My first day in Sydney was very nerve wracking. I think it might be the worst city for driving I’ve ever seen. I had to get to my hostel which was an adventure in itself. Once I found it, I had to get on the correct road and in the correct lane to turn into an alley to park. Doing that was a trick because so many of the streets did not allow for turns or had meridians.
The drop off point for the rental car was also an adventure. It was down a small side street with three other rental companies. There were two trucks delivering new cars blocking the street. It took me over two hours to drop off my things and drop off the car.
The area in Sydney I’m in is probably the single biggest concentration of hostel beds in the world. If it isn’t number one, it has to be close. Everything in this area is budget this and backpacker that. I think I’m going film a podcast episoded on the backpacker culture, because there is nothing really like this in the states. (Maybe in New York or LA. Those seem to be the only places the people I meet visit in the US.)
I’m also a bit underwhelmed by Sydney. It doesn’t really seem as nice as Melbourne. Maybe that is why every single photo or news clip of this city is shot in front of the opera house.
… or perhaps I’m just not giving it a fair shake. Tomorrow I’ll have a fresh start. Everyplace around here is booked because of the Easter weekend. That seems to be a four day holiday in Australia.
I also have most my photos from the Great Ocean Road now up on Flickr. The remainder are processed and waiting to be uploaded tomorrow. Some really turned out nice.
Just because I’m cheap doesn’t mean you should underestimate my budget :)
I don’t remember much from my visit to Sydney except that we preferred other cities to it. We did tour the Opera House, which was very interesting. We also saw Phantom of the Opera at a different opera house. The hotel was able to hook us up with front row seats and it was AMAZING (though that’s probably way outside of your budget).
Still no postcard…..
It sounds like you’re in Kings Cross, but then, that area doesn’t give the best image of the city. The outer suburbs are more relaxed. I hope you’ll grow to like the city as much as I do. Though, Melbourne has at least one advantage over Sydney – no funnel web spiders.
I’ve been to Jakarta, but wasn’t crazy enough to try and drive there :)
are you sure Sidney is the worst city for driving?
then you must never been in Jakarta Indonesia :)
it’s a hell for drivers :)