Hello Sydneysiders (Part VII Second Chapter)

We went to Bondi Beach. I could not believe this, it was like a dream comes true.

Yes, Bondi lives to its name. Clean, wide open, postcard perfect and this time less people coming due to weekday visit so we had fun exploring.

First dip in Tasman Sea was unbelievable. Though the sea was calm and cold, couples of swimmers made their way to the shore. No surfers. No people in their birthday suit ahaahahah.

       

People walk their dogs around. The local council held an election, as you can see the poster is so small and it is unnoticed, unlike our election, mau jugak satu bandar bermandikan posters, banner... 

Next, it was ride to see all these beautiful township of Surry Hills, Paddington and Darlinghurst. Kawasan yang agak upmarket. Happened these places used to be residence of low income earners or blue collar workers working with shipping industries, however along the way, it started to make way for better and trendier hub and the rest was history. Love to see the design of the iron fences of those terraced houses, classic betul, memang rare. If you wanna roam around, there are many little sidewalk cafes to try. The place is quite hilly, so if you wanna walk, have good comfy shoes to go with. According to travel guide, some nice shops selling house ware items can be bought here, and of course we did not much time looking. Kalau tak silap, Russell Crowe ada beli rumah area area ni jugak!

We headed back to Sydney CBD after completing this half day tour. 

So where we were going after the tour ? Ke mana lagi, Darling Harbour of course. There are many attraction such as Sydney Aquarium & Wildlife, ImaxTheatre and Australian Maritime Museum. Good spot for kids to enjoy themselves, so my dotter would be just happy.

Sydney Aquarium is just a lit bit bigger compared to KL Aquaria, not to be a cramped place which they have amazing species of sharks, which quite an advantage if you want to see them swimming on the surface. Beside the usual indoor aquarium, visitors have chances to feed small fish and of course on the boat itself, me and dotter would glimpse smaller type predators making their round. The bigger ones are kept separated from the visitor's feeding tank. Tak leh imagine kalau campur yang besar tu sekali, mai gila depa, ditolak tolak bot kami, dah jadi macam citer jaws pulak. Just add in AUD10 for the experience to feed the fish. Unfortunately you can see some tamer species like stingrays being bitten by these sharks, sampai ada sekor  hilang ekor, kesian... prove it is not easy to share limited living space with the entire sea creatures, the ones who are on top of the food chain tend to be a little big aggresive eh.

Yeah, i was so pleased with the aquarium staff who assisted us to feed. We were shown some baby sharks, tiger species in the laboratory, amek ko, berbaloi tengok beberapa ekor anak ikan sedang tidur ehehehhehe, anak ikan betul eh... and the funny part was when he asked me at the end of the session, "Who is actually the biggest predator among them all?" aku dah blur abes... He pointed to this bald guy, just  under our own boat in the indoor aquarium, whoa, kelakor siot. What he said we, human beings are the biggest predator, yeah his words make sense... anyhow, mamat ni boleh diberi lima bintang memberi penerangan,  Marvellous!

After some time spent in the gift shop, which of course, the merchandise were so irresistible, we made it to Maritime Museum. Our stomach growled to the extent we were so famished and needed to fill in something. Had lunch in Darling Harbour Shopping Bazaar, kebuluq tak hengat belasah kebabs. Yup, unfortunately we gave a miss for Sydney Wildlife and Imax Theatre due to time constraint, huhu, tak perla nak buat macam mana. So please plan for a whole day in Sydney Harbour if you wanna see them.

People enjoy the sunny weather. Darling Harbour is nice spot to gather and have some picnic. 

Now you guys know where to get your Hard Rock Tees.. right in Darling Harbour. Mine already done, so tengok jerla. This is the place we got our Iventure card on the first day arriving. Kedai Cotton On dalam tempat tu pun murah murah taim sale, ehehheheh, sayang saya tak minat.

National Maritime Museum, awesome experience!

Welcome aboard! 

