Continuing Sydney Vacation Day 5
Gong Hee Fatt Choy & Happy Australia Day
Australia DayThis is the first time in almost a hundred years that Chinese New Year and Australia Day falls on the same day. Thus there will be a spectacular display of pyrotechnics, music and lights at Darling Harbour at 2040hrs this evening. Plus this year is also Darling Harbour’s 100th anniversary. A beautiful scene watched by thousands of people who converged in the area.
We started the day by hopping on to the City Sightseeing, an open top bus that brings you round to various points of interest around the city. You can hop on and off the bus any time, as many times as you like. A day ticket costs AUD30 (AUD1 = SGD0.98)with concession rates for children below sixteen as well as senior citizens above sixty. A whole round trip lasts an hour and a half. If you are expecting to go round both Sydney and Bondi area, I would recommend you to take the 48 hour ticket at AUD48 and this will be valid for 48 hours, thus giving you the best value sightseeing on the double decker buses with the unique open top which gives you fantastic 360 degree views. There are a total of 31 stops including Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Bondi Beach, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Darling Harbour and Kings Cross.
We started the day by hopping on to the City Sightseeing, an open top bus that brings you round to various points of interest around the city. You can hop on and off the bus any time, as many times as you like. A day ticket costs AUD30 (AUD1 = SGD0.98)with concession rates for children below sixteen as well as senior citizens above sixty. A whole round trip lasts an hour and a half. If you are expecting to go round both Sydney and Bondi area, I would recommend you to take the 48 hour ticket at AUD48 and this will be valid for 48 hours, thus giving you the best value sightseeing on the double decker buses with the unique open top which gives you fantastic 360 degree views. There are a total of 31 stops including Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Bondi Beach, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Darling Harbour and Kings Cross. 
Off the bus
And On the City Sightseeing bus 
Various sights seen along the way
Victoria Market 
Sydney Tower
Flowers by the roadside
Sydney Town HallUnveiled in 1961 - El Alamein Fountain 
Naval Base at Woolloomooloo BayHarry's Cafe de Wheels 
where the navy boys grab the traditional Aussie pie on the wharf once back from an assignment
Cannon in Hyde Park 
Our destination today was the Sydney Opera House. However, due to it being Australia Day and a Public Holiday as well, certain roads along the route were closed and we had to drop off at a different stop and take a longer walk to Sydney Opera House. We walked past the College Street and Macquarie Street and saw the awesome display of hundreds of antique cars. If you are an antique car lover, you would love this display.
Antique fire enginePassed by St Mary’s Cathedral which has a huge and beautiful interior and the Botanical Gardens. Along the way, we had lunch at a cozy Vittoria café along Macquarie Street. The interior was just nice to accommodate our whole group. The chicken burger with avocado was quite nice whilst the home made sausage tasted too meaty for me and the outer crust that surrounded it was more hard than crispy.
Queen Victoria
Vittoria Coffee Cafe
Chicken burger (above left) and All Day Melt Special Chicken (above right)
Home made Sausage Roll with Salad
Enjoying a 'double' ice creamContinued on our journey to the Sydney Opera House and we finally took the Essential Tour at 1430 hrs. The Essential Tour, a 1 hour tour, runs daily, every thirty minutes, between 9am and 5pm. It tells the story of how a young Danish architect designed the modern abstract masterpiece in the 1950s, took all of the 60s to construct and finally opened in the 70s by Queen Elizabeth.
Chinese New Year plantsThe iconic Sydney Opera House 
The Sydney Opera House, one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world, took sixteen years to build at a cost of AUD102 million. It was a masterpiece of human creative genius and the architecture was well ahead of the times. In fact, it came into existence against impossible odds.
Close up of the famous Sydney Opera HouseThe tiles of the roof 
The Opera Theatre has 1500 seats and is fully booked year round by the opera and ballet organisations due to the acoustics. The Concert Hall seats 2700 and the total seating capacity of the Sydney Opera House is 5500.
Do look out for coupons in the travel guide books and maps that you can get in the hotels or at travel agencies. This will get you 20% off the normal price, thus costing you AUD28 instead of the usual AUD35. Do note that each coupon will only entitle you to one ticket at the discounted price, so if you have more than one person, do collect more coupons for more savings.
Do look out for coupons in the travel guide books and maps that you can get in the hotels or at travel agencies. This will get you 20% off the normal price, thus costing you AUD28 instead of the usual AUD35. Do note that each coupon will only entitle you to one ticket at the discounted price, so if you have more than one person, do collect more coupons for more savings.
For those with mobility limitations, you can take the Access Tour which is based on The Essential Tour with a considerate route, only available in English at 12 noon daily.
For a more intimate tour with exclusive access to areas normally reserved for stars and their crew, you can take the Backstage Tour and visit the backstage areas as it is being prepared for upcoming performances. This includes a full breakfast and lasts 2 hours. As the Backstage Tour includes up to 300 steps, it is not recommended for children 12 years and under.
There is also some shopping to be had at the Sydney Opera House. As well as being an architectural phenomenon, the Opera House is the perfect place to pick up an official Opera House souvenir or a unique gift reflecting the very essence of Australia.
Nearby is the Sydney Harbour Bridge which is locally nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's largest steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular and pedestrian traffic which opened in 1932. It is also one of the most photographed landmark. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia.
The Harbour Bridge
Sentry Box 
After The Essential Tour, we took another long walk passing the Circular Quay Ferry Terminal and along George Street where you can find some shops along the way. Having walked a fair distance and with aching feet and rainy weather, we then hopped on the City Sightseeing bus to get back to Star City Hotel.
Although it was still drizzling, we decided to catch the City Sightseeing bus to the Maritime Museum area so that we could have a close up view of the happenings at Darling Harbour. However the last bus at Star City Casino was at 1847hrs. Thus we had missed the bus and took a walk in the drizzle to Darling Harbour. Thousands of people had already converged on the area to celebrate Australia Day and all were waiting for the spectacular finale of the day, the pyrotechnics display. The display started off somewhat slow but grew more and more exciting as the minutes passed. It was truly a spectacular display and we were glad we did not miss it and that the rain did not put a dampener on the whole celebration.
The pyrotechnics displayThe float (no idea what it signifies though) 
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