The watery city of Sydney - Gleaming, Glittering and Gigantic

If cities could be categorised as human beings? What would Sydney be?

Paris, Florence and Vienna would be beautiful women—venerable but still maintaining their looks. London, Milan and Madrid would definitely be male—aesthetics sacrificed on the altar of making money. New York would be male as well, but younger, in the middle aged bracket—as would Rio and San Francisco. But Sydney would be a teenager. She would be a stunner, a gorgeous blonde at her most beautiful. Her sun tan would be perfect, her figure exemplary and she would be an all around popular girl with everyone wanting to be her friend. Of course, she would keep herself in perfect condition—no room for flaws here. Her ambition would be boundless, she would demand the attention of everyone—and she would get it.

Sydney is an immensely likeable city. Few take the colossal plane journey to the south east corner of Australia without coming away impressed. To start with, there is an amazing climate. Each day you step out of the door the sky is a brilliant blue. The setting is spectacular—not just an immense harbour, but a harbour blessed with contours and promontories to truly make it exceptional. And finally beaches, beaches that have sand the colour of snow and water the colour of sapphire. In fact Sydney is a city blessed with natural abundance—whether they be fruit bats in the botanical gardens, palm trees growing on traffic islands or ibis' amongst the yachts of Darling Harbour.

One guaranteed way of falling for the city is to get out onto the harbour. Clive James described the waters of Circular Quay as glittering like "crushed diamonds". One of the best commuter routes in the world has to be the crossing of the harbour into the CBD (Central Business district) on the green and gold ferries. From here you get to see the modern architecure of Sydney, the gentrified "Rocks", the ANP Tower, the harbour bridge and of course, one of the most famous buildings on the planet, the Opera House.

Confident, suntanned, brash and utterly beautiful, Sydney may well make you go weak at the knees.

Quick Tips:

All faces in Sydney look towards the water.

The entire city faces its harbour. The harbour is twenty miles long and at points only one mile wide. It is broken by islands, promontories, inlets, sandstone cliffs, coves and bays - and all are plied by pleasurecraft and the harbour ferries. The north shore is mainly residential but contains the beautiful Manly beach. The south side is where all the big stuff is. The CBD (Central Business District), containing Darling Harbour, Circular Quay and the gentrified "Rocks". The CBD itself is a rectangular grid of streets whose northernmost point contains the harbour bridge and the "Rocks". This connects with the water termini of Circular Quay and the striking shape of the Opera House. Green pastures are nearby in the form of the Botanical Garden, shopping is down George Street, tourist attractions are in Darling harbour and historical buildings are down McQuarie Street. The world famous Bondi beach is a long way from the centre, over 30 minutes on the #L32 bus from Circular Quay.

Everything for a tourist is in a very small area - literally between Central Station and Circular Quay. This area is showpiece Australia. It glitters and shines and obviously has had money spent on it. Combined with a sunny climate sightseeing is not a chore in Sydney - you can picnic in the Botanical gardens, shop for fashions down George Street, explore the 18th century "Rocks" or take a ferry out to one of the impressive beaches. Even the hardest of hearts breaks down standing on the prow of a harbour ferry as it glides out of Sydney cove and passes the famous Opera House. The whole thing lit up by the sun is breathtaking.

Best Way To Get Around:

Sydney has a truly exceptional public transport system.

There are very few cities in the world I would award this accolade too. Everything seems to join seamlessly with the city making travelling about a joy for the visitor.

The hub of it all is the famous Circular Quay overlooking Sydney Harbour. This is where the green and gold ferries connect with the Cityrail and the bus system. From here there are a myriad of watercraft to get you about from watertaxis to harbourcruises. But the chugging ferries are the main attraction and one way fares are .30. They ply off in a dozen directions taking in beautiful views of the harbour - and connecting the city with farflung suburbs such as Watsons Bay, Manly Beach and the Olympic Site at Homebush.

The airport, Kingsford Smith is out in the suburb of Botany Bay. There are numerous buses such as Airport Express which stop in Kings Cross and Circular Quay costing . But better is the Cityrail which connects both international and domestic terminals. These doubledecker trains are quite a sight as they whoosh into the platforms and for only join with the City Circle which takes in Circular Quay, Wynyard, Museum and Central Station. Sydney's Central Station is the terminus for the rest of Australia and is situated south of the CBD on Belmore Park.

