Sydney, snuffles and heading home...
Jul. 14th, 2005 06:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynAnd so here I am again, sitting in Sydney in an internet cafe waiting to get my bus to the airport. Tonight the Sydney adventure is over, pierot and I are heading back to Melbourne, and then leaving for London on Sunday, apparently arriving home on Monday instead of Tuesday as anticipated. My shopping is mostly done (although that pink stuffed koala for ksirafai remains elusive) and I'm getting ready to go home. Jez and I went whale watching yesterday and both wound up getting splashed, leaving me with a nasty cold in the head. I want somewhere to flop!
So. How has my holiday been going so far?
Jeremiah's Family
Last Sunday was spent having curry with Jeremiah's extended family, and a wonderful curry it was as well! Proper, thick home cooked dahl, with thick pressure cooker cooked rice and lovely vegetable curry. I spent the entire evening in a nostalgic haze, whittering about Sri Lanka and Nepal. Jez mocked me greatly afterwards for using the Sri Lanka card as my 'survive any conversation' card. I also survived the 15 minutes of Christian prayer before the meal without bursting into flames which was a relief. I always feel a little uncomfortable around deeply religious people, which I think I can put down to not being baptised. It's an odd quirk.
It was also odd meeting jez's family due to the Bhurger thing. For those who don't know, jez's family are of Sri Lankan Bhurger descent - the Sri Lankan Bhurgers being the descendents of the original Dutch and Portugese settlers in Sri Lanka who intermarried with the native Singhalese. Michael Ondaatje, who wrote 'The English Patient', was of Bhurger descent and once said that his family were known for their odd grab bag of racial characteristics - one generation could be blue eyed and look remarkably Dutch, and then the next generation could look deeply Asian. His father was very dark, and his mother was very fair - apparently before Michael Ondaatje was born his parents were told they were likely to produce a patchwork baby. Jez's family had that same amazing mix of features - ranging from the very dark to the very fair, and sometimes with two dark parents producing a child as fair as Jeremiah (like his cousin, Kylie, both of who's parents are very dark). The other thing that was interesting was the obvious mix of Asian and westernised culture that they seemed to have.
Did I mention that they cooked amazing curry as well?
Sydney
So. Sydney. This is going to be summarised a bit, but suffice it to say that I've had a really nice time. Due to wonderful people like Nic and Mandy loaning myself and jez a flat in Melbourne, I got to blow all our accomodation budget on three nights in a four star hotel. Go me! It was glorious - it offered wonderous food via room service (I used room service! First time ever! I felt even more decedent) and had a swimming pool in the basement, all in the middle of the Sydney CBD.
Sydney itself was interesting - very different to Melbourne. I'm still trying to figure out whether this is because we were visiting Sydney as tourists, and lacked the local guides etc, or whether it is because Sydney is a very different kind of place. It felt a lot more energised, more pressured, a lot more like London than laid back Melbourne. The buildings all seemed higher, and more modern, and everything seemed to hark back to the ocean - the sculpture, the tourist attractions, the museums etc. The shopping was much pricier and the streets were much more dominated by chain stores instead of the quirky little shops that Melbourne has. On the other hand, it was a bigger place, with a lot more to do as a tourist. The Sydney Aquarium was also amazing - we saw a platypus! I think that makes it all worthwhile.
Plans
Like I said, I'm now going to go and get my bus to the airport, and then back to Melbourne. Jeremiah and I will be there until Sunday, when we vanish off into the weird world of travel. I'll be checking e mail tomorrow, and then vanish. I'm a little worried about how hard it'll be to get from Heathrow to Acorn Walk in the wake of the bombings. Hopefully we'll make it!
And that's me!
pierot and I are heading back to Melbourne, and then leaving for London on Sunday, apparently arriving home on Monday instead of Tuesday as anticipated. My shopping is mostly done (although that pink stuffed koala for ksirafai remains elusive) and I'm getting ready to go home. Jez and I went whale watching yesterday and both wound up getting splashed, leaving me with a nasty cold in the head. I want somewhere to flop!So. How has my holiday been going so far?
Jeremiah's Family
Last Sunday was spent having curry with Jeremiah's extended family, and a wonderful curry it was as well! Proper, thick home cooked dahl, with thick pressure cooker cooked rice and lovely vegetable curry. I spent the entire evening in a nostalgic haze, whittering about Sri Lanka and Nepal. Jez mocked me greatly afterwards for using the Sri Lanka card as my 'survive any conversation' card. I also survived the 15 minutes of Christian prayer before the meal without bursting into flames which was a relief. I always feel a little uncomfortable around deeply religious people, which I think I can put down to not being baptised. It's an odd quirk.
