8 posts tagged “sydney”

Today I left Sydney and went back down the coast to my Gran's house.  I cannot cope anymore.  I have had a few job interviews and they went well, got more or less offered a job with massive, who are a big web design company in Sydney.  I couldn't take it though.  I hated Sydney. 

The heat is getting to me more and more every day.  I feel very depressed, constantly in tears and thinking and worrying about things that are not in my control.  Thoughts such like, "What if we can't find somewhere to live?", "What if I don't find anyone here I can talk to?", "What am i going to do when I get back from England?  I Have sold everything, I am going to have to start from scratch when I get back?"  I started to panic and really freak out.  I was in the middle of this big city, not knowing anyone or anything and that really scared me.  I got to the point where I was having panic attacks all the time and couldn't even answer the phone or check my emails.  I had to refuse the job offers.  I was going to go mad if I stayed here any longer. 

I was gutted to leave as this was not meant to happen in my plan.  I have always planned to work in Sydney for a year and then come back to normal life in England, but It hasn't worked out that way and I am upset because it was my dream and it feels as though I have thrown it all away.  But there is no way I could have stayed there, so I left for Bateman's Bay to stay with my Gran and get my head sorted out before I went totally mad...

Well, agencies have started to get back to me now with interviews (most of them have only just got back to work after New Years).  We have spent our time this week flat hunting.  Everyone we ring, the flat has already gone.  They charge you more if you are a couple in a room (I don't know how that works), a lot of people won't take couples (which is fair enough).  It is really hard work.  Every place we have looked at is terrible.  They are all no bigger than my living room, and that is including a bathroom and kitchen!  One place we went to, all the skirting was rotting, the kitchen was in bits and it seemed as though a smack head was living there.  Another place we went to visit, we got eaten by fleas and the list goes on.  I am not long from being a student and I can put up dingy hovels, but I caouldn't stand these flats we were looking at.  To get something acceptable (by the standard of a student) you needed to pay $300 plus, a week.  All the nice places had about 50 people going to visit them on an open day (that is no exageration by the way), and most of those would apply to for flat.  Then the agency would sift through the applications and chooses someone to live in the flat.  Often though, because of the huge demand, they would refuse all the applications and then have another open day the next week and put the price up.

There must be somehere to live in Sydney, but the news keeps having articles on the ridiculous prices and how accomodation in Sydney is more expensive than London. 

It is really stressful trying to find somewhere to live.  We have been travelling for 4 months now, living out of a bag and I just want somewhere I can call home for a while, or even just unpack my stuff would be good.  I am really starting to feel like a little ant in a city who is about to be trod upon any minute.

Well I have applied for lots of jobs on the internet but most companies are not back at work yet, after the new year. There are tons of jobs for C# developers here and they need people urgently.  I did read an article in the paper though about there being loads of jobs in Sydney but no accomodation.. this is just media hype right?

We are out of the hostel now which was the size of a portaloo and have moved into a room above a gay pub, The Sly Fox and they are all gay and lesbians which live above the pub.  It is really friendly here and everyone is great, although when I asked if there was any bike clubs around Sydney, I got directed to "Dykes on Bikes".  Downstairs in the pub they have an womens night (where I got a few chat up lines) and have big glasses on the bar which are for tips.  They have a big boob floating in it with a sign saying "Show us your Tips!!"

The owners of the pub, Paul and Arlene are lovely people and also own a pub down the road called the Imperial.  For those of you who have watched Precilla Queen of the Desert, this is the pub where the coach sets off from.  So we got to watch the origional Precilla show.  I still don't know where those drag queens hide their bits!!

It is really hot here now and there is no fan in our room.  It is too hot to sleep and the planes fly right past our window, so near that you can literally see the passengers.  Well, it will be better when we find somewhere else to live...  we are looking.

With all Tim's family over from England, he wanted to show them Sydney.  What better way to do it than hire a big bus and drive us round Sydney... and thats he did.  It was truely the brit bus.  We went up to the Blue Mountains and then on to Genola caves (which we couldn't get into because there was too many of us and the tours were all full), so we sat in the sun drinking beer until it was time for the Brit bus(which I think we actually named Betty's Bus) and then went a a chinese feast.

The next day, still on the bus we saw all the Sydney sights including the cricket ground (as the ashes are on).  We didn't go to watch the game but managed to go to the merchandise stalls and buy up the British Cricket merchandise as England had just about lost.  We jumped back on the bus and headed to Palm Beach where Home and Away is filmed and sunned it up yet again.

Then everybody wnet home and there was just me and Tony in Sydney.

