So, here we are in Sydney, enjoying some of the home comforts we missed whilst on the road - back to that later, while I tell you about our Singapore stopover and first few days of Oz…
Singapore Sex……
We stopped over in Singapore for 1 night, having flown in from the tranquillity of Langkawi it was quite a change of pace back to the hustle and bustle of a large city. We met Al’s friend Tamsyn and Toby for a few drinks at a nice wine bar before being shown the seedier part of town – Orchard Towers, famous for prostitutes and lady-boys. It was quite an eye-opener!!!!!!! We saw lots of “ladies” which were men and lots of sad old English men letching over them. It was the first time any of us had seen a lady-boy with great boobs, which when squeezed looked like they were lactating milk. She was very proud and happy to show us - we were slightly grossed out, and spent a while discussing what the white liquid actually was…... Any ideas out there???? It was a great night out, thanks to Tamsyn and Toby for showing around.
First day in Sydney
Arriving in Sydney at 6am and into the relative cold of the autumn here was not the nicest way to be greeted, however Sita and Steve’s hospitality was very warm and welcoming. After catching up on a few hours sleep, it was time to hit the city with the first stop Circular Quay and the Opera Bar.
We were soon joined by friends leaving work, and a gaggle of Aussies, Scots, and English were ready to hit the town. Here are a few photos of the night as it descended into chaos (at various locations around the harbour and The Rocks) and ended with my first trip to Minsky’s piano bar (Alan’s favourite bar in the whole of Sydney!)
Here is my favourite picture of the night – this is Steve with “his chair”. We stole this from The Australian, after trying to break it, but being unable to. We carried it round with us for a while before loosing it, by leaving it in the back of a cab. In our drunk logic all of this made sense, in the cold light of day I’m not so sure, but a great time was had by all.
A welcome home away from home
After finally recovering from our hangovers and 3am bed time by playing some guitar hero drums and eating bacon rolls we crossed Sydney from Bondi over to Redfern where we will be staying with Ben for the next week or so. Ben has been great helping Al find work and providing us with a nice place to stay – if has a pool and gym which we have used a few times. We have also been shopping at the local supermarket and Al made us all a great chilli for dinner on Sunday night. All of the home comforts we had been craving whilst travelling.
So the first few days in Sydney have been great – we have seen Bondi beach, the Opera house and bridge, got drunk and gone to Minsky’s, eaten nice home cooked food, drunk some Aussie beer (Carlton Cold and others), been on the monorail, seen Darling Harbour, been to The Rocks etc etc. I wish the weather would improve a bit, as you guys at home are hogging the sunshine, but I’m sure that won’t last!!
All that is left to do now is find jobs, somewhere to live, go to Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbourne, Byron Bay, Australia Zoo, etc etc etc. Plenty to keep us going for the next 2 months.
So that’s all for now, will keep you posted on what we are up to, with another blog in a few days.
Kelly
