Terror siege shakes Sydney to its core

At one of the many road blocks around central Sydney last night, a young woman asked what was going on.

From her accent she was clearly a tourist. But still, it seemed hard to believe that anyone could have spent their day blissfully unaware of drama that had been gripping this city since early morning.

On TV and radio, the siege was all that anyone was talking about, with rolling coverage running on every station.

My flight from Perth arrived at Kingsford Smith about 4pm and the signs that this was no normal Monday were almost immediately obvious.

SYDNEY SIEGE - PICTURE GALLERY

Groups of travellers were huddled around TV screens, glued to the images of heavily armed tactical police standing guard outside the Lindt cafe.

As my taxi headed towards the city, electronic freeways signs also warned of the major police operation ahead of us and the traffic chaos we should expect.

The warnings were right.

My driver could not get me close to my hotel because of the extensive cordon police had erected around the streets bordering Martin Place.

From Elizabeth Street down to George Street and Castlereagh across to King Street, nothing was getting in or out except emergency vehicles.

Now on foot and dragging my suitcase, I was immediately struck by how quiet this usually bustling city had fallen.

It was now just after 5pm and the streets should have been packed with office workers heading home for the day.

But many had gone hours earlier, either evacuated as a precaution from their offices or sent home early because of the expected chaos on the roads that had been forecast.

Grim-faced police officers manning the road blocks were doing their best to pacify confused tourists and locals seeking instructions on how to get from A to B.

For some, it meant disappointment as they were told there was no hope of getting to where they wanted to go.

But luckily for me, my hotel was just outside the cordon.

Walking in the lobby, a heavy security presence was obvious.

Behind the smiles of the friendly staff, a hint of anxiety was also obvious.

Terrorism was no longer something that happened in other countries.

It was happening just outside the hotel's doors

Back out on the streets and the faces of the few people still moving around told a similar story.

Jordan Drenth, 25, had spent the day at home watching events unfold on his TV, but decided late to take a walk down from his nearby apartment to see it for himself.

"It does leave you feeling not so much scared, but a bit uncomfortable I guess," he said. "I have never seen so many police in my life. It is incredible."

Wayne Grice works in the city but was in no rush to go home, standing back and watching as TV newsreaders went live at 6pm from beside the barricades.

"It was always going to happen here one day I guess," he said.

"But what are you going to do?

"You could get hit by a bus crossing the road. You can't lock yourself up at home just to stay safe."

At another corner, a big group of American tourists were taking photographs of the police.

"We are from New York," one of them volunteered as I approached to ask why they were there.

"We were at home when 9/11 happened and we know what you are going through," another said.

"You can't let them win."

Their calmness in the face of such an awful event said a lot about them.

Americans, it seems, have adapted to living under the threat of an attack.

Australians will now have to get used to living under that same threat.