The festive season in Sydney

To be honest, I wasn't overly keen on some of the clientele in this hostel in Sydney, as they came across lazy, un-ambitious, and would come in at 6am and stay in bed until midday and then stay in the TV room until 9 at night before going out again. I'm in no position to preach, and nor would I wish to do that, but they were all seemingly getting depressed due to not being able to find work, so sitting around feeling sorry for themselves all day didn't exactly seem the correct procedure to go through when trying to look for work.

We spent days before the 25th just planning on what we were going to do for it. Some of the people I was with had said that Christmas on the beach was high up on their 'to do list', so they didn't want to just do what some people in the hostel were doing, which was just eating Christmas dinner at some friends flat, or cooking in the hostel.

We stocked up on the usual 'Barbie' stuff, including burgers, crisps, and for those that could Stomach it, (and wanted to get extremely drunk), multiple boxes of Goon. We went to Coogee beach early-ish on Christmas morning, which most people say, is a nicer beach to Bondi, although it is obviously not as famous. We walked through the masses of people on the grass banking with their fancy equipment to cook there Christmas dinner on. We plodded onto the beach with what seemed like a never ending supply of food and drink, with our unconventional and unorthodox Barbie equipment in the form of a bag of Charcoal and some cardboard. The weather was scorching, but everyone seemed happy just sitting on the beach.It bores me does such plain activity, so I went to find some people who had a rugby ball and joined in with them. I played American football with some American lads (never really going to be polish were they?), and it was definitely something I never thought I would do on Christmas day. As the sun went down, and the moon came up, and darkness beckoned, people were leaving and Christmas day was coming to an end. (I'm a poetic Genius aren't I?).

I think everyone in our extended group had said how they will remember Christmas day on the beach for the rest of their lives and how it was one brilliant day from start to finish. They thanked me, Phil, and Jamie for inviting them for a Barbie on the beach, and we all went home satisfied with a good days work. AHHH, love it when a plan actually comes together.

BOXING DAY - The day started with cloud, rain and just a generally miserable outlook. We all said how lucky we were that the weather was not like that 24 hours before. We woke up and met for breakfast all looking darker (some redder) than we did the day before. We strolled down to the harbour thinking we would see the start of the Sydney to Hobart boat race, but it turned out that the boats started from miles away. I just about took a picture of the boats in the starting position with my mega zoom on the camera.

NEW YEARS EVE - This was the day we had all waited for. This was the day most people disembarked on Sydney, and most would agree, this is why so many people want to visit this city throughout the year, as most people would agree that the fireworks in Sydney are one of the most impressive in the world on New Year's Eve. I was to find out for myself what the fuss was all about. We were deliberating where to view the fireworks from, and we decided we'll have a walk into the Botanic Gardens. Me, Jamie, and Antony walked into the Botanic Gardens from around 11am, I lasted till 2pm and I thought how I could not put up with the unbearable heat for so many more hours. We thought this weather would be ideal, but for me, it was just too hot. I sacrificed sitting in the gardens with my mates, and had a wander around the harbour. At around 5pm, I found an ideal spot, and I only a few steps away from the water. The party boats nearby provided me my pre firework entertainment. I was sat near some Dutch girls and some lad who thought Tottenham Hotspur was the greatest club in English football.

The fireworks were colourful, loud and exuberant, which is exactly what I think Sydney likes to think of itself. It was 10/15 minutes of bang, bang, bang with gold flittering down off the Harbour Bridge. It was well worth seeing, and the news channels the next morning had said how it was one of the best displays that Sydney has given to the world and its people EVER.

I will always remember speaking to a character in the hostel that asked me what date of the year New years eve was on....hmmm.....DURR. Another moment I will remember for a very long time was when a girl had told me she was from near London, and as I questioned further, she then told me she was from Lincoln......DURRRR. It felt quite apt that a few days later those two genuine were getting together.

I will quickly describe the area to where I resided for 3 weeks. It was just on the edge of Kings cross, next to the big Coca Cola sign, which is famous for the night life (Kings Cross is famous for its night life, the coca cola sign isn't famous for its nightlife, just to prevent confusion). It was a very peculiar area was "The Cross", mixing good with bad, and it could be worth a second of your time trying to research it more on google. I'm used to various nights out in West Yorkshire so nothing really shocks me anyway, but some people seem shocked by it when they first visit.

The spotlight is often on Sydney at New years and I was quite pleased that I could say for years to come that I watched the fireworks shoot up into the Sydney skyline to see the start of 2011. Finally, you must book in advance as all accommodation gets booked up very quickly in Sydney during Christmas and New year, and prices are, in all fairness, extortionate around that time.