New Zealand

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Jyoti and I spent the last couple weeks in New Zealand driving, hiking, a bit of kayaking and snorkelling, but most of all, just breathing in the fresh air and staring in awe at nature's bounty.

 

I know this is supposed to be a blog, but then, a picture says a thousand words. So rather then writing about how we went to A and it was beautiful, and then to B, and it was awesome, and then C which was fantastic, and then soon realizing I have to repeat the same words again, here is a pictorial journey.

 

The only thing I would say is that the drives were as pleasing to the eye as the destinations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney

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Maybe you love the city you live in, maybe you hate it, or perhaps its a love-hate relationship. But we all crave to escape the concrete jungle once in a while. For some, the hills offer solace, and for others its the beach. At times, persistent rain day after day affects your spirits, or the freezing cold holds you indoors. But what if you could live in a city which provides ample job opportunities as well as a home perched on a ridge, with a white sandy beach just a stroll away. Where the food is fresh, the sun is always shining and the people are always smiling. And where the nightlife is rocking.

 

Mark Twain described it best: "God made the harbour, and that's all right: but Satan made Sydney"

 

Before I left for Australia for a 10 day trip earlier in June, a friend had told me, in carefully chosen words, that Sydney is "freakishly beautiful". And it did turn out to be so, unlike any place I have visited.

 

 

 

Armed with a map, and willing and eager feet, we started our exploration of the city at Milsons' Point, a lookout at the northern end of the Harbor Bridge. As we crossed the bridge on foot to the south side, I felt a tinge of disappointment. I thought this would be the bridge to beat all bridges, but it was smaller than I expected. It didn't have the overpowering presence of the Golden Gate, the majesty of the Tower Bridge, the buzz of Brooklyn, or the character of Howrah. I was happy I had opted not to do the bridge "climb" with the hefty price tag of 220 dollars apiece.

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was "The Rocks", Sydney's original city center, full of cafes, art galleries and historic buildings.  I felt like I was strolling through some neighbourhood in Europe. At the street market, Jyoti bought square stone coasters, hand-painted with simple rustic scenes such as a bicycle parked in a yard, a vase by the window sill etc. At the stroke of 11 am, a man dressed in a period costume appeared at the crossroads, and advertised the opening of the adjacent café like they probably did two centuries ago.

 

 

 

From the Rocks, we walked to Sydney's other icon, the Opera House. This one too was smaller and less grand than I expected. We then ambled in the Royal Botanic Gardens before heading to Circular Quay, Sydney's hub for water transport, to board the ferry for Manly Beach. As we sailed away from the docks, the setting gradually grew on: the large expanse of the Darling Harbor making deep inroads into the city, the changing profile of the curvaceous Opera House, a couple of sailboats (in summer, there might be hundreds) passing under the bridge, houses perched along hillsides as far as eye could see.

 

 

Upon reaching Manly, we walked across the 500 metre boardwalk towards the crescent shaped beach, which, as someone has said is "Seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care". The boardwalk itself was an impressive collection of trendy stores, sidewalk cafes, and art deco and classical buildings. We had lunch at a beachfront Mexican restaurant, drinking cerveza, eating fresh guac' n' chips and gazing into the water, melting our cares away. By the time we returned back to Circular Quay, I had a different opinion of the Opera House: it was a beautiful building, set beside a gorgeous harbour and next to an iconic bridge. And its bold, revolutionary design was apt for a new country forging its identity in the world.

 

 

 

We then walked to Darling Harbor, where we put our feet up, ordered $5 beer / cider during happy hour, and watched the docked boats swaying in the breeze, and making ripples in the water as the sun went down. As darkness set in, we headed back to the Opera House to see "VIVID", a light and sound festival whereby buildings around Circular Quay were illuminated by dynamic laser projections set to music. This was a unique show, with the interplay of images on the Opera’s rounded surfaces being very impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had had a good day, and Sydney seemed a very good city, but not as good as we had heard it was. It was not "freakishly" beautiful.

