I always wanted to visit Australia and New Zealand but was never able to take a month off from work. Since I was already in Indonesia and Sydney is just 6 hours by flight, I couldn’t come up with any excuse not to visit the land of Aussies.
In Transit –
I took the midnight flight from Bali to Sydney, and arrived at 9am as scheduled. Followed the signs for Customs and Baggage, and noticed that they had eCustoms kiosk for faster exit. Instead of waiting in lines, I filled the electronic customs form, got the receipt and was able to speed through customs in minutes. Picked up my bags, handed the customs receipt to an agent and was out of the airport by 9:30am. I love the electronic visa and customs process but I didn’t get a physical stamp on my passport “entering Australia,” and that kinda sucks.
I got the Opal card from the train station and topped it to $35 which is the minimum amount. Took the train to Museum station which was just a 15 minutes ride. It does cost $18 from the airport to the city center. Next, transferred by bus and got to my Airbnb which was only 2 stops away from the Museum station. Sydney has a Top-on and Top-off system when you enter and exit the buses or trains. I got off without tapping off and the driver didn’t even care to inform me. I was charged $4.80 for the 2 minute bus ride instead it should’ve been only $0.24 transfer fee. After this experience, I always made sure to tap-on and tap-off. On the plus side, on Sundays they only charge $2.80 for unlimited trips.
Darlinghurst – Eat, Sleep, Explore
I was staying in the Darlinghurst area of Sydney, which is very close to CBD, Opera House, Surry Hills and Potts Point. Also, it’s a very lively neighborhood with lots of gay bars, restaurants and clothing stores.
I was super tired from lack of sleep, so took nap for few hours, after self checking myself into the cute apartment.
Woke up around 2pm, had a quick shower and left the apartment to have lunch. I had the yummy veggie burger at Grilld while watching people walk by. Maybe it was the neighborhood I’m in, but noticed how fit the Aussies were. I’m sure all that walking the slopes and surfing must be the secret sauce to a round booty.
Later, walked around the neighborhood to do some window shopping at local boutiques, couldn’t find anything special within my budget so I was a bit bummed. On my way back to the apartment, saw a Gelateria and convinced myself that I so deserve to celebrate my visit to Sydney. I’ve to say that after having the Creamy chocolate with pistachio special gelato at Rivareno, I was in cloud nine. It was simply the “best,” I’ve had since the past few months.
Modern Library in Surry Hills –
The line blurs between Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Just ten minutes walk from my apartment is the quaint Surry hills. As I was walking Crown Street, the library wit in its modern architecture caught my eye. I went inside to check out some books and the decor. Also, libraries are great places to visit when traveling, you not only get free WiFi but pick up a good book to read. I fell in love with the decor of this library with plants and lot of sunlight. Who wouldn’t want to read a book in this tranquil setting!
Hyde Park –
Walking through this park was a great way to get to the cathedral on one side and CBD on the other side.
CBD (Central Business District) area –
Lots of shopping options and I couldn’t resist. I’m sure I could squeeze in a thing or two in my already exploding bag. Lol.
St. Mary’s Cathedral –
Got there just in time when the mass had started and it’s always nice listening to the hymns.
Dinner at Yullis in Surry Hills –
I found this vegan and vegetarian restaurant by chance in Surry Hills. You need to have reservations at this place but they were able to accommodate me. They were super busy with a bigger party table, so their service was not the best and instead of getting upset when no one came to my table with a menu for 10 minutes, I chose to be compassionate and tried to make the waiters life a bit easier, by looking up the menu online and just walked over to the waiter and ordered my meal. The food was yummy and worth the wait. I had the Eggplant involtini filled with spinach, basil and house made vegan mozzarella served with phrik khing sambal and roti. For dessert, I had the Warm chocolate lava cake with fresh berries and caramel sauce. I learned that the locals usually don’t leave a tip, but I chose to do so because the food was really good. 10% is considered a good tip amount. The hourly wage rate of the waiter is AUD 18.50, much higher than the US peers.
Darlinghurst at Night –
The drag performers at Stonewall were hilarious. It’s definitely a local institution, jam packed with guys of all shapes and sizes, a visit to this gay bar will make your trip so much more fabulous.
