He's closing on 40 but Jude Law is just as sexy now as he was years ago.

Jude-You-Sexy-Law, why don't we get to see more of you? :(

Sherlock Holmes - The Game of Shadows is really good. Just as good as the first one, if not better. Check it out if you haven't already - it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. You'll like it...unless you didn't like the first one and you're not a fan of Guy Ritchie's style of movie-making.

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I went to Watson's Bay last weekend. It's a 30 minute ferry ride from Sydney CBD and is one of the most beautiful places I've visited so far in Australia (of which I haven't visited many yet, and I'm the worse for it because Australia is absolutely breath-takingly beautiful!). On one side of Watson's Bay are two cliffs over-looking the Tasman Sea (the picture on my blog header being one of them). You can climb right to the top and gaze out at the deep blue waters stretching to infinity infront of you.

At a short walk from these cliffs is Camp Cove beach with golden coloured sand and clear blue-green waters, and the legally nudist Lady Bay beach.

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I am so glad 2011 is behind us. Annus Horribilis. I don't know about you but I feel it was one of the crappiest years of my life. Happy to be in 2012 - it seems to be a year of hope and optimism. It even sounds so much better! Twenty-twelve...a nice round even number.

Hope you've all had a good start to the year.

Dunaden

...is the name of the horse that won "the race that stops a nation". That's the Melbourne Cup.

I've been hearing about the Melbourne Cup since I moved to Australia five months ago, as one of my clients is a sports and race betting major. It's one of the biggest sporting events of the year in Australia, with horses being flown in from across the world and a crowd of close to 100,000 turning up to watch the race.

To be honest, I've never been into the races. Maybe because we don't have too many horse races in India apart from the one in Bombay at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, and that too is known more because of the socialites and the fashion parade than the race itself. But Aussies are different - they love their sport and nothing comes between them and their sport. Except beer.

A public holiday was declared in the state of Victoria (that Melbourne is a part of) to honour the races. And the rest of Australia pretended that the race was taking place in their own town/city. Women everywhere wore dresses and fancy hats, work stopped at 2pm and pubs got flooded. The party continued well into the night even though the race was over by 3.15pm. Don't ask me why.

Our office too came to a standstill between 2-3.15pm. Pizzas were ordered, beer bottles were plonked on the table, and people started betting on their favourite horses. The more risk taking of the lot went to the betting outlet to gamble away hundreds of dollars.

The race itself was enthralling! The gallopping horses were a beauty to look at. So fit, so lean, so well cared for. And they must've been running really fast because they covered more than 3km in less than 5 minutes! It was the closest win in the 151 year history of the Melbourne Cup. Dunaden, a French horse, defeated the English Red Cadeaux by 1 millimetre! That too because she decided to stick her nose out in the end to win!

Besides being gorgeous, these horses are also pretty smart! I wonder how much it must cost the owners to maintain them. But then, Dunaden's owner won $3 million from the Melbourne Cup victory alone, I'm guessing that's enough and more to go around for the year.

Only at Oz

Will you find...

People who go for a jog across the Harbour Bridge during lunch hour!

Offices that want to name their meeting/conference rooms after drinks!

Offices that sponsor unlimited alcohol once every 2 weeks as part of their "Happy Employees" initiative!

Colleagues who want to take your friend, who's visiting from overseas and who they don't know, out for drinks!

It's funny...Australia was never on my list of dream travel destinations (I've always been obsessed with Europe). It was a country/continent I thought I'd visit when I was done to my heart's content with Europe. But now that I'm living here, I'm coming to realize how blessed Australia is with natural beauty. And I've only just seen Sydney!

Sydney has a beautiful harbour - the water is a dark shade of blue and when sunlight falls on it, it glitters like little jewels. The dark blue water is dotted with little white sail boats...it's the prettiest and most calming sight ever!

The Sydney Harbour Bridge stretches across the water majestically. It connects North Sydney and the northern suburbs to the Sydney CBD, which is also referred to as the City. Beside the Harbour Bridge sits an example of path-breaking architecture - the Sydney Opera House. Honestly, I was a little underwhelmed by it the first time I saw it. It's one of the most hyped monuments in the world, and is a symbol of Australia, and when you see it for the first time it doesn't all come together for you. Then I went back to it, went closer and realized what a feat Jorn Utzon had pulled off when he designed and oversaw the construction of the Opera House.

