Australian people are very friendly - even the guy who was checking my passpost had time to chat. Maybe the close proximity to Fiji has left a mark, like it has the other way around, for sure.

From the airport I took a to storey high train into central Sydney. I came out to a vast blue sky, a crisp spring morning. A lot colder than Fiji! When I finally found my hostel, I saw a friend from the Yasawas! What are the chances! Sydney is huge! Rosie is from the UK, and she is travelling and at the moment working so she can travel some more.

Wow, I have a friend in Sydney. We decided to meet up the next day, and I spent my first evening in Australia in Chinatown. Gotta love it! It was like actually being in China! There are so many Asian people in Sydney, and most of them speek their Asian language even if they are second (or more) generation Australians. All the shops in this area have the authentic Chinese wares, the lions and red and gold gates for decoration; it's all there. And there are endless Chinese restaurants, and herbal apothecaries. My ears, eyes and nose were filled with China. I'm sure all the Chinatowns of the world are like this, it's been a long time since I was in one (London), so I soaked it all up.

My roommate in the hostel was a woman from Scotland and we talked for a long while. She was great. Too bad she was leaving early the next morning. She really wanted to go to Fiji, so I thought it was a worthy cause - I gave her my Lonely Planet.

The next day Rosie and I walked to Darling Harbour, and I just loved walking through the city and seeing all the beautiful buildings, and do a wee bit of peoplewatching. Later that evening we went to the Operahouse. Big moment for me. It was getting dark so it was truly magnificent. It was also at this moment we realized that my camera is crap.

We tried to get some good pictures, but alas - to no avail.

We did see a play in the Oprea House, "The Narcissist". It was a comedy and we enjoyed it. When we came outside again, it was a starry night and we saw a peculiar sight. Above the Harbour Bridge we saw what looked like giant fireflies. We really spent some time marvelling at the beauty of it, but also wrecking our minds as to what it might be. Eventually we realized they were birds. They were so far away that we couldn't see it at first, and a light that changed in colour shone on them from the bridge. We turned around and saw the same thing over the Opera House. It was very cool.