Sunny Sydney

DJ Bookko explores Australia

By Suwitcha Chaiyong

Travelling abroad is always a great way to broaden your mind. Popular 94 EFM DJ Tanatchapan Buranacheevavilai (Bookko) was inspired to try lots of new things during his five-day trip to Sydney over the New Year period.

"I used to prefer travelling with a tour guide because I was worried about communicating with people in other countries," 25-year-old DJ Bookko said. "But during this trip, a few listeners and I went to shopping areas by ourselves."

DJ Bookko and his companions found that it was quite easy to get around in Sydney.

"It was great fun to take the monorail, subway and taxis around town," he said. "Australians are so friendly, so I wasn't afraid to speak English with them."

PARTY TIME

The idea of the trip was to take some lucky EFM listeners to Sydney for the big countdown on New Year's Eve. The group joined the celebrations at an area called Darling Harbour.

"We prepared a tag light with our station logo on it and we wore bunny headbands," DJ Bookko said. "Many people asked where we were from, and the atmosphere was very friendly, with people from all around the world."

The DJ and the rest of the gang enjoyed the impressive fireworks at midnight.

"The fireworks were so beautiful," DJ Bookko said. "We had to walk all night because public transport wasn't running due to the celebrations, but I was very happy."

NATURAL ATTRACTION

Aside from seeing the New Year celebrations, DJ Bookko visited many tourist attractions in and around Sydney. The Blue Mountains west of Sydney was his favourite spot.

"We saw a huge sandstone rock formation known as the Three Sisters in an area called Katoomba," DJ Bookko said. "We also rode on the Scenic Railway there, which in the past was used for to coal mining."

The Featherdale Wildlife Park is another place that DJ Bookko recommends for tourists who like nature.

"You can get up close to kangaroos and feed them at the Featherdale Wildlife Park," he said. "They were very cute and tame. We also saw koalas there, but they just sleep all the time!"

HARBOUR VIEWS

DJ Bookko said that visitors to Sydney should definitely take ride on Sydney harbour to view the famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

"There was one part where we could see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the background together," DJ Bookko said. "It was an awesome place to take photos."

CULTURE SHOCK

One thing that surprised DJ Bookko on the trip was seeing couples openly showing their affection in public.

"It wasn't a bad thing, but as a Thai person, it was quite surprising to see straight and gay couples kissing on the street and in shopping malls," he said.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

DJ Bookko really enjoyed his trip and plans to go back to Sydney again next year. In the meantime, the holiday inspired him to start exercising more.

"I normally don't like to exercise, but I had to walk a lot in Sydney," he said. "The weather was hot when we were there, but the locals would still go jogging around the city and they all looked very fit and healthy."

DJ Booko said that he now intends to exercise for an hour every day.

"I also plan to use the stairs rather than riding in a lift more than before!" he said.