Sydney (2013)

This is a late post, but it’s always better late than never.

Was in Sydney for winter 2013 (down there, this means around June)! Weather was great for people like me who live in a tropical country.

Scoot!

Flew there using Scoot!

Compared to other budget airlines from Singapore, Scoot offered a direct flight to Sydney.

Our plane was a Boeing 777, compared to other budget airlines Airbus’ A330 (to Manila/Hongkong), the 777 has better leg room and more toilets.

We also opted to “fly with food”. Our meal came with a can of Pringles and drink.

Some things I’ve learned form our Scoot (budget air) experience to Sydney.

1. Some passengers, even those who travel with children will not purchase any food to eat! This was weird for me since the flight is more than 8 hours long.
2. Airline staff will ask you NOT to consume food NOT bought from the airline, but I never saw them stop a passenger from eating their own sandwich.
3. Bring an EMPTY water bottle. You can fill it up with drinking water once you are at the boarding gates or even while you’re inside the plane. There are water faucets near the lavatory.

Snowy Mountain

So why does a family from a tropical country visit Sydney during winter? Well we wanted to see real snow.

Quick tips:

1. Renting pants is expensive, even if I was there during off-peak season! If you can bring extra jeans, then you can save around AUD 20.00+
2. Renting shoes is easy and reasonable, no need to buy snow shoes. There are a lot of tourists using regular shoes on the snow, but always consider that the snow is wet and the water can easily enter your shoes.

Sadly we came too early and the mountain only had artificial snow! But, it was more than enough to have fun.

We rented a full house which allowed us to cook our own food!

Here’s a view from the back.

Canberra

Since we were already at Snowy Mountain, we decided to make a quick stop at Canberra (capital of Australia).

We stopped at this park which provided a free BBQ pit! And we also visited the Parliament House.

Sydney

We stayed in the west side of Sydney; we needed to take the train for around an hour to reach the city.

Compared to Singapore’s MRT, Sydney needs to upgrade their ticketing system! During our short stay there, we had our own share of card failure stories.

Here are some photos I’ve taken…

 

Inside QVB

And I guess a trip around Sydney won’t be complete without Harry’s Meat Pie!

Hop on Hop off bus

To maximize our stay, we rode Sydney’s Hop on Hop off bus!

Bondi Beach

No trip to Sydney will be complete without a visit to Bondi Beach!

Again, for people like us from a tropical country… how many times do you get to walk in the beach at noon with denim pants and not sweat?

While we were there, we also decided to have lunch at a nearby fast food which sells fried sea food.

Fish Market

If you love seafood, then a visit to the Fish Market is a must!

Birkenhead Point

Also spent a day at Birkenhead Point for Outlet shopping!

Mandarin Picking

Timing of our arrival allowed us to visit a farm.

We heard that Mandarin picking is a seasonal attraction and we were lucky enough to experience it.

You can also pick mushrooms!

Blue Mountains

Friends told us that a visit to Blue Mountains is a must since it’s not that far from the city…We didn’t ride the attractions available, but the view was great!

Kangaroo

Also had a chance to see Kangaroos!

Tax Refund

Australia has a tax refund system for tourists. Make sure you keep your receipts when you go shopping. Would be better if you can hand carry your purchased items as the officer who attended us had this requirement.

Our Australia was great!

Would love to see more places but I guess those places we missed out will be for our next visit.

Which part of Sydney do I want to return to… definitely the Fish Market!