Today we went into the city after sleeping the night at Margaret’s house. It was the day of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and it was impossible to cross the street to track down a Korean friend of mine. Lots of floats went past and we watched them with a passing curiosity and mild annoyance. I’m all for St. Patrick’s Day and for that matter parades in general. But some of us just really have to cross to the other side of the city. Anyway, it turned out that my friend was out of town.
So giving up on the street crossing, we made a beeline for the bus station as we had plans to visit what is arguably Australia’s most famous beach, Bondi. After about 40 minutes bus ride, we arrived and saw that every other Sydneysider who wasn’t marching in the parade was already here. But many of these Sydneysiders were women, and wearing bikinis, so we warmly embraced the crowded beach culture and secured some sandy real estate.
Having endured a long, cold winter in Korea during which my skin rarely saw the sun at all, it was so wonderful to bake in the rays of solar light and hear the waves crashing down nearby. However we couldn’t indulge too much. We had a 4pm train to catch to the Gold Coast and plenty of swimming and sunbathing to do there. So we left the bikinis of Bondi and 40 minutes later we bolted into the train station, right on time for our departure.
Sydney is a great city. It’s alive and open for everyone to enjoy. Melbourne and Sydney have always had a supposed rivalry, but I think there’s no real comparison you can make to Melbourne. Honestly I think Sydneysiders don’t even consider it. Sydney is just far far more pleasant to be in. Cities must always have variance. They must have different sides in different areas, giving its citizens a variety of choices of things to do and ways to live. It must be beautiful, to warm the heart. It must be interesting, to brighten the mind. Perhaps these are just the impressions of a person who has never spent more than a few days in the city, or my Saggitarian nature wanting something large to explore and get lost in. Either way, I could really see myself living here.
I was definitely surprised by the number of Koreans in the city. In Melbourne, Chinese are the dominant foreign presence. In Sydney it’s Koreans. Perhaps this is another reason to like the city…? Sydney is also a place to be different. There are a variety of styles and persuasions here which are worn and lived on the outside. The great thing is that it all appears to be harmonious. Well, except for the odd race riot I guess.
Anyway, now we are leaving it behind as we travel north to Queensland. I’ll be catching up with Doug, whom I haven’t seen for about 3 or 4 years, and who has been living the Gold Coast life and telling me to visit for almost as long. While there I will do my best to cast away this pasty white skin color and develop a deep brown tan.
Oh look at that, the buffet car is now open. Some things are far more important than blogging I’m afraid.
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