Sydney

I just came back from Sydney, a short 3-day-holiday when the term just began. Well, before I go into details of my trip; I must say Sydney is way too busy (at least for me). Hmmmmm, maybe because I’m used to the more peaceful and slower lifestyle of Melbourne. People is just everywhere, day or night and it seems like Sydney never sleep.

My sister felt sick after a day with the crowd and noises, so while she staying at the hotel, me and my mum just wandered around the city. One of the most significant differences between Melbourne and Sydney is that most of the streets are one way and the ground is so hilly (up and down, up and down, so hard to walk around).

The Opera House

We hit the Opera House first. Again, it was so crowded. People nonstop taking photo of the Opera House and the bridge, the icons of Sydney. It’s Mum’s first time to see it, well I guest she was a bit disappointed as the Opera House was not as beautiful and flawless as she saw on magazines before. Still, the Opera House isan amazing work of the architecture history (no one can deny it). The Harbour Bridge is so gorgeous with the clear sky behind and the deep blue sea below. I just loved the feeling of sitting at the Open Bar and looking at the bridge; I imagined it was the bridge to heaven in the fairy tale grandma told me when I was little. I could be the tiny figures climbing along the bridge arch, they were going to heaven perhaps?

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Darling Harbour during boat show

We then went to Darling Harbour. Sadly, the harbour was not so darling as it is normally. At the time, a boat show was happening so all we saw was boats and boats. Big boats, small boats, all kinds of boats. I understand that harbour is meant to have boats around but too many boats like this would destroy the darling looking of the harbour. So instead of walking around the harbour, we decided to pay Madame Tussauds, the wax museum. We indeed had fun with the wax statues of celebrities. They just looked so alive and real, even the smallest details (as the tiny little facial hair) were carefully made. I took some selfies with Johnny Depp and Justin Bieber like I actually met them and close to them. Haha. It was great fun!

Johnny Depp statue at Madame Tussauds Sydney

I was in mood for a hotpot so my friend recommenced a Chinese restaurant called Shancheng Hotpot King in Chinatown which he preferred as iPad Hotpot since we were given an iPad to make order on our own. This is where we got confused. The software was set in Chinese! To be honest, I did feel a bit discriminated. I knew it was in Chinatown, I knew it was a Chinese restaurant; yet we were in Australia, not China. Only Chinese is welcome here? Only Chinese eats hotpot? I wondered………….

On the way to Manly

Before flighting back to Melbourne, we hoped on a ferry to Manly. Sydney looked so so beautiful from afar. The sun, the wind, the smell of ocean blended together and brought such a peaceful feeling after all the business of the city. I just fell in love with Manly at first sight. A small beach town. I think this is the great place for a weekend getaway of Sydneyers. Followed the guide book, we had lunch at Mongers gourmet fish and chips. Delicious food at a reasonable price. We had a short walk to the beach and finally put our feet on the sand.