What country am I in again???

My first few days in Sydney were a very interesting adventure to say the least. When I arrived at hostel, apparently my booking was located in the very middle of what one might call the red light district of Sydney. I am excited to say that my first impression of Sydney was comprised of a myriad of adult entertainment shops, tattoo parlors, weird looking people, bars, and a lot of really nice strangers who liked offering me candy :). To make matters even more interesting, when I stepped into my hotel, I was ritually mobbed by an unofficial (and partially drunk) welcoming crew who were eager to take the prime chance opportunity to “mess with the new guy.” Did I also mention that my hotel was almost entirely composed of people from Great Britain? I was a little confused by this point of which country I had just arrived in, Amsterdam, Scotland, or Australia? After settling into my hostel, I decided to get busy with one of my favorite past times: getting lost in foreign places. Downtown Sydney for the most part is walker friendly placed, and after a 15 min stroll, I came across Hyde Park (Hyde Park Sydney…not Hyde Park London). This is a very nice section of Sydney, and I was relieved to find that other parts of the city were a little more “normal” (although I have yet to feel out of my niche). The city is also giving me plenty of opportunities to pursue my hobby in photography. I’ll be updating my flickr account regularly, and you can see all of my pictures from my trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanmak/sets/72157618137052944/