#1: Sunset of Sydney Tower. HIGHLIGHTS: YHA, Town Hall, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Tower, Sunset. First of all, what does #AussieOzzyOi means? I wanted to have a hastag for my Instagram photos, something special and unique. So I thought of #AussieOzzyOi. 'Aussie' is the slang term for Australia and Australians. 'Ozzy' and 'Oi' comes from The Ozzy Chant, a cheer performed at Australian sports events. It is usually performed by a crowd to support an athlete or a sports team. An individual will chant 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! (or Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy)' and the crowd will respond with 'Oi, Oi, Oi!'. After travelling for about 7hrs via Scoot, I am finally in Sydney! With my new passport that uses the improved biometric technology, airport check-out at Sydney is so fast, it takes only 5mins! BUT, baggage collection took such a loooooong time... We landed at around 1220hrs but only manage to catch the train at 1400hrs. We took a 15mins train ride to Central Station where our hostel is located. The train (which is like Singapore's MRT) is so cool! It's double deck with lots of seats! Singapore should totally have these trains instead as the MRTs are forever so pack and everyone is always eyeing for a seat.
#2: Train station: International Airport Station.
#3: Sydney's double-deck train. Singapore should totally have this!
#4: Train station: Central Station. We stayed in Sydney YHA Central for 4 nights, and flying off to Ballina on the fifth day. The hostel is actually a backpackers hotel, simple and clean, so don't expect much. Our room consists of a double bed, single bed, bathroom with hot and cold water (sink and shower), a bench, coffee table and 2 chairs, as well as an open wardrobe and some hooks. Each of us gets 2 pillows, 2 bath towels, 2 soaps and a hair dryer available in the bathroom. The floor is carpeted but the room does not have a controllable air con. It's centralised air con with preset temperature and timer, so it only comes on in the night. Thus, it can be rather stuffy in the day. There is laundry services available just outside our room, AUD4 for each wash. Also a lounge area with sofas, tables, a large tv and a vending machine selling snacks. As well as a pantry available for hot drinking water, etc. Wifi is available at $5 each day (24hrs) or $10 for 3 consecutive days. After checking in, it was already 1500hrs, so our plan to go to Luna Park (theme park) has to be cancelled as it closes at 1800hrs.
#5: YHA. 'YHA' stands for 'Youth Accommodation Hostel'. There are various YHA around Sydney and the YHA that we lived in is Sydney Central, located just opposite Central Railway Station. SYDNEY CENTRAL YHA
Site: http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/nsw/sydney-surrounds/sydney-central-backpackers-hostel/
Address: 11 Rawson Place, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.
Check-in: 1300hrs.
Wifi: Extra charges (AUD5/night).
Breakfast: Extra charges (AUD7/day).
Nearest Train Station: Central. Instead, we walked down George St to Market City (shopping mall) to get our prepaid cards and lunch. Me and my friend shared the 3GB data plan for $30 as we both had an iPad. By the way, the usual prepaid card with line and data cost $2 per day that comes with 500MB data usage and unlimited call time and messaging within Australia. After that, we head down to Hungry Jacks to have our lunch! They are the Australian master fast food franchise of Burger King Corporation. I ordered a Chicken Crunch Peri Peri burger meal that cost $7.70 for a regular size. The burger is like McSpicy but the patty is coated with cornflakes and comes with chilli mayo sauce. It was so nice and crispy! Not too spicy...
#6: Market City.
MARKET CITY Site: http://www.marketcity.com.au/
Address: 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia.
Opening Hrs: 1000 - 1900hrs.
Nearest Train Station: Central.
#7: Performance along the streets.
#8: Hungry Jacks - Chicken Crunch Peri Peri Burger Meal. We continued on George St and passed by St Andrew's Cathedral - the oldest cathedral in town, followed by Town Hall - the Mayor's office, and where Town Hall Station is located. We went into Queen Victoria Building (shopping mall). It's a really old building in Victorian-style architecture, it's so beautiful!
#9: St Andrew's Cathedral.
#10: Town Hall.
#11: Queen Victoria Building.
#12: The inside of Queen Victoria Building.
#13: The inside of Queen Victoria Building. QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING Site: https://www.qvb.com.au/ Address: 455 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia. Opening Hrs: 1000 - 1800hrs, till 2100hrs on Thu. Sun: 1100 - 1700hrs. Nearest Train Station: Town Hall. On the other side of Queen Victoria Building, it's Sydney Tower. Sydney Tower is located within Westfield (shopping mall). It costs us AUD69 for a 4D cinema experience (that shows a short clip about Sydney), the Observertory Deck and the Skywalk.
#14: The Sydney Tower Eye 4D Cinema Experience.
#15: Sydney Tower. SYDNEY TOWER Site: http://www.sydneytowereye.com.au/ Address: 100 Market St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia. Admission: AUD26.50 (observatory deck), AUD70 (skywalk + 4D cinema + observatory deck). Opening Hrs: 0900 - 2200hrs. Nearest Train Station: St. James. The Observatory Deck gives you a bird's eyeview of Sydney. We were lucky enough as the sun was about to set, it was so beautiful. The sky is in a radient of blue, pink and orange, and we could see the sun slowly dissappearing behind the mountains. After this, it was time for the Skywalk. We had to wear a blue jumpsuit over as harnasses are required to be worn. The Skywalk consists of a walk around the Tower in the open. It was so cold and the wind was so damn strong! It feels like my face just got out from the freezer. My ears were so cold and numb, it feels like they are going to drop anytime! It was such an awesome and unforgettable experience.
#16: Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House from the Observatory Deck.
#17: Sunset from the Observatory Deck.
#18: Skywalk Experience. We headed back to YHA and had our dinner at a Chinese halal restaurant near to our hostel. I had Braised Noodles Soup for AUD13.80 and it was so good! The portion is huge too! Good for 2 person. I then went to EzyMart (mini mart) to get some cup noodles, just in case if I'm hungry. It was AUD5.50 for 2... WTF?!! 😱😱😱 Hahaha... This sums up day 1!
#19: My dinner - Braised Noodles Soup. EXPENSES OF THE DAY: YHA Accomodation + Breakfast - AUD129/night (twin room with attached bathroom) 3GB Data Plan - AUD16 (halved with my friend) Lunch at Hungry Jacks - AUD7.70 Sydney Tower Experience - AUD69 Dinner - AUD13.80 Cup Noodles - AUD5.50 24hrs Wifi - AUD5 (due to system error, we weren't able to continue using the data for the day)