Travel: [Part 1] Hola Melbourne, Annyeong Sydney | Australia

After few months of being indecisive whether to go or not to go, my friend and I finally decided to visit Australia with a friend of mine. The actual plan was just to visit Sydney but the plan changed as we decided to go to Melbourne as well. Our mistake really that we didn't plan properly because we have paid the full amount of our 10 days accommodation in Sydney.

We flew with Singapore Airlines from BWN to SYD with a few hours transit in Changi International Airport. I was quite excited when I found out that we will be flying on Airbus A380 bound for SYD! The return airfare was on promotion which costed us around BND770 / each.

I found Australia to be really expensive compared to the other big cities that I have traveled to. Meals can easily run AUD15 or more depending on the restaurant you go.

TRANSPORTATION

Public transport on the other hand was quite handy! We got Opal card, sort of like Oyster card in London or TMoney in South Korea to get us around the city as it covers the use of public trains, buses, ferries and undergrounds. Opal card caps at AUD16 per day and you can go nuts with the AUD2.60 Sunday caps using your Opal card

ACCOMODATION

As for the accommodation, we tried Airbnb in Sydney with the price of AUD641.66 for 9 nights. The studio was not that bad, comes with a tiny kitchen for us to save our budget for food (good intention but reality was totally different lol). The location was just perfect, few minutes walk to Kingscross Station, with a lot of restaurants to eat and cafes to fill your daily needs of caffeine. And not to forget, Elizabeth bay was just around the corner! Too bad there was some construction on going.

While in Melbourne, we decided to stay at Mercure Welcome Melbourne, a budget hotel which costed us AUD241.40 for 2 nights. The room was pretty small, tiny window with a not-so-great view. But good location though!

DAILY BUDGET

Suggested daily budget would be around AUD50 per pax assuming you're staying in a budget accomodation, using local transportation to go around the city and also the number of tours you do daily. Expect more if you eat out more often and staying in a fancier accommodation

HOLA MELBOURNE!

Melbourne is considered as the culture city of Australia: cool neighborhoods, great restaurants and great street arts! On our recent adventure, we spent 3 days in Melbourne. We headed to Melbourne via Jetstar with the return airfare of AUD158.08 per person.

Did you know that Melbourne offers a free hop on hop off tram around the city circle? Yes! It covers most of the prominent tourist attractions. Ain't it convenient.

As a fine artist, off course, I would go to places that's related with art scene every time I traveled. Melbourne has a lot of street art lanes to be visited. And Hosier Lane is just one of them. Located just few minutes away from Federation square joining Flinders Lane and Flinders Street. It's the focal point of the city's art scene. You can spend hours strolling around the street full of vibrant colors, just like a rainbow. Very beautiful and inspiring! So if you are in Melbourne, feel free to roam around the street to get inspiration for your work of art! It's definitely recommended!

Royal Exhibition Building somehow reminded me of British Columbia Parliament Building in Victoria, Canada. Unfortunately it was closed when we went there. As for your information, the building is not opened for public if there is no exhibition going on. except with a guided tour where ticket can be purchased at the Melbourne Museum.

Melbourne Museum. Located just next to the Royal Exhibition Building.

Victoria Harbour, Docklands. Getting there is relatively easy as you can hop on the City Circle Tram. It 's quite close to City Centre and within the free zone of the City Circle map. Docklands is the renewed suburb of Melbourne that offers a lot of fine dining places, entertainment and shopping malls for those who like to shop till they drop! And If you would like to see the city from above you can jump on the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel.

A view of Bolte Bridge from the waterfront in Victoria Harbour.

Seafarer Bridge, South Wharf. Similar to Docklands, South Wharf is also a CBD area located on the southern bank of Yarra River. Again, most of the thing you can find around Victoria Harbour can be found in South Wharf with quite a selection of eateries and posh nosh along the way of the Promenade. You can also experience Melbourne Water Taxi that offers pick up and drop off services from Melbourne Convention And Exhibition Centre.

Kings Bridge over the Yarra. Located at the end of the South Bank waterfront.

Queen Victoria Market is said to be the largest open-air market in the southern part of Melbourne. The markets are amazing so many little shops to choose from. You could easily spend a lot of time there. You can find just everything here; food, fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, clothes, jewelry, shoes and many, many more.

If you want to visit Queen Victoria Market, be prepared that the opening hours may vary due to the day of the week and it's closed in Monday and Wednesday (and Public Holidays).

To get there, you can take the free City Circle Tram to the Queen St / La Trobe St stop. From there it is a 6 mins walk to the market. It is just located on the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Streets in Melbourne’s CBD.

Click Here for Part 2 - Annyeong Sydney

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