Exploring the wonderful cityscape of Sydney, captured by phone camera
Published: May 23, 2022
Living in a big city is exciting; lots of people, lots of activities, lots of buildings, and last but not the least, lots of expenses. Sydney being currently within top ten or top twenty, it’s definitely a place where money is precious and ironically, it’s also fairly cheap. House prices are going through the roof for a while. And now the petrol prices too, over the past few months, for instance. And since money is precious (and cheap) people have to work harder for longer hours to make enough of it. In other words, time is even more precious in Sydney.
One particular aspect of Sydney which is good is the public transportation. It will take you pretty much everywhere and with great frequency of available services. When I was not driving, I used to ride public transport all the time. I was fined once for apparently not tapping on in the early days of Opal rollout. Opal was not rolled out back then – well, fully. It was starting out and the card sometimes used to fail.
And after eight (8) trips you will be getting free trips for the rest of the week. There used to be lots of fun travelling around – all over, as far as you want and for as many times as you wish – completely free of charge. But those days are now gone and every trip now costs. So, the time I was fined my card didn’t function and since I was over eight-trip threshold, I thought I won’t be subjected to “tapping on”. As such I got on board and when I was checked for my fare validation by an inspecting officer, I was told of bad news. The card failed to function – technical issue. But I was fined, nonetheless. I appealed for a review, but they turned me down with a big “no”. Now that I am driving, I like the freeways. You can speed. The highest I did so far was one hundred and ten (110) km per hour. But that’s enough for me.
So, because of many roads and highways and other public facilities that need to be provided, the govt have to build infrastructure and often those upgrades come with a hefty cost to the bushes and other plants’ life. The tall building from the outset looks excellent. But they probably are an invasion to the trees and bushes. Nonetheless, walking down the streets of a busy business capital can be quite thrilling. The gigantic buildings standing tall in front of you, the glaring light that is reflected off the glass or the metal will dazzle your eyes making you blind in the midday sun. The spacious lobby as you walk inside those buildings all seem to be nothing short of majestic.
Long ago while I was working in an overseas office, I used to work in a building that was all glass built. During the nighttime it looked surreal from outside. A building with lights – brightly lit – like a gigantic bulb emanating its shines piercing through darkness. In Sydney however, there are many such buildings. But unlike the one overseas these ones are in the neighborhood of other similar facilities and as such it can hardly be singled out.
The city corporation tries to keep a balance between the urban necessities of those lifeless skyscrapers along with the lively greenery. And to maintain such balance, the govt. tries to put some bushes in the middle of the city. The people who are working nearby sometimes head to the park to enjoy their lunch. The trimming goes on every now and then as the grasses grow tall. I hate when they do the trimming though. I like when the grasses are slightly long but not too long. But when they trim it, they pretty much bring them to the minimum and as you walk you can feel the stem poking your feet. Well, I love to walk bare feet. If you’re wearing shoes you probably wouldn’t notice. So, when the grasses are slightly long, the cold early morning dews as they touch the palm of the feet, gives you some sensation – chilling, gentle – that not only feels good but rather very calming. So yes, I definitely need some of those bushes. There are a few around the area where I live. And after the long day is over, as I am back from work, I head over there to enjoy the walk – bare feet, slow and sometimes careful.