Our view changed the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plan was to walk and walk and walk till we could walk no more. We started off with the world famous Bondi Beach in the morning. It's nowhere close to a tropical paradise, but as far as beaches within a city go, I can't think of any better. Crescent shaped, gently sloping, little green hills at both ends, colourful water, a slew of cafes and shops along the road running parallel to the shore, no ugly skyscrapers around as in Miami or the Gold Coast, surfers and runners with sculpted bodies,and everyone wearing a smile (if not much else).

 

 

 

 

 

We then took a bus to the Paddington / Darlinghurst area,  a culturally rich neighbourhood full of landmark buildings and cafes. We saw, among other things, an old reservoir turned into a garden and art space, a building touted to be the oldest villa in Sydney, the oldest bookstore in Sydney for Gay literature, a courthouse, army barracks turned into an administrative center, the Jewish Museum etc. The main thoroughfare here was Oxford Street, well known as the hub of the gay community in Sydney.

 

 

 
 
 

 

Thereafter, a short train ride then took us to the suburb of Newtown. Its main road, Kings Street was lined with small houses influenced by Classical, Gothic or Victorian architecture, and there was a surfeit of Thai restaurants catering to students of the nearby Sydney University.  Jyoti bought a chic sling purse with some smartass comment printed on it at one of the local stores.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Newtown, we took a bus to the Chinatown / Haymarket Area around dusk. Usually Chinatowns and Little Indias across the globe look and feel quite similar. But this one was different: more genteel and upscale than usual, and dotted with a few fine dining options as well.   (I haven’t really written anything about food in this blog – see my previous blog on why I fell in love with the food scene in Australia)

 

 

 

 

Once darkness fell, we strolled towards the Central Business District, admiring the multitude of attractive buildings all around: small churches, administrative offices, courts, hospitals etc. We visited St Andrews Cathedral for a few minutes, where there was a sermon going on (it was a Sunday) about the meaning of marriage. A few minutes away was the massive St Mary’s Cathedral. It struck me that neither had anyone recommended a visit to this gorgeous building nor did we see it crop up in any brochures and pamphlets, while St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, which was nowhere as impressive as St Mary’s, is considered a must-visit while in the Victorian capital.

 

I was perhaps beginning to understand what Mark Twain might have meant. Or to quote David Williamson

 

 

 

 

Our final stop of the day was Kings Cross, the redlight district of Sydney.  The seedy part was confined to half a kilometer along the area’s main thoroughfare. Beyond that there was a maze of streets dotted with backpackers’ hostels. Those who have grown up in Bombay will be able to appreciate the most what we came upon next: theatres called Metro and Minerva. The art deco lines of the former were very close to its namesake in Bombay.  It is all fine to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but it’s a chance encounter like this during a random walk that makes travel memorable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a lot more to explore, but our feet were hurting. To unwind, we ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant by the Kings Cross fountains. I was a touch sad about having to go back to Singapore the next day: compared to Sydney, even one of the most livable cities in the world seemed dreary. I did the unthinkable and declared, to Jyoti’s horror, that Sydney was better than Rome, Paris or London. She countered that part of the reason I loved it was that it had successfully imported European architecture, food, fashion and lifestyle: there was an inherent contradiction in stating that a remix was better than its original source.

 

That was a strong argument. Sydney is to an extent like Europe in Australia. But there is much more to it. El sol. La Mar. La Playa. What more could one want?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia: A Foodie's Paradise

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What are top five things you think of when someone mentions Australia?

 

 

 

 

My list would have been as follows, in no particular order...

 

The Ashes

The Kangaroos

The Aborigines

The Barrier Reef.

The Sun-kissed beaches.

 

This was until Masterchef Australia came around, and I became addicted to it.  I couldn't fathom how the Aussies got so good at cooking. After all, their ancestors were English!

