We had breakfast in the hotel – pretty good plate of bacon, eggs, toast and juice – before heading out to Mrs. Macquaries Point in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. It was a cloudy and drizzly day, and it didn’t quite make for the classic Opera House shot so we headed over to Hyde Park where the rain finally began lashing down.
We raced to a mall and sat in the food court drinking coffee and a gorgeous baked cheesecake. We hopped on a train and over to Kings Cross for some cheap internet access where we researched the cost of changing our plans for the following weeks. Unfortunately the weather report for the east coast of Queensland was almost wholly rain and storms, while the west coast looked bathed in sunshine – a much better option when you will be staying in a £25 tent.
After some research, we headed over to Bondi Beach were there was supposed to be a Qantas office – unfortunately our research wasn’t thorough enough and based on out-of-date Google Maps information. A lesson learnt and straight back on the train into the city centre. There we found a Qantas office, but they were entirely useless. The rather sour old woman we spoke to said that she couldn’t help with internet bookings and that she thought we probably would be unable to change them. She wasn’t even able to provide access to a telephone to contact an agent.
So we found ourselves in a cramped phone booth speaking to the internet hotline. The woman on the phone here couldn’t have been more different! Very helpful and friendly and our flights we changed in no time for just £50 each. We followed this up by cancelling and rearranging car hire and, relaxed knowing everything was sorted, head out to dinner at Billy Kwongs.
Billy Kwongs is a restaurant co-owned by celebrity chefs Kylie Kwong and Bill Granger which focuses on elegant Chinese cuisine with the emphasis on fair trade and renewable resources. It doesn’t allow reservations, and unfortunately we arrived a fraction of a second too late to join the first group of diners. The waiting staff popped our names on a list and suggested we return in an hour, during which we found a little newsagent with an internet booth to kill the time.
For starter we shared a plate of minced pork, mushroom, ginger, vegetables to be wrapped in lettuce leaves – this really was a beautifully spiced dish, very highly recommended. The main course was also a two person meal – duck in plum sauce. Unfortunately we found this a little too sweet, but the quality of the ingredients really did shine through. We sat by the window and could see the huge fruit bats swinging through the trees outside as the rain started again.
A short train ride and walk later and we were home and in bed.
