Sydney Adventures: Day 1

Last Wednesday, Stefanie and I jetted off to Sydney for our very first adventure for the year. It was the first time we had ever travelled interstate together, it was the first time we had ever stayed in a backpackers hostel, it was the first time we had gone anywhere relatively unplanned, and it was the first time I had ever been to Sydney. 

And much to true avail, upon arrival, we had already run into our first minor mishap. While researching our backpackers hostel, we found that there was a convenient little shuttle bus that ran from the Sydney airport directly to where we were staying - however, what we failed to realise was that we actually had to book for this shuttle. D’oh! But never fear - luckily, we could catch the train, instead.

The one thing we took away from our wee little train experience was that Sydney trains are weird, man. Not only do the seats run at least 5 or 6 seats deep, but there are also two levels to their trains. That’s right, a double-decker train. Weird.

But nonetheless, two or three stops later, we arrived at our destination. For our four-day trip, we stayed at WakeUp! Sydney backpackers hostel (located on George Street and Pitt Street) and, for a first time backpackers experience, we really could not have picked a better place. Not only is it right in the heart of Sydney - across the road from the Central Train Station, and walking distance to the Powerhouse Museum, mall, and pretty much anywhere else, really… - the staff were very friendly, the rooms were clean, the beds were ridiculously [and surprisingly] comfy, and for $40 a night, everything was just so convenient and cheap. 

We shared our room with two others we had yet to meet, and our room had four lockers to store our stuff, and two bunk beds. The hostel ran up 9 levels, including the basement bar, foyer/internet lounge, kitchen + ‘chill-out’ area, and 7 levels of rooms. And while we were quite excited for our trip, the first thing we really noticed about Sydney was that backpackers, the WakeUp! staff, and just Sydney-siders as a whole are just generally better looking than most. Yep…

The hostel offered many tourist activities, including a free walking guided tour of the beaches and staple city sites, and while Stef and I had initially planned to follow these routes, our socially-awkward-selves decided to journey through on our own. As we were purely in Sydney for the Harry Potter Exhibition, we took a quick dry-run to the Powerhouse Museum before dawdling off into the city. On our walks, we had no real idea of where we were headed, but our nonchalant-ness allowed us to stumble across so many interesting places. Though on return we found we were only a 30-minute walk away from our hostel, it took us a good 3-hours to reach the epicenter of the shopping district. Yeah, we don’t know how, either. We must have come across every shopping arcade and complex in the Sydney CBD, but one of the best ones we visited was The Galleries. Why? Because in it contained one of the most amazing bookstores we had ever come across - KINOKUNIYA. The only way to really explain this place was that it was huge. HUGE. Stef and I are suckers for a good book store, and this one was no exception. Their sections were enormous and had such a wide range, and the actual store itself just had no end! We went through place-after-place-after-place, and in the end, we just gave up and left, because we would have ended up spending our entire allowance within the first hour. Sigh.

Another wonderful place we stumbled across was the Queen Victoria Building. We were baffled by it’s beauty in mixing bold colours with classic architecture, as well as the wondrous stain-glass windows and amazing stairwells. There, we stopped for lunch in the Old Vienna Coffee House, which was just so lovely and quaint. The arcade had so many lovely little quirky trinket stores across their three levels, as well as high-fashion boutiques that we didn’t even dare enter. 

After exploring the many alleyways and side streets, we finally found our way to the mall - and the one thing we noticed was that the Sydney CBD has like, 40 different General Pants stores. I mean, seriously…? At first, we thought we were lost and hence running around in circles, but no, each store was just that little bit different from the rest. But nonetheless, what Stef and I both noticed was that, other than General Pants, Sydney has it’s quirky little fashion stores and boutiques down pat! Though the name of the store escapes me, we came across this lovely little boutique where the shopkeep offered us some traveller’s “must-see” advice, which was nice.

After a seemingly endless day of exploring and adventure, we made our way back to the hostel, and headed to the ‘chill-out’ area. We didn’t really know what to expect, but there we found an enormous mound of beanbags, a handful of people just “chilling-out”, and, to our luck, Friends With Benefits playing on the communal TV. Ah, these are our type of people. The afternoon was spent mindlessly drooling over Kunis and Timberlake, and once finished, we took a wee nap before heading down to the hostel bar for dinner and a drink.

Now, let’s just hold the phone for a quick second. The WakeUp! Sydney bar, aptly named Side Bar, is one freaking amazing place to spend a Wednesday night. Stef and I grabbed an easy a lasagne and chips for dinner which we tried to guzzle down with a beer (but failed miserably - a 2 for $5 deal will never get us to drink beer ever again), and it wasn’t long after that where the house band started to play. So, you know how I mentioned that Sydney has the most attractive looking people around…? Add instruments, an ability to sing x 4, and an impeccable taste in music. Yeah. YEAH.

Now, it may be the fact that Stef and I spent the night trying to get through each drink on the house cocktail list, but I can assure you that this band was amazing. Words cannot describe how brilliant each musician was, and their attractiveness was just an added bonus - and a wonderful one at that. Their playlist was just so freaking great, and ugh, I just can’t even… I just can’t. Ugh! Anyway, it may just be because we were entranced by their music (or it may be because we were slightly buzzed), but the night just kind of phased out after that, and we found ourselves back in our room, sleeping our long day away…