I took a plunge… and somehow it worked out. Quite a big risk given the fever, but in the end I still managed to get my plans done for the day. But probably in the future, won’t work out the same lucky way. It’s just that my desire to do the day overrode caution.
Day 2 – Sydney
I woke up at 2.30am, June 21. I did explicitly put it that way on my phone as I was scared of oversleeping. I was still coughing and feverish. Not as bad as around 6 hours prior, but still feeling a lot warm on the head. At this point, I got up off the bed and sat down in front of the TV, turned it on back to Netflix and that Tour de France documentary of dudes in bikes, and ate the banana bread with tea. The worry in my head substituted nicely for morning coffee.
I was wrestling with the idea of either scrapping the entire Blue Mountains trip and just focus on food and recovery in the hotel, or still attempting the trip but with some added protection. I gauged myself then – am I sore anywhere? Can I walk? No headaches? None so far then. I did research online after, and it seemed that the cold winter might indirectly help with lowering my temp and keep the fever heat at bay, with a few caveats. I then decided on the spot that I should try. It’s a risk, but the bonehead in me still wanted to see the thing done and dusted.
I then assembled my gear and bag. For what I wore that day, I chose the thick Adidas longsleeve hoodie shirt I packed. It’s sufficiently thick and wooly – it’s what I usually wear under a rain jacket when going to the office during rainy season. Keeps me somewhat warm but not sweaty warm. I decided to wear the same thick MT50 jacket – it’s still decent anyway, and paired with a thick longsleeve, decent insulation that kept me warm but not sweaty. For socks, I opted for a pair of the winter socks I bought in Decathlon – thick and nice to the feel. In addition, I scrapped the cap and went for the wool beanie for my head, and whipped out the UA padded facemask I brought with me. I was intending it for Buller, but circumstances dictate that this time it is for others’ protection – I was still coughing some phlegm after all. I also opted to bring two handkerchiefs – both the darker colored ones as I noticed my snot and phlegm had some blood streaks and clots, and I want those occasional red things to be as inconspicuous as possible.
For my backpack, I opted to use the smaller Quechua 20L outdoor bag I brought with me and packed an extra gym towel, an extra face mask, a water bottle (filled), a bottle of Gatorade, sunscreen, and two more packs of lozenges with the rest of the paracetamol box. Also, a fully-charged power bank and the same selfie stick I used in Taipei last year.
After a long lukewarm shower (to get most of the phlegm and snot out, worked like a charm) and getup, I was out of the hotel by 3.50pm. Boy, it was COLD. I’ve been to Baguio a dozen times before so I thought I knew what cold was, but that was tropical cold. This Sydney early morning is fucking winter cold. Twice colder than from the day I had before. Breath was leaking out of my face mask almost like vape smoke. Man. But before I trooped to Central Station, I dropped by the EzyMart for a bottle of Gatorade and a box of paracetamol. Hydration is important for a busy day, especially for a crazy dude with a fever.
There was a reason I had to leave the hotel early for the Blue Mountains: normally on days, the BMT yellow line was the default – almost two hours from Central Station to Katoomba. However, there was an advisory that the normal travel path was to be unavailable due to modified service for a period that covered this day, so I was to take the BMT line to Granville, take a route replacement bus going to Penrith, then take the BMT line again to Katoomba. The day before, I computed the possible time using Google Maps: if I got on the BMT line on Central Station by 4am, I would be able to get to Katoomba by 7am. Any other time would present a lot of time-related inconveniences.
I fortunately got to the BMT train with 5 minutes to spare. Central Station is a huge station and finding the station number is a chore, getting there is a second chore. Place is nicely engineered though. There were like 2 people in the cabin I chose – me and some dude sleeping in the corner. I didn’t know if he’s homeless but given the number of bags with clothes and stuff beside him, it’s hard not to think of it. Train’s also got some unpleasant graffiti on some of the doors as well. But train cabin was nice and warm, and soon later I was on Granville Station. I left the station to search for the supposed bus replacement on Bridge Street beside the station. I nearly missed it though – if not for the kind helper lady spotting me and asking “Penrith?”, man I nearly F’d up. I thought that the first bus wasn’t it as it looked like a pricey tourist tour bus, but as it turned out, they were the ones tapped to ferry the passengers from Granville to Penrith. I chose a seat near the back to chill out. There were seven of us in this long-ass big bus.
The trip to Penrith was a breeze as I was used to long bus trips. As I looked outside, it was still dark so I couldn’t enjoy any scenery, but to me it looked like any late-night highway. Pretty soon we got to Penrith, and I went in to wait for the train to Katoomba. And again, I noted that the morning chill in Penrith was a bit more colder than Granville’s, as my breath was now more visible. I waited for the train while munching a Snickers bar – I might need the calories to maintain energy in this cold-ass chill. Train that arrived was slightly similar to the one I left in Granville, with somewhat lesser graffiti and more of the industrial exterior seen. And somewhat a bit older model, as the interior clearly wasn’t as modern as the one before.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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