Life Down Under (Part 8): Everything, Everywhere, All in Sydney

- August 25-26, 2022, Thursday to Friday.

- Perhaps the most popular destination in Australia, Sydney was one city I knew I could not miss during my stay in Australia. From the Sydney Opera House to Bondi Beach, a lot of these places are what people know about Australia. (Sydney also holds a special place in my heart because the first Power Rangers movie from 1995 was filmed here! It was one of the movies that defined my childhood so I felt the need to put this tidbit here!)

- I arrived in Sydney on Thursday in the late morning via Jetstar. From the airport it was easy to go to the city because there is an airport train (T8 train) that reaches the city in maybe 15 to 20 minutes. One would just need an Opal card to ride the train - and this can be used to ride the city trams (or "light rail" as they call it), buses, and Sydney suburban trains. These days people can also directly tap their credit/debit cards on the machines so they won't need to buy an Opal card. However, I don't think this is the safest though since it might be easier to lose one's card this way. (To each his own?) By the way, I stayed near the Central Station and I think it's a convenient area in Sydney to stay in.

I took this amazing shot from the plane. I'm glad I woke up from my nap just in time for this view!! Also felt lucky that I was given a window seat.

My room. It looks and feels like a hotel.

Central Station.

- Once I left all my stuff in my wonderful hostel, Wake Up! Sydney, I rode the L1 light rail from Central to the Exhibition Centre stop to visit a hidden Eden in the heart of Sydney's Darling Harbor area. The garden was built in 1988 to celebrate the bicentenary of British colonization, and to honor the friendship of Sydney and Guangzhou, both of which were important port cities during the British colonial era.

Going back to my roots I guess. HAHA.

Reminds me of the Himeji Garden in Adelaide, although I know that that one is Japanese, not Chinese.

As usual, a walking photo.

Yes, I can still stretch my limbs!

- The garden was fashioned after Ming-Dynasty gardens and has every element of a Chinese garden you like to see: pagodas, lakes, moon gates, open hallways, and oriental bridges! The garden also has a Chinese restaurant for those who wish to immerse in the Chinese-ness of the place.

Yes, that is an iguana. It is one of the many many free-roaming animals in the garden.

Ceramic mural.

A Garden of Eden in the middle of modernity.

Main entrance/exit.

- I later had lunch in a burger place before passing by Darling Harbor. The harbor has been around since the British colonial era. It was called Darling Harbor after Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling, who was the governor of New South Wales at that time. Yes, he named the harbor after himself. The Australian National Maritime Museum (closer to L1 Pyrmont or Star light rail stops) is one of the many attractions around Darling Harbor. However, I do think it's the most unique among the others there. (The aquarium is at the other side of the dock, as well as Madame Tussauds, among others.) Opened in 1991, the Maritime Museum is unlike any other. Apart from the usual indoor exhibits, they have actual ships and a submarine outside the museum. Visits to the vessels are included in the ticket. (This actually reminds me a bit of Pearl Harbor, click here).

Darling Harbor.

HMAS Vampire. (Yes, that's the name of this military ship.)

Australian ships, the flag, and Sydney Tower from afar.

At the Submarine HMAS Onslow. My second time inside a submarine. The first time was in Pearl Harbor.

Captain's room.

Control room.

Loving the view.

- Because they're quite big, and can take some time to visit/explore each one, I highly advise to go earlier in the day. The vessels are open until 3pm (but those who got in before can still explore until 4pm). The indoor museum, however, closes at 5. I didn't know about the ships and the submarine outside and came in late so I only got to see two. Because of this, they allow guests to come back to see the ships as long as you give them your name to be written in their notebook. Just remember the date of your first arrival and the name you gave them. (I wouldn't have known about this if it weren't for the kind Filipina who worked in the museum!)

Aboard the HMB Endeavor.

Pantry, under the deck.

My signature ship pose.

Love being the captain!

The HMB Endeavor's bow.

