After all my talk about missed opportunities and knowing the events happening around Melbourne, I totally missed out on David Beckham coming to Sydney gah gah gah

David Beckham says he is been surprised by the reaction to his trip to Australia.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player is in Sydney for an exhibition match with his team LA Galaxy.

The game at Sydney’s Olympic stadium will be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 80,000.

Source: ABC.net.au

LIKE countless millions of others, soccer star David Beckham got off a 22-hour flight from London to Sydney worn out, red-eyed and in trakkie daks.

Having your own Lear jet apparently does not shield you entirely from the ghastly effects of circling half the globe in a single bound.

Beckham managed to avoid some of the paparazzi at Sydney airport when a fake “Posh” lured the cameras in the wrong direction while he made good his escape.

However there was no avoiding the glare at his first Australian press conference, where 16 television cameras followed his every eye-rub and neck-stretch, and the flashguns popped like fireworks every time his mouth creased into that shy smile.

Like anyone else who’s flown that far, he looked like he wanted nothing more than a cup of tea and a good lie down.

Source: Herald Sun via News.com.au

Crap. And I was having such a lovely day! Why did I have to miss Becks?! Gaddamit! *shakes fist*

Le sigh. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Oh well, I just have to keep on reminding myself I have an awesome birthday gift waiting to be redeemed. It’s not as cool as seeing David Beckham, but awesome, nonetheless. Yep, keep on telling yourself that Nina… Awesome gift…awesome gift… awesome gift… *cries*

Flight SQ380, the first ever commercial flight of Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 landed today at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. All of its passengers are in agreement: the amount they paid for were well worth it, and that the superjumbo was surprisingly quiet.

Some trivia about the first passengers of the maiden flight:

• The youngest customer is a 10 month-old boy from Singapore
• The oldest is a 91 year-old man, also from Singapore, travelling with his family. His son bought the Singapore Airlines Suites ticket for him in the charity auction;
• Mr Julian Hayward bought the first Suite on the flight, paying US$100,380 for him and a friend to travel from Singapore to Sydney;
• Among passengers is Mr Thomas Lee, from California, who was a passenger on the world’s first Boeing 747 commercial flight between New York and London in 1970.
• Also travelling is Ms Isabelle Chu, a travel agent from Perth, who is flying in both directions on the A380. Ms Chu flew in both directions on the first Singapore Airlines A340-500 flights between Singapore and Los Angeles, and Singapore and New York, non-stop in 2004, with just time for shower between flights. This time, she will enjoy an overnight stopover in Sydney.
• The passengers represent 35 different nationalities, with the largest group being Australians (28%), then Singaporeans (14%), then Britons (11%) and Americans (8%). Those who have come furthest for the first flight are 4 Norwegians.
• The most common first name of passengers is David, with 11.
• The ratio of male to female passengers on board is 7:3.

Source: Singapore Airlines Website

The A380 goes into regular service on the 29th of October between Singapore and Sydney. Flight 221 leaves Singapore at 8:30 in the evening, arriving in Sydney at 7 am the following day. SQ232 from Sydney to Singapore leaves Kingsford Smith Airport at 12:45 pm, touching down in Changi Airport at 5:40 in the afternoon.

Head on to the Singapore Airlines A380 website for a virtual tour of the A380′s interiors. The Sydney Morning Herald has pictures and videos of this momentous event.

It’s easy to get around Sydney, even for a first timer. The public transport system is extensive, so you wouldn’t have to rely on costly taxis everytime.

You can buy and pay for tickets everytime you board the bus, ferry or train. However, it’s more convenient to buy a travel pass, which can be used on all services.

Which ticket to buy?

I give you three choices: the Daytripper, the Sydney Pass and the Travel Pass.
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Weeks before I flew over to Sydney for the weekend, I scoured all the websites I can read up on about Sydney and pored over every guidebook I can get my hands on at the library. Almost all of my resources recommends going to Manly.

On my second day in Sydney, I decided to spend my morning over at Manly and see what they’re raving about.
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For sometime now, I’ve been aching to go back to Sydney. I miss Melbourne too, of course, but I felt that my 3 days in Sydney was just a taste test that left me craving for more.

It doesn’t help seeing my Sydney pictures, nor to hear about people planning on going there for the World Youth Day 2008. It specially didn’t help reading about Sydney over at the Lost Girl’s blog.

So what is it about Sydney that I miss so much?
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Ah, Sydney. How I loved thee.

I’ve fallen inlove with Sydney, mainly because of the harbour and the ferries. I don’t know why, but I just love riding commuter ferries. It’s one of the reasons why I loved the Chao Phraya in Bangkok.

I only spent 3 days in Sydney, though I wish I could have stayed longer. Sydney has so much to offer to travelers, and admittedly, a weekend in Sydney isn’t too expensive. I was surprised when I saw the total myself.

Here’s my 3-day Sydney expense breakdown to give you an idea when you plan your own trip to this lovely city.

[EDIT March 5, 2009] I am an idiot. I made a HUGE mistake in summing up all the expenses, hence the ultra cheap total *facepalm* From Php 13K for a weekend trip, the real total finally came out (after TWO FRICKING YEARS): Php 23K!
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Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is a month long celebration, starting on the first week of February and ends on the first weekend of March with a parade as a grand finale. Of course, when my sister asked me when do I want to fly to Sydney for a weekend, I picked the Mardi Gras weekend. Afterall, how many times will you have the opportunity to fly over to watch drag queens and dykes on bikes?