Saffy's Trip to Australia

No, I didn't go on a trip over the weekend. I'm currently uploading some pics from Australia to email to some friends and thought I'd post my travel log. This was originally posted with pics in BF, in May. Ok, onwards.

Saffy's trip To Australia (Part 1)

Well, not really. Just Sydney and Melbourne. I wasn’t too excited about this trip, cos it’s one of those bus tour thingies, and what’s worse, I was going with members of my extended family. My final, desperate plea to my mom asking her to donate the money that’s going to be spent on this trip to my Visit Europe and Bum Around Fund was promptly rejected. No hope either in spending the money on a new computer instead. My banshee-in-disguise mother was on the verge of disowning me before I finally gave in and slunk off to pack my stuff.

I should probably tell you that this is a very long read, and if you’re not the least bit interested in me and my life, now’s the time to click the back button on your browser and go read about relationship angst or Lindsay Lohan’s breasts (which are bigger than mine).

The departure was on Thursday (29 April), at 8.45 pm. When we got to the desk where we were supposed to check in, the tour guide was already there, a pretty good-looking but annoyingly-chirpy guy named Eddie. He briefed us on what to do, did all the usual stuff tour guides do, and we were off on our way to eat some dinner before getting on the plane.

8 hours spent being stuck in a small seat with a kid wailing for approximately half the flight didn’t exactly improve my mood. Coupled with the extreme lack of sleep for the past three days and I was seriously grumpy. That was probably why the immigration officials were acting so scary to me. Probably thought I had a stick of dynamite up my ass or something. Thankfully, no cavity search for me.

We walked out from the airport smack into a fine Friday morning, and I zipped up my windbreaker cos it was cold. Ok, so technically, to a lot of people 20 degrees isn’t really cold, but I’ve lived my entire life in the tropics, and I do not own a single long-sleeved top, so it really sucks to be me. The bus driver, another annoyingly-chipper dude called Benjamin, walked us to his small van-bus vehicle and we were off on a city tour.

Just my luck on the day I get a splitting headache, the guide speaks English with a heavy HK accent. After a while, I quit trying to understand what he was saying and just looked at the scenery. Sydney has amazing trees. I wish we could spend the day just lying under the trees, cos I can never do that in Malaysia. Too many insects, and too much heat. Autumn’s always been my favourite season, but I had no idea how real autumn trees looked like until I saw em here. Pretty trees, pretty trees.

Okay, enough about the trees. That Ben guy drove us to a park opposite of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Didn’t quite catch the name though, cos of the headache and the accent. (more on accents later) Took some pics of the opera house and the bridge, but none of them turned out good, cos it was windy as heck and my hair was being blown all over the place. The city tour continued, and Sydney has amazing buildings. I spent most of the trip craning my neck at awkward angles trying to look up the buildings downtown.

Then we went to the Sydney Fish Market for some much needed food. The last meal we had was 8 hours ago, on the plane, and starving doesn’t really help much when it comes to generating body heat. When Eddie the Tour Guide mentioned the Fish Market for food, the immediate thought that came to me was, ‘We’re eating food in a fish market?’ Now I’ve never actually been to a cold country before, at least not during the cooler seasons, but I was willing to wager that fish smells about the same everywhere. But hey, I’m on vacation, I’m mellow, and maybe Sydney’s fish markets don’t smell like KL fish markets, so we all agreed without so much as a bleat. The bus-van thingy rumbled merrily along.

The Sydney Fish Market smells exactly like KL fish markets.

We were lead to a place where they sold fresh seafood, raw. It was so fresh the seagulls tried to dive into the basins with the seafood. Then again, maybe it’s just cos they were hungry. Anyway, after casting withering glances at the Eddie the Tour Guide, he eventually caught on and we were then lead to another building where they sold cooked food. Unfortunately, the smell of fish was still in the air, so I ate a kitkat bar and a several mouthfuls of fries instead. For the price we paid (20+ dollars), the food (seafood platter) wasn’t really that good.

After partly satisfying my hunger, I felt decidedly warmer and could do without my windbreaker. Sun was up too, so that helped. We were then driven to the space under the Harbour Bridge, which at close range looks somewhat like a mangled toaster, and watched some people pay 100 dollars for a 3 hour trip across the bridge. If only they charged cheaper rates... :p Then we went to the actual Opera House, took pictures, which again turned out not good, cos again my hair was being blown all over the place. Someday, when I wish to show the world how I’d look after I’ve been locked up in a mental asylum for 5 years, I’ll post those pics. It’s that bad. :(

Lunch, and a walk around Chinatown. This is the first time I see salt and pepper shakers standing beside the soysauce and red chilli, btw. Weirdness, serious weirdness. Walked around the streets of Sydney and saw a very verysexy convertible with twin exhaust pipes pointing in opposite directions, and plates saying ‘2NORTI’. I wish we were allowed to have wacky plates here.

We then got on a boat at Darling Harbour, and the boat went around Sydney harbour. Took a few pictures on the deck (more windblown hair) and waved to some people on yatchs before realising that people on the deck were looking at me, so I sat meekly and tried not to raise my hands for fear of being blown off the boat. Swimming is not one of my skills, sadly.

Next stop: Sydney Aquarium. After listening to a very nice man explain the breeding habits of some type of shark (I found out that 40% of sharks lay eggs), we went into the shark tank. Okay, not into it. I have no wish to be on the lunch menu this early in my life. We walked around in plexiglass tunnels watching the underbelly part of the sharks, cos they were all lying on the roof of the tunnel, the lazy SOBs.

Which brings me to one of the highlights of my trip. I saw the biggest freaking shark I have ever seen in my life, it was at least 6+ feet in length, and boy am I glad they have those glass thingies that separate me from them. It was then that my childhood memories of watching Jaws came flashing back, and I was worried the tunnel we were in would be head-butted by the shark, and we’d all be mauled to a horrible death once the water starts flooding in. Never let your kids watch Jaws until they’re at least 15.

They also had turtles that would probably weigh more than my brother, and it was really fascinating watching them swim. Unfortunately, everything was lumped in the same tank, and I was torn between my desire to watch more fish swim, and my fear of the tunnel bursting. I feel embarassed even talking about it now. :p

Dinner, followed by a walk down Darling Harbour. Ben the bus driver told us to walk back to our hotel though, cos he’s off for the day. Anyway, I was told by the Tour Guide that since it was Friday, the people would be out in full force partying at the various bars and pubs located along Darling Harbour. Unless Eddie the Tour Guide is mistaken, which is a very real possibility, Sydney’s party scene is a bit disappointing. I did, however, see a girl in a silk-looking bareback halter dress, and suede boots breeze past like it wasn’t the middle of autumn. I was wearing long jeans, a sweater, and with my windbreaker zipped up to my neck.

Walked back to the hotel and slept like a bloody log. Blankets were incredibly dusty though.