Australia Travel Guide: Two Days in Sydney

Elizabeth enjoys breakfast by the Harbour Bridge

How to do Sydney properly:

First, get Bill Bryson’s brilliant book, Down Under (also published under the title In a Sunburnt Country). It’s not a guide to help you decide where to stay or eat, but it will help you get to know Australia, including all the bitey things that can kill you here. His hilarious explanation of cricket alone is worth the price of the book.

Next, stay in Sydney for at least three months, preferebly six or more so that you can enjoy Spring and Summer.

No, that doesn’t help you much if you really only have a few days, but at least think about it. My first trip to Sydney was as a student ambassador with People to People. We spent a couple of days there, then spent three weeks going up the coast, but it was enough to make me want to go back.  So much so that when I had the opportunity, between jobs after college, I got a working holiday visa and spent three months in Sydney and another three months traveling around.

Fondue for two at Max Brenner on Oxford Street

That still wasn’t enough, so I applied to the University of New South Wales and spent a year living in Sydney and earning a Master’s in English. So yes, I really love it here.

Knowing how much Sydney has to offer, it’s really difficult for me to narrow it down to just two or three days of sightseeing. But that’s what I did for my friend, Elizabeth, who came to Sydney with me from Christchurch, and if that’s all the time you have, here’s what I recommend:

Sydney Opera House

The Opera House at Circular Quay- Sometimes, when you see something in person after seeing it in books and movies your whole life, it doesn’t quite live up to expectations. The Mona Lisa, for example, made me say, “Sooo… that’s it? Kinda small, isn’t she?”

The Opera House is not one of those things. With any luck you’ll get to see it on one of Sydney’s sunny, sparkling days. Aside from the strange beauty of the building itself, you have the charming Harbour Bridge as a neighbor, and a bay full of ferries and other boats surrounding it. I love to grab a drink or an ice cream and sit and watch the whole scene.

Royal Botanic Gardens- Right next to the Opera House, the Gardens are a wonderful place to get lost in with a book, some postcards, or a picnic. Walk out to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair for another view of the Opera House.

Luna Park (North Sydney) – You can hop a ferry over to North Sydney, or walk over the Harbour Bridge. Even if you don’t want to play any games or try the rides, the view of Sydney from here is worth the trip. Check the ferry schedulesand from here you can also get to Taronga Zoo,  Balmain or other suburbs worth checking out.

The Rocks – This is the oldest part of Sydney, just across from the Opera House. The Museum of Contemporary Art is here (and it’s free), and there’s an outdoor market that’s fun to walk around. Some of the pubs here have been around for more than 100 years and are a great place to start a night out.

Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour- This area got a nice polish when the Olympics came to town in 2000 and it’s still a great place to catch a cultural festival or an IMAX film, shop, eat, go to the Japanese Gardens or hands-on Powerhouse Museum, and enjoy the nightlife, as you might have seen when MTV’s Real World called this place home. Some of the city’s coolest bars are around here (pontoon, Bungalow 8, Cargo Bar), so dress to impress and don’t expect to find any happy hour deals. 

Oxford Street – This is where you’ll find most of Sydney’s gay bars, as well as boutiques, cafes and my favorite place, Max Brenner’s Chocolate Cafe. (Try the fondue for two, even if there’s just one of you.) Every night feels like a weekend here, so bring your best dancing shoes.

Bondi Beach- If you only have time for one trip to the beach, Bondi is where everyone goes. There are lots of cafes and shops on the main strip and plenty of hostels if you want to be just a few steps from the sand.

Playing on Bondi Beach

Coogee- You can avoid some of the crowds, and a lot of the English backpackers, by choosing Coogee beach over Bondi. Or, do the Bondi to Coogee walk and see all of the beaches in between.

Weekend Markets- If you’re around on the weekend, head to Glebe, Manly, Paddington or the Rocks to shop for handmade goods, arts and crafts and souvenirs. There are also lots of food options for lunch.

Nightlife- Everywhere. Backpacker bars can be found on Queen Street (Scruffy Murphy’s is infamous), but if you want to go where the locals go, try the more low key scene in Newtown (Marlbourough Hotel, the Bank) or Surry Hills. A few streets over from trendy Darling Harbour, on Pitt Street, try Art House.

