Sydney 2014
This was my first non-Asia trip and I can say, it was Great! I love it there, but because I am a very warm-blooded person, staying long-term in a cold country may make me go out of mind. I've prepped my itinerary below and some details of my trip for your reference. Some may or may not apply to your situations, and the contents are solely for referencing only.
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TRAVEL DETAILS
| Travel Period: | 12th to 16th April 2014 |
| Hotel: | Central Station Hotel, located at 75 Wentworth Avenue Nearer to Museum Station than Central Station. We paid SGD554 for 4 nights, via Agoda. |
| Weather: | Cold (14 to 23°C) with light drizzle almost everyday, sunlight was a luxury but did last for a few hours per day. |
| People: | Nice and friendly |
| Cleanliness: | Generally clean everywhere, including streets, eateries and public areas |
| Navigation: | Streets are easy to find and navigate around. |
| Transport: | You may want to buy MyMulti pass for bus, train and ferry transportation. For me, I've walked most of the time, hence it was not applicable to me. Do note that there's a AUD12 gate pass price included in the train ticket from and to Airport, which may make up the total cost of AUD16.80 to AUD17.20 per ticket. |
| Expenses: | For Singaporeans, here's what I've understand in terms of expenses after spending 5 days there. When I've exchanged currencies for use, the rate was AUD1 to SGD1.17, but the cost of living there was about 2.5 times that of in SG. For example, a simple meal in SG food court cost about SGD5, in SYD food court, at least AUD10. * It is just a basic comparison and may be subjective. |
| Others: | From what I've observed, Sydney is largely populated by Asians and minority were caucasians there. There were even Korean and Thai towns, and a Chinatown with a nice garden accompanying it. |
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ITINERARY
I've missed out some places to go and had placed that list at the end of the itinerary. You might want to take a look and add in to your itinerary. My itinerary is laid out chronologically.
**IMPORTANT**
When you reached Sydney Airport, grab hold of a copy of the SYDNEY GUIDE in whatever language you are comfortable with. It helped us a lot in navigating in the city and it gives a lot of coupons to use for sightseeing ticket purchases. I think it was really good, so do not forget about that.
When you reached Sydney Airport, grab hold of a copy of the SYDNEY GUIDE in whatever language you are comfortable with. It helped us a lot in navigating in the city and it gives a lot of coupons to use for sightseeing ticket purchases. I think it was really good, so do not forget about that.
DAY ONE
| EAT | JOE BLACK CAFE, located at 'The Common Business Centre', 27 Commonwealth St |
| EAT | PHO HIA HOI, located at 711 George St |
| VISIT | DARLING HARBOUR |
| SHOP | HARBOURSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE, located at Darling Harbour |
| BUY | BRITISH LOLLI located in Harbourside Shopping Centre, 2nd floor |
Recommendation 01 - British Lolli (Candy Shop)
The staffs are very nice and they allow you to try any candy that you are interested before purchasing. We've tried the Bon Bons and Acid Drops, and bought them for friends and family. Really good service and salivating candies.
The staffs are very nice and they allow you to try any candy that you are interested before purchasing. We've tried the Bon Bons and Acid Drops, and bought them for friends and family. Really good service and salivating candies.
DAY TWO
| VISIT | HYDE PARK, located along Elizabeth St |
| VISIT | ANZEC MEMORIAL, located at Hyde Park (FREE Entrance) |
| EAT | PIE FACE, located at Elizabeth St x Bathurst St |
| SHOP | WESTFIELD SYDNEY, located at Pitt St x Market St |
| VISIT | SYDNEY TOWER EYE, located in Westfield (Tickets at AUD26 per pax) |
| EAT | MYER FOODCOURT, located directly opposite of Westfield |
| VISIT | QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING, located at 455 George St (Can be linked from Myer B1) |
| EAT | THE NUTS SHOP, located in QVB |
| VISIT | THE STRAND ARCADE, located at 412 - 414 George St |
| EAT | MCDONALD'S STRAND, located opposite of The Strand Arcade |
| VISIT | ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS and MRS MACQUARIES CHAIR |
| VISIT | SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE |
| EAT | FISH & CHIPS, located at Circular Quay Station (only has takeaway) |
| VISIT | THE ROCKS, located near to Museum of Contemporary Arts |
Recommendation 02 - Pie Face (Pie Shop)
This seems like a franchise commonly found in Sydney. You can find it in almost every corner. The pies are to die for, along with good coffee, it's gonna make a good breakfast set. The staffs are friendly and knowledgeable with their products. They also will give advices when you are not sure what is that that you want to eat or drink. The filling of the pie is overflowing (& taste awesome) as you bite and can make your experience really messy.
