Skipped Orientation!

Today was SUPPOSED to be our first day of orientation, but after a couple hours of presentations and lunch, we got too bored and decided to just go exploring Sydney instead. Heh!

First off, we decided to make our way down to Haymarket. Saw St Benedict's Church on the way, which is where I'll be going for mass on Sunday. It's just 5 mins walk from Unilodge.

St Benedict's Church. Don't you love it's Neo-gothic architecture?

After another 20 minutes walk and taking a left at Hay St, we finally found outselves at Market City, which is in the heart of Haymarket. We've always thought tt Haymarket is a flea market, but it turned out that Haymarket is the name the suburb, and Paddy's, which is the flea market there, is not open today. So we decided to take the light rail down to Sydney Fish Market before it closes at 5pm instead.

Market City

The light rail

The Fish Market is only a couple of stops away but it costs $5.70 for a round trip ticket! The one-way ticket cost $4.60, so doesn't make much sense to buy a one-way. I'm missing how cheap public transport is in Singapore now. I'm never complaining about Singapore public transport fares again...

Sydney Fish Market Stop

Sydney Fish Market

This was quite a sight. Lotsa seagulls chasing the guy who's transporting the fish!

The market was closing by the time we got there (4.30pm), so this was the ONLY shop that we managed to go into.

Lotsa gorgeous fresh seafood!

We bought all these stuff for AUD$30! Sashimi, oysters, abalone... The oysters were especially delicious! Never tasted oysters this good before. Really really tasty!

The view from the pier after dinner was great too. That's Anzac Bridge in the background.

Took the light rail back to Haymarket and made our way to Chinatown. Sadly, there wasn't much to see, although it seems like a pretty good place to buy souvenirs. Not sure if it's the cheapest, but it's the best price we've seen so far. Singapore's Chinatown is much more interesting.

Chinatown

After a short walk thru Chinatown, we took the underpass and walked to Darling Harbour, which was just a stone's throw away. On our way, we saw lotsa birds resting at the fountain outside a shopping centre. Sometimes it's just hard to believe that you get such beautiful sights right in the heart of the CBD.

Pacific Black Duck

Silver Gull

Enjoying the evening sun at Darling Harbour

This gull is obviously very well-fed!

By the time we reached Darling Harbour, it was already evening, so we went home shortly after that. Everything here closes by 6pm and it's not very safe to be out after the sun sets!

Anyway, the abalones that we bought at the Fish Market ($4 per piece) turned out to be too hard to be eaten raw, so I brought them home to cook, Chinese style!

Turned out pretty yummy! =)