Motez - Chinese Laundry

Last night we went to Chinese Laundry, a famous electronic dance club in Sydney, situated on Kings Street just near Darling Harbour. I set up a guest list in my name and added everyone to it which gave us $5 off entry. We all had a few drinks in Kellie and Adam's flat, and then took the bus into town to get there for around 11.30pm.

The club is one of the biggest and longest running clubs in Sydney and attracts a lot of attention from famous DJs all over the world. Luckily, because of the guest list, we were able to skip a fairly long queue and everyone got in easily - apart from me because I had forgotten my ID! I managed to sweet talk the doorman with my British accent, explaining that I was new and 'please could he be nice because I had brought at least ten people with me to the club', and although he tutted a lot, he kindly let me. A huge relief as otherwise it would have been game over for me...!

The night that was on was hosting 'Motez', and then the resident DJs 'Peking Duk'. Motez is 'one of the freshest electronic producers since Flume' and comes from Adelaide. He uses a lot of 'garage-infused funk house' with lots of instrumental elements. Peking Duk are two boys from Canberra who were voted In The Mix's top 5 DJs to watch in 2013 and play a lot on a popular radio station out here called 'Triple J' (the equivalent of Radio 1 for us).  

The night was so much fun and it was great to get out with everyone to listen to some decent music for once. We made sure we had a proper look around the club as it's famous for it's decor inside, and particular the large 'garden' smoking area. There were some fairly strange people around, and we tried our best not to let our British accent be heard as people would stick to us like glue if they realised we were English! We partied until 3.30am and then decided to head back - making the amazing discovery that the buses run all through the night!? 

Despite it being pretty expensive, even with a guest list, I'll definitely be back in the not-too-distant future.

I woke up at 1pm today and really should be getting on with doing my RSA and sorting out what work I have to do for my lectures, so better be going....

B

Harbour Bridge Walk

Today a few of us decided to head out and explore a little. Jack, Stan, Kellie, Meaghan, Adam and I caught a ferry across from Circular Quay to Milson's Point, and planned to walk back across the Harbour Bridge.

The views from the ferry were amazing. I've done it once before at night, but it was great to see it all again in the day.

The journey was really quick as Milson's Point is just across the harbour. When we arrived, we had a quick wander around the famous Luna Park, which is all a bit weird and very dated. Felt like the set from a strange thriller or something.... Apparently, even though the rides aren't very good, it's quite fun at night, so we may come back.

Next we headed off to walk up over the bridge. The views from there were amazing too, and we could see people above us who were doing the Harbour Bridge Climb - I would love to do it, but it costs $200!

Once we were over the other side we took a stroll through The Rocks Markets, where lots of amazing jewellery and trinkets are sold from tiny little boutique stalls. There was one man selling pendants and bracelets made from the inner parts from old watches. There were so beautiful, I may have to invest in one at some point....

We spotted some food stalls and I bought a butternut squash, feta, spinach and pesto wrap for lunch which was delicious. A $10 lunch out here is pretty cheap... I still can't get used to the prices out here though.

The markets were really nice, and thankfully not too busy. None of that awful hassling going on either, where people grab you and drag you into their stall. I bought a small silver ring and a birthday present for Hannah (Moo, if you're reading this, I hope you're impressed with my planning ahead!)

Once we were back down in the harbour again, we got distracted by this crazy contortionist woman...

She was very weird.... her big finale was climbing into this tiny little glass box which was up on stilts. She calls herself "Bendy Em" and well yeah... she was pretty bendy! She's apparently the only contortionist who does it live on the street. Pretty impressive... but still, very strange.

After that, we headed over to the Opera Bar on the east of the harbour to enjoy a drink in the sun before it set. Kellie lives in New York and obviously she still can't drink because their drinking age is 21 out there, so she still finds it a total novelty to order a drink at a bar! She doesn't even know what her favourite drink is... crazy!

Despite it still being Winter, and far from peak season, the bar was still buzzing and full of people enjoying the weather. I think I'm going to apply for a job down here on the waterfront as I really like the atmosphere and they pay well! $20 an hour during the week, and more at the weekend. So good!

Tonight we're heading out to Chinese Laundry, which is a famous electronic dance club in Darling Harbour, so I'll post about that tomorrow.

Here's a little snap of me being a tourist...

Tada!

B

Darling Harbour

Goose, Tally and I have had the best day! Every Friday, Tally comes down from Manly to do a photography course in the city, and we've agreed that every week once her class finishes at 1pm, we'll meet and explore the city a bit more. Today I brought Goose along with me and we met Tally for lunch in Hyde Park (it's so bizarre, Sydney has so many London names...!) and then headed down to Darling Harbour with the intention of going to some of the good markets in The Rocks. 

In the end, we got totally distracted by the harbour's charm and just wandered around, staring at all the boats and dodging being papped by Tally. 

We eventually settled down for a celebratory 'It's good to be finally here' cocktail at Nick's Bar & Grill right on the water. One cocktail slowly escalated into several cocktails and we ended up staying there for several hours, enjoying seeing the harbour sink into dusk and then all the twinkly lights shine across the water. The atmosphere down in Darling is so nice, I love it down there. It was also great that Tally and Goose got on so well, I mean I knew they would, but it was so much fun to just sit and chat and laugh together.

I'm tired now after so much walking, cocktails, and laughing, so am going to settle down as Goose and I have a big day of shopping planned tomorrow.

B