We really had fun doing our tour to the submarine, which our first time venturing into the machine, kek Mesia tak dapat lagi hor, and my dotter being funny kept teasing me, "Mak, muat tak?" due to my heavy built..Kelakar la tu kan? Yeah, it was so cramped, not for claustrophobic type, but good enough to spend an hour inside. The Museum assistant in the submarine were ex-marine themselves. Siap ada torpedo kat dalam tau. I was asking whether it was permissible to take picture, and this uncle said why not? This is museum, sweetie. pergh, ayat tak leh belah, ahahah. 

Submarine Engine & Walves Room, Toilet (maha kecik) and of course the Periscope to 

The torpedo room and the sleeping deck ... gila sempit, tak leh guling pusing nak tidor, sabor jer la.....

It was an educational experience and we proceed to the next Royal Navy ship, HMS Vampire.

Please be careful with the steps, no high heels please... quite steep and small.

The bridge was uncovered until certain year... wahlau, kalau ombak besar, mau telan air masin dulu dulu. kesian kan!

What a selection of meals on board. Air Asia pun kalah, kantin sekolah pun... amek ko... mak nak beli Kitchen Aid Mixer, dah dapat baek punya atas kapal....

This fleet are interesting to explore, for first timers, and as civilians, you can imagine how tough it was for the marines to live in this ship. It is interesting to know that HMS Vampire did serve for Australian Navy during Malaysia- Indonesia Confrontation or better known as Indonesian infamous campaign "Ganyang Malaysia" , way back in 1963. pergh lama siot. This vessel used to be in Malacca Straits's water at one time. Wuhu. tak rugi mak belajar sejarah, berguna membuat penjelasan. Ni sebab anak tanya kapal ni penah datang Malaysia tak? yes, there is a video show on the ship itself. 

The wood carving is interesting, never see one before, even in the movie set...

Aye, aye Captain! Captain Cook? Captain Jack Sparrow? ahhahahahhahah

The outdoor exhibition range was quite a show, it is periodical and the next ship ventured was a replica of First Fleet. hah, apa tu? Please refer to the previous post, the history helps a lot. Masa ni layan jiwang perasan macam cerita Pirates of Carribean sangat, walau pacik yang jaga bagi 5 minit nak bergambar... ahahhahaha.

Making it to the Indoor, the structure is marvellous, macam dok kat limbungan kapal

We almost approaching the end as there was only half hour left for indoor and the gift shop. To our luck,    an exhibition of Remembering 100 Years Titanic was being held in the museum, so the chances to see the pictures of real person behind the famous film characters such as Mrs. Brown was not to be missed. The rest of the exhibition are mainly touches on the water sports; as Australia is also known for having many gold medals for Olympics, history of Australian women into Navy, evolution of swimming costumes, sea rescues stuff  and a spot dedicated to America's effort promoting sea venture ship to Australia. 

Titanic Exhibition. Informative. I was so into the mugs but the stuff was quite pricier. Abaikan.

In the end, it was nice to make it to the museum, considering it was kind of rare to explore into real submarine and the rest of the fleet. Do not miss this one when you are visiting Darling Harbour.

I do have sentimental moment to see this whaler. Why? I used to be in a whaler in Malacca Strait's water, rowing 40km whole day, way back in 2008 with some mates, whoa,tiring i can tell you, mau  rasa nak mati masa sampai!

To be continued.......

Hello Sydneysiders (Part VI)

 

Introducing the AAT King Bus... the one who took us to North and South Sydney....

I guess this might be the last post before leaving for Annapurna, Nepal.

I don't have much time to write due to duties and travel plans stuff, but i am sure it has been great to be able to tell something. To tell to someone that i will be just good. Happy. Fine. :)

To do Sydney, knowing the history and how people thrive for some better living, it is the most expensive city in Aussie, yet it shows how vibrant the city is. Same goes to other places in this world, but sun shine, sea and wharf is the one i look forward to, perhaps I spent many years visiting beaches, and till today, I am still loving  every part of it.

So this post  mainly to highlight the outer side of the city, how the first explorer, The First Fleet made it to the coast and how interesting it was to learn it from the day tour and a visit to Museum of Sydney. Valuable.

Image showing how Australia was found by Captain James Cook... belajar sejarah sikit, eehhehehehe... picture courtesy of  NSW State Library....

