Flying long distances and what to do in Sydney, Australia

[TomCollins]

I will be traveling to Australia in a few weeks. Normally for flights I bring my laptop and have plenty to do while it is flying. But the 15 hour flight will easily run me out of batteries. It appears that Qantas only has power outlets in business class and first class, and I will be stuck in coach.

Anyone have any expirience with any options I might have for my laptop? If not, what would you do to pass the time besides sleep?

Also, if anyone has any expirience in Sydney, what are some must-see attractions? It will be my first time in the land down under.

[slickpoppa]

I spent six months in Sydney and absolutely loved it. I don't have time to make a full post now, but check back in a couple of hours and I can tell you tons of things to do.

[InchoateHand]

Its a great place. Just 45 minutes up the train line from Circular Quay. All kinds of chill people--get there, and you'll know what I'm talking about.

[Edge34]

The Sydney Opera House is a must-see, definitely.

If you can, get out to the Olympic Village, I've been there, and swam in the Olympic pool. Very cool place.

I was only in Sydney for a day on my way to the Gold Coast (Surfer's Paradise - that place RULES).

Qantas has TVs in the backs of the seats and you can watch movies to pass some time...otherwise just take a Benadryl and zonk out for a while - that one works wonders.

Oh yeah, if you've got someone special around here, you can find some serious high-quality Opal jewelery straight from the source - stuff you can't get from the States. There was one store in particular in Sydney that has all kinds of stuff...I'm sure someone there would help you find it.

-Edge

[Ray Zee]

flights leave about 10 pm from the wet coast. you should try to sleep as much as you can and they wake you early for breakfast.
get a layout of your plane and pick your seats from that. in the back is probably rows of two. those are nice as you dont have a fat man pushing you out of yours for 15 hours.
if the flight is empty grab four seats in the middle just before takeoff and you can lay out and sleep on those. be fast as the race for them is quick.
i pick vegetarian food for the flights as its much better than some heated up chicken. but quantas has good food for airplanes.
in sydney go around the old town, and bondi beach. and do a harbor boat ride. go to manly beach if you are young and want to see the topless crowd. its a nice city but big. so you have big city things going on. if you have time rent a car and see the country. or at least go to the barrier reef and snorkel. its a short flight.

read a book they arent heavy to carry.

[Dominic]

also, you can check out Sydney's "red light" district, called Kings Cross...pretty tame, if you've been to Amsterdam or Bangkok, but a lot of fun!

Also, do dome day trips outside of Sydney - there's plenty of wine country to explore, and incredible mountains and forrests...

Sydney is amazing...probably my most favorite city in the world...the people are fun, it's a party every day, and the beer has more alcohol in it!

woo hoo!

[InchoateHand]

Pssshhhhaw. Sydney-siders.

[NLSoldier]

I'd reccomend PMing Stripsqueez, He is the only 2+2er i know of thats from australia.

[bismillahno]

I've been to Sydney, but don't know it well enough to really give you many tips on the town.

However, I've done the trans-pacific flight many times, and it goes much better if you can decent amount of sleep. I found the best tactic is to not sleep well the night before (getting up early after a night of drinking worked well for me) then staying up all day, as the flight will likely leave in the evening ( to confirm Ray Zee).

Then, when I got to the airport, have a beer and a meal there. Get on the plane, have another beer and another meal. By this stage I was always sufficiently full, tired and relaxed that I could just crash, usually for 6-7 hours, and I was well past half way by the time I woke up. The jet lag was never that bad for me after that.

btw, when you've come that far, at least make another three hour trip and visit a country worth seeing /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[sfer]

Go. To. The. Beach. And don't spend more than half a day around the quay. Walk the Harbor Bridge if you get a chance. Eat a ton; the food is great in Australia.

[Analyst]

Intercontinental flights got a lot easier for me once I bought an iPod. Get a player, load it up and get some Shure E3C headphones - good sound quality and even better noise reduction than the active types (e.g. Bose Quiet Comfort).

Though I normally try to stay awake on long westbound flights, since yours lands in the relatively early morning you should sleep as much as possible. This allows you to stay awake when you arrive and get on the local schedule quickly.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

My only time Down Under I went to a business conference up on the Gold Coast. The best thing about the flight is that after you've done it a coast-to-coast flight will never seem long again.

[TomCollins]

Question 2- coming back.

Plane leaves at 12:30 PM Sydney time.
(15 hour flight)
I get into LA at 9:30 AM.
Layover for 3 hours, flight home arrives at 2:30PM of the same day.

Here is my ideas for getting back on track. Try to stay up as late as possible Firday. Sleep as little as possible and then sleep on the plane. I'll try to sleep as long as I can on the flight, and hopefully wake up about 4 hours before arrival. This will mean I would wake up at 7:30 Central Time. This hopefully should put me on a good sleep schedule.

Any other advice?

[NotButter]

I've lived my whole life in Sydney but what to do while you're there is far to general a question. Depends what's your scene.

Sure... you can spend days hanging out at museums, art galleries and catherdrals but for me I like to just hang out where it's at...where the people are. I can spend a few hours sitting in the main square watching the world go by.

Bondi Beach, Manly, the opera house, etcetera all touristville. If you want to blow a roll, climb the Harbour Bridge (no joke - it's a organised thing - I suppose it must cost about 150 Australian pesos these days). The view is to die for.

Take a ferry on the harbour.

Someone mentioned going to Cabramatta - yes I suppose that's OK. Sydney has many ethnic suburbs - eg Cabramatta is where the Turkish community hang out as well as the Vietnamese smack dealers - you can score without leaving the train station if that's your fancy. Other suburbs of interest might be Leichhardt (Italian), Haymarket (Chinese) and Marrickville (Greek).

nick
sinny

[stripsqueez]

as it happens i'm flying to sydney for 10 days of bridge tournament tommorrow - only 90 odd minutes for me - i lived there for about 6 months

sydney is a big city and has a big city feel so i'm not over fond of it - the harbour and colonial architecture are what i like to look at

ray zee has obviously spent time there as he stole several of the things i would suggest - get to bondi - i'm staying there - its great this time of year - the beach is good but definately take the cliff walk that runs along the coast next to the beach

stripsqueez - chickenhawk