 |
| Sydney |
Day 1: Glenn arrived before me, and we went to Darling Harbor, which is a lot like Docklands in Melbourne. Other similarities: They both have sky towers, both have large, beautiful Botanical Gardens, great public transportation systems, multiple nightlife locations, both are on the water with large boating populations. Coming into Sydney from the north by air, you see the outlying vacation communities start 50 miles north of the city, with dozens of bays, hundreds of islands and inlets and thousands of boats upon boats upon boats. It’s an athletic, out-doors focused city with a vibrant life on and off the land.
Day 2, I woke up and ran around the city, passing the Anzac memorial, through the botanical gardens, all the way to the water, facing the Sydney Opera house, about 3 miles, stretched, meditated and ran/walked back. I focused on living the day. Walked back, showered and went out again, alone. I walked through the CBD, seeing the hustle and bustle of Sydney, through the arcades and gorgeous retail buildings they have, including the Queen Victoria Building. I stopped for a delicious chicken Schnitzel sandwich in another building. I then went to the New South Wales Parliament building. Nothing especially grand, but the stuffy upper chamber was interesting. I then continued north to the Circular Quay, and then east to the Sydney Opera House. A gorgeous building. Dynamic, but not over the top. Aged, but still new. Like most of Sydney, it blends the natural (water), the dynamic (its design) and the traditional (its an opera house). It gently nudges culture into the hearts of all residents and tourists.
The city is gorgeous, well planned, with streets melding old and new, commercial and residential, park and office park smoothly. The long walk through the botanical gardens was equal to if not surpassing the most calming stroll through central park. The heavy oriental influence is felt with the smooth transitions, fungshue design, and attention to detail.
Sitting by the opera House, I finished the Journey of Awakening. My meditation and walk today reflected a serenity I have not known for a while, if ever. My ability to stifle negative thoughts and noise is by far not absolute yet, but improving. I felt truly happy sitting, walking. Occasionally my mind wandered to career, people, problems, challenges, past events. My mood would change slight. I felt it. Then I tried to study why, look back and see the situation as if it belonged to another person, or see it as looking at my whole life and this is a small part – perspectives that calmed me and realized the triviality of the topics. A truth that I have known for so long but have not been able to express.
I am getting to where I am content with my life and I can start moving forward. Without this first step, anything else I try to accomplish will be mired in the agonizing internal bickering, wasted emotions, mindless depression I have suffered for too many years before.
Day 2: Blue Mountain tour
Today was our third day in Sydney and we went on a tour to the Blue Mountains and saw…..some fog and the backdrop of what could be some mountains. Not the best weather for the trip, but unless we start doing some aboriginal weather dances, its hard to control it. But we did get to see Kangaroos (again, and for Glenn, the third time). Not to diminish how cool this actually is, but once you’ve seen them, its not that special to see them again.
Our tour guide was the highlight of the tour. He was extremely far to the right in his views and kept blaming the “greenies” for all their nagging. An ex-police officer, he had 17 guns and spent 10 minutes complaining about the “greenies” who were insisting that he have to wait 28 days to get his 18th. I didn’t argue with him, but, as most rational human beings, feel waiting periods for gun licenses and purchases is probably a good thing. In addition, the Greenies were responsible for stopping them from shooting animals, not allowing building in certain places, etc.
Sydney as a city, though, is exceptional and is as remarkable the third time I walk through the parks as the first. Immersing yourself in the city is like combining the beauty of Paris with the business fortitude of New York. It’s a city. Sidney is a also a very liveable city. Unlike America, Australians are travellers (ironic, since they are in the middle of no-where) and they have a real appreciation for culture (notice the centrepiece to this town is an opera house) and art. They are friendly, though less so here than in Melbourne, where it was almost comical how nice everybody was. And the many different bar/restaurant districts are all cool and happening (though not particularly on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights we have been here.
At night, we went out the Kings Cross. The Cross juxtaposed cool bars, right next to cheesy strip clubs, sex shops and the like. It was not a bad area. Like in Bangkok, you could have a four star restaurant right next to Pussy Palace. Odd, but not bad cross marketing. But like all things in Sydney, the strip clubs and the restaurants were pretty expensive, so we stuck to the meals and held off the exotic entertainment for the cheaper countries.
We had a great meal at the Opium Den, a thai place, meeting the two drunk middle-aged woman to our left. We then went a bar and met two some professional scuba divers who were from Britain but had spent the last few years in the Caribbean teaching Scuba. Now they had gotten jobs in Thailand and were leaving the next day to start their new lives. They and their kind lives amazing lives. They travel around, work at something they love, stay as long as they enjoy a place and then move on to another beautiful ocean resort. Not bad.
Day 3: Back at the Gardens
Glenn went off to do some final things (boat trips, tours). For the first part of the day, I did nothing. I ran through the gardens again, stopping by a big tree, by the water, with hundreds of people passing by on one side, and quiet serenity on the other. I meditated and felt a surge of energy. I then walked through the park again, took some pictures, contemplated life and had lunch.
In the afternoon, we went on the Harbor Bridge climb, where get to walk on top of the bridge, about 500 feet in the air. It’s an amazing experience, and a great view of Sydney. Not bad for $150 bucks. The first part of the walk is the scariest, because you are walking over see-through metal planks and you’re looking down about 200 feet saying “I don’t want to fall down there”. Once you start the parabolic arch of the bridge, its solid steps on top of the suspension frame of the bridge, with guard rails, so it’s a lot less scary. We had beautiful weather, with visibility up to 20 or so miles, so we could see the ocean, and the different beaches, as well as a clear view of downtown, the Sky tower, directly across to the Opera House, and then looking West, into the gradually setting sun. They go through an elaborate training exercise to make sure you don’t fall, as well as harness you in. They haven’t lost any of the over 2 million people that have climbed the bridge in the last 20 years, so that’s good.
After the bridge tour, we went to the Rocks, the area around the Circular Quay with dozens of high end restaurants and great bars.
No comments:
Post a Comment