Sydney on a Budget

I am nearing the end of my travels, with Sydney being my last international destination before I head back to the states. With the end of my travels comes the near end of my budget. Sydney has forced me to "tighten my belt," as my grandmother would say. I don't mind, though, as with every new challenge comes new rewards. Sydney is a city, and, like most cities, it is expensive. I am limited in the amount of free things to do here, but I have been resourceful.

Yesterday was my first real day in the city so I wandered. I made my way over to the most recognizable piece of Australian architecture: the Opera House. The Opera House is quite an impressive building. I could not believe how clean they keep the roof. It literally sparkles. I wonder if they clean it or if it just has Scotch Guard on it or something. Either way, it is immaculate. As luck would have it my wandering paid off. Around the corner from the Opera House is the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was free to get in and provided a colorful backdrop for my stroll through Sydney.

Sydney has a different sound than nearly every other city that I have been to. There is the usual horn honking, people talking too loud about deeply personal stuff on their cell phones, and the regular ambient chit chatter that accompanies a mass consortium of people, but Sydney has bats, parrots, and all kinds of crazy animal sounds. I sat and read the newspaper for awhile in the park and I ended up putting down the paper so that I could see what was making these noises. The noises are not incredibly loud, nor obnoxious, in comparison to the birds I am used to hearing in Los Angeles, but the sounds are different enough to make one take note. The birds that are around here are beautiful as well. Birds with yellow, white, orange, flashes and contrasts of colors that look like little flying Picasso's darting from tree to tree.

Today I decided to head over to Sydney's famous Bondi Beach. The beach is a little half moon crescent piece of sand that looks like it was cut out of the surrounding rocks. Australia is coming out of their winter and transitioning to spring so even though it is a bit chilly for beach weather (it is about 70 degrees with a cool breeze) folks were out on the sand taking advantage of the cool sunlight.

I eventually made my way back to where I am staying. I didn't notice it until my walk back to the hostel from Bondi, but the area I am staying in is what most people would think of as the red light district. I don't know how I didn't realize it before but there is a lot pubs and strip clubs, which usually translates to the red light district. I looked at my map and sure enough, I am staying in King's Cross, which isn't exactly known for it's country clubs. There is a McDonalds. Right next door is a sign that advertises "Live Full Nude Girls." I knew there was a reason that this hostel was so inexpensive.