The Local Thrill

Luna Park is the only amusement park in a 100km radius... something like that.  It's pretty well located right at the base of the harbour bridge.  I don't go to the north shore often, but always look across the water at the lights and wonder what it would be like..  Even from hundreds of meters away, I can make out the Ferris wheel, roller coasters and lights... it carries an uncanny similarity to Pinocchio's Pleasure Island.  Well, me and some housemates decided to check it out!!

To start off, I love theme parks... disneyland, universal studios, I even like six flags.  (i wasn't expecting Luna Park to compare, but I'm an enthusiast of sorts.)  Well, this is the enterence in to the park.  I didn't know what to expect, but the sense of nervousness was overwhelming. 

nom nom nom

Quite a frightening sight, if i say so myself.  What theme park designer decides you enter through a giant mouth?  if this is biologically accurate, I feared the exit.  but we sucked it up and trailed onward.  To give a little background, this was a monday afternoon so, i think, 2 or 3 carnival stalls were open with dart games or something of the ball variation.  Well we bought our wristbands and set out.  

The sight of a happy customer

It was like a permanent county fair, without the face paint and porta-potties.  All the rides (expect the ferris wheel and the one roller coaster) were designed to empty stomach contents.  im talkin bout centrifugal forces at the red line.  They had all types of spinning rides:  forwards, backwards, vertical, flying around in circles, every variation.  Now, there's a moment in everyone's life when they ask themselves: How do I know if I'm mature? Have I reached adulthood?.. the answer is hidden in the # of times you can tolerate spinning around in circles and still find it enjoyable.  so we went again and again.  Apparently, we've not grown past age 4.

pictured: housemates; not pictured: piercing screams

 All was good fun and games, until we tried out the one rollercoaster.  Now I've had my fair share of unsafe rides; it wasn't the worst, but I was pretty hesitant to try it out.  The track was purely magnetic (nothing wrong with that), but as the four wheeled cart approached turns, it would temporarily become a tricycle.  I .. WAS.. TERRIFIED.  but then I saw some teenage punks giggle themselves silly and I realized I was just being foolish.

Although we had heaps of fun around the traditional rides, we got the biggest kick out of the fun house.  It had the exterior of costco, but the inside was crammed with old skool rides... instead of designer jeans at wholesale prices.   There were huge slides (that you rode on a piece of woven hay), a mirror maze, obstacle course type stuff and a bunch of other entertaining things.  Might seem like those attractions aren't very exciting , but it was a collection of rare and unique exhibits which made the fun house a trip..  It also helped, that the present company were a fun and goofy bunch.
We didn't spend too much time at the park (cause it was closing), but we thoroughly enjoyed all it had to offer.  Just as all australian activities ended, we headed to the bar.

Well, dear readers, this will be my last post for a few weeks.  In a few days time, i'll be travelling around for a bit, then make my way back to the bay area for a couple weeks.  Hollaback and I'll spin you some stories about my other adventures around australia.  until then, keep it real

Aquarius

dayum water,  you got fishes and stuff

So, the Sydney Aquarium.. quite a famous aquarium known for it's location in Sydney (Darling Harbour) to be specific. I haven't been to an aquarium in ages and have been itching to go ever since.( it's like a zoo,... but with more water!! awesome). To be honest, I've been to this particular aquarium when I was about 11-12?... sometime before puberty. Well it wasn't very impressive back then, but I've realized I've attained an appreciation for aquatic life since then.  The aquarium (any aquarium) is.... phenomenal.  