 

But on a recent trip earlier this month, I fell in love with the food (and alcohol) dished out in Australia: not only the preparations, but the overall experience as well.

 

Here are my 10 reasons for it. 

 

10. Bring your own alcohol.

 

Its not an Aussie idea, but its highly prevalent here. It saves dough (and you need to use your $$$s carefully in this expensive country), and gives you the option of bringing your favourite wine the restaurant might not serve. Cheers to that!

 

 

9. Toasted Sandwiches

 

While having a Subway in Singapore or the US, I request toasting for a longer time and yet am invariably disappointed with the shade of brown on the bread. The Aussies love to toast their bread: that perfect balance between softness and crunchiness in the bread that I crave seems to be the standard there.

 

 

8. All inclusive pricing

 

Do I have the option of not paying tax on the food I consume? Or refusing to cough up the service charge even if the waiter has a sullen face? So why do restaurants the world over put me through the torture of calculating VAT, and SC, and Tax on SC, and so on when I receive the bill? The Aussies are broadly honest and upfront people: they say what they mean and print on their menus what you will be charged. No extras

 

 

7. The Local Beers

 

Whether its Tiger in Singapore, Kingfisher in India, Angkor in Cambodia or Singhas in Srilanka, they all seem to me to be close cousins of Heineken and Budweiser. In other words: not much alcohol, and not much flavour either. But in Australia, you get plenty of real beers, all locally brewed.  

 

And don't you believe those TV ads that proclaim Fosters is "Australian for Beer". If anyone drinks Fosters in Australia, I need to get my eyes checked.

 

 

6. Vegetarian Options

 

I used to think of Australia as a meat-lovers' paradise, but with the rise of veganism, veggie options have proliferated.  We walked into a burger joint in Sydney, and they had 3 options for Veggies. Three!! Even McDonald's in India doesn't have that. There was a chickpea patty, and a veggie patty and a mushroom patty. The first one was complemented by tzatziki, the next one with beetroot and the last one with red peppers.

 

 

 

5. Cheap Alcohol

 

Alcohol is not a sin (read: high taxes) here. $5 happy hour specials abound, not just in remote alleyways, but also by the beautiful Darling Harbor in Sydney. We ordered a bottle of local wine, during Sunday dinner time, at a roadside café by the fountains in Kings Cross, only for 16 dollars. A rooftop bar in Mumbai, which shall not be named, charges me the same just for 1 beer, and provides me a birds eye view of the surrounding slums to justify the price. 

 

 

 

4. Fresh Ingredients

 

I cannot comment on whether the free range Aussie beef beats its American corn-fed counterpart, but the difference in the freshness in the vegetables compared to India or Singapore was evident. Jyoti fondly remembers the taste of beetroot in one of the burgers we had, while I can vouch that French Fries in Australia are far tastier than anything I've eaten in the US of A.    

 

 

3. Service with a broad smile.

 

At a self-service Greek joint, we were offered table service. At another café, we were so full of the mains, we requested to cancel the order for coffee. Pat came the answer "no problems!", with a wide grin to go with it. Ask the bartender which beer they would recommend, and you got a long description of where each one came from, and what is their speciality. At an Italian restaurant by the beachside in Gold Coast, the waitress was beaming like it was Prince William and Kate Middleton she was catering to!  (Ah no, I take that back, it would be improper to smile a lot in the presence of British Royalty)

 

 

 

 

2. Diversity of cuisines

 

In Melbourne, there was a Greek restaurant on every alternate block. In Sydney, in the limited time I was around, I noticed 2 Czech restaurants. I didn't even know there was anything like Czech food. Australia may have been a closed country less than 50 years back, but how fast has it opened up and how well has it assimilated  the influx of culinary ideas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The views

 

Ah! The views! Ultimately it all seems to boil down to geography. The beach or the woods are never too far. The sun is always shining, and the surf is always up. There cant be any philosophers in Australia: there is no time to look inward. Eat, drink and be merry. Carpe Diem.