I Heart Sydney

Wow, Sydney is amazing. We spent about a week there for Chinese New Year, and it exceed our expectations. We had about 5 other destinations we wanted to go to which were fully booked, because we planned so late. Sydney was a "lame fall-back" since tickets were still available. It is crazy that Australia is "close" to Hong Kong, but Sydney is still a 9 hour plane ride. Our 6 days were spent as follows: 1 day at the nature preserve visiting the koalas, 2 days at 2 different beaches, 1 day in the mountains, and 2 days in the city. We did everything by public transportation.

I love the beach. Sydney's beaches were the best I've ever seen and the most intimidating. At Bondi beach, the current was so strong that I was knocked down knee deep. I quickly gave up my idea of taking a surfing lesson. I know when to fold.The food was excellent, very fresh. The local wine and beer was great. Coming from polluted Hong Kong, we appreciated the clean, clear air. It's been the first trip in a while where we spoke the native language. The only negative of the whole trip was that Sydney is expensive. While it is true that we are used to cheap South East Asia destinations, Australia seemed more expensive than the US; more like Europe. A simple lunch at a deli (no wait service) was US$30. A Coke at the convenience store was about US$3. Regardless, Erik and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Here is Erik's beautiful slideshow followed by a few choice shots and must have pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschrei/sets/72157623472799910/show/