My Foot Print II ~ ^.^ ~: Sydney Explored!

I was always put off by Australia's exorbitant airport taxes, so I have never really gave it much thought. But on 20 Feb, while I was searching for Hong Kong airfare from Scoot and found their prices unfavourable, I had a sudden idea to check out Sydney air tickets, and the finding was very surprising! Unlike Hong Kong, I managed to find an unbelievable low fare of S$9 each way. When taxes are included, the return air fare turned out to a mere S$276.65, consider that a steal! The offer was only valid for a few hours, I had to make almost split second decision before the cheap tickets were snapped up.
This would be my first trip to Ocenia. I must confess, at that moment, that I had not the slightest idea of what to expect in Sydney. But many thanks to Mr Chee, my ex-colleague who's a regular visitor, he fed me with numerous information on Sydney, and I did further research to refine it too, to come out this guide for travelers who would like to optimise Sydney.
As this is still basically my own travelogue, let me begin with arrival in Changi Airport!

Day 0: 17 Mar 2014, Mon
My flight Scoot TZ2 set to depart Singapore Changi Airport T2 at 1.45am on 18 Mar, I left home as early as 9.45pm the day before, and arrived at the airport at 10.53pm via a combination of bus and train, giving ample time to appreciate Changi Airport before flying. By 11.28pm, I was already at SATS Premier Lounge for some 'light' snack before my flight (Yeah, that's what I meant by appreciation!).

Ramen, very mediocre.

Indonesian steamed rice with veggie, prawn masala

Turkey sandwich, brownie, & pecan cake

Mixed nuts

Scoot airlines, whose flight I would be taking, is a budget carrier, food and drink on-board have to be paid for. Given the fact that I was taking a night flight, it makes sense to fill my tummy before the flight, so that I could reserve essential flight time for much needed sleep. Plus, there's free flow drink here, including beer and wine, as well as many periodicals to read, certainly worth more than buying meals on the flight.
I had aplenty food, as well as few glasses of wine, before happily leaving the lounge at 12.50am (the next day) for my flight. We were fortunate, allocated the roomier yellow seats 63H with a slightly larger leg room, and perhaps also thanks to the alcohol I had at the lounge, I had an enjoyable sleep to Sydney.

Day 1: 18 Mar 2014, Tue
Sydney is 3 hours ahead of Singapore, we reached Sydney's Kingford Smith International Airport at about 12.11pm local time. Maybe it was a weekday, but I was impressed by Sydney airport's efficiency and managed to clear custom by 12.55pm, and had time to seek for some map and travel brochures along the way.

Data SIM

Do not rush out of airport after clearing custom. For travelers who need a SIM card for making call, texting, and surfing internet, there is two Optus store right outside after getting out of the restricted zone, one of them is right beside their competitor Vodafone here. I did a research, Optus probably offers the best deal at the moment with free SIM card (both mini & micro available, but city outlets charge $2 for the SIM), and A$2 per day for unlimited local call & sms, as well as a daily quota of 500MB at 4G/LTE speed among others. Be careful not to exceed the daily quota, once you go beyond that, Optus will not cut the connection automatically, they will deduct another A$2, and offers you additional 500MB for the day. For someone who had to stay connected, I got one for myself. I got a return pretty soon even before flying back home, but that is beyond this scope so I shall not elaborate.

Getting out from airport

This McDonald's at the airport serves an unofficial purpose. It is a road divider which split the bus and train passengers. To the right is the Airport train station, and to the left is the bus stop. Both airport train stations (International & Domestic) are privately funded, and to board or alight from a train here requires to pay A$12.60 for a gate pass EACH way.

Taking the direction of the train station and walk past McDonald's, you will find a booth for AirportLink, where you can purchase train passes, including the popular MyMulti passes. Which type of MyMulti pass caters to your plan is very subjective, you can find details of it for your reference here:
http://www.sydneytrains.info/tickets/which/mymulti

It happened that no personnel was manning the AirportLink booth when I arrived, so I had to take the trouble, proceeded about 100m further down to the underground train station, and bought my weekly transport pass MyMulti-3 for A$63, then get back to the bus stop outside McDonald's for buses connecting to the nearest train station outside the airport zone (in the process, saving A$12.60 from the gate pass each way).

No public buses go directly to city centre. Over at this bus stop outside the airport, Bus 400 plies between Burwood and Bondi Junction. You can choose to take either direction, and connect local train at either Rockdale or Mascot respectively. Take note that although the bus towards Rockdale also stops at Banksia station, many (express) trains bypass this small stop and there's no lift to facilitate passengers with heavy luggage. Mascot is closer to city, but the walk after alighting from bus is slightly longer, not to mention Bus 400 may get congested at the Domestic Terminal. Bus 400 is free if you possess a valid MyMulti pass.

We took the Mascot route. Mascot station does not lie in front of the alighting bus stop. So make sure you alight after bus 400 turns right into Coward Street, walked back to the junction, and proceed further up north along Bourke Street. If you take more than 5 minutes after alighting (even for an old folk), that probably means you are lost! LOL! It's hidden, but pretty close to the bus stop, and quite easy to locate.
As always, if unsure, do your homework on google map before arrival, or of course, you can also always ask!

I love the large LCD display, showing precise details where the approaching train will be stopping, doing away with unnecessary ads, it really helps commuters from searching for train timetable everywhere.

Hungry Jack's, Australia's Burger King

We reached Sydney's Central Station at 2.10pm, and I thought Central Station would be completely underground. Well, not entirely. It wasn't difficult for me to orientate the direction for our hotel, Great Southern Hotel, but I was always in the habit of getting brochures from a Tourist Information Centre in the station, and these brochures really helped a lot for my subsequent adventures, lots of freebies! :P

Great Southern Hotel is conveniently located at the junction of George Street and Rawson Place, 3 mins walk from Central Station. Although the setting is a little aged, its location is 6 stars! I managed to booked 5 nights @A$125, it's a steal!

The reception looks a bit down to earth, there are lots of antique on display there, including the following:

His Master's Voice (hmv)

Left: A phone from Ericsson, Right: Definitely not Nokia!

cash register

We were allocated room 213, but I was shocked when the receptionist asked for A$50 deposit. I could have passed her my credit card and made a pre-payment, but I was afraid of fraudulent, so I handed over A$50 cash to the counter staff obediently. Agh.. I only exchanged A$250 cash for this trip, didn't quite expect day 1 and I was already 20% down, and we hadn't even taken lunch...

Room 213 has all the basic amenities, room is small and decent, and at least there's enough walking space, not that I had not seen any room smaller. The wooden furnitures are solid wood, but had seen better days, the hotel elaborated that these have been painstakingly preserved to retain the presence of the 30s-40s. Anyway, I'm absolutely fine with those! The room even had a mini fridge & LCD TV, soap and shampoo were also provided with daily cleaning. No toothbrush & toothpaste though, but I'm not complaining.
We quickly settled down, but it was close to 3pm when we went down for our first meal of the day.

Steam Dumplings Pork & Leek, 6pcs（豬肉韭菜蒸餃），A$5

Shallot Pancake（蔥油餅），A$4

We were too hungry, and readily grabbed any food in hotel's vicinity. For Sydney's living standard, I would consider these cheap. Spring River Chinese Restaurant offers free flow Chinese tea and didn't charge for that. The quality is moderate, and for A$9, we satisfied our stomach temporarily and set off for our first Sydney adventure!

Getting around New South Wales via public transport
Like many first time Sydney visitors, our primitive objectives were Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, good thing they are close to each other. Sydney's transport system within the city is always extensive. To beat the traffic, the wisest choice is definitely taking the train. Getting stranded or confused over Sydney's massive transport system? No problem, the state of New South Wales (NSW) has a very useful transport portal here:
http://www.transportnsw.info/

This is one big reason why getting connected in NSW on the go is important, it provides extensive search function and directional advice within and beyond Sydney, specifically the entire NSW. Just punch in your origin and destination, and leave it to the apps to calculate the fastest or most economical route by buses, trains, or even ferries, thus, saving enormous planning effort, and you may change your itinerary as and when you wish without the fear of getting lost!

There's a free bus route 555 plying around the city, stopping along major landmarks in city centre. For those who rarely travel beyond the city, it may not make economical sense getting a MyMulti pass, making use of this free bus service is a good option. Take note that this bus service caters for both residents as well as visitors, and may get crowded at times.

The Rocks district

With MyMulti-3 pass, we don't need to take the crowded bus 555. Taking train is efficient, but we have a bus stop right outside our hotel, and I thought taking a bus would allow us to apprehend the city better (the trains traverse underground), albeit bearing with the crunch of traffic congestion. So, we boarded bus 422 for Circular Quay to have a little city orientation along the way!
Alighting at Circular Quay, our first destination was The Rock district, a spot where early immigrants landed and notorious for its past.

Opal shops are everywhere in Sydney!

The Bakers Oven Cafe

Ooh.. so tantalising!

I chance upon The Bakers Oven Cafe, felt tempted to try their confectionery, but was held back at the thought of my A$50 hotel deposit... sigh..

Frankly speaking, I wasn't really interested in the Rocks district, my primary reason was getting to the Harbour Bridge up close. Essentially the most famous bridge outside US (Brooklyn Bridge & Golden Gate Bridge), a 3-hour climb would set you back a minimum A$198, I'd rather take a bus over, LOL!

My plan was to walk along the bay front towards Opera House. En-route, I was fascinated by this little fellow patrolling Sydney Cove like a runway model! And in my subsequent journey, I learned that Australia has plenty of birds! :D

Circular Quay

Circular Quay is probably the 2nd most visited spot in Sydney other than Central Station. It is one major transport hub where ferries, buses, and trains intersect, and almost the spot every visitors find themselves landing in order to get to the Opera House. I was rather impressed how the authority integrated the various transport modes inside this tiny, congested area.

And then, the crown jewel...
This is definitely one spot any first time Sydney visitors shouldn't miss, and literally the top priority in any itinerary. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, Sydney Opera House is still the world's most iconic performing centre in the world after 4 long decades. It was selected over a design competition, and almost abolished as construction cost escalated exponentially many folds over, partly due to technical issues. Should that happened, Sydney would have definitely lost half the shine it graces today. Let's look at some design concept!

Many visitors paid their entire attention on the Opera House's outlook, and neglected its composite, including its interior structure. For me, it was amazing how Utzon and his successors overcame technical deficiency and their focus on details right down to material selection was truly phenomenon. It's probably a once in a lifetime project, as Utzon didn't accomplish another project as prominent, and neither does the Australian government managed to come out another significant architecture in comparative status (I doubt few countries in the world could actually manage to). And after four decades, it hardly looks aged at all. Amazingly timeless!

Erm.. was this an inspiration on the Opera House structure??

After we left Opera House, I wanted to visit Botanic Garden next door. My friend in Sydney suggested Mrs MacQuarie's Chair portrays the best view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and I was keen to give it a shot. However, our visit was disrupted by some outdoor performance along our way there. But I found this curious looking tree, which reminded me of the Opera House wooden beam I just seen!

I also found this colourful rhino art on display at the Botanic Garden, something similar to our own elephant arts back home. This was the most beautiful rhino art I came across throughout our stay in NSW, and the only one barricaded. It was decorated with numerous colourful plastic container, absolutely brilliant!

Alas, this was the best view I managed to capture from the Botanic Garden, the cruise just made it more impressive! (^_^)

It was beyond closing hour as we left Botanic Garden. Many exit were shut off, and we ended up kept detouring to find a gate to get out. I think we spent a good 30 mins walk before reaching St James railway station for our train back to Central. Before getting back to Central, I caught another Sydney's landmarks!

Pho Gia Hoi

Goi Cuon (Fresh Rice Paper Rolls with Pork & Prawns), A$6 for 2 pcs

Com Chien Dau Hu (Fried Rice with Tofu), A$11

We reached Central around 8.25pm, and settled for some Vietnamese cuisine at Pho Gia Hoi, just a stone throw away from our hotel. Remembering the golden rule of sharing, we ordered one main and one side. Partly because we accurately predicted the main order portion to be large, and I had to order a side so as to avoid paying $2 for the tea, which would otherwise be free. I found the fried rice tasty, it's more of vegetarian to me, with traces of carrot, peas, egg and leek, and of course, tofu, but I won't use the word exceptional. The rice paper roll would be revealing for my traveling companion, who had never visited Vietnam before, and I suspected, never tasted authentic Vietnamese food. The peanut sauce was wonderful though, I suppose they added the usual suspect, Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc cham), which provided that extra spark of excitement, truly enjoyable!
We returned to our room at 8.50pm, and concluded our activities for the day. Not for me though, I spent a good time trying to figure out how to activate data connection on my newly acquired Optus SIM card, and found out I needed to activate some patch to begin using Optus. Slept late.

Day 2: 19 Mar 2014, Wed
OMG! I hopelessly overslept today! I rely on my watch for the alarm, but I guessed I failed to turn it on. Ended up, I overslept for 2 hours, waking up at 8.18am, a first time since I started traveling! That disrupted my plan for the day badly. I had intended to visit Blue Mountain and Featherdale Wildlife Park, I guessed I had to sacrifice one, and re-arrange my subsequent itinerary :(

Katoomba Station

So, what suppose to be the first train at 7.23am from Central Station, turned out to be the 9.18am, and we ended up reaching Katoomba at 11.25am. More mishaps followed... I shall elaborate shortly.

To get to Echo Point, where the famous Three Sisters Rocks is located, a bus (service 686) transfer from Katoomba is free for MyMulti-3 pass holder. To get to the bus stop, cross the road after getting out of Katoomba station, walk along the main street (Katoomba Street) for a minute, there you will find a bus stop right in front of Carrington Hotel (Carrington Place).

Carrington Hotel

Over at Carrington Place along Katoomba Street, I committed a severe mistake which made us stranded here for over an hour! I tried to act smart, and waiting for bus 686 that looks something like this:

Conventional Blue Mountains Bus

But we waited for more than one frustrated hour (it was suppose to be half-hourly) at the bus shelter, yet not a single bus service 686 came along. We then decided to get some food from Coles supermarket nearby, before leaving Katoomba. However, as we were approaching the train station, we finally saw a bus 686 passing by!

Trolley 2 / Bus 686

I took a closer look, then realised what I thought was tourist gimmick trolley tour bus, turned out to be the bus we were looking for! Yes, I should have asked rather than using my common sense, which has always prove reliable. The messy unofficial information on the web was not helpful, I based my research on official portal. Anyway, for those taking the public bus to Echo Point, just take note Trolley 2 = Bus 686, and for unknown reason, the bus sport a different coat of paint (red). I can't answer why I didn't see the bus number, probably it was flickering alternately with other display.

Three Sisters, from left: Meehni, Wimlah, Gunnedoo

The journey to Echo Point took about 10 minutes. There's a big holding area, and almost everyone's alighting there, as well as a hugh amount of visitors and loads of tourist coaches, so it's hard to miss. The Three Sisters is a star attraction of Blue Mountains and NSW, as we took the trouble for a 2 hour train journey here, it will be a big regret if we missed this. There's two version of the stories I came across while doing my research, but the most popular one is, quoting from wikipedia:

"The three sisters lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe (the Nepean tribe), but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. This legend is claimed to be an Indigenous Australian Dreamtime legend."

