His Trip - Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast)

We just got back from a short but full one week trip from Australia. We visited the 3 major cities in 3 of the 6 Australia states in just 6 days. Yes, just 2 days each in Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast. The short trip is good enough if you just want to get a feel of the place and get around the central business area of each city.

Thanks to low-cost carrier airlines, this trip was made possible. We got our airline tickets for a fourth of the cost compared to flying directly with regular airlines. But it was a very long trip for us. We booked Philippine's Cebu Pacific Airline to bring us to Kuala Lumpur from Manila. Then we flew Malaysia's Air Asia Airline for our flight to Melbourne. Our interior flights to Sydney and Gold Coast were with Australia's Jet Star Airlines. All in all, we had a a total of almost 30 flying hours for the 8 different flights .

We were able to squeeze in a short tour to Kuala Lumpur on our 8-hour stopover there before our flight to Melbourne. The KL Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport have storage services where you could leave your bags for around 30 RM/bag (10 USD) and a bus service which could take you to Central Station in an hour for 8 RM/one way (2.50 USD). From Central Station, it's just a short train ride away to the famous Malaysia attraction - the Petronas Twin Towers Building. We weren't able to climb up to the viewing deck of the building since we arrived late in the afternoon already. So we just went around the KLCC Suria mall and took pictures of the impressive structure.

Petronas Twin Towers

Melbourne

Our Melbourne trip was scheduled in time for the F1 Australian Grand Prix. Most of the nice and cheap hotels in downtown Melbourne were fully booked that time. We ended up booking a hostel room for 4 with shared bathroom. It wasn't that bad though. We stayed in Flinders Station Backpackers Hotel which is situated just across the Flinders Station - the transportation center where most trains, trams and buses pass.

We spent our first day in Melbourne at the F1 Grand Prix in Albert Park. It's always a dream for most guys who as kids grew up with toy cars, to one day see and experience the fastest race of the fastest cars. And what an experience it was for me. Though we didn't get to watch the actual race, it was good enough watching their practice runs (tickets during the actual race are more expensive). I got to cross out another item on my list of major sporting events I want to see, after being in China during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Up next is the Fifa World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

It wasn't hard going around Melbourne. They have a free city tram that goes around the City Center and a free tourist shuttle bus that goes around most tourist sites as well. We spent our second day exploring the city. The best place to start your tour is at the Melbourne Visitor's Center at the Federation Square. It is where you could get all the information on all the places you could see and visit in Melbourne. It is also one of the stop of the free shuttle bus that you could take for your next destination.

City Circle Tram at Flinders Station

We took the free City Tram, which was maintained in its old vintage look, to go around the city. Most of the major attractions in Melbourne are situated in the CBD and are just within close distance with each other. We went to the Federation Square, the Old Melbourne Goal, the State Library of Victoria, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). Its hard to get lost in central Melbourne since most of the streets are just in grids and the blocks are easy to recall with the repeated street names (eg. Bourke and Little Bourke Sts., Flinders St. and Flinders Lane, etc.). We also tried some of the restaurants in Melbourne's Chinatown and visited the outlet shops in Docklands Harbour area.

Sydney

We took the early morning JetStar Airline flight from Melbourne to Sydney. Sydney Airport is not that far from the city center so it's more practical to take the shuttle bus which cost around AUD 15/person. Sydney has a lot of choices of hotels but it's better to get one near the CBD especially along George, Pