Today’s plan involved visiting SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium with Daniel. I woke up at around 10 am, once again the first one stirring in our dormitory. Still in the realm of dreams were Michele, Daniel, and the Italian couple. I attended to my morning routine, heading to the toilet and brushing my teeth, before making my way to the library. It was time to finally send an email to the insurance company. I took a snapshot of the statement from the sunglasses shop that I received a few days ago and forwarded it to the insurance company. While waiting, I delved into some online research. After an hour, I left the library, as I had arranged to meet up with Daniel back at the hostel.
The State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales on Macquarie Street proved to be a pleasant spot to spend time. The Wi-Fi was unlimited, and power sockets were conveniently located throughout. The building exuded a sense of space and was bustling with ambitious, driven students. I have a particular fondness for Australian libraries; they are exceptional compared to their counterparts in the Netherlands. Everything is designed with students in mind, offering a more spacious and modern environment.
Later that morning, I encountered Daniel at the Elephant Backpackers hostel. He invited me to accompany him to the CBD, and I readily agreed. Together, we headed back to the CBD to meet Daniel’s German friend, Tobias. Following our meeting, we visited the post office for Daniel. However, things took a humorous turn as Daniel encountered some challenges with the lady assisting him—she inadvertently created a bit of a mess, much to our amusement. Post-office adventures behind us, we decided to grab a bite at Subway, as I was quite hungry and hadn’t had breakfast yet.
Daniel and I made the choice to visit the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. Tobias expressed interest in joining us, but considering the single ticket cost of 25 dollars or so, it was deemed too expensive. Thankfully, we had our 63-dollar city pass covering five attractions, including SEA LIFE, WILD LIFE, Madame Tussaud’s, Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary, and the observation tower. Please note that as of December 2016, the price for the same pass had increased to 70 dollars.
Back to Elephant Backpackers
We returned to the Elephant Backpackers hostel, and Tobias couldn’t help but express his astonishment at the hostel’s condition – and rightly so. The hostel was indeed subpar. In recent nights, I’ve encountered cockroaches multiple times in the unpleasant-smelling kitchen. Additionally, on the second floor, three out of four toilets are consistently out of order (either clogged or broken). The list goes on: Michele discovered his bed infested with bed bugs, digital room key cards were malfunctioning, and the Wi-Fi only worked one day per week.
This hostel is undoubtedly the most subpar one I’ve ever experienced, haha. When I initially envisioned sacrificing luxury and hygiene for hostels during my journey planning, I assumed it would be more challenging in Indonesia. In retrospect, the hostel conditions in Australia are far worse than my accommodations in all the other countries on this world journey!
At the Elephant Backpackers hostel, I managed to sneak in a nap, which did the trick. Meanwhile, Daniel and Tobias watched a movie on his laptop. Around 3 pm, Daniel woke me up, and the two of us had to head to Darling Harbour. I bid farewell to Tobias, and then we set off. Darling Harbour housed attractions like SEA LIFE aquarium, Madame Tussaud’s, Manly SEALIFE sanctuary, and WILDLIFE. Upon arriving at the aquarium, we found it bustling with Asian tourists. It didn’t bother me, but Daniel seemed slightly irritated by it, haha. A few days prior, we had a similar experience at Madame Tussaud’s.
Display Tanks and Colorful Fish
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium provides a relatively standard aquarium experience. I recall visiting an aquarium on Sentosa Island in Singapore that offered a longer and more impressive overall experience compared to SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. However, it’s worth noting that the latter was significantly more affordable. Daniel mentioned that the perspective changes after diving and witnessing the animals in their natural habitat. He was correct; diving indeed offers a remarkable experience compared to observing fish in various aquarium tanks. As I also experienced in Bali myself.
Following our visit to the aquarium, we headed back to the CBD and grabbed some fast food, either from McDonald’s or Hungry Jack’s (I can’t recall). Later, we returned to the hostel, where not much occurred. Both of us took it easy— I watched a movie and went to bed late, around 1 am.
