For the 2001-2002 holiday season, I joined my friends Tyler and Carla, who are currently living in Australia on working holiday visas.  They have a very nifty online travel journal, which you should all read if you want to know what we got up to.

bulletClick here to read of Tyler and Carla's (and Eric's) Adventures Down Under.  You'll see me showing up around December 19.

When I caught up with Tyler and Carla, they were in Sydney, a mere 22-hour flight from my home in Vancouver.  I soon became acclimated to the 19-hour time difference, and we set out on the town.

Here's where Sydney is.

And here's what Tyler and Carla look like.

 

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Downtown Sydney is remarkably generic.  It became so modern so fast that all you get is a kind of whitewashed contemporary-corporateness.  It's easy to see why the Matrix movies are being shot here.  It could be any modern city.

On the other hand, it is an area of amazing natural beauty.  The coast and harbour have unbelievable red, palm-topped cliffs jutting out of the ocean, broken by sandy white beaches.  Right in the city!

Sydney, lookin' all modern and generic.

 

Coogee Beach, about a ten-minute walk from my hostel.

 

The cliffs around Coogee.

 

 

The Chinese Garden of Friendship 
On Darling Harbour, smack in one of the bustlingest areas of the city lies the Chinese Garden of Friendship.  This was one of the first places I visited, and one of my favourite.

This is the largest traditional Chinese garden outside China.  The whole place is filthy with good vibrations and harmony.  It's so peaceful and tranquil I had a hard time leaving.  It was like a big juicy steak for my soul, with fried mushrooms on the side.

Moon gate.

 

I like this shot of Tyler and Carla in the Lenient Jade Pavilion.

 

Chilling on the Lake of Brightness.

 

Reflecting.

 

Tyler, reflecting.

Lenient Jade Pavilion, with Lotus Pond and Aquatic Pavilion behind.

 

 

Christmas

I've always been a bit cynical about Christmas, and getting away from all the kitsch and consumerism was so nice. 

Not that Australia doesn't do the Christmas thing.  But I had nobody to buy for in Oz, no Christmas shopping to do, no expectation about how to spend the time. 

Actively not celebrating Christmas in a Christmassy way was probably the best Christmas present I could have gotten. 

And what's less Christmassy than spending the day lying on the freaking beach with the thermometer in the mid-30s, drinking steadily, getting sand in your shorts and working on a nice sunburn?

 

Christmas on Bronte Beach with the lovely and very leggy Carla Schwartz.

(I may be flabby, pasty, hairy, farmer-tanned and short, but at least I don't have sand on my knees.)

 

The Dark Side of Christmas

Unfortunately, our Christmas Day reverie was interrupted by a strange yellowy cloud, which we later learned was caused by the country catching on fire, as bush fires swept New South Wales.

Seriously, what kind of a country just burns to the ground every seven years or so?

Anyway, this pretty much altered our plans right then and there.  I had wanted to get out of the city, at the very least to see the Blue Mountains, and Royal National Park, but they were alight, plus most of the roads and railways were closed.

Even worse, Tyler is asthmatic, and the smoky conditions made things pretty hard for him for the rest of my trip.

On the plus side?  Beautiful sunsets and sunrises and stunning, blood-red moons.  None of which I was able to get decent pictures of, unfortunately.

 

We suspected something was up when we saw this on Christmas Day.

 

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, we went to see Fellowship of the Ring, which was not only not disappointing, it was downright good.

I wore sunscreen, just in case.

 

This was not taken on Boxing Day, and this was not the theater we saw it at.  

Can you spot Tyler and Carla?

 

The Famed Sydney Opera House
I would have liked to have seen an opera or the Sydney Philharmonic at the Soap, but alas, the musicians were on holiday the same time as I was.  We did take a tour of the place, though, which was moderately interesting.

"Look happy."

 

In front of the turtle orgy.

 

Bats
After taking the Opera House tour, we went to the nearby Botanical Gardens.  While it was cool to see the plants from all over the world that are grown there, by far the coolest thing was the thousands of bats that started to emerge at dusk.

Bats.

 

More bats, plus some Botanical Gardenness.

 

The Zoo (and Aquarium)
I also went to the Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Aquarium.  I'm glad I went to see kangaroos up close in person, but honestly, I just find those places (especially the zoo) kind of depressing, hence the lack of pictures.  You all know what sharks and koalas look like, right?

I did like the echidnas, however.

 

Miscellaneous Pix
I enjoyed my time down under, even though I didn't get to leave Sydney while I was there.  The weather was beautiful (aside from the smoke), the people seemed friendly, and I enjoyed hanging out with Tyler and Carla.

Of course, I really started to miss it when I stepped off the plane in Vancouver to 6-degree weather and a cold drizzle.

Anyway, before I get all maudlin, here are a few pics that didn't fit anywhere else.

The wall around the University of Sydney.  Intended no so much to keep the students out of the city, but to prevent them from fleeing back to safe territory with their loot when being chased by the Emperor's armies.

 

Australia had Burger King.  It also has Hungry Jack's, which is identical to BK in every way shape and form, except that some truly half-assed attempts to make it look like a cheezy retro diner have been made.

You can get a Whopper Value Meal, BK's delicious fries, even the nearly-edible BK Big Oz Burger with beets ("beetroot"), bacon and egg. 

I found Hungry Jack's strange and disorienting, yet comfortingly familiar.  Much like Australia itself.

 

Sydney Harbour (actually called Port Jackson).

 

Many, if not most, of the fashionable clothiers in Sydney have ugly, ugly mannequins.

 

Monday February 10, 2003 12:14