Days 134-136 - Sydney, parallels with Singapore - Unfinished Business

September 11, 2023 to September 13, 2023

Days 134-136 - Sydney, parallels with Singapore

And so we flew from the splendour and efficiency of Changi Airport to the bland, inefficient Sydney Airport. A worker screamed "keep moving, there are more kiosks around the corner". The fact that you have such a person is an admission of a failed system. There were more kiosks around the corner and, like the first bunch, all had long queues, some were out of order and some failed to read a passport. Meanwhile, our baggage got dizzy on the carousel. Cora missed her connecting flight and instead jumped on a bus to Canberra.

I had a much better time once I escaped the airport. Two friends, David and John, who I met at Sydney University in 1977, were there to meet me. It doesn't get better! We cycled back to John's place at Sydney University, before heading out for coffee and a thali for lunch.

The bike box of exhilaration. Thank you again, Jason.

At Syd, with John (left) and David. Thanks for your messages during my ride and for meeting me. Much appreciated.

A fine place to be staying; thanks John and Brigid.

Later in the day we wandered through the old campus, David headed home and John and I caught up on news over a beer.

The main quadrangle with its new Jacaranda. There was a saying that you should start studying for final exams when the Jacaranda burst into bloom.

Not only did John meet me and, with partner Brigid, gave me somewhere to stay, but he took a couple of days off work as a driver with Ozharvest. They're Australia's leading food rescue organisation, saving surplus food and delivering it to charities that help people in need. Of course, they're doing a huge favour for the environment too.

On Tuesday morning, I was finally going to meet Stav, from the indigo foundation. She's another person whose words of encouragement left their mark as I struggled through garbage and noise. I thought John had done plenty to get a coffee ticket so I invited him along.

As we walked through Sydney University to Surry Hills, I began to notice many similarities with Singapore - street art, contrasts of old and new, gardens.

The Irish mixed doubles team - Stav and I

After coffee, Stav headed back to her busy life while John and I meandered and eventually settled on a beer and lunch.

John and I stayed in Surry Hills and solved the world's problems over lunch and a very good stout, before our return walk.

Meanwhile, Cora had returned to Sydney and so I got the bus to Circular Quay to meet her. We then took a ferry to Manly for dinner with my mum, who turned 96 in late August.

Mum cooked a fine fish pie that we ate after I had done an interview on the evening drive-time programme, ‘Singapore Today’ of radio station CNA938. That may explain why we left, rather late, while forgetting to make a photo with mum.

We sat upstairs and at the front of a double-decker bus for the trip back into the city. It was a classic case of returning to childhood. We then took the light rail to Cora's abode, where I spent a little less than eight hours. I was wandering the streets again at 7.15 am.

Late night, George Street. Before light rail, this place was a traffic jam of buses.

On Wednesday, Cora went off to her conference, while I enjoyed a sunny day in Sydney. I traipsed through Chinatown - a drop in the ocean, compared with Singapore's, before seeking coffee in Chippendale.

And to give a balanced view of my journey.........

Australian white ibis, fondly known as the "bin chicken".

Once cheap housing for workers is now expensive inner city real estate. The "vote yes" refers to the upcoming referendum on whether or not to give the indigenous peoples a voice in parliament. Of course we should!

At midday, I headed to the cinema to see "Past Lives", a terrific film about human relationships that, I suspect, most of us can - well - relate to. I recommend it.

It's a glorious sunny Sydney day and there seems no better way to enjoy it than zipping in and out of the sun between coffees. Forty years ago, Chippendale offered little unless you worked in the brewery or the newspapers. Now you can sit in the sun with a coffee while watching pigeons and bin chickens.

Again, like Singapore, an escalator surrounded by greenery.

It was time for a final meander in a general westerly direction.

And so, that was my time in Sydney. John cooked a terrific meal and the three of us sat around a table chatting. Tomorrow I'll be cycling once more with about 300 km to Canberra. If I was going on a 300 km ride I would replace my bottom bracket and wear decent shoes. But, I am not; I am doing a little ride to get home and to turn 9700 km into 10,000. It's really quite different and I just don't care!

Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles)
Total: 9,652 km (5,994 miles)

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Florence SofieldHi Ian thankyou soooo much for taking us with you on this latest journey! It brought back memories of my time living in and visiting different parts of Asia over the years! Congratulations on an amazing ride and fund raiser for Indigo! Looking forward to seeing you soon! 😘😘
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7 months ago

John GrantIt was a great pleasure hosting you for a couple of days. A small repayment for the months of interest and entertainment you've provided Ian.
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7 months ago

Graham SmithThe standard of Sydney Airport isn’t too bad when compared to airports in regional Nepal, remote Western Australia or Cape York. But best not to compare it to any modern airport in Asia.

It’s a case-study for privatisation, and seeing the affects of siphoning off profits, rather than reinvesting in a few simple improvements like an air-train between Domestic and International.
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7 months ago