Random Thoughts From Sydney

When I sent a friend a message in late May voicing my desire to spend some time in Australia checking out the horse industry there, I figured that *maybe* I’d be able to find a way by the end of the year or next year. Imagine my surprise when a week later he contacted me from Australia saying he’d found a way for me to come down here.

Thirty days later, after a 2,500 mile drive from Lexington, Ky. to Vancouver, Wash. with a cat and horse, I jumped on a flight to Sydney, Australia (where I’m currently writing this blog from). Tomorrow after two days in the city, I start the third (and final for now) leg of my move. I won’t lie, I’m really excited to finally not have to worry about baggage limits and packing, but I will miss Sydney.

So in what may seem a weird way to start this blog (I figure if you’re reading this, you know who I am so an intro blog would just be repeating info. If you don't, there are many blog posts here as part of my "former" blog that has been recycled so you can read more about me through them) here are a few random thoughts from my first two days in Australia.

1) The flight really isn’t that bad – The idea of being in airports for 24+ hours wasn’t overly appealing and the 15 hour flight from San Francisco, Calif. to Sydney, Australia seemed a bit like torture. But to be honest, it seemed like it took no time at all to get here. It probably helped that by the time I got on the plane, it was 11p.m. San Fran time so I was already tired and I forced myself to stay up for one movie early in the flight (don’t ask me what the movie was, I literally can’t remember. I’ve tried.) I got a nice 8 hour snooze in after that, woke up at about 3a.m. Sydney time, watched “Step Brothers” and part of “Focus” and the flight was over. It honestly felt shorter than some of the eight hour flights I’ve had.

2) Ditto to jet lag – Going to Washington for a week and a half before moving here was probably a blessing in disguise. So far, jet lag isn’t at all a problem and I give credit to the 17 hour time difference.  Unlike if I was supposed to go to bed when my body said it was 9.a.m., it being nearer the middle of the night on the U.S. west coast when I head to bed makes it a bit easier. I think sleeping on the flight the way I did probably helped too.

3) Confusing sides – I expected the driving on the “wrong side” of the road thing so that didn’t throw me for a loop but the walking thing does. I’ve always been taught to pass left shoulder to left shoulder, stand on a certain side of the escalator when you’re not walking up/down it, round doors going certain ways, ect. but in Australia I’ve had to throw all that out the window. I’m pretty sure everyone here thinks I’m stupid because I keep walking on the wrong side and they can’t figure out how to go around me. I’m finally getting it down now … just in time to go to a place where I won’t be walking near big groups of people as much.

4) You have to be in shape to visit Sydney – Thankfully I’m still in okay shape at the moment from the foal watching season but I have lost a lot of that conditioning and I can feel it now. Like every big city, you walk a lot and my legs are burning tonight (and last night) because of it. I’m kind of sad I’m not staying in Sydney longer because I think a few weeks here would really help jump start getting me back into shape.

5)  Train Stations and I Don’t Get Along – I can tell you how to get to Circular Quay from Central Station like a pro (because it’s a straight shot) but don’t ask me how to get out of Central Station. Both days, I’ve come out of unfamiliar exits multiple times and had to look at my map to figure out where I was (thanks to Metro Hotel Marlow for giving me that map, it’s been a life saver.) On the same vein, if people were watching me try to navigate how to get to Bondi Beach and back they had to be very entertained. First, I couldn’t find the platform I needed at Central Station, then once I got to Bondi Beach (you take a bus from the Bondi Junction station, which blew my mind even more) I had to figure out my way back. I took the wrong bus at first, but in the end I survived and found my way back not only to Central Station but then on to Circular Quay. Trains were my biggest worry about spending time in Sydney and I still have to take one more tomorrow to get out to the Hunter Valley but I feel a bit more confident now. Now my biggest worry is lugging my two big bags to the train station in the morning, but thankfully it’s not too far from here.

6) Everyone is in Shape – Maybe it’s just because the places I’ve been are more outdoorsy places, but everyone except for me seems to be in super shape. These people are lean machines, something a friend credited to the food outside the U.S. as well, which makes sense. The portions are definitely smaller here, but they are more filling. I’ve eaten less and had more energy the last two days. I’m really interested to see if the in-shape Aussie (and food portions) view I currently hold stays the same when I get outside of a major city and people are using cars more than here.

7) Sydney is Awesome – I admit I’m probably in a honeymoon phase with the city, and it helps that I was able to do touristy stuff instead of having to work, but I love Sydney. I was iffy about spending a few days here before continuing on because I couldn’t find much that interested me outside of the zoo when I did research, but there are quite a few things I’d really like to see now that I’m here in person and have seen them from afar (or heard people talking about them.)  I’m just a four hour train ride away so I’m planning on coming back here at least a few more times. Probably for horse races, but also hope to see a few of the other things on my new “list” here in coming months.