Inside the actual museum. These are indigenous canoes.

A giant figurehead, might be taller or as tall as me!

The museum itself looks like a deconstructed ship to me.

- From the museum, I walked across Pyrmont Bridge to the other side of the downtown. I passed by the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) area where there are some British-era shopping arcades (light rail 2 or 3 to QVB stop). They appeared a lot bigger than the ones we have here in Melbourne.

Sydney Tower.

The Strand Arcade, built in 1892.

It was quite big.

Old elevators - still in perfect condition! I rode inside this one but couldn't take a photo inside the elevator since I was with other people.

The Strand Arcade from outside.

Queen Victoria Building, finished in 1898. One of the larger Victorian-era shopping arcades.

See!

From the side.

 - Upon reaching the Sydney Town Hall (light rail 2 or 3 to Town Hall stop), I took some snaps of the Town Hall and visited St. Andrew's Cathedral beside the Town Hall. It was finished in 1868 with a Gothic-revival style architecture.

The Town Hall, finished in 1878. It was inspired by the Hotel de Ville in Paris (Paris Town Hall). Click here to compare!

St. Andrew's Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.

A lot of ibises in Sydney. I don't think we have them in Melbourne - or at least, I don't see them around where I stay.

- I eventually met one of my former students who is currently in Sydney. We had Nepalese food because it was the first thing that caught our eye. 

Hello Nathan!

Food at The Momos Hub.

A mask representing the Kumari (the "living goddess") and a statue of Ganesh. Also, a random customer.

- I later met another friend who's too shy to be in the camera, but it was a nice dinner. I always enjoy catching up with good friends anywhere!

- I had a bright and early start the next day to have photos with the Sydney Opera House (light rail 2 or 3 to Circular Quay, then walk to the Opera House). This uniquely-shaped building was designed by a Danish architect Jorn Utzon. He entered this shell-inspired design to a contest for an opera house to be built in the Sydney Harbor. He won in 1957, and the actual structure was finished in 1973. The shells are also called "sails" as they appear to look like white sails. Prior to the construction of the sydney Opera House, the area was used as a tram depot.

Good morning Sydney!

I'm too cute. Yes, I'm claiming it.

- Across the Sydney Opera House is the Harbour Bridge, which opened in 1932. Since the bridge and the Opera House are so close to each other, is there a way to take a photo with both of them in one photo? Well, yes! Apart from taking a photo from the plane (as you can see above,) a good angle to capture both in one photo is to have a long walk along the Botanical Garden up to Mrs. Macquarie's Point. The walk is worth it, trust me.

This was from the harbor side. Would love to have a photo taken from this angle, if only I had a tripod tall enough for this shot.

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Saw this behind the Opera House.

At Mrs. Macquarie's Point.

I told you, it's worth it.

The best shot of the morning! There was a rocky part close to the sea and seemed safe enough. (Safety first, always!)

Can't believe I'm here, seriously.

A friend had a photo like this and I wanted to tease her by doing the same post - and had a good photo in the process.

- After spending a few hours taking photos with the Sydney Opera House, I went across the harbor to see the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. It opened its doors in 1991. I know I was here to appreciate the art, but what I appreciated more was the view of the cafe at the rooftop. One particular table at the side had a spectacular view of the Opera House.

MCAA.

How's your lunch going? HAHA.

Contemporary indigenous art.

This is one of the more interesting works in the gallery, I think. These are the countries imagined as rooms (drawn like an architect's blueprint.) It is a representation of political borders.

I swear this could've been made thousands of years ago because of the style, but it is, rather, new.

This is something I think I can hang in my room - if my room were big enough.

- I also visited Cadman's Cottage beside the museum. It was built in the early 1800s as a water police station. It was named after John Cadman, the longest serving coxswain. The house was supposed to be open, based on its opening hours, but not sure why it wasn't. Still, it was nice to see its facade as it is one of the oldest surviving houses in Sydney.

Cadman's Cottage.

