Check out of the hotel was at 10am, and I still had to return the keys to the hostel in order to get my key deposit back from that place, so the day was always going to be a bit disjointed, but I figured that a trip to Bondi Beach should be on the cards and I had seen that there were some nice air conditioned hop-on and hop-off tour buses that did a nice roundtrip to the coast which would be just the ticket. A cost of AUD $39 per preson seemed a bit expensive, but then I am fast learning that Australia and Sydney is particular is just a place you cant really do on a budget as everything costs and costs more than it should.
Considering that in Xel-Ha I could do a full day of nature rambling, free food, free drinks, free snorkling equipment, etc, for just a few bucks each it makes me furious that here things are ten times the price and nothing is included, plus the attitude of the people in thr tourist industry is very much I-dont-give-a-shit about being friendly and helpful, they are just doing their job means that between the two I know where I wont be breaking my back to come back again to any time in a hurry.
But that gripe aside, we agreed to go for the tour and of the 17 stops that the Bondi Explorer bus took it only made two photo pit-stops and if no one was getting on or off then it wouldnt even stop for five seconds at each of the other drop off points before continuing on, which made taking clear photos a nightmare.
However we did manage to get out and take a few photos before we made it to Bondi Beach where we hopped off and went down to the beach to take a few snaps and feel the cool breeze on our faces. The waves were not very high, but this did not put off the eager surfers who were paddling out and riding them back in again, and neither did it bother the thousands of sun bathers who were stretched out on towels or under sun desk brolleys.
It is a pain that the whole area, like most of Australia, is a no drinking in public zone, as I cant think of much more refreshing on a hot sunny day by the beach than to enjoy a couple of brewskies ( or ciders in our case ) but the fact that they had signs saying confiscation or heavy fined was enough to put us off finishing off the 6 pack that we had bought the previous night.
Without any swimming stuff or towels, and as my overnight train left was departing from Brisbane in just a few hours, we didnt get to make the most of the time on the beach, but we saw enough to get a taster and I can say that while it was nice it didn't seen any more special than the other beaches I had visited earlier in my travels, so I am happy to say that I was here and thats about it.
In my eagerness to get back and not be late for my train I made us jump back on the Bondi Explorer bus instead of waiting a few minutes to jump on the Bondi-Bendi bus that took a faster and more direct route back to the town centre, but we still got back in plenty of time.
After checking out of the hostel and picking up our bags from the hotel we jumped on the Sydney Explorer bus, included in the same ticket as the Bondi buses, and then after a slight delay we were off to Central Station.
It was weird to see some of the Sydney working girls during the middle of the day out on the same strip as our bus stop and although it might be legal over here, the quailty that we saw on offer was nothing to brag about and we joked that they were all either trannies or old enough to be our mothers, neither being a pleasant thought.
The Sydney explorer bus took us past a few places that I would have wanted to photo if only the bus driver had the kindness to pause for all of a couple of heartbeats, but despite not pushing the bus to the limit on the open roads he too was steadfast that he wasnt going to pause long enough for a photo break anyplace useful.
Halfway down the main street to the Central train station there was being held a street protest against the violence in the Gaza Strip, which has A' calling out Awesome and had her wishing she had the time to jump out and join in, exclaiming that she hadnt been part of a protest in ages and she missed it. Not my kind of sentiments but still I sympathised enough to not mind the ten minute delay that it put into our schedule.
At the train station we had just enough time to grab a quick drink and a chat before my train was leaving at 4:20pm, bound for Brisbane on an overnight trip that due to the recent credit crunch cost me more to book 6 months in advance than if I had just turned up and paid on the day, and equally anoying was that there were plenty of spare seats available. Oh well, you live and you learn.
As I picked up my mini rucksack the strap gave way and came off in my hand, which for some reason put a wry smile on my face and taking a closer examination of it and my jacket, I noticed that the wear and tear was taking its toll on my belongings. Stitching was coming away at the seams, buttons were missing, clips were crushed or broken, zips were losing teeth and all in all my clothes and bag were showing that it was not me alone that was making this trip, and that when I return home it might be an idea to dump or replace pretty much everything, especially as most things were a little old even before I started travelling.
Despite the fact that it was a 13 to 14 hour trip there was no free food or drink on offer, which meant that I had to grab a bite form the lunch car, but to its credit ( or agianst Sydneys ) it was no more expensive here to buy a drinks can or bar of choclate than it had been back in my hostel.
The recliner seats were a boon, but that was about it as it went for luxuries as there was no wifi access, no plug sockets to charge things and worst of all is that during the day they had blinding lights that reflected off the windows making photoing the scenery and wildlife next to impossible and then at night they switched them off so that you could get to sleep, which had the same effect with the lights outside.
This wouldnt have been so bad but it was impossible to stay asleep with the extremely irritating train staff who kept coming up and nudging me awake just to ask me where I got on, where I was getting off, to inform me that food was available in the next carriage or, worst of all, that a person was going to sit next to me, like I gave a rats ass if someone if going to sit next to me or not once I am already asleep !?!
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