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Waking up in Sydney

By Bobbi-Jo // 20 February 2010 // Comments: 3 // Related Categories: Best Backpacker Job, sydney, Traveller blog

To state the blatantly obvious: Sydney is pretty awesome.

Maybe I’m partial to it because the climate is right up the alley of this Florida girl, or maybe it’s because objectively this city has a lot going for it.

For example, everyone is happy here.

Like, really happy.

In my mind, this completely solidifies my theory that people who reside in warm climates spring out of bed with a smile on their face each morning and continue on that way for the rest of the day. You’d have to really go out of your way to be grumpy when it’s beautiful outside, and thankfully here nobody takes those extra measures.

This, of course, makes normally unpleasant things (like passport control, baggage claim, changing money, transit from the airport to hotel - something normally plagued by exhaustion and a desperate desire to take a shower) not only bearable but down right pleasant.

Exhibit A: Passport Control Guy gave me advice on where to go and what to do during my time in Sydney (with a smile!) totally unsolicited but completely welcome.
Exhibit B: The Baggage Claim and Quarantine* Guys were super nice and cracked a few jokes while people were waiting.
Exhibit C: Money Exchange Gal took sympathy on me for having about 25 currencies in my wallet and bore with me while I tried to sort out what I was changing and what I wasn’t. By the way? Australian Dollars are really brightly colored and done so according to amount. So not only are the people fun, but the money is, too.
Exhibit D: Train Ticket Guy assured me that, no, not everything in Australia is poisonous and waiting to make a Bobbi Sandwich out of me. Much needed and much appreciated.

So after the 10 minute train ride into Central Station (compared to many airports, especially in Europe, a $14 AUD and 10 minute ride into the center of the city is a dream come true - you can pay much more than that (about twice even if you get a good rate) and be in transit for 1+ hours just to get to or from the airport in a lot of places) I arrived at my hostel in good spirits.

I’m staying at Wakeup! Australia for the beginning leg of my journey. Like everything else here, the facilities are brightly colored and staffed with loads of shiny, happy people. The staff at hostels can make such a huge difference, so it’s always nice to encounter approachable and helpful people, especially when, in a lot of ways, they can be your gateway to things to do and see in the city.

So after what felt like a billion years of travel to get here, this morning, I woke up in Sydney.

Happy, unscathed by the journey and excited to see what’s next.

You can check out some pictures from my first day here. I didn’t really sleep when I got in yesterday so I skipped over to Darling Harbour and hung out for a bit. Hope you enjoy them!

Next stop: getting in some beach time with my dorm-mates.

*About Quarantine - Don’t even think about bringing food into Australia. They are really not a fan of it and you’ll be stopped. I asked one of my dorm-mates why and she said something about Fiji and fruit and that some guy at the airport got arrested for trying to smuggle in 12 pomegranates as she was on her way in. Getting arrested for bringing in a fruit doesn’t make for a good story, so don’t do it.