Little and Large Down Under #3: Sore Feet In Sydney

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We've made it through our first few days in Sydney and so far we're having a great time! The jet lag is starting to become a distant memory, as is the rain, the cold, and minor Eastenders plot lines.

The flights were OK; we had a four hour stopover in Changi airport during which time we mostly slept, showered and chilled out in the koi garden. Hard to imagine the planners at Luton going to the bother! We'd strongly recommend this if you've only got a few hours to spare, i.e. not enough to leave the airport. It costs 65 Singapore dollars for a six hour block for a nice room with a shower etc.

When we got to Sydney airport we phoned the hostel for our free pickup, which finally arrived an hour and a half later and proceeded to accelerate through the morning traffic like Schumacher with a full bladder. Shaken, we dumped our bags and went for an explore. We spent the first day getting our bearings and doing our admin which was mainly getting tax file numbers (so we can work) from the AMP building on Market Street, picking up bankcards from Martin Place and applying for our Medicare cards just off Martin Place.

The next day we did the full tourist circuit (opera house, Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay) and found a great market in the Rocks where we decided to come back before we leave Oz and buy a load of souvenirs to send home. On Sunday we went to the memorial for the Bali bombings which took place in the Domain in Sydney. It was an unexpectedly uplifting mood there, rather than the somber event we were expecting and very much a display of Aussie strength and solidarity. We met Jenny's cousin who lives here, and he showed us some of the nicer suburbs and then took us to a lovely little beach called Watson's Bay where we paddled and ate fish. This was so useful as it is quite unlikely that we would have seen it if he hadn't have taken us there. Incidentally, the cliffs around the bay are apparently Sydney's top suicide spot, so at least they can go with a full belly and great view!

We're looking forward to moving to a quieter and cleaner part of Sydney than King's Cross, where you can have a coffee without being surrounded by winos and transsexual whores. So far Glebe looks nice from our exploring, and Manly will be visited to see if we like the idea of living by the beach. Difficult to imagine it being a problem...

One thing we have noticed is that the people are friendlier and genuinely so � the guy in the Mambo shop told us to put suncream on "because it's not like you're used to at home!" It's almost as though the warmer climate and cleaner air makes people nicer, which doesn't really compute for a pair of Londoners. Jenny's already commented that her bogeys aren't black any more.

We've also noticed that food is excellent and pretty cheap; so far we've been amazed at the food courts and beachside restaurants we've tried, so God knows how good expensive places will be if we decide to try any. David's a big seafood fan so we'll be going to sample some lobster at some point. One bizarre side effect of the move to Oz is that our appetites have decreased. Maybe this is because we keep falling asleep!



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