Sydney

I was in Sydney for a couple of days on my way back to Hong Kong and as usual took a snap of the Opera House. Not sure why I bothered as I must have posted10-15 similar pics from previous trips.
I arrived in HK last night around 11:30 and leave tomorrow morning at 12:30 am ( for all intents and purposes tonight really.)
I'll be in Europe for 10 days or so then back to Asia and a week in Beijing.
I'll post from the UK over the next couple of days if anything interesting happens.
I plan to be busy with my kid.
Stay well everyone.
T

Sydney part 2

Sunday was free so a colleague and I did a whistle stop tour of a couple of places of interest. First off we took the ferry to Manley a small town on the other side of the harbour with a laid back beach and southern California vibe. The ferry takes you past some of the iconic sights of Sydney harbour and I think at 10 Aus $'s for a return trip its a pretty good deal.
As most people in Sydney do on a Sunday, we ended up on Bondi Beach.
There have been three Great White shark attacks (one fatal) in the past 2weeks albeit not here at Bondi. Surfers and snorkelers seem to be the prey of preference. As you can see below the surfers are undeterred. Even though Australia has some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, the beach is full of people baking in the sun. Perched on the bluffs above of the beach is the Bondi Ice burg club. Centered around an open air salt water pool the club also has a restaurant and bar with some of the best views of the beach and ocean. Its worth a visit.

Skate rats dominate the area just short of the beach but surfers take pride of place in the water.

Back to the harbour.

The Sydney Harbour bridge was opened in 1932 and is the 4th longest spanning arch bridge in the world. At 134 meters it was the city's tallest structure until the mid 1960s. I think its beautiful but I'm a bit biased as I love bridges.The Sydney Bridge Climb experience is something I've been meaning to do though it will be hard to find the time this trip.

Last night a colleague and I headed to the new uber hip bar in town: The Ivy.

We were intercepted by a young man dressed in a spangled jacket and over sized upturned baseball cap covered in sparkles.

"Sorry gentlemen it is a private function tonight".

Denied entry by the keyboard player from Depech mode.

I have now managed to be turned away from clubs on every continent on earth.

Ok that's it.

I'm still jet lagged though seem to be back in a regular sleep pattern. I'll be pretty busy this week so don't anticipate much time to post but you never know.

Love to all

T

Sydney

Ok the picture comes from my last trip.
I am wayyyyy too jet lagged to get any snaps today.
Here's how the last 36 hours went:
San Diego airport- I hand over the wrong passport and they can't find my electronic VISA.
I come up with the right passport and the dreaded "SSSS" pops up on my boarding card.
Soooo.
The BIG search ensues and they go through ALL my stuff, swiping everything with that little wand thingy with the little tissue on the end.
No problem, just inconvenience right?
"Ding , Ding, Ding!"- Alarm
Apparently the sensor picked up traces of lens cleaner on my 70mm-200mm lens.
25 minutes discussion.
OK free to go.
Arrive at LAX.
Onto the big bird.
FAT, STINKY man burps and farts his way through the flight next to me.
Climbs over me every two hours or so to go to the toilet and always returns with foul smelling alcoholic beverages.
No sleep for 13 hours.
Arrive Brisbane Intl airport and wait for bags to clear customs.
No bag.
45 minutes later on the train to the domestic terminal with little time to spare and upon entering the terminal hear: " Mr Terence Robinson please return to the International terminal and claim your luggage."
Back to International terminal.
Sydney flight time has come and gone.
No one knows anything about the announcement.
1 1/2 hours later bag found.
Time to clear customs.
Dog "hits" on my bag.
EVERYTHING emptied on the metal table and nothing found except half eaten chocolate bar and bag of peanuts.
Both dangerous items confiscated and I'm on my way.
Much hilarity at over packed supply of underwear.
All neatly folded by hotel laundry.
I appear to be a rather neat and precise fellow.
" Mate, what ARE you planning for this trip?"
Back to domestic terminal and secure last seat on next Sydney flight.
Arrive Sydney...........Bag arrives .....LAST off the plane and makes appearance as baggage carousel stops.
Nothing today is easy.
Fast forward to hotel
No trace of reservation.
Full house today.
T weaving slightly as tiredness threatens to erupt into bad temper.
"Don't you know who I am?" considered but bitten back.
Try pleading look and weak smile.
Silent beseeching and swaying in 5 star hotel lobby whilst other guests make wide detour to avoid scene as I rummage through bags looking for reservation.
Big wedding party arrives.
Bride's horrified expression prompts Front Desk Manager to make an executive decision.
Room secured.
Bed.
Phone rings.
Credit card rejected.
Oh God.
Told to come down in 45 minutes: " NO EARLIER!!"
Once sorted out collapse in bed fully clothed and wake up as maid enters to clean up the room.
I must have looked as state as she scuttled away sharpish.
Love to all
T

