Second Day in Sydney

After having a weird, jet-lagged sleep schedule yesterday, we managed to get in a couple more hours of sleep before waking up around 7 am, which was nice because it allowed us to start the day fairly early. We walked around for a bit, and stumbled into Christ Church St. Laurence, where the priest let Keith ring the bells.





We also went to a cute, indie coffee shop for wifi before boarding the tour bus to the beach.

Our tour bus came with two different routes: a city tour, and then a tour to the surrounding areas. So, we decided to take the bus to Bondi Beach, which is one of Australia's most famous beaches.

The beach was full of surfers, who we watched for quite a while. We even talked to one, who informed us that it was not a good day for the tide. He also explained about the components that make for good waves (something about the sand).




We walked the beach for a bit and then walked the boardwalk along the beach as well.

I always wear proper beach attire.

Bondi seems like a really upscale neighborhood, complete with boutiques and fancy restaurants. Not feeling all that fancy, and loving the concept of"food plus fun," we decided to get lunch at a place called Sushi Train, which features sushi on a conveyor belt. I was surprised by how many vegan choices they had, and I may or may not have gotten five plates.



Then, while walking back to catch the bus, we spotted a gelato place that advertised vegan gelato, I decided I had to stop in. After sampling five different ones (including a watermelon mint gelato), I settled on the dark chocolate fudge flavor. Holy tastebud explosion! This stuff was the most amazing ice cream I've ever had in my life, and it even put Ben and Jerry's to shame.




I immediately wanted to propose marriage to it, but Keith told me that would be embarrassing to do in such a public place, so I refrained.

By the time the tour bus picked us up, our tickets had expired. Luckily, I'm pretty good at giving the "sad face," so the driver let us on. We drove around Sydney's outskirts and saw some amazing views. Sadly, my camera wasn't able to capture too many of them. Here's me trying though:



We also got to see where all the rich people live.

After the tour, we headed back to our hostel and took a four hour nap (an improvement from yesterday's seven). Around 8 pm, we decided to get up and explore Darling Harbour, which is (as the name suggests) right along the water. It features a Chinese friendship garden, restaurants, mall, Ferris wheel, and some incredible views. I even found myself some falafel.



We still weren't tired, so after the harbor, we walked around a lot more. Some pictures from our walk:



On our walk, we started to notice that there were a ton of places advertising "Thai massage." We immediately wondered if that was just a front for prostitution, but they were everywhere! And even the oldest profession in the world seems like it would be hard to make a go of a business with that many competitors. So, we started wondering if they are indeed legit, and made a list of arguments for and against.

For said Thai massage places being legit:

-the outside signs show people getting stone massages (and the last time I checked, prostitution does not often involve rocks)
-they're super out in the open. Surely if it was prostitution, it would be hidden...at least a little.
-some of them featured massage chairs visible from outside

And in the "no, it's just a total front for prostitution" camp:

-they're way cheap (like $30)
-they're open until 4 am
-some of them are up a lot of stairs/hidden from the public

Since we can't use our phones here, rather than googling, we asked the front desk at our hostel. They did not seem to know. So, our quest to find out if these places are legit (especially because I wouldn't mind a $30 back rub) shall continue into tomorrow.