Australia has a naughty side! A naugty 'capital'.

Yes, the ockers have a small part of their massive country where you won't get a culture shock, more likely a sex shock - so be warned.

Sydney's Kings Cross is not for the faint hearted - or those with ''phobes'' about gays, homosexuals, lesbians or homeless down-and-outs. I've visited several times over the past 20 years and have learned not to be shocked by anything I see, hear or smell there.

Now, naughty of me to paint too rude a picture - Kings Cross is alive, day or night, Drag queens amuse from doorways with obviously welcoming banter, touts try to lure you in to all sorts of different sexy shows, adult sex shops cater for obvious needs - this is why it has become such a popular tourist attraction.

And, just to add some balance to the story - you can buy a T Shirt.... some of them even have a clean theme! If you don't see what you like, they will make one for you. And, let's not forget the souviners of everything Australian. For those staying self-catering there are supermarkets, chemist shop and camera and film stores. How's that for adding a clean aspect to this review?

It's not very big but what you experience there is really BIG!
The strip shows leave nothing to the imagination - I haven't actually been but the men in our party went and apparently had a ''entertaining'', sexy evening!!!

In front of shop door-ways there are ''ladies of the night'' - day or night who seem to be trained at the same apprenticeship school because the catch cry from most of them is ........ ''How about it mate!''

Now, I do know this first hand because on my first visit there I was in the company of my husband, two children under 8 years old and my middle aged parents.

We were only on the 'Cross' ten minutes (at round 2.30 in the afternoon) when a rather skimpily-clad 'lady' in a really short, purple crochet skirt (she must have run out of wool) sidled up to my DAD, in front of us all, and said the worn out aforementioned phrase to my FATHER!!!! We were shocked, but my younger, handsomer husband seemed rather pipped she'd not asked him. He gave her a short shift, more out of pique that he had been overlooked, I think!


Since that time Kings Cross has become the venue for the annual ''Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras'' and every year it's shown on television: I've observed through that medium that it is getting bigger and better every year, not to forget sexier and more erotic, so as you can imagine, it attracts many thousands to Kings Cross.

I've read articles which seem to indicate that the New South Wales police have a handle on the ''sexy side'' and drug problems of Kings Cross. As a tourist, if you're just walking through, there's not much 'danger' in my opinion.

The closest I've become to feeling uncomfortable was when I was staying on Kings Cross a few years ago with my son. We were out early in the morning (around 7am) to take a day tour into the Hunter Valley wine area.

As we walked along the footpath we saw a man pretending to be a dog on the footpath...yapping and whining. As we walked by he tried to nip my ankles and I have to admit I was a bit spooked out. Glad my son was with me!


You will have got the picture now that Kings Cross is Sydney's Red Light District. It is not too rude though, you go there knowing it is going to be heavily focused on sex.


Round the Clock entertainment comes in many forms, adult shops abound and while the sexy side is overt, you can do other things while strolling along.

I love sitting around the El Alamein fountain, there's a square where I indulge in my people-watching passion - it's easy to do here under this beautiful ''dandelion flower'' fountain.

Nearby is my favourite Kings Cross restaurant - Bourbon and Beefsteak. I took our family when my son was 5 years old. We loved it, generous portions and neat cocktails. I took my son again, on his 21st birthday and it was just as good.

Bourbon and Beefsteak was opened during the time of the Vietnam War, to entertain troops from the United States of America, on their holiday breaks from war.

If you visit El Alamein fountain at the weekends there is a neat craft fair which also has second hand stalls.

Kings Cross is definitely worth a visit when in Sydney - don't go there if ''hopeless-down-and-outs'' upset you as they scrounge in the rubbish bins and sleep alongside their only possessions packed into a wrecked old baby pram.

Don't go there if the seamier side of sex offends you - because you may well be a tad upset.


I really enjoy going to Kings Cross, I like the vibrancy, the colour, sounds, sites and 'glamour' openly on show, seen from trendy cafes, or just strolling along the street. It's all a bit of a giggle and it's something to 'rave' about when in Sydney.

OH, just thought, I wouldn't book a hotel on Kings Cross again, the revelling didn't cease in the Irish Bar underneath us until 6am in the morning!

Stay at nearby Potts Point is a good idea; you are near the 'Cross' but not on it. You can soak up the atmosphere, but still get a good nights sleep.

Be brave - hang out on Kings Cross and take home the memories.