Passing thru Sydney

On March 10 we left Asia behind for the land down under. Our time in Sydney was brief - only 3 days - and for the most part felt dominated by our attempts to get over how much everything cost and take as many pictures of the Opera House as we could. Aside from this and some general wandering around the CBD we did manage to take a ferry ride to Manly where we dodged the raindrops as we explored the beach and nearby National Park. Jess particularly liked the many spiders that have made the park home.

That is a lie. Jess did NOT like the spiders.

Our final day was spent out in the Bondi Beach area where the weather was much more accommodating and we even managed to find a reasonably priced lunch, some tasty fish and chips. We didn’t spend any time actually on the beach, but we enjoyed soaking in the rays walking along a path that followed the shoreline.

Bondi Beach

Do you think we look like tourists?  Do you think it has to do with Jess's hat?

Our last night consisted of a fun visit to the Hero of Waterloo pub where we even got to taken in a solid live acoustic 70s/80s rock cover duo. In hindsight they really weren’t any good but our standards weren’t too high at the time having spent the past six weeks without much Western culture. Unfortunately this was followed by some of the worst food of the trip so far, and the worst pizza either one of us has had in some time (or ever). But, as Jess's dad would say, at least it was expensive.

For us, Sydney was a bit of mixed bag. In the end we really liked the look and feel of the city and surrounding beaches, and our experience at the opera certainly makes the list of overall trip highlights. However, following our time in SE Asia where everything was so unique and inexpensive, and coming before our much anticipated time in New Zealand, poor Sydney had its work cut out for it before we even arrived!

Sticker Shock!

While our blog and pictures may only have us through Vietnam, in reality our time in Asia has passed and we have found our way briefly to Sydney on the 10^th of March on our way to a long week on the south island of New Zealand starting on the 13^th. Our excitement at being back in a western city was doused with a little cold water when the reality of prices in Sydney hit us. Even with some small steps price the pricing ladder in Bangkok and Singapore we clearly weren’t prepared for what Sydney had to offer, which at least upon our quick visit is a beautiful city and setting but horrible value for money (and that’s from people who lived in London for 2 ½ years).  To point, we stayed at the Hilton in the central business district – the cheapest reliable option for lodging available by the time we  booked.

We’ve managed to quickly adjust our mindset and are enjoying our brief time exploring the city, taking in a few of the beach towns, taking lots of pictures of the Opera House and even enjoying our first opera (if you can’t do it here, or maybe in Vienna, where can you do it). We did it in back-packer style, with standing room tickets purchased on the morning of the performance – although they still weren’t cheap! We dressed in our finery (read: clean-ish clothing) and truly enjoyed Carmen, both the familiar tunes and the Hollywood-predictable plot – aided by English surtitles.

The magnificent Sydney Opera House