Last Day in Melbourne & Travel Tips

Melbourne fun video for day 4, 5 and 6 is now available on YouTube.

Some tips on visiting Melbourne:

– If going in autumn, be sure to bring enough clothes for layering. You could experience four seasons in a day.

– Melbourne participates in Daylight Savings. So, do check the time before you go. When I was there in early June, it gets dark at 5:30pm.

– There’s luggage storage service at the Southern Cross tram station. There’s also a Travelers’ Aid center at the station that offers services like shower, internet, guide book with coupons, etc.

– Most shops at Brunswick Street open late (11am, noon). There’s no point going there early.

– Public transportation is the way to go. There’s no need to rent a car in the city. Get a Metlink card and you can use the same card on the tram/bus.

– Melbournians are friendly. Open your mouth to ask for directions, and recommendations on eating/drinking places.

– Hotel accommodation can be expensive. Homestay is a great option to save some $$$ and learn more Australian culture from the locals.

– Don’t rush when traveling. Don’t feel like you have to cover a lot of places in a day. Slow down and relax.

– Travel with someone close to you. Happiness can multiple when it’s shared.

– Melbournians say “No worries” A LOT!!

Travel, see, feel and have a good time!!

Melbourne Fun – Day 3

My sister complained that the walking that she has done in these few days is equivalent to the walking that she usually does in a year.

So, we decided to take it easy today. We only planned to go to Queen Victoria Market (QVM) today, and let everything else unfold on their own.

We tried different foods at the market, walked the streets in downtown and chatted with the locals.

At QVM, we met Auntie Liu who immigrated from China and she gave us a ticket to go to Shen Yun classical chinese dance show at the Arts Center. I had to buy another ticket for my sister but we saved $108!

Did you know that Chinese classical dance is among the most comprehensive dance systems in the world?

Shen Yun show was dazzling and exciting. I’ve learned a few years of Chinese classical dance when I was younger, so it was special for me to see the masterful display of Chinese dance and music.

Some of the performances can’t be seen in China. Those dances are about Falun Gong and the brutal persecution of its practitioners by the Chinese government.

Auntie Liu’s brother also has been jailed due to his Falun Gong practice. She was amazed at how much freedom the people have outside China.

To be honest, the religion thing in the dance was a turn off for me. But I didn’t regret to see the show and was glad to have met Auntie Liu. I tried to always have an open mind when traveling.

We shouldn’t take religion and speech freedom for granted. I pray for more peace and love in the world.

Melbourne Fun – Day 2

Melbourne trip – day 2 is now available on YouTube.

Besides the taxi ride from the airport to our homestay place, we used public transportation throughout our trip.

I bought a Metlink zone 1 tram ticket for a week (choice of 2hrs, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly). The cost was about $29. The ticket can be used on any local buses and trains.

Today, we took tram to the city and then changed tram to Melbourne Zoo. The zoo admission fee was about $24.40. Frankly, I am not a big zoo fan. But I really wanted to see the butterfly garden, so I went.

Well, I didn’t think Melbourne Zoo was that great. It might be good for a family trip, but for me, it was a bore.

Back from the zoo and had a walk in the city. I can’t say enough of the friendliness of the Melburnians. I must have talked to at least 50 locals during my trip (asking for directions, recommendations, or just chit-chats), and all were very friendly and sweet. πŸ™‚

Melbourne – Day 1

My Melbourne day 1 trip video is now available on YouTube.

I miss traveling with my sister, Joanne. We are the only singles left in the family and we really wanted to travel lots before we got tied down by other responsibilities. It was a lot of fun traveling with her to Melbourne, although the Scorpio had to do all the travel research.

It wasn’t the best time to visit Melbourne since it was late fall in May. But since my sister hadn’t experienced any cold weather, I thought it would be “cool” (cold to be exact) to show her autumn and finally she could wear jackets and boots that she wasn’t able to in Malaysia.

Joanne said to me before the trip that it was hard for her to imagine how she would feel living in 10C weather. As soon as we reached Melbourne, she could feel the coldness in her every cell. πŸ™‚ haha.

We decided to go with Joy’s homestay which is located in Glen Huntly (20 minutes from the city by Metro tram). It was a little inconvenient to live in the suburb, but I really wanted to travel and to live the local way, so I chose homestay accommodation.

I’ve planned to do travel research online, so I was caught off guard to find out that there’s no internet in the house. Ooops!

So, I had to use other options: internet cafe, guide book, visitor center, or just ask the locals. πŸ™‚

I loved how my sister and I just hung out, spent time together, to do whatever. It didn’t matter. Siblings are forever.

Watch the video for the summary of our day 1 trip in Melbourne.

Also, thanks to AirAsia X for making our trip more affordable!