We took two day tours with AAT Kings, which I think the best day tour to explore North and South of the city. The North Experience. The journey begins from Harbour Bridge, North Sydney and of course Mainly. We waited the company bus, and to our surprise it came with so knowledgeable Mr. Guiliano Nyuen, our tour guide cum the driver.

As we made our introduction, it is nice to know that Mr. Guiliano himself is an avid Penang Island visitor, almost bought an apartment somewhere in Batu Kawan for once a year trip to the Island.. cool, hope to see u again, mate! 

It is good to find someone who share the same passion :)

The tour begin to the ride on the Harbour Bridge, a structure built in future use in mind, which they had this idea of building it with 8 lanes to cut off the traffic congestion, how clever, isn't it? 

The other side of the city, Olympic Drive to Milson Point/ Luna Park. North Sydney was initially being the centre of business/commercial district, where offices being built and the day time would be bustling of activities. Till to some time, it was again Sydney CBD (the other side) to be the centre.

We were brought to capture some view of  splendid Safety Bay, Port Jackson where from this picture, you know the dwellers were rich people, owning boats, yacht, and the residence, oh my, millions of money to own these. Guilano's dream is to have one of this.

Now somewhere towards Mainly, but we were heading to Sydney National Park.....sorry Mr.Guiliano, i fell asleep when we came into the town.penat......

Yes, this is one of the must  for any Sydney first timers.

For those who have no idea where  the place we were visiting, some map for direction. The tour highlight was to show visitors where Captain James Cook and the rest of First Fleet entering Sydney from this point, the opening between two capes, namely Watsons Bay and north part of National Park..

The view, looking at North Head part... way back, hundred years ago, there was a quarantine place for sick ship passengers/immigrants at this point... legend say it is a haunted spot where sometimes visitors who do come to the place  can listen to wailing sounds at night, huhu goosebumps... love the water, the bluish tint of Tasman Sea is something nice, isn't it... i do not make any editing on this one....so cobalt blue as it is...

We had a quick stop for some photos at Arabanoo Lookout. Who is Arabanoo? Some excerpt taken from Australian Dictionary of Biography;

"Arabanoo (d.1789), Aboriginal, was captured at Manly on 31 December 1788 by order of Governor Arthur Phillip, who wished to learn more about the natives. Arabanoo was taken to the settlement where a convict was appointed to guard him; he was at first pleased by a handcuff on his wrist, believing it to be an ornament, but became enraged when he discovered its purpose.

Then a severe epidemic of smallpox broke out among the Aboriginals in April 1789, several who had been found in great distress were brought to Sydney where Arabanoo helped to care for them; he caught the disease himself and died on or about 18 May. He was buried in the governor's garden"

A statue made to dedicate the effort of Duke Kahanamoku, the Surfing King, all the way from Hawaii, an Olympic athlete who made surfing a popular spot.

The tour became interesting when our bus stopped at this point, and Mr. G  wanted to tell us how a statue was built in honor of Duke Kahanamoku. Err,  who is this guy?  The statue itself is a piece of interesting object, and our first time seeing a statue of a man on a surf board, well not the typical one you can see nowadays...it is called the long board. 

Some excerpt about the Duke himself, 

" During the first half of the 20th century, Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku -- known to most as Duke or The Duke, and as Paoa to Hawaiian and long time island friends -- "emerged as the world's consummate waterman, its fastest swimmer and foremost surfer, the first truly famous beach boy," wrote biographer Grady Timmons. Duke Kahanamoku is best known to surfers as, "the father of modern surfing."