Next: Back to New Zealand and the Bay of Islands

 

Australia Travel Guide: Mardi Gras in Sydney

When I started planning this trip, I was only expecting to visit New Zealand. I knew that even with almost three weeks there, it would be exhausting trying to see everything I wanted to.

Then my friend, Jorge, said the magic words to get me to spend a few days in Sydney: Mardi Gras.

Sydney’s Mardi Gras is one of the most famous gay events in the world, and in 2006 Conde Nast named it as one of the world’s top ten costume parades. The LGBT community held their first parade in 1978 with a couple thousand participants, and now the parade and other events bring around half a million people to Sydney.

The magic words worked on Elizabeth too, and so the two of us flew to Sydney from Christchurch to join the party. Once Elizabeth and I arrived, Jorge gave us our next choice: Watch the parade, or be in it? He said that trying to find a place to watch the parade could be difficult, as people show up hours ahead of time to stake out a piece of sidewalk. But marching in the parade, besides being tons of fun, gives you a front-row seat to the action.

We agreed to march with his group, a counseling hotline, and so I put on my best dancing-in-the-street shoes.

The parade doesn’t start until after dark, so you get to enjoy all the lights and disco balls on the floats, like little traveling nightclubs. Walking around before the parade started, we got to take in some of the wild and colorful, metal and leathery costumes people had created. I’m pretty sure I also saw more naked butt cheeks in one night than I’ve seen in my entire life. Some were nice and fit, but others old and wrinkly or pale and flat and a little disappointing.

Sydney has some of the best drag queens I’ve ever seen (and I’m from San Francisco), and the music and energy of the pre-parade festivities seemed to spread through the entire city.

Once the parade started, all we had to do was have a great time as we walked, jogged, danced and skipped down Oxford Street. Athough plenty of straight people participate and watch, all of Sydney is covered in rainbows and pink Australian flags for the event and Oxford Street in particular in bright colors.

Marching in the Mardi Gras parade was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you ever have a chance to do something like it, go for it. We all felt like rock stars with thousands of people waving and smiling and shouting and taking our pictures. It was much different from the local St. Patrick’s Day parade my high school band used to march in, surrounded by boy scouts and baton twirlers.

The only downside? While most people kept partying the night away, we were so exhausted by the time the parade was over, we caught a cab home and crashed. But my time in Sydney wasn’t up yet.

Next: More of Sydney!

 

Connect With the World Down Under

I had no intention of switching from Myspace to Facebook. Everyone I knew was on Myspace, I was all set up there, and it’s blue hues felt cozy and homey compared to the stark whiteness of Facebook.

About a year ago though I found out that Canadian Chris, who I met in Sydney, was on Facebook. If I wanted to swap messages and links and YouTube videos with him, I would have to join. Ditto English Chris, who I met in a Sydney nightclub. Also, Sparky (real name Chris, but there are already too many of them).

Pretty soon Facebook helped me to reconnect with lots of the people I met traveling, some of whom I hadn’t talked to in two or three years. I met dozens of wonderful people while traveling Australia – more people than I’ve ever met on any other trip anywhere. Why? I think it’s because the whole country caters to backpackers and student travelers. There’s an entire industry in place to help you move city to city, adventure to adventure.

Australia Zoo

That (back)pack mentality may make it harder for you to get off the beaten path, but it also makes it much easier to meet likeminded travelers, to socialize with large groups of people who are enjoying the same experiences, and to find great deals. After all, the larger the market, the more options you have, and the more power you have when choosing where to spend your travel dollars.

Two of the best ways to see Australia with limited fuss and maximum enjoyment are a Contiki tour and the Oz Experience bus. Contiki provides tours with set schedules and activities. If you have a set amount of days and specific sights you want to see, Contiki can get you around and hit the highlights with almost no independent planning required on your part.

Oz Experience gives you more control over your schedule. It’s an open bus pass – you hop on and off buses when it suits you. You can choose to stay in one place for two days, two weeks or two months. There are some restrictions, and the buses may not always fit your schedule as precisely as you’d like, but you are guaranteed to meet a ridiculous number of other backpackers as you go.

Learn more about both of these options from Travel CUTS, or call an agent for more details.

New Year’s Eve Around the World

Wherever you are on December 31st, chances are there’s something exciting happening. Unless you’re home with your parents. Then I can’t really help you.

