December 29, 2011 - January 1, 2012
this leg of my oz trip was the most expensive coz...
- inter-city flights were so damn expensive since it was holiday season
- all hotels in sydney were either fully booked already or it was beyond our budget for a place to stay
Note: this entry is a work in progress. i have yet to share the expenses brought by this trip. i'm still collating the data from my friend :) and i likewise apologize for the not so detailed report of this trip as our goal was to have fun and just do whatever we felt like doing. thinking about it now, everything was kinda blur. haha!
amazing city with amazing company
GETTING TO/FROM/AROUND
Melbourne to Sydney (Roundtrip) via Virgin Airlines - $365 AUD
*over - all experience was good. no delayed flights. checking - in was also a breeze.
since we were waiting for a friend from his flight from singapore, jen and i waited at our terminal (domestic) as there was a AUD$5 bus fare going to his terminal (international). so we opted to let our friend to meet us at the domestic terminal.
Sydney Airport to CBD (vice versa) via airport shuttle - $20 AUD
*we decided to take the shuttle service going to CBD, to be dropped off at Central Station which was cheaper than taking a cab
Central Station to Hotel (vice versa) via train and walk
* we took the city train enroute to our hotel. boarded at central station and alighted at parramatta station. after which, a 5 - 10 minute walk from the station going to the hotel.
commuters
ACCOMMODATION
it was so hard to look for a place that was within our budget. my friend was able to book a room hotel at Clarion Hotel in Parramatta. as much as we wanted to stay in sydney area, it was very costly.
sadly, i wasn't able to take photos of our room. on our first 2 nights, we stayed in a deluxe king room and on our last 2 nights, we stayed at their executive suite.
the experience was a hit and miss. pleasant staff, easy check - in, deluxe room was clean and not so old BUT when we transferred to executive suite, the experience was bad. we went back to the hotel past midnight only to find that our room was never cleaned by the housekeeping. remnants of the previous occupants were all over the place. we immediately called the attention of the hotel's manager. he came to check it out. housekeeping was no longer available so the manager himself took care of fixing the room. hotel's manager was apologetic and promised to talk to the housekeeping. the manager gave us 2 boxes of pizza as a way of apologizing and free breakfast but we didn't get to have it coz we woke up very late the following day.
ITINERARY
December 29, 2011
we decided to take the afternoon off at the hotel and decided to go out in a much later time. we traveled to CBD and went to Darling Harbour to meet another friend. dinner was at Darling Harbour and after which we explored oxford street and king's cross. STEADY!
December 30, 2011
this time, we decided to spend the day exploring tourist sites :)
Sydney Aquarium
i sooper love aquariums! i love seeing fish tanks and different ocean creatures! it's a must see!!!!
Sydney Tower
View of Sydney Harbour Bridge
View of Sydney Opera House
King's Cross
EPIC was an understatement. it was truly over the top crazy night. definitely one for the books. hahaha!!
December 31, 2011
after that wild and crazy night, we dragged ourselves early in the morning the following day towards the Tarpeian Precinct so that we can have the best view for that night's new year's eve celebration. as early as 11 am, we were already basking under the scorching heat of the sun. it was crazyyyyyy!!
it was truly a majestic feeling spending new year's eve in Sydney. it was an experience i will never ever forget!! hands.freaking.down.
after the new year celebration, we were too exhausted to hit any party place so we decided to go back to hotel to rest.
January 1, 2012
Bondi Beach, baby!
we wanted to spend a whole day at Bondi BUT we were so damn tired that we left the hotel at past lunch time already. we arrived at around 3pm and spent the rest of the day lounging at the beach.
later at night, we had dinner then drinks at a pub. it was a perfect way to cap off our last night in sydney.
Final thoughts about Sydney
Sydney will always have a special place in my heart. the experience was unforgettable!!! a lot of FIRSTS on that trip! not only i get to enjoy the whole trip but i get to loved it even more because i have the best sydney company! this was by far the best new year's eve celebration ever!!!
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