I might get lynched for saying this (especially by ex-pat
Aussies – but mind you if they’re ex-pat then probably don’t like it either),
but I wasn’t crazy about Sydney. I don’t mind people slagging off Glasgow or London,
in fact I’ll join in. Overall Sydney is a very
manageable city in terms of getting around and having many things in walking
distance. It reminds me of a cross
between San Francisco and London,
with the bay and the bridge but also like London
in terms of the Anglo influence. They
have Wagamama (restaurant chain from Europe/UK) which I like. The other thing reminiscent of London is the
completely Byzantine maze of one way streets, no left/no right turn, no entry
etc. I didn’t drive in the city much at
all but at times I felt like sobbing on the steering wheel, and seriously
considered abandoning the car, saying screw it and reporting it stolen.
Happy, Very Happy
Everyone is very friendly and helpful. The service in the
hotel was excellent. Occasionally the
Aussies become exceptionally exuberant in their enthusiasm for just about
anything or everything. They're a very positive lot. For a frequently anti-social, often surly,
impatient pain the ass such as myself with a dark and sarcastic side, and left
over issues from a dour Scottish upbringing – exuberance can be hard to digest and
I wondered what was in the drinking water causing such disturbing behavior. So I stuck to bottled.
Oh and they LOVE the beach.
Like LOVE THE BEACH. I got some
odd looks when I said I was going to the mountains for a couple of days. Given the Anglo background of many Aussies,
the genetic pasty and freckly skin really wasn’t engineered to live at the
beach. Someone should tell them.
Let Them Drink Beer
They love their beer.
But they also have some decent wine with some really nice Pinot Noirs
(many from NZ) and of course a large selection of decent Shiraz which is kind of their signature wine.
Let Them Eat Cake
While I was there interest rates were raised and the country
was in uproar. It was very interesting
and surprising. The US gets grumbly
about interest rate hikes but it also increases saving returns. The Aussies were ready to tear up
cobblestones (if they had any and if they were French) and start throwing them
at the Prime Minister. One of the guys I
met explained that the Aussies are somewhat obsessed with the dream of
homeownership and having the trappings of what makes them appear “affluent”,
perhaps reminiscent of their somewhat hedonistic tendencies of a quite young
population. As a result many are mortgaged
to the hilt living beyond their means and don’t put as much as emphasis as they
should on saving and financial planning.
For a Schwabbie who is brainwashed into saving for retirement this
seemed pretty irresponsible and destined for a short sharp correction in the
future.
DUBYA
The poor buggers are also getting subjected to El Presidente
George W Bush in a few weeks for the APEC summit. They got stuck with Cheney a while back which
was bad enough. Apparently Sydney is mostly getting
shut down and it has been suggested that locals leave if they can. They even gave the police special powers that
suspend some civil rights. Quite
extreme. Leave it to Dubya to bring life
and soul to the party. What a loser. DO NOT GO TO SYDNEY
DURING THE APEC SUMMIT!!!
Virgins - "Please Hold Hands for Take-off"
Virgin Blue is about 7 years old in Sydney and is a pretty snazzy airline. They have a bunch of brand spanking new
737-800s with live satellite TV (A$10), nice leather seats, and a very pleasant
and entertaining cabin crew – I didn’t mind that at all – “Cabin Crew please be
seated and hold hands for takeoff” – that was cute. The 737-800 can be a bit of a nightmare for
boarding since it is very big with one aisle and 3-3 configuration, but they
board from front and back so wasn’t too bad.
They have lots of nice options, like the ability to pay reasonable fees
for a better or primo seat selection like guaranteed exit row, access to the lounge
for a day pass, snacks and drinks for cash for money on the plane but that was
fine. Their online site is nice and
convenient from my perspective, however since it’s a popular airline the
check-in if you have bags is pretty horrendous.
So leave plenty of time for that.
So…
So Sydney
was a nice place, but really just another big capital city to me. The weather was very good to me for August
(late winter) with really, really pleasant sunny days and comfortable
evenings. It is worth passing through on
the way to somewhere else. I had planned
on being there for the week but that would have been WAY too much. The side
trip to the Blue Mountains was great and well
worth a couple of days and the drive.
Very beautiful and starts to give you a sense of how varied the country
can be in terms of geography culture and lifestyle. Oh and don’t go to the zoo
in the winter. All the animals are
sleeping or hiding.
Off to North Queensland on a 2.5 hour flight from Sydney to Cairns. Stay tuned for Queensland and I’m sure some
more stories of getting hopelessly lost, getting bitten by something, doing
something stupid at least twice, and staying where there is either limited or
no Internet access and cell service at a retreat where the plan is to do some
reflection and introspection, get centered, learn the path to “Right Thought”
and “Right Speech”. Good lord, peace and
quiet and introspection. What’s up with
that? Will I survive? Will I be forced to finish a book and
actually remember what it was about when I finish? All to be revealed.
