Month: October 2006

I was a bit of an emotional wreck in Sydney. The beauty of the city didn’t do much to alleviate my nerves, only to get them more worked up. No, I’m not blaming Sydney. If there’s anything, Sydney has reminded me of how much I need my loved ones by my side.

Tears attempted to pierce through my eyeballs every now and then.

The room I stayed in was fantastic.

Camomile tea that practically got me into a coma.

Queen Victoria Building.

I bought a hop on-hop off bus tour ticket from city-sightseeing.com for $30, which valids for 24 hours. The tour has 22 stops around Sydney. At any one point I feel like exploring the area around a certain stop, I could get down and then take the next bus to resume my tour. The frequency of the bus is 30 minutes. I think it’s a fabulous system. Maybe Tourism Malaysia could take a hint somewhere.

There are several companies offering similar service in Sydney. At first I was going to use Sydney Explorer, which was featured prominently in my hotel (good marketing). While waiting for the bus, Hop On-Hop Off arrived first and I found out from the driver about the existence of other companies. At $9 cheaper, I bought the ticket from the bus driver without much delay. Personally I’d recommend Hop On-Hop Off for its open roof double decker bus and super clear automated tour narration. Sydney Explorer uses only ordinary air-conditioned buses.

Practically had the upper deck all to myself.

Turning into Kings Cross.

Kings Cross is a red light district in Sydney famous for its strip clubs. I had a lunch of fish and chips there in a relatively populated cafe. It was quite mediocre, but the cannoli I bought next door more than made up for it. At a hefty $2.50 per piece, I had no regrets. The pastry was fluffy and crispy and the orange custard filling was simply sinful.

Fish and chips.

Kings Cross Cakes and Pies.

Mouth-watering goodies.

The scrumptious cannoli.

I had my lunch al fresco and throughout the 30 minutes there, I was approached by 3 different people asking for spare change and ciggarettes. After the 2nd person, I thought it wasn’t such a good idea being in Kings Cross alone. Nevertheless, I had a fairly peaceful 30 minutes there.

Wani.

I struck up a conversation with the bus driver, Wani. He is from Jakarta, Indonesia and has been working in Sydney for several years. I was talking to him in Bahasa Malaysia and he to me in Bahasa Indonesia. Anything lost in translation was rescued by English. Wani offered to take me around Sydney after his break but I declined. I’m sure he meant well but I suppose it wouldn’t be very safe for a lone female to go off with some stranger in a strange city. We did exchange contact numbers though.

Posing with Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The detail of Sydney Opera House’s roof.

My reflection.

You Are Here.

On Man ‘O War Jetty.

Royal Botanic Gardens.

Tears threatened to flow down my cheeks while watching couples embracing each other, drowned in their own private world and families playing catch on the soft green grass. I was baffled as to how they could exist so comfortably in the cold with barely a singlet and shorts and then it struck me. I was alone and all I could hug for warmth was the damn tree.

Some alien plant.

Sun bathers.

Tranquility.

Still in love.

Wish you were here.

A shot of Sydney Opera House from Royal Botanic Gardens.

Do you notice the water droplets on the right side of the picture above? That was the very moment before I got splashed by waves and laughed at by two locals. Probably thinking, “Stupid chink”.

I went back to my hotel after that, quite happy that I’ve seen what I came to see but still bothered by pangs of loneliness. If only my boo were with me. Lovely things aren’t meant to be experienced alone.

Back in my room.

p/s: View the rest of the photos here.