On Monday morning I arrived at Heathrow Airport, passing the chaos at the BA check-in and making my way to the quiet and far shorter lines of QANTAS. It all seemed too easy, so of course my flight had to be delayed. Flight delays are dangerous. Boredom leads to coffee, magazine and food consumption, and the most dangerous of all- shopping at the tax-free Harrods.
I have to admit, we must be getting used to plane travel because my flight seemed to go by so quick. It helps massively when the people you are sitting with are the same age as you, are really friendly and all of you just help each other out. It made me realise that in the age of the Experience Economy, there are just some things that organisations won't ever be able to design for you.
I landed, late, in the evening at Sydney airport to be greeted by the family including a bright blue coat-wearing Mel (especially chosen so I'd be able to spot them). It was a refreshingly balmy outside and as we drove through Sydney city, seeing all the familiar sights, one difference noted was the empty streets and lack of people on them. This would be one of many observations of the very different lives of Sydney.
And London.
We named this posting ‘So Sydney’ because we remember one Sydney newspaper having a section titled ‘So Sydney’ to update readers on ‘So Sydney’-type behaviour observed that week. Here’s our own ‘So Sydney’ coverage (from the perspective of temporary Londoners).
So Sydney…
- Alfresco dining: It seemed like every restaurant, café and bar offers alfresco dining in Sydney. A rarity in London, highly dependent on the weather (and one knows you can never rely on London weather!)
- Rude drivers: We have to say, the Brits are far more courteous on the roads. They never use the horn and always let others in before them (which is usually reciprocated with a 'thank you')
- The long distance between places: Going anywhere in London by Tube won’t take you more than 40 minutes. Unless you are trying to get to Heathrow Airport
- Expensive clothes: Wow, we were shocked at how expensive the clothes are in Sydney. The limited number of brands don’t help too much either (Where was Zara when you needed shirt for a wedding and warm clothes because you came back from the UK with none and the Sydney temps early September were freak-ishly low?)
- Sun, sun, sun: It is SO bright in Sydney. Even when it rains (Often when it rains here, it feels like night time). And the Sydney sun feels like it burns your skin- but that is just such a lovely feeling
- Exercise and fitness: Sydney is obsessed with being fit. Over here we tend to cover up a lot
- Thongs and less clothes: The previous point led us to this one. It took awhile to get back into wearing a lot less clothes and thongs (or flip flops as the Brits say) all the time. We lived in our Havaianas in Sydney (which cost a bomb over here, about 20 pounds/pair. That’s about $AUD50!)
- Sushi: There are sooo many take-away sushi stores and sushi train restaurants in Sydney. They have been slowly emerging in London, but you pay for the rarity. We have also missed handrolls. We are yet to see them make an appearance here
- The huge Asian population: In 15 months we swear the population has ballooned. Unless you are in Chinatown, the population is predominantly Anglo in London
- Everything so new: Sydney’s built environment is so shiny and sparkly. London is steeped in history, from its architecture to the events of bygone times which have their legacies in names, ceremonies and retold stories
- Poor public transport: When you rate the efficiency and price of public transport in Sydney and London, London is definitely better value
- Coffee, coffee, coffee: The UK is still largely a tea-drinking nation so their baristas have a lot of catching up to do.
