I chided him for freaking out, but after 5 hours on a plane from DC, I was ready to just stay put. Besides that, just thinking about flying OVER WATER for 15 hours wasn’t exactly soothing, particularly since I can’t swim. Scary stuff. Luckily though, the aircraft had some pretty good movies and since our flight departed at around midnight EST, I was able to sleep for most of it. When I go back with Suny, though, we’re going to be flying during the day, and I might need some duty free assistance getting through that flight, if you know what I mean. (Just kidding.) So, the flight wasn’t bad at all – we got pretty good meals and I watched “What’s Your Number” with Anna Faris, part of “The Change Up” before I got grossed out/felt like others sitting behind me might judge me since so much of that movie is PORN, and I ended up watching most of “Crazy, Stupid, Love” which I actually really enjoyed. I had to stop watching about 20 minutes before it was over since we had landed, people were getting off the plane, and my parents thought it would be a good idea if I got off too.

We landed at Sydney International Airport around 6:00am local time here, and I was immediately met with a huge wave of humidity – and it could not have been more welcoming. I absolutely hate hate hate hate HATE the disgusting and decrepit cold weather of the DC area during this time of year (or any cold weather in any place during any time of year, for that matter), so I was beyond stoked for this family vacation. It’s so strange to think that we’re currently upside down from people up in the northern hemisphere – or at least that’s what Suny keeps telling me. It kind of makes me nauseous if I think about it too much, but for all I know, he could be making that up. Who knows! But I was so not dressed for this weather coming from the 40F weather of northern Virgina. By the time I landed in wrinkled yoga pants, loose purple shirt, and Ravens football hat stealthly covering my gross hair, I might as well have had a sign saying “Help me, I’m homeless/definitely not from here.” Before hopping off the plane, a few of the girls around me did their make-up, fixed their hair, changed their clothes, blah blah…I probably should’ve taken the hint. Because the moment we stepped away from customs, out of the secure area and closer to the airport exit where people come to greet their loved ones, I cannot even count the number of attractive, tan, beautiful brown-haired Australian young men there…

I keep getting sidetracked! Alright so we landed, picked up our suitcases from baggage claim, and proceeded outside to get a cab, from where I started taking pictures right away. It’s so interesting visiting another first-world nation and seeing how they do everything. There are so many similarities between here and the states, but so many differences too that make me wonder how advanced Australia really is. First of all, the roads are pretty chaotic. I don’t think they’ve ever heard of solid white lines, because the only lines I see on the roads are dotted white ones, and they go in both directions. There’s no concrete separation between you and the oncoming traffic, and with traffic lines that all look the same, I actually feel quite grateful I didn’t join my dad and brother in getting international drivers licenses. Actually, I think Australia should be more grateful that I didn’t get one. Secondly, as we drove from the airport to the hotel, we passed by very shady and questionable areas with graffiti on the walls, etc. that were right next to beautiful, high-rise apartment buildings. It’s hard to gauge exactly where the safe areas are, but I’m pretty sure we won’t be venturing too far from Darling Harbour where our hotel is.

Our first steps outside the airport.

Cab ride to the hotel.

Back to the whole first-world idea. What struck me most interesting is the diversity of this place! Besides the hot Australian accents greeting me left and right, the ethnic make-up is very similar to the U.S., where you can find just about any kind of person anywhere! Having been colonized by the British, the general make-up is Caucasian, but there are still so many people from different countries and places, like a melting pot. I’m beginning to feel as though this “melting pot” phenomenon is something like a trademark to highly developed nations. It could be a sign that people from all over are able to go and succeed in a foreign environment, regardless of the color of their skin or native dialect. At least in comparison to India, where there is a very overwhelming majority of Indians, places like Australia, England, the United States, Canada, etc. all have extremely diverse cultures which I think is SO COOL! It really makes Australia just feel like a home away from home. I could definitely get used to this kind of life. Then of course there are my parents who remind me of how Australia was once a prison for the British to send their felons, and how we should be very conscious of our belongings because the natives are children of criminals. My initial rebuttal would have started with 1. Pointing out what an ignorant statement that is, and 2. How the British back then had sticks shoved so far up their butts that anything as much as an eye-roll from a commoner probably would’ve banished him to the land down under. Suny and I just stared at them instead, giving them the “Really?” look, and then they admitted they were joking.

Oh! Another thing I wanted to mention was the CURRENCY they’ve got going here. First thing to say – it’s BEAUTIFUL! Like absolutely positively beautiful beautiful currency. All the bills are so pretty and colorful, so thin and crisp, and they’re all so unique! One of these days, I’m going to sit down and figure out who these people are on the bills. The five dollar bill is definitely my favorite though - #5 is my lucky number, and what color is the bill? PURPLE.