In truth, I have to confess I found it nothing spectacular. Frankly speaking, what I really found impressive, was the effervescence of eucalyptus mist that gives Blue Mountains a tint blue background, a contrast to generally green outlook in most other parts of the world.

Jamison Valley, with Mt Solitary on the left, and Narrowneck Plateau in the far right

It happened that we had a clear sky during our visit, and we were able to appreciate the best of Blue Mountains. When it rains, sometime mist will infiltrate the entire sky and visitors could barely see far. To further explore Jamison Valley, Scenic World in Blue Mountains offers different means of 'transports' commuting to the valley, however, personally, I view it as some sort of entertainment rides and wasn't too keen about it.

Katoomba Station

Katoomba's old-fashion ticket office

Katoomba station signal box

We took the 2.40pm bus for Katoomba station, and boarded the 3.14pm train for Sydney. My initial plan was to visit Featherdale Wildlife Park since we'd be passing by Blacktown station, however, my various hiccups today had rendered it mission impossible. So I had to re-plan my itinerary on the train. I estimated I could reach city in 2 hours time, and probably enough time to visit Sydney's National Opal Collection.

I didn't intend to visit The National Opal Collection before finding one magazine offering freebie for all foreign visitors, no purchase necessary. I'd love to own a piece of opal, nevermind how tiny it is, and thought might as well took this opportunity to visit an opal shop, which also has a small opal museum within its compound. So, that's one small benefit of browsing through travel brochures upon arrival!
We reached Wynyard close to 5.30pm, with the opal shop closing at 6pm, I was rushing to search for it, and managed to find it around 5.45pm, quickly looked around, redeemed the souvenir, and bye bye~
Another of my objective was to locate discounted vitamin store for some Glucosamine Sulphate nearby. I followed some travel guides to King Street for Discount Vitamin Centre, but couldn't find that shop, I guessed it's no longer in business. However, I did find one within Wynyard railway station, Shop G18 Wynyard Centre, 301 George St, Sydney NSW, Australia (+61 2 9299 5266). This was the first discounted vitamin centre I managed to find within CBD. I took note of their prices, and determined to return if I could not find any deal better.

Light rail outside Central Station

Light rail interior

It was a Wednesday evening, close to 6pm. Many shops downtown were beginning to wind down business for the day. Apart from casino and bars, the only retail area I knew operating beyond 6pm would be Darling Harbour. So we took a train back to Central station, and transfer Light Rail over. I could have used NSW transport planner to find a way with a direct bus, but I reckoned we might have to bear with the traffic on the road as well as the trouble searching for the bus stop, that is, provided there's a bus service available nearby in the first place.

Australia National Maritime Museum

Nevertheless, we managed to reached Darling Harbour at 6.35pm. Greeting us, was Australia National Maritime Museum. I was fascinated by the cute balloon above, though that still didn't spur me to visit the museum.

For a moment, I was wondering what were these battle vessels doing in Darling Harbour, before I suddenly remembered to relate them with the Maritime Museum, but these vessels certainly looked too new to be inside a museum anyway.

Pyrmont Bridge

The awesome Pyrmont Bridge. At specific timing, the middle of the bridge can rotate 90 degrees to allow larger vessels sailing through. I actually did a search, and found that timing on Sat, 22 Mar, but when we were passing by and didn't witness any movement, I decided not to stop over again. Anyway, monorail used to ply along this bridge, but as it wasn't profitable, it was dismantled a year ago.

Pyrmont Bridge

The bridge is much broader than I expected, I even walked to the middle of it and inspected the mechanism which allows it to rotate, and couldn't wait to see how it's been done! The bridge provides access between Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay, and is actually quite a breezy walk.

Cockle Bay

Darling Harbour

Oops! Suddenly, I notice a weird structure that led to nowhere, I guess that must be the remaining of the now-defunct monorail station. What puzzled me was, why the need to keep it there since the rest were already dismantled?
I bought a bottle of Beelgara Shiraz from Darling Harbour for A$10. I had wanted to visit Hunter Valley by taking up a day tour, but changed my mind upon reaching here. So I bought a NSW (Riverina region to be exact, certainly not Hunter Valley) wine as some sort of consolation. It's a generous medium bodied red with a bouquet of dark plums, cracked pepper, and cedary french oak, rich full palate with plenty of ripe sweet fruit and soft tannins, and well integrated oak (Oh, I copied this from their official source, I know nuts about wine! LOL! But I found it smooth and lite, easy on the throat). I drank a little bit nightly, and managed to finish it before our flight home!
On our way back, we stopped over at Chinatown, and experienced the Chinese heritage there. It is a short street, with many Chinese restaurants and souvenir shops. However, I felt the Chinese presence were no longer realistic, I mean, many early settlers probably moved away long time ago, and only businesses remains, and these are mostly catering to the tourism industry. We returned to hotel around 8.40pm. We didn't have a proper dinner tonight, we had bread with blackberry jam, which we bought from Coles supermarket in Katoomba. I love Australia's bread so much! They were cheap and good, and quality like these normally goes for two times more at boutique bakeries back home. And the blackberry jam, not easily found back home! I kicked myself for forgetting to take a picture of the bread and jam.
Slept late. Oh, I learned that I had won S$50 petrol voucher tonight! :D

Day 3: 20 Mar 2014, Thu
I was suppose to visit Hunter Valley today, but had to re-shuffle my itinerary for a number of reasons. Firstly, I'm trying to squeeze in Featherdale Wildlife Park. Next, I was thinking since we had the MyMulti-3 pass for a week, might as well utilise it to the max. And most importantly, money. I could have paid via credit cards, and I thought going Hunter Valley can be easily arranged on another visit, but this immediate itinerary that follows, is more complex, since probably no travel agent would arrange a visit solely on it.
So early morning, I woke up at 6.25am, and caught the earliest train for Kiama at 7.24am. Kiama is actually quite easily accessible, just that the travel distance is far. So, I plan to make up for lost sleep on our journey.

Kiama railway station

We reached Kiama at 9.37am. Shortly before approaching, I already witnessed a beautiful coastline with dense visitors, and even saw dogs running around with their masters. I was anticipating a railway station that locates right in the middle of action, but no. Kiama railway station is rooting inside residential area without much fanfare.

I love the way NSW labels their benches, it's more creative than pinning the station name on the wall. NSW trains have two level, so putting the name on the back rest is a good eye level for all passengers on board. Besides, the benches are prominently painted blue, so passengers can locate them easily than locating them from a wall. It's not just in Kiama, but all over NSW, including city.

This is a picture of what appeared before us as we got out of Kiama railway station. We were here to witness the natural prowess of Kiama Blowhole, and this tranquil countryside view offers no hint on where we should head, didn't notice any direction signboard at all.
I exercised some common sense and back tracked to where I saw the beaches, as well as some architectures which I believed looked like town centre. Yes, for once, I was puzzled why a railway station is a distance away from town central. So, we took the road towards the right, and strolled for evidence that we had made the correct choice. I could have dug out my GPS map on Optus network, but I tend to avoid using that until I suspect I turned into a wrong way. (Note: Actually, I later learned, that I could have also taken the other direction into Bong Bong Street, and turning in at Manning Street, but this route was not apparent on the printed map I possessed. However, I would have missed Kiama Library and a range of buildings which follow if I did so.)

Kiama Library

A few minutes down the road, we came across Kiama Library, and I knew we were on the right track. I was tempted to take a look inside, but hesitated as I wasn't sure how much time we would be spending at the Blowhole. So, I tentatively put it away until we came back.

