Re: [CH] Oz WARNING: long

Tara Deen (tara@es.usyd.edu.au)
Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:56:01 +1000 

Suz and Myron,

Apologies to Suz for not having replied sooner, I've been out of the
office for a month or so, and have been very busy this week.

Things to do and eat in Sydney:

You'll do pretty well if you stick to Asian Food. Sydney does Asian
really well. Just make sure that they know you want it hot and
authentic. Ask them not to 'Australianise' the food. And ask for
chillies on the side.

Chinta Ria, at Cockle Bay Wharf (opposite Darling Harbour, on the city
side) do nice Malaysian meals. It's the round building as you walk over
the bridge from Market St, City, to Darling Harbour. (02) 9264 3211

There's a great Tapas bar on Liverpool St, Sydney, right by Chinatown,
and across the road from the Spanish Club. They're called Miro's Tapas
Bar in the phone book, but I think the sign just says Tapas outside.
(02) 9267 3126.

You can also try the International Food Court on the top floor of the
Paddy's Markets building in Haymarket (beside Chinatown). The food is
cheap, very authentic, and great. I eat there all the time. The best
Malaysian Food in town is in the Malaysian Food diner in the Wynyard
Train station arcade, closest to Pitt St, but can be a bit hard to find.
Enter from Pitt St, it's on your right as you go down the escalator.

The Banana Leaf Curry House (1st floor, cnr George St and Liverpool St)
also has good food if you choose well from the menu. The wait staff may
or may not speak English, but you can choose to eat off a banana leaf
instead of a plate in the traditional manner, if you wish.
Deli France, downstairs from the Banana Leaf, and in other places in the
city, do the best French pastry you'll get in Australia.

I second whomever said not to eat mexican in Australia, it's awful.

As for things to see:
I don't know about climbing the bridge, $96 pp seems a bit steep to me,
although that's more like $50 for you with the exchange rate. You can
walk across it for free, and get a great view of the harbour and the
Opera House to boot.
You should do a tour of the front of the Opera House, its really
interesting. Au$15, tickets from the Opera House ticket office,
downstairs on the promenade.
If you like zoos, catch a ferry from Circular Quay (beside the Opera
House) to Taronga Park Zoo. Catch the cable car over the zoo to the top
of the hill, and spend the rest of the day wandering back down the hill,
enjoying the animals and the views of the harbour. You can have your
photo taken with a Koala there. I took Karen Stober there when she was
on town, and she really enjoyed it.
If you want Aboriginal souvenirs, there's only one authentic shop in
town, and that's Gavala, on the top floor of the Darling Harbour
shopping centre. Don't go there expecting bargains, but it's the real
thing, and it's owned by a coop of the artists. Karen just got a
didgeridoo from there, and I think she's really happy with it.

So much more you can do.

Suz, Myron, when you get into Sydney, feel free to ring me on the
numbers below. I'm not yet sure whether I'll be in town when either of
you are here, but we can sure try!

Oh, Suz: my long-haul flight strategy: change watch to destination time
as soon as I get on the plane. Decline alchohol with food. As soon as it
hits 10 pm destination time, take a sleeping tablet, insert earplugs,
put neck pillow around neck, eye mask over eyes and sleep like a baby
for the rest of the trip. Arrive feeling more or less fresh. Of course,
being not much over 5' does help there....I fit into the cattle class
seats!

Cheers,
Tara

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Tara Deen                         Phone: 61-2-9351 4271
School of Geosciences             Fax:   61-2-9351 0184
Building FO5                      Mobile: 061 410 538 655
University of Sydney NSW 2006     email: tara@es.usyd.edu.au
AUSTRALIA

http://www.es.usyd.edu.au/geology/people/postgrad/Tara/tara.htm
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