Recommendation 03 - Queen Victoria Building (Shopping Mall)
This building is full of history and the architecture details were really fascinating and beautiful. Even if you are not interested in having tea or shopping there, the design of the building is definitely sufficient of a reason for you to visit and take a look. No harm!
Recommendation 04 - The Nuts Shop (Chocolate and Nuts Shop)
The lady working there is nice and they provide free tasting before purchase, like British Lolli. The chocolate cranberries are great and i've bought a few bags of it for self-consumptions and as gifts! They've also got nougats at half and one kg packs for you to bring back as gift!
Recommendation 05 - Royal Botanic Gardens & Mrs Macquaries Point (MMP)
I know I put Mrs Macquaries Chair(MMC) in the itinerary, but fret not, it was not a typo. MMC is located slightly after MMP. At MMP you can have a great view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. If you walk through Royal Botanic Gardens, and arrive at around sunset, you will be able to have the best view captured. MMC is the chair-like memorial landmark and it's also a good walk to reach there. Enjoy the view, the sunset and the breeze by sitting on the grass at MMP. Believe me, it's just gonna be awesome.
This seems like a franchise commonly found in Sydney. You can find it in almost every corner. The pies are to die for, along with good coffee, it's gonna make a good breakfast set. The staffs are friendly and knowledgeable with their products. They also will give advices when you are not sure what is that that you want to eat or drink. The filling of the pie is overflowing (& taste awesome) as you bite and can make your experience really messy.
Recommendation 03 - Queen Victoria Building (Shopping Mall)
This building is full of history and the architecture details were really fascinating and beautiful. Even if you are not interested in having tea or shopping there, the design of the building is definitely sufficient of a reason for you to visit and take a look. No harm!
Recommendation 04 - The Nuts Shop (Chocolate and Nuts Shop)
The lady working there is nice and they provide free tasting before purchase, like British Lolli. The chocolate cranberries are great and i've bought a few bags of it for self-consumptions and as gifts! They've also got nougats at half and one kg packs for you to bring back as gift!
Recommendation 05 - Royal Botanic Gardens & Mrs Macquaries Point (MMP)
I know I put Mrs Macquaries Chair(MMC) in the itinerary, but fret not, it was not a typo. MMC is located slightly after MMP. At MMP you can have a great view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. If you walk through Royal Botanic Gardens, and arrive at around sunset, you will be able to have the best view captured. MMC is the chair-like memorial landmark and it's also a good walk to reach there. Enjoy the view, the sunset and the breeze by sitting on the grass at MMP. Believe me, it's just gonna be awesome.
DAY THREE
| EAT | CAFFE TIAMO, located on 374 Pitt St (Korea Town) |
| VISIT | TARONGA ZOO, located at Bradleys Head Rd, go via Darling Harbour |
| EAT | PANCAKES ON THE ROCK, located in Harbourside Shopping Centre, 1st floor |
Recommendation 06 - Taronga Zoo
We went to the Captain Cook Cruises counter at Darling Harbour and purchased a Ferry + Cable car + Entrance ticket at AUD51.50 per pax and boarded the board at Pier 26(the Aquarium pier). We reached around 12:30pm and left at 4:45pm. The trip was great but if you are more interested with closer, or rather touchable experience with the animals, try the Featherdale Zoo instead.
