Sydney travelogue (2): Living the dream

Continuing the story from where I had left in my previous post, Rahul and I cleared the Emigration procedure with hardly a hitch. We even got our baggages pretty fast. In fact by 8 am I was already settled in my hotel room. After freshening up we began our first walking-spree.

The two of us walked our way to Darling Harbour. The first sight that I caught of it was absolutely beautiful. In front I could see water glistening in the sun's rays. The Pyrmont Bridge was just a short distance away with the Light Metro Rail running over it. Ships, boats and jets were parked in plenty at the Pyrmont Bay. Spring had just set in and people were out enjoying the weather. Couples, young and old, could be seen sitting hand in hand. While some people were just lazing around or reading books in peace. Kids could be found playing in the nearby Tumbalong Park. Some mothers had brought infants in prams for a stroll. Toy trains that would pick up and drop passengers to the Sydney Aquarium became a common sight in the coming days. High rise buildings including the Sydney Tower formed the background of Darling Harbour.









I'll never forget my first breakfast in Sydney. I had hot pancakes floating in maple syrup topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Only when I was through with it that I regretted not taking a photo of it earlier on. In my hunger I had immediately dug in.

After this brief outing Rahul and I returned to our respective hotels. But the rest lasted for a short while. Soon an school friend of mine Ishan who has now been working in Sydney for two years came knocking to give us a real flavour of the city. We started walking straight down George Street, where my hotel was located. We went past Queen Victoria's Building, Sydney Tower, Strand, Martin's Place and even the Indian Embassy, all of which fall in one line.












It was a good 30 min or more later that we saw the first glimpse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Only when we reached the Circular Quay, from where ferries can be taken for various destinations, that we could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge from up close and the famous Sydney Opera House as well.

We spent quite a while there just taking in everything. I don't remember how many times I said to the two guys: "I can't believe I am in Sydney. Its like a dream." I guess it was because of the way I felt comfortable there. Not for once I felt like an outsider, a foreigner in unknown territory. Sydney felt like home to me something which I had never anticipated happening.

Next on Ishan's suggestion we all took a ferry ride to go to Manly. We had a discussion over the christening of the name which I put an end to by saying that the name really is Womanly with the WO silent! The ferry ride itself was very enjoyable. thanks to the lovely breeze, the cool water droplets moistening us from time to time and the wonderful view. Seeing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the sun just setting is a picture that's locked in my heart.

After getting down at the Manly wharf we walked (again !!) through a huge market place to reach the Manly beach. I obviously couldn't stop myself from dipping my feet in the water. But the boys unbelievably refused to follow suite!! They couldn't dampen my spirits though. I of course had my fill of walking around singing Sagar kinaare dil yeh pukaare... Then I decided to sit on the beach a bit to close but not too close to water like a heroine. But the water decided to wash off my act and came gushing right at me nicely drenching me in the process. :)

Hunger now getting to us, we then decided to have dinner at Manly itself. We gorged on a tasty tandoori chicken pizza and fought the cold weather with a hot cuppa. The ferry ride back was even better than the onward journey. The glittering lights coming from nearby buildings looked like taare zameen par. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House too glowed and when we arrived at Circular Quay I was highly disappointed. I got off the ferry hoping that in my short trip I'll get to do a repeat performance.

My first day in Sydney finally ended with a walk back to Darling Harbour, a Starbucks' chocolate frappe and a nice long sleep in my cozy bed.

Sydney travelogue (1): A dream comes true

In the beginning of 2008 I had wished for a stamp on my passport and on 13 September as I set foot on Australian land it got fulfilled. This journey, however, started months ago when I first heard about a conference that was going to be held in Sydney. Abstract of the paper I would present was uploaded before the deadline of submission. This was followed by a month or two long wait of hearing from the conference organizers about the acceptance of the abstract for presentation. Then began the relentless search for funding to cover the travel and accommodation expenses. Applications were fired off to NCL, DST, CSIR and CCSTDS. The fact that two labmates were competing for the same money for the same conference was a topic of discussion and worry at our tea sessions. Ultimately we both made it.

