Sydney 2 of 2 ( My Maiden Oz 2011 Backpack part 6 )

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out of topik - Aku tak pernah pergi Jepun, tapi aku suka Jepun. Suka baca cerita2 dan berita tentang negara Jepun, tengok foto2 sana, dan of course rok jepun. Aku nye dream giler, ialah nak tengok Iron Maiden main live kat Budokan. Boleh? Aku tahu tak logik pun, tapi...saje je angan2 mat jenin. So aku harap Jepun recover, walau berdozen ribu rakyat mati pasal tsunami ni. Tapi Jepun besar, dan rakyat ramai giler. Bayangkan kecoh2 gini, tapi cuma total 4% je takde elektrik. So memang dorang ramai rakyat.

Back to topik,
For about $30+AUS you guys can take this sort of a Island "Hop On Hop Off" hopping boat which will travel to different locations along Sydney Harbour. The best two things are (a) the tickets is valid for 24hrs so you can basically visit an attraction, reboard the boat in a few hours and travel to another attraction. (b) there is even a live commentary on board so you get an idea of these destinations.


As for me, I just take the boat ride to marvel at the huge and spectacular Sydney Harbour from near and below it, and the Sydney Opera House from the sea view. Also catch a bit of view of Shark Island, Fort Denison, Watsons Bay, the Taronga Zoo ferry terminal, among others.
I prefer this to 'traditional cruises' which I may tend to pay up more but is too slow for me and not a good deal as it may have wine tasting events on board which I am not interested in. It is still ok if you have lots of time, but I dont as I got to catch Iron Maiden headlining in Soundwave Festival at Brisbane the next day and with Dimmu Borgir and Slayer playing in the late afternoon.
Furthermore, on this boat trip, I managed to stand in front and get wet by the sea water but at least I got some great views instead of sitting at the back or worse, in an enclosed glass environment which really spoils the sceneries that I want to see.


What I did was took Harbour Explorer Cruise by matilda.com.au.
Board it at the pier at Darling Harbour, enjoy Sydney Harbour island hopping up till Watsons Bay and I alight back at Circular Quay so I can have a short walk to Sydney Opera House and (gasp) Sydney Royal Botanical Garden, which I know sounds a bit gay. Haha.

So you got to check these out... I was most excited to see the Sydney Bridge..




Can you see that? these people climb the bridge, I want too, but its too costly and also takes at least a few hours of my time.
About $AUS200 to climb it, many safety guidelines and no cameras allowed, but like my better half say, " its the experience ", so maybe I got to go back to Sydney to climb it again in the future haha. Cakap macam yo-yo-oh, tapi..Rezeki manusia, sapa tahu eh..


From another angle, you can see some climbers near the top with a plane in the distance.

So I soak in the atmosphere and of course get soaked by the sea water haha, I was most worried for my camera, yes..its just a small point and shoot camera but it has been a loyal servant to us haha. Anyway, being a greedy kiasu tamak-on that I am, we have now FIVE batteries for the camera haha. No worries on charging that much.







I used to see all these new year celebrations countdown photos of fireworks at this Sydney Bridge so to see it myself is a delight. One thing I have to say, Australians really know how to attract tourism. Fantastic place even for a really tight spending budgeted come-to-see-Iron-Maiden backpacking fan from Asia. I have no racist or safety problems at all albeit its just a short trip.




Circular Quay. Its fantastic they have all these office buildings so near to all these beautiful sights. Really, it has been a eye-opening experience gazing at the society and structure of how this country and its cities are. Not forgetting how civilised they are at least the ones I see and interact with.




Next... ooo a boomerang throw away hehe, Sydney Opera House...Very beautiful.









Jadi on this boat ride you will be taken to Watsons Bay.. Seems this area is full of interesting restaurants with great food.

Get a glimpse of the residential areas along the Sydney Harbour..
Korang boleh tengok boat rides yang giler2 punye, ni pun aku tengok cam best, tapi takpelah, kirim salam je la, kang aku mabuk laut kang muntah2, buat malu je depan mat salleh haha.

