In which I cough up for a room upgrade and sum up my week in Australia.

21 March 2011 - 1038 Sydney, Australia

Yeah, not going to Blue Mountains today. The weather is atrocious. I’ll go tomorrow. Today might well be another chill-out day. Might head to the Australian Museum for 2pm when there’s a free tour on. That said, I find museums boring on the whole so I might not.

1114

I’ve upgraded to a private room this morning. Sick of staying in dorms. The Korean guy sleeping in the bunk above mine last night snored. It sounded like he was clearing out a drain. The Argentinian guy in the other bunk was nice though. In the tv room now talking to an Italian guy who’s learning English.

1609

After a lovely walk in the Botanic Gardens, I’m now back at the hostel and in a room of my own. And I’m loving it. The bed is massive. I’m going to like it in here the next two nights. All my stuff is spread across the floor as I savour the opportunity to sort everything out. I’m not anti social but I’m much happier in a room of my own.

1751

With just one full day left in Australia, now’s perhaps a good time to have a mind splurge about Sydney. Here goes;

• I really like the fact the cab drivers all wear uniforms here. It’s a nice touch.
• If you want a good pizza while in town, go to The Australian in The Rocks area.
• Sydney is quite a dull city in global terms. It’s nice and all but there’s nothing special here. Nothing amazing. The Harbour Bridge and Opera House aren’t particularly remarkable feats of architecture or engineering. They pose well for photos, but I think the photos are good enough. There’s not much need to come to Sydney to see them for real. Nothing gets added to the visual experience.
• Australians are nice, friendly people. Apart from the staff behind the desk at YHA Sydney Harbour who are all universally and eternally grumpy, it’s easy to strike up a conversation with them. That said, of all the conversations I’ve had with Australians, references to us “poms” and the differences between Brits and Aussies has come up a lot. For Brits, the friendly rivalry between Australia and Britain barely registers on the importance scale (we’re more concerned with the French and Germans) but for Aussies, it seems to be very important. Dare I say, there seems to be a deep rooted inferiority complex at play. and that’s not me being a flippant pom, that’s my genuine assessment.
• Australia’s lack of history is notable for this European, though I can’t blame Australia for that. No, we can blame the Brits for not colonising the place sooner.
• The streets of Sydney are almost completely non-descript. I can’t think of a single word to describe them.
• Royal Botanic Gardens are wonderful. I dare say they challenge Jardin du Luxemborg in Paris for the top spot in my favourite gardens chart. So much exotic wildlife and a massive array of well kept and labelled plants from all over the world.
• Everything is horribly expensive in Sydney. The exchange rate from British Pound Sterling to Aussie Dollars is terrible. A sandwich costs about £5 on it’s own.
• Aussies have a very distinctive look. They all look Australian. I know, sounds obvious, but I know what I mean.
• Food here is poor, perhaps worse than the food in the UK. Apart from the pizzas at The Australian, I’ve not eaten very well.
• Manly is nice but no where near as good as people make out.
• Of all the places in the world I’d move to, Sydney would be rock bottom of my list. I really, really, really don’t see why people would want to live here (apart from the high wages). It’s not for me.

In conclusion, Sydney is dull. It’s been a nice week, but nothing has made me say, “wow!” Nothing! I guess we in Europe are spoilt in terms of interesting cities full of beautiful buildings and amazing sights and delicious food and quirky people. Sydney falls to the wayside by a long, long way. In fact, there is absolutely no comparison.

Off to the Blue Mountains tomorrow. I think. No, it’s definitely happening. Well, we’ll see.

• Tags
• sydney
• australia
• hostel