Aussie Day 4 - SOH, where are we going?

12/09/05 Monday
The SEP people had to endure another morning of misery in school, whilst we set out to explore the city. At our doorstep was Hyde Park, home to the Anzac Memorial.
The Anzac memorial was built in memory of the soldiers who died in the World wars and Vietnam War.
The sign below made it clear as we entered that no photographs were allowed. This was a shrine of reverence to the honoured dead.
But of course since we're mother-f**king chinks who need to watch more Sesame Street, they can't blame us for not comprehending.
YH et al. had called at abt 1100 to say that they were done with school for the day. That's an amazing 2 hours that they spent there, and we arranged to meet at Hyde park.
We were constantly amazed at how relaxed the people were and why on earth are there so many happy people at the park on a Monday morning? And I don't mean the roadside vendors. There's your average Joe munching on his sandwich in front of therapeutically calm water, and then there's your above average Dennis taking leisurely strolls at speeds not exceeding 2 km/hr. I mean there are paralysed people in Singapore who move faster than that!

Happy people playing chess in the park on a Monday morning is just not right.
Slacking on the grass, though, is freaking contagious.

After meeting up we made our way to MacQuarie's Chair, where YH promised us a postcard-like view of the Sydney Opera House (SOH). But first, there was the New South Wales Art Gallery.
Personally I'm not a big fan of art, especially art that didn't make sense or looked like crap. Ah Meng could have made some of these...
Nah, she's much better than that....
So we decided to spoof some of the works there. At least THAT was interesting.

The only redeeming factor for the 2 hours or so we spent there was that we managed to spot one decent article of artistic value. However she was walking too quickly for us to get a decent shot.
We trudged against the insane gail that rivalled Katrina en route to our destination, chatting, laughing, and of course, taking an obscene number of photographs.
Naturally we had to have one of GF posing like the Lion King...
Macquarie's rear end is gargantuan to require a chair this hugh.
And a breathtaking view of the SOH and the Harbour Bridge.

Closer to the Opera House.
We can't afford Pavarotti and Friends, so a shot with the Gift Shop seems reasonable.
Behind the SOH, the Harbour Bridge in its full glory. Tourists can actually scale the arch of the bridge in a guided tour, but YH claims the sheer cost of it will make you want to jump down from the top after that.
A night shot of the SOH and HB from PJ.

We deliberated upon where to have our dinner, and YH suggested the $5 steak place near Darling Harbour. That place was excellent, so good that us guys had 2 steaks each. And I even shared a plate of bangers (also $5) with someone. The cows must really hate this place.

The resident gambler YH took us for a tour around Star Casino next. We walked around and decided gambling was not for us, although we did pick up "Texas Hold'em", a variation of poker which we later played in Rm 706 of the YWCA. ZX was lucky to escape at the death. Twice.

All in all a tiring day of grandeur and vice. And we were lucky the hotel management didn't throw us out for setting up our own rowdy gambling den.