Sydney

Day 187 (January 1, 2019) - Sydney, Australia

Ever since I left Australia in 2004 after studying abroad there for one year, I've been meaning to make it back. I've had several opportunities to do so, including a couple of friends' weddings, but things just never worked out. Since we were definitely going to Southeast Asia, and we had nothing but time, we decided to swing by Australia (this was actually the original reason we visited New Zealand too, because we had made the decision to go to Australia, and New Zealand was in the area, so why not go).


The main reason we came to Australia was to visit some friends. One friend (Ayo) we knew from Chicago had moved to Sydney. I had a few other friends I knew from studying abroad in Sydney who now lived in Canberra (Tami) and Melbourne (Nick). There wasn't anything too pressing that we wanted to see in Australia, except maybe the Great Barrier Reef. So we decided to spend a week each with Ayo, Tami, and Nick, just to catch up, and a few days in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef.

We arrived in Sydney on Christmas Day, and Ayo was there at the airport to meet us. Unfortunately, Qantas forgot our luggage in New Zealand, so we had a few days living in the clothes we were wearing. It was the holidays, and there was a lot of lost/delayed luggage, so we were told up front it would be a few days. At least they gave matching Qantas pajamas so we could go to bed stylish. Since New Zealand was on the cooler side weather-wise, we showed up in Sydney wearing pants, a t-shirt, and jackets. Unfortunately, Sydney was blazing hot and, without our luggage, we were forced to wear pants in the scorching heat. At least we didn't have to put sunscreen on our legs.

Qantas gave us matching pajamas (and a few other necessities) to hold us over after they forgot our luggage in New Zealand

Ayo has been living in Sydney for the last six years, so he was a great tour guide for us while in Sydney. He also let us stay with him for a week, which was awesome! He saved us a lot of accommodation expense, and we got to hang out. The first day we took a ferry from Rhodes into Circular Quay, the main harbor area in downtown Sydney. We first walked around Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. Lots of people were out, and it was really hot. It brought back a lot of good memories for me, since I have vivid memories of visiting Circular Quay and the Opera House when I was here 15 years ago.

Riding the ferry to Circular Quay

On the ferry, with the Sydney Harbor Bridge in the background

At the Sydney Opera House

One of the few shots we got with both the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge

We then walked to the central business district, which was an absolute madhouse. This was Boxing Day (December 26), which is something similar to Black Friday in the US. We could barely walk down the street in the main shopping areas, since there were so many people. We tried to get out of there as quickly as possible, so we found a lunch place with takeaway food, and then headed to Ayo's work building for a nice quiet lunch without all the people.

At some point we must have visited a store and found the Vegemite asile (see pic below). Vegemite is something of an acquired taste. If you're Australian and you've grown up with Vegemite, then you love the stuff. But most people who aren't Australian (or English potentially, since they have something similar called Marmite), Vegemite is absolutely horrid. It's a black/brown spread made from salt and spent yeast. I hated the stuff when I first arrived in Sydney, probably because the people at the dorm I was staying in used it to "introduce" you to Australian culture. It was actually more of a hazing device, as the Australians got pleasure out of seeing you almost vomit from the taste. One day, however, when I was drinking with friends, and the only snack we had was bread with butter and Vegemite, it all of a sudden didn't taste so bad to me (this was after being in Australia for six months).  I don't know why, but since that point in time, I've had a taste for it. Mark won't eat it unless he thinks of it as beef stock. I just think it tastes like a savory, salty spread that goes very well with bread and butter. I just had to get my picture in the Vegemite aisle. I even bought a tube of it to bring around Southeast Asia, which has come in handy a few times.

Mmmmmm Vegemite

The next day we headed out to the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where I spent a year studying abroad in 2003/2004. I wanted to take a walk around the campus again and visit the dorm where I used to live. Unfortunately for me (but probably fortunately for the new students), they tore down the old Basser College (my dorm) and replaced it with a brand new building that resembles a fancy condo building. It was nice walking around campus for an hour or so, as it brought back some good memories, but in all honesty the campus looked a lot different than I remember it. I think they did a lot of updates/new buildings in the last 15 years.

The main walk into campus from Anzac Parade

One of the smaller quads on campus, with new Basser College at the center top

Basser Steps, which run right next to Basser College and into the quad pictured above

Me in front of the new Basser College

One of the iconic buildings that often shows up in UNSW advertising material...not for it's concrete bunker design, but because of the "UNSW" on top

We also took a short detour to my old late-night stomping grounds. The main bar we went to as college students was called The Regent Hotel, or "The Rege" for short. We would go pretty much every Thursday night, as this was the big night out each week. Not sure why that was, as it made my classes on Friday even less fun than they were to begin with. We had a drink at The Rege and then moved on.

Me in front of The Rege. I'm not sure I knew they actually served food.

Having a drink in The Rege

Inside The Rege, where all the shenanigans went down.

After touring campus and having our drink at The Rege, we took a stroll to Coogee Beach, which was maybe a 30 min walk from campus. This is where us UNSW students would go if we wanted a day at the beach, since it was close and easy to get to. This is the infamous beach where I lost my credit cards and money on New Years Eve 2003/2004. We were at a party at the beach and we all decided to go for a midnight swim. Someone decided they'd be nice and bring our clothes back to the party, but in doing so, everything in my pockets dropped out on the beach. I spent the next couple of hours with Tami's help combing the beach looking for my credit cards and money...we eventually found them. I turned this story into my personal statement for law school applications (something about perseverance), and it got me in. Mark was happy to finally see the place in person where this story took place (he was my personal statement editor).

Coogee Beach

On another day in Sydney, we went to the Taronga Zoo. Mark really wanted to see a kangaroo, and we weren't sure if we'd get to see one in the wild, so we went to the zoo (little did we know we'd see a ton of them just outside of Canberra). The zoo was pretty nice, but it was really hot walking around. It did give a nice flavor of all the wildlife in Australia, most of which can kill you quickly (snakes, crocodiles, spiders, etc.).

At the Taronga Zoo, with Sydney in the background

A pelican maybe? He has a really big mouth.

Mark finally got to see a kangaroo

A huntsman spider. I used to come across these in my dorm room at UNSW, and they are huge, about the size of your hand. I would usually catch them on the wall with a box and bring them outside. The problem was that they were super fast despite their large size, so sometimes a bit hard to catch. Though they look dangerous, they're actually quite harmless to humans.

We also spent a day hanging out at Bondi Beach, one of the most famous beaches in Australia. The beach is quite large, bigger than Coogee Beach, and packed with even more people. It's quite commercialized, so there are lots of bars and restaurants to go to.

Bondi Beach

Happy hour at Bondi Beach

One of the last days in Sydney we went to the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was quite hot out, so we didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but the things we did see were pretty cool. For example, there was a carnivorous plant exhibit, where an entire building was filled with carnivorous plants like venus fly traps, etc.

The carnivorous plant exhibit at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens

Walking around the Royal Botanic Gardens. I think the heat was getting to me, and Ayo rightly looks scared/confused.

Overall our trip to Sydney was excellent. We got to catch up with Ayo for a week, and he played an excellent host and tour guide (and he introduced us to some great TV shows that we'll have to look up whenever we get decent internet...a rarity in Asia). Thanks Ayo!

View of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge from the Royal Botanic Gardens

Thanks Ayo!