After the two hectic days, I looked forward to this day. I scheduled lightly, but I also scheduled three of the things I like as a tourist as well – art tours, eating silly and window shopping. And most fortunately, the weather was awesome.
Day 3 – Sydney
My day began at around 5.30am, as I set my alarm clock to that for this day. I needed the extra time to assess my body if I got better or worse. And thank heavens, fever was gone. Body didn’t feel any bad at all. Well, except for the snots and the coughing.
I am not good at shaking off coughs, especially those with phlegm attached to it. I always dreaded catching it from somebody during my daily commute in Singapore, if somebody beside me coughs with a familiar sound of chest-y ejection, I was already making a mental note of what cough medicine to buy. And this one I got in Sydney was phlegm-riddled but the thin variety, meaning it irritated my throat so badly yesterday that I was coughing out phlegm with some streaks of red, and on this day it seems to got better but it also came out with some very small blood clots. Not good at all. Even my snot had the clots, but I knew it was from the nasal area. Yesterday, the constant snot truly irritated my sinuses and I kept rubbing and wiping my nose so much that my nose got irritated from all the times I blew my nose out to get rid of the snots.
But at least the fever was gone. No headaches.
So for that morning, I got dressed up a bit (re-wore yesterday’s jeans and shirt) and went back down the hotel lobby to get my coffee. By now I already got the hang of the coffee machine, so I got a latte. There’s a water dispenser as well, so I had brought with me a water bottle to fill up. And as it was morning, the hotel had some healthy snacks beside the coffee machine, free for everyone. I got three granola bars, then I went back up my room for breakfast.
Well, I could’ve just ate outside and got more of that Aussie breakfast experience like the one I had in Katoomba, but I wasn’t in a rush and I craved the warmth of my room while watching on Netflix. And besides, my breakfast was cheaper. A brownie and banana bread slice bought from Ezymart last night. A cup of latte. As good as breakfast as any, and it’s in a cozy room while watching anime on a decently-sized TV.
By 7.30am, I was out of the hotel to get to my big stop of the day: Sydney Opera House. It’s the undisputed icon of Sydney, and it’s a nice place for a fuss-free morning tour. I had two options to get there: by train from Central Station to Circular Quay, or starting with a bus from George Street. Based on the previous day’s experience inside the station, I decided to just save myself the walking and just try out the other route suggested by Google Maps. Bus route was split – I had to alight at Museum Station (Elizabeth) and then take another bus from there to Circular Quay. No fuss whatsoever on the fine Sunday as well. Bright sunny weather too. Perfect birthday weather.
However, I had to do some prep too. I managed to shake off the worst of the fever the day before, but its effects were still present. So I went into this little pharmacy at Circular Quay and asked for stuff to help with fevers and coughs. I got “prescribed” Difflam, Betadine mouthwash, paracetamols, and a box of what was called “Lemsip”. Apparently it’s a medicated hot drink mix, and I was advised by the pharmacist not to take paracetamol if I was to drink one of these. Noted. I also bought two packs of Fisherman’s Friend and a bottle of Gatorade from a mini-mart nearby. I used the Difflam right away, as my throat got very itchy again after a good gulp of the morning air at the pier. I downed the Gatorade in one go as well.
I got to the lower floor’s ticket counter at the opera house an hour ahead of the 9.45am start time, so I took some obligatory outside shots. First time is often the most memorable time. Just from the lower right side though.
I went to get my ticket right away. I had the Agoda voucher printout with me, and I presented it to the booth lady, after checking my passport as well she proceeded to print my ticket. I had nearly an hour to kill, so I walked around the vicinity and the gift shop as well. I eyed several things I had to get, so I don’t have to spend a lot of time deciding when I go back later after the tour’s over. By 9.40am, my group was nearly on for call, so I decided to deposit my bag in the deposit counter near the ticket booth. I took out a pack of lozenges and an extra handkerchief from the bag before handing it over.
A tour lady promptly began the tour by 9.45am on the dot (I timed it) and started checking the tickets of the people that crowded near the ticketing booth, and upon verification was handed a headset hooked to a small clip-on radio machine configured to relay the things she said on her microphone, so as to give her control of the tour group’s attention without the need to raise her voice. The headset was a bit flimsy though, so I was worried of it snapping or breaking.
The tour went as well as I hoped for – the tour guide took us on a tour of all the facilities the building had, stopping by every now and then for picturesque parts where we could take the nice shots. The main opera room interior was off-limits for loud talking at the time we were there – there was a dude tuning a piano on the stage below for an afternoon activity, so the tour guide asked us to stay silent as we sat on the balcony seats to take in the marvelous view. We still took the shots, though the tour guide politely asked us to refrain from using the flash.
That’s when the day’s only blemish came. See, the phlegm was still a problem that day – I suppressed coughing as much as I could during the tour with willpower and lozenges, but when I coughed, I kept it muffled while keeping any phlegm that came up in my mouth, only spitting out whenever there was a trash bin nearby. My discomfort was masked by, well, my face mask. But inside the opera room was where the shit hit the fan. My throat was extremely irritated already, and when we entered a balcony to sit, I tried to sit a bit far so I could discreetly let out a muffled cough and pop in a lozenge, but the tour lady asked us all to sit in a row, side by side. Goddamnit. I tried suppressing an upcoming bout of whoopy-ass cough, and while I managed to just muffle most of it, it ended up irritating my throat further and I was not able to suppress one cough to slip out. Damnit.
Otherwise, tour went on, and at the end of it, I had a great time. It’s really a feat of creative engineering. Some shots below:
Tour ended before 11am, and soon after I trooped back again to the souvenir booth. I had to take a couple of picture magnets of the Sydney Opera House. I could’ve bought it cheaper elsewhere, but it’s for my satisfaction anyway.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
Leave a comment