It was also odd meeting jez's family due to the Bhurger thing. For those who don't know, jez's family are of Sri Lankan Bhurger descent - the Sri Lankan Bhurgers being the descendents of the original Dutch and Portugese settlers in Sri Lanka who intermarried with the native Singhalese. Michael Ondaatje, who wrote 'The English Patient', was of Bhurger descent and once said that his family were known for their odd grab bag of racial characteristics - one generation could be blue eyed and look remarkably Dutch, and then the next generation could look deeply Asian. His father was very dark, and his mother was very fair - apparently before Michael Ondaatje was born his parents were told they were likely to produce a patchwork baby. Jez's family had that same amazing mix of features - ranging from the very dark to the very fair, and sometimes with two dark parents producing a child as fair as Jeremiah (like his cousin, Kylie, both of who's parents are very dark). The other thing that was interesting was the obvious mix of Asian and westernised culture that they seemed to have.
Did I mention that they cooked amazing curry as well?
Sydney
So. Sydney. This is going to be summarised a bit, but suffice it to say that I've had a really nice time. Due to wonderful people like Nic and Mandy loaning myself and jez a flat in Melbourne, I got to blow all our accomodation budget on three nights in a four star hotel. Go me! It was glorious - it offered wonderous food via room service (I used room service! First time ever! I felt even more decedent) and had a swimming pool in the basement, all in the middle of the Sydney CBD.
Sydney itself was interesting - very different to Melbourne. I'm still trying to figure out whether this is because we were visiting Sydney as tourists, and lacked the local guides etc, or whether it is because Sydney is a very different kind of place. It felt a lot more energised, more pressured, a lot more like London than laid back Melbourne. The buildings all seemed higher, and more modern, and everything seemed to hark back to the ocean - the sculpture, the tourist attractions, the museums etc. The shopping was much pricier and the streets were much more dominated by chain stores instead of the quirky little shops that Melbourne has. On the other hand, it was a bigger place, with a lot more to do as a tourist. The Sydney Aquarium was also amazing - we saw a platypus! I think that makes it all worthwhile.
Plans
Like I said, I'm now going to go and get my bus to the airport, and then back to Melbourne. Jeremiah and I will be there until Sunday, when we vanish off into the weird world of travel. I'll be checking e mail tomorrow, and then vanish. I'm a little worried about how hard it'll be to get from Heathrow to Acorn Walk in the wake of the bombings. Hopefully we'll make it!
And that's me!
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 09:40 am (UTC)You arent baptized? 0.0
*pushes through her hair, looking for the triple 6's*
As you are aware (probably) We have much to talk about when you guys get home!
Have fun, be safe, see you soon.
Miss you guys!
no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 02:54 am (UTC)Oh - I did say that jez ran some of his play-yourself game for the folks out here, didn't I? Erm...I think we may need run a session of that quite soonish. I have some stuff to tell you and Ginnie. I think you may never let me leave a room on my own again. *looks sheepish*
Miss you too! It's going to be really nice to see you again.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-16 09:33 am (UTC)It's the only way.
:P
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 09:41 am (UTC):)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 09:45 am (UTC)(and, of course, I meant 'Gloucester Road'. But that's because I can't type, not because I want you to get lost in the morass of trainlines being un-bombed... ;P)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-16 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 06:01 am (UTC)And you guys are saying that civilisation wasn't affected.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-16 09:35 am (UTC)I'll protect you. *nods sagely* Trust me. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 11:00 am (UTC)Certainly at my hotel, what made it impressive was the fact that they really put all the trimmings on - posh metal hat to stop the food getting cold, fancy tray, enough cutlery to not only eat but also conduct a medium-sized war. It's a very "I'm in a movie now" thing.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 11:39 am (UTC)The differences between Sydney and Melbourne come about diue to the way they were built. Sydneyt evolved quite slowly, and when modernisation came through., it swept a lot of the much more temporary structures aside. Melbourne was mainly bguilt of Gold Rush moneyt, so it had more impressive permanent structures, and for a very long time was much richer than Sydney. This meant when the city started to buoild skyscrapers, there were many older buildings that couldn't be knocked down, so it maintains a slower, older ambience.
Also the fact that Sydney is full of drug dealers helps the pace. You've come back with a sniffle you say?
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 11:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 12:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 12:18 pm (UTC)Personally, with a lack of bag and baggage to cart around, I tend to go with the cheaper option; for I am, essentially, a holder of an Oyster Card, so can avoid most of the paying-money thing and just bring a book. The baggage there is not much of, so I figure we let them decide - or possibly have a long and convoluted discussion on the various methods of transport between Heathrow and central London on Sally's LJ, just to make her feel all popular and warm. *grins* Everyone needs more comments.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 02:57 am (UTC)I clearly need to write up another entry on sex or Cam. Those are the only things which ever really get everyone talking on my LJ.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-16 09:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 05:18 pm (UTC)