My personal hell would be endless solo travel, like what I completed today: flying halfway around the world alone, spending 23 of those hours in-flight and 8.5 in airports. Everyone says “Oh you must be used to it now.” It’s the opposite: my experience gives me a deeper understanding of how uniquely awful the experience is.
But once again I have made it here safe and sound so I can now forget about the travel 🙂
The hotel wasn’t ready of course (I arrived at about 7:30 am) but they smiled a lot and took my bags, told me they’d contact me when the room was done and even handed me an umbrella! I shuffled off for an early lunch, it having been about a day since I’d eaten anything.
Like a fool I chose a Big Mac meal (yes, at around 8 am) and the pretty girl at the register laughed aloud and then apologized (did she think I was serious?) when I commented how healthy my breakfast was. That said, kudos to Maccas Australia for having Big Macs on their all-day menu!
I then walked down to Circular Quay to see the harbour and ride a ferry. It was raining when we landed but the rain let up for my walks. I had to brighten these outdoor photos a bit though since the clouds were ominous.
The ferry was full of Chinese tourists taking selfies and was initially fun but when we got under the bridge the waves became very choppy and the boat started bouncing. At that point my Big Mac regret was absolute and I really thought I was going to bring it back up. Like a soldier I fought back and my belly was intact when I reached my stop near Darling Harbour.
Vivid starts in a couple of days and I’ll see it the day before I fly out. There’s a surprising amount of installation of attractions going on for an event that starts in 48 hours, but I trust it’ll all be ready. It wasn’t clear how the above will be a light up exhibit, but maybe I’ll be able to go and see it when I return so we can compare to the daytime photo.
I’m only in Sydney for the night, but apparently I chose the right hotel since the room has blackout curtains and now when I fall asleep with the sun still out I can pretend it’s a normal bedtime 🙂