"Duke competed in an Olympic trials swimming meet held in May 1912, in Philadelphia. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team by winning the 100 meter freestyle event in exactly 60 seconds.Less than a month later, at Verona Lake, N.J., Duke qualified for the U.S. Olympic 800 meter relay team. More importantly, during his 200 meter test heat, he bettered the existing world record in the 200 meter freestyle held by Daniels"

"The New South Wales Swimming Association invited Duke Kahanamoku to give a swimming exhibition at the Domain Baths, in Sydney. While in Australia, Duke brought surfboard riding to the continent. Yet, he did not bring a surfboard. Instead, he made one. Patricia Gilmore, an Australian reporter/historian, described what happened, in a nostalgic look back forThe Sydney Morning Herald, in 1948: "Having no board, he picked out some sugar pine from George Hudson's, and made one. This board -- which is now in the proud possession of Claude West -- was eight feet six inches long, and concave underneath. Veterans of the waves contend that Duke purposely made the surfboard concave instead of convex to give him greater stability in our rougher (as compared with Hawaiian) surf." ---- taken from www.hawaiianswimboat.com/duke.html

More info on the legend icon can be found here. 

Yeah, we learnt many stuff on the day itself. The first Aborigine found and the King of Surfing. This tour was full of info, how some places like Manly got its name, so apart from the breathtaking coast view, please do have consideration to have this tour for those who want to do Sydney. It is very informative on its own, something you can relate to the existing our Sydney, Australia and the famous sport of surfing.

                                          I wish I have ample time to do some Olle style walking on this coastal side... sigh....

Later, we made it to Manly Town for a stop for coffee. The place itself, being a tourist spot, makes a good place to learn surfing. Too bad we could not see  many surfers on the beach due to calm sea. A row of cafes facing the beach makes a good spot to chill, but we proceed to the inner town to check on the shops for souvenirs.

Sight seeing in the town... we bought some marshmallow pink sweaters for ourselves... nice spot to see people move around...

We left Manly to Sydney CDB as it was already getting dark. The next day was our second tour to the south of Sydney... to be continued......

Hello Sydneysiders (Part V)

Previous post can be found here.

Coffee at Central Station

I just want to share how we did our trip from Sydney CDB to Katoomba and to the rest of the places.  

We greatly utilized our My Multi 2 cards which came together with the I-Venture package and did covers three mode of transportation - buses, ferries and trains. It is quite a steal deal, isn't it?

We took our first ferry trip to Manly from Circular Quay at night due constraint of time to do it at day time. I will not recommend if you are coming in winter to do this. The wind made us to spend short time outside and as to compare the experience in Katoomba, the cold sea breeze is more bitterly frustrating, 

So by the end of the trip, everyone were looking forward to snuggle under the warm blankets :)

The journey to Mainly via ferry took almost 45 minutes from Circular Quay which I think great way to spend time watching sight, people and the seagulls. 

As we made our way to the jetty, there were some birds flying along the ferry, quite interesting.

Approaching Manly Wharf

We reached Manly and took dinner at Nando's in the wharf (AUD5.95 for a quarter roast chicken minus the side dishes). Earlier on the trip we did come to this place during our day tour with AAT Kings, so it was easy to roam in  the town at night without feeling lost.

One of the pubs in Manly....

The backpacker place is popular with surf newbies to board in

We went lepaking at Manly Beach, whoa, it was not even an hour  stay since the cold wind was not being nice to us!

What makes me to love Manly is the fact a place for  newbie to learn surfing (there is a school here), the easy access from CBD to Manly Wharf and of course the architectural aspect of the buildings.  At daylight, it was quite busy with visitors and at night time, Manly is  a place to hang out with friends for some drinks.

I just love the triangle stuff of this building.....

One of the most beautiful council buildings ever. reminds me to White House.

The only setback if you come to Manly at night is the fact that people who go drinking at those pubs may not be at their best behavior when they get themselves drunk and start insulting others. We were taking some photos when a bunch of young Australian men started to make fun of a Asian guy in a nearby Hungry Jack outlet. Poor guy....

When they approached us and offered to take our photos which of course, I wouldn't keen to put ourselves into trouble, so I refused their offer and  made our way to the wharf.

There were reports of these Australian guys turn themselves into racist when they get high, sorry i have to say this, but it is a fact that it happened in front of my eyes. My friend, Sherry always reminded this if I wanted to go out at night. Stay away from the drinking joint, pubs or anything to do with it.

love the wharf's  interior...classic.

As we reached Circular Quay, it was already 10.00 p.m. We made it to Malaysia Hall Sydney and the next day shall be the last day for us to complete our sightseeing.....