There are many neighbourhoods in Sydney, such as Kirribilli and Milsons Point, that offer stunning views of the Sydney harbour along with the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. I lived at Milsons Point for a month but never made the trek (though it was hardly a trek). Plan to get down there one of these days.

Last weekend I went to Bondi beach. The water is a light aquamarine and so clear, you can see the bottom of the sea bed. I'm too lazy to describe it further in words so I'll leave you with a few pictures.

We did the walk from Bondi to Bronte beach, which goes through rocks that have been eroded into beautiful patterns by salt-laden air.

I'm already scouting places to visit in Australia over my long weekends :)

And I Say to Myself, What a Wonderful World!

One of my favourite things to do on Saturday and Sunday mornings is to tune into news from across the globe, in the respective languages of those countries (including our very own Hindi news by NDTV India :)

Call me someone who doesn't have a life - and honestly, I'd rather not to have a life on weekend mornings - but these news shows keep me more engaged than any other program on Australian television, with the exception of MC Aus of course.

The languages range from French to Italian to Greek to Portugese to Spanish to Dutch to Turkish to Arabic to Russian to Estonian to Bulgarian. I don't understand any of it, except French a little bit. But I like to have it playing in the background while I potter about the house. My favourite part comes after the new programs are over. It's called 'What a World' - they play western classical music and show random live shots of cities across the world. Both famous cities and obscure little towns. Cities steeped in history that have me dying to visit them, and places I may never get a chance to visit because they generally don't fall on a tourist's radar. I can watch the program for hours. Unfortunately, it lasts only ten minutes :(

It's amazing how much Aussie TV sucks otherwise. The reality shows are crap, and the soaps and sitcoms are years behind even Star World India!! Now that takes quite a bit of doing.
Oh, there IS another show I like though. It's a morning show called 'Sunrise' and is an amalgamation of all sorts of things - news, entertainment, sports, updates on financial markets, gossip, other general stuff and chit chat. It's a feel good show with plenty of jokes and laughter. And the chemistry between the presenters is palpable. Mel is this really feminine, emotional, caring woman and Kochi (pronounced kau-shi) is this goofy guy who cracks really silly but endearing jokes and is even funnier when he's trying to be serious and give financial advice! And Australia loves the two.

There are some things about Australians that baffle as well as intrigue me. For instance, I don't understand why they would let food inflation go out the roof but won't import fruits and vegetables from other countries. They are so paranoid about agricultural diseases coming into Australia that they'd rather bananas cost $14 a dozen (I'm sorry I can't get over the price of bananas in this country!) and the market be out of chillies and tomatoes, which to me is ridiculous.

I am yet to see another people who are as proud of everything grown and made within their country as Australians are. Every Australian brand, whether they are into food or clothing or furniture or telecom, emphasizes on it's 100% Australian heritage in all its communication. I used to wonder why this was the case and I think I may have finally understood their psychology.

Australia is so far away from everyone else and to be honest, the world never cared much about them either. Inspite of that, they have managed to develop to the same level as any other country in Europe or America. Their isolation from the rest of the world and limited population hasn't stopped them from being self-sufficient, and that may be the reason the Aussies are so proud of themselves.

Sydney, Part I

It’s been a month since I last posted, and what a month it’s been! I packed up my house and moved continents! I’d call that pretty eventful.

Today is a week since I landed in Sydney.

Sydney is a beautiful city and pretty awesome too (I’m sure the fact that I'm currently staying a stone's throw from the Harbour Bridge in a service apartment with a Bay view, and that the walk to work includes includes a 5 minute stretch with breath-taking views of the Harbour Bridge with ships & ferries floating about, has got nothing to do with my perception of the city :P). But like any big city in the world, including Bombay, Sydney is fun only if you have friends . Else it can get pretty lonely.

Here are my first impressions of Sydney, Australia and Australians in general:

1. There are 2 parts to Sydney - Sydney & North Sydney. The area to the north of the Harbour Bridge is called North Sydney and that to the south is Sydney. Both have their own CBDs (Central Business Districts) and are both self-sufficient, but are very different in terms of ambience.

2. The part of Sydney you live in is directly proportional to your state of happiness. I work in North Sydney and am currently staying in the same area. And let me tell you something - this area can get pretty deserted & lonely after 6pm on weekdays and on weekends. Safety isn't an issue but if you're a city person like me, the kind of person that likes to have people and activity around, there's a good chance you'll find North Sydney depressing. In that case I'd recommend living in the City area. It's more expensive than other parts of Sydney - obviously - but it's alive and kicking till 10-10.30pm on week nights and pretty buzzing over weekends as well. Not to mention that everything from supermarkets to pharmacies to pubs/restaurants/cafes to shopping to healthcare centers will be within 5 minutes walking.

3. That's the other thing about Sydney, you've got to be prepared to walk. ALOT. But then that's true of most big cities, isn't it? You'll need to walk to the station, walk from the station to your office/home, walk from parking to office, walk to the supermarket, walk if you want to shop.

4. Sydney is an EXPENSIVE city!!! Phew!!!!! Be prepared to shell out big bucks for everything from rent to eating out to entertainment. Even public transport, though excellent, is fairly expensive. Sample this - a tube of 100gm toothpaste costs $5, eating out at a decent (not fancy) restaurant will set you back by $20-25 per person, on average, (I'm talking one dish and a non-alcoholic beverage to go with it), a regular cup of mocha will cost you approx. $4, movie tickets are $20 (!!!), the minimum fare for a one-way train ride is $3.20. You get the picture. I'd say the cost of living in Sydney is approx. 1.5 times that of an American city. You'll get used to how much everything costs here but it will take a while.

5. Sydney has excellent public transport - trains, buses & ferries. Public transport is the way to go if you want to avoid getting stuck in traffic snarls. Trains & buses are clean, run on schedule, and though crowded during peak hours, it's never an unpleasant experience as people are civilized and courteous towards each other. A word of warning though - public transport in Sydney isn't as cheap as one may think. But there are weekly passes available at 7 Elevens and news agencies, which allow unlimited travel and therefore work out to be slightly more economical. You can get Weeklies made for trains, buses & ferries separately, or you can get a Multi-zone pass that will allow unlimited travel by any mode of public transport.

5. The food here is mind blowing. Name any cuisine under the sun and it's available here. You need not go to a fancy place if you feel like having Thai or Lebanese or Turkish food. There are moderately priced restaurants/take away joints all over the city (when I say moderately priced in mean $7-10 per dish) where you can get authentic global cuisine, cooked by natives (part of the reason it's so good?). And they don't skimp on portions. The flip side - you need to really watch your weight.

6. Most shops and shopping complexes here close at 5pm on weekdays & Saturday and are shut on Sunday. If you're living in North Sydney the thing to bear in mind is that all shops, including restaurants & cafes, close by 5pm, are open only half-day on Saturday & are shut on Sunday.

7. Bank accounts are the easiest thing to get in this country. Everything else is a bitch. The only document you need for a bank account is a valid photo ID and an address (can be your employer's address). However, God help you when it comes to looking for a house to rent, a post-paid phone connection, cable or internet. You'll need more documents for this than you did for your visa! You'll be asked for your passport, health insurance card, bank statement (showing a fair amount of money in the bank), credit card, employer letter (in some cases), driver's license (if you have one), lease agreement etc.

8. People in Sydney are always dressed up. Quite like Europeans. The normal dress code for women in winters is jeans tucked inside boots, or short skirts with stockings & boots. The color code is black, grey & off-white. Everyone wears make up all the time. It's rare to find people dressed in jeans, sweatshirt and walking shoes.

9. Work starts early. Like reallllllly early. Working hours are usually 9-5pm. 9-4 if you're lucky. Most people are at work by 8.30-8.45am, so if you're not a morning person, think twice before moving to Australia.

10. Aussies are friendly people, very willing to help. Contrary to perception, they're not arrogant and snooty. I'd say they're mid-way between Americans & Europeans in terms of their culture and disposition.

11. They're very proud of their country and their nationality. This is very evident in TV shows and advertisements. They take pride in and support everything that's Australian grown/made.

12. Unfortunately, people in most parts of the world - including India - are not exposed to any part of Australian culture be it TV shows or news. Aussie culture is very different from the rest of the World, so be prepared to feel a little lost in group situations at the beginning. The best way to get up to speed would be to watch TV, including commercials, read Aussie magazines and visit Australian websites.

These are my first impressions of Sydney. It's a wonderful city even though a little bit lacking in history (there's a reason Australia is part of "The New World"). I miss the history that cities like Bombay, Calcutta, London & Paris have and that's reflected in their architecture. But I visited the City area today and fell in love with it. It's everything that one looks for in a city and more. You have to be a city person to appreciate it, of course. I'll do more posts on Sydney as & when I experience things. For now I need to go do my laundry. Ooh, what a fun way to spend to Saturday night!

NOT.