Royal Botanical Gardens, Bats & Manly Beach and Home

For reasons too boring to go into, I was forced to return a day later than expected and have now just got back. Thirty-two hours door to door and I feel surprisingly well. With unexpected time to kill, I decided to take a walk around the Royal Botanical Gardens and the ferry over to Manly.
I'm glad I did.

The Gardens are smack in the middle of the city and are a lush oasis.

They border the harbour and the walk approaching the opera house is one of the nicest in Sydney. The gardens themselves have a surprise in store, namely as the home of giant bats which roost in the trees by day and fly out over the harbour at dusk every evening. I managed to get some cool pics which may give you an idea how big they are. From the gardens you swing back around the Opera House and find yourself in Circular Quay from where it's a simple matter to take a ferry out to Manly.

People commute to work this way and it sure beats the hell out of the subways and traffic jams most of us are used to. The scenery can only ease you into (or out of) your day if you're a Sydney worker-bee.

The trip takes about 1/2 an hour and felt effortless.
Manly itself has a laid-back vibe.

Its easy going and the beach in contrast to Bondi, seemed more about families and less about posing.

While I was there , a loudspeaker urged everyone out of the water as the inshore breeze had swept in hundreds of blue-bottle jelly fish.

Here's announcement and I quote:

" Gidday.

The breeze is blowing in the little blue devils, so I suggest you get out pronto.

If you're stung, be sure and pull out ALL of the stinger. Pour a little fresh water on the wound and put up with the pain for about 45 minutes.

Ya it should be fine after 45 minutes."

Hardy lot these Aussies.
Manley is a suburb of Sydney but feels a world away.

Its like a seaside town and has a wonderful 10k walk (which I didn't do) that runs across the bluffs over looking the bay.

As you can see, there are some great views.
Just three ways the Aussies take to the water.


I finally got away Sunday evening and after a brief stopover in Singapore, arrived back to rainy Blighty.
I'll be here all week then have a day trip to Paris next week. The following week I'm in Berlin and then head for RIO, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia the last week of the month.
No doubt there will be plenty of pics and posts.
For now, I'm going to get out of the office and head for my bed.


Ciao
T

Bits and Pieces

I've finished what's felt like a long week and head home soon. My time in Sydney has not been without its lighter moments as the picture with work colleagues above attests, but I'm ready to head back to the rain and cold.

I've noticed an odd fashion trend here about which my female visitors may be able to enlighten me.
Many of the women here wear dresses with extremely high waistlines.
I'm talking right under the bust.
Its a sort of maternity wear chic for the un-pregnant. If someone is of a certain girth they appear pregnant, but are unlikely to be so given the copious double gin and tonics being consumed. Have I missed the logic of this fashion trend?
Not criticising exactly, just puzzled.
I think it looks odd but then again I'm just a guy and have never really understood these things.

I spent much of the week at the convention center in Darling Harbour. This area is the redeveloped docklands and used to be a nasty, dangerous part of town. Now its got a "Disney-Singapore" air of unreality. Its quite squeaky clean and has a contrived vibe. It also has the biggest TV I've ever seen which shows an unending stream of sports. These guys LOVE their sport.
The one thing undeniable about this city is that there is pretty much a killer view everywhere you look. I had dinner on Tuesday night at Circular Quay in the Park Hyatt hotel. The view out the window was pretty nice as you can see.

The food and wine were great. The problem lay in the fact that there were cockroaches the size of your thumb scuttling around under the table. It kind of takes away from the precious presentation and haughty service when bugs are crawling up the back of your chair.

Finally, a bit of unhappy news.


I got word that an old friend died suddenly leaving behind 4 kids. I won't invade his family's privacy by posting his name, but I wanted to acknowledge this sad event.


You never know what may happen tomorrow so enjoy today.



I hope all is well wherever you are and you're making the best of the here and now.

T

Surfers

As you can imagine, surfing is a big deal here. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon taking pictures of these guys in action. Let me know what you think.

That's it for today.

I hope all is well wherever you are

T