The one where I was in Sydney

I was in Sydney.

I got in from Christchurch on the evening of the 28th. I spent a coupla days wandering, exploring the city. Nice, but I don't think I've hit the parts yet that excite everyone else so much. On the 30th I wandered around a bit and found a nice park in which to watch the fireworks. Sydney had 24 viewing sites set aside, and I thought this would have a decent view but not a hundred thousand people like the primary areas.

On the 31st I wandered a bit more. Went to a museum by some of the popular viewing areas--when I left, at about 3pm, the line to get into Mrs Macquaries Point in the Royal Botanic Gardens, which was supposed to be limited to 25,000 people, was well over a mile long. I sat in the park and read a bit (finally reading Tolkien, K!), then went to the grocery store to buy dinner. Wine (to smuggle in), hummus, olives, seaweed rice crackers, a salami, some cheese (brie? I think it was, though that doesn't seem to go with the rest)... Headed for Embarkation Park in Kings Cross, just across the bay from Mrs Macquaries Point, which was scheduled to open at 6pm. Posted limit: 6000 people.

I expected to get a good viewing spot and hang out, eat, talk to my neighbors. Instead, the site had maybe:
- ~50 security people
- ~20 people cleaning up
- ~15 cops
- ~10 selling food and drink
- ~400 people watching the fireworks

I had a decent view, though it was partially obstructed by some trees. And, depending on where I was standing, by light posts and navy ships. I found a spot where there was a gap in the trees...no one else was within 30 yards of me. I ate, read, napped, watched the 9pm show, read some more, napped some more, watched the midnight show. Which was pretty awesome, though it was hard to see it all--there were fireworks set off from several different sites, and I couldn't see them all at once or from the same place.

I felt pretty isolated and alone. Last year for New Year's I was with Dara and some good friends at Paige's family cabin, and in other years I've also been surrounded by friends at parties or Omar's family cabin. Here, I didn't know anyone and the streets weren't a fun, Happy New Year's!-y place to wander...where I was, it was mostly drunk assholes shouting at strip clubs.

Here are the conversations I'd had as of 3am:

12:41am:
Security guy as I left the park (pointing to my water bottle): "Is that just water in there?"
sg: "That is just water in there."

2:15am:
sg: (points at computer)
Convenience store guy: "Three dollars"
sg: (digs in bag, hands him two coins)
Csg: "Thanks." (points to computers in back of store)

2:20am:
Another convenience store guy who saw me sit down at computer: "Three dollars"
sg: "I paid up front"
Acsgwsmsdac: "Okay."

I wasn't feeling great about me in Sydney, and my couch provider was definitely not happy that the space she'd generously offered a friend's friend for "a few days" had turned into 4 days (or that I'd turned out to be American...), so I decided to leave as soon as possible.

I booked a hostel for a few nights in Katoomba, a small city in the center of the Blue Mountains, about 2 hours west of Sydney, and left the city at noon on the 1st.

ia,
sg