Sydney.. First Impressions
It has been sometime since I have been to Sydney - more than 2 months So it wouldn't be fair to call them first impressions but neverthless these are the impressions that have stayed with me for this long.
I am not what people would call an avid traveller but whenever an opportunity had presented itself I haven't exactly been shy. So this time it was some office work that took me to Sydney. It was a 40 day trip - just long enough to look around the city and not get bored.
The First Day
One thing that the world recognizes India is by its diversity, cultural and from an economic standpoint the population. Its not an easily ignored fact that more than 20% of the world's population lives in India - not by the world and not by Indians either. So irrespective of the place you are in, the time of the day you are never short of people around. You should be happy if its not crowded. Australia in contrast is huge land body with pockets of population thrown here and there. In fact if someone were to travel on foot from coast to coast chances are for a majority of your trip you will be talking to yourself.
Compared to other Australian cities, Sydney is much lively place with friendly people. My office located near Darling Harbor is more or less the heart of the city's Friday evenings. But I guess I can't say the same about suburbs. The first thing that struck while I was walking back to my uncle's place from the train station was how empty the roads were. If I were to walk that long a stretch without seeing any one people in India, I would think - Hey may be its a curfew in town or well the croatoan virus has turned the city zombie and the survivors have fled. But then again I guess that is how people like it there. Once you get home you stay indoors rather than loitering around on the roads. Nevertheless, this was something that took me sometime getting used to. One question that would always pop-up in my mind was if someone wanted to check directions whom would he ask but then i guess that is what we have GPS for. Surely I can't live in such silence and serenity. I am much better off in India.
The Asian Invasion
Before I traveled to Sydney I wasn't aware of the number of Asians there. In fact it was a big surprise for me. Chinese, Japanese, Indians, South East Asians I mean its common sense that you find them there but the numbers were simply surprising. There simply seemed to be more Asians than Australians ( and I am not talking about aborigines here). Well China and India, people are your true contribution and your legacy for posterity.
The Sun and Vitamin D
All it takes is a peek from the sun for people to throng to beaches. I used to find it surprising when I would read about people craving for a sunny day. I mean in India you would rather wish that the sun would go hide behind the clouds. But then the weather has got to do a lot with it. The temperate climate is moderate in nature and the sun wasn't exactly out in the supposed summer I was staying there.
The Desi bonding and an undercurrent Identity Crisis
Staying at my uncle's house also allowed me explore the desi circle. One thing I find rather heartening is that people who probably wouldn't see eye to eye in India would end up being great friends there. That is probably because in foreign land there are no barriers of caste, culture, creed, social stature standing in way.
The mix of people i met with were either middle aged uncle aunties or the younger generation (mostly in teens). There was such a contrast in their approaches to life. During my brief encounters with the middle aged, I realized an yearning for a better India but I can't say they have started feeling like a true Australian. They are caught up in a no man's land. An Indian in Australia is not really concerned about what happens to Australia unlike in India where even in the tea stall guy has an opinion about what the PM should do with the year's budget. Everyone is busy in getting through the day and staying happy. I am be over simplifying it but then again its just an impression. There seemed to what looked like an undercurrent Identity Crisis. Human beings being social animals have always craved to be part of groups sometimes as big as a Nation. This identity based on commonality gives them a larger comfort.
The youngsters looked at a lot more ease with their Australian identity. There were no nagging doubts about their affinity. Perhaps, some of them might even support Australia in an India-Australia match. The desi bonding does exist but it does not preclude them from feeling Australian to put it succinctly.
My Japanese friends
Even though I was staying in Sydney I was working for a Japanese client. They say understanding local culture is quite important to be successful in a business geography. It could n't have been more true about the Japanese. Japanese are very respectful people who places a lot of emphasis on what they speak and how they conduct themselves. But their respect sometimes gets translated into the English words they choose while speaking which sometimes might sound funny to an outsider. Let me give some examples:
Japanese : Team members, Please summarize the achievement and share it to me before close of business today.
Me : Good Lord!! what am I supposed to do today that would be counted as an achievement???
