By leaving Boxdale I finally returned to my originally intended travel route, after a slight deviation for about two month, and headed for Sydney with Tim and Sue. Being out in the countryside for quite some time, the buzzing city was a big change, but I have to admit that Elena was right. This city is beautiful.
But first things first – my special hostel experience: Travelling on a rather low budget, forces you to stay out of hotels and choose bunk rooms at hostels. Two very obvious advantages are that they are cheap and it is easy to meet people. However, you can end up in rather wired accommodations. Originally intending to stay with a friend, the plans had to be changed short term, so after arriving I tried to find a place to sleep for a few days. As there was a huge festival going on the same weekend, it proved quite difficult and I finally booked online a place in the area of King’s Cross.
Coming into the nine bed shared room the stench of a space not cleaned for quite some days, mixed with the odor of party people entered my nose. Very welcoming! What can you do? So I put the sheets on the bed and left to discover the city. When returning at night, I had to find my mattress again, which has disappeared for unknown reasons. The moldy bathrooms and filthy kitchen facilities perfectly rounded up the picture of this establishment. After a rather surprising relaxing night, I left my backpack at Amelia’s the next morning and limited the time I spent in the hostel … enjoy some more opinions by looking through the reviews 😉
After spending two nights in this impressive accommodation, I thankfully could change and I stayed at two other very nice places, the Central YHA, Australia’s largest youth hostel, and Glebe YHA, another good spot to enjoy Sydney.
But now about Sydney: It seems there exists no map which shows you the layout of the city combined with the train and bus networks, so in the beginning you need some time to overcome the confusion to find you way. Unlike other major cities I’ve seen so far here in Australia the streets don’t follow any particular order and some people would even say they “still follow the original goat tracks”. However, I believe this also gives the city a unique charm and you never know what you find behind the next corner.
The well known area around Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge, the beach and the natural park of Manly, the area around Oxford Street with its galleries, Glebe Point Road, the ferry ride to Parramatta, … are just a few spots worth visiting while being here.
