If you recall, I always pierce a pin on my world map, back at home after making a visit to a new place. This time around, it took me 17 months to pin Sydney. Primarily because it took me this much time to visit Pakistan and finish the ritual, and partially because deep down in my heart, I know that Sydney is not a “place to visit” for me, but a place to live and call home. So this one post my dear friends, is for Sydney♥!. 

Before coming here, I didn’t do any research on “Top 10 places to see in Sydney” – something I ALWAYS do before making an international trip. Remember, it’s always me who plan the trip? In fact, I didn’t do any research from a tourist point of view. Sydney, for me, was more of a new home that I had intended to explore in my own sweet time. So yeah, I came raw here !

It was raining cats and dogs on the day we landed here. It took us more than a hour to reach our place and the first thing I noticed was that it was hilly, all the way up and down, and yet there were no mountains to be seen. So it was hilly without hills…. Weird!

I remember when my mother called and asked me how it looked like. I told her it was Nathiagali without the mountains 🙂 Btw, Sydney is huge and we lived in North Sydney initially. That part is like that. Only later I got to know that Sydney is also flat and plain as you come down to the south side.

Anyway, Sydney is very traditional. They have very few fly overs or underpasses. It has a huge network of well-kept but old roads. Through a mix of both traffic signals and road signs, they operate the entire traffic. There is no concept of “No-Signal” road here. In fact, I think, they control their traffic with a lot of sign boards and by using a lot of chalk. Sometimes, you would see tens of road signs on a single intersection. We haven’t really learnt the art of doing relaxed driving here. Both husband and I are constantly watching the road and the signs because the fines and penalties are just too high :/

They also don’t like U-turns and unnecessary right or left turns. This is weird. Sometimes, the intersection is quite big but you won’t be allowed to go right or left. And then you would ask yourself “Why?”. lol.

My husband had his first challan on taking a u-turn when there was no sign at all whether you can or cannot take a turn. As soon as the poor soul took a turn, police officer came from nowhere, fined him and told him that he can only make a u-turn when it says that you CAN take a u-turn. Otherwise, you CANNOT take a u-turn in entire Sydney. SubhanAllah hay logic pay 😐

Anyway, we learnt this the hard way.

Here the big vehicles can go inter-city any time, unlike Pakistan. And they are not left-lane-restricted. So, if you are going somewhere in your own thoughts, be prepared to be crossed over by this huge trailer, that would come from nowhere and over-take you with the speed of 110km/hr. They can drive on the fastest lane. In fact, they are the only species I have seen in Sydney, who honk a lot more. I have now gotten used to them. My first year in Sydney was spent while rolling up my eyes whenever I saw them.

Sydney has a lot of beaches and parks. I have been to Kiama beach. It’s really nice. Somewhat around 2 hour away from the city. It had this hole in the rocks through which the waves would roar out and make a rainbow every time. I had seen the youtube video earlier and decided to go. It was nice. Make a plan and go there, even if you are visiting Sydney for a short while.

Blue mountain is yet another valley which is around the same time-distance away from the city. And people go their a lot. There are three mountain tops side-by-side which they call ‘three sisters’. It also has this blue haze around the mountains and hence the name. But the trip is boring if you are going this far just to see three rocky tops. They have this park called “Scenic World” right next to it. During summer holidays (Dec-Jan), they make a dinosaur valley for the kids that makes it more exciting. Other than that scenic world has a 1) cable car 2) world’s steepest train ride and a nice trek to the waterfalls. For a temporary basis, they put the dinosaurs all across the hiking trail which make it interesting for the kids. It is indeed a good place to go. Btw, it is not suited for oldies or anyone with knee issues because not only it’s a lot of walk – it has a lot of stairs. So may be, its not a good tourist spot for people who struggle to walk.

Introduction of Sydney is incomplete without naming the Sydney Oprah house. It is huge and magnificent and looks really graceful especially when you are looking at it from the ferry. There are theatres inside and you can go watch plays as well. I have happened to attend the Orchestra performance by Hans Zimmer at some other arena and it was fantastic but I still need to tick a full Oprah performance at the SOH.

Witnessing the fireworks during the New Year’s Eve is a must here but unfortunately, I haven’t seen them yet. I’m sure Oprah House will be totally magical on that night. 

There are a couple of ferries which go to the nearby places (not necessarily islands) from Oprah house. We went to see Manly beach and man, it was beautiful. I immediately fell in love with its local market. Best thing about that small, temporary market was the fact that people were exhibiting their real craftsmanship over there. Hand-made, vintage style wallets (made out of recycled paper) and decorative stuff using metal wires were just too good. The beach was nice as well.

Sydney is serene. It is peaceful and if you are living away from the CBD, you can instantly start enjoying the natural beauty of the place as soon as you put your car on the road. But the best thing about Sydney is the clear blue sky. The skies are actually to die for. There are many cloudy days, and many sunny days. I have myself counted numerous shades of 3D clouds and praised the Almighty.

Wrapping it up, I must say that Sydney should be on one’s wander list for all its natural beauty that it beholds so majestically. I have intentionally not mentioned about shopping here. Because, almost everything we wear is sourced from some other part of the world. Things are expensive. Visit somewhere else if you are looking for something to take back home. Come to Sydney for a relaxed holiday!

Also, I have not mentioned few other hot spots, like the Luna Park (its a theme Park), Snowy Mountains (at a drive of 5-6 hours from Sydney for Skiing) and the Bondi Beach. These are famous places but I still need to visit them in my own sweet time. I might update my list from time to time because there is a lot more that you can witness here. Anyway, I consider this a modest start and see where life will take us.

Until then, love for you all !