Simultaneously a search was being carried out for the best place to stay in Sydney. I ultimately selected the Pensione Hotel on George Street because of its proximity to my conference venue on Darling Harbour. A rough itinerary was made for the trip and air tickets were booked. My colleague and I decided to take Singapore Airlines with which we would reach Sydney in the morning itself and get the whole day to ourselves. A lot of paper work had to be done for the Visa as well. But I didn't complain much when within three days of submitting the application I was issued an Australian Visa. Only when I saw the Visa with my own eyes it actually sank in that I would now really be going!! It also gave me an impetuous to shop. Clothes, footwear and accessories were bought. A couple of days before the date of departure I could think of nothing else except Sydney and work come to a standstill.

Early morning 3 am on 12 September with all my bags packed I was ready to go. First my labmate Rahul and I took a road trip from Pune to Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Once our baggage got checked-in and we had got the coveted stamp on immigration by 9.30 am we had two more hours to kill. The wait was killing with my heart brimming with excitement. Somehow time moved and we got to board the flight. When finally the plane took off I couldn't help but remember Aamir Khan's dialogue to Preity Zinta in the movie Dil Chahta Hai: "Kya baat hai!! Hum teeno Sydney jaa rahein hain! Main, tum aur yeh plane." I made full use of the long flight to Singapore by watching two movies back to back. I saw Made of Honour and What Happens in Vegas.

We reached Singapore right on time at 7.20 pm. Our connecting flight was to leave in 40 minutes. Quickly Rahul and I found our way around and though in a hurry we could not help but be impressed by the Singapore Airport. The ride in the Sky Train to go from one terminal to another was great fun. The fun gave way to tiredness once I was on the plane. All I wanted to do was sleep but couldn't with the flight service still on till nearly 1 am. So I saw my third movie of the day: Sex and The City. Once the lights were switched off I dozed off for 3 hours dreaming what not in the process. By 4 am I was up and awake and absolutely fresh.

At exactly 5.55 am our flight landed in Sydney.

Thoughts in Sydney

I am keeping the weekend to write my Sydney travelogue. Here I am simply going to share some of the thoughts that I was struck with during the eight days of my stay there.

When you love something you just can't get enough of it!

If you need but a moment to fall in love, then that is what it takes for you to let it go.

Some desires are like the big waves on the beach... first you excitedly chase them and then when they come back at you, you run away feeling scared of getting caught in the flow.

Given a choice between what is right and what is wrong, always go for the first however tempting the latter option may appear.

There is no dearth of love in this world. Since I haven't found it yet, I must have been looking in all the wrong places.

If I can't get romance in my life then I'd at least like to stay in a setting which is romantic. (Inspired by this lizard in the photo below that I found lurking around in a very beautiful spot in The Chinese Garden in Sydney. :-p)

Can't hardly wait!

I can't hardly wait for one of my new year wishes of getting a stamp on my passport to come true. In a few hours from now I leave for Sydney to attend the 8th Triennial World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (WATOC) 2008. Along with presenting my work to an international audience and interacting with students and experts in my field, I also intend to do loads of sightseeing. Months back I had bought The Rough Guide to Sydney and have been reading it like a bedtime story book the past few weeks. I already know what I want to do, where all I want to visit, and what all I want to eat there.

Its a different thing that even after all the preparations I am feeling rather apprehensive about it. I guess I have waited for this for so long and have pictured a million things happening including meeting Aaaaakaaash (Aamir Khan's character in DCH who goes to Sydney!) on the flight that I am wondering how it will all eventually turn out.

I have heard that I needn't worry about it because during my stay I will for sure be falling in love... with the city. Sydney is supposed to be very me. In summary it will be laid back and beautiful. ;-)

Rock on!

We are always advised by our friends and peers to move on or in today's lingo rock on whenever we suffer a personal or professional setback. We are told to cross the boulder or push it aside and keep walking. I am always reminded on such occasions of a few lines of a poem that my Sanskrit teacher in school had long ago recited to us during a class. The poem said

Chalna hai keval chalna jeevan chalta hi rehta hai
Ruk jaana hi mit jaana hai nirjhar yeh jharkar kehta hai

(Moving and only moving, life always keeps moving on
To stop is to meet your end, tells us the ever flowing waterfall)

These few words have stayed with me ever since I first heard them in class 9th and have always given me the necessary push.

The reason I recalled the above lines is the following dialogue that I heard in the movie Jodha Akbar:
Paani aur tamanna ki ek hi taaseer hoti hai... aage badhte rehna.