Sydney General Tips by dlandt

Favorite Thing: Without a doubt, this is one of the best views of the city you can get. You could actually go higher than the view I show here, by paying the extra money and going to one of the observation platforms. Alternatively, you can climb onto the uppermost section of the bridge. To do that you need to pay even more money, plus rent a protective poncho.

Fondest Memory: Stop off at the Glenmore for a beer after you're finished, and before you go.

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Favorite Thing: St. Mary's is a large cathedral designed and decorated to European standards. See the travelogue for more pictures. Its quite a large cathedral, but had a large section under maintenance while I was there.

Fondest Memory: I didn't like having to pay A$2 to take pictures, but it beat the one in Antwerp where you need to pay two euros to even visit. As a practicing Catholic, I feel I should have access to our churches pretty much anywhere I go, but in Sydney, its free if you just want to pray and not take any pictures.

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Favorite Thing: Essentially, the city is shaped like a standing rectangle. In the north, there is Circular Quay and the Rocks, one of the tourist attractions. To the Southwest, lies Darling Harbour. Connecting these two places, is George Street. George Street has a lot of stores and restaurants of the common variety and is worth a look for more mundane interests like bookstores, shoe stores, discount shops etc. Use the buses that run up and down George street to get between the sides of the city. In the dead center of town lies Hyde Park, like a green oasis. South of there is the Spanish Quarter, an interesting and very multicultural area good for shopping and eating. In the lower west corner of the city lies Chinatown and in the lower east corner lies King's Cross, consisting mostly of cheap eats, sex shops and strip joints. In the northeast corner of the rectangle, are the botanic gardens and beyond them, the suburb of Wooloomooloo, where the Australian navy moors their ships.

Fondest Memory: I found it easiest to orient myself from Hyde Park, which is more or less in the center of the city. From there it is a short walk to any destination you choose to start with. Pretty in its own right, its not to be missed. The city isn't really large, so you can walk quite a few places. In the afternoon, try the public transit.

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Favorite Thing: Like all large cities, Sydney boasts a Chinatown. Like in all Chinatowns, most people go there to do one thing, eat. Maybe they'll buy a few trinkets, but mostly people go to eat. This one is no exception, though they call the dim-sum, yum-cha. Its no cleaner and no more fluent in English than any other Chinatown, but if you're hungry, you can get a good Chinese meal here. Ramonq of VT knows the place to go.

Fondest Memory: I found the food here to be nearly identical to that found in Chinatowns across North America and Europe. If you like Chinese food, it won't hold any surprises for you and can generally be considiered a "sure thing".

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Favorite Thing: A trip to the Blue Mountains is a pretty standard commodity. You don't need to spend a lot of time shopping for it as most prices after fees will be about the same and they will take you on the same itinerary. I have to admit I didn't enjoy this tour. Too much about "Back on the bus" to be fun, too many other tourists to appreciate the nature. They also drop you into a town calle Leura which is one big souvenier shop and the local chamber of commerce provides a kickback for every busload of tourists they bring in. The natural scenery would be better appreciated with the freedom of a car. You could park and just walk around the main attractions as its mostly within a relatively compact area. I've heard you can actually take the train up there and just walk from place to place. I don't know if that's true, but you can't have a worse time than listening to the recycled humor of a tour bus driver.

Fondest Memory: I made bad poetry and songs with the refrain "Back on the Bus"

Back on the bus
The driver cried
As he brought us aboard with care
Supporting each tourist by the seat of the pants
And a finger entwined in his hair...

Get the picture?

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Favorite Thing: I guess this is an OK attraction. It would have been better if we were younger or had children. The park is reasonably sized with about 40 exhibits of Australian wildlife, including a kangaroo petting area. This is a tame zoo environment suitable for small children and educational in that it puts on reptile, wool shearing and other shows. If you hold cookies in your hand the dingos follow you from one end of the cage to the other.


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