My first time stepping in Australia. My excitement was beyond description by words. To my disappointment, I had a very bad start for the trip. I was in a dilemma on how to get to city from airport, and I approached one of the service counters and was introduced with this shuttle van service, known as RedytoGo. By paying 22 dollars (slightly more expensive than train), you get direct transfer service to your hotel, saving the troubles of dragging your luggage around. I thought it was a pretty good deal but guess what? I waited for at least 2 hours while I was promised that the shuttle van came every 30 minutes. The waiting area was at outdoor and the weather was cold and breezy. Could you imagine my anger? When I tried calling the company, the person on the line was rude enough to tell me that their van would come every 30 minutes and I must have missed the previous one. I was trying to explain that I had waited for 1.5 hours and I didn't see a single van to city. He merely replied this was not possible. There were another couple and a big family waiting together with me. The couple just left to take a cab after an hour of wait. AHHHH, I WAS SO PISSED OFF! Guys, never ever trust RedytoGo! NEVER! Okay, done with ranting. Let's move on!
Accommodation
Bounce Sydney
Address: 28 Chalmers St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia.
The rest of the trip in Sydney was awesome though. We stayed in Bounce Sydney (backpacker hostel). I have to admit that accommodation is more expensive than New Zealand (NZ). We opted for family room with attached bathroom (able to fit in 4 persons, about ~200 AUD per room). Good things about this place were the cleanliness and the location (just opposite to Central Station and you could do grocery shopping at Metro nearby).
Introducing the best snack from Aussie, even after we tried all the different chips in NZ, we still thought that this was still the best.
We travel around by OPAL card (same function as EzLink card in Singapore). It could be purchased in convenience stores and certain train stations. And the fare was capped at 2.60 AUD on Sundays regardless of the number of the trips made excluding trips to/from airport. This was a good bargain for us as the only day we spent in Sydney was a lovely Sunday. More details about OPAL card can be found here.
Promoting OPAL card.
Sydney Fish Market
Perfect place to kick start your day in Sydney. Not too crowded as we arrived there early in the morning. The seafood was fresh and not too expensive. Highly recommends the salmon sashimi and cheese-baked scallops.
Huge lobsters, bigger than my mum's face.
We ordered a huge platter for sharing. Thought it was a bad idea as the varieties were limited and we couldn't finish the fries (the carbs made us so full that we couldn't sample other seafood).
Bondi Beach
Train + bus to reach Bondi Beach. It was drizzling and the wind was blowing strongly, I was shivering badly. T.T We were lucky enough to visit on the last day of Sculpture by the Sea, featuring stunning artistic sculptures along the coastal walk. The view would have been more spectacular on a bright sunny day. Absolutely amazed by the combination of art and nature.
Wish I can jump into the pool.
Free fruits with each donation.
Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House
The iconic landmarks of the city. Took a stroll along the river. The pace here was completely different from Singapore, much more relaxing. And the purple jacaranda trees in the Rock were extremely photogenic, perfect place to visit if you are looking for good updates in Instagram.
Goodbye Sydney. Next up will be about New Zealand!!!
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