Recommendation 07 - Pancakes on the Rock (Pancake Restaurant)
We've tried their 'Chocolate Jewels', which includes 2pcs of their chocolate pancakes, a ball of chocolate ice cream along with chocolate fudge and whipped cream, and 'Tandoori Chicken Pizza', which the ingredients is like what the name suggested. Both are really interestingly great and delicious! I will personally recommend this as well if you were to be at Harbourside Mall!
We went to the Captain Cook Cruises counter at Darling Harbour and purchased a Ferry + Cable car + Entrance ticket at AUD51.50 per pax and boarded the board at Pier 26(the Aquarium pier). We reached around 12:30pm and left at 4:45pm. The trip was great but if you are more interested with closer, or rather touchable experience with the animals, try the Featherdale Zoo instead.
Recommendation 07 - Pancakes on the Rock (Pancake Restaurant)
We've tried their 'Chocolate Jewels', which includes 2pcs of their chocolate pancakes, a ball of chocolate ice cream along with chocolate fudge and whipped cream, and 'Tandoori Chicken Pizza', which the ingredients is like what the name suggested. Both are really interestingly great and delicious! I will personally recommend this as well if you were to be at Harbourside Mall!
DAY FOUR
| Visit & Eat | SYDNEY FISH MARKET, located at Pyrmont Bridge Rd (Great for raw and cooked seafood) |
| VISIT | POWERHOUSE MUSEUM, located at 500 Harris St |
| EAT | DAE JANG KUM KOREAN BBQ RESTAURANT, located at 35-37 Goulburn St |
| WATCH | CAPITOL THEATRE, located at 13 Campbell St |
RECOMMENDATION 08 - Sydney Fish Market
There are a few stalls selling cooked and raw seafood, we tried the one at Nicole's and it was great. We had a soft-shell crab, some salt-and-pepper calamari rings, and half a dozen of baked cheese and baked bacon oysters. Oh My Goodness they are heavenly! We chose outdoor table to have a good view of the boats, the cooling weather with a bit of sunshine, lots of irritating pigeons flying around, along with our great delicacies on the table, ready for indulgence. If you want to experience this too, I would suggest you have your food covered and walk quickly to your table. You won't want any pigeons to attack your food from behind. Trust me, we witnessed a few victims already.
There are a few stalls selling cooked and raw seafood, we tried the one at Nicole's and it was great. We had a soft-shell crab, some salt-and-pepper calamari rings, and half a dozen of baked cheese and baked bacon oysters. Oh My Goodness they are heavenly! We chose outdoor table to have a good view of the boats, the cooling weather with a bit of sunshine, lots of irritating pigeons flying around, along with our great delicacies on the table, ready for indulgence. If you want to experience this too, I would suggest you have your food covered and walk quickly to your table. You won't want any pigeons to attack your food from behind. Trust me, we witnessed a few victims already.
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MISSED BUT WORTH A TRY
1. Hurricane Grill, located at Harbourside Shopping Centre 2nd floor, next to British Lolli
Pretty popular by the look of the crowd waiting for seats. Price is pretty steep too and was recommended as a MUST TRY, but because this was a budget trip so we gave that a miss. The smell indeed was intense and appetising. Perhaps you can give it a try!2. National Maritime Museum, located at Darling Harbour, next to Harbourside Shopping Centre
3. Featherdale Wildlife Park, located at 217 Kildare Rd
Better zoo for close encounters with the animals.
4. Australian Museum, located at 6 College St
5. Paddy's Market, located in Market City, Thomas St x Hay St (Wed to Sun, 9am to 5pm)
We wanted to go but arrived late on our first day there, then subsequent days we didn't have it in our plans and when we did, it was Tuesday and we then noticed that their operating days are from Wed to Sun, 9am to 5pm. Too bad for us. If you want to go there, do take note of this!
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PUBLIC NOTICE
Zozo Korean Restaurant and Madang Korean Restaurant were recommended but both had ceased operations.
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