10 First Impressions of Sydney

Hello! Or rather, G'Day! I arrived safely and in one piece on Sunday morning and surprisingly, both my bags (one weighing 20 kgs, the other 16) did, too. I was welcomed by rain of the worst kind, but as I was in desperate need of fresh air and stretching my legs after a 24-hrs-journey cramped in a plane, I decided to test-walk the route to work. Within minutes my leather trainers and socks were completely wet and my floor-length jeans had soaked up the water right up to knee length. Not the most comfortable of sensations, let me assure you. Ah, well, let's not dwell on details.

Here are some random observations I made in my first 24 hours in Sydney:

1. It gets dark, and I mean middle-of-the-night dark, around 6 p.m. already:

2. Salt & Vinegar crisps are recognisable by purple packaging (unlike the UK, where they come in green or, rarely, blue bags): 

3. Toilets are not the flushing type. No, really. At first I thought it was just the one in my apartment that wasn't capable of sucking in the - admittedly above-average - amount of toilet paper I tend to use. This was until I went to the office loos and got the impression that the person using the cubicle before me had forgotten to flush. I used the one next door and once I had flushed noticed that I gave the impression I had forgotten to press the button myself. Hmmm.

Speaking of plumbing: it really is true that water goes down the drain in opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.

4. Grocery shopping is quite expensive. When I arrived I was totally hydrated and after the horrible water on my Thai Airways flight that tasted of mothballs (I joke you not!) I wanted to buy a decent beverage. I went straight into the WH Smith (yay!) branch in the arrivals hall and was shocked by the prices. AUD 3,50 (EUR 2.5) for a small bottle of water? About the same amount for a small packet of crisps? I thought it must be inflated airport prices, even though this was in the public part of the building. I bought a Vitamin Water instead, reasoning that if it was expensive, I might just as well pay for some added colour and arguable health benefits. In the afternoon, I went to a supermarket near my apartment, stocking up on staples like salt, pepper, oil and vinegar, toilet paper, washing-up liquid and the like. I realised that water and crisps really are expensive compared to Austria. As is all the other stuff as well. While I'm not the best mental calculator I still did not expect a sum exceeding 100 AUD for my mundane purchases, many of them the supermarket's own brand. Ooops:
Later on, I realised that I had forgotten tea and bought 3 different types in the food halls of a department store. My favorite Ginger & Lemon infusion by Twinings cost a whopping AUD 11.50 (about EUR 8.50) for a pack of 40. 

5. According to Wikipedia, about 17% of Sydney's inhabitants are of Asian descent (data of 2006 census), but to me it seems the percentage is more like "almost half", reinorcing the similarity with Hong Kong.

6. Bringing an umbrella is a good idea. Here you can see my trusty ultra-lightweight tiny Japanese umbrella in action:
7. Australian women must be quite vain. Apart from the fact that the office toilets not only stock the usual supply of female hygiene products and deodorants (staples at the Firm's Ladies'), but also hairdriers and, take this, hair straigtheners for hairstyle emergencies, I noticed this vending machine selling lipgloss at a shopping mall toilet:

8. Australian TV warns you of "explicit language" and "reference to sexuality" before shows or films. This could possibly backfire by making them more interesting for the people they are supposed to "protect" by this...

9. Traffic lights must be of the same make as the ones in Dublin. While the light is on red, there's a consistent "Tock.Tock.Tock.Tock" and when the light turns green, an enthusiastic "Djoo!" sound goes off. It makes me think of Dublin every time I cross a street.

10. The ratio of shopping malls per square metre seems exceptionally high in Sydney, at least in the area I live in. This is interesting for a city where - with the exception of yesterday, obviously - the weather usually is consistently good. Yesterday, I took this photo in QVB, which was just about to close for the day. I will definitely return: