Sydney

[beano]

Just read news that Syd just had a soaking day...

On the way to Sydney now, will reach on Wed, seems like weather is about low 20s..

 

[lookers]

Not sure what your tolerance level is like. Temperature difference between day and night is also greater than what we are used to in SG. So t-shirt and berms might be comfortable in the day, and insufficient at night.

means I probably need a light jacket and jeans liaoz =/ will look silly there? lolx

 

[beano]

means I probably need a light jacket and jeans liaoz =/ will look silly there? lolx

Honestly, nobody here judges on what you wear...

 

[Awesom Andy]

Honestly, nobody here judges on what you wear...

Actually, they do a little bit in Sydney. At least I find that they care a lot more about brands and looks than the people in Melbourne. The general opinion is that Sydney is more sophisticated/superficial.

 

[beano]

Actually, they do a little bit in Sydney. At least I find that they care a lot more about brands and looks than the people in Melbourne. The general opinion is that Sydney is more sophisticated/superficial.

Just like Singapore..

 

[kevin301]

means I probably need a light jacket and jeans liaoz =/ will look silly there? lolx

Will be hard to recommend without knowing your tolerance.
For example you see some folks go to the cinemas in SG dressed like they're going for an arctic expedition

Check weather forecasts for the period you'll be there, then judge accordingly.
Take note of max and min temperatures. Also factor in 'wind chill'. A moderate breeze can make 20deg feel like 17deg, for example.

 

[beano]

Sydney's traffic is really horrible... almost 40km away from the city and jam packed. takes 2hrs to travel 50km..

 

[Awesom Andy]

Sydney's traffic is really horrible... almost 40km away from the city and jam packed. takes 2hrs to travel 50km..

For peak hours, that is considered normal traffic.

 

[majora]

Hi guys, I will be visiting Australia from 16-25 Nov. Please do a quick review on my Sydney itinerary below

Day 1: 16 Nov

09:05- Reach Melbourne
11:10- Connecting flight to Sydney

Accommodation at 31 Barwon Park Road(Airbnb)

Activities for the rest of the day- Head to Newtown & Night Activity: Sydney Observatory?

Day 2: 17 Nov

Morning: Head to Blue Mountains and travelling around BM using the Blue Mountain Explorer Bus service.

Day 3: 18 Nov

Glebe Markets
Explore Oxford Street - Paddington Markets
St. Mary's Cathedral
Royal Botanic Gardens
Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour

Day 4: 19 Nov

Sydney Fish Market
Paddy's Market/ Chinatown

Queen Victoria Building/ Pitt Street Mall
The Rocks
Bondi Beach/ Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk
Back to Sydney Harbour/ Central

Day 5: 20 Nov

10:55- Flight back to Melbourne

Thanks in advance!

 

[Awesom Andy]

Hi guys, I will be visiting Australia from 16-25 Nov. Please do a quick review on my Sydney itinerary below

Day 1: 16 Nov

09:05- Reach Melbourne
11:10- Connecting flight to Sydney

Accommodation at 31 Barwon Park Road(Airbnb)

Activities for the rest of the day- Head to Newtown & Night Activity: Sydney Observatory?

Day 2: 17 Nov

Morning: Head to Blue Mountains and travelling around BM using the Blue Mountain Explorer Bus service.

Day 3: 18 Nov

Glebe Markets
Explore Oxford Street - Paddington Markets
St. Mary's Cathedral
Royal Botanic Gardens
Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour

Day 4: 19 Nov

Sydney Fish Market
Paddy's Market/ Chinatown

Queen Victoria Building/ Pitt Street Mall
The Rocks
Bondi Beach/ Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk
Back to Sydney Harbour/ Central

Day 5: 20 Nov

10:55- Flight back to Melbourne

Thanks in advance!

Sydney Observatory isn't somewhere you would want to go to see stars. There are way too many lights in the CBD. It's good for exposing kids to astronomy, but that's about it.

I also see that you're going to quite a few markets. Not sure what your intention is, but I'm willing to bet that you'll get extremely bored of them. Also, day 3 and day 4 have attractions where locations overlap. e.g. the city end of the Harbour Bridge is located at The Rocks.

There are many ways to arrange a visit to Sydney, but my personal preference is to cut a line and split it between north and south. You can go fish market, paddy's market, darling harbour, (footbridge to Druitt St), QVB, pitt street mall (via the underground link from QVB) and the cathedral in that order in 1 day with plenty of time (but probably not energy) to spare. Botanic Garden, Opera House, The Rocks, and the harbour bridge can be in their own group on a separate day. You should be able to fit in the Bondi walk on this day as well.

 

[beano]

Did the Bondi to Coogee walk and it was stunning, it was a perfect day with the temperature hovering around 23..

Also took a ferry to Cockatoo island to have a look, nothing much but you can do glamping there for the NYE countdown

 

[Whirling_Dervish]

Did the Bondi to Coogee walk and it was stunning, it was a perfect day with the temperature hovering around 23..

