Trip down under to Sydney

{Australia Feb/March 2009 - Sydney, New South Wales}

Walking along the streets in Sydney brought back memories of the days when I was studying in Australia, the people, the view, the shopping centres, the buildings – everything. We were back in Sydney, Australia for a few days on a business trip in February 2009. The business trip to Sydney was only for a few days, and we only managed to travel around Sydney for the weekend and during the evenings. After Sydney, we planned to travel around South Australia for almost a week (but that would be on another posts).

We took Singapore Airlines on the A380. If you ever had a chance to take the A380, try to get a seat on the upper deck. The seats were bigger I believe, and as the economy class section was smaller on the upper deck, the Singapore girls (as the air stewardess were known as) would be able to serve you better. Once we touched down and collected our rental car, we drove to the city for lunch.

We went to Haymarket for dim sum. Yes, I do live in Singapore where we can have dim sum everyday, but my colleague suggested that we have our lunch there. As it was a place where I used to go whenever I went to Sydney when I was living in Australia, I thought - why not? The Chinese dim sum restaurant - China Grand Restaurant in Market City, Haymarket - served pretty delicious dim sum! It was also a good shopping place for discounted clothing. Paddy’s Markets on the ground floor had almost everything – souvenirs, fruits, nuts, clothes, plants and lots of other things with Chinatown just across the street.


While we did not do many touristy activities, we did walk around and saw all the familiar sights and sounds in the city. Here are some snapshots taken around the city.

 
  
 

We walked passed the Queen Victoria Building, or QVB as it was better known. It was one of my favourite building in Sydney - not for the shopping, but for the interesting architecture. It was built around 1900 but has since been refurbished to cater for the shops occupying the building now. However, there were various interesting displays around the building, like a mechanical clock on the top floor. All these were from my memory of my previous visits as we did not manage to go into the building.

My other favourite place in Sydney was Darling Harbour. Maybe it was the vast space around the harbour that made the area looked big with significantly less people than the rest of the city.


The harbour was lined with many restaurants which I believe should serve satisfyingly good food, but with a premium on the price due to the location. We decided on Jordan's Seafood Restaurant, and came out full and contented. Do get the Jordan's deluxe seafood platter rather than the Jordan's hot platter! The deluxe platter on the other tables looked better than ours. After dinner, we went to have pancakes in Pancakes on the Rocks. The first shop was opened in The Rocks but there one in Darling Harbour as well.


We also managed to do a dinner cruise around the Sydney harbour and were presented with spactacular views Sydney, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and buildings by the harbour. The Sydney Opera House is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site. The dinner cruise was a private cruise, but there are many harbour cruises and tours for visitors and tourists. I would definitely recommend a cruise while you are in the city as the view of Sydney is even better looking in from the harbour!

 
 
  

And if I have my way, all dinner would end with a walk to a nearby café for good cake and a chocolate drink! We had these in a Guylian café in Circular Quay right after the cruise.

 

While this trip was definitely more comfortable (from a monetary perspective) than the trips I had made during my days as a student in Australia, Sydney still remained a vibrant and stunning city. The city has lots to offer to everyone – from a climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge, or just a walk along the Darling Harbour.

Popular posts from this blog

Where would I go after this pandemic?

Statues of naked men

Central Vietnam with Children