Aussie Adventure # 1: Let's walk around!

Finally, my pictures from "walking around" Sydney... (with the occasional train and taxi rides whenever laziness kicks-in)

The hotel where I stayed. I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of my room... memory gap!

View from my room. It's not as spectacular as it seems. There's a train rail just below the hotel...

North Sydney train station... creepy eh? I'm half-expecting a human-sized cockroach to approach me anytime soon... yeah, I know, saw that movie too...

Double-decker train... now that's cool! if only there weren't too much graffiti

View from the train... the spectacular taxi... er, i mean Sydney Opera House

Aussie shops... exhibiting British influence

The city churches

nope, this one's not a church... it's actually a mall! and if i may quote Queen Victoria, "It's the most beautiful mall in the world." you know why? because it's the Queen Victoria Building!... ah! royal vanity! i may have been royalty in my past life (either that or a very vain peasant!)

a life-size statue of Queen Vicky, now this is creepy-vain...

Queen Victoria Building interiors... it's my first time to see a carpeted mall.

the 3-storey high Christmas tree inside QVB. I suddenly missed UST... :(

Freeze! Aussie police! if they chase a criminal, is it still considered a car chase?

an unusual-looking bird that is actually common in Australia... and i thought i knew all about weird birds... [cough...]jas[cough...]

passing through the Sydney harbour bridge via taxi...

crazy adventurous people doing the 3-hour, 100dollar+ bridge-climb

world-famous Aussie landmark... the Sydney harbour bridge

yet another world-famous Aussie landmark... the Sydney opera house

Sydney opera house up-close

2-for-1!

I'm Going Under

Down under, that is.

After filling-up a 10-page Visa application form and personally going to the Australian High Council to get it approved the same day, I am finally here in the land of koalas, kangaroos and “ei! mayt!” ‘s

I’m going to stay here for 9 days for another knowledge transfer session, for one of our client telco here. So far, so good.

The flight from SG to Sydney is more than 6hours. That’s the longest time I’ve ever been stuck in a plane! The list of in-flight movies was good, but at some point I found myself awfully sleepy, so I had to doze-off a bit. Good thing the Aussie couple beside me wasn’t too noisy or annoying.

So far, I find Australians very friendly. The taxi driver even helped me with my luggage. In the Philippines, this is normal, but in SG, the driver won’t move his ass for any passenger. (Well, maybe if you don’t have a pair of legs, they just MIGHT help you, but I’m not that willing to give off my limbs, just to test for the POSSIBILITY of them helping me!)

Living in SG means not being able to see too many good-looking people. I don’t mean to insult anyone, but I guess people in SG aren’t really my type. (although this seems to be a consensus with everyone I know here, and if I might quote a friend…”tag-tuyot dito…” yeah, it’s THAT bad!)

And as if to give balance to my life, I was sent here… where my head is spinning from looking at gorgeous people! And I’m not just talking about locals. Even the Asians here look much much better! Was there a mass migration of good-looking people in Australia? And why was I not informed?! (don’t you even dare answer this question! I know what you’re thinking!)

I can’t remember how many times I said to myself…”Ah! Love at first sight!” (yes, this is rather sad, bordering on pathetic, and it’s even more pathetic that I’m actually writing about it!)

I’ve seen the good, now what’s the bad?… here’s the deal breaker ladies… MALLS CLOSE AT AROUND 5-6pm… (lady-readers of this blog, I know what you’re thinking….now join me in my shrill of utter despair… “WHAAAAAT???????”)

Makes one wonder what the people here do after office hours…

I asked my Australian counter-part and he told me that Aussies are very family-oriented, so after work, they go home and spend time with the family… awwwww…(throw-in a baby koala, and I just might cry!) But can’t they just spend quality time at the mall??!!!

I mean seriously, just to get dinner, I have to take the train and go to Town Hall because some stores there close a little later (note “little”, as in 1 or 2 hours later)

Talking about trains… SG’s trains without a doubt are the best I’ve seen… Clean, efficient, user-friendly, and reliable. (bumabawi ako, masyado ko ata silang nadusta sa looks department… hehehe…) Japan’s trains are efficient, but it’s not as user-friendly as SG’s. Now, Australia’s train… how do I put this… it scares me. You know those movies made in the U.S. with scenes with trains? Bubble gum on the seats, graffiti on walls, and litter on the floor… the whole 9 yards!

At the point when I first boarded the train, I suddenly missed SG…sigh…. then I saw someone headturningly-gorgeous and I totally forgot all about it! Nyaaahahahaaaaa…

yeah...c'mon, say it... I know you want to: "what a shallow bastard!"