Passed by the Old Customs House, from the mid-1800s. It's now a museum but didn't have time to visit.

The Justice & Police Museum, former police station from the 1890s. I really wanted to visit this museum but it wasn't open when I passed by and my schedule couldn't accommodate its opening days.

- I dropped by the Museum of Sydney along Philip Street (roughly a block south of light rail 2 or 3, Circular Quay stop). The museum was built on the former location of the Government House. While the museum was opened in 1995, the old Government House was built in the 1700s.

Museum of Sydney.

The museum was quite small and exhibits were mostly images.

There were some interesting things though, like this book that shows how the Opera House was built.

A few others were like this, an aboriginal boat.

after the Museum of Sydney I had a brief stop over at the St. Stephen's Uniting Church.

The St. Stephen's Uniting Church was built in the 1930s.

I saw this across the street. The 17th-century Porcellino statue can be found in Florence, Italy. However, replies can be found al over the world, just like this one in Sydney!

- From the museum I walked south until I reached the Hyde Park Barracks. The barracks were opened in 1819 to house convicts from Britain and Ireland. The museum provides audio guides that made the self-guided tour a lot more immersive. Since there were not a lot of people when I visited the museum, it felt a lot creepier. I liked the museum though! Oh, and I also learned that a lot of Australian cities were built because of the convicts. Many of Sydney's old buildings were built by the convicts!

It sort of reminds me of the concentration camps in Germany.

The lives of the convicts here were unimaginably hard.

Halls.

Sleeping quarters.

Prisoner uniform.

Rats and buttons. The buttons, I think, were found all across the barracks. The carcasses of the rats were aplenty too. Imagine rats climbing up and nibbling on you while you rested!

Punishment.

There were lady convicts, or ladies who eventually followed their convict husbands to Australia.

- After going to the Hyde Park Barracks, I had a brief stopover at the St. Mary's Cathedral. It was built in the early 1800s. A block south from St. Mary's Cathedral is the Australian Museum. The museum has its roots in 1827 and was kind of meant to be a natural history museum. That explains the extensive flora and fauna specimens across the museum. 

St. Mary's Cathedral, from Hyde Park.

Front of the cathedral.

Inside.

At the Australian Museum. This is a possible appearance of the diprotodon. It was a massive wombat that existed in Australia millions of years ago.

A "T-Rex autopsy." Interesting to see how one would do an autopsy to a giant dinosaur. In case it's not clear enough, this autopsy only uses a model of a T-Rex, not an actual one.

So many taxidermied animals!!

Australian animals.

Again, the most iconic squad.

Possum-skin coat, used by the Australian aborigines.

From Papua New Guinea.

Clubs and amulets made from pounamu (green stone.) They're used by the Maori of New Zealand (Aoteroa.)

They even have a royal Hawai'ian cape and crown!

The museum from outside.

Oh by the way, I passed by the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park on the way back to my hostel.

- That evening I had a pre-dinner-dinner at an Uyghur restaurant in Chinatown, and then headed to Spice Alley, which is a pan-Asian food court in Kensington Street. Apart from Chinese food, Sydney's Chinatown actually has a lot of great finds!

When someone calls you in the middle of the street while you're just standing in the middle of somewhere, and realize that it's your friend. I therefore conclude that Sydney is compact, AND, I know too many people. (Hi Mark!)

Chinatown!

There was a night market that day.

Kikoran Restaurant, an Uyghur restaurant.

One of the most famous Uyghur dishes - laghman! (It's Uyghur-style noodles cooked with lamb.)

Spice Alley.

- My first two days in Sydney were packed with so many new experiences! I realized that many of the places in the city were close enough to be reached on foot. However, Sydney is a hilly city, and actually reminded me a lot of San Francisco (and it is also easy to pretend that the Harbour Bridge is the coutnerpart of the Golden Gate Bridge!) I might have done too much, but I had three more days to see what's there to experience in Sydney!