Spent the weekend in Sydney Dowtown...

Note: The ‘blog will be turning into a bit of a travel journal until further notice:

So last you heard from me you knew that I hadn’t met up with my friend at SYD airport and I was in some dumpy internet cafe…

Well, I found many much better internet cafe’s in the Chinatown district. I have seen the future and it is dozens of Asian youth plugging their days away with WarCraft online.

After visiting the internet cafe, I headed back to the hotel and the staff had my room ready - it’s very nice and located in a corner on the 14th floor. It looks out into, uhm, well, buildings as I’m in the heart of downtown, but I can look down into George street (which is a bit like Amsterdam’s Kalverstraat + SF’s Union Sq.).

After all that travelling, walking and the heat I was about ready for a nap - about 3 hours later my pal BIG AL gave me a ring and he had found out that he had bookmarked a dynamic page on United’s website and had not realized that i had landed already and all. He hopped a cab and we went down to Darling Harbour.

The Harbour was packed with several really good restaurants and we settled on a steak place where I got to enjoy some Victoria Bitter. After dinner we headed to a popular spot called The Cargo Bar where the music was loud, the floor busy, and the crowd pleasant to the eye.

We left that scene and headed over to the Star Casino and played a few games. I found myself out before too long and we headed to the upstairs bar to waste money in a much more intelligent manner. After that BIG AL headed back to his place.

Sunday was a day for me to get my bearings in the Central Business District (CBD). I walked out the hotel and headed south to Chinatown. I found a pho place called “Pho Pasteur” which is highly recommended by my Lonely Planet guidebook. I continued wandering in the area until I came to a large warehouse market called “Paddy’s”. Inside people were selling knock-off CDs, shirts, rabbits, and candy.

While walking through I got a shoulder and head massage from these Chinese people. It was very nice.

I continued walking through Chinatown and stopped in a gazebo at the end and enjoyed a bit of rest. Afterwards I headed back to the hotel’s shopping district and bought some very boring stuff (Band Aids, you get the idea). I also got an appropriate beach towel from the large department store “Grace Brothers.”

I remember when I was first in Holland I became addicted to the V&D (Vroom & Dreesman) department store because, once I know the layout of it, I knew where to find everything. Magazines, notebook, gas grill - no problem. I have the feeling that the Grace Bros. will wind up being a bit of the same way.

I really like countries with “chemists” as a separate class of shopping establishment.

I’m continuing moving into the hotel, I left a request with the concierge that I be given a ton of extra hangars and power converters. Hopefully the ability to get my clothing hung up will help me feel ‘moved in’.

By the way, the “Space Bag” - ing of all my stuff was a great idea.

Today will be my first day at the office and, hoping to prove no weak-spined Yank I have figured out how to take the train there.

General