After about 4 years of waiting and wanting to go to Sydney, we finally managed to plan a year in advance to visit family back there, and witness an epic episode in our lives, the World Cup Semi Finals.
Landed at the Kingsford Smith Airport on 25th of March after travelling for 12 + hours from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and finally to our destination New South Wales. It took us almost an hour and half to finish all the formalities and walk out, the longer ques and the slower service reminded us that how lucky are we to stay in Singapore where getting in and out of the airport is a matter of couple of minutes, but then again, i guess the amount of rush at the Sydney airport could be due to the World Cup Semis.
On our way home managed to pick up the tickets, first look at the Sydney City Centre and the streets signages did not impress me much, since i was comparing Sydney to Singapore, which happens to be a spic and span city with one of the best directional signages and easy access. Here's a peak into my 14 day wanderlust.
& Food It is ..
After a good sleep, dressed and left for a lovely time with the extended family -Dinner at a Spanish Tapas Bar, Alegrias - the food was finger licking yum, got to try a lot of new dishes, but PatatasBravas stole the show for me, the aioli dippings were out of the world, finished the dinner with some really delicious Churo's and Pana Cotta. If you happen to ever go to Sydney, at Darling Street, this restaurant is sure not to be missed.
Howzzat ???
Finally, the D day that me, my better half and my brother in law were super exited about, the World Cup Semis, showed up with a true Indian Spirit in tri coloured tshirts and crazy looking wigs hoping the shutterbugs would catch our attention,only to realise way too many did the same... the excitement was building up. It was my first time to witness this nerve wrecking sport LIVE. It gave me goosebumps each time the entire stadium stood up and screamed in union...the longest wave formation of the crowd across the stadium.. wow what a feeling, nothing divided the human spirit here, and i guess eventually thats what matters in life as well... although we lost, the experience itself left a mark on my heart and something that i would treasure always! INDIA INDIA !!!
North Head with The Bhasi Bros
Drove down to the suburbs of Sydney to a beautiful place called NorthHead.. all i could see is the bright blue sky the mountains and feel the crisp air... Theres always something about the countryside that makes you feel connected with yourself. The walk to the creeks was exhilarating, the views were breathtaking and the journey with siblings cracking jokes and endless laughter was definitely worth the ride.
Sydney Harbour & Opera House
Anything that looks grandeur from afar looses its charm as you go closer, unlike the Taj ... For me the Opera House looked beautiful from far specially in the evening when it was lit up... but the closer i got i did not fathom it anymore... the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was beautiful though.
Taking the trains from home and wandering on your own was certainly the best part of all the days that i enjoyed the most.
Blue Mountains, Leura, Katoomba, Featherdale.. Nature At its Best ...
This was the best part of the trip... we both drove down to Blue mountains and it was the best place i ever had been to..Temperatures dipping down to 8 and 9 brrr cold chill windy rainy foggy all at the same time .... i thought to myself, if i ever would retire it would be in a place like this in the lap of nature, surrounding by beautiful green mountains, the crisp wind caressing your body and the drizzle drenching your soul... Sitting next to the fireplace at night sipping some wine and then falling asleep in the warmth from the fire ....
Leura was a small sleepy town closer to Blue Mountains... just one small lane with tiny boutiques selling amazing curios and other things, The breakfast here - Pan Cakes with Strawberry Coulis and fresh Cream was to die for. Blue mountain had 3 scenic rides. A cable car ride (with glass bottom) between the two mountain creeks... worlds steepest mining railway ride and another one all of which were something that gave me a high ... with breath taking views and nerve wrecking adventure..
Blue mountains are called as Blue Mountains, because the entire area around the 3 sisters looks blue due the oxygen mixing with the oil from the eucalyptus trees and emit a bluish light giving a different kind of freshness to the surroundings and a blue aura all around... The 3 sisters are the tall mountains standing next to each other, the locals have a story around it as to why these mountains were called The Three Sisters - An interesting one!
The Feather Dale Wildlife was a fun experience as well.. love the Koalas to bit, those sleepy huggable creatures are too cute. They sleep like 20 hours a day, feed on eucalyptus
leaves and wake up only for a couple of hours, what a life... the Kangaroos were a beautiful sight too specially with the little ones tucked in their mommys tummies... getting to experience all this in their natural habitat and not in cages was a lovely sight.. totally worth...
The Beaches, Nora Head Light House, Pelican Feeding and Kiama Blowhole
The landscapes change the way you perceive things..i feel every part on the earth would resemble like something that you have already seen.. like if i want tea estates and if i travel to Ooty in INDIA and if i travel to Cameron Highlands in Malyasia.. the landscapes would just be mirror images.. the only thing that would differ is the people (Natives & the food culture). Bondi Beach walk was an experience in itself, It was raining cats and dogs and so windy that i thought i would be blown off. The sea that had gone from looking calmer to ferocious.... scary and exciting at the same time!!!
The Nora head Light House Beach.. rocky beach.. with just a beautiful lighthouse.. very few tourists around, the sound of waves splashing against the rocks.. the sky changing its hues from orange blue purple... something just your eyes can capture and feel it ... no camera would justify this feeling.
The Pelican feeding was a touristy Thing.. but it still amazes me that everyday at a particular time even before the guy who would feed them arrived, the pelicans would reach the place before. Even during the time when there is day light savings and people change their clocks to match the new time, these creatures are smart enough to still make a point to reach the place for their daily dose of the Fish minus the chips... that reminds me.. the fish and chips and the aioli dipping... yum :).
The Great Ocean Road Drive was very scenic and magical. Our Destination for the day was Mount Kiama . Kiama is the worlds largest blow hole.
The water from the ocean gushes inside at a very high speed that pushes it up through an opening and water splashes all over like Lava oozing out forcefully from the earths crust...We would wait for a couple of minutes to see how high the water would reach and were lucky enough to witness that it went up quite high... Mission Accomplished another new experience added in the diary of life.
Jenolan Caves... out of the world experience. Zindagi na Milegi Dobara wala feeling.
The Jenolan Caves are Limestone Caves located in the Central Table Land region west of the Blue mountains in New South Wales. The Caves and Conservation Reserve are inscribed to form part of the UNESCO world Heritage site.
We went to the Orient Caves and the Imperial Caves. This cave contains some of the grandest formations in the complex and was steam cleaned to preserve them in 1968. Until 1954, this cave, along with the Temple of Baal and Ribbon Caves, were only accessible through the River Cave. All the formations that were formed inside due to millions of years of fossil deposits and limestone deposits were a wonder of nature... anything i would want to put in words would just spoil the beauty of the unseen part of the world.. just see for yourself once to feel what it feels like..
Outings to cousins place, bonding with my nieces, brother is law, co sister and shopping were a couple of other fun times, days passed by quickly and it was time to head back to Pavilion. Singapore Calling , Back to the Grind. Sydney you were a wonderful experience!
"I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery - air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy."
