Sydney 22 Jan – 28 Jan 09 **Day 4

Sydney vacation Day 4 with even more pictures of Sydney Australia.


The Grand Dame of Australia - The Sydney Opera House

Today, we hired the coach to bring our whole group shopping. As we have some elderly people with us and being in such a big group, it was more convenient to do so.

Shopping started at Paddy’s Market and this time we found a shop that opens only on Sundays selling ladies blouses for AUD20 each. Some of these were made of sheersucker material that is a non-iron material. We bought a few different colours each with different designs as well as some sweet coloured cotton tee shirts with nice flower prints. These fabrics are supposed to allow the body to keep cool even in hot weather and supposedly can last ten years.

You can get souvenir items like Australian tee shirts, boomerangs, tidy bags, non-woven bags, key chains, handbags, etc… A good range and variety.

The Rocks
Next we headed north to The Rocks Market. Here you have another flea market which runs only on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am – 5pm. With more than 150 stalls housed under a sail-like canopy, the Rocks Market has something for everyone, including antiques and collectibles, art, fashion and beauty, food, homewares and furniture. A different range of products from what we saw in Paddy’s Market. More Aussie souvenirs and curios can be found here. We were fortunate that the weather today was not as hot as yesterday and walking in the open air market was quite comfortable. You could get organic dried fruits with no sweetener and no preservative. We were surprised to find that the organic dried pineapples tasted great as a snack or dessert and was simply delicious. A 180g packet costs AUD20 and it was almost all gone within the day.

Organic dried fruits

Other knick knacks

There were also fudge bars with various flavours including mint, mango, caramel, etc… You could sample some of the flavours before deciding what to buy. Buying in a batch of seven costs you only AUD20 whereas buying individually could set you back by USD3.50.

Fudge bars

Another interesting item that you can find here is the shoe deodorizer and wardrobe insect repellent. These are made from all natural herbs like lemon eucalyptus, lavender and rose and geranium to remove the odour and repel insects.

The Rocks is the historical precinct of Sydney, being the site of the first colonial settlement in Australia in 1788. It is home to Sydney’s oldest pubs and has a vibrant restaurant scene. It is also one of the city’s most exciting shopping, dining and entertainment precincts.

Next stop was Bondi beach, Australia’s most famous beach with the golden sand and turquoise water. We were originally supposed to have lunch at Bondi beach area and enjoy the atmosphere there. However, lots of the restaurants were full and as we had a big group, it would have been difficult for most of the restaurants and cafes to accommodate us. So we took a walk along the area and watched some pretty cool surfers and waves and enjoyed some sea breeze before moving off.

Bondi Beach - the sea, the surfers & the wave plus artwork
Even the seagulls love Bondi Beach

The 4 Muskeeteers enjoying a AUD4 hotdog

Bondi Markets is open only on Sundays from 1000hrs to 1700hrs. You can enjoy the roar of the surf and invigorating sea breezes while you search for the next big fashion designer, clothing, jewellery and cool gifts. The market is also a great place fro star-spotting.

We moved back to Chinatown area and finally had lunch at Super Meal Chinese Restaurant. The service was slow, most probably because they were not prepared to handle our big group at such a late lunch hour. However, the food was not too bad. We tried the Grandma’s Spicy Beancurd with rice. This would have tasted so much better if not for the fact that certain parts tasted pretty salty. However, the beef congee was great and smooth and was good value at less than AUD10. If you are not a huge eater, each portion should be enough for two persons. We also ordered various drinks including passionfruit soda and mango soda. These tasted quite sweet. The black sesame crushed ice was the best with a pleasant taste of black sesame.

Minced beef congee

Passionfruit and mango soda flanked in between by berry

Grandma's Spicy Beancurd served with rice

We had originally planned to go to DFO, Direct Factory Outlet, which is supposed to be Australia’s premier factory outlet centre and has over eighty individual retailers. However this happened to be a little out of the way at the Homebush area near the Sydney Olympic Park and so we finally decided to go back to Paddy’s Market as some of the group members wanted to go back to the same shop in the morning to get more of the ‘cooling’ blouses. Those who had enough of shopping for the day went directly back to the hotel. The others went ahead to do more shopping.

Harbourside shops

Dinner saw us back at Harbourside at Darling Harbour to do a bit more shopping as well as fill our stomachs. Harbourside is Darling Harbour’s main shopping mall, with boutiques, specialty stores and dining venues. This beautifully positioned waterfront development ranks as one of Sydney’s most elegant and innovative retail centres. You will be able to find a dozen or more alfresco eateries with some very stylish a-la-carte restaurants here, all with superb views of Cockle Bay, the city skyline and the rest of Darling Harbour. The shops here stay open till 2100hrs every night so you can shop at your leisure after the day’s touring.

Aborigine playing the digeridoo

Professional street entertainer playing with the remote control car

We decided to try the food court at ground level. The food here was not cheap and the portions small. We ordered some chicken sukiyaki noodles which was oily and the chicken was tough. The pizza had some great votes. Oporto, a fast food restaurant just beside MacDonald’s, served grilled chicken and burgers and had the thumbs up as well. We finished off the meal with Anderson’s ice-cream, AUD4.50 for a single scoop and AUD6.50 for a double scoop.