Well what better way to spend your New Years Eve than on Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour watching the fireworks.  Well, seeing as you cannot take drinks onto the Quay and you have to sit there all day to get a space for the evening, before they stop letting people in, it doesn't sound brilliant does it?

Well that is when you need relatives who hired out an appartment, right on circular Quay looking right onto the Bridge.  With special passes to get onto the Quay itself and the most perfect view of the Bridge, we had our own private party, with our own stash of beer (well courtesy of Tim).  It was Part 2 of the wedding and it was magnificent.  This was definitely a once in a life time opportunity and I will never forget it. 

Tim and Suzie's original plan was to have the wedding on the boat on New Years Eve.  When they found out how much it would be, which I won't tell you (around AUS $20000), they decided to have the wedding the day before on the boat and the view of the fireworks on New Years Eve, with all the family.

So my uncle Terry, Auntie Jill, Betty, Lizzy and Harry all came from Rochdale to involve themselves in the antics.  We had a fabulous night and that is before you count the fireworks, which were amazing.  I have never seen anything like it.  It was the 75th Aniversary of the bridge so the fireworks were even more spectacular than normal.

Fireworks were set off from the bridge, boats in front of the bridge, somewhere in the far distance and even from the hotel roof tops which surrouned the harbour.  Stunning, and to top it all off, you could tune to a particular frequency on the radio and the music and fireworks were in sync.

Although it took us a while getting back to the hostel, it was definitely worth it.

Thank You Suzy & Tim

Well after much ado, the wedding was on the 30th Dec.  We all arrived at the ferry point in Rosebay with the groom Tim, and piled onto the boat which was waiting for us.  It took us over to Shark Island where we trundelled to the top of the hill and watched as the bride, Suzie, got off her boat and walked to the top of the hill, where the lovely couple got married outside.  It was a beautiful wedding and the place was stunning, although everyone was taking photos of the opera house and the bridge as it was unique to see it from this angle!!!

After the wedding we got back on the boat and got on with eating the grub and drinking the free grog.  Although it wasn't pies and butties but lovely fresh prawns and sushi type things.  We then sailed around the harbour for four hours, while having a party on the boat.  It was fantastic, we watched the sun go down and then the city light up.  It was brilliant, and I would recommend this to anyone as a must do... a harbour cruise at night.  The Opera house is lit up and the Bridge as well as lunar park's ferris wheel.  What a delight.  We even got to sail under the bridge a few times. What an experience, it was magical!!!

At the end of the four hour boat ride, we docked right outside the Opera House... how cool is that... and then proceeded to have drinks in a bar on Circular Quay looking out over the harbour.  What a special night!!!!

Wow is all I can say.

Well after chilling out on the beach for a few weeks and playing bingo, and getting over the fact that you can go to drive though beer shops and buy take away beers from pubs, we decided it was time to go to the big city and start looking for a job and somewhere to live. 

We got to our hostel and it was like a prison cell.  It was really tiny, like being back in Bolivia...  It is ok, we don't need to stay there for long, hopefully...

Well after sleeping in the airport (we are still backpackers remember), we awoke at stupid o'clock in the morning to get a flight out to Sydney.  We checked in at 6.00am and the woman at the desk informed us that Tony did not have a visa for Australia. 

When he booked over the phone, he asked about a six month visa, and the guy at STA travel said he had done it electronically and added an extra 60 quid to the price of the ticket which Tony paid for, over the phone.

Obviously we were angry so decided to phone up STA travel from the airport.  We got through to them and the woman said she would see what she could do.  She put us on hold for ages... and then our phone card ran out, so we put some more credit on it and rang back two minutes later and an answer phone message answered stating the offices had now closed....

Ok, not to worry, we can just buy another six month visa.  It turns out you cannot buy a six month visa from the sirport, you have to go to the Australian embassy and get one there, but it is not guarenteed that it will come back the same day, and also we would have to delay our flight to Sydney.

Ok, next option, buy a three month visa and get it extended while we are in Australia.... not an option, you cannot extend your visa while in the country.  You have to leave Australia and then come back in again, the nearest country being New Zealand, which isn't cheap to fly to or Papa New Guinea which you really don't wnat to go to.

The only option was to get a three month visa and then for Tony to fly back early, but he has nowhere to live when he gets back!!!

We are going to be having words with STA travel as they have totally messed up our plans.... grrr

Well we arrived in Sydney and met up with John (from work) and his wifey Rachel.  We had lunch, discussed our adventures and then got the bus down to my nans.  What a long day.