Update (1)

So it's been two weeks, and I've finally got time to sit back and recollect. Lets start with my hostel. I stay in Robert Menzies College, which is just a five-minute walk to the university and 45 minutes of bus ride to the city. Here's the address:

Robert Menizes College,
136 Herring Road,
North Ryde,
NSW 2113,
AUSTRALIA

This is a Christian college, but it is filled by students from all religions and races. Hence, alcohol is not allowed, which I feel is a good thing. They provide 3 meals a day here, so I dont have to worry about food. The food here has been good, although I am missing chillies already. What I like most about this place is the people here is really nice. Although many stay here, we almost know each other. The orientation week here started as I arrived. It's an opportunity to get to know people staying here. Due to financial constraint, I did not join some of their activities such as those held at the city, the harbour cruise, and pub crawl. At the last day of orientation, we were all shown the pictures taken throughout the whole week. Man, were the activities crazy! Those worth highlighting were swimming in a fountain at the city, guys shopping for women clothes (most clothes were just too tiny, so they ended up at the maternity section!), and taking nude shots at the beach. Also, at the harbour cruise, those who went had to cross-dress! And all of them took public bus there! I wish I had the chance to experience it. Or maybe not. Eheh.

Anyway, to make up for those, we organized our own orientation to the city. On Wednesday, 23rd of Feb (my third day in Sydney), Lee Yoong, Hui Hoong, Sheng Chieh (a girl from Taylor's College, whom just knew), Han Wei (the guide) and I took a bus at Macquarie Center, the huge shopping mall located just opposite. We got down at Queen Victoria Building (QVB). It's a beautiful shopping mall with old architecture. This type of mall is quite common here, as I soon discovered. From there, it was a walk to Chinatown. Chinatown is not that big, but like the one in Malaysia, you can find pirated CDs here. Heheh. But the pirated CDs here are very carefully made, and their covers are just like the original ones. After eating our packed lunch in a pagoda (it is actually just a shed) , we headed to Darling Harbour. It was quite a long walk, but there are many sights to behold along the way. Darling Harbour was teemed with people, as there are many restaurants and clubs. There were many ships, vessels, sails, and there was even a submarine! It belongs to the Maritime Muzeum, and those who want to get in must pay. But I was contented by just watching from outside. Our next destination was Star City, the casino. It was my first time in a casino and it was a great experience. It was a place where one can quickly get big money and just as quickly, lost them all! After Star City, there was a hiatus as we tired to figure out what to do next. In the end, we just decided to return to our respective hostels for dinner.

I have uploaded some pictures. Sorry folks, I cant upload all of them; it's just too expensive to do so.
For departure pictures, click here
For hostel pictures, click here
For pictures of the first city visit, click here

Next: 2nd Trip to the City and more. Stay tuned.