Fortunately, it was just a few bus stops away and the route was solely on Harris Street – I had to board at the Pyrmont bus stop and alight at the St Mary Ann bus stop. After a bit of a walk – thankfully, not much people that fine Sunday – I got to Paddy’s Market.
I got into the entrance, and man, it was… well, I kind of expected it already based on research, but seeing it in person was feeling something a tad different. It’s largely a souvenirs market. But oh well, my it was quite long. Choice paralysis, IMO. But lots of kooky things being sold, so I was able to cross those off. I went and did a full go-around and looked for shops that satisfied my main conditions – it must have magnets, keychains, decent souvenirs, cheap unique trinkets and canvas bags all in one place. I had no patience for pick-and-choosing from multiple shops – max two shops, if I had to split. All in one place is my vibe. Bonus points if a t-shirt shop was within the front/side of the shop, so I didn’t have to stray.
I found one that was perfect – a big-ass stall with all the desirable kinds of souvenirs in one place, plus a t-shirt store with a wide array of choices just across it. I ended my search right there and started on perusing what was on offer.
First place I went for were the canvas bags. I chose three big ones that had imagery representing Sydney, plus one more that had a design featuring koalas. I also got amused at the kangaroo souvenirs at hand – basically taxidermied items. The taxidermied paws were hard to choose for – I wanted something with all the fur with no bald spots, and the fingers were wide open. I found one that barely fit my preference, and I paired it with a pair of taxidermied kangaroo testicles. That one was harder to choose for than the paws – I looked for the one that looked perfectly “nutty” – the nuts had to be shaped the same, the fur shouldn’t look saggy and the overall shape should look like it just got lopped off at the right point. Found a perfect one though. Oh, both were also on keychains. I don’t envision them hanging off my bag going to work, though. I’ll hang the nuts outside my room door back home in PH. The paw is a backup – if lucky I’ll hang both.
I also bought several fridge magnet sets – one primary for home use and two for freebie giveaways. The primary one was just a generic Australia souvenir three-piece magnet set featuring the usual imagery of the Opera House, kangaroos and other animals, and the Ayers Rock, but the design was just great – they looked like little vehicle vanity plates. The ones I bought for giveaways were also generic imagery and would look fine in any fridge door. I bought several more minibags, trinkets and keychains for either my own use or giveaway, and I also bought a cheap toy – it looked like the big button you’d see on pedestrian crossing sides that people should press to alert the traffic system to allow them to cross, but in mini form. When pressed, it makes the crossing alert sound plus the tut-tut-tut sound for a good bit. Fancy amusing, so I bought it.
Upon heading to the checkout, I was greeted by two ladies manning the small booth with the calculator. They (correctly) guessed I was Filipino, and I was also pleasantly surprised to see they were too. They threw in a free magnet in the bag and thanked me for my purchase, and the print bag wasn’t bad either – it was a big sturdy bag that had “Australia” and their flag on the sides. Nice.
I then crossed over to the stall directly in front of the stall I was in and started choosing shirts. I chose four simple shirts that were decent giveaways – I planned to give them away to my family anyway.
With half of my gift souvenirs settled (I planned to buy some more in Melbourne and Bali later), I wanted to eat something. So I headed to the market’s “Hay St Market” food section to see what’s possible. Unfortunately, time was a bummer – while the drinks bar had an impressive array of offerings, couldn’t say the same about the food stalls. A bit expensive, to put it kindly. So I just chose on a whim on a price point – I bought a tall glass of local beer on tap, and a bowl of Greek food.
With that settled and maybe 30 minutes of lounging (the food section’s eating area was quite homey in a European sort of way), I left the market. Time to head back to the hotel, even if a bit early. As I planned, chill vibes for the day, so I had no desire to cram one more place in my itinerary.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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