Initially before we left for Australia, I was thinking of doing a "budget guide" entry about the trip. Now that I'm back, I learned (too late, obviously) that Melbourne and Sydney are the 6th and 5th most expensive cities in the world, respectively. So that budget guide entry? Thrown right out the window.
I will instead recount the experiences, and maybe some of the expenses, during our stay at 2 of Australia's famous cities.
At first, my finding a P9,900+ ticket to Melbourne (from Singapore, via AirAsia) seemed acceptable, compared to the 5-digit prices in other airlines. Based solely on this, we agreed to book for May 2012. Of course, this was without consideration for the accommodation costs and also the fact that we'll be coming from four different areas. As we moved along with our planning we realized that the expenses had piled up. For one, the cheapest hotel we could find costs a little above P8,000. Oh, and that's PER NIGHT. So in total we'd be spending P40,000 for the hotel alone.Yep.
Sheila and I flew from Manila to Singapore and stayed in Jel's place until our flight to MEL. From SG, we got a connecting flight so we had to stop over KL, where we also "fetched" Liezel. We then boarded the AisAsia X, which flew us to Melbourne.
Via Booking.com, I got us a room at Tribeca Serviced Apartments. It's along Albert St., near Fitzroy Gardens. As in most budget hotels in Australia, Tribeca already has a kitchenette (good, because we aimed to offset our expenses by eating in), a washing machine and dryer, a living room w/ cable TV and a couch, and beds for 4 people. The place was really clean and the receptionist, Belinda, was very helpful and approachable.
Tribeca is great overall, though I would have preferred a location that's closer to the City Circle tram. This tram gets you around the city for free, and it would have been more convenient, cutting some of our transportation costs. But other than that, I'm all praises for Tribeca.
So our itinerary included the following:
Day 1 (May 2):
Arrived at Melbourne. Not much to write about here because we got too tired from the long flight and slept the day off until about 6pm. What a way to waste a vacation. We went out to have dinner only to find out that most shops close by 5pm. OF COURSE. The one restaurant that we found still open was Schnitz, and I think it's obvious what they serve. LOL. We went in and was able to make little chitchat with 2 of the waitresses whom we found out were Pinays. We then walked around the city after dinner.
Day 2 (May 3):
Walking tour. Well, at least that was the plan. It was drizzling--and with an 11-degree temperature, a drizzle in Melbourne felt like being trapped in cold storage. So we just went to the Melbourne Museum instead...more because of the heater, to be honest. Defying my expectations, the museum's display was actually interesting and informative. Not much on Australian history, but more on ancient and contemporary science. Next, with the help of a very nice OZ lady, we rode the [correct] bus and walked a few blocks to the QV Mall (the only place that has free wifi), and then to the State Library of Victoria. I loved their library. It felt so...intellectual. :D If we had a public library as huge as theirs I probably would have been very studious. LOL
Melbourne Museum
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| Posing above a dinosaur fossil (photo cr Liezel) |
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| A roomful of mirrors (photo cr Liezel) |
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| dream simulator (photo cr Liezel) |
State Library of Victoria
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| (photo cr Liezel) |
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| (photo cr Liezel) |
Yarra Valley Tour. With its cool temperature, Australia is suitable for growing grapes, and thus for the production of quality wines. Sheila's friend recommended this tour so we booked it with our new bestfriend Belinda's help. By about 8:45AM we were already at the pick up point where we're to ride a 24-seater coach to Yarra Valley. The view at the wineries and of the suburbs going to the valley were really beautiful...though I don't know if they're all worth the P5,000 fee. But if you like to pull a Daniel Guidotti and are interested in wines, then this should be part of your Melbourne itinerary. One of the come-ons is you can try all the different kinds of wines in each of the 4 wineries. Our tour-mates, who seemed to be more knowledgeable, were all "Oh this is too dry," and "This has the scent of raspberries." I on the other hand, have sipped 10 supposedly distinct wines which all tasted the same to me. Oh well, I tried.
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| Lunch options |
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| Welcome to my vineyard |
Day 4 (May 5):
On day 4 we went to QV Market in the morning. Not to be mistaken with QV Mall. The former is similar to a dry goods palengke and tiangge in one. This is where you can get souvenirs at a cheaper price, and has a wide variety of fresh produce, too. Later after lunch, our very accommodating Ate Mau (Sheila's friend who works in Melbourne) offered to drive us around and show us the suburbs, just so we can get a feel of how it is in Melburnian neighborhoods. Looking around, it felt like the place was lifted from the Stepford Wives movie. There were no kids playing outside the house, no loud music from other neighbors...no noise at all. It was serene...and slightly creepy. Lol. And this is where most of the people live since getting a place within the CBD is expensive.
QV Market
Melbournian Suburbs
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| Lunch with Ate Mau (photo cr Liezel) |
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| LOL (photo cr Liezel) |
Day 5 (May 6):
On day 5 we went to the Sunday Market near Flinders station just to satisfy our curiosity. ;) Most stalls sold artworks, photos, and handicrafts, and only about a couple of stalls sold food (to our dismay). We walked on towards the Shrine of Remembrance, a..uhm..well..it's a shrine (lol) built to pay tribute for those who served in the first World War. Once again, Melbourne didn't laze on the landscape and architecture designs for this memorial. Five stars for being artsy. Next we went to St. Kilda to eat lunch and to look at yet another line of stalls selling arts and crafts. At night we had dinner with Ate Mau and, as much as we wanted to avoid the situation, sang karaoke. Shameless, shameless creatures. :P
Shrine of Remembrance
St. Kilda
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| My kind of lifestyle |
Day 6 (May 7):
Our last day in Melbourne. We explored separately so that Sheila and I went to the University of Melbourne while Jel and Liezel went to see the other sites near our hotel. We met for lunch at Degraves St., where--based on my extensive Google search--the best coffee in Melbourne can be found. Yes, this final venue was my suggestion. I mean, best in Melbourne or not, who forgoes a chance to drink coffee? :) We finished lunch before 1PM and visited the nearby St. Paul's Cathedral before we went back to the hotel to get ready for our flight to Sydney.
Degraves Street
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| (photo cr Liezel) |
St. Paul's Cathedral
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| Melbourne graffiti at Hosier Lane (photo cr Liezel) |
I've always wanted to go back to Melbourne, which is why I was excited about the "cheap" tickets from AirAsia. And I don't regret booking that ticket despite the large whole it burnt on my wallet. I would very much like to visit again should I get the chance. If you're looking for art and culture, put this city on your list. I would suggest though, to come prepared, as it IS the 6th most expensive city. I cannot emphasize this enough. A good meal would probably cost you about AU$15, max, but they have big servings so 2 can share. There. FYI in case you plan to a trip to the city soon. :)
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