Though I feel bad for the general population, 4.5 million - which is about the same as all of Norway (and a lot of us seem to dislike Norway to the same extent, and also stay), their lack of passion only made me more frustrated with Sydney. With Norway, if you can be bothered (to open your eyes/to be aware), there is so much to love. I'm sure there must be a lot to love about Sydney! I will take the full blame for not figuring out the city. Okay, so I've blamed myself (which is the responsible thing to do), and then I will quickly take the blame and throw it to the next man/woman; whoever worker at the hostel who, when I asked about the city's bus system because I know that when a city is huge you need to know how to get around, told me to not take the bus. Avoid it. Stay off it. It is slow. It will take you nowhere. It's a no-good bus system. Look the other way when a bus drive by you. I imagine this person spitting on the buses of Sydney as they pass.
Here's my advise: Don't avoid them. They're very slow downtown (you might as well walk) but this is essential if you want to get around to the best places. I think. Because I never got there. But I hope so for Sydney's sake. Because their Central Business District is not enough. It is not what a girl wants. To get to what a girl wants you need to take public transportation. This girl also thinks of public transportation as a goal. Not only is it nice to get places, it is also my favourite way to travel. It's an easy way to get up-close with so-called 'locals' - this amazing creature that lives everywhere. On a crowded bus you can sniff strangers without seeming weird (depending on how obvious you are), and feel like you've found the real thing. I didn't feel that way in Sydney. And I think the biggest mistake I made in Sydney was to not get (on) the bus service right away.
Instead, I saw the worst of Sydney. Except of a short list of vegan restaurants (below) I have very little to recommend from my stay there, only a festival, but that's over now. (That is; the specific one is over, but it reappears every now and then: Newtown Festival.) Instead my advice is simply to get on a bus. And take the ferries! And the trains; they will take you a lot of places. But don't be afraid to get on the bus when you get off the train. Don't keep walking when your feet are sore just because you think there's something wrong with the buses. The buses of Sydney are fine. Really. Don't let anyone tell you different.
Here are the short listed vegan cuisines of Sydney, as of November 2011. I'm writing this (!NOVEMBER 2011!) because I did the research and made a long list of places to go for lunch and dinner, but after walking around not finding anywhere to eat (whole buildings where gone) I realized the list might only be a blast from the past. I felt like I spent a lot of time roaming the street of Sydney for vegan food, and roaming could be a good way to discover the city but I have no recollection of what I saw because I don't see when I am hungry. I hunt, and I see nothing else but food that need not be hunted. However, when I found it it was always great. Never in my life have I had so much and so amazing mock meat.
Peace Harmony Vegetarian Thai Restaurant : 44 Erskine Street
Good service, good food. Actually; really good food! And a really good lunch deal! Because it is in the CBD it is closed outside of lunch and dinner hours, as well as weekends.
Mother Chu's Vegetarian : 367 Pitt St
Mother Chu's was close to my hostel, and so I had dinner there more then one evening. Solid, might be the best word for this place. Huge portions and really well made food.
Green Gourmet : 113 King St
I found this place on my last day in Sydney, because I was in Newtown for the festival. And I would have loved to go back, but didn't have the time. Probably the best mock meat I had in Australia. And I got a huge pot of tea to keep me company! Relaxed place with good service.
Iku wholefood : multiple locations
I don't know them all as I only went to two different ones, but the two where both good for take out/stay in lunch. A bit on the expensive side, but the macrobiotic diet will keep you full through the day.
The vegan food at Newtown Festival.
As a vegan in Oslo you will always have the best food in your own house. This could have lowered my expectations so much that I would like anything when eating out, but I know what I'm doing in my own kitchen, and I've found that vegan food is so good that I probably have higher expectations to restaurants now then before. Australia was the first place I traveled to as a vegan, and I was pretty amazed. The places I've listed aren't just places to go stuff your face so you can keep on moving, but the food is really good! Just like Sydney, you can think of food as that stuff you need to get over with so you can keep on getting somewhere else, or something you are aware that you are spending your time on. In my view awareness is the foundation of real enjoyment. And though I am sad to say I made Sydney mostly was a chore for me, I hope this can help others enjoy the city! And eat well while you're at it.