Kiama Court House

Police Station

Turning right into Terralong Street, we came across Kiama Court House and Police Station, these offered us a very small town feel.

Post Office

And at the junction of Terralong Street and Manning Street, sits a nostlagic post office, which I believe should be some heritage building. Right from where I took this picture across the road, there was this sign post which indicated I was standing right where it's suppose to be a market, I guess that probably gonna be held over weekends or something.

Anyway, reaching here, I finally found the first sign board indicating where the Blowhole is. It would be a few minutes walk up a gentle slope, ten if you walk with an old folk who appreciate the greenery along the way!
Again, I was left wondering why the tourist information centre is located deep inside the attraction itself. By now I have more or less concluded it might have been an under sight of the town planner. The theory is simple, any visitor who needs guidance to locate an attraction will likely land themselves in the city or town centre, if not the train station (And my favourite Japan is very good at practicing this principle!). If they already located it, the objective of the information centre depreciates. And I would also like to emphasise I hardly see any Blowhole signboard until I reached the town centre. Moreover, there's actually many side attractions one can expect to see while in Kiama, a pity I wasn't able to cater a few hours more.

The Little Blowhole is hidden somewhere behind this, which I reckon about another 10-20 mins walk away

Due to my congested itinerary, I had to squeeze Kiama into half a day, and that included the 4 hours return train journey, while leaving enough time to visit Featherdale Wildlife Park. Not a very good idea, I confess. Had I cater this before flying over, I probably would have done a better job, and especially if I had not screwed up a day before. What I'm trying to say here is, I'd love to spare a few hours to appreciate Kiama more thoroughly, but as it happened, I only had the time for the main Blowhole. Wait a minute, main? Yes, there's a smaller version down the road named Little Blowhole, but I only had time for the main one.

Kiama Tourist Information Centre

It's about a 15 minutes walk for us getting to the Information Centre from the train station, I probably would had taken a fraction of that if I wasn't snapping pictures vigorously. And the Blowhole would be just minutes away behind the information centre. From here, I managed to gather some rare information about Kiama and nearby vicinity, including lodging. And since Kiama is relatively easy on foot if you have longer time, it's a very good location for spending a day.

Kiama Lighthouse

I'm not deliberately building hype to the Blowhole, but I find this picturesque lighthouse irresistible. Still an active lighthouse after loyally serving since 1887, it has undergone drastic changes from using an oil burner to now using halogen lamp, this lighthouse is not only a guidance for the sea, but in my opinion, a prominent marker for the Blowhole located just behind.

Alright, let's give a big clap to... erm... you may ask, "Where is the Blowhole?"
Well, it is actually under the letter 't'. Like it or not, it has to do with tides. Meaning to say, if you happen to visit during low tide, you may have missed the most majestic tide you can see. Tide information can be googled, or you can also find them inside the tourist information centre nearby.
Some information on Kiama Blowhole can be found here:
http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/kiama-area/kiama/attractions/kiama-blowhole
http://www.kiama.com.au/see-and-do/blowhole

In Japan, I would have guessed this would be a sewage cap!

Pity at the time of my arrival, we did not witness a majestic water 'eruption', neither was there any visitor around to demonstrate a contrast ratio. But if you look at the two links above, or simply youtube it, you can definitely find better representation of the awesome impact. Do be reminded, don't just dash right in, at times the water can be hugh enough to get you wet! So, be careful with your electronic equipments, even from the watch stand! At the time we arrived, there were very few visitors, and we were pleased we could have almost all of the Blowhole to ourselves! :D
I couldn't stop emphasising, I would love to have more time exploring Kiama, but we had to catch the 10.54am train back to Redfern, from where we would transfer the 1.12pm train for Blacktown. Train interval from Kiama was hourly, missed one and we can explore the Blowhole once again! LOL! There's virtually nothing to see near the station, so it will be a good idea to bring along a book to read or an iPad for entertainment while waiting for the train, or on board the long journey.

We arrived Blacktown at 1.50pm, almost a 3 hours journey. We just missed bus 725 to Featherdale Wildlife Park, but perhaps that was a blessing in disguise for us to have a lite lunch. We had a Cappuccino (A$2.60), a Hazelnut Latte (A$3.40), and 2 Cinnamon donuts (A$1) from a station cafe while waiting for the next bus arriving (half hourly interval).

The next bus came at 2.19pm, and took about 10 minutes to reach Featherdale Wildlife Park. Take note that the alighting point is not a terminal stop, so watch out for the signboard outside, on your right side.
Perhaps I'll elaborate a little on why I chose Featherdale among many others. Firstly, I wanted to choose a zoo which has Wombat as well as Tasmanian Devil, these are some animals I have never seen back home. Featherdale may be small in size, but then I did not intend to see other animals which are also featured in our local zoo back home. Secondly, Featherdale was initially meant to be a side trip after visiting Blue Mountains, it happened to be along the way, and public transport stops just right outside. Thirdly, its 20% discount coupons are easily available from the many travel brochures obtainable from airport, tourist information centres, and even right from our hotel (Published price: A$28). Most importantly, there are many positive reviews from tripadvisor!
I did however, considered Symbio Wildlife Park (buy 1 get 1 free), which would be along our way back from Kiama, but the domestic public transport is a great headache if you are not driving. Besides, Featherdale has exclusive feeding activities involving Tassie Devil.

The entrance to Featherdale Wildlife Park is a little confusing. We thought this was the one, but actually learned that it was the exit cum souvenir shop. The real McCoy, is this one on the left (pun intended, it's really on the left side of the souvenir shop), with ticket counter just on its right after walking in. Apparently, they knew the confusion exists, and actually deployed a staff to guide visitors, despite already included a big signboard with direction.
We paid A$22.40 each for the entrance ticket after discount, and immediately trying to find any centre stage for the Flying Foxes feeding session, but didn't manage to find it in time.

Wallabies

Koala! Most of the time, they are sleeping, even when they are suppose to be 'on call' (entertaining patrons)

Top: Echidna, Bottom: Quokka

Wombat, another lazy bump. Most of them were sleeping inside trunk except a few which woke up for food! LOL!

Top, from left: Michael, Val, George, Christian (just kidding, simply Flying Foxes).
Bottom: Dingo, gosh, they are ferocious!

Tassie simply cannot stop running unless sleeping and eating, a complete contrast to Wombat.

Tassie eating

I couldn't distinguish between Wallaby and Kangaroo beforehand, but I now know..

Pig & Silkies

Top: Little Penguins. Bottom: Wallabies

I took so many pictures of the wonderful creatures in the park that I found it too tedious to put them all up here. So I just put up a few, and hopefully these can illustrate how the 'residents' got along in harmony (with the exception during feeding time), notably, many of these animals were roaming freely which sometime made me wondered whether we were the one observing them? Or was it the other way round? LOL!
We left Featherdale around 4.56pm, missed another bus 725... sigh.. tough luck!

St Mary's Cathedral

It was a Thursday, about the only day in the week when shopping arcades are extending business hour late into the night. As our day time was precious, I deliberately arranged visiting certain shopping arcades on a Thursday evening. Mentioning shopping arcades, The Strand and Queen Victoria Building naturally came into mind, they are easily Sydney's most nostalgic and glamourous shopping arcades, whatever tenants inside is not important, what matters are the architecture and decor.

A window display along King Street

To get to The Strand, the closest railway station is St James. We reached St James at 6.13pm, and took King Street to The Strand.

Exterior & interior of The Strand, est 1891

Any guesses?

