Sydney after a week and a half...
Trip Start
Aug 26, 2004
1
8
62
Trip End
Aug 31, 2007
Where I stayed
Sydney, Australia
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Landing in Sydney at 6am, let's say we were a bit tired, especially when the nice hostesses of Singapore Airline woke us up at 3am to have breakfast, and even if there is only a 3hr time difference from Singapore, we were a bit jet lagged.
Passport and visa checks: yeh another stamp on the passport!!! And our working holiday visas were well registered in their computer...
Security check: we bought some really nice wooden articles in Bali and you have to know that to get in Australia, you have to go through meticulous security checks, after nearly 1hr queue we managed to get our little articles checked and get out of the airport.
Shuttle bus found to get to the hostel with a black driver listening to some French reggae, we arrived at Base Backpackers around 10h30.
the hostel is quite nice, except one little detail, it's full of German people, they are everywhere and when you go to the kitchen in the morning or for dinner, you just think you are in Germany! As soon as we arrived in the bedroom (10 bed dorms) we went straight to bed to get some energy, then we woke up and took a little tour of Sydney, what do you think we went to see? The Harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House of course!!!
First nights, room 301: that is where we met our English colleagues Matt, Paul, Tony, Chris and Adam...
Straight they introduced us to the Scary Canary, what is that?!?!? It is the pub part of the hostel and right next to it. On Tuesday, Trivia night where you can win up to $250!
We did quite well for our first time but we finished 4th and only the first three teams win something, what a shame...
On Wednesday, it was time for us to take action, first stop the phone shop: after looking around in few shops we went to Virgin, best deals and value for money. Second stop: the bank, Westpac. Third stop: the tax office, yes to work in Australia you need a TFN (Tax File Number, kind of NIS here).
That was it for our first day, not too bad, what do you think?
Later we met our new friends and Adam decided to take us to another place after the Scary Canary, The Gaff. Kind of club with two floors, good music, it was time to move our bodies on the dance floor! the night was going well when suddenly all the guys disappeared... where the fuck are they?!?!?! We went to the lower ground and here was a wet T-shirt contest, can you believe it? All the contestants were German and dutch and all the guys went crazy as if they had never seen a pair of boobs!
That's when we decided to go back to the hostel... We got a bit lost on the way back but we managed to find a nice kebab place!!! You know that, after a good night of alcohol, you always need some crap food!
The day after we started our job search, printing of resume and sending emails...
We got some responses, we had some few interviews but nothing really serious at first.
So we decided to go to Bondi, yeh the famous beach, and give our CVs around...
To be honest we were a bit disappointed by Bondi, as famous as it is, we expected a massive beach but it's kind of tiny. Still it is nice with white sand and clear blue water. Actually the season has not started yet so it is quiet and they are not looking for staff at the moment but we learnt a useful info, to work in a bar or pub or restaurant or hotel here in New South Wales, you need something called the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol. It is kind of a diploma that says that you have taken the course explaining all the laws and restrictions applying in those places regarding the consumption of alcohol in Australia.
Now we both got it!
Back to our hostel we booked some more nights but unfortunately we could not stay in room 301 and had to move to room 401...
First impression of room 401 was not that good and we were missing all the guys from 301 but we got to know the people we were sharing the room with and let's say that we had some really fun. Thanks to Vicky we have been introduced to the "goome" (not sure about the spelling), it is a really cheap wine that they have here, not made from grapes but from fish eggs! $14 for 4 liters! What a fun night the goome night! Check the pictures...
A bit of a drama at the end as we lost Vicky and Chris for 2hrs, but no worries, everybody was back in bed at 4am. The following morning was not that good, the goome gives the worst headache ever! Definitively the less productive day we had so far...
At the same time Caro found a job in Darling Harbour at "I'm Angus", still no luck for me.
We booked some more nights at Base as we did not have time to look for a room yet. And again we had to move... destination room 212! Really weird room, we are supposed to stay there until Saturday and we hope we'll have found a room since then to get out of Base!!!
Yesterday we saw quite a few rooms but no luck, nothing really nice enough for us or way too expensive. Back to the hostel we met everybody at the Scary Canary and once again we ended up at The Gaff with Ian, Joni, Vicky and Chris. Unfortunately for the guys, no wet T-shirt contest that night!
Unpredicted incident, some guys started to have a fight at the bar and things degenerated quickly. Some glasses were thrown across the bar and we decided it was time to go before getting hurt ourselves. But the guys outside threw stuff at the glass doors of the bar and broke them. So the staff asked us to stay inside and the police came. None got hurt in our group and we managed to get back to the hostel safely.
The kind of things happens everywhere...
*** To Chris: thanks I had fun
*** To Caro: sorry again...
See you soon for some new adventures!!!
L
