We flew to Sydney and upon landing, went on a city tour to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, familiar landmarks associated with the area. We then went to a tower that allowed us a bird's eye view of the whole city. We also went to the Aquarium where the marine life of Sydney is showcased. We got to see seals, sharks, crocodiles, fishes and corals most prevalent in the Australian waters.
We had a complimentary 'yu sheng' thrown in for our dinner, since it was the first day of the New Year. Just like the previous one, the fishy taste made the dish unappealing to me. I learnt much to my surprise that 'yu sheng' is a dish invented in Singapore and Malaysia. China, where the festival originated from, does not have it. After that, we walked through the street stalls set up for the festival, selling interesting food. There was even a carnival area where one could play games to win prizes, commonly being big stuffed toys. We found a Bee Cheng Hiang stall there as well! A home away from home, I would say.
It was off to the Blue Mountains the next day. The world's steepest cable car is situated there but we opted out of it because we had already taken it on our last trip. Anyway, the souvenir outlet was beckoning me into its arms laden with scores of merchandise. We went to visit the Three Sisters, a rock formation with an aboriginal legend behind it. Due to erosion however, there are only two rocks left for visitors to admire. We ended off our itinerary for the day at Telstra Stadium, where the 2000 Olympic Games were held at.
We went to Darling Harbour for dinner, where the shops open till 9pm, as opposed to other places' which open till 5pm. Then we walked around Chinatown before heading back to our hotel. By the way, our hotel Vibe has the 'wow' factor in my opinion. It looks just like an Ikea showroom! The colours are vibrant and the lines are clean. The rooms are spacious with luscious fabrics thrown on their furniture.
On our last day, we went to the shopping district at George's Street. There are a few renowned malls to peer into like Queen Victoria Building(QVB), Midcity Centre and Pitt Street Mall. We visited a discount outlet, Borders, Coles which is somewhat like Carrefour and DFS Downtown. QVB is a very neo-classical building, with gothic-like architectural designs to marvel at. The things sold there however, are expensive and window-shopping is best. QVB is huge though and is linked to the other two malls mentioned above. We went to a food court for lunch and the sushi I bought from the Japanese food counter was fabulous in taste. The Gado-gado my dad bought from the Malaysian food counter is different from our local version. It consists purely of vegetables unlike ours which includes 'ketupat' and potatoes too. The peanut sauce topping the salad was thankfully authentic in taste.
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