It is amazing how the Australian retains the glamour in such a historical shopping arcade, it's like visiting a museum! Even though certain part of the building might have been painstakingly restored, stepping inside was like rolling down memory lane, very nostalgic! In particular the lift above, it certainly looks like a small room isn't it?

Queen Victoria Building

Right across the road diagonally, is another century landmark, Queen Victoria Building, or simply QVB. As the name suggested, this building was built in 1898, during Britain's Queen Victoria era and named after Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. Personally, I view it as historical architecture more than a shopping arcade. Despite being larger than The Strand, I felt in terms of nostalgic value, it has little left in comparison, as its interior had obviously gone through major modification. But apart from its exterior, QVB does serve one important aspect, it is the gateway linking Town Hall train station!

The lift

Antique hang clock and spiral steel stair

Oh.. Lovely shop! These fluffy toys looked so realistic, they could have easily passed off as real!

Emperor's Garden BBQ & Noodles

Roast Pork with rice, A$10

We left QVB around 7.52pm, back to Central via train for dinner around hotel vicinity. We settled for roast meat rice (take away). This Emperor's Garden restaurant was a bit peculiar, they have their own meat shop next door, and another dim sum franchise at nearby Chinatown. Since our hotel located just a stone throw away, we'd rather had our dinner back in our room. However, I guessed we made a mistake by ordering two packets, as expected, the quantity was very generous, and we could hardly finish the rice even though we requested for less rice.
Slept late again.

Day 4: 21 Mar 2014, Fri
Woke up at 7am and had raisin bread for breakfast before leaving hotel at 7.40am for train station. We boarded the 7.59am train for Cabramatta, another last minute insertion after I managed to squeeze time upon ditching Hunter Valley.

Cabramatta railway station

We reached Cabramatta at 8.49am. Cabramatta is known as Little Vietnam in NSW after the influx of Vietnamese during the Vietnam war. And up till 2002, the town was notorious for narcotic dealings until the state cleaned it up. I found during my visit, that Cabramatta is perhaps the most un-Australia town I came across throughout my trip, there were hardly much Caucasian's presence in the town, and that English took a back seat here, as most signboards are displayed with Vietnamese and/or Chinese.

These shops opposite the railway station are perhaps the most prominent view which reminded me I was in Australia during my visit to Cabramatta.

We didn't have any agenda visiting Cabramatta. If any, perhaps to get some breakfast before meeting my Australian friend for lunch at Chatswood. I did some research, and I guess the most prominent structure in Cabramatta is this:

Plaque calligraphy by Dr Sun Yat-Sen, founder of KMT

However, on the reverse side of the arc, is another plaque with calligraphy of another ex-KMT controversial leader, whom I suppose, apparently trying to put himself in the same weight as Dr Sun by leaving his calligraphy on the other side of Dr Sun's.

The other side of the arc...

Now, if the sun shines on Dr Sun's side of the arc, what would you call the other side? Please, surely not the moon side. LOL! Jokes aside, if this place has not been overflown with an influx of Vietnamese, I suspect it would have become a Little Chinatown judging by the presence of Chinese there.

Chinese name, but spelled Vietnamese-style

The old folks on the left ain't gathering there for morning chat, they are in fact, street hawkers selling their own produces.

In supermarkets, most fruits are expected to be of local produce. But over here, there's lots of fruits from South East Asia too!

Packed Vietnamese breakfast

Sushi Hub

We came across Sushi Hub by chance, but as it turned out, it became our favourite shop in Australia, patronising them everyday since! We already had our breakfast, hence no intention to have meal in Cabramatta. But Sushi Hub changed our mind, overwhelmingly!

Granted, their variety may not seem as much comparing to sushi franchises I can find back home, but look at the prices and presentation, not to mention the size easily more than double a conventional sushi, I can assure you, if I provide a high resolution picture here, you will be drooling by now!
Their variety includes Grilled Scallop Nigiri, Grilled Salmon Nigiri, Fried Ebi Nigiri, Tartare Ebi Nigiri, French Dragon Nigiri, Abalone Inari, Octopus Inari, Crab Meat Inari, Lobster Inari, Jellyfish Inari, Seaweed Inari etc. Even if certain names may sound familiar, most of the ingredients, or the way they were processed, are exclusive, fresher and cheaper than what we can find in Singapore!

From left: Lobster Inari, Abalone Inari

I told myself, if I didn't try them out, I will definitely regret, and it was proven right I didn't exaggerate a single bit. The abalone came in big chunk, unlike those finely shredded one I'd tried elsewhere. With one bite, I can tell the difference, it's genuine abalone, unlike their cheaper shellfish imitation. It's tender, chewy, and somehow still reminiscent a freshly caught fragrance, the sweetness is exceptional and sensational, all for just A$2! And let me assure you, the abalone was quite generous, certainly not superficial. For this price, I suspect the supplies were unlikely wild abalones, probably farmed, but I actually like that. I believe in sustainable fishery, and never want such cuisine to extinct in our generation. Hence, I ain't bragging when I state I had abalone almost everyday while I was in Australia, the only exception was of course, those days before I found this. Subsequently, I found a franchise in Town Hall, and patronise them daily, even on the day I was flying back! I saw their stacks of rice, and if I remember correctly, I believe Sushi Hub uses Yamagata's (Japan) Tsuyahime rice (美姬米), surprisingly not typical (cheaper) Australian Calrose. Tsuyahime rice is priced competitively with Akitakomachi, but significantly cheaper than Koshihikari, however those two species are no longer exclusive to Japan (rice grown outside Japan are very much cheaper), Tsuyahime is still new and I believe cannot yet be found outside Japan, it's not even included in Japonica rice's major road map. Nevertheless, the rice was tasty, non-sticky, blended excellently with the fresh ingredients. I have been to Japan 4 times, foot prints spanning across the 4 main islands, yet this is the best sushi I ever had, without even a top chef at the helm! Simply marvelous!
Alright, I have probably elaborated too much on this. For those tempted, used your judgement wisely. I'm speaking for those sushi I tried, don't expect the same standard on other variety I didn't.

A$2 Sugarcane juice

I found Cabramatta has many statues, almost all related to animals, another statement of Chinese presence, LOL! Chinese believe statues can help promote wealth, avoid evil etc, sometime has to do with geomancy kind of thing. But undeniably, the best craftsmen are almost always the Chinese these days, it's a sunset trade elsewhere.
Before ending our Cabramatta trip, we bought a sugarcane juice for A$2 from this store, the cheapest we could find. Served in a cup (back home, we sometime had it in a plastic packet), and full of sugarcane and lime fragrance! All I can add is, it's not as diluted as most I tried back home.
We left Cabramatta at 10.26am. I could only fit in a morning time slot, and was pleased we had a good appreciation of the market community, which I expected them to be livelier in the morning. Onwards, we left for Chatswood to have lunch with an Australian friend whom I knew in facebook but had never met before.

Chatswood's busy street linking the railway station and Westfield Chatswood, a mega shopping complex

Chatswood is a bustling town where there's a strong Chinese presence, many of them speaking Cantonese, hence it is also known as Little Hong Kong. I wonder why I didn't take a picture of the railway station, probably because there was some sort of renovation ongoing nearby, besides, it's just a normal modern station, nothing worth bragging about.

Malay cuisine

erm Singapore? Never knew our cuisine is that famous too!

