Sydney- A dream come true
Sydney- Opera house, Cricket Australia, the fresh Veggies and Ramji Iyer mentally converting a pair of shoes' price to Indian currency is what I connect with when I think of this place. For those who didn't get the Ramji, highly recommend watching Nala Damayanthi, a Tamil comedy that was released in 2003 (that does sound so long ago). The reason for this musing and finally deciding to pen down after almost a year on my travel to this beautiful (understatement) place was the recent Test match- a gloating Indian on retaining the Border- Gavaskar Trophy. The Sydney scenes during the Test reminded me of my trip.
One fine day at work I got an email from my VP with the subject line Congratulations. That definitely not being the season of appraisal, and not having accomplished anything major I opened the email with a lot of anxiety. All I managed to read was 'Congratulations! You are selected to travel to Sydney to attend the Global summit of women in April'. I read the mail thrice to understand if she actually meant The Sydney!
One fine day at work I got an email from my VP with the subject line Congratulations. That definitely not being the season of appraisal, and not having accomplished anything major I opened the email with a lot of anxiety. All I managed to read was 'Congratulations! You are selected to travel to Sydney to attend the Global summit of women in April'. I read the mail thrice to understand if she actually meant The Sydney!
So after major reading, re-reading the mailer I managed to call up my husband and barely held my excitement rather disbelief and whispered- I think am traveling to Sydney. I could hear him super excited and jump around while I was there still in disbelief. This happens when
- You have never in your life traveled out of India
- You get to travel to SYDNEY as your first destination and that too without really having to spend on the travel
I hit the jackpot and may be I did do something for the opportunity to come by. While I was still stuck with the mailer, bang came the call back from my husband- Good news- it is not winter and the weather is definitely something you can manage. Holy God! He knew my aversion to cold places and before I could even think of anything, he had my shopping planned. Preparing for the travel, to attend a three day summit looked like a long task. Starting with the wonder of how much of local currency do I carry, what places do I visit in that short stay along with preparation for the summit. I should definitely say, the summit was one of an experience. I have shared my learning on my professional page. I will keep that out of this for now.
My journey started with my Hubby, my sis in law and family coming down to the airport to see me off. First international flight does have such perks I guess. After a quick send off, I headed in only to be told that my connection flight- my first International flight to Singapore was delayed! Aha, indeed a wonderful start. I was wavering on stopping by at Singapore for a day to catch up with my close friends there but decided otherwise since I wasn't sure if I would have the time. Boy, how I regret not taking that Visa for Singapore!! I was given a food coupon, asked to finish my immigration and wait. Since I had sent my bags for CheckIn, I couldn't go out to spend time with the husband.With rather nothing else to do, and still not being issued a boarding pass for the connection flight, I started reading and mentally creating possible scenes of having met my SG friends, had I taken my visa. Bad luck la! I finally managed to board the flight a hour and half behind schedule. Little did I realize, I will be put on the connection flight that was to be 13 hours later and more importantly, no change of clothes in my backpack other than the books!
This was sure an experience and that is when I finally thanked all that is being done at Changi Airport. Picturing myself to be Victor Navorski I enjoyed my time here and thus explored a lot more at Changi not that I had a choice. By this time I befriended a fellow Indian, who is now a resident at Sydney. It was good to learn a thing or two about what to expect at Sydney. (psst, the case of no health Faucet hit me at Singapore and for us Indians, it sure is a BIG DEAL!)
Thankfully, jet lag did not kick in when I finally reached Sydney on the day of the conference! I did make good friends with my fellow passengers- Mr and Mrs Mark from Sydney who were on a trip to Asia and taking time off. I made good of the 8 hours flight with books and the In house movies which did not disappoint me a bit.
I reached Sydney early in the morning- local time, and I cleared the immigration. I finally took my baggage which I hadn't seen in the last 24 plus hours (I did feel happy seeing something familiar finally) I waited in the queue for the final security clearance. There came my surprise. Irrespective of whichever country we flew in from, there was the dog squad assigned to sniff through not just the luggage, but the person as well and it seemed to be the one deciding on the entry of a person to its country! A thousand things started running through my head by now but the first of it was about some of my close friends and my niece who run at the sight of a dog a 100 meters away. I pictured them deciding not to enter Australia, saying 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and heading back to the terminal to book their return tickets. All this thoughts, while I was struggling to manage the stroller which wouldn't stop when I wanted it to! I ended up (unknowingly) slightly pushing the stroller onto a really tall (maybe for me) person infront of me, without even realizing it. He did not hesitate a second to turn around and look at me like I did not belong there. I didn't understand why he was giving me the death stares, when he finally said in a rather cold tone 'you are hurting me with the stroller'! I profusely apologized but he wouldn't stop turning around and giving me scares, while I prayed my turn came soon for the dog sniffing. I definitely understood all the sledging in Cricket by then.
After this parade, I finally stepped out of the airport and hired a cab. I kept in mind the advice given to me by my fellow Indian friend, to sit in the front seat with the driver. This was something I prefer to do when in India as well and hence I did not hesitate, since I had been dying to talk to someone. He was a very good driver from Bangladesh who changed all the wrong first impressions I had. He drove me to the hotel while giving me some useful tips about the general traffic and how early I should be starting for my return flights, what to expect, what not to. The drive through indeed was amazing, through the tunnels and the landscape with lots of greens all over. My event was at the Darling harbor which in itself was touristy and I sure should say, I thoroughly enjoyed the time here. I made best use of the packed schedule and took the tour to the famous Opera House- though I did not enter inside. Thanks to my Sydney colleague, I also managed to eat at a Pakistani place. I thought I would fill my plates with some familiar food but my stomach decided not to eat a thing- probable case of Jet lag and the body being confused when to eat, when to sleep and when to wake up.