What he really meant : Guys Please send me the status by EOD
Japanese: I will wait for all data and make a judgement tomorrow
Me : Oh My God!! is it going to be a Go/No Go call tomorrow? Will the project be scrapped
What he really meant : Guys once i get all information we will decide on the next steps!!
And the Japanese believe in a simple motto : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!". Irrespective of impact and priorities all bugs are equally important and need to be addressed. I had such a tough time convincing them that we should do things on priority basis but at the end of the conversation while they agree to everything you say they simply reiterate : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!" and needs to be fixed.
Fitness Enthusiasts
If you put aside the Ian Thorpe's of Australia, I was really surprised to see the number of people doing afternoon jogs or bike rides. I mean putting aside the fact that in India people might either get roasted or frozen depending on the place, it still speaks a lot about the Australians. They truly are "fitness freaks" and I mean it in a humbling respectful way.
They lay a great emphasis of staying fit. In fact one of my cousin's boss was travelling to NZ so that he could participate in the 60 KM run there. It might have sounded crazy in India but in Australia I would say "Atta Boy".
War Memorials
One thing Australians really take pride in their heroic efforts in war and people do really respect great sacrifices made by the Australian soldiers in WW-I and WW-II. The War memorial in Melbourne is truly a stunning museum with a lot of artifacts from the war. They sure know how to treasure memories and respect them. The trip of the memorial took me more than half a day and in fact if time had permitted I would have loved to spend the entire day. Aircrafts, tanks, guns, Submarines,warship models etc all in one place.
I could go on and write about the other places I have been to, the Lint Ice cream that I ate at only the world's second Lint outlet outside Switzerland, the Bridge that rotates to let ships go by, the trek to the Three Sisters, the beaches in Australia, The ferry rides, Torango zoo, The ANZAC bridge, The Opera House, The Road Trip to Melbourne, The Mint Factory, The Parliament House, The Fish Market, My tryst with Yamcha etc. But may be in a different post. This post has already crossed all limits of "reasonable length". So I am going to wrap it up now.
It has been sometime since I have been to Sydney - more than 2 months So it wouldn't be fair to call them first impressions but neverthless these are the impressions that have stayed with me for this long.
I am not what people would call an avid traveller but whenever an opportunity had presented itself I haven't exactly been shy. So this time it was some office work that took me to Sydney. It was a 40 day trip - just long enough to look around the city and not get bored.
The First Day
One thing that the world recognizes India is by its diversity, cultural and from an economic standpoint the population. Its not an easily ignored fact that more than 20% of the world's population lives in India - not by the world and not by Indians either. So irrespective of the place you are in, the time of the day you are never short of people around. You should be happy if its not crowded. Australia in contrast is huge land body with pockets of population thrown here and there. In fact if someone were to travel on foot from coast to coast chances are for a majority of your trip you will be talking to yourself.
Compared to other Australian cities, Sydney is much lively place with friendly people. My office located near Darling Harbor is more or less the heart of the city's Friday evenings. But I guess I can't say the same about suburbs. The first thing that struck while I was walking back to my uncle's place from the train station was how empty the roads were. If I were to walk that long a stretch without seeing any one people in India, I would think - Hey may be its a curfew in town or well the croatoan virus has turned the city zombie and the survivors have fled. But then again I guess that is how people like it there. Once you get home you stay indoors rather than loitering around on the roads. Nevertheless, this was something that took me sometime getting used to. One question that would always pop-up in my mind was if someone wanted to check directions whom would he ask but then i guess that is what we have GPS for. Surely I can't live in such silence and serenity. I am much better off in India.
The Asian Invasion
Before I traveled to Sydney I wasn't aware of the number of Asians there. In fact it was a big surprise for me. Chinese, Japanese, Indians, South East Asians I mean its common sense that you find them there but the numbers were simply surprising. There simply seemed to be more Asians than Australians ( and I am not talking about aborigines here). Well China and India, people are your true contribution and your legacy for posterity.