Okay so you’re probably wondering what the hell I’m doing typing this at 11am. Well, turns out, our hotel won’t let us in until 2pm. We showed up around 8am and even though we asked for an early check-in, they said it can’t be guaranteed so we’re left chilling and waiting in quite possibly the most gorgeous area I’ve ever been. We took this tunnel/bridge sort of thing from the hotel across the street to this Harbourside shopping mall. Our hotel is right on the harbour, so we have easy access to all the hotspots around here, like clubs and bars (which SUNY of all people wants to go to), as well as the museums, aquarium, monorail, and the best shopping and dining places. Since we couldn’t get into our rooms to shower (which I so so so badly need to do and it is seriously driving me crazy – like actually crazy), we came to this mall area and hooked up to their free wi-fi! The ground floor has a food court of all kinds of foreign food chains (with the exception of McDonalds), so we got food (I got a strawberry, butter, and sugar crepe) and we decided to hang out here for a few hours. The weather outside is even more beautiful now, reaching close to 90F, and all I want to do is shower, change into some shorts, and walk along the harbour. Just a few more hours to go! I don’t mind waiting here though, just because the atmosphere is so lively and vibrant. It reminds me a lot of Tysons, with the sky lights and million things to do. There are even laser tagging and bowling centers here, which I’m sure Suny and I will find useful sooner or later.

Harbourside Mall

We're definitely down under now!

Views of the harbour.

 Wait, back to the currency thought! Things here are mad expensive! For example, my crepe was $8.50, and the Australian dollar is worth more than the American right now, meaning I probably paid like $10 for a crepe. While we walked around the mall here and perused the different places to eat, I noticed how much things are compared to the states. McDonalds charges close to $7 for a small meal, and a small white mocha coffee at a Starbucks-wannabe was like $4.75. Even a bottle of soda from a vending machine (bottle, not can), is $3.50. This is going to be quite an expensive trip.

In any case, those are all the updates I’ve got for now! I hope I get a chance to update this more frequently, but because I think we have to pay for wi-fi, and because I want to actually enjoy the city, I can’t promise anything! I will definitely try though, especially since one of my New Years resolutions was to “update my blog more frequently”. Since this is a sister blog to my other one, it still counts. I don’t know if anyone will even read this, but if you guys have any questions or suggestions for me, please do share! J

Until later, hoo roo mates.

3:00pm – We were finally able to check in about an hour ago, and I just finished showering and getting settled, so I thought I would take some time to update this while the rest of my family got ready. Turns out, I accidentally booked a penthouse suite? Well, not exactly accidentally…I knew I was booked a two-bedroom suite with a view of the harbour, but I didn’t realize it would be on the top floor. That was a lovely surprise for our family! Especially after waiting so long just to get the room. We’re staying at the Oaks Goldsbrough Apartments in Darling Harbour. Our room is a split-level, so the bedrooms and two bathrooms are downstairs while the main room is upstairs, and we have our own kitchen, laundry room, and living room. It’s quite convenient, and not bad at all for what we paid. The view is spectacular, and I’ll definitely be posting pictures onto here whenever I get a chance.

Morning view from our room - you can see Sydney Tower in the distance.

You’re probably wondering how we bided our time while waiting for our room? Well, even if you’re not, I’ll tell you. It wasn’t exactly easy. Suny and I walked around both inside and outside the Harbourside mall, which was so breathtakingly beautiful. The weather was sunny and warm and perfect, and the only real downside was that we were still dressed for the east coast and we still hadn’t showered. Luckily we were able to drop off our luggage at the hotel so we weren’t stuck dragging it around everywhere. We checked out a bunch of stores, many of which I have to go back to because the dresses here are SO PRETTY! I’m obsessed. Walking around outside was a lot of fun too. We walked past a lot of bars/clubs and got ideas for where we would be spending our nights. I think the coolest part of our exploratory quest was the bowling/laser tag LOUNGE on the top floor of the mall. The place is literally a mix between a club like Cities in DC and a high-tech bowling alley with neon glowing lights. There’s room for dancing, plush couches for mingling, even arcade games and air hockey, not to mention a fully-stocked bar. The lanes of the bowling alley light up and I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I guess this place is what WOW at GW was aiming to do with bowling/billiards/alcohol on the top floor of the student center. That was a complete fail compared to this. I can’t wait to check it out at night! (Side note: I feel like this area would be SO MUCH fun to come to with friends, so if any of you are thinking of traveling post-college, definitely put Sydney on your list. You won’t regret it! Just save up some money first.)

We also ate more while we waited for our room. I’ve begun to notice how damn SKINNY these Aussies are! I’m starting to feel mad self-conscious and I might be working in some push-ups and curl-ups in between these blog posts. I mean, it’s not like they’re skinny skinny, but it’s really hard to find fat people here. I guess that’s how you can tell who the Americans are! Joke! (No but really.)

