[bln]

I say, if you want to ride the trolley, ride the trolley. I did it when I was there and it was an enjoyable enough 15 minutes.

Not that one shouldn't avoid some "tourist trap" activities, but I know people whose primary goal on vacation seems to be to avoid looking, behaving, speaking, eating like a tourist. Seems kind of silly.

 

[minya]

There's no real point to the cablecars other than riding them purely for the sake of riding them. They're useless as transportation and not very effective at sight-seeing, either.

I also agree that avoiding tourist activities if they're legitimately entertaining or useful is stupid. Unfortunately, pretty much all the "tourist traps" of San Francisco (cable cars, and the Wharf/Pier 39) are ridiculously overpriced and, for all intents and purposes, pointless.

 

[Permonic]

On the other side, you can easily infiltrate into famous double-decker trams in Hong Kong without being noticed. And the fare is damn cheap. Of course, if you want, you can hire the whole tram, no problem.

 

[Wmcmanus]

minya, I do see your point about the cable cars. I'd imagine that it would be a big thing for someone with kids, or for someone who has a keen interest in history and, in a sense, wants to be a part of that experience. I don't have kids, nor am I a history buff, so it would be easy to skip.

But now it's looking more and more like I'll have company on this trip, which is really a good thing! It will be a 50:50 deal in terms of which destinations we decide to go to, how long we stay, and what we do while there. In general, she's quite easy to get along with, so if a cable car ride is what she wants... but if we miss it, the Hong Kong alternative looks much more exciting!

 

[minya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus minya, I do see your point about the cable cars. I'd imagine that it would be a big thing for someone with kids, or for someone who has a keen interest in history and, in a sense, wants to be a part of that experience. I don't have kids, nor am I a history buff, so it would be easy to skip.

Yeah, good point. Make sure to check out the SF Museum of Modern Art!

 

[RYCeT]

Hi Wayne, I've been living in Indonesia and Australia. I might be able to share my experience. Sydney for 5 days is actually good enough, You need to go to the Rocks, Darling Harbour, Cockle bay, Circular quay. They're all in the city and can be access by foot. I would also recommend Leichart (little Italy), you can find a delicious ice cream there. It's about 30 mins by bus. The beach that needs to be checked out are Manly, Bondi, Coogee and the Gap. I highly recommend the Gap, it's my favourite spot to see Sydney. North Sydney is also a good place to see Sydney. Food is cheap at Sydney and they have a huge portions compare to US. Oxford st and Darlinghurst are gay area, it's quite interesting. Kingcross is quite famous for Sydney's red district, it's also have a high criminality in Australian standard which means nothing compare to US

The hotdogs and pies in Wooloomooloo is quite famous, you definately want to try that. There's a rib steak joints in Bondi which also quite famous, I forgot its name, it might be called 'the hurricane' For shopping center, QVB, centerpoint and Martin place will keep your girlfriend busy. Homebush is the place for Sydney stadium built for the last olympic. I highly recommend to spend weekend at Sydney. Sydney is the place to party. I used to go to Sublime at cockle bay Sydney has a good public transport system, most of the places I mention can be travel by bus, train or Ferry. I think you will only need to buy a red weekly (probably $26 AUD) to access all the places I mention.

You might want to spend one day to Wollongong, it's a small city near Sydney. It's about 1.5-2 hour drive. They got the biggest Buddhist temple in southern hemisphere. There's also some great beaches down there.

If you can I highly recommend you to go to Melbourne. It's quite a different city than Sydney. It's more european kind of city. 4-5 days should be enough for Melbourne.

I see that you do not put Bali as one of your destination. It's quite ashamed actually what the terorrist have done to Bali's reputation. If you consider going there, I can help you find a trusted guide, my friends lived in denpasar so it won't be difficult for them to find a good guide. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Wmcmanus]

RYCeT, as with so many other posters on this thread, your input has been fabulous, so much so that I don't even know what part of it to quote! I'm thinking Sydney will be all that we'll be able to fit in unless the shape of the trip changes considerably such that more time can be devoted to Oceania and Asia (which would mean cutting out Africa and South America, which I'm not so sure I want to do). In any case, what you've provided will be enough to give us a real sense of Sydney (for 5 or 6 days) even if no further advice is offered! It has always seemed like an awesome city to me, and is one of the places I'm most looking forward to visiting.

