My goal today is to get to Sydney, Australia. It will involve a short plane flight up to Manila and then a long plane flight down to Sydney. With the travelling experiences I’ve had, I’m hopeful for a smooth trip but of course I expect the worst. The theme for the Australia and New Zealand legs of the trip – Winter Is Coming. I’m not on tropical beaches anymore…
Up at 6:30, used the Grab Teksi app to get to the Davao airport. Security was tight, I had to go through bag and body scan just to get into the front door. Fast check-in for the short hop back to Manila with Air Asia. Then through another full security check to get to the gate.
The flight was scheduled to board at 8:30 but by that time the plane was not even here yet, and no announcements or updates on the screens. I walked around and finally found an AirAsia guy who told me the gate changed. Duh! The plane arrived at 9AM, we flew out at 9:50. Nobody in the middle seat so I had a bit more room. Only a short 1.5 hours in the air, contrasting with the countless hours I spent on ferries and buses to get down through the islands in the first place. We arrived in Manila at Terminal 4. I was getting worried about my bag but it came out second last onto the belt… I grabbed a free shuttle to Terminal 1 and the QANTAS desks.
I arrived at Terminal 1 at 12:30, but the problem is the QANTAS desk doesn’t open until 4:30 for their one flight of the day which goes to Sydney at 9 PM! No food or drink was available in the whole terminal unless you walk outside, then back through the full security check again. Of course, none of the terminal staff thought this was a bad idea. I did later spot a guy in a food uniform taking orders from waiting travellers but it was for a burger and chicken place, he would take orders and then bring them back in later.
I got in line as soon as the Sydney flight was posted on the notice board, but there were already 100 people in line. Then the QANTAS staff didn’t stroll up to the desks for another half an hour. Another half hour in line (really just a sea of humanity pushing towards one of about a dozen desks with outgoing flights) and I have my boarding pass. I later discovered that due to my American Airlines status I could have checked in at the Business Class desk. Doh! I’ll remember that for next time…
I went through security into a fairly nice terminal. I was so hungry and thirsty that I had two tuna sandwiches and two large ice chocolates while waiting for the 8PM boarding call.
On the flight I sat next to a nice old man from New Zealand who’s married to a Filipina, he goes home twice a year. I tried to sleep against the window but his arm kept sliding off his huge belly, across the armrest and touching my back, ugh creepy. The flight was 7 hours, I slept for about 4, watched a few Through The Wormhole and Big Bang Theory episodes on the seatback screen. No power jacks available but I didn’t need it because didn’t use the phone or laptop.
Upon arrival in Sydney, I walked off the plane, down the hallway and into a giant human clog. Strangely the Sydney airport is not well set up for several large planes arriving at the same time, there must have been 2000 people waiting, pushing like cattle in the hallway to move forward, just to get into the rope-line section towards the immigration desks. When I got to the desk after about an hour and a half, I was told I had to fill in an Ebola form, so off I go and then get back in line for my agent. My suitcase was already waiting for me of course, and we all lined up again to get through the Nothing To Declare exit. Luckily the agent didn’t send me though baggage inspection.
Targeting my guest house in Manly Beach, I took the Airport Train to the ferry point at Circular Quay, for $17.80! That’s about a 10 minute train ride. Holy shit I forgot how expensive this place is. I walked out of the train station, bought a tourist SIM card for $30 including 1.5G of data and some voice. I then walked a short way to the fast ferry to Manly wharf and bought a ticket for a reasonable $7.80. The SIM card web-based setup was easy, but it’s very securely linked to my local address, passport and tourist visa. Withholding comment on why this must be, because I don’t want to be sent to Guantanamo Bay.
After a beautiful ferry ride through Sydney Harbor and past the Opera house and famous bridge, I got off at Manly Wharf and walked towards the guest house. I passed a bike rental shop, thought I may book for a couple of days. I found the check-in point for my place at a backpacker hostel just down the street. I arrived around 9AM but the room will not ready until about noon. In a storage closet, I changed into jeans and got my raincoat out for the drizzle and cold 12C weather and left my bag and backpack. Quite the change from Thailand and Philippines.
A short walk took me to the shops area back down by the wharf. I pulled money from an ATM, bought a cheap sweatshirt for further help from the cold, and had an obscenely-priced hot cheese sandwich for lunch. I walked a block east to Manly Beach, a large crescent-shaped sandy beach. It was very cold but getting sunny and definitely nobody was sunbathing today but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.
Around 2PM, I checked in at the front desk, got my bags and room key. I signed up for Wifi for $10 for the whole stay. The room is very large, with a double and a single bed, a fridge and kitchen area and a western bathroom. I crawled into bed, with 3 blankets on top because I was so cold and had a 4 hour nap. My blood definitely needs to thicken up here.
