Sydney: A nice place to visit...
You all know the saying: a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there? I think that it especially holds true for Sydney, Australia.
Yes, Sydney does have beautiful beaches, but so does almost the whole eastern coast of New South Wales, and many of them won’t be as crowded as their more famous cousins. Yes, Sydney has the bridge, if you’re stupid enough to pay an arm and a leg to climb it (I was that stupid, you shouldn’t be). The opera house is nice, a tour of it might take an afternoon. There’s the zoo, but did you fly half way around the world to see animals in a zoo?
Arriving in Sydney is painless. The airport, sometimes referred to as Kingsford Smith, but often just called Sydney International airport, is clean and modern, having been extensively renovated for the recent Olympics. The airport is on the north shore of Botany Bay, so as you land, you can see the famous waters where British prisoners were first let loose on this unsuspecting continent. From what I hear, for the first dozen years or so, the continent gave as good as it got, but eventually the British influence won over and we have the country we have today.
Botany Bay is on the southern end of Sydney proper although there are some neighbourhoods still south of it that have been absorbed by expansion, notably Cronella, once a trendy beachfront community but lately in the news because of racial strife.
Don’t worry if you haven’t already gotten a place to stay when you arrive (unless you’re coming at Christmas or Easter, then you’re pretty much screwed). At the airport you will see a large board full of square ads for various hotels (this recurs at all Australian airports). Each ad has a three- or four-digit code and there are phones at the bottom. Pick the hotel that interests you, dial the code and talk directly to their concierge.
Once you’ve brokered your accommodation, the concierge will tell you which of the many vans to go to. At the same time, the driver will be receiving a call about picking you up. You don’t have to use the appointed van, but it’s easiest. there will be many options, but if you’ve just come off a 15+ hour flight and are fighting jetlag already, letting someone else make these decisions can be good.
If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll either end up staying in a hostel in the CBD (Central Business District, it’s what they call downtown downunder.) or more likely in King’s Cross/Potts Point. King’s Cross is where the cheapest of the backpackers’ hostels are. It’s also home to the red light district and the nightclub district, so you know it’s an entertaining place to even just walk around (carefully).
From King’s Cross there are a number of places that are technically walking distance: the Opera House, which is part of Circular Quay – the place where you get the ferries; the CBD and the grand Queen Victoria Building – now a shopping mall; even, if you were truly adventurous, Bondi Beach, although I wouldn’t recommend the last one. I walk a lot, and quickly, but Bondi Beach was just a bit far for me.
Fortunately, King’s Cross is a major subway station and you can catch trains to any of these destinations. The Sydney subway system is one of the reasons why I wouldn’t want to live there. It needs to be restructured, but instead they just keep adding layers of complexity to it. And the workers are perpetually unhappy with wildcat strikes or work stoppages occurring during each of my four visits to that city.
But walking to Circular Quay from Kings Cross isn’t hard, mostly it’s downhill. You can either take the stairs down from Potts Point to the main road and walk past Mrs. McQuarry’s Point or you can walk out of King’s Cross and along the major street toward the CDB, then cut through the Domain, (the big botanical park that is full of these huge friggin bats!) and take a leisurely stroll down the steps to the Opera House.
King’s Cross can be a great place to live if you are into the nightclub lifestyle. just downhill to the south from the main drag (named King’s Cross) are a bunch of night clubs that you won’t even be aware of in the daylight. Sydneysiders may or may not frequent these, but the tourists certainly do.
The Rock is a neighbourhood in Sydney directly behind Circular Quay. It is the oldest neighbourhood in Australia. during the day you can wander around looking at what passes for old architecture in Australia. But it’s at night that it comes to life. Now it is full of trendy restaurants and nightclubs. If you want to mix with the locals, you’re much more likely to meet them here than in King’s Cross.
So if you were living in Sydney, a car would be essential. But, car travel in Sydney is clogged by the choke points that are the harbour crossings – either the bridge or the tunnel, both are full and both are very expensive to use. The alternative, going around, adds a lot of time and fuel expense to even the simplest trip. I know people, I’ve seen and heard their frustrations. It’s a cliché but, Sydney is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
As a tourist, you’re much more likely to use public transit anyway, and here, Sydney does well by tourists – as long as the weather is good. You can buy a day pass that will take you from the farthest reaches north (Palm Beach is, I think, the furthest north you can go) all the way down to the industrial south. The pass is good for bus, subway and ferry. Whenever you can, take the ferries. They’re scenic, usually not too crowded and give you some amazing sites of the city (some even pass nude beaches).