And finally there is the monorail which travels in a circle above Darling Harbour and the CBD. This silent glider travels on stilts above Liverpool Street. You feel a quite a voyeur as the view looks into office windows as you whizz past.

Looking for a reasonably priced, clean, and centrally located hotel in Sydney? Well, look no further, the YWCA fits the bill.

The location is smack bang in the centre of Sydney on Wentworth Avenue and literally a few steps from Hyde Park. The CBD and Liverpool Street are a little to the west, Circular Quay and the harbour are a brisk walk down MacQuarie Avenue and the decadent nightlife of Oxford Street is literally across the road.

It's a clean safe environment (and despite being a YWCA, admits us fellas). The reception is just off street, and centrally manned, and very professional. It can change up money, book tours and store luggage. The restaurant area is self service so you can indulge in Vegemite on toast and numerous fruit juices. A single room costs $70 a night and breakfast is included in the price.

There are over 200 rooms on seven floors. My one was clean with frequently changed linen and overlooking a central courtyard. The shared bathrooms are clean and serviceable, and even have a sense of camaraderie often missing from hotels with more stars to their name. Each room contains a television so you can lie back and enjoy "Rove Live" or "Australian Idol" to your hearts content. So, all in all pretty good value for the price.

But best of all is the location. You will pass through Hyde Park at least once on your visit to Sydney. It marks the start of the CBD, Marquarie Street, Botanical Garden area that rolls all the way down to the harbour. A rectangle 1/4 of a mile long, bisected by Park Street, and containing a number of attractions. The vegetation is very Australian—gigantic boles of fig trees soar overhead surrounded by cicadas, eucalyptus and palm fronds—all dotted with warbling birds and scruffy ibis.

The main attraction is the ANZAC memorial. A beautiful pink stone Art Deco monument overlooking a reflecting pool. It's a monument to Australian war dead around the world and inside contains a small museum. The memorabilia was impressive with troop roll calls and WWI gas masks on display.

At the far end is the Archibald fountain—Diana stands poised surrounded by prancing deer. And the sun is so strong in Sydney it actually forms a rainbow. What could be more Sydney then that?

The trouble with booking anything on the Internet is that you are taking a gamble. Without the recommendation of a travel agent or guidebook, sometimes you are taking a lucky dip. Sometimes you get a bargain and a welcome surprise, sometimes you get a challenge. The last description fits the Australian Sunrise Lodge.

The picture on the website stressed a tropical garden, nearness to facilities and a general relaxed atmosphere. I was taken by the fact it was in an "exciting" part of town and the price and rooms looked good online. So as I made my 11 hour train trip from Melbourne, I arrived in Sydney in a high state of expectation.

For a start it is in Newtown. This is a very trendy area - an up-and-coming district where weird fashions are the name of the day. The area is a hangout for goths and punks with a huge student population and a number of gay and lesbian cafes. The main drag is King Street which stretches for about half a mile and is lined with cafes, restaurants, bars, vinyl record shops, Turkish furniture shops, tattooists, African restaurants and feminist bookshops The whole area is becoming gentrified and slowly becoming expensive. But facets of its recent, not so glamorous, history remain.

One has to be the ASL, which bills itself as a motel. The glass foyer is boarded up and heavily padlocked with no one on reception. You have to use a security intercom to get in and eventually someone shows up to check you in and take down your particulars. Reception is unmanned and you are expected to carry your key with you when you go out. When you check out - you deposit your key in a cubby hole. I saw no member of staff, apart from the Chinese lady who booked me in, during my entire stay. The rooms are fine but basic. Huge slatted windows overlook a tropical garden and there is a desk, television and double bed. The bathroom is down the hall and is clean and in working order.

My main problem with ASL was security. There must have been other guests because I heard doors slamming. Where their rooms were in this strange warren of a hotel I don't know. But signs on the exit doors warned you not to bring guests back. And the massive padlocks covering the glass reception area spoke of recent burglary. One evening the door handle came off in my hand. To be honest, when I went out in the evening I fretted about leaving valuables behind at the Australian Sunrise Lodge.

So, a budget hotel in an interesting part of Sydney. But I can't say it was one of my favourites