If you don’t have plans yet, there’s still time to get together with friends, or make new friends, or call up old friends and plan a reunion.

Spending the New Year Down Under? Visit newyearseve.com.au to find out where to see fireworks or get your dance on in Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth, or somewhere in between.

If you’re in Edinburgh, you have to do Hogmanay, and in Dublin, Ireland the party will be all over the place. London will have its share of fireworks along the Thames, but if that sounds too chilly for you, how about celebrating Festa de Iemanjá on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro?

If you’re looking for fun in Tokyo, Paris, Reykjavik, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Singapore, or even boring old New York, this article on New Year’s Parties Worldwide can give you more details.

Juvenile Justice Abroad – Part Three

Missed the beginning of my Mugged in Australia story? Read Part One and Part Two. 

The afternoon of our conference I walk from Central Station down Elizabeth Street, crossing to the other side of Cleveland Street into Redfern. The PCYC building is just a few blocks in. There’s nothing spectacular about the outside, but inside the walls are covered. Any space that isn’t decorated with a bright mural or student artwork is used for announcements: community events, support groups, hotlines for abuse, alcoholism and depression, dates of local plays and concerts.

I find Liz in a bright blue and yellow classroom she’s setting up for us. Six chairs are arranged in a circle. Biscuits and tea bags are laid out on a table behind us.

The boy arrives next, just walks into the room. He parks his bike in another room and comes in. Liz introduces us and he says hello. I try to smile but I think it’s more of a grimace and he sits down at a computer and fiddles around with it while we wait.

His mother comes in. When we are introduced she shakes my hand and hers feels cold and weak. I notice a large bruise under her right eye and my stomach turns. I don’t know anything about this family. I feel out of place, far from the middle-class California suburbs I grew up in where the most controversial social issue was how to separate your recycling.

The boy’s teacher and a large, muscular constable join us. The conference happens. We take turns talking. Liz is careful to make sure that we each have our say while the others listen quietly, but the rules and etiquette of it all make the setting too formal and get in the way of any real communication.

The boy says little, not out of pride or arrogance, but because he’s 14 and has a room full of authority figures staring at him. Every now and then he looks at me, briefly. He’s not angry. He seems more curious. His eyes look me over like maybe he’s never seen an American up close before.

When I speak my voice shakes a little from emotion. I tell him about that night, what I did, how I felt. I don’t know if it makes a difference. Maybe yelling and getting angry would have more of an effect.

His mother apologises to me. I didn’t want her to. She wants him to learn from this, to do better. His teacher says he’s a good kid with almost perfect attendance. He’s just completed a five-week chef course and did well in it. She hopes this was the beginning and end of his criminal record.

It is agreed that he will commit to this school program for the next six months. He’s already been there for a year and a half, so it’s doable. His teacher will keep tabs on him. His mother will make sure he follows his curfew and other conditions of his bail, which I didn’t know he had. If he breaks any of these conditions he will go back to court, and possibly to jail. We all sign off on this plan, leave the biscuits uneaten, and put the tables and chairs back in place, turning the room into a classroom again.

Liz offers me a ride back into the city and I’m relieved not to have to walk back as it’s beginning to get dark. “Will it work?” I ask. “Do you think he’ll do ok?” She doesn’t know. Some do, some don’t. She says it doesn’t help that a lot of teenagers know people in jail, so that it doesn’t seem like a scary place to them. They have friends and family inside to hang out with.

The Department of Juvenile Justice Annual Report states that Aboriginal people are over-represented in the NSW juvenile justice system, making up around 40% of the detention centre population.

I try to picture him there, but he looks too young to go someplace so hard, someplace where the walls aren’t painted in rainbow colours. I see him in a chef’s hat instead, working in a kitchen, making friends, having some money to bring home to his family. I wonder which picture of himself he has.

“Well, enjoy the rest of your time in Australia!” Liz says. I thank her and she drives off, leaving me in the middle of the city. Darling Harbour is to the west, the Opera House straight ahead, my place near the beach to the east. I think about all of the sights on my list of things to see in Australia, the people I wanted to meet: Surfers and koala bears and bushmen and backpackers. But not this kid. This isn’t the cultural experience I planned to have. It won’t go into my photo album, but it’s the one that will stay with me the longest.