Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Serendipity in Sydney
This is the first day of my 25-day trip to the Southern Hemisphere. The 14-hour flight was smooth. I spent that time sleeping, doing a crossword puzzle and catching glimpses of the in-flight movie, The Devil Wears Prada. I was bummed about missing Halloween (because I left San Francisco the night of Oct. 30 and crossed the International Date Line). I had an idea of celebrating on the flight by dressing up in robes, turban and a fake beard but thought better of it. On the plane I sat next to a retired Aussie couple who were in the States for two weeks. The missus told me what to expect in Australia: must-see sights, high cost of living but no tipping needed. When I asked about Bondi Beach, Australia's most famous strip of sand, she brought up racial tensions that flared up last Christmas between whites and the Lebanese community. "The way I see it," she said, "if you move into a new country you should try to fit in."
First ever New York Times Magazine crossword completion
I landed in Sydney, Australia's largest city, at 8 a.m. On the shuttle to my hostel I met one young guy from Hong Kong and another from Montreal. Both were in Australia indefinitely on working holiday visas. The Quebecer, Greg, had never even crossed the ocean before, but he decided to uproot himself from his job and life in Canada and make a go of it Down Under. Fortunately, waitering and bartending pays well here, so he'll be able to save a bit and travel around the country.
The hostel I'm staying at is called Original Backpackers. It's located in the Kings Cross neighborhood, which seems to have a lot of restaurants and bars that cater to travellers, as well as seedier elements. The hostel is pretty large but the dorm beds are a bit cramped.
Welcome to my humble abode
Around midday I set out to explore Sydney. I took a walk to George Street, which is the heart of downtown. It was a busy day. I saw loads of (a common Aussie/Kiwi/Britishism that means "a lot of"—and one I would quickly get tired of) men and women dressed in business attire. Business dress is pretty conservative (perhaps a British legacy); on this warm spring day most men I saw wore dark suits and women were wearing skirts or dresses with high heels. (I think the women are more attractive here than back in the Bay Area. Call it the grass-is-always-greener syndrome. To be fair, the men are striking, too.) The street scene is multi-ethnic. Chinese are the largest minority ethnic group, followed by Japanese, Koreans and Indians. Society seems fairly well integrated.
Sittin' by the quay near the bridge
I walked up George Street to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Along the way I passed a large gym with huge plate windows. Through them I could see a basketball court with a game in progress. It turns out the jerseys were printed with "ebay.com.au"—the Aussie offshoot of my employer! I went in to take a look. There were two dozen people watching the game from the sidelines. I asked one of them if he worked at eBay. He affirmed, but not only does he work at eBay, he is at Shopping.com, the same division that I work for! I struck up a conversation with him, and after the game ended he took me back to the office. On the 23rd floor of an office building, it has a gorgeous view of Sydney Harbour. Then I met the rest of the Aussie Shopping.com gang, including one American girl who had transferred from the Bay Area office. They invited me for a drink after work tomorrow evening, which addresses in a terrific way the question of how I will meet people on my journey. Talk about serendipity! I only hope my boss doesn't find out I'm close to the satellite office and ask me to fix bugs.
Team eBay lost—they execute auctions much better than the pick and roll
View from the eBay Australia office
Shopping.com Australia team. From left: Adam, me, Katy, John
When I left the office I walked to the Sydney Opera House and took some pictures. Then I passed Circular Quay, which is a busy ferry landing. It's similar to South Street Seaport in New York, as it has nice restaurants on the waterfront. It also has ethnic musicians performing on the sidewalk to a throng of tourists. Since this is Australia, these musicians aren't Incans belting out "El Condor Pasa" on flutes, but rather Aborigines on the didgeridoo.
Sydney skyline
After the waterfront I strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens. The highlight was seeing exotic birds up close, including the ibis and cockatoo. As unlikely as it seems, there is also an enormous flock of bats living here. During the day they nest in the trees, but at sunset they wake up and fly about, creating a dark blotch in the sky. All of these creatures of flight make a terrible noise.
View from Royal Botanic Gardens
I capped off my first day in Sydney by taking a walk on top of the city—literally. I joined a BridgeClimb, a tour in which you put on a harness and climb a series of ladders and steps up the cantilever arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. My tour was at sunset. This made for a beautiful skyline, especially as the sky grew dark and the lights of the city turned on. The tour is pricey, but it made for a fabulous three hours.
Flying foxes waiting to fly
All in all, I had a memorable introduction to Australia. At the end of the day I still had a lot of energy; jetlag was a non-factor. That doesn't mean I wasn't a bit out of sorts here—after all, I am in a foreign country. Some things took getting used to, especially the traffic. As dumb as it sounds, I was thrown off by cars driving on the left side of the street, and having to look to the right first when crossing the street. On the bright side, I have two weeks to get the hang of it.
That's people up there
(For more pictures from Australia, visit my Picasa web album.)
