Flying Into Sydney, Australia

Prologue

In March of 2006, I went on a two-week adventure with my good friend Todd Ryan. We ventured south to a small island nation you may have heard of. It's known as "Australia". This is the first of what will likely be four travelogues on our trip. This first travelogue focuses on our journey down, and our first three days there, spent in and around Sydney. First, I should explain the reasons for our journey. Todd's parents (Sue and Bernie) are currently living in Syndey, for Bernie's work. He'd not seen them for some time, and wanted to visit them. He also wanted to explore Australia, and, well, I'm always up for excitement. On my end, it's pretty much that simple. So, at the beginning of the year, we planned our journey. We used Qantas' AussiePass, which enables one to fly to and from Australia, as well as adding flights around the country. The total price tag for our flights (Boston to LA to Sydney to Melbourne to Brisbane to Sydney to LA to Boston - whew!) was around $1700. That's not cheap, but it's certainly reasonable as far as we were concerned. As far as additional preparation, I read Bill Bryson's excellent book "In A Sunburned Country". If you're headed to Australia, or even if not, it's recommended reading.

Big Barf Bag/Order Form

Monday, March 20th and Tuesday, March 21st

So it was that March 20th, 2006, we were headed to Logan Airport. Our trip got started with a couple major hitches, however, the first being that our flight from Boston to LA was cancelled. Problematic, no? Todd was at work, so I was tasked with figuring out just what we could do. Ultimately, we got a flight from Boston to Chicago, and Chicago to LA. Todd left work early, and we dashed to the airport, with hitch number one resolved.

We seemed to be over the hurdle, until Todd realized he didn't have his passport. He had everything else, including a -copy- of his passport, but not the original. One guess where he'd left it - right, in his scanner at home. Our friend Skinny, who'd already taken us to the airport and returned home, was tasked with retrieving it and delivering it to us. Fortunately, Skinny's a reliable gent, and we were able to get this sorted as well.

Our trips to Chicago and LA were uneventful, though on the LA leg there were 15-20 older teenage girls in identical shirts, clearly all part of the same group. These shirts identified them as "Missionaires-in-training", and I was forced to suppress a half-dozen unprintable jokes, as well as the urge to hit on them for sport.

Upon arriving in LA, we had some time to grab a beer at Chili's, as well as some Burger King. By this point, it was around 1-2 AM Eastern, so we washed up and waited for our flight. Eventually we boarded, and it was very nice. However, though there were plenty of open seats, it somehow managed to be both spacious and slightly cramped at the same time, due in part to the seat in front of us being occupied.

Qantas provided a bag of amenities (a sleep mask, socks, a tiny toothbrush, etc.) even to us poor folk in economy, and there was a seat-back entertainment center which was quite diverting. There was also plenty of food (we could have skipped the Burger King) and free booze. Our plan was to stay up as long as possible, then sleep for the end of the flight, so that we'd be waking up as the plane landed, around 9 AM. This was difficult, but ultimately worked well. We ate, watched Proof, read, and powered through as best we could. I fell asleep around midnight Sydney time, after being up for something like 27 straight hours, and awoke 7 hours later. Ultimately, this proved to be a very effective way to beat the jet lag, and I'd recommend it if you can pull it off.

Wednesday, March 22nd

So, we left Boston early Monday afternoon, and left LA just before midnight on Monday night, yet we arrived in Sydney Wednesday morning, about fourteen hours after takeoff from LA. Effectively, we never had Tuesday, March 21st. If I missed anything good, let me know. Anyhow, upon our arrival, we claimed our bags, changed some money, and were met by Sue. We went to the Ryan's, showered and refreshed. Really, it worked out beautifully, and Todd said that he'd had shorter flights that were far worse, a sentiment I agreed with so much I've since stolen.

After preparing for the day, we headed out, taking a ferry from their house in Kirribilli to the Circular Quay (not, in fact, pronounced "kway", but "key"). This took us right past the famous Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. From there, we walked around to the Botanical Gardens, which had a walk featuring trees that were chock full of bats. Certainly not an attraction for everyone.

We then went out to Daring Harbour, past Luna Park (one of two identically named amusement parks in Australia, the other in Melbourne). Here, we saw the Maritime museum, whose first exhibit was about...America, specifically the northeast. We hurried past that, eventually finding what should be the pride of any boat collection, the beer boat.

From there, we walked around downtown, ultimately stopping at a rooftop pub, where we were met by Bernie. We closed out the night with Indian food, before returning to the Ryan's for some much-needed sleep.

Thursday, March 23rd

Thursday was a fairly relaxed day, as Sue, Todd, and I headed out to Manly, a beachside town a few miles outside of Syndey, and home to Manly Beach. We had lunch at another rooftop beer garden, where Todd and I decided that eating at ground level was terribly passe.

We headed out to the North Head via bus, with perhaps the worst bus driver ever. We weren't quite sure where we were going, so I suggested we ask the nice man on the bus. So, we indicated to the driver where we were headed, and asked for his help, which he grudgingly provided. We then chatted with a gentleman who turned out to actually be the aforementioned nice man, and we were lucky to find him. He provided further help on getting to our destination, and when the driver nearly drove right past it, he called out to him to stop. Thank you anonymous Australian OAP!

The North Head provides gorgeous views of both the South Pacific, and Sydney Harbor from afar, as seen here. After leaving the park there, we walked back to the bus stop. The bus finally came with the same driver, and he drove right past us. We chased after him, and he finally stopped at the bus stop farther down the road, but he certainly gave us a fright. Just as we talked about the awful driver we had, I'm sure he was telling his friends about the stupid tourists on his route. So it goes. That night, we had Thai food and watched some of the Commonwealth games. More on those later.

Friday, March 24th

On Friday, we woke up and took the train up to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for our Bridge Climb. If you aren't aware, you can climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It's overpriced, but it's also a fairly once-in-a-lifetime experience that offers incredible views of the city. We were early for our climb, so we meandered, looked over the wall of celebrities (and quasi-celebrities), and talked to a couple Aussies, who advised us to "look after our equipment".

Once our tour got started, we were ushered in to watch a safety ideo and take a breathalyzer (you heard me). I don't know if they did that from the get go, but I like to think that some lush nearly died on the tour, forcing them to institute such a policy. Anyhow, we then suited up in the worst jumpsuits ever (though I will confess, I nearly stole one). There was much debate as to whether we looked more like Oompa-Loompas or Ghostbusters. The tour itself was fun and interesting, and not at all scary, except for the price they wanted to charge for the pictures they took. Ah monopoly power.

After the climb, we had some lunch and took a brief tour of one of the bridge's towers, which allowed us to take our own photos. We then came home, then had a small dinner party with some of Bernie's work friends, before preparing to head out to Melbourne in the morning. That'll be part two. For now, I give you a brief gallery of me. Sexy!