360º Panorama of Sydney

One of the better things to do in Sydney is to get up to the observatory of Sydney Tower to get a 360º view of the city, and I did that on 11^th August 2010.

You may click on the image above to view the full-size image.

It's Getting Dark at Sydney Opera House

One of the most distinctive buildings in Sydney, if not the most; is the Opera House at Circular Quay. It is perhaps the most photographed building in Australia.

When I had the opportunity to visit Sydney in August this year, I did not let the chance of photographing this building slip by.

I planned my time of the visit so that I could spend time taken photos of the Opera House during the golden hour.

By the time the sun had just set, the sky turned into turquoise blue.

When the natural light is almost completely dimmed, the sky turned into a shade of sapphire blue. This is the best time to photograph 'night' scene, especially when the floodlight is turned on.

By the time the sunlight was totally dimmed out, the sky turned into pitch dark, leaving only the floodlight-lit shapes of the Opera House.

Sunset over Harbour Bridge

I like to take sunset landscape pictures as the evening time is the golden hour for photography. Therefore, I spent my first evening in Sydney snapping pictures of the Harbour Bridge.

Looking at the sunset is also one of the things that I enjoy most in life. Some may say that sunset is beautiful but unfortunately it is just too momentarily and near the end of the day. As for me, a short but beautiful moment is something which we should cherish in life.

Today is the perfect-10 day in every one hundred years, so I purposely time my blog post to appear at 10:10 p.m. Although it is just another day in a year, the 10-10-10 figure seldom appear twice in one's lifetime.

Breakfasts in Oz

Food in Australia is quite good thanks to all the fresh ingredients produced locally. During my 10-day stay in Sydney, I have tried a few types of breakfast.

One of the more interesting breakfasts is the Eggs Benedict. This one was served with spinach and smoked salmon on muffin.

I had it again at another cafe and it came with bacon.

On another day, I had it with only spinach but this time it was served with Turkish bread instead of muffin.

After having enough variety of Eggs Benedict, I went for the Australian Sunrise at Pancakes on the Rock. As the name of the cafe suggests, the specialty here is pancake. The pancakes were extremely soft and yummy, not to mention the serving with melted butter and honey on top!

When I felt like having a lighter breakfast, then I went for the Vegetarian Breakfast. The stir-fried button mushroom and spinach is definitely easier on the stomach.

Every cafe serves it differently. This one came with a corn pancake.

For me, every breakfast is not complete with a cup of coffee. I would go for a cappuccino or latte anytime.

Sydney Highlights

Almost two weeks ago, I boarded Malaysia Airlines MH123 on my journey out of Malaysia again. This time I headed southeast to the largest city of Down Under, Sydney.

More updates on my 10-day Sydney trip will be featured here, so please stay tuned.

Walking Around Brisbane on a Summer Afternoon

I arrived Brisbane Airport at around 2 p.m. on December 1^st, 2008, and took a taxi to the Brisbane Transit Centre at Roma Street. It was just about half an hour and my connecting bus to Toowoomba was at 6:30 p.m., so I took a walk around the historic CBD of Brisbane.

I walked up to King Gearoge Square from the Transit Centre and saw this beautiful red-brick church in Gothic style along the way.

The most recognisable building at King George Square is the City Hall built in the 1920s. It has a clock tower soaring up to the blue sky which can never be missed by anyone walking towards King George Square.

From King George Square, I followed Adelaide Street to the direction of the river. The streets in Brisbane are quite typical Australian streets with shops lining both sides of the mall.

When I came to the junction of Adelaide Street and George Street, and turned left into George Street, I could see the old Treasury Building. This building now houses a casino.

Right next to the old Treasury Building is the Bank of New South Wales. Although not an old building, it looks historical enough.

I walked further down George Street in the southeast direction and turned right into Elizabeth Street. Walking up the hill brought me to Queen's Park where the statue of Queen Victoria is located. The building behind the statue is the old Oueensland State Library which is now a luxury hotel.

I returned to George Street and kept walking southeast. There are many interesting buildings along George Street.

At the south end of George Street is the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) at which the old Parliament House and the Queensland Parliament House can be found.

From this point up, I was stepping on the grounds of QUT.

After a slow stroll on the grounds of QUT, I walked right through the Botanic Gardens just right opposite QUT. There is a promenade along the Botanic Gardens connecting back to the city centre, but without the hustle and bustle of moving vehicles.

Along the promenade has a great view of the Story Bridge connecting the south and north banks.

Cafes and restaurants are also abound along the promenade. However, it was already getting late and I had to walk back to the Transit Centre to board the bus to Toowoomba.

I came off the promenade at Customs House, a beautifully restored building which is operated by The University of Queensland as a cultural, educational and heritage facility. The grand Corinthian columns are part of the Brisbane's heritage icons.

Along my way back to the Transit Centre, I walked past the National Australia Bank.

I also passed by the Post Office Square where the old Post Office is just right opposite. The old Post Office has been the General Post Office of Brisbane sine 1872.

As it was about boarding time for my bus, I finished up my walking tour here and took a last glance of Brisbane City before heading southwest to Toowoomba.