An Amazing City--- Sydney, Australia

Sydney- A Well Planned City

I don't know if the small band of convicts and British military knew what they were doing when they started the first British Colony in Sydney but the city today boasts a population of over 4 million people. I fell in love with Sydney and it is now in my top ten city's list.  It is an incredible city that utilizes its assets really well.  They have used their greatest asset, the harbor, really well. They have cultivated the harbor to be a major tourist attraction locating the Sydney Opera House, museums, shopping districts, urban living, and great restaurants there. 

I found their public transportation to be great for a tourist though I read about a recent study that found their transportation to be lacking when compared to other cities its size across the world.  One of the locals I talked to said the system wasn't great for the residents because it took so much more time than driving themselves.  But for a guy like me with no need to get any one place quickly it met my needs.

I also enjoyed their use of green space throughout the city.  The have three Botanic gardens in the city and dozens of pocket parks.  I found myself either walking or jogging through the Royal Botanic Garden and Domain on a daily basis.  It is their Central Park and very heavily utilized throughout the day.

Pictured: The Royal Botanic Garden
 
Sydney Bridge Climb
Pictured:  "Come on guys what did I do?"

The number one thing that blog readers recommended that I do while I was in Sydney was the Harbour Bridge Climb. They told me to ignore the expensive price tag and enjoy the views and that I wouldn't be sorry if I did.  The readers of Singh Around the World are pretty savvy people so I took them up on their suggestion.  They were right.  I wasn't disappointed.   The three hour bridge walk had us hit the peak at 440 ft.  I was a beautiful day so we could see for miles in all directions.  We were not able ot take our cameras up with us due to "safety reasons."  Conveniently, the guide took pictures of the group as we went and for a pretty hefty fee we could buy them at the end.  Our guide acknowledged that close to 50% of their profits came from photo sales.  Capitalism you gotta love it!

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's largest and widest steel arch bridge in the world.  Next to the Sydney Opera House it is the most iconic sight in Sydney.  The 39,000 ton bridge was finished in 1932 and currently boasts 8 lanes of traffic, a footpath, a cycleway and 2 train lines.  It was pretty visionary at that time to build a bridge of that size which could handle the growth of the city over the following century.
According to our guide, the bridge is called the "coat-hanger" by the locals but all the locals I talked to called it the "Harbour Bridge."

Australians Can Take A Good Ribbing

Pictured:  "Happy Christmas" is Australian for "Merry Christmas."  Huge cultural differences in Oz!

It was interesting to note that when I posted that I was heading to Australia on my facebook account that I had an incredible reaction from my friends and readers.  They fell into two categories, those with friends that I should look up and those that mocked in good fun the stereotypes of the country.  The latter ones were quite amusing. 

• "Say Hi to Crocodile Dundee for me!"
• "Make sure you put another shrimp on the barbie!"
  
• "Watch out a dingo might get your baby!"
• Something not worth repeating about Bindi Irwin.
  

I was glad that my Kiwi friends hadn't seen it, otherwise my account would have been flooded with tales of gum boots and sheep.  And when I say sheep, it is not like the cute little lamb Mary had but rather like the saying  "where the women run and the sheep are afraid."  Unlike any other country with the exception of France, everyone likes to take the piss out of Australia.   I am sorry I was writing in Australian there.  Taking the piss out of someone means making fun of them in our language.  I amused myself by often interrupting someone in mid-sentence and saying "I am sorry could you repeat that?  I don't speak Australian."   Ahhh, the simple things do amuse me.

Comments

[amit-zona]

I first heard Happy Christmas in London when I was there during the holidays of 2007.

When I first heard it, I thought it was a joke - somebody being sarcastic at me.

Turns out it is far more common then Merry Christmas in Australia's motherland.

Seems like Australia follows the same to some degree.

zona-amit

[Heidi]

Really, you liked the bridge "climb", if you can call it that? I was sorry I wasted the time. Way too touristy for me. If you get to Melbourne, there is an overnight bus trip (max 10 people) that takes you on the Great Ocean Road to see the 12 or however many are left now, Apostles. I can't find my info, but it was in Frommer's and our guide was "Eddie" - lots of fun and they timed everything so we would avoid the big tour buses, etc. We stayed at this really nice hostle. My mom and I were the oldest people on the tour - it was all students and backpackers - a nice change from the newlyweds and retirees we encountered everywhere else.