First Impressions of Oz....

They say that first impressions are are lasting one. If this is the case then the term "gods country" sticks in my head when I landed in Sydney for the first time. Though it was a long and drawn out flight (mad props to Jean and Yang for our stopover in SF), our 6:30am arrival into the city was rewarded by a ferry trip that over looked the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was literarly the scene out of "Finding Nemo" when Marlin and Doree popped their heads out of the water was how we felt when we turned the corner on our ferry to discover Australia's most recognized landmarks.

Our first 10 days in this city has been a great start and I couldn't have asked for more. Major thanks to our current hosts Sarah and Geoff for putting up with us homeless Canadians.
My description of the city is that it's a cross between Vancouver, NYC, Miami, and San Francisco all in one. Sydney offers a bit of everything for everyone. Beaches for miles surrounded by cliffs overlooking the ocean, animal life for the nature lovers at the largest aquarium in the world, or perhaps a relaxing afternoon stroll in what seems like the upper west side in Manhattan.

My adventures thus far includes Darling Harbour, Paddy's Market, the Sydney Opera House, Blue Mountains, the three sisters, the infamous Bondi Beach, the Sydney Aquarium, the Olympic Stadium where we swam in the worlds fastest pool and who can forget my first time driving on the other side of the road.

The people here are something else as well. Everyone always seems to go out of their way to help you out as well as try and give you as much information as possible without looking for anything in return. For instance, the first day I went to sign up my bank account, within half an hour, the attendant helping me offered us a place to stay, weblinks to job sites as well as the local scoop on what's happening around town.

Other notables that have also been pleasant are the following:

1. Tipping is not required at all

2. Taxes are already included in the price and you don't have to pay another 15% (damn CDN gov't taxes!)

3. People don't like to waste food here so before they close, everything usually goes for more than half off so they don't throw it away.
stay tuned for more adventures...

- the lone asian