Teh Tarik Down Under - Sydney in a Day!

G'DAY MATE!

Due to unexpected problems on the internet down here, I couldn't post my post yesterday as I promised so here we go. Basically the first day of arrival on Sydney was a major bust because of fatigue and bad weather, but that geve me time to plan out my entire trip for the day.

A lot of people always say that it is impossible to cover a town for an entire day so here I am trying to prove that it is possible to do so, TEH TARIK STYLE!

Every trip I go around the world, I've always been a huge fan of backpackers, more because of the people that you meet during your trip so for this one I decided to do the same as well. I found myself staying at  the Sydney Harbour YHA which is now rated as the top rated backpackers hotel in Sydney, and all for the right reason.

One of them would be because that you wake up with this view every morning

[Enter the Swan!]

Basically the hostel is located just a stone throw away from the Sydney Opera House and as you can see, its that close to the entire town.

Completed in April 2010, the place is the newest addition to vast number of backpackers hotel around the town Sydney and the best thing about it is that everything is relatively new, especially its facilities. From the picture I know that it does look like there is a construction site underneath the hostel.

In reality, the hotel itself is built on an archaeology site and stores some important artifacts of a neighbourhood that lived there beforehand. The area, called The Rocks, was the first colony neighbourhood after the establishment of Australia. It was later on demolished, along with everything that was still in the houses.

Being this close to the city, there is always a misconception that the place would be dead expensive. Actually for me to stay in a shared room of 4 would only cost me AUD44 per night which by far is the cheapest I can find in town. Worth every penny of it.

TEHTARIKDRINKER TIP #1: Live and die by your map!

To cover the entire town you can't waste much time losing your way around town so a walking map is very much essential for your traveling needs. So from the hostel, I started my quest to conquer the entire Sydney town in a day. First stop would obviously be walking to the The Rocks settlement, which I briefly described above.

E

[Enterance to the Rocks Town]

Once that is covered, I decided to head on to famous sites in Sydney and as I mentioned earlier, the closest one of course be the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bridge.

[Sails ahoy!]

[Bridge Ahoy!]

Walking distance away from the hostel are two of the most famous sites in Australia which is the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Made famous from so many bloggers across Malaysia (one in particular would be Kenny Sia's efforts to conquer the top of the bridge) it is a mistake if you were to ever come to Sydney and miss out visiting these places.

TEHTARIKDRINKER TIP #2: If you are travelling alone, sharpen your "cam whoring" skills

On the very reason that there is no one there to help you to take your pictures (as you can see so far not many pictures of me in them pics). Unless of course you can rock up the courage to ask someone to take a picture for you!

[Excuse me... urm... can you... urm... help me... urm... take my picture?]

Next up would be rocking your way to the Darling Harbour, which is the other side of watery Sydney which one must visit. Although its a bit far from the Opera House, you can easily take a train from the nearby train station for AUD3.50 to any location around Sydney.

[Contrary to popular believe, there are hardly any "darlings" in Darling Harbour]

As some may already know, the Darling Harbour is made famous for the cultural hub of Sydney and in the same time houses some of the most beautiful boats in the country.

You have the luxury liners

You have your battleships

[Sink yer Battleships!]

Your submarines.

[I was told by the Beatles that this is suppose to be yellow?]

And of course, never forget your old school pirate ships!

[Insert Pirate's Theme Song here!]

While you're there, you can make yourself comfortable with the view of them ships for an affordable lunch in the Darling Harbour. From here on, you are basically already at the heart of the town itself and it depends on the direction that you are going. Either head to Chinatown for a taste of ye olde Asian stuff

 [Can't go anywhere around the world without a Chinatown]

Head to Paddy's Market, where you can pretty much get anything under the sun for some cheap products

Or even stop and have a drink at the always famous Three Wise Monkeys Pub!

[Anyone to be the next monkey?]

Another part of Sydney which is a must for sight see travel would be Hyde Park, which not only is a fantastic green view of the city but also houses the War Memorial, which archives a memorial for all the wars that Australia has been involved with.

[The War Memorial Building]

And surprisingly inside, Australia gave tribute to one familiar country that they were allies with in the war

[A very solemn moment for me here...]

Basically that pretty much covers the day sight seeing of Sydney in a day! As most people would think that Sydney is too big to cover for a day, so far I've proven otherwise with my sightseeing. Later that night there are places which is a "must see" for those looking for night entertainment. You have the Kings Cross...

Just a train ride away lies Kings Cross, which many would know it to be a place for the "Midnight Butterflies" work around the streets. Much like anywhere else, places like this does need an extra care when walking around. Unfortunately I couldn't really take much pictures while I was there for fear that I might get myself into trouble doing so.

Apart from that, a visit to the Star City Casino would also be a fun night joyride while you are in Sydney. A huge building at the side of Darling Harbor, its actually more fun to watch people gambling rather than playing yourself. Less pressure that way.

[Cha-Ching!]

So there you have it folks, entire Sydney covered within one day. Of course the only bad thing about trying to cover the entire town in a day would be super sore feet and in this weather, completely frozen to the bone. But then again, that's the price you pay for a holiday I guess.

NEXT: Meeting the Family in Canberra!

Nang this post if you like it guys. Thanks!