Sydney by Night

That night, I walked another 10 km to take in Vivid Sydney, the annual light festival currently illuminating the city. It’s actually the reason I chose to fly to Sydney instead of heading further north, where the weather would’ve been warmer. I’ve been told this winter is one of the colder ones, with daytime temperatures around 15–16°C, and about five degrees less at night.

What’s really fun is watching how people react to the “cold”: there seem to be two distinct types. One group simply doesn’t care—walking around in shorts and T-shirts as if it’s still summer. The other group, in contrast, dresses like they’re in Scandinavia in mid-January: beanies, scarves, puffer jackets, the whole lot. It’s kinda hilarious.

Vivid stretches across a huge area—from Darling Harbour to the Opera House, with colourful light installations and animations scattered all along the way. Some of the designs are genuinely mesmerising, and a lot of fun to photograph.

That said… I didn’t really enjoy the experience overall.

Why? Too. Many. People.

If I could make one suggestion for improvement: remember those COVID-era crowd limits? Bring those back. I’d be delighted if everyone just had a 10-metre radius around them. Perfect!

And there’s more. While kids are clearly part of Vivid’s intended audience, the experience would honestly be better for everyone if they had their own designated area—unless they’re unusually calm and well-behaved. Between the huge crowds and the sheer number of loud, chaotic children zigzagging in every direction, it was a bit much.

One particularly ridiculous moment: I slightly bumped into a kid (maybe 4 or 5 years old)—he’d walked straight into me, as toddlers do. I said, “Be careful,” and he immediately responded by hurling foul-mouthed insults at me. Flabbergasted, I turned around and asked what he just called me—and he doubled down! Then his dad, whom I hadn’t even noticed, jumped in and started insulting me even more viciously. It was so absurd, I just stood there for a moment trying to process what had just happened and then walked on fast to get away. 😄

Anyway—the highlight of the night? Definitely the mochi donuts. Oh, and yes—the pretty lights and their designs too. 😄Read more