Venezuelan Food

I saw a few mobile stores along the passage way to Westfield Chatswood, most of them selling food, and some fruits, flowers etc. I have to confess the food stalls were more appealing to me! :D However, much as I would love to try, particularly this Venezuelan food stall (something which is very uncommon back home), I was well aware I had a lunch appointment, and didn't want to fill my tummy yet. Anyway, food prices here were generally around A$10, considerably expensive, especially for the Malay & Singapore cuisines, which I'm more used to paying a fraction of that back home, for close to half of their quantity I suppose. I later understand from my friend, that these stalls are here on a permanent basis, maybe next time.
My Australian friend told me she'd arrive approximately 30 minutes earlier (around 12.30pm), to cater for any traffic congestion along the way and to locate a parking lot, she would wait for me at the station if she's early. Well, I arrived Chatswood around 11.46am, I didn't know she reached around 12.10pm, and I happily went shopping around before meeting her at 12.30pm outside the train station, without realising her already waiting there.

Mr Vitamins Super Store

Anyway, she brought us for a brief walk around before leading us to Kam Fook Chatswood for Yum Cha, a typical term for dim sum locally (and probably in HK). Along the way, we came across many stores selling discounted vitamins and health supplements, and the prices here were very competitive! My friend explained to me that some shops here even would agree to meet the price on any published offer by their competitors! I strongly recommend getting your dose of health supplements here! Back to Kam Fook, the food was nice, especially the egg custard, but I was too reserved and busy chatting, and didn't take any picture. The bill came up to about A$50, she prevented me from grabbing the bill. Good thing I didn't come empty-handed. I bought her a Risis Orchid pendant, and gave her a novelty USB thumb drive in the shape of moon cake. She also brought me some homegrown lemon, they were extremely fragrant! She offered to show us around Chatswood after the luncheon, but I had to politely reject her kindness, as we were rushing on a tight schedule.
We left Chatswood at 2.15pm, and immediately headed for Paddy's Markets. I reshuffled my itinerary to bring this forward, I was suppose to head direct to Mandy Beach from Chatswood instead, but changed my mind for some reason, it proved to be a masterstroke! So, we reached Central station at 2.40pm, and boarded the Light Rail for Paddy's Markets.

Paddy's Markets Light Rail stop

We actually frequently pass by Paddy's Markets, but gone in we never. It is very close to our hotel (in fact, just behind), and my initial plan was to visit it during the morning before our flight back to Singapore. Luckily I altered the plan, I bet many stalls would stay unopened before we left for the airport. Take note of the McDonald's in the background of Sydney Entertainment Centre, it is one of the notable meeting point for many day tours originating from the city. Depending on which travel agency you consult, another prominent meeting point would be the Sydney Central YHA diagonally opposite the main entrance of Great Southern Hotel enroute to Central Station.

Paddy's Markets is located inside Market City

Paddy's Markets cum Market City

Paddy's Markets

Paddy's Markets sells lots of low price accessories, including clothings, souvenirs etc, but realistically, cheap items are usually unlikely made locally. Chances are, they are made in China. I always find it amusing whenever buying souvenirs for friends back home, which were actually made in 3rd party country, usually China. So actually, I have stopped buying such stuffs for a long time.

After shopping, we went for a drink at Market City Tavern (located underneath the big clock of Market City), it's free if you get your hand on the coupon from this booklet above! There's a choice of beer, soft drink, and hot beverages. We had Cappuccino ^.^ My colleague advised me that Australian coffee is a must try, well, I had it free!

Free Cappuccino from Market City Tavern!

After the short break, since our hotel was so nearby, we dropped off some excess baggage before heading towards our next destination, Manly Beach!

Manly Ferry

Manly Ferries have 2 level of seats, and a small section of outdoor seats, which are popular for patrons to have a clear view of, what else? Opera House & Harbour Bridge!

We took a train to Circular Quay at 4.40pm, and transfer Manly Ferry (not to be confused with Manly Fast Ferry, which is privately owned, and not free under MyMulti-3 pass. It is only 10 minutes faster than conventional ferry) to Manly Beach. Both ferries docked at Manly Wharf, from where, there's a 10 minutes walk to the beach on the other side of Manly.

Fort Denison

Manly Wharf

We arrived Manly Wharf at 5.34pm, right here, it's more than just a wharf. there's restaurants, McDonald's, and even Aldi Supermarket! I bought packets of Forresters premium natural mixed nuts 500g @A$7.99 (at 50% discount), with lots of Brazil nuts, Cashew nuts, Almonds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Macadamia nuts, Pecan Halves etc, it's a big steal!

To get to Manly Beach, walk across to the bushy area, where the Manly Municipal Council is located, and follow through the walking street of The Corso. Manly Beach is at the end of the street.

Manly Municipal Councl\il

This Paella stall was extremely popular!

When we walked pass the council, there was a concert and festival going on, many food stalls were set up in this vicinity, and some locals simply picnic in front of the council's lawn.

The Corso

Further down the road, The Corso is a pleasant walking street linking the beach. I struggled to find discounted vitamin stall over the city, but there's plenty of them right here. There are also restaurants, as well as shops selling clothing among others.

Aha.. the beach!!!

Eric Cantona! Oops, sori.. I mean, seagull's

I don't know whether it got to do with the timing of my visit or was it the crowd (rather the lack of it), I love Manly Beach more than Bondi. There's a good fusion of serenity and people, even the seagulls seem enjoying it too! I let my feet soaked in the clear blue sea and the soft cuddly sand, that feeling was wonderful! No sand and water back home makes me feel this great.

Manly Wharf

A little over 6pm, we got to go. I leave Manly Beach with the feeling I hope to return some day. We strolled back to the wharf, and boarded the 7.15pm ferry back for the city. Approaching city, we were greeted with more awesome view of the harbour, what a great timing!

Like a diamond, Sydney's Opera House has so many facets which never fail to fascinate and projecting a different beauty from various angles. Simply awesome! It's like a raving symphony, dancing to the tune of the tide. I was left awed by Jørn Utzon's heavenly creation, no other performance centre in the world comes even close. And this few minutes on the ferry got to be the highlight of my trip without a doubt.

Staying near Central station was such luxury, as food are always readily nearby, even at late hours! We arrived Central station around 8.03pm, and immediately boarded Light Rail for Paddy's Markets. We couldn't find food at Market City, so we crossed the road and had dinner at Wagaya Japanese Restaurant instead.

Japanese Style Scallops Spaghetti, A$9.90

Scallops Miso Butter Ramen, A$11.90

Wagaya is a popular Japanese gem well 'hidden' along Harbour Street, it has an unassuming front door on the ground floor, but once you proceeded to their restaurant upstair, you'll find a hype up setting in dim lighting and cosy environment. Over here, you won't find conventional menu, as they have embedded their menu electronically on the LCD touch-screen display embedded on the wall, with English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean instructions.
I ordered Scallops Miso Butter Ramen while my traveling companion had a Japanese Style Scallops Spaghetti, somehow we ended up swapping order as my traveling companion couldn't do with the heavy cheesy flavour and would have preferred a soup noodle anyway. Then why ordered it in the first place? Search me... Anyway, let me briefly elaborate both orders.
The Japanese Style Scallops Spaghetti came with mushrooms, scallops, lotus root, together with the buttered cheese spaghetti. I like the milky texture and the spaghetti was very flavourful, overall, I'll give it a satisfactory rating.
The Scallops Miso Butter Ramen was very much better, in typical Sapporo styled Miso soup with butter, the broth was light, not overly salty. The egg was not at all runny, but the scallops were excellent, 4 pieces altogether, all of them the size of a A$0.50 coin, and came with roe, something I only seen in some restaurants in Japan! From what I learned, such scallops would have cost about A$2 each from the market, not to mention there were also prawn, leek, menma together with the curly noodle, so for A$11.90, it's well worth its cost! I'd really really love to try this again as a full serving, however, I didn't get the chance over this trip.
While settling the bill, I notice whatever taxes had already been included inside the price, we simply paid the nett amount as indicated on the display, nothing more. In comparison, Singapore's restaurants are all scam, expecting customers to add in 10% service charge and 7% GST, so why can't they practice it like shops from other industries back home? or fast food restaurants? or restaurants here? Yeah, Singapore government is setting double standard regardless of whatever lame reason they are giving.
We would return to the hotel immediately after the dinner, slept late.

