Back in Sydney

After the Red Centre we got back to Sydney. After two days it was time for Inka to go home. It didn't actually feel that weird without her, as I don't mind being on my own. I do feel much more comfortable now than I did when we first arrived, so it was definitely a comfort to not be alone in the beginning.

I decided to stay in Sydney for a week longer to be able to hang out with my friend Amira (can't remember if I've mentioned her earlier, but we met in Hong Kong when we were both doing an exchange semester there). Another reason was that I got a dirt-cheap weekly rate for a hostel.

I have spent a lot of time with Amira. She's in the beginning of an exam period (she's doing a Master's degree in Macquarie Uni) and thus supposed to study, which naturally means that she hangs out with me all the time. I plead partially guilty for this: it's just so easy to pop in the library (where's she pretends to study) in the afternoon after sightseeing and continue together from there. I was afraid hanging out with her would lead to drinking every evening (we have a background with partying). But, actually, we only went out twice, and otherwise have been having dinners in at her place. It has also been nice to meet her Aussie friends. Not that other backpackers aren't friendly, but the golden questions of backpackers smalltalk (whereareyoufrom, howlonghaveyoubeeninOz, wherehaveyoubeensofar, whereareyougoingnext) start to lose their charm after a few too many uses. It's charming how friendly and open Australians are. You have a discussion for 15 minutes and only aafter do they ask "whose friend are you by the way" (= what are you doing in this party where we know everybody else).

Amira managed to convince me (pretty easily) that going out of town to visit Ikea for meatballs was a good idea. It was actually, as it was lovely to have some Scandinavian/Finnish food again. Of course Amira also ended up buying loads of stuff, including a shelf and a desk (which had a Finnish name - I must be a little homesick when a tiny detail like that makes me happy). I substituted for her boyfriend (who lives in Hong Kong) and helped her to carry them home, where I was rewarded with chocolate. What wouldn't I do for chocolate, haha.

I found a cheap deal and finally made a day-trip to the Blue Mountains. Not having any proper mountains in Finland (well, only some low hills in Lapland, the highest point being only just over 1300 meters), I always get ridiculously excited when visiting them. Blue Mountains aren't that high (only about 1000 m), but at least they are secluded enough to provide some lovely, crisp fresh air.

On the tour we visited several lookouts and did some short hikes. My favourite one was the walk we did down the valley in the midst of a temperate rainforest. Pretty!

The blue hue comes from eucalyptus oil hanging in the air above the trees.

Scratching the stones turns them into multicoloured dust - this is what local Aborigines have used for body paintings.

On our way back we visited the site of Sydney 2000 (hope I got the year right) Olympics, accompanied with the guide's accounts about his volunteering there. To be honest, I have to admit that when I have very limited interest for spectator sports, I couldn't care less for buildings where they take place.

The next day after the tour I realized that I'd forgotten my shoes in the tour van. I called the company and luckily managed to reach the guy who was driving that car that day. He kindly agreed to drop my shoes off in a central hostel. Only when I went to pick them up in the evening, I found out that I had also left my coat behind. Oops! I think the part of my brain that's responsible for taking care of my belongings has been damages somehow, because I seem to keep losing stuff all the time.

I've gotten to know Sydney pretty well now. I know how to get around with the public transport, know the city centre very well, and can locate many of the suburbs on the map (having visited Amira in two, stayed in three, and hiked in many). The most I like the public parks, especially Hyde Park and Botanical Gardens. Also Sydney markets are really cute - I'm going to have to visit some more of them once I'll be back in the end of July. I go crazy in them, at least in Sydney. There are so many nice things I'd like to buy but can't (because I don't want to carry them around the whole continent, and need to save the money for other things). I especially loved the one in Glebe. Sitting on the grass after having browsed the stalls, munching sour raspberry licourice (metrilakua!) and listening to live music felt like being on a festival.
I also like the size of the city, because there's enough room for peculiar neighbourhoods, and for surprises around the corner. Not having anything to do I've been strolling around the city quite a bit, encountering lots of interesting things, like Chinese market streets with mouthwatering scents in the air, or groups of teenagers practising their breakdancing moves behind a concert hall.

I'd like to share a tip to my fellow budget-concious travellers: one of my new loves is a pub called Gaff. There you buy a glass of house wine for 5 dollars (3,5 euros), and get a free steak with chips and salad buffet for free! That's what I call a deal. If Amira wasn't such a good cook, I probably would've dragged her there every evening.

All in all, I had a very pleasant, yet lazy and slow-paced, time in Sydney. However, when I boarded a night bus to Byron Bay on Monday evening, I was happy to leave and head for something new.