a plethora of .... water stuff

HEY GUYS

The Sydney aquarium is more of a walk through than an exploration of wildlife. It didn't matter to me, I get to see all the exhibits and weird looking fish. The perfect tour, it you ask me. I'm quite fond of weird looking fish.. seeing how something can be so ugly and still living is beyond me (just kiddin'). Nah, but foreal, there are some funky lookin' fish that look like they were pulled out of a twisted fairy tale. There's a bunch of different areas: crab-land, shark-land, etc... can't really remember, but it was all pretty cool (tip: if you ever go to the Sydney aquarium, get the tickets online,  hella cheap). So we saw huge ass crabs, confused sharks, and many lost schools of fish.  I expected to be amazed, but I was astounded (not sure if that is more dramatic than amazed, but you get then point). Such a nice walk-through with a fantastic? view of the reefs and coral. I think, one of the most memorable parts were the under water tunnels or viewing of the big aquarium. I've realized, in recent years, I've not appreciated aquatic life enough and well,... this was a great eye opener to what I was missing out.  DAYMN, these fish be crazy!! Chainsaw fish, unicorn fish.... to be honest, they don't look that tasty, but it was all cool, they looked pretty sweet. (can you imagine, having a chainsaw for a nose?/ think about all the things you could dice up: tomatoes, potatoes, etc)... it seemed Australia has it's fair share of exotic animals, and the seas are no exception.  

Well, as far as the ocean life, I am quite impressed.  It's no secret that OZ has some of the most creative (read: abstract) wildlife (and i haven't been to the reef), but if the aquarium is any representation of the real world... dat ocean.    haha

The town with two names

Wagga Wagga, a small country town known for being a country town.  The 5 hour drive took me due west along the rolling hills and big skies.  Some of my housemates once called Wagga home, and it was a sort of house trip to see what the country would be like.  Well the sights and land marks of Wagga were a surprise to all the non-natives (myself included of course).  Well, the first day consisted of a visit to the zoo. There were birds and llamas and some other animals I can't remember.  The quality of the zoo can't comapre to the price.. FREE>YEAH BUDDY.. free zoo = awesome..  After the zoo, we headed out for some grub and checked out the downtown that Wagga has to offer.  Well, the 4 or 5 blocks that in consisted of was very stereotypical small town vibe.  Small stores lined the streets selling small town stuff: baked goods, plants and poetry.  Trees lined the sidewalks with outstretched branches (which will turn into a grand canopy in 10 or 15 years).  Though I think the most astonishing this was the width of the streets and sidewalks.  The sidewalks were MASSIVE, I think they were made for elephants.  The roads were abnormally sized as well.  you could probably drive 3 hummers side by side with the doors open. Well enough about the downtown, I think the best part of the trip was casa de o'connor.  Yep, we stayed at the childhood home of our housemates.  I was a quaint home powered by fireplaces and sweeping country sides.  Well we got cleaned up and hit the town!

The next morning started with a crisp air and hearty breakfast.  Bacon, eggs, toast on the patio in the garden.  yep pretty sweet.  As some of the crew had a slower start, a couple of us when on a hike up the hill collecting almonds along the way.  Just up the road and through the fields landed us on these rocks with a scenic view of rolling hills, collecting almonds along the way.  A pack of kangaroos hopped away in the distance.  We could see them disappear and reappear in the tall grass, hopping gracefully away.  Near the house, we checked out an old abandoned hall.  pretty neat, complete with broken piano and picture of the queen.   

Later we headed to the local licorice/ chocolate factory.  Deliciousness were had by all.  They also had iced chocolate... yep, the opposite of hot chocolate... this ain't chocolate milk or a shake, but it was pretty damn good.  The vibe was also pretty relaxed and chill, good way to spend the afternoon.  Rustic.. i think that's the word i'd use to describe this place.  Well the night was spent around home cooked meals, good friends and a roaring camp fire.  Good thing about a country town, it's like a pseudo-camping.  Following morning, we headed on back, though there was one theme that appeared all weekend.  Hashbrowns.  For a trip grand total, we must have put away 20+ mashed potato products.  delicious? yes  overdose? debatable.