Day 5: 22 Mar 2014, Sat

QVB, next beside Town Hall

Saturday in Sydney is adventurous, I couldn't help looking forward to it when many weekend markets spread like blossoming Spring all over the city. As a result, my itinerary for Saturday was meant to be congested, and it would pose a challenge to complete them all. However, as it turned out, it was a little disappointing.

Town Hall

I initially planned to visit Sydney Fish Market this morning, but postponed it to the next morning so as to squeeze in as many itineraries as I could. However, it's still filled with hiccups. We had breakfast at Sushi Hub, this time, at their Town Hall franchise. We reached there as early as 8.02am, and waited patiently for their Abalone Inari to be ready, but until 9am, it was anything but. Eventually, I couldn't resist to probe them. It was then that I was told I could actually request, and they would do it immediately (=.=)"
We still ordered their Abalone Inari and Lobster Inari, and the soy sauce and wasabi were given free of charge for as many as you wish.
After breakfast, we boarded the 9.38am train to Bondi Junction, for a transfer of bus 333 to Bondi Beach. We reached Bondi Junction in 10 minutes time. Bondi Junction bus terminal is an underground terminal, right here, actually bus 380 & 381 also go to Bondi Beach, but most travel guide only mentioned 333. I guess the reason is because bus 333 is a bus with limited stops, supposingly faster. But from what I observed, not significant, as there's a fair amount of traffic anyway.

Bondi Pavilion

On a Saturday morning, bus 333 was reasonably crowded, but we still got a seat and reached Bondi Beach at 10.13am. As in Manly, I soaked my feet in the sea, and felt rejuvenated as the water swept up the shore. Perhaps due to its proximity to city, Bondi is Australia's most famous beach. But seriously, I prefer a beach with denser crowd.

Perhaps it's still early, but the beach can easily accommodate many more!

Beach graffiti

Hotel Bondi

We hang around Bondi Beach for about an hour before catching the 11.16am bus 380 for Paddington Markets. Many thanks to google map & NSW Transport portal, in the olden days, I would probably have to rely on information from guide books and took the longer route via a transfer at Central station or Circular Quay. These tools not only save valuable time, but also helpful whenever I need to re-shuffle my itinerary on the move.

Paddington Markets

We reached Oxford Street around 11.47am, from where, it was a couple of minutes' walk to Paddington Market. On our bus trip here, I was kept busy trying to navigate via my phone's GPS, it wasn't easy with just a map and I must confess I might have alighted a further stop away had I not paid for the Optus mobile broadband.

The prices here aren't really competitive comparing to Paddy's Markets. The main reason is because while Paddy's Markets are selling mainstream souvenirs, most of them are China made. While right here, majority of the items on sale are locally produced, and some stall owners even proudly displayed a signboard "Made in Australia"! Such as this stall here selling innovative hand-made 3D greeting cards, I had to admire her talent! You won't get to find this in Paddy's Markets for sure.
As a side note, I initially wanted to visit a few more weekend markets in Sydney, but I came upon a stall here, saw the name card, and notice that the stall owner alternate between a few sites on different days. That's as good as saying, I'll probably see him elsewhere selling the same products, just like Chiang Mai's weekend walking streets! Well, correct me if I'm wrong... LOL!

For a moment, I thought I was back in Japan!

I love Aussie breads!

I like his humour and clever use of colours!

An antique type-writer outside a cafe

We spent less than an hour at Paddington Markets, I expected it to be much larger and was catering few hours here, obviously I was disappointed. Nevertheless, the amazing range of items selling here are quite fascinating, sometime I couldn't help impressed by Aussie creativity. So to speak, if you intend to get genuine Australia souvenir, this would be a good spot.

The bustling Oxford Street

We boarded bus 378 for Central at 12.37pm. Up till now, my intended itinerary had been more or less completed. I decided to draft in Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre, an agenda I initially omitted to facilitate other priorities. We reached Central station at 12.51pm, and transferred bus M50 for Drummoyne 10 minutes later, with the journey taking us another 20 minutes.

Signboard at the junction of Victoria Road and Roseby Street

We alighted along the highway at Victoria Road at 1.20pm, from where it was really difficult to see Birkenhead Point's whereabout if you missed the small signboard at the junction of Roseby Street on the other side of the road. Pardon me from being fussy here, to get to Birkenhead Point from city, alight at the bus stop Victoria Road near Thornley Street, after passing by a Shell petrol kiosk on your left. Then walk along the road to a traffic junction at Day Street, cross the road (do use the pedestrian crossing, the traffic along Victoria Road is very heavy), and walk backward towards Roseby Street. Turn left into Roseby Street, and you will find Birkenhead Point minutes away. I took 10 minutes walking from the bus stop to Birkenhead Point.

Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre

Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre has a very humble outlook, I have to admit I felt a little disappointed at first. But once inside, it turned out to be an entire different world! Levels of shopping indulgence, and even a scenic seafront, with restaurants, food court, and even supermarketS (note the 's'), it's a complete shopping heaven! Although to be absolutely honest, I don't find the prices rock bottom.

I ended up buying from Coles supermarket instead of those fashion outlets :P

We left Birkenhead and boarded bus 515 at the bus stop along Victoria Road, just outside Roseby Street, at about 2.48pm, it was much closer than the bus stop where we arrived. We would to alight near Town Hall to transfer train towards Kings Cross. I thought of going Pyrmont Bridge to witness the bridge rotating 90 degrees to allow large vessel through, but as we were passing by, I didn't notice any such movement and gave up on that thought. Anyway, we reached Kings Cross at 3.26pm.

Patisserie Croissant D'or

I came to Kings Cross for this, Patisserie Croissant D'or, a recommendation from a China travel guide book. Look's certainly appealing, I must confess. But I was misled by the writings from the guide book, not only there wasn't any patrons queuing for these as bragged by the author, they tasted outright terrible! It was like eating sugar, and overdose of that! I believe those I saw from the window of The Bakers Oven Cafe taste very much better.
Over this trip, I was very disappointed with the various Chinese travel guides I laid my hands on, almost all of them are outrageously outdated, listing airport buses 300 & 350 connecting to Central/Circular Quay and Kings Cross respectively. Gosh! These buses ceased operation more than 10 years ago, but these books were first published only a few years back! That showed these writers merely quoting from somewhere else and didn't personally verify the sources.
Anyway, I decided to walk about before going back to Central for dinner, I had lost faith with whatever that stupid guide book was recommending here.

I actually ever considered staying in Kings Cross or Potts Point before I secured Great Southern Hotel, I'm glad I didn't. I don't like walking past these naughty shops being pestered by unwanted attention.

Kings Cross Hotel, deceiving name, it's more of bars

The famous Coca-Cola billboard

Having said that, I did find a few architectures interesting! I think come night time, these will be more interesting, but this is not a place I'd like to come at night.
We left Kings Cross at 4.20pm, and set for early dinner at Market City. I wasn't sure what time the food court closes so I'd rather be on the safe side.

Combination Wanton Soup （什會雲吞湯面）, A$11

I ordered this Combination Wanton Soup from Top Choice Chinese Food （大觀小廚）from the food court without realising they had beef inside :( But other than that, the broth was clear and sweet, with generous ingredients such as pork, prawns, wanton dumplings, octopus, and noodle. Though the portion is large, but for A$11, I found it pricey for this is a food court after all, might as well had that Scallop ramen across the road at Wagaya. After dinner, we had a round of free Coke at Star Hotel with the free coupons found inside the Chinatown brochure before retiring back to our hotel room at 6.12pm. We would be checking out the following day, and needed some time to re-pack our luggage.
Oh ya, wonder why I have yet to post any picture on Chinatown, but anyway, I didn't take much picture of it. Its scale cannot compare to that in New York. Here's a picture of it!

