A bit nippy in the harbour city

July 27th, 2006

Manly beach, looking anything but wintry

Well, I know it’s winter and all, but you kind of still expect Sydney to be warm and balmy. No chance. It is, however, quite amusing watching Sydney-ites wandering around in gloves and scarves, teeth chattering, when it’s still a quite liveable 12C.

The looks I got when I wandered out in a t-shirt when everyone else was in big woolen coats was something to behold. They’d definitely not last a winter in London, is all I can say. continued…

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Four seasons in one day

July 24th, 2006

Well, now I know why the Crowded House song “four seasons in one day” was written about Melbourne. Amazing weather, if a little annoying.

My second day in the city was spent mostly wandering around, avoiding rain storms and trying to find shade from the blazing sun in rotation. Avoiding the overcrowded circle tram, I decided to walk northward, to some gardens that looked quite nice, then on to Victoria Markets - a huge undercover market that covers about 2 blocks just outside the CBD. A real tat melee, it’s always fun to walk around these places, although this one was so big my appetite for complete crap ran out about half way around. Being Saturday morning, it was a touch crowded as well. continued…

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A flying trip to Melbourne

July 22nd, 2006

Ok, so I now realise flying to Melbourne from Sydney may be a more sensible move than catching the train. When I came last year, I took the train from Sydney to Spencer Street station, which took about 12 hours and ended up pulling into what amounted to a building site. Well, they’ve completed Spencer Street (now called “Southern Cross”), but the train hasn’t got any quicker.

Flying takes 1 hour. So, no comparison really. This time it was the plane. continued…

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Visa haaaving fun ina Sydeney

July 19th, 2006

Whoops. Almost turned away before I even arrived. If that makes sense. Which it doesn’t, really.

Now enconsed happily in an internet cafe in the rocks, next to circular quay, I’m sheltering from the rain (not too bad) and the wind (bit chilly, but I’ve had worse). However, I made a rather big blunder, and could very easliy have been in Hong Kong still, waiting for a later flight. continued…

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Marching up to the peak

July 17th, 2006

After recovering from the flight, and a quick look around Kowloon on the first night, it was time to give the place a proper going over.

Emerging from the way-over-air-conditioned lobby of the hotel, walking onto Nathan road was like getting smacked in the face. The heat was just incredible. I don’t understand how people can ever get used to it. Imagine, if you will, a Central line tube carriage, in mid-summer, full, stuck in a tunnel, with hot mist being blown through the train. Ouch. continued…

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