I walked the few blocks back to the shops area, had a salad wrap and DC. Went shopping at Coles now that I have a fridge – bananas, hummus, crackers, pretzel mix, 2 bags of Cool Ranch Doritos and a Crunchie bar! It tasted even better than I remembered from our time in Melbourne.
I spotted a white Tesla 85 parked near my place, two guys from Brasil were already looking at it so we had a good talk about the car.
The next morning I decided I would go to the Sydney Tesla store. My goal is to hit as many Tesla locations as humanly possible on the trip. Google Maps says it’s a 14 km bike ride so I walked down and spoke with the rental guys, no way they say, too far, too hilly and too much traffic. They told me the 144 bus picks up very close by and drops off in St. Leonard’s then a short walk gets me to the Tesla store.
I took the bus, jumped off and walked about 300m to the Tesla showroom. It’s really big, with a huge long glass wall along the road, with about 10 parking spots right in front and superchargers all across.
I spoke with Gavin, the assistant service manager about Tesla and my electric 914. I then arranged for a test drive with Taylor, an American woman who went to Uni here and never left. I didn’t get to punch it due to city traffic, but it drives perfectly. They’re running a special Billion Miles event the next day, so I got a Tesla neck lanyard and ID card for taking a test drive. Gavin took me downstairs to the service area, it’s painted Tesla red and white and sparkling clean as you would expect, only one orange Roadster in for service. Gavin said that since Australia was later in the worldwide rollout, they didn’t experience a lot of the early problems such as naughty door handles and drivetrain bearings. We discussed the Right To Repair documentation issue, he doesn’t think Australia legislates full disclosure like Massachusetts. Tesla uses the Mennekes Type 2 connector here for supercharging, with 7 pins, and physically a bit larger than the US connector.
Pricing goes from AUD $113,152 “on the road” for the cheapest 70 kwh pack with a 4 month delivery queue, up to $225,763 for the fully loaded P90D, including $43K in taxes. The only government savings on an electric car is a slight decrease in the Luxury Car tax. The current Aussie government thinks coal is the solution for the future and is actively fighting solar, wind and electric vehicles. Hope the bums get voted out next time.
I took the bus back home and stopped for a haircut. The Japanese haircut man had heard of Tesla so we had a good talk about it. His ex-wife is Thai and he’s been to my town of Hua Hin in Thailand, small world!
The next day is Explore Sydney day, so I took the ferry back to Circular Quay. It’s Saturday so there were hundreds of sailboats on the water, warm and beautiful blue sky. I walked around the quay area to the Harbor Bridge, then through a handicraft market. I got on a double-decker tour bus, with the goal of getting over to Bondi beach with a bit of sightseeing and commentary thrown in. I got off at Bondi and walked from one end to the other, taking lots of pictures. According to the bus tour guide “Bondi” in the local aboriginal language means “water crashing over rocks”, and kangaroo means “I don’t understand what you are saying”, but that’s likely apocryphal. I got back on the bus and then off at Darling Harbor. They have a cinema there with an IMAX screen. I thought about seeing a movie but the price is $33.50 for an adult at a regular screen, not even IMAX – not worth it! Darling has great harborside restaurants and bars, I walked around then back to Circular Quay, then took the ferry back home.
The next morning I walked out to Manly beach, and walked all the way north then to the south end. I followed the walking path along Shelly Beach and up the path through the woods to the lookout point over the harbour. I walked back down through the neighbourhood streets to another lookout point across the harbour looking towards Sydney. Finishing the loop, I walked into Manly Wharf and had a late lunch.
I went to the nearby Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary and saw a bunch of Little Penguins who just looked at me and went back to sleep, then down into the plexiglass tube beneath the large fish and shark area. I listened to a worker explaining things to a small group of tourists who were going to SCUBA into the tank and swim with the sharks.
I walked back to the guest house and was just approaching my room when the fire alarm went off. The guy in room #6 burned something in his kitchen so everyone went downstairs until the fire brigade came, inspected and gave us the all-clear to go back inside. There were large signs in the room about the sensitivity of the fire system and a false alarm will cost you $500. I wonder if they charged the guy…
My previous long weekend in Sydney in 1996 left me with mixed feelings, it felt like a large concrete city with no soul, such a striking contrast from our life in Melbourne at the time. I definitely changed my mind on this visit though, the city is very green with rolling hills, museums, beautiful architecture, the old contrasting with the new, outdoor markets, shops, restaurants, and strong public transport. I’m happy with the time I had here and everything I got to see, but I will definitely come back again sometime in the future.
Tomorrow, a 12 hour train ride to Melbourne.
