Monday, August 18, 2003

i came, i saw and i finally conquered sydney!

a few weeks back, rolan asked me if i wanted to go with them to sydney. his friend joel was coming over from melbourne and johnson's dad was arriving with him from china. i eagerly said yes because i haven't really been around.

last saturday, after a great breakfast to start our day, we left the pacific international hotel (where the guys are staying) to head for the wharf. we boarded the sydney ferry to go to the circular quay. everyone got really excited when we were nearing the docks 'coz we could see the sydney opera house and the harbour bridge from the ferry. we were not satisfied from taking pictures from the ferry, however. we hurriedly went to the opera house to take pictures from there! then we ran all the way back to catch a ferry to manly beach. we watched the surfers crash into the waves as we downed our kebabs and colas. then johnson and his father took more pictures. i didn't take pictures here because i thought coogee and bondi are much better beaches than manly. i have to go back there one of these days. :)

we then went back to circular quay to catch another ferry to taronga zoo. i tried to wait patiently but i couldn't. i was so excited to see the kangaroos and the koalas. the kangaroo area was very different from the usual since people can go inside and see the animals face to face. i thought kangaroos were supposed to be big... well, bigger than me. but the ones we saw were just around two feet and were really cute! i even got to feed one! =) we were not as lucky with the koalas, however. they were both sleeping when we arrived at their cages. johnson was trying to wake them up (we could not touch the koalas, by the way) but i guess they were having a good dream, they woudn't even move! we then went to see the seals, a gigantic alligator, the red pandas (who looked like a fox more than a panda), penguins and a lot of other animals. we went back to circular quay to catch our last ferry for the day, going to darling harbour. my feet were aching terribly at this point.

excitement got the better of me as we walked to the sydney aquarium. ever since i was a kid, i was fascinated by underwater plants and animals. i even thought of being a marine biologist. the first few minutes were kinda lame. it was just like going to a pet shop and looking at fishes --- some fishes really looked ugly. hahaha! then we went through a hallway that led us way, way down the aquarium. and when we entered the room, there they were... sharks! a lot of them! and two were HUGE! they were swimming all around you, you'd really get awestruck. there was also a big mantaray and a few more ugly fishes. :) after that, we went inside another room... the finding nemo room. it was great because they filled up this big aquarium with fishes like those found in the movie! and you really HAD to find nemo! i thought it was really cool. :)

we finished our tiring day-long adventure with a dinner in chinatown. we let johnson and his dad choose --- we were all too tired and we couldn't decide which one to get. after dinner, all of us walked to the train station with full stomachs and not-so-rested feet. it took all of my willpower to stay awake during the train ride home.

now i can go back to the philippines. :)

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