SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (again)

I found a very nice 3-star hotel that had a special deal running so it was affordable. I was staying in the Kings Cross area again, even though I vowed not to, but at least this was a nice hotel. Kings Cross is a bit seedy compared to the rest of Sydney, but the hotels are a bit cheaper and it’s also the backpacker ghetto so everything a traveler needs is right there. I had some work to do and I already knew of a cheap internet place so I didn’t mind staying there two more nights.

The highlight of my last full day was a visit to the top of the Tower. It seemed very pricey at $AU22 for an elevator ride, but it also included a bizarre artificial reality thing as well. I found a 15% off coupon on in a pamphlet so it wasn’t too bad. The view from the top of the tower was very impressive. There is a lot going on in Sydney and the city is divided by a scenic bay so seeing it from this angle was worthwhile. There was even a “tour” up in the tower where an employee took a group of people and stopped once per direction and told everyone what everything was. I’ve been up a few other observation towers and I can’t tell you how much better they would be if someone were there to explain it and tell a few well-rehearsed stories.

The artificial reality “ride” was very interesting. It was a very Disney-esque attraction where a group of people sits in a small theater and holograms explain some things that make Australia unique, then the group moves into a different theater and gets strapped into vibrating, tilting roller coaster-style seats. The group takes sort of an aerial tour of Australia’s better-known sights while a few of the more imaginative people in the group scream as the seats shift.

The last thing I did in Sydney was have dinner with my Australian friend’s father. He’s a thoughtful and entertaining conservative businessman and neither of us could figure out how he spawned such a twisted, Marxist son (Hi Paul!). It was nice to be able to ask a local about some of the things I found interesting in Australia.

Overall, I was expecting Australia to be fairly impressive, and it exceeded my expectations. There wasn’t really anything exotic about it for me, but it was fascinating to see a place with Europe-style socialism combined with American-style decadence. I took the train to the airport and was there early for my flight to Auckland.