A couple of other things I’ve noticed about the Australians here besides their toned bodies:

• They like to wear sunglasses indoors. They don’t take them off or wear them on their heads – ever. Also, they kind of have a good excuse because every place is so well-lit by natural light.
• So many different foods and people! I know I mentioned this earlier, about how this place is such a melting pot of diversity, but even the food options are plentiful. Just in the food court to the mall, there were Japanese, Mediterranean, Indian, Australian, and American food joints. There were also a bunch of places to get healthy food like fresh fruits, smoothies (they’re ALL about smoothies here), and deli sandwiches.
• They won’t just drink regular juice. You want orange juice? Nope – gotta pick one (or five) more fruits and then they’re gonna mix them into a nicely blended healthy fruity concoction for you, and charge you a boatload. Regardless, they’re delicious.
• Not only do people drive on the wrong side of the road, but their way of walking is completely backwards as well! While in the states we tend to walk on the right side, stand on the right and pass on the left etc., everything is the complete opposite here.
• THERE ARE SO MANY INDIAN PEOPLE HERE.
• They like wearing flowy, loose, light colored clothing, but I guess that’s also true of any sort of tropical paradise.

I’m having a lot of fun analyzing the culture down here! I don’t really have a notebook so I’ve been taking notes on the backs of old receipts and then elaborating on them into this blog hahah. For all I know though, I could just be analyzing tourists since Darling Harbour is also Tourist Central, which might partly explain the diversity of people, but I still think it’s mad cool.

Only down side of this amazing apartment duplex: the internet charges are RIDICULOUS. It’s $5 for 30 minutes…how nuts is that!? Luckily, the McDonalds inside the Harbourside mall offers free wi-fi, so I might just head over there to update this. It’s only about a five minute walk from here so that’s not too bad.

Alright, time to figure out what we’re doing for the rest of the day!

9:00pm – Finished with dinner and now hopefully getting my blog up and running! After showering and getting settled in, we decided to go for a walk around the harbour to take pictures and get a general feel of the area. We had some amazing poses, I must admit, but my dad’s photography skills are definitely lacking. Looking through the pictures, I have to admit I was actually kind of upset at the way my dad takes pictures! While most people like to make sure peoples’ faces are in focus, my dad is more interested in the background – which is great and all, but when peoples’ faces are blurry or if they’re half-way through blinking, I wouldn’t exactly consider that a Kodak moment.

The salvaged pictures from along the harbour...

It's always nice to visit a city after they've undergone world-class renovations for the Olympics.

Regardless, Suny and I will probably have to retake some of them over the next few days. It’s not too big of a deal though since our hotel is only a few minutes away from this place (yup, I’m back at Harbourside). After strolling around, taking pictures, and making plans for the upcoming days, we ate at a Thai restaurant, Thai Foon, also in Harbourside. The place had a really cool feel to it, especially since we got to sit outside along the Harbour, see the ships and things, etc. I know I’ve been talking about this Harbour a lot, but it really is a sight to see. I just took the most amazing picture from our hotel room of our view and it’s probably going to become my new weird Facebook panoramic profile picture crap or whatever they’re doing with that. Absolutely stunning I tell you.

Night time view from our hotel.

Back to the restaurant. I know I mentioned this before, but prices for things are SO OUTRAGEOUS here. I think our total bill for four entrees, one appetizer, a bowl of rice, and a drink was like $120 with tip. I guess there is an advantage to vacationing with your parents after all! The food was pretty good, definitely unique from the states somehow – the seafood was ON POINT. It tasted so fresh, probably because they just went and caught it before serving it to us. My dad got mussels in his food and Suny and he really wanted me to try it, but I wasn’t having any of it. Mussels are too closely linked to Mushrooms, and both of those tastes can stay off my palate, thank you very much. Also, my dad, who absolutely hates spicy food, I guess was getting bored or something while waiting for our food and decided for whatever reason to try one of my mom’s chili peppers –after which he drank all of our glasses of water. Smart moves.

They had these really cool water glasses that tipped but never spilled.

After dinner we went shopping inside the mall for groceries and my mom needed some medications because she’s sick. Since our apartment has a full-size refrigerator and came fully-stocked with utensils, pots, and pans, we thought it would be a good idea to at least eat breakfast in the room instead of spending money outside.

They're nuts about Starbursts here.

Or maybe not so nuts.

Another cool thing –no taxes in Australia! But, we’re pretty sure they work the taxes into the prices of the goods, which is why they’re so freaking expensive.

Alright, I’m done for today! I’m gonna head back to the room with Suny since we have to wake up early and I’m still really jet-lagged. It’s about 9:15pm now and we’ve gotta be up early to go to the Australian Maritime Museum. I’m really excited! It should be fun. We’re also hopefully going to watch some Cricket tomorrow, not that India’s really worth watching right now, but Suny’s really interested in all that so we’ll probably go for a few hours. I can’t think of anything else to say! Plus Suny just finished his sherbert so he’ll probably want to be heading back soon. Thanks for reading this! :) I hope you’ve enjoyed my travels so far!

Good night and sweet dreams from the land down under. :)

P.S. I also have to say my brother’s pretty damn awesome for coming with me and taking my blog so seriously. I’ve been talking about what I’m going to write in it non-stop, and he’s been really supportive about the whole thing. Thanks Suny!