Sydney!

August 9

Today was also a not too exciting day until the very end. I pretty much woke up and showered and packed and headed to the airport in a shuttle bus. We (the girl from Holland and myself) were the first ones to be picked up. Then, we had to sit on the bus for over an hour picking up everyone else from all the various hostels and neighborhoods. At one point we drove through a very rich neighborhood which was cool to see. The houses were amazing. A few of the Irish girls and the guy from Singapore ended up being on the shuttle with me (I had the same flight as the Irish girls). I actually like these 3 Irish girls. They are very nice and fun. Emma, Cas (Caroline), and Kat. 

My flight was departing at 1:10pm and we got to the airport with the shuttle bus at 12:10pm. Then, I had to wait another 5 minutes while all the luggage was taken off the bus since mine was under everyone else's. I didn't even get through checking in until 12:40pm. Luckily going through security took all of 5 seconds and I had maybe 20 minutes to wait in the airport before we boarded. 

Qantas air was the carrier. The flight attendant was actually really rude and I found it very funny. I don't think she meant to be rude and she probably had a reason to be rude but the announcement told people to turn off electronic devices (in only English) and a few foreigners still had theirs on and she snapped at them and told them to turn it off and that there had already been at least 1 or 2 announcements about it. 

The flight was 2 1/2 hours. I actually didn't sleep for once. I watched Oz the Great and Powerful which I thought was actually not a good movie. We lifted off and you could see the outback from a birds eye view and it was really cool. It was pretty red which surprised me since when you're down in it it's mostly green. I wanted to take a photo of it but the man next to me by the window was constantly taking out his iPad and snapping photos of it or videoing it ever few seconds. Surprisingly enough, he was Australian, not Asian. The guy to the left of me was German and kept jabbing his elbow into my side. They served us a sandwich for a light lunch and the man to the right of me (the photo snapper) asked for more food because he was famished. He ended up getting a free sandwich. All in all it was a good flight.

I grabbed my luggage and talked to the airport information desk about a ticket for the shuttle bus. She said it was $30 round trip. I was skeptical because of what happened in Melbourne so I thought I wouldn't buy it and I would just pay it for cheaper to the bus driver. It didn't really matter. It's $15 either way. But, my hostel did reimburse me for the way to the hostel since I'm staying more than 3 nights! Yey money reimbursement! 

I seriously don't get the airport pick up system here. It's so silly. It was the same in Melbourne. Nothing is labeled, you can't find where anything would be. There are signs saying shuttles here, buses here, private pick up here, but its just an arrow in a general direction. Plus, I was looking for the air bus and that's actually a shuttle and not even labeled air bus! So stupid. It took me like 30 minutes to find where I was going, even after asking at the information desk. 

I got into the shuttle bus and there were 3 people in it. 2 from South Africa and 1 from Colorado. The guy from Colorado was a character. He definitely had a laissez-faire, whatever dude, I love Australia, I'm pretty cool attitude about him. He also had an 11 year old daughter at home with a wife who filed for divorce while he was in Australia (for 2 weeks total) and he told the South African girl who was with her boyfriend that her accent was sexy. Very strange haha. I did like him though because once he knew I was from Michigan he held up his hand and asked me where on the map I was from. I loved that. He grew up in Ohio and we chatted about UofM and Ohio State for a minute. He has his own business at home installing electronic things in rich peoples houses. I was in the shuttle with this guy for maybe 15 minutes and I already know all this about him. Ha. 

The shuttle driver dropped me off on the side of the road and told me to cross the street and go 10m and the hostel (Base Sydney) would be right there. I crossed the street and started walking and didn't see it. Not to mention, I have no frickin clue how far 10m is. So, I stopped in a convenient store to ask. 

The man was not Australian but he was helpful. At first he had no idea what I was saying and I was like shit he doesn't understand English but he just didn't know the name. He took the address and googled it and showed me where to go. He asked where I was from and I told him the US and he said, "Oh my goodness! Most people I meet from the US have large bodies. I don't know why but you're so small." I'm not sure if that was referring to my height or weight or both, but it made me think that either all the people from the states he meets are pretty huge or I have lost weight. 

I actually needed to go down a different street, so I'm glad the shuttle driver made that one clear... I got to Base which wasn't very far from the convenient store and had to wait a bit to talk to the desk and check in. The guy who checked me in made a point of saying I was from Michigan and when I went back a few hours later he referred to me as "Miss Michigan". I wonder if he even knows where Michigan is. Most people don't. 

When I got up to the room, I was pleasantly surprised. I am in the Sanctuary which is a dorm area for only females and its very nice. It is clean and has full size mirrors and hair dryers. The bathroom is in the normal part of the dorm though. But, I was also excited because I got there in time to get a bottom bunk! Yey! First time haha. 

There was a girl in the dorm already and we started talking. Her name is Nette and she is from the Philippines but has lived in Singapore for the past 6 years. She said she doesn't like the people too much there because they don't want to have kids and all they care about is money... I think she was talking about it in terms of a boyfriend. 

She asked if I had any plans for the evening and we decided to walk around and go grab dinner together. And then it all came out. Boyfriend disaster ha. It was still a nice time though and it was nice I got to walk around at night with someone. We are at a pizzeria and split the bill in half. At first I was nervous she might be like oh I don't have money can you get this one but she was really nice. I had a salad and she didn't really eat any of it and she still split that. I tried to give her money and she wouldn't take it. 

We walked down to the harbor and saw the bridge. The buildings at night are spectacular as well. I really like Sydney. I was all ready to come home and now I want to stay here a bit longer! There is a lot I need to fit in! But, ill make the best of the time I have. 

When we walked further down the boardwalk and the opera house was visible it was amazing. Like I literally said "whoa" out loud. It is such a cool building architecturally. And it is huge! There is also a Luna Park here that was all lit up and I could see from across the river. That was cool. 

It started getting chilly so after taking photos and walking around for a bit, we headed back to the hostel. It was a really good night. 

Unfortunately, the tour information desk doesn't open until 10:30am so I need to wait until then to form a plan of attack. I ended up spending the evening looking at what to do around Sydney so at least I can tell him what I think I want to do and he can help me further.