Surviving Sydney: The Uncertain Episode I

Imagine this: You left home to study abroad. To save money, you spent the night at the airport before catching your connecting flight at a separate terminal the next morning. At the transit terminal, you were greeted by hordes of passengers waiting anxiously to check in their luggages.

Many jostled around and jumped into queues while others looked on with great displeasure. Queues, seemingly emerging from all directions, extended beyond the confines of the airport as more passengers started streaming in.

Realising you were pressed for time, you grabbed hold of a trolley, loaded it with your belongings and went frantically in search of the shortest queue. With barely space to manoeuvre your pushcart, you squeezed through the crowd and got in line, only to find yourself waiting endlessly. You were late for your flight. Just when you thought you were going to miss your flight, the lady behind the baggage counter reassured you that the plane would wait for all its passengers to get on board before taking off. Nevertheless, you still felt insecure so you dashed off to the departure gate as soon as you could, trying to ward off that uneasiness along the way.

You boarded the plane, heaved a sigh of relief, and settled snugly into your window seat. Then, announcements came on air; the crew apologised for the delay in take off due to the "baggage delay" at the airport or so they claimed.

Feeling tired and hungry from all that travelling, you reached your distination later than expected but lunch was far from being at the back of your mind. You knew you had to find the university reception desk otherwise you'd be left stranded at the airport.

You approached the airport staff for directions but you soon discovered that the reception desk was elsewhere. Dumbfounded, you left the domestic terminal and headed for the international terminal by train.

As soon as you arrived, you strode to the reception desk. However, the university representatives who were supposed to receive you, had gone for their lunch break and were only expected to return in the evening. Instinctively, you called the university for assistance. You were told to check into your temporary accommodation before proceeding to campus the next day. That, you did.

And so, you set foot on this foreign land all alone by yourself. You know no one and you've to start from scratch, literally. You'd have probably guessed it by now. This account depicts the beginning of my Aussie adventure. Welcome to Sydney, Peeps!

The Domestic Terminal is one train station away from the International Terminal - both of which are part of the Sydney International Airport, otherwise known as the Kingsford Smith Airport.

Why does my train look so different from the one opposite?

Spacious as it might have been but this train's interior appeared to be less brightly lit than that of the train approaching in the opposite direction.

Interestingly, this map emerged unscathed by the graffiti on the walls of the train.