Land Ahoy: Sydney 15/01/07

Sydney was a transition stop on my trip to Melbourne, Australia. For some of you who aren't familiar with either of these names, Australia is the largest island in the world, and located in the southern hemisphere. Checkout: http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/WF1.WORLD.JPG

And to zoom in, Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, which is a state in the south-eastern part of Australia. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales. Checkout: http://www.sweetmarias.com/map.australia.jpg

For some brief information about Australia, checkout: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/austrla.htm

Continuing on, I was really lucky to get an upgrade to business class for my flight which was fully booked. Lots of drinks (water, juice, alcohol beverages) were offered and I got to dine restaurant style, which means I eat from a plate instead of the usual economy class meal trays. There were after lunch desserts as well, which includes fruits, cheeses and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. The seat was pretty spacious too. Service staff were really attentive too, making it a real joy to fly. This must be a good beginning to my adventure!

An upgrade to Raffles class

The accommodation which I was putting up for the night wasn't that business class-like though. I was staying at the trusty Wake Up backpackers in central Sydney which I had stayed before, so there was not much of a surprise. It was clean and fine alright, but I didn't mind the lack of space in the 10 person dorm as I was only there for a night. Checkout: http://www.wakeup.com.au/

Wake Up backpackers accommodation

Inside the room

There was no problem with waking up the next day. I headed to Chinatown for some breakfast. While there, you should try 2 restaurants, one selling Taiwanese food and the other for yum cha. I've tried both, and they are good. But remember to make reservations for yum cha. Checkout:http://www.eastocean.com.au/

East Ocean which sells good yum cha, and Mother Chu's which sells yummy Taiwanese food.

After having breakfast, I returned to the backpackers to collect my luggage for checkout. It must have been an awkward time to return. As I entered the room, there was this girl (maybe Korean or Chinese, I'm not sure) who was in the midst of changing, and was thus caught with her pants down. Well not totally, still had her panties on though. No photos for this story though. Then I left for the airport to make my way to Melbourne.