In May this year, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world to Australia on business for 2 weeks. Flying from London Heathrow, 26 hours and 9 time zones later, I arrived in Sydney. With almost no sleep on the flight and a tight layover in Singapore, I was jet-lagged, sleep-deprived and anxious, but eager to see what this lovely city had to offer. I had a jam-packed schedule in Sydney, including after hours and weekend work, so I had to squeeze in as much as I could during a small window each night, and a couple of half days over the weekends. For anyone travelling to Sydney on work or for holidays, here are some of the things I did, saw, ate and experienced which I loved and would highly recommend!

1. Take the ferry to Manly Beach – the views from the ferry of Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the CBD are amazing!
2. Try the Xiao Long Bao dumplings at Din Tai Fung – they are divine!
3. Spend a day with the animals at Taronga Zoo – I spent one of my free half days here. If you love animals, you will love the native and rare wildlife in this zoo. I even got to take a picture with a sleeping baby koala; one of the highlights of my trip! An added bonus is the spectacular view of the Sydney harbour from the zoo.
4. Get coffee from a different place every morning – the coffee in Australia is some of the best I’ve ever had, and they have a very strong cafe culture. My favourites in the CBD were Skittle Lane, Gumption, Single O and Romolo Coffee.
5. Walk around Bondi beach and swim in the Bondi Icebergs Pool – Bondi beach is Australian culture personified for me. The icebergs pool is one of the best pools you will ever see in your life. It is an ocean pool with the turquoise waves sweeping in every now and then, making the experience of swimming in one of the most famous pools in the world even more thrilling!
6. Refuel with a proper Aussie breakfast – Bills do the best ricotta pancakes, and eggs and avocado.
7. Get your fill of Asian food in Sydney – it is the best Asian food I’ve had outside of Asia. Spice Alley was my favourite dinner haunt. I felt like I was in the middle of a hawker centre in Singapore with street food from around Southeast Asia including Malaysian, Thai, Singaporean and Vietnamese delicacies.
8. Eat at the trendy Mr. Wong – it is always busy, but the food, cocktails and buzz are worth the wait!
9. Sip a cocktail at a bar with a view – Henry Deane, Hacienda Bar and Opera Bar have some of the most stunning views of Sydney by night! I was even lucky enough to catch some of the light testing for Vivid (the spectacular annual lighting festival), even though I was leaving a couple of days before the actual festival.
10. Go shopping in The Rocks, Pitt Street Mall, Strand Arcade or the beautiful Queen Victoria Building.
11. Grab a slice of Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese cheesecake – you will see almost every other person on the street with a black and red bag, which holds a fluffy, moist and delicious Japanese cheesecake. If you find a line outside Uncle Tetsu, don’t worry, it moves fast!