The Sun and Vitamin D
All it takes is a peek from the sun for people to throng to beaches. I used to find it surprising when I would read about people craving for a sunny day. I mean in India you would rather wish that the sun would go hide behind the clouds. But then the weather has got to do a lot with it. The temperate climate is moderate in nature and the sun wasn't exactly out in the supposed summer I was staying there.
The Desi bonding and an undercurrent Identity Crisis
Staying at my uncle's house also allowed me explore the desi circle. One thing I find rather heartening is that people who probably wouldn't see eye to eye in India would end up being great friends there. That is probably because in foreign land there are no barriers of caste, culture, creed, social stature standing in way.
The mix of people i met with were either middle aged uncle aunties or the younger generation (mostly in teens). There was such a contrast in their approaches to life. During my brief encounters with the middle aged, I realized an yearning for a better India but I can't say they have started feeling like a true Australian. They are caught up in a no man's land. An Indian in Australia is not really concerned about what happens to Australia unlike in India where even in the tea stall guy has an opinion about what the PM should do with the year's budget. Everyone is busy in getting through the day and staying happy. I am be over simplifying it but then again its just an impression. There seemed to what looked like an undercurrent Identity Crisis. Human beings being social animals have always craved to be part of groups sometimes as big as a Nation. This identity based on commonality gives them a larger comfort.
The youngsters looked at a lot more ease with their Australian identity. There were no nagging doubts about their affinity. Perhaps, some of them might even support Australia in an India-Australia match. The desi bonding does exist but it does not preclude them from feeling Australian to put it succinctly.
My Japanese friends
Even though I was staying in Sydney I was working for a Japanese client. They say understanding local culture is quite important to be successful in a business geography. It could n't have been more true about the Japanese. Japanese are very respectful people who places a lot of emphasis on what they speak and how they conduct themselves. But their respect sometimes gets translated into the English words they choose while speaking which sometimes might sound funny to an outsider. Let me give some examples:
Japanese : Team members, Please summarize the achievement and share it to me before close of business today.
Me : Good Lord!! what am I supposed to do today that would be counted as an achievement???
What he really meant : Guys Please send me the status by EOD
Japanese: I will wait for all data and make a judgement tomorrow
Me : Oh My God!! is it going to be a Go/No Go call tomorrow? Will the project be scrapped
What he really meant : Guys once i get all information we will decide on the next steps!!
And the Japanese believe in a simple motto : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!". Irrespective of impact and priorities all bugs are equally important and need to be addressed. I had such a tough time convincing them that we should do things on priority basis but at the end of the conversation while they agree to everything you say they simply reiterate : "A Bug is a bug is a bug!!" and needs to be fixed.
Fitness Enthusiasts
If you put aside the Ian Thorpe's of Australia, I was really surprised to see the number of people doing afternoon jogs or bike rides. I mean putting aside the fact that in India people might either get roasted or frozen depending on the place, it still speaks a lot about the Australians. They truly are "fitness freaks" and I mean it in a humbling respectful way.
They lay a great emphasis of staying fit. In fact one of my cousin's boss was travelling to NZ so that he could participate in the 60 KM run there. It might have sounded crazy in India but in Australia I would say "Atta Boy".
War Memorials
One thing Australians really take pride in their heroic efforts in war and people do really respect great sacrifices made by the Australian soldiers in WW-I and WW-II. The War memorial in Melbourne is truly a stunning museum with a lot of artifacts from the war. They sure know how to treasure memories and respect them. The trip of the memorial took me more than half a day and in fact if time had permitted I would have loved to spend the entire day. Aircrafts, tanks, guns, Submarines,warship models etc all in one place.
I could go on and write about the other places I have been to, the Lint Ice cream that I ate at only the world's second Lint outlet outside Switzerland, the Bridge that rotates to let ships go by, the trek to the Three Sisters, the beaches in Australia, The ferry rides, Torango zoo, The ANZAC bridge, The Opera House, The Road Trip to Melbourne, The Mint Factory, The Parliament House, The Fish Market, My tryst with Yamcha etc. But may be in a different post. This post has already crossed all limits of "reasonable length". So I am going to wrap it up now.