Vivid Sydney

opera house seems like a pretty comfy place to sleep

Once a year, there's a fantastic light show in Sydney.  Vivid Sydney, as it's titled, takes luminescence to an urban level.  There were almost 50 exhibits centering around creativity and 'art'.  Now I'm no expert on art, but I can appreciate technology and innovation.  Seeing the city, at least the touristy parts, lit up was pretty enlightening (*badda bing*).  Some of the exhibits were interactive (pretty awesome).  There were big tic tac toes games, piranha bicycles, light up hopscotch,  and probably a few others I forgot to mention.  I also got pretty lucky, there was a break in the weather and I ventured out to check out the hubb bub.

i GUESS this is art

I bathed in the glow of the city for an hour or so.  Amazed by the feat of human engineering and creativity, there was one project that blew all of the others out of the water.  At the custom house, this happened:

before

after

SAY WHA??.. yeah, this.. this... i don't even know what to call it.  phenomenal. maybe mesmerizing is a more suitable word.

cue: OOOHH AHHHHH

So projectors light up this building and the amazing thing is the detail.  The building (structurally) has many columns, ledges, windows, etc.  When the projectors light up the building, it gets crazy.  As you can see in the picture, it's a bird eyes view of a city.  The whole image moves.  Yeah, the little cars drive around the blocks (defined around the building ledges), the sun rises and sets to change the lighting scheme, there's even a fly-by helicopter.  The columns, on the building, were projected as streets and tunnels, the clock turned into the city fountain.  It was too awesome, i doubt my words do it justice.  Then later, the projections change into a clock and then a cartoon and etc. Peep that crazy here .  don't gotta watch all of it but gotta admit, it's pretty awesome.

Everyday buildings were transformed into a canvas of whimsical nature.... I don't know if that made sense, but I'm pretty sleepy and it sounded pretty artys.

Anyways, I probably stayed in the same spot for 20 minutes.. just watching in awe, before continuing my tour.  Well, I wish could upload all the pictures I took but as you can see, uploading more than 3 pictures makes nullifies my formatting skills.  I'm looking forward to it next year; hopefully it'll be just as illuminating (not a great week for puns).

Subway in Bathurst

not even a breeze to keep the windmill company

Bathurst.  A place renown for it's spacious skies and awesome clouds.  Located just over the Blue Mountains (see previous post), this sleepy little town is renown for the Bathrust Stampede (i assume).  yeah another frisbee tournament.  WEll, that's where I went last weekend.   For all you frisbee folk, it's pretty fun (1st day is with your team and 2nd day is a hat tournament).  Anyways, I didn't get to see much of the town, (just the accommodation, fields and the party).  take a look at them pictures and that pretty summarizes bathurst. .. i think there was a gold mine or something in the past.

damn clouds, you big

As you can see there's a whole lotta nothing, though the lowest point of the weekend occurred during 2nd day of the tournament.  The lunch provided was Subway, yeah the makers of the world's worst sandwiches.  I can't remember the last time I ate Subway, or even stepped foot in such a cursed establishment.  Well, since that was the only thing to eat.. and I was pretty hungry, I buckled down, swallowed my pride and prayed for well being of my tastebuds.   I couldn't tell which flavor of meat I got,... the pink/grey hue of much indicated a mash of turkey or chicken, but the taste was that of regret. Oh, I've never met bread so soggy from the combination of 'freshly' bagged veggies.  It is not a mistake i'll soon forget.

Bathurst in all it's glory

 Bathurst was the most west (in australia) that i've been.  Not saying much, since it was only a 3 hour ride, but located in the Murray-Darling Basin (look it up), i can't imagine a lot of difference in geological features within that featured chunk of New South Wales.  To be fair, I didn't get a chance to see the desirable parts of the town.  I mean, there could have been some small town charm or a spot for really good Mexican food!! (highly doubtful, but possible')  Well, in the next couple weeks, i'm hoping to stray a bit away from the coast.  keep yall updated, and until then... stay classy

Stuff and Stuff

festive tree with festive stuff

 So a couple weeks ago was Buddah's b-day.  didn't know? well, I hear he's a pretty forgiving dude.  anyways, I stumbled onto a celebratory festival and snapped the picture of this tree.  While I'm no expert in the teachings of any religion, I think Buddhism's pretty sweet.  I mean checkout the tree, it's all covered in ribbons and apparently the tranquil/ peace vibe is pretty sweet.
well I mainly just ate some food.  It's a bit unfortunate that I haven't had the chance to eat much chinese food, so I indulged a bit.  There was modern stuff like eggrolls and milk tea, but also the older traditional stuff, which I really like.

