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Did I have to write something about Newtown, Sydney? It is a relatively well-known suburb and everyone, residents and tourists alike, knows about Newtown. How funky the place is. Where you get gorgeous food. You could walk along King Street, hop into strange little shops and get lost in the worlds of books, Sydney's little known designers, shoes and 2nd-hand gems.

Newtown is where the weird and beautiful take precedence. Graffiti and street art, theatre, live music and festivals are but some of the charming aspects of the neighbourhood. Newtown is the place to sit in a roadside cafe and gawk at passer-bys or be seen yourself. So if you are well-dressed or badly-dressed, everyone gives you the look-over and you are suppose to return the compliment.

What I like about Newtown and I will never get tired of it, is this creative energy and the vibrancy that the shops give off. I love just to immerse myself here for a couple of hours and emerge out of Newtown as yeasty as Andy Warhol and as gastronomically-inclined as Matt Preston.

And of course special mentions to my fav chicken shop Clems and fav coffee roaster Campos.

I was there again last Sat and something that I saw gave me quite a laugh. For fellow Singaporeans and people who have travelled to Singapore and visited Geylang, you will certainly be accosted as you walk down the street by peddlers selling contraband cigarettes out of plastic bags on the floor next to a parked dodgy-looking, heavily tinted unmarked vans with other fellow peddlers hanging off the sides of the van's open doors smoking and frequently glancing around to ensure no nasty surprises from the police. 'Hey ah di ah, this one duty-free. Cheap one. Guarantee real stuff. You want or not?' was the sales talk.

That day in Newtown, we were accosted by similar shifty-eyed peddlers next to a parked dodgy-looking, heavily tinted unmarked vans with other fellow peddlers hanging off the sides of the van's open doors smoking and frequently glancing around to ensure no nasty surprises from the police. 'Hey mate! See these strawberries? Freshly picked, guranteed cheaper than those from the supermarket. You want a box? Real cheap!' Contraband strawberries. Well, I never!