My visit to Sydney, May 2011

My appreciation and gratitude to Tourism New South Wales for organising the contest "100 Things that make Sydney so ... Sydney" in partnership with Singapore Airlines. One of my entries to the contest has been picked as one of the winning entries. This presented me with the timely gifts to visit Sydney this May, in time to be present for one of my friend's wedding, to celebrate Mother's Day with my mother who visited Sydney with me, and to spend my birthday in Sydney.

Here's my winning entry:

Sculpture by the Sea.

Water breaks over the rocks of Bondi. The wind blows with might. On the  rocky and sandy beaches of Bondi, one is treated to beautiful sculptures  by the sea. See the coastal area of Bondi being transformed to an artistic space in this annual event.  Sydney equals sculptures, sea and a creative story.

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Singapore Airlines
It was my first time flying to Sydney on Singapore Airlines. It was a great way to fly to Sydney via Singapore Airlines.

Service was very thoughtful and attentive. The meals on the flight were nicely prepared and delicious. The cabin experience flying on the Singapore Airlines A380 was spacious and very comfortable. I could easily tell that the seats were roomier than all other airlines that I had previously flew on. The in flight KrisWorld entertainment system provided a wide range of on-demand entertainment options that delighted yours truly.

For yours truly who was keen to get a sweet slumber on the flight, the roomy seats and the relatively quiet aircraft facilitated me to get a pretty good rest while I was on a midnight flight to Sydney. Now I could fully appreciate why many of my friends strongly recommend flying to Sydney via Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines is a great way to fly to any places.

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Oaks Goldsbrough
Oaks Goldsbrough Apartments Sydney, which my mother and I had stayed in, provided spacious, comfortable and cosy accommodation with daily servicing comparable to any established hotel. The apartment that I stayed in had full kitchen facilities as well as laundry facilities. The apartment is located at a very accessible part of the Sydney city, near the Darling Harbour.

I am thankful for a complimentary three-nights stay at the apartment which is one of the prizes of the contest. To experience more of Sydney, I extended my stay for another three nights at an affordable rate. Many thanks to the team at Oaks Goldsbrough for providing me and my mother a very comfortable stay at an affordable rate. It was a lovely home away from home. I will be pleased to consider staying at Oaks Goldsbrough should I get to visit Sydney again.

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The Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS camera

Image source: http://www.websneak.com/canon-digital-ixus-1000hs-review.html

Canon has graciously sponsored one of the prizes which is a Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS camera.

Before I received this camera from Canon, I had never been a user of a Canon camera so I was rather concerned if I would be able to get used to using a Canon camera. My concerns proved to be unfounded. After a few attempts of using it, I could figure out how to take photographs with the Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS camera intuitively. This camera is fairly easy to learn to use.

The photographs of my visit to Sydney this May have been taken using the Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS camera that was awarded to me. Please stay tune for more photographs.

In general, I was able to achieve reasonably good image quality of the photos with a Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS camera. I have had good fun experimenting with the various functions of the camera. Many of the functions enabled me to take better photographs with minimal effort in adjusting the settings.

The main area of improvement for this camera is that the battery life is comparatively short for yours truly who was taking photographs extensively. It will be a worthwhile idea for Canon to consider including a complimentary extra battery with all its Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS cameras and the rest would be pretty perfect.

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"See Sydney and Beyond" card

Of worthy mention was the "See Sydney and Beyond" card that the organisers of the "100 Things that make Sydney so ... Sydney" contest had so generously and kindly secured for me and my mother complimentary.

I have used the card with my mother and found it a value-for-money and convenient card for anyone who is keen to explore and sight-see Sydney. I was given a pair of 2-day package card to use with my mother. This 2-day package card gave me unlimited entry to the participating attractions on two consecutive days. That meant the more attractions I visit, the more I would have saved!

I strongly recommend visitors to Sydney to consider getting a "See Sydney and Beyond" card to sight-see Sydney with style and great convenience. Afterall, great holidays are meant to be that way, aren't they?

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Here, I would like to invite you to stay tuned for a series of posts that would recollect my recent visit to Sydney.

May you have fun learning about Sydney. I did, and I hope you will.

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Please also refer to: http://oceanskies79.blogspot.com/2011/08/sydney-may-2011.html