We spent the rest of the day walking around the area near the hotel, the Rocks and Circular Quay. The Rocks is the oldest part of Sydney, and is where the first prisoners who were dumped in Australia in 1788 eked out an existence. As Sydney slowly morphed from a jail to a proper city, the Rocks became the city's port. Like port cities all over the world, the Rocks was notorious for crime and vice, even more so given Sydney's prisoner heritage. As Sydney continued to prosper and distanced itself from its criminal past, the Rocks was further isolated and became the city's slum. In 1900 the plague broke out in the Rocks, and the city ended up buying almost the whole area and embarking on a demolition program to clean it up once and for all.



Redevelopment stopped in the 1970's, and what was left of the area was preserved as a heritage attraction. George Street, its main street, is now thronged with tourists shopping its quaint tourist shops, and locals getting very drunk in the many pubs, relics from its lively port days.

102. Sydney, Australia Nov '03

Took a business trip to Sydney for a few days. Both Somchai and I had been to Sydney several times so weren't particularly excited about this trip, but it was the first time we had come together. Actually, Somchai was in Melbourne and met me in Sydney on Thursday morning.

We stayed at the Park Hyatt, probably the best hotel in Sydney, but that isn't saying much. For such a fun city that tries hard to be individual and sophisticated, it fails miserably in the hotel department. The usual suspects are all here, but there are very few options outside the big chain hotels. The Park Hyatt wins over the others partly because it's smaller so feels a bit less institutional, and also its great location along Circular Quay, across from the Opera House. It's in the area of Sydney called the Rocks, which is fun and atmospheric, and just a few minutes from the business district. Service is very good, which I have to admit is a surprising strong suit among the otherwise undistinguished Sydney hotel circuit. On the down side, the rooms are a decent size, but really boringly decorated with furniture best described as functional. Actually the furniture was terrible when we were there, but has since been renovated (as per the above picture). So it's upgraded from terrible to boring, not sure why they couldn't have actually hired the Park Hyatt Tokyo decorating team instead. Room: 5, Facilities: 7, Service: 7, overall: 6.