the food place with cheap stuff

Anyways, there's a pretty big asian population in Sydney... and this is the headquarters.  Market city is just a pretty big mall, though it's got a bunch of iconic aspects of malls found in asia.  Bottom floor is like a street market, with stalls of produce and cheap knock offs.  This is where I do most of my shopping (food).  Since the heat and humidity add to fructose production... makes the fruits and veggies extra sweet and most delicious.  The 1st and 2nd floor got some shops... nothing special.  I think there's fashion stuff or somethings... well the 3rd floor got some big food court.  pretty good food. pretty good prices.

outside fair with stuff

It's (like I said) pretty big, I've gotten lost a couple times, but every time I've gotten lost, I've always end up finding something good to eat/ buy.
So this pic on the left is a street version of the mall.  I think they have this street fair every week or something.  It's pretty similar to the ones found throughout asia except everything (mostly) is in english... which is pretty convenient.  There's tons of street food, some street performers and bakeries.  YEAH bakeries..  I'm a huge fan of baked goods and, if you've never been to a chinese bakery, it's full of cheap, flavorful pastries.  I will warn you the ingredients may seem unorthodox but the tastes are rewarding if you've got the gut.  (I think the same can be said about all exotic food..)

I guess the point of this post is to show the cultural diversity of Sydney.  of course, I'm only pointing out the asian influenced areas (only cause I happened to have my camera at that time), but Sydney's got tons of other cultures too.  I haven't had the chance to explore all the ghettos yet (yeah, i'm talking cultural ghettos,... there's no hood over here), but once I do.. hopefully i'll have my camera then.

well, dear readers, I realize i've been down under for a few months and it's great having an audience.  hopefully i've painted a picture of what Sydney is like though this blog.  If you wanna postcard, hollahback and i'll throw one in the post.

I hate Kings

old man bumping tunes on the rascal

little music never hurt anyone

tool bags

Oh, the college life.  Waking up in the wee hours of the afternoon.  Rushing to class, just to arrive 5 minutes late in a panic of sweat.  Checking my watch every so often to count down my moment of freedom.  Jamming to the gym before dinner and rolling out into the night for some shenanigans.  Yep, the good ole days.
Well, as a former member of the UC Davis ultimate frisbee team (and subsequent drinking team) I have done my fair share of drinking games.  In fact, weekly gatherings were held to partake in such events.  Quarters, flip cup, beirut, dia-lau you name it and there's probably some variation that I've played.

Well, back to the current uni life (I'll call it uni, cause I'm in Australia).  I've joined the school's frisbee team and such social customs are withheld.  We have trainings (practice) and subsequent drinking activities.  Everyone like a brew, but here cocktails make up a good portion of the drinks.
It seems like the essential equipment for drinking games are just cards.  This makes sense, as everyone from the uni team lives in different areas, so we meet up at various bars.  Institutions like these wouldn't appreciate games like thumper or feats of strength.  So cards make up the majority of games... the most popular one is Kings cup and, for the most part, ends up being the staple of the night.

I hate Kings cup.  (aka Kings, for the lazies who couldn't be bothered to say 'cup')

Now, I'm not dissing the rules or the functionality of the game.  I think all the mini games are pretty unique and fun.  The problem is the cup.  In Australia, cider and cocktails are quite popular (along with beer); as such, Kings cup get quite distorted with a ugly shade of bleh.  I have never lost at Kings cup (and don't plan on losing), but I have never wanted to drink anything so vulgar... ever.  I would not wish a thing on my worst enemy.  To make matters worse, we (as a frisbee team) tend do not use a center cup, but rather a center frisbee.  yep, that disc we throw around, bouncing in the dirt and mauling with our grubby little hands.  gross.

Well, I realized I've rambled on a bit about and although it may sound like i dread drinking with my team, that's quite the opposite impression i'm trying to make.  They're a bunch of lovely people, on and off the field.  Drinking culture is definitely different here.  not better. not worse.  Just got me wondering when the next time i'll be hearing- "Konrad 1".