Category: Travel

Q – Quay

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

As in Circular Quay. 

Very cool area of Sydney adjacent to the CBD where all the boats dock.  You see ferries size boats taking people to Manly and Watson Wharf and cruise ship size boats taking people all over the world.  There are several great restaurants in this area and quite a few characters such as this aboriginal  performer you see here.  No exactly authentic, but entertaining.

Her are a couple more photos of this beautiful area of Circular Quay in the Sydney Harbor.

 

What I really want to discuss is this word quay.

Why have I never heard of this word before? I had to look it up to see if it meant what I thought it meant.  And, it does.  It is a pier, wharf, or dock – platform built out into water where boats and ships dock.

The pronunciation of the the word is even more of a mystery.  I naturally pronounce it how it sounds, with a “kewa” sound.  It is actually pronounced “ki or key”. Or is it?  I did more research (love the internet) and apparent there is more debate as to how to say this world then you might think.  And, a bit of a surprise considering I have never heard of this word until I arrived in Sydney.

Click here for the great quay pronunciation debate.

Have you heard of the word quay and if so, how do you pronounce it? Are their quays that are called quays in the US? 

P – Population

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle8 Comments

I am always curious about the population of cities I visit.  Mainly because when I moved to China, I was fascinated and shocked about the fact that within a 150 mile radius of where I live is the entire population of the United States. Let me spell that out for you.  Within a 150 mile radius there are more than 300 million people.

That is just amazing to me.

There are 10 million people in the city of Shenzhen, where I live; 25 million in Shanghai, my favorite city in China, 19 million in Beijing and 8 million in Dongguan where I work.  In all there is a total of 1.3 billion people in China.  That is a hell of a lot of people.

So, when I heard about the population in Australia, this time I was shocked and fascinated.

There are only 22 million people in all of Australia; 22 million.  In a place that has a land mass bigger then the United States there are only 22 million people.

300 million in the US and 22 million in Australia.

The US doesn’t feel overcrowded.  At least not where I am from.  I figured that Australia would be even more spares.  Although 85% of the population live within 50 km of the coast line.  In a way it just doesn’t feel like there is a lot of people in this city.  We went to play golf today at The Australian yesterday.  A private club that was established over 130 years ago.  Even though it was raining, we were the only people at the course that day. Even in the rain, you would never find an empty golf course in China or the US for that matter.

Having dinner at any major restaurant in any major city in the world and you would need to make reservations at least a day in advance.  For some restaurants you need to make reservations weeks in advance.  We had dinner at one of the best seafood restaurants in Sydney.  It is called Manta.  There was no one at the restaurant.  We got right in.

In general, it feels like fewer people are in this city and that is a strange felling for me after living in congested Southern China.

But, there is one other population fact the I believe Australia has every other nation beat.  There are more sheep in China then people.  I am talking 4x more sheep in Australia then there are people.  If the sheep every got together and wanted to take over, they would have no problem.

Moral to this story, keep the sheep happy.

O – Opera House

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

My first day in Sydney and already I have had the trip of a lifetime.  We arrived at 6:45 am.  Breezed through customs and got to the hotel around 8:00 am. Had breakfast and then hit the streets.

Living in China there are a number of things that I just have to go without because either they don’t make them there, they don’t sell them there or they don’t have my size.  I was able to find four things today that I would never find in China.

Cute shoes in my size – 9West – Westfield off of Martin Place

Australian oysters – Garfish on Manly Wharf

Stongbow Cider – we talked about this before

Peanutbutter M&M’s – everywhere

And, to top it all off, I got to finally see the Sydney OperaHouse up close.  It is an impressive building and I was excited about seeing this Australian landmark.  I am a little surprised with the fact that it is not really that big.  I thought it was much bigger.  I am talking, Louisiana Superdome big.  It was more like Frisco, Texas Community Center size.

Regardless, the highlight of the trip so far is seeing the Opera House from a boat on the Bay.  Beautiful.

N – New Zealand

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

N – New Zealand #atozchallenge
I wanted to do a post on New Zealand for N because I was made aware from my former employees in no uncertain terms that Australians and New Zealanders are not the same.  Apparently, there is a big difference between the two countries despite their close proximity to each other.  Since I am traveling, I am so happy to have found this great post from leftofthesettingsun.wordpress.com who spelled out the differences perfectly.  Check it out.

Chris's avatarLeft of the setting sun in November

Enough is enough. I’m sick of it, do you hear? Every time I turn on the radio or open a newspaper I’m confronted by some idiot politician or half-wit commentator making some stupid comparison between New Zealand and Australia, invariably at New Zealand’s expense. Generally this is followed up with the immortal threat about everyone leaving here to go there. Well, I’ve done that and come back, and I think it’s a bloody stupid comparison. If you want somewhere to compare New Zealand to, try New Caledonia. Or Jamaica. Or even Ireland. Any post-colonial island nation would make a better comparison than Australia, and they aren’t even our closest neighbour (and we certainly aren’t theirs). Here are nine whole significant reasons why Australia is not New Zealand. Anyone who wants to compare the two countries needs to come up with good reasons why most of these aren’t important.

Money

Australia…

View original post 2,450 more words

L – Lord Dudley

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle1 Comment

I love pubs.  There is nothing I like better then going to a local pub and having a pint.

Some of my favorite memories occurred with a pint of cider in my hand.  And, I will never forget telling my English friends how much I don’t like Guinness only to discover the miracle concoction known as the “Poor Man’s Black Velvet” (Guinness mixed with Strongbow Cider ).  So, good.

Pubs and Pints reminds me of the time that I lived in London and how I was “100% completely happy with life” .  Really, I was.  I actually wrote that in the journal I kept while I was living there.  I was a college student with no stress and hadn’t had to deal with the real world, yet. Oh, the memories.

When I told the same friends who introduced me to the Black Velvet that I was heading to Sydney, he insisted that I experience The Lord Dudley Hotel. They were right before, no reason to doubt their word now.

The Lord Dudley Hotel is a famous pub in Sydney.  This is how they describe The Lord Dudley and its patrons on their website.

 The Lord Dudley is an enigma in that it does not have a defined clientele. The regulars come from all walks of life. Trades people and office workers rub shoulders with barristers, stockbrokers and politicians. The rich and the famous also find it a great place to unwind. Don’t be surprised to find Hollywood Actors having dinner in the restaurant while prominate sports heroes are enjoying a drink in the front bar. Publican James (Jamie) Couche has created a feel good environment which appeals to everyone who calls in.

 

It sounds like a place were I can be “100% completely happy with life”.  If only for one night.

*I will be updating this post at a later date once I have experienced The Lord Dudley.