East Eats West

Fire up the barbie!

Picture: On of Australia's favorite past-time: grilling some serious piece of meat on the "barbie".

Australians pride themselves of their outdoor lifestyle and therefore a good barbeque is a must. Colloquially called a “barbie” a grill is essential for Aussies as they love to grill massive slabs of meat outdoors. A pub/restaurant/hotel/casino called The Oaks in Neutral Bay, Sydney, boasts and indoor and outdoor barbie where every guest has to char-grill its own steak (favorably with a pint in its left hand). The restaurant has the atmosphere of a German beer-garden and an American campground is one of my favorite spots in Sydney. And as grilling is a typical male activity be not surprised to be handed the raw steak from your female guest to show your grilling-skills!

http://www.oakshotel.com.au/

Dry climate starting from here

Picture: A picture of Hyde Park declaring an alcohol-free inner-city zone.

Australia is often plagued by droughts like it was the case last year. But one area where dryness is actually encouraged is among the beer-loving party-crowd in Australia. Only on New Year’s Eve for example 42 people fell victim to traffic accidents and I was told about horrific bar-fights where not even the police would dare to step-in. The root of most anti-social behavior (drunken driving, bar-fights, vandalizing etc.) stems from alcohol-consumption so the city has erected some “dry-zones” where alcohol must not be consumed. Restaurants and pubs are not allowed to serve alcohol to underage or drunk people.

Picture: Only the sea is allowed to be liquid.

Go Furie!

Picture: A happy jockey at the annual 1st of January Royal Randwick Horse-Race.

In Australia British culture is still very visible starting with the strong love for beer, the fondness for picnics to the addiction to horse-racing. One of the legendary horse-race tracks is the Royal Randwick track in Sydney. I attended the traditional 1st of January track-day and got a good idea of what horse-racing is about: betting, drinking, girls dressing up and more drinking (and the odd scuffle and fight). Even though the 1’000m races where rather short we enjoyed being among cheering and screaming Aussies and the lovely dresses of the ladies. The oddest being the arrest of a disgruntled and riotous gambler and the incredible vertically-challenged jockeys.

Picture: A quick dash and fortuntes are made or lost.

Sydney’s excellent museums

Picture: A museum with a view. The café of the NSW Art Gallery in Sydney.

You can be forgiven to think that

Sydney

is just the opera house, beaches and the

Harbour

Bridge

. The city also has a plethora of museums, some of them even with free entry.

My favorite one for location and style is the NSW Art Gallery situated next to the Royal Botanical Garden (free entry). The meandering and enormous museum houses various collections from ancient Asian art to aboriginal art to contemporary Australian artists. At the same time it has a superb restaurant and café.

On circular key in the heart of Sydney the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) overlooks the harbor. It houses changing exhibitions from aboriginal art (currently Paddy Bedford) to video art (currently several videos from the Centre Pompidou in France are showed). This museum is also for free.

Picture: the historic Hyde Park Museum - where thousand of deportees landed in Australia.

The third museum I can recommend is the Hyde Park Barracks Museum. It is located in a historic building and shows the history of “transportation” (deportation) and the history of Australia and its convicts; a must-see for history-buffs.       

Furthermore there is an excellent Maritime Museums with several boats and the massive Powerhouse Museum for kids and adults alike.

So should you seek relief from the heat or the rain, head to one of the many museums in Sydney and be amazed.

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/

http://www.mca.com.au/

http://www.hht.net.au/museums/hpbm/hyde_park_barracks_museum

Beautiful old Paddington

Under the current

Picture: Lifeguards saving a Chinese from the sea at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Australians take pride in their volunteer lifeguards and for a decade now the credo has been simple: swim between the flags. Each beach has a lifeguard post that oversees the beach area limited by a yellow-red flag on each side of the beach. As Australian beaches are notorious for their dangerous under-currents it is absolutely vital to swim in between the flags. One sunny day when we walked down famous Bondi Beach in Sydney we personally witnessed how a Chinese tourist was dragged out from the water by a lifeguard, near dead.

Picture: The Chinese tourist throwing up after being saved from the sea (sorry for the tilted picture).

Belated Happy Birthday to King Bumiphol of Thailand

Picture: Thais celebrating in Sydney their King Bumiphol's birthday.

I wish King Bumiphol of Thailand a belated Happy Birthday!

Bargain hunting takes patience

Picture: Dedicated shoppers from Japan and Korea queuing in front of a Bally shop.

How long would you wait for purchasing a 50% discounted Bally handbag? The answer for many Asians visiting or living in Sydney is simple: hours. On the 26th of December, called Boxing Day, thousands of Koreans, Japanese and Chinese descended on Sydney’s retailers to hunt for bargains. It wass not uncommon to see them queuing for hours in front of a Bally shop guarded by a bouncer. What a way to spend a day off!

A race where men still get killed and boats sink – the Sydney Hobart Race

Picture: The start of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race in the Sydney Harbour.

On the 26th of December once more the legendary Sydney Hobart Race started in Sydney Harbour. We got a good view from a friend’s house in Rose Bay when at 1.20pm a cannon shot marked the start of the race. The now famous boat-race was founded in 1945 by the Cruising Club of Australia and the record to cross the rough and unpredictable Bass Straits to Tasman Island stands at 1 day, 18 hours and 40 minutes. Normally the various boats from super-size maxi yacht to tiny vintage boat take three days. This year the water was especially choppy, one boat sinking and two maxi yachts loosing their masts. Over eight yachts gave up. So good luck mate, you will need it!

http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/default.asp

First to say Happy New Year!

Picture: Sydney Fireworks 2005 (courtesy of www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au)

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2007 from Down Under! I watched with friends in Sydney an absolutely amazing firework launched from four ships, five skyscrapers and the prominent Harbour Bridge. And I hope you experienced a wonderful celebration of the New Year!