 

[3lusiv3]

If you come to Sydney you should visit the Blue Mountains National Park (World Heritage Area) a couple of hours west of Sydney. There are day tours from Sydney, so you can go there and back on the same day.

Another thing worth doing, which I have yet to do, is the Harbour Bridge climb. It's an organised walk along the very top arch of the harbour bridge and would definitely be worthwhile:

http://www.bridgeclimb.com/

http://www.bluemountainstourism.org.au/


Edit: if you decide to do the bridge climb I think you'll need to book it in advance.

 

[RYCeT]

Damn, I forgot to mention Blue mountain

If you go to Blue mountain, I'll recommend to go to a cave, I forgot its name, 3lusiv3 might be able to help you with the name. It's about 1-1.5 hour drive from blue mt. The cave is quite amazing. Also, the place in Sydney to see a kangaroo or Koala are Sydney Wonderland or Taronga zoo. Sydney is a good city to live. I've put it on my 'city to live' when I'm retired

. So far, the only other city that I can say comparable to Sydney are Vancouver. For Australia as a whole, I will recommend Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney and Great Barrier reef for scuba diving. Brisbane and Gold Coast is more like Florida so I don't think you'll be interested. New Zealand actually have a lot to offer in term of Natural scenary. It's better to go there in spring or summer though. NZ en OZ are in southern hemisphere and they have different time for summer and winter than US or Europe. Btw I really want to hear your opinion when you hear OZ accent

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYCeT If you go to Blue mountain, I'll recommend to go to a cave, I forgot its name, 3lusiv3 might be able to help you with the name. It's about 1-1.5 hour drive from blue mt. The cave is quite amazing. Also, the place in Sydney to see a kangaroo or Koala are Sydney Wonderland or Taronga zoo.

Jenolan Caves is what you're thinking of.

BTW, the Wonderland theme park has closed down.

 

[myself, aka me]

Taronga Zoo is quite awesome. I saw a matamata turtle.

 

[wrhawk]

This is shaping up into to quite the adventure, Wayne. Locales aside, make sure you've got a great camera, a journal, and anything else you might regret not bringing a few years down the road. I'm (along with eveyone else, i'm sure) very excited to read up on your travels as you post from afar. If you like the idea of journalling, i think it'd be superb to start a thread either in place of or drawing from a physical journal. This way you could post a few pictures from the week, talk about what you've done, and we'd all be able to join in on the experience while avoiding the jet lag

As far as places to visit are concerned, you're getting enough advice from much more knowledgable travellers, but if i were to travel worldwide someday, i know that the more spiritual destinations would take priority over restaurants/beaches. I really hope that both of you have a wonderful trip, and i'll be sure to keep up with your plans as they develop.

All the best,
Will

 

[BigD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus RYCeT, as with so many other posters on this thread, your input has been fabulous, so much so that I don't even know what part of it to quote! I'm thinking Sydney will be all that we'll be able to fit in unless the shape of the trip changes considerably such that more time can be devoted to Oceania and Asia (which would mean cutting out Africa and South America, which I'm not so sure I want to do). In any case, what you've provided will be enough to give us a real sense of Sydney (for 5 or 6 days) even if no further advice is offered! It has always seemed like an awesome city to me, and is one of the places I'm most looking forward to visiting.

Wayne, it looks like Austrailia alone is going to take a big chunk out of your trip. I'm just zealous right now. Anyway I talked about how BIG Asia is. Perhaps I forgot to add that China, India and Austrailia are practically sub-continents themselves. Of course these three are amongst the largest countries in the world. Look at the map and understand the sheer volume of geographical area you have to cover in these three countries alone. You really should start putting the itinierary and figure out the logistics, because not everyday they have flights between these cities.