"Australia Here I Come....." Sydney by elhombre30

Getting to Australia is not easy. It takes several months of preparation HOWEVER as the saying goes, "Patience is a virtue". Compiling all documents needed for application of Australian Tourist VISA needs time, effort, money and a good strategy. For us Filipinos visiting big countries like Australia and United States for leisure means luxury but my personal travel was basically SIMPLE. I was very honest writing the Australian consul in my Letter of Intent saying that my reason for travel was with the ff reasons.
1.) To visit my college dear friend who is like a sister to me. And she was the one inviting me over to see Sydney.
2.) Approval of my application means birthday gift to me (I submitted my application 2 weeks before my birthdate)
3.) To experience WINTER season for I haven't experience it in my whole life, (Philippines having roughly 25 degrees Celsius as the lowest temperature VS Australia's winter season which is even below zero)
4.) To utilize my employee rate discount at 3 of the IHG hotels that I am working for as a Reservations Sales Agent. I do have 3 hotel booking for the entire duration of my stay namely Intercontinental Sydney, Holiday Inn Sydney Airport and Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach which serves as my supporting documents of my employment.
5.) To witness the the beauty of famous tourism attractions of Sydney like the Opera house, Sydney Tower, Sydney Circular quay, Famous Harbour bridge, Canberra City and it's Parliament house, and the Victoria Building.

And what a surprise when I received a call from my travel agent e week after submission that I indeed was successful in the application. I was very happy and so excited for this FIRST EVER out of the country trip. I was given maximum of 3 months stay in Australia and my heart felt like erupting of so much excitement! It took me several days shopping for the best possible airfare and I end up getting Qantas Air from Manila to Sydney last June 10, 2010. It's very expensive!!!! ( If you plan to buy an airfare, shop as early as you can for a better deal. Mine was about more than 1,200 AUD and there are fare lower than 800 AUD if buying in advance) All bags are packed, ready for the journey and SO SO SO EXCITED!

Qantas Aircraft was huge! I've seen some filipinos in the aircraft but roughly around 90% were foreigners. This is it! this is really indeed an international flight! LOL. The food served at the flight was excellent. Passengers have 2 options to choose on what menu to take and I was surprised that both Menu on A and B are all Filipino food for dinner. I remember it was a choice of either Pork mechado or Beef "Bistek" plus fresh juice, bread and butter, fresh fruits, crackers and veggies. But breakfast served around 4:00 AM Sydney time an hour before it finally landed was American breakfast with more breads, butter and fresh fruit juices and yogurts.
The aircraft was about to have its final landing when I noticed that the temperature posted in the small TV screen was fluctuating -10 to -1 so I really thought it was so cold. We finally landed and waiting for the aircraft to properly position. The sun is rising giving a little view from outside of what Sydney is LOL.
It was freezing! It was so cold! I was chilling while walking through the pathway of the airport!
The journey has started.... I will soon visit all these attractions and will take many photos as I can in the next few days. Itineraries were all laid down and ready to go!
This is one of the most memorable experience to me - Sydney being one of the most favorite tourist destination and known for beautiful tourist spots. You can see tons and tons of photos featured in the internet and having the experience of seeing or visiting these spots for yourself is truly a lifetime memories to treasure.

• Pros:Sydney attractions met my expectations! I was really impressed.
• Cons:Expensive city but worth paying for.
• In a nutshell:I just fell inlove with "Sydney".