Chinatown

I slept considerably early tonight.

Day 6: 23 Mar 2014, Sun

Golden Water Mouth

Time flied, we came to our last day in Sydney.
I re-scheduled our visit to Sydney Fish Market to this morning was because, in the unlikely event should we encounter stomach upset, the impact on our holiday could be minimise.
As we were waiting for Light Rail at Capitol Square, I notice this Golden Water Mouth sculpture by artist Lin Li in 1999. At first, I thought some joker poured paint on it, but only when I walked near today, that I realised it's a work of art, said to be bringing good fortune for the Chinese. It's actually comprises of a dead Yellow Box tree with 23 carat gold leaf and terracotta tile. Oh, disregard the rhinoceros underneath, I guess that's just another temporary art sprouting all over NSW at the moment.
We boarded the 7.18am Light Rail for Sydney Fish Market, and alighted 10 minutes later. From where we alighted, we needed to cross the platform, walk up from the station, and cross another traffic junction. Along the way, there are signboards, but anyway, I had a good apprehension of direction as always.

Sydney Fish Market

Sydney Fish Market is a 5 minutes walk from the nearby Light Rail station. On first sight, I was a little disappointed at its scale, are they really serious this is the 2nd largest fish market in the world after Tokyo's Tsukiji in terms of volume? But later I was told, even restaurants from Sydney's outskirt came all the way here over certain day to acquire fishery for their businesses. There are a few seafood outlets selling freshly caught by the sides, as well as restaurants. Of course, there are more inside the main building.

De Costi

Let's start from De Costi!

I was fascinated by the vast amount of seafood available here, and strangely, with none of those stink smell that usually filled our markets back home! And a plus point is, the staffs here won't pester you into buying, they allow you to walk about, even knowing chances are, you may or may not even buy from them. Granted, I am not even a regular market patron back home, and have limited knowledge on these, but I do know that many of these seafood are not even available in our supermarkets back home.

Claudio's

Oh, before venturing inside the main building, I found this display board right beside Claudio's, I guess these are the fishermen but I ain't sure how they distribute their catches to the various vendors. Probably there are some auctioning inside the main building earlier in the morning, but the time we were arriving, we were apparently more interested in having seafood breakfast! :D We wasted little time in getting to Fish Market Cafe inside the main building.

Fish Market Cafe's Grilled Barramundi

Pacific Oysters with Cheese

We had a piece of Grilled Barramundi and one each of Pacific Oysters with Cheese (A$5 & A$3 respectively if I remember correctly).

Grilled Barramundi came with a choice of chips or steamed rice

Scallops salad we bought from Claudio's

I understand that we could basically buy any seafood we like, and get some restaurants here to prepare them. But I found it tedious, and settled for Fish Market Cafe, who had many cooked seafood for selection. All in all, we spent less than A$20, and shared the meals. I found the price reasonable in relative to their freshness!
After breakfast, we proceeded further inside to Nicholas Seafoods, who had a wide varieties and their own food corner. We were more interested in these:

Apparently, they knew the biggest cravers for these are the Chinese

Upon leaving Sydney Fish Market, we came across a mobile fruit stall outside the main building. My companion was keen to get an apple for A$0.70. We dug out a $2 coin, but the seller didn't have change, and intended to give us free! Alternatively, he would offer us 3 for A$1. We didn't want to set a greedy impression and would not want to take advantage of him, so we tried very hard to dug out a A$1 coin. That really was very kind gesture of the seller, and gave me a very positive image of Australia. In most Asian countries, you would expect the seller to say, "I am sorry! Bye bye"
We left Sydney Fish Market at 9am, and reached hotel 15 minutes later, such is the convenience of staying near the major transport hub! We checked out of our room at 9.40am after leaving some tips for the cleaners, and I made sure I got back the A$50 deposit I left at the counter.
But before heading towards the airport, I wanted to have a last shot for Sushi Hub at Town Hall. We boarded the 9.53am north-bound train, and arrived Town Hall in 2 minutes. Hastily bought some more Abalone Inari, Lobster Inari, and Crab Meat Inari for lunch later on, and quickly took the 10.09am train for Rockdale.

Railway graffiti

Remember I mentioning there are two economical ways in getting in/out of the airport? I covered the Mascot route, and now I shall elaborate a little on the Rockdale option. I had initially intended to take the Mascot approach, but that train I was taking would require a transfer at Central station, and a switch of platform there, not to mention further wait for another train. Being the adventurous traveler that I am, I decided to transfer bus 400 at Rockdale.

The almost empty carriage upon arriving at Rockdale on a Sunday morning. Bearing in mind, of course, that most Australians drive.

The direct train journey from Town Hall took just 24 minutes, we arrived Rockdale at 10.33am. Along the way, I could have alighted at Banksia station, since my train stopped here anyway (this is an infrequent stop), but I didn't research on the bus stop nearby, and as I mentioned earlier, Banksia station is not luggage friendly. Anyway, Rockdale is just one further stop away and is a larger town.

Outside Rockdale Station, where we boarded bus 400 for Sydney Airport

Upon getting out of Rockdale station gantry, turn right, and cross the road, you will be greeted by the shop houses above. The bus stop for the airport is just underneath. The good point about getting to the airport (international terminal) via Rockdale is that, you will avoid stopping over at the domestic terminal first, as compare to coming from Mascot, which can sometime be congested. In fact, if I understand correctly, cheaper too, if you are not carrying MyMulti pass.

Kingsford-Smith Airport International Terminal Departure Hall

Our bus picked us up at 10.43am, and reached Kingsford-Smith Airport (the official name for Sydney Airport) International Terminal within 10 minutes. We proceeded to queue for check-in straightaway, there was a long queue, and we were greeted by a very unprofessional counter staff. I specifically asked for windows seat, but was allocated aisle seat instead. Well, as a basic courtesy, I would have expected her to inform me of any unavailability!

Sydney airport is a delight for food and shopping before flight, picture here shows area before custom, much better than JFK at New York. However, I am not saying the prices are cheap.

Duty free zone. By the way, those round tubes aren't rubbish chutes, I don't know what are they.

Seats are aplenty, but so are the passengers

I used my last Aussie dollars to buy a bottle of Blue Hills Tasmanian Manuka 30+ honey from A Little Something for A$35, and with a coupon from the airport magazine, I managed to get a free salt & pepper set, very cute, but not Australia made. I have to say, the honey prices in Australia is much cheaper than I acquiring them back home, I'd love to buy more from the city if I could check-in my luggage (I didn't purchase that option).

TZ1 arriving from Singapore, Scoot has nicknames for all their aircraft, this one here's Scootalicious

With many wonderful memories, we left Sydney on TZ1 and took off at 1.56pm. To conclude this post, let me share my loots from Australia!

Many thanks to Yvonne for the home grown lemons, I ain't exaggerating, but I have never tasted lemons so fragrant before!

Clockwise from top left: Blue Hills Manuka 30+ honey (A$35) from A Little something, free Opal pin from The National Opal Collection, free salt & pepper set from A Little Something, Opal bookmark from Darling Harbour, GB Cappuccino Soft nougat (A$4.25) from Market City supermarket, Sydney keychain (A$2) from Darling Harbour, Forresters Mixed Nuts (A$7.99) from Aldi, Manly.