Back in Sydney

After a flight to Saigon, followed by a flight to Darwin I finished with a third flight to Sydney arriving around lunch time on Friday. The joys of low cost airlines. I was picked up from Sydney airport by two of my brothers and my little nephew and we headed down to Coogee for a bite to eat. Two beers cost the same as a case in Hanoi and the meal, a tasty chicken parmi, would buy me 20 meals back in Vietnam. The joys of living in Sydney.

I hung out with my brothers for the day, around Coogee and Maroubra which is where they live. I was only in town for one night before heading over the Blue Mountains to see my grandparents; about 3 and half hours north-west of Sydney. The decision of where to spend my one night in Sydney was easy - the Newington Inn in Petersham. I have been going there since I was 17. It is a simple pub with a nice outside eating area which has the best cook your own meals in town. For $10 you can grab a steak, salad and a spud and cook it yourself on the grill. If you are a fan of condiments then this is the place to come; condiment heaven. Great value and it is good to see that inflation hasn't kicked in after a year abroad.

I had a feed and caught up with a bunch of friends which was really enjoyable. We had a few beers and watched a game of footy. It really felt like I had seen them only a few weeks ago. Its a frequently used cliche but time does fly.

I prefer the local pub scene to the pretentious bars and clubs that litter the city. I find many of Sydney's bars and clubs, more than any other city I have travelled, are filled with pompous wankers. The bouncers are often worse, in complete denial about the importance of their position, taking much joy in flaunting their arrogance and inflated egos. I have no interest in going out in Sydney anymore, unless of course my good mate Brett Watkins is in town; he loves the place and I feel bad for not going out with him.

The local pub scene does present some interesting truths; things don't change. It has been over a year since I have been to the Newington Inn and it really feels like it has been a week. All the same staff are there, serving the same locals, doing the same karaoke on Friday night, shouting at the same football screens. I am not knocking these people as I don't know what they do in the rest of their lives but there is an image of a year gone by with nothing changing when I come back to my local. People have different needs and wants in their life as well but for me I need to change my environment. It is therefore a double positive; firstly, I love my little local and I am so happy to come back here and enjoy a night out with my close friends and secondly, it gives me the added push to go out there and do the things I want to do because time does fly and life really is short.

Next stop - the farm.