When the weather is bad, the ferries stop running, and the roads become clogged with all of the excess traffic. Nothing moves. You’ll stand outside in a downpour waiting for your bus to come. Good thing that so many stores in the CDB have those big metal awnings over the sidewalk.
The bus pass is a great way to see the northern beaches.
There is one bus that threads through them all, and you can hop on/hop off
as the mood hits
you. There are so many wonderful beaches north of Manly, it’s worth
the day just to do that.
The ferry from Manly to Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) is my
favourite ferry ride. Both ends of the trip are very picturesque. Once you
leave Manly, you pass the opening onto the Pacific Ocean, called “the
gap” between the north and south headlands, and you often get some
real chop, with the ferry bouncing up and down (yes, I like that. You might
not.) Coming around the point of land and having the CDB displayed as if
from a postcard is the highlight of that ride. You’ll know who the
locals on the ferry are – they’re the ones not snapping photos.
The bridge which spans that harbour may have a proper name, but everyone calls it “the coathanger.” It is impressive, and it is picturesque. Climbing the coathanger is often promoted as something to do in Sydney. It is expensive, and having done it, I’m of two minds. Yes, there are some great scenic views, but I don’t feel that it was worth the money. also, to take the walk, which is not particularly strenuous as much as they try to play it up, you have to take a breathalyzer test, wear a silly set of coveralls, hat and earphone/mic combination that generally add to your discomfort without noticeably adding to your safety. Interestingly, in their “wall of fame” they have pictures of various movies stars who have taken the climb, and NONE of them had to wear the stupid coveralls!
The Sydney Opera House is beautiful, truly beautiful, inside and out. Most of its surfaces are curved, and many of them are made from wood. I had the pleasure of catching a performance there of the local orchestra with a guest conductor (I don’t have his name, but he composed the music to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and the acoustics were incredible. You can pay and take a tour, but if you can see a show there instead, I would highly recommend it.
Bondi is by far the most famous beach in Australia, but did you really come 10,000+ km to sit at a beach? You could do that in Cancun for a lot less money. Having said that, go to Bondi. It is beautiful, once you get away from the surfer boys. To get there, take the subway line to Bondi then take a bus from the terminal to the beach. The bus connections are confusing, because only one will actually say “Bondi Beach” but the three of them that depart from the same sign in the bus terminal all go to the exact same place.
Bondi is a state of mind as much as a place. Hell, the lifeguards of Bondi even have their own reality TV show, Bondi Rescue. Bondi is all about appearances, but it is also all about food. There are some really nice restaurants along the road that circles the beach, and on the south headlands is Icebergs, one of Australia’s best restaurants. You can eat in Icebergs’ bar for a lot less than dining there (the bar has a limited menu), and the views of the beach are just as spectacular.
A note about Icebergs and many clubs – you must be a member to enter, EXCEPT and many toney places won’t tell you this part, except if you live more than 200 km away. Guess what, you live more than 200 km away from any and all clubs in Australia, so you can sign in on a guest membership that will have a nominal fee (AUS$5.00-$20).
When you are going to Manly on the ferry, the beach beside the ferry dock is not Manly Beach (it’s a common mistake). Walk into the town itself and you’ll find the walkway (courso in Aussie-speak) that leads to the real beach. Walk south along the beach and you’ll come to a hidden beach. This one is shallower and calmer than Manly and often is filled with young families. But as you are arriving on the ferry, note the shark nets around the swimming area. There’s food for thought.
Like Bondi, Manly has many restaurants along the strip. Some are upscale, others budget. The worst dining experience that I’ve had in Australia was at an upscale restaurant in Manly. C’est la Vie.
Sydney has museums, I’ve only been to one, and only then because of persistent bad weather. If you’re a museum person, there are a few that are supposed to be worthy of visiting. Enjoy. Tell me what you think. Mostly Sydney is the gateway to Australia. You could spend 5 days in Sydney, but I think you’d be wasting your time. Get out and see the country.