Oporto

Chinese New Year decorations at Star City

Tonight being the eve of Chinese New Year, Star City Hotel had arranged some Chinese New Year celebrations at midnight. The God of Fortune was there to hand out hong baos or red packets. These are traditionally given by the married adults to the unmarried and filled with money. There was a dragon dance as well as eight lions and the traditional fire crackers being let off. Great performance especially for those who have never seen such a performance before.

God of Fortune handing out the 'hong baos'. Of course, there were not filled with real currency but with gold 'chocolate' coins. ; )

Fire Crackers being let off to usher in the Chinese New Year

Lion Dance


And Dragon Dance

A great start to Day 5…

Sydney 22 Jan – 28 Jan 09 **Days 1 & 2

Family vacation in Sydney to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Total of 19 family members who travelled together for this great holiday in Australia. We did not book the all inclusive vacation package but opted for a free and easy holiday as we felt that a package would be too tiring for the elderly in our group. Attached will be pictures of Sydney Australia.

Day 1

Supposed to leave Singapore on 22nd Jan, Thursday, at 2040hrs on SQ221. However flight on the A380, yes, the latest plane, was delayed and we finally left an hour later. It was quite turbulent at the beginning and space was pretty crammed in the economy section. The upper deck seemed more quiet and cozy. Touched down in Sydney airport at 0825 hrs, approximately 7 ½ hours later. Sydney is three hours ahead of Singapore.

Spiral steps to upper deck of A380

The upper deck ...........

Day 2

There was a long queue to go through immigration. And then another queue to go through the Australian customs. As Australia is an island, they are very strict about what you bring into the country. Any medicine, plants, animals, etc that you bring in, you need to declare. Their slogan:- Declare, or beware! If you are not sure what you are carrying is permissible to be brought into Australia or not, just declare it and you will be advised accordingly. Understand that certain Chinese medications are also not allowed into Australia. By the time we got through all the formalities, it was almost 1000 hrs.

Walking towards the coach

All luggages in the coach?

There was a coach to take us to Star City Hotel, our accommodation for the week. We were warmly greeted by one of the guest relations officer who went through with our group leader on the various formalities as well familiarized us with the facilities of the whole building. As it was still early, there was only one room ready for our group at that point of time. The rooms were nice and spacious and even had a couch where you could recline on.

Star City is the place where adults gather to play as well. Here in the complex, you will find New South Wale’s only casino with a multitude of gaming rooms and betting tables. The complex also houses eight bars, seven restaurants, two theatres, a nightclub and the five-star Star City Hotel as well as serviced apartments.

Here are pictures of Sydney Australia.

Star City complex ....

Star City swimming pool

One of Star City's limousines ....

Views from Star City - spot the Sydney Tower

Spot the Harbour Bridge

...Another view from the room

Had Chinese lunch at the Chinese noodle restaurant in Star City. Prices for noodles and rice ranged from AUD11 – 18 (AUD1 = SGD1). The portions were huge. If you are not a BIG eater, suggest you share with someone and then order another portion if necessary.

Chinese New Year decoration in Star City driveway

Afternoon was free and easy. We took the light rail from the Star City station which was at the lower ground of the building to Paddy’s Market which is where Chinatown is as well. Return journey costs AUD5.70 per adult. There are concession rates for kids below 16 and senior citizens.




Sitting in the light rail...






Visited Paddy’s Market at Haymarket which is just like a flea market. Lots of bargain items if you are looking for something not too expensive and if you are not brand conscious. Savvy shoppers have been flocking to this Chinatown institution for decades to pick up weekly provisions and join the crowd, browsing hundreds of stalls selling everything from fresh food to fashion and souvenirs. This is located at the corner of Hay and Thomas Streets, Haymarket and is open from Thursdays through Sundays. 9am – 5pm.

Paddy's Market


Above Paddy’s Market is Market City. Here you can find the Thai Kee IGA Supermarket on Level 1 and factory outlet stores with discounts of up to seventy per cent on Level 2. Esprit, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Giordano, Cotton On Kids and many others can be found there. There is urban and street fashion and the added bonus of a Chinese food court on the top level.



Market City...

Sydney’s Paddy’s Markets have been a Sydney landmark, since th eir inception in the 1830s. Locals and tourists in search of a unique shopping experience, a bargain and some fun still flock to these markets.

Crossed over to Chinatown and saw many restaurants including Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese in the area. You will not go hungry for sure as you will be able to find an eclectic mix of mouth watering cuisine here, together with groovy Asian boutiques and food stores. There were a number of bakeries around the area as well. Fortunately for us, the weather was not burning hot today.

Chinatown

As we were not able to book a Chinese restaurant for our traditional reunion dinner on Sunday, Chinese New Year eve, we decided to have it at Lotus Pond Restaurant in Star City that very evening itself. We ordered the set dinner. Food was not too bad. The Peking Duck was done slightly differently and the duck meat was very tender. It seems that the duck here is one of its more popular dishes.

Lotus Pond Restaurant in S tar City

Took a walk from Star City to Darling Harbour after dinner. By now, the weather was nice and windy and not hot, making it a lovely stroll by the piers and wharfs. Saw the warship and the Maritime Museum. Walked around Darling Harbour and we were fortunate enough to see some street busking fire eater. That made for an entertaining evening.