Day 1: Sydney and Manly
Jan 4th, 2008 by Nick
It’s 6pm on Day 2 (the 4th), so before I head out for dinner, I need to get caught up to at least just 12 hours behind. My plane landed at Sydney Airport at 8:15am, and by 10 I was at the hotel. I took a side trip before leaving the airport to get cash and a A$43 Green weekly train/ferry/bus pass.
The hotel is nothing special, it’s just big, and next to the convention center. But thanks to a bunch of travel around the US in 2006, they still think I rate, and they upgraded me to a two-room suite. But the suite isn’t cleaned yet, so would I like a different room? No…. I’ll go for a walk. I left my suitcases, took my fully loaded backpack laptop and all, and trundled off.
(Since this is a long post, I’ll put the little link to the right for those of you who want to continue…)
First stop was to get a SIM card for my phone. While I use Verizon in the States, I still like to have a phone abroad. I had done a little research, and Virgin Mobile had the cheapest phone rates for domestic calls: A$0.25 per call plus A$0.10 per minute. $5 got me a SIM card with $10 of credit on it, and I bought another A$25 of credit.
That put me on Pitt Street, which appears to be the main moderate shopping street. It was about a ten-block walk to Circular Quay. Circular Quay is the primary ferry terminal, as well as having a subway station and being next to the Opera House and a bunch of other sights. Since I already had my pass, I got on a ferry heading for the Aquarium, about a block from my hotel. The ferry made a stop on the north side of the harbour, then swung west and south to the Aquarium. Sitting outside and taking photos was a good break. Once I got to the aquarium, I had to climb three flights of stairs to get up to the street level of the hotel (I found an easier way later).
By that point my room was ready, and I spent about 90 minutes unpacking, rearranging, outfitting my backpack for sightseeing mode, and cleaning up. Then I left to head back to Circular Quay. I found out that there are two “Darling Harbour” ferry stops, and neither have very frequent service…. but the walk along the King Street wharf was very pleasant, and I managed to get a ferry back with minimal wait. Then I switched ferry platforms, and got on the ferry to Manly.
The ferry to Manly was much larger, and it was packed. It took about a half hour, and I napped for part of the ride. Manly was very pleasant in the sort of way that Santa Monica or La Jolla are pleasant, but not nearly as upscale. Manly is on a peninsula, so you end up with the “wharf” side to the west (where the ferry comes in) and the “beach” side to the east, with about a four block walk between them. The walk is called “The Corso” and has a very European feel to it. Lots and lots of small shops, fish and chips places, etc. Once you get to the beach, it is about a mile and a half long. There are lifeguards on duty, and a promenade behind the beach where a lot of people were eating their take-away lunches.
I’m not a big “sit on the beach” person, and I knew that if I sat down, I’d fall asleep. Thus, I kept walking, and made my way back to the wharf. Along the way, I found a grocery store and stocked up on water and Diet Coke (the purchasing power of the US$ is about 40% of what it is in the States, and I’ll go broke paying A$3.50 a pop for a 20oz Diet Coke more than once/day). After that, I wandered around window- and food-shopping, and settled on a quick-service place called Phast Phuel. I thought it was a chain, but when I got back I found out it does not appear to be one. A solid salad and philo roll later, and I was on my way back to the wharf.
I got on a ferry at about 5pm - all in all, I was in Manly for about two hours. If I had not been tired, I’d have probably stayed another hour or two. The Manly Wharf Hotel is next to the ferry terminal, and it had some lovely open-air bars with food with beautiful views. But with only four hours of sleep and seven hours of jet lag, I was done. I slept all the way back to Circular Quay, jumped on a subway train for one stop, and walked the five blocks back to my hotel with five liters of water and a big bottle of Diet Coke.
I tried staying awake until 8pm, but it just was not happening, and at 6:30pm I called it a night. I woke up just after midnight, and was concerned that I was going to stay up all night. Silly me…. I went right back to sleep until my alarm went off at 6:30am.
