Sydney, Here We Come!

Hello again...

We hope it's not too late to wish Selamat Menjalani Ibadah Puasa di Bulan Ramadhan Al-Mubarak..

How's our Gold Coast story? Still have time for our Sydney's journal? Okay, we took the 16 hour ride to Sydney with 3 stops in between. But then, their so called "R&R" is not like ours. It's like in the middle of nowhere with one gas station, one cafe and a few cars. Rasa macam dalam filem thriller pulak.. Tapi ada stop yang paling famous kat sana iaitu Big Prawn Restaurant.. terletak di Pacific Highway, Ballina. (Opps! Lupa pulak nak bagitau harga tiket bas dari Gold Coast, AUD225 for two person, boleh tahan mahal kan?, maklumlah last minute booking).

Day 5

Sharp 9.30am we arrived in Central Station Sydney (where railway and bus station located next to each other). Took a 372 bus from there (AUD3.20 pr person), straight to Malaysia Hall at Alison Road, Randwick. In Sydney from 7.00am-7.00pm weekday, certain bus stop especially in the city, you need to buy the ticket first before boarding the bus. First lesson for us in Sydney.

Sampai je kat Malaysia Hall, dengan keramahan Kak Nany (Asst. Warden) yang offer both of us Nasi Lemak, we felt so welcome apalagi bak kata pepatah, pucuk dicipta ulam mendatang la...Bedal terus..he..he..kalau dah melayu tu melayu jugak la...Disebabkan bilik kami tak sempat disiapkan dulu, Kak Nany menawarkan kami letakkan beg dulu dan have a rest. Sementara tu, siap buat laundry dan borak2 dengan student Malaysia kat sana..Kat sini, AUD12 per person per night.. Murah kan? Cuma kena travel sikit ke city centre..but then, still murah lagi..

Around noon, we took a bus again to city which only 15 mins ride. From Malaysia Hall, there are 372, 374, 376 going to city centre, plus a few going to Circular Quay.. But don't worry, it'll end up at the same area.. Our first stop, definitely the Sydney Opera House... your journey wouldn't be complete without it! Dari jauh, dah excited nampak..cumanya weather wasn't that good, but we managed to snap a few shots. From there you can walk to Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks and also visiting Museum of Contemporary Art. If you travel from Malaysia Hall, just take any bus going to Circulay Quay (AUD3.20per person).

From there, we walked up to the CBD area, where Faizal was so excited to find his music store, Virgin Megastore (inside an old building) and Red Eye Records (where they sell rare collections of music CD/Vinyl/collectibles). Maybe you guys wondering what type of things that usually we buy when we travel.. Normally, Faizal will find his CDs/DVDs or any movie/music collectibles, as for Anna, loves buying souvenirs and books. But then for those who're into heavy metal rock kind of thing, Red Eye is the place! For more info, please click here. For discounted books, visit Basement Bookshop@Central Station. First dinner in Sydney (Butter Croissant and coffee), itupun sambil makan mengigil sejuk, itu la..pergi masa winter. Still we had a wonderful dinner@Martin Place. I just love this place, mixture of an old and modern buildings. I wish we can preserve more here! Anyway, sepanjang George Street (main street that we walked) there're a lot of things you can see and shop. Since it's almost 7.00pm we took a bus back and had a good nite rest.

Day 6

Weather was cloudy, so decided to postpone our Blue Mountain trip to next day. Had our breakfast at Malaysia Hall, murah dan mengenyangkan! AUD5 each, klau nak dinner sekali kat sini pun boleh, just inform the chef and the will reserve the food for you! Also AUD5 each, betul2 berbaloi! Bought the tour voucher (AUD60 each including lunch) at Wake Up's Tour Desk. (I think this hostel is cool, not only it smack in the middle of the city and walking distance to everywhere, but the ambience is so welcoming). Click here for more info. Today, we spent more on transportation (by the way, it's quite pricey but i'll tell how you can save a bit). Bought our Day Tripper (unlimited ride on bus/train/ferry, AUD17 each),we took a train to Bondi Junction station, and a bus to get to Bondi Beach. Since it was cloudy and raining, we couldn't spend time by the beach, ended up window shopping along Campbell Parade and adjacent side streets. I'm sure it's really a nice place to hang out in summer! The Bondi Junction area itself, offers variety of shops and malls.

Headed back to Circular Quay, we took a ferry to Darling Harbour (which actually you can walk from Railway Square). There're a few stop along the route, we stopped at Sydney Aquarium which you can walk to IMAX, National Maritime Museum (admission is free), Cockle Bay Wharf and King Street Wharf. If you like to shop around here, you can visit Darling Harbour Harbourside Shops. Since dah beli Day Tripper mana-mana pergi semua naik bas, naik train maklumlah nak rasa berbaloi...he..he..Had cupcakes and coffee for lunch at Queen Victoria Building (another old building that they preserved), Anna puashati dapat jumpa kedai cupcake!

