Sydney, on the other hand was a completely different kettle of fish. We arrived early in the morning following an overnight flight with the added benefit of an unexpected upgrade. We dumped our bags at our hotel then headed straight for the harbour front and joined a tour of the Opera House, spotting cockatoos, ibises, and even a pair of kookaburras in the gardens en route. Recently Sydney has experienced record breaking temperatures but we soon stopped all that. On our second day we met up with old friends who emigrated 20 years ago. Tbey suggested a trip out to the Blue Mountains and the clouds came down and temperatures plummeted. The thing about the Blue Mountains is the views – but there were no views, only a thick layer of white mist that increased the higher we ascended. We could hear the cascading waterfalls, but we couldn’t see them. If I’d paid my 140 aussie dollars for an organised tour I might have felt pretty miffed, but fortunately I hadn’t. We had years of catching up to do as we dangled over the shrouded rain forest of the Jamieson Valley in a cable car and took a couple of rides on the world’s steepest railway - an earlier foreruuner of a theme park roller coaster but in fact an old mining track - at Katoomba Scenic World. Incidentally Katoomba Scenic World is also the proud user of environmentally friendly 'who gives a crap' toilet rolls according to signs in all the loos. Australia is not a place for the faint hearted.
We ended our mini-break in Sydney as we began – back at the Opera House for dinner. In between we took a boat across the harbour to the surfer’s paradise of Manly Beach and we walked across the bridge - you can climb it for about 300 dollars but you can walk over it with the same views for free. Plus I'd already faced my fear of heights in the cable car. I didn't feel the need to do it twice.
Our grand tour has been planned with meticulous precision, and although six weeks might seem like a long time, there’s a lot to fit in. It’s speed dating tourism – flirting with several cities in a very short space of time. Singapore might be fun for a bit of a fling, but Sydney is the one I want to see for a second date.
A fake tree in Singapore or the Blue Mountains National Park - complete with its magical mist - you choose!
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