Also took a ferry to Cockatoo island to have a look, nothing much but you can do glamping there for the NYE countdown

The price would be astronomical though!

But yes, I think the Bondi Coastal Walk is probably the best thing to do if I were a tourist (apart from visiting The Rocks).

 

[beano]

The price would be astronomical though!

But yes, I think the Bondi Coastal Walk is probably the best thing to do if I were a tourist (apart from visiting The Rocks).

Can't believe I didn't do this walk the few times i was there.

I took this short video trying out a gimbal which i bought recently

 

[m@maboi]

I second that... probably the best view I had when I was there.

The price would be astronomical though!

But yes, I think the Bondi Coastal Walk is probably the best thing to do if I were a tourist (apart from visiting The Rocks).

 

[drsubaru]

Just came back from SYD, give me some time to put together a summary like I did for Melbourne.

In the meantime, if some kind soul can help me figure out the below from the Eway web site

Rental was from Bayswater aka nobird, great experience overall.

TRIP HISTORY
Date Time Licence Plate On Lane Amount
27/11/17 10:06 C*26WR LCT 1 $3.25
27/11/17 10:10 C*26WR EHML1 $7.10
27/11/17 10:21 C*26WR M7 1 $2.12
29/11/17 10:34 C*26WR M7 1 $7.87
Total $20.34

PAYMENT HISTORY
Date Payment Type Amount
1/12/17 LCA $0.55
1/12/17 HIA $0.55
1/12/17 RENTAL_FEE $2.75
1/12/17 CREDITCARD $14.20
4/12/17 WOA $0.75
4/12/17 CREDITCARD $2.87
6/12/17 WOA $0.75
6/12/17 RENTAL_FEE $2.75
6/12/17 CREDITCARD $11.37
Total $36.54

1. The trips made from 27-29/11/2017 on trip listing was for a total amount of $20.34
Is this the total amount I have to pay?

2. While the payment history is from 1st-6th Dec 2017 for various amounts which I cannot quite figure out the individual codes.

I only understand the Rental fee of $2.75 per day for admin.

Is LCA, HIA, WOA the number plate matching fees?

And why was CREDITCARD charged 3 times?

Thank you for your time in explaining things to me.

 

[beano]

Hard to decipher all those acronyms. Some look like the plate matching fee, but worth checking those CC fees.. usually i just pay

 

[Awesom Andy]

$2.75 is for each day you use the toll road.
M7 has a vehicle matching fee of $0.75 per use, while other toll roads is $0.55 per use. They are charged when the tag is not in the car (some rental companies don't put tags in).
The 14.20, 2.87, and 11.37 would be the toll charges. I'm not sure of the set up Bayswater uses, but there can be a whole bunch of extra charges on top of the toll charges.

Personally, I stay away from toll roads unless I have absolutely no choice.

 

[drsubaru]

$2.75 is for each day you use the toll road.
M7 has a vehicle matching fee of $0.75 per use, while other toll roads is $0.55 per use. They are charged when the tag is not in the car (some rental companies don't put tags in).
The 14.20, 2.87, and 11.37 would be the toll charges. I'm not sure of the set up Bayswater uses, but there can be a whole bunch of extra charges on top of the toll charges.

Personally, I stay away from toll roads unless I have absolutely no choice.

Thank you for the clarifications, yes Bayswater does not use e-tag, nor was there any physical device in the car.

Essentially, you pay tolls and related charges only if you use toll roads.
You were right, I remembered you mentioned to avoid the M4 and M7 unless I was 'feeling rich'..
Well, I was not feeling rich, but just wasn't smart enough to avoid the tolls, using google maps all the way, not sure if there was an avoid tolls function.

I figured it out.
There are 3 fees to pay
a. Toll charges 20.34
b. 2 days of admin/rental fees on those 2 days I used toll 2.75 x 2
c. Number plate matching 0.55 x 2 + 0.75 x 2

Total adds up to 28.44 which is the 3 amounts billed to my Creditcard (14.2+2.87+11.37)

Thanks!

 

[beano]

$2.75 is for each day you use the toll road.
M7 has a vehicle matching fee of $0.75 per use, while other toll roads is $0.55 per use. They are charged when the tag is not in the car (some rental companies don't put tags in).
The 14.20, 2.87, and 11.37 would be the toll charges. I'm not sure of the set up Bayswater uses, but there can be a whole bunch of extra charges on top of the toll charges.

Personally, I stay away from toll roads unless I have absolutely no choice.

For some reason during my trip to Syd, i was unintentionally directed to a tollway.

Cut the story short, had to pay $10 admin fee for not having an account on top of the toll charge.

 

[Awesom Andy]

not sure if there was an avoid tolls function.

It's available, but it's very well hidden. Google maps just love toll roads, for some reason. It will direct you to take a big detour, and claim that you will get there 1 minute faster than the next available free of charge alternate route.