#100 for 2021 This…read moreis what happens when government wants to give their citizens a good transportation system. I love catching the trains. I feel very safe and comfortable. They really do lower the stress one can have in your busy day. Instead of worrying about all the drivers around you and where you are going, you can put your thought to be better things that can relax you. Catch up on reading, the news or watch a movie all off your own smart device. The problem with that is what do you do when you get home? I guess I could clean. How dreadfully boring. Before you board get an opal card. It's a card that can be loaded with money and reloaded any time you want to. It's like a debit card to use to board trains, buses and ferry boats. Many vendors or kiosks will have the logo displayed that says you can purchase and refill your cards with them. Conveniently located around the stops so you don't have to travel far. Now that you have your opal card use it to enter the boarding areas for where you want to go. You'll see people trying to buck the system and not pay. You'll also see the several spot checks they do to see who hasn't paid. Quite embarrassing. Don't buck the system and embarrass yourself. Pay up my friend and enjoy the ride. Now it might get a little confusing how to get around, use the opal card or how you board or where you board. There is very few staff around that can help you. And you never see one when you need one. Don't worry. Your typical Aussie is very friendly and helpful. So make a friend and ask for help. It really adds to the experience and boosts your confidence and appreciation of the country and people. On the train if you're in a large group there is a way to flip the seat around so you can face each other and have fantastic exciting conversations with each other. I found this very pleasing because you don't have to talk over your shoulder. What a fun way to travel. They should do this on all transportations including planes. The trains are double deckers. If it's your first time there and you want to check out the vast scenery you may want to take a seat on the upper level. Some times when it's super busy and no seats look available as you board it's best to head up straight to the upper level for seating. And don't be afraid to take a seat with someone in it. There's lots of space to keep your personal space. Well, most of the time anyway. All transports are kept cleaned and maintained. However, I have seen people wipe down their areas before seating. I have seen maintenance crews on board spot cleaning too. On the major and frequent used rails the trains look brand new. As you move away from these busy centers and on the lesser used rails the trains are still good and clean but you don't get that "new" feeling. It's still very good though. Air con is phenomenal. You're not freezing cold but as soon as you step in it's a nice blast of coldness to feel relief from the heat. It helps to really relax. On the days I was traveling alone where the rides were an hour or more I would take a nap. I'd worry about missing my stop. A few times I did. All I did was get off and boarded a train going back. A hassle I know but I enjoyed the nap. They do make announcements of the stops coming up to give you fair warning. I guess I was in a deep dream with koalas and kangaroos. lol Another great feature is how the train stops at all the malls and greater shopping areas. You can get all your daily errands done without traveling too far away from the stops. So there's no need to uber, lyft or rent a car. We didn't. A much cheaper option for sure. Practically almost eliminates the need to own a car too. Think of all the money you can save. All in all it's a great transportation system Australia has and wish we here in the U.S. had one to use.

During my weekend in Sydney, I had been utilizing Public Transport which took me around town and it…read morewas an enjoyable experience! Make sure you get your Opal Card which is free and just load it up with $30 or so if you are travelling to and from Airport. Opal Card makes travelling so easy as you can just tap on and off and can be used on trains, buses, light rail and even ferries! For checking your balance, make sure you download the App on your smartphone. Daily/Weekly Travel Cap and the best is on Sunday you can travel the whole day for $2.50!! That's that best time to take a long distance train ride or a ferry ride! I just wish every major International cities would be that public transit friendly like Sydney!

There is a collective mass of tailors and alteration shops in and around Wynyard. I guess they…read morefigure that this is the central location for the suits of Sydney. They are likely correct. So of the many, I chose this one in particular for a few reasons. I have walked by it a few times and they are always busy. Crazy busy. When a customer comes up, they are always attentive. And when I see someone leave with their good in hand they look happy. So when I required their services, I travelled over 45min to try them out. Arriving at Thursday lunch time, I needed to get my suit pants mended by Friday. With a wedding to attend on the weekend, it was a bit of a deal breaker. "How about Friday at 5pm" was the counter offer. Looking down at the massive pile of suits this guy had to work through before getting to mine, I did not know how it was going to get done, but what the hell.... So I come back at 4:45pm on Friday, and their they are. Pants were mended so well it was ridiculous. He even added a bit of silk on the inside for a bit of comfort. I was totally satisfied and think this store offers brilliant value. When I need something done next time, I will be back.

This is a "pre-getting my clothes" back review. I will update to a 5 once I do…read more Update: got my clothes back....everything was great! Using a tailor in a train station always worries me, but I think this will go well. After reading a review, I searched for Tasanee in Wynyard...but it's really more in Hunter Connection, downstairs from Wynyard. I had 2 dresses to be altered, one just getting a zipper replaced, the other taken in. The guy was very helpful and spent more than 10 minutes with me (an eternity in train station alteration world I imagine). He explained to me why the previous zipper wasn't working (even after a brief defense put on by me that the dress wasn't in fact too small for me) and what changes he would make to fix it. After trying on the second dress, he showed me a reasonably expensive alteration ($40) for having to remove the entire seam, but then showed me an alternative that pretty much had the same affect, but half the cost. Still awaiting the results, but so far so good! Stay tuned!

The shuttle got us to where we were going in time (although 15 minutes later than I'd expected) but…read morethe driver was a grump. However; that may have been his personality and he may have thought he was just being funny when he snapped "What's the problem?!" after I asked what time we'd be getting to the airport. Regardless, we got to where we needed to go for $20/pp, which is a nice chunk of change less than a taxi...and for that I will tolerate that curmudgemonally personality of our driver.