Sydney did live up to all its expectations. The cuisine was not Veg friendly atleast at the places I had been to which still did do some good - since I ended up loosing 3kgs by the end of the trip. I survived on the fresh fruits and veggies, plus loads of coffee. I finally understood why my work colleagues from Australia do not enjoy much of Indian food. Towards the end of the trip, these were my learning
- Always pack an extra pair of clothes in your back pack especially if you are on a International flight
- Speak to the locals, they love welcoming you to their country and you will receive some worth while tips that will make your stay better
- If its only a few thousands, do not hesitate to take a tourist Visa of the country you are to be in for a connection flight even if its only few hours.
-Invest in a good camera/ a phone with a good camera
-Find out what to buy if you are keen on buying something for folks back home. Do not indulge only on chocolates since there is more to any place you go.
Yes, I finally got that stamp in my Passport before it expired and that too SYDNEY!!
My journey started with my Hubby, my sis in law and family coming down to the airport to see me off. First international flight does have such perks I guess. After a quick send off, I headed in only to be told that my connection flight- my first International flight to Singapore was delayed! Aha, indeed a wonderful start. I was wavering on stopping by at Singapore for a day to catch up with my close friends there but decided otherwise since I wasn't sure if I would have the time. Boy, how I regret not taking that Visa for Singapore!! I was given a food coupon, asked to finish my immigration and wait. Since I had sent my bags for CheckIn, I couldn't go out to spend time with the husband.With rather nothing else to do, and still not being issued a boarding pass for the connection flight, I started reading and mentally creating possible scenes of having met my SG friends, had I taken my visa. Bad luck la! I finally managed to board the flight a hour and half behind schedule. Little did I realize, I will be put on the connection flight that was to be 13 hours later and more importantly, no change of clothes in my backpack other than the books!
This was sure an experience and that is when I finally thanked all that is being done at Changi Airport. Picturing myself to be Victor Navorski I enjoyed my time here and thus explored a lot more at Changi not that I had a choice. By this time I befriended a fellow Indian, who is now a resident at Sydney. It was good to learn a thing or two about what to expect at Sydney. (psst, the case of no health Faucet hit me at Singapore and for us Indians, it sure is a BIG DEAL!)
Thankfully, jet lag did not kick in when I finally reached Sydney on the day of the conference! I did make good friends with my fellow passengers- Mr and Mrs Mark from Sydney who were on a trip to Asia and taking time off. I made good of the 8 hours flight with books and the In house movies which did not disappoint me a bit.
I reached Sydney early in the morning- local time, and I cleared the immigration. I finally took my baggage which I hadn't seen in the last 24 plus hours (I did feel happy seeing something familiar finally) I waited in the queue for the final security clearance. There came my surprise. Irrespective of whichever country we flew in from, there was the dog squad assigned to sniff through not just the luggage, but the person as well and it seemed to be the one deciding on the entry of a person to its country! A thousand things started running through my head by now but the first of it was about some of my close friends and my niece who run at the sight of a dog a 100 meters away. I pictured them deciding not to enter Australia, saying 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and heading back to the terminal to book their return tickets. All this thoughts, while I was struggling to manage the stroller which wouldn't stop when I wanted it to! I ended up (unknowingly) slightly pushing the stroller onto a really tall (maybe for me) person infront of me, without even realizing it. He did not hesitate a second to turn around and look at me like I did not belong there. I didn't understand why he was giving me the death stares, when he finally said in a rather cold tone 'you are hurting me with the stroller'! I profusely apologized but he wouldn't stop turning around and giving me scares, while I prayed my turn came soon for the dog sniffing. I definitely understood all the sledging in Cricket by then.
After this parade, I finally stepped out of the airport and hired a cab. I kept in mind the advice given to me by my fellow Indian friend, to sit in the front seat with the driver. This was something I prefer to do when in India as well and hence I did not hesitate, since I had been dying to talk to someone. He was a very good driver from Bangladesh who changed all the wrong first impressions I had. He drove me to the hotel while giving me some useful tips about the general traffic and how early I should be starting for my return flights, what to expect, what not to. The drive through indeed was amazing, through the tunnels and the landscape with lots of greens all over. My event was at the Darling harbor which in itself was touristy and I sure should say, I thoroughly enjoyed the time here. I made best use of the packed schedule and took the tour to the famous Opera House- though I did not enter inside. Thanks to my Sydney colleague, I also managed to eat at a Pakistani place. I thought I would fill my plates with some familiar food but my stomach decided not to eat a thing- probable case of Jet lag and the body being confused when to eat, when to sleep and when to wake up.
Sydney did live up to all its expectations. The cuisine was not Veg friendly atleast at the places I had been to which still did do some good - since I ended up loosing 3kgs by the end of the trip. I survived on the fresh fruits and veggies, plus loads of coffee. I finally understood why my work colleagues from Australia do not enjoy much of Indian food. Towards the end of the trip, these were my learning
- Always pack an extra pair of clothes in your back pack especially if you are on a International flight
- Speak to the locals, they love welcoming you to their country and you will receive some worth while tips that will make your stay better
- If its only a few thousands, do not hesitate to take a tourist Visa of the country you are to be in for a connection flight even if its only few hours.
-Invest in a good camera/ a phone with a good camera
-Find out what to buy if you are keen on buying something for folks back home. Do not indulge only on chocolates since there is more to any place you go.
Yes, I finally got that stamp in my Passport before it expired and that too SYDNEY!!
(Note: The event was in April 2018)
Vive
Me Myself :)
Vive
Me Myself :)
Good one Vive.. Hope you have many more stamps on your passport and we get to read your wonderful stories.. good luck dear
ReplyDeleteThanks much Sampi! Hoping for the same
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