Our holiday started out in Sydney Chinatown to see the going-ons Sydneysiders do to celebrate CNY.
CNY Parade
Compared to the Wellington parade, the Sydney CNY parade was fantastic! The parade was in 12 parts - each part following a chinese lunar animal. There were all sorts from lion and dragon dances, kung fu displays, and community chinese groups.
What else? Firecrackers of course! Firecracker after firecracker the streets of Chinatown were filled with loud bangs and people surged to the noise. Shop after shop getting the dragon dancers to bless them for the new year and bring them prosperity. Red ribbons of the exploded firecracker lined the streets and car, the smell of gunpowder and smoke lingering in the air. Reminded me of my childhood...
Aquarium
We did the zoo the last trip so this time we went to the Sydney Aquarium. I'd have to say the best part was the giant aquarium at the end. You could see the aquarium from all angles and it was great seeing the fish swim en masse in schools (see picture above for peak hour traffic).
Tip: if you can get hold of a Sydney Entertainment book from someone it'd be worth it... we got 50% off the admission price.
CNY
This CNY was a pretty special one. All the relatives from Mum's side of the family met together at my Aunt's house to celebrate CNY (+ a birthday or two). So at times it was a pretty multicultural event listening to different accents from NZ, Australia, UK and Malaysia. This get-together included some of the typical CNY celebrations plus the very typical food funtastic involved. What can I say... I love food!
Whirlwind tour of Sydney
At the same time Nick & I managed to tour of a few more suburbs and the city. With our handy multipurpose train, ferry and bus ticket we manage to see:
Manly, Bondi Junction (definitely a place to return to on a shopping trip), Little Italy, Cabramatta, Kings Cross, Chatswood, trekked across Sydney City and the Botanical Gardens, Fish Market and even North Ryde (where we caught up with Brendan!). We even got to see the Queen Mary 2 when it came into port.
Other highlights...
IKEA: I can't wait till IKEA is in Auckland. We visited the Sydney store and wished we could have bought some big furniture pieces and bring it back with us. Unfortunately we'll have to wait yet again.
Overall
A great CNY! I could go on and on about our trip, definitely a memorable trip and I can't wait till the next CNY!!!
If you want to see more pics, follow the links to my flickr pics.
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