Fort Denison looks interesting... But I didnt alight here..

Irregardless of your budget or the amount of time you have in Sydney, taking this boat is something I would recommend.

In fact animal lovers who visit the Taronga Zoo should take this boat too, this is the zoo's pier for those travelling to this zoo by sea.
And you can even see their navy

I was wearing an Iron Maiden tshirt, and firstly a lady came up to me and introduced herself. Oooo she's from Italy and had just arrived so she miss out Sydney's arena intimate show. So she was asking me how was the show and her plans to catch up on Maiden live. A big fan.

Then another person came up to me. A man, and he's from Holland/Netherlands. And just like me, he travelled to Australia to catch a few Maiden shows.
So he asked me where I catch Maiden in 2008, so I say I and my wife travelled to Perth to catch them, so he told me, for 2008, he travelled to Puerto Rico to see Maiden.
Is this a big fan or what? Sort of a Maiden fan who have seen Maiden for 40-50 or more times in his life and travelled the world to catch them at different places.
And... He knows the Maiden United guys haha. So I told him I pre-ordered Maiden United first cd and enjoyed the whole package sent to me, and I ask him to send my regards to them. Its nice that both of us who enjoyed Maiden United, from different parts of the world, meet accidently at Sydney, to catch Iron Maiden live, and on exchanging of words found out about each other knowledge of Maiden United. Anyway, he was the one giving me a tip to see the bats at the botanical garden.





Then, since the botanical garden is just besides the Opera House, and like I say...all these places are beautiful yet free of charge, so off I went.
It was very beautiful, alot of people just lazing around, reading, enjoying the environment. Again, I am not polishing any white's people apple, but you hardly find any litter at all. And the whole place is neat and tidy.

You come across some unique trees..

And you come across Muslims having their Asar Solat in the Botanic Gardens. Like I say I am not really keen on Malays who love to look down on Muslims from other countries, especially minority ones and worse, some just love to kafir mengkafir other people and places. Do not be too overconfident of what you have.
Ooo keep walking right into the Botanic Gardens and you will be amused by this beautiful scene of Bats hanging on the trees. Hundreds and hundreds of them. It makes a gruesome sight for some people but its fantastic that you can find many thing within walking distance across Sydney.

And like my new found Maiden friend from Holland says, wait till evening, and its really worth it. The bats start to fly, and really fly over your head, they wont attack you, so just stand or sit in the grass or lie down, doesnt matter and enjoy the experience.

Sunset in Sydney Harbour is an experience.

There is even a photography class going on..


Just to add, I walk back to Elizabeth Street to my Backpacker's Lodge, and I was intending to take short cuts, and I walk on this path besides sort of a highway stretch of road where the vehicles pass by you at speed. And there was this tunnel, and I saw someone wrote on the path " If you treasure your life turn back and never walk in this tunnel ". Something like that, I start to get a bit tingled all over and as no one else was around, I just respect the message and turn back, and its ok, I walked extra but at least I passed by their hospital and the Sydney Museum which I miss out and when I saw that there is this huge TREX on their windows I was thinking, helloooo, maybe I got to catch Iron Maiden in Sydney again...so I can visit all these places that I miss out..haha. But I hope next time, we all go backpack together la... Anyway the backpackers are already expensive, the hotels must be even more so. Thats a big drawback la actually. So when does a budget flight fly direct from Changi or KL to Sydney? haha.

Next.... BRISBANE to see Iron Maiden headlining the Brisbane Soundwave Festival...and I got my camera with me again... and I am so happy again, I got to take some photos that are meaningful at least to me...haha. See? A meaningful photo? haha.

ooo And this super surprise of a great place...Lone Pine Sanctuary....this one..is really a tear in the eye moment of a visit if you really love animals.

When I'm free I will upload all the photos properly in Flickr and deafeningforever.blogspot.com