Back on track in Sydney, Australia

Enjoying the rooftop jaccuzzi at Singapore Airport
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Vi hadde 5 dager i Sydney, men p.g.a. jetlag (jeg sov nesten ikke paa 4 netter) og litt festing saa ble det egentlig ikke mer enn 4. Det er selvfoelgelig ikke nok i en by som Sydney, men naa vet vi i alle fall hvor fantastisk denne byen er!

Turen fra Oslo via Amsterdam og Singapore gikk greit, selv om det virket veeeeldig langt ned til Sydney...det hjalp at vi hoppet i en jaccuzzi paa flyplassen i Singapore, refreshing! Anbefales for alle som har en time til overs paa Changi Airport! Naar vi kom fram til Sydney forventet vi +25 grader og fint shorts-vaer, men i stedet var det +18 og iskald vind...og naa lurer du sikkert paa hvorfor jeg klager, ettersom det er vinter hjemme...og ja, jeg forstaar din frustrasjon, men av en eller annen grunn var jeg kaldere i Sydney den foerste dagen enn jeg var hjemme i 2 uker...merkelig...heldigvis var det straalende sol alle dagene vi var i Sydney og varmen kom ogsaa etterhvert....det var godt aa vaere i gang igjen! I Sydney bodde vi i Kings Cross omraadet, rett utenfor sentrum. Et merkelig omraade, full av trendy barer og restauranter, backpackere, prostituerte, alkoholikere og velkledde forretningsfolk...ganske kult faktisk, og absolutt ikke farlig! Rommet vi hadde paa Sydney Central Backpackers kosta shorta (450 kr pr natt) men var allikevel det vaerste vi hadde hatt i Australia saa langt...heldigvis tilbragte vi lite tid der.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
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Vaar foerste sightseeing-stopp var selvfoelgelig Sydney Harbour med utsikt over Operahuset og Sydney Harbour Bridge. Det er den flotteste havna vi noen gang har sett, rett og slett helt nydelig. Operahuset er flott, men ikke saa stort som vi trodde, og aller flottest er det paa avstand. Sydney har 4 mill innbyggere, men er spredt ut over et omraade som er stoerre enn London. Dette fordi saa mange vil bo ved kysten, der det er mange strender aa velge mellom.

Loerdagen vi var i Sydney var det Marti Gras (verdensberoemt homseparade) og en halv million mennesker kom til Oxford Street for aa se paraden, alle de gale menneskene og for aa feste. Vi hang oss paa, sammen med en kamerat av Rory, Kieran, som bor i Sydney, og et irsk par vi ble kjent med i Malaysia, som naa hadde flyttet til Sydney. Det var en meget bra kveld, men jeg skal ikke repetere alle de syke tingene (og menneskene) vi saa i gatene...

Savouring the views of the Sydney Opera House
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Soendagen ble litt avskrevet p.g.a. festingen kvelden foer, men Kieran kjoerte oss ut til noen av strand-omraadene soer-oest for byen, bl.a. Bondi beach. Det er veldig flott der ute ved kysten, og kun 15 min fra byen. Flott kystlinje med klipper og herlige strender. Forstaar hvorfor saa mange ender opp i Sydney, her kan man virkelig leve det gode liv!

Mandagen leide vi bil og kjoerte til Blue Mountains, et beroemt fjellomraade vest for Sydney. Det var herlig aa ha friheten med egen bil, og naturen var flott, men p.g.a. at kroppen min fremdeles ikke hadde funnet ut at den burde sove om natten, saa gikk jeg rundt som en zoombie. Tirsdagen tilbragte vi med vaare gode venner fra Norge, Egil og Elisabeth, som hadde ankommet Sydney paa ferietur, kvelden foer. Det ble en super dag der hoeydepunktet var BridgeClimb paa Sydney Harbour Bridge. Vi fikk paa oss en haug med sikkerhetsutstyr, og i en gruppe paa 12 ble vi geleidet opp paa brua, altsaa helt oeverst paa buen over den trafikkerte veien. Utsikten derfra og utover hele Sydney og havna var rett og slett spektakulaer, og selv om det er litt dyrt saa anbefaler vi det paa en solskinnsdag, slik som vi hadde. En uforglemmelig opplevelse!

The Opera House
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Vi fikk ogsaa tid til aa besoeke omraadet Manly, nord for sentrum, med sin beroemte strand og herlige atmosfaere. Avslutningsmiddagen vaar i Sydney hadde vi ved Bondi sammen med alle vaare venner, og vi synes det var veldig vemodig aa maatte forlate Sydney, som definitivt er en av de flotteste byene vi har vaert i.

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Our flight down south was pretty smooth apart from the standard sleep deprivation. We had an 8hr stopover in Singapore which was probably the best airport in the world to be stuck in. They have cinemas, swimming pools, game consoles and internet and nearly all of it free. There was also the option of free tours of the city from the airport but we were in no mood to travel any further than necessary. We sat in the jacuzzi for a few hours!

Celebrating Marti Gras in the streets of Sydney
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We eventually landed in Sydney at 12.00pm and got to out hostel about 14.00. We stayed in the Kings Cross area, which if anybody has been to Sydney before knows, is the red light, drug, shoot-em-up area of the city. It sounds more dramatic than it is. No more dangerous than anywhere else we've been and plenty of life! We were absolutely shattered so we slept for a few hours and went out for some dinner and then back to bed. Of course woke up at 2am and couldn't sleep again, though we were wrecked. Jetlag sucks! The overpriced, smelly, dingy hostel room doesn't help either.

Discussing fashion trends with the locals at Marti Gras
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Sydney is everything we expected and more. The weather was stunning which helped. Its been a fairly brutal summer in Australia (by their standards), so we gladly took whatever sun was on offer! On the 1^st full day we explored the Opera house, Sydney harbour bridge and city centre. After all the traveling we've done and all the things we've seen we've tended to subconsciously just accept new places and sights without really appreciating them. But seeing the opera house and harbour bridge really drove it home that we were in Sydney !

Bondi Beach
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That evening we went to the Mardi Gras parade in the city. While it was no st patricks day parade in goleen, co. cork it had its merits! We met up with Kieran, who I was in college with (and had the misfortune to be born just the wrong side of the cork border in Limerick ) and Steve and Aideen who we had met in malaysia. The parade was excellent. While it's rarely a good idea to claim you enjoyed a parade full of gay men in leather and chains the atmosphere was superb. We just bought a load of beer and stood on the footpath for the night. I've never seen anything like the mess in the streets after the parade with bottles and rubbish everywhere. It was spotless next morning though. The aussies have an acceptance of drink that makes Ireland look like a muslim nation!

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains
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Next day was unsurprisingly unproductive and Kieran collected us about 15.00 and gave us a tour of the beaches and views around Sydney, namely Bondi, Coogee and Watsons point. It really does seem like a beautiful place to live.

We rented a car on the 3rd day and visited the blue mountains, 100km to the north west of Sydney. Very nice views and scenery. We didn't do too many hikes as Stine was surviving on 2 hrs sleep a night and was slightly the worst for wear!

Our final full day was spent with 2 friends who had flown over from Norway - Egil and Elisabeth. We did the harbour bridge climb first. This is more a walk up the towering bridge than a full blown climb and the views are stunning from the top. After we took a boat trip out to Manly, a picturesque beachside suburb on the north side of Sydney harbour. We met everyone again that night for a few pints before leaving Sydney the next day. We could have easily spent another few days in Sydney and its certainly a difficult place to leave. But leave we did.....