Sambung lagi jalan ke ANZAC Memorial and CBD area..Lagi satu yang kureng sikit kat sini..kedai semua tutup cepat la..5pm or 6pm except for Thursday itupun pukul 9.00 malam..Jadinya, pukul 7.00pm we took a bus (going to Maroubra Beach) to Abang Sam Restaurant yang baru dibuka 5 bulan...Abang Sam ni dah menetap kat sini lebih kurang 27 tahun..and at the same time he's handling Malaysia Hall's kitchen. Restoran Abang Sam ni senang je nak cari, terletak di Anzac Parade, kalau naik bas, betul2 berhenti depan restoran dia. Pekena pasembor sama teh tarik, hmmmmmm...we're in haven! Kalau nak ikutkan 20 mins walk from Malaysia Hall, tapi dah malam tak kuasa nak jalan..naik aje bas!

Day 7

Woke up early to catch our Blue Mountain Tour. We had to wait them at Sydney YHA around 7.00am..Pagi nyer... Our Blue Mountain "Happy Çoach" Tour is recommended. It's affordable and fun! Before we headed to City of Blue Mountain which took us 2 hours from city, the tour started with Sydney Olympic Stadium. Amazing, the complex is still in use and well maintained. Kalau perhatikan dalam gambar, ada banyak silinder yang tertulis nama2 sukarelawan semasa temasya itu berlangsung. I guess this is how they express their gratitude. Here is "Happy Coach" link.

We reached our first stop to look for wild kangaroo (tak ingat la..nama tempat tu) then Glenbrook Village for breakfast break! Then the journey continues to Jamison Valley where we took our first bushwalk...to Wenworth Falls..lebih kurang 2jam kot.. Lepas tu...ini memang nak cerita ni..ke Katoomba Falls...nak turun memang la best...about 15 mins but then to climb up, Faizal and I was struggling to death even it supposed to take only 15-20 mins to climb up. Punyalah..seksa..tapi we made it! Tapi tak banyak tour yang include this track..I'm glad we chose this tour. Jimi, the guide was so friendly and knowledgeable.. even his father lives in Blue Mountain.

About 1.30pm we had our lunch which was provided by the tour at the Echo Point, where Three Sisters formation is located. Ada cerita ni..pasal Three Sisters..but you guys can find it from internet! Then continued with our 2nd bushwalk..tapi ini ok jer..going down,,,the best part is going up...It is a unique ride through a tunnel in the side of the mountain then a hair-raising descent of 415 metres at a maximum grade of 52 degrees which passes an ancient rainforest area before reaching the Jamison Valley. Scenic Railway is the world's steepest incline railway and carries more than 850,000 passengers a year.(AUD10 each). Around 4pm we headed back to city...dalam van, semua tidur..penat...

Sampai je...city sambung lagi jalan..sampai la..terjumpa satu lagi restoran Melayu kat George Street/Valentine Street. Cafe Kasturi, tapi diaorang hotel pun ada...bangga tengok diaorang..customer ke cafe diaorang pun ramai..sempat jugak lah berkenalan dengan pengurusnya, Abang Roslan. Soto Ayam dia memang best!

Day 8

Ala...dah nak ke Melbourne malam ni, cepat betul masa berlalu... Sempat jugak berborak-borak dengan Kak Nany, Abang Sam dan Yusri (asst Abg Sam) during breakfast.. Diaorang kat sana semua baik2 memang rasa welcome..Check out and left our bags kat Malaysia Hall and headed to Paddy's Market, terletak di Chinatown, Hay Street. Market ni memang popular dan barangan variety. Anna memang shopping giler kat sini.. Souvenir kat sini banyak dan murah..kira boleh shopping untuk semua family and friend la kat Malaysia..Before that, we went to Fox Studio which is located somewhere close to Cricket Ground and Football Stadium. Actually the theme park is closed to public which they claimed a failure in 2001. But the area still in use for the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and some other entertainment place. This area called, The Entertainment Quarter. Tapi sayang la..backlot tak dapat tengok where they used to film Matrix, Star Wars, Mission Impossible and etc...

Lagi satu tip yang i promised you guys earlier on: Take the free shuttle 555 bus for city centre sight seeing.. Click here for info.

Before we took the train to Melbourne, we had our last dinner at Cafe Kasturi again, since it's nearer to the train station.

Wow! What a wonderful time we had in Sydney. We don't mind going back there again. Such a beautiful, well-organized, environmental friendly city and nice people too.. Sometimes just wondering... why do people like to migrate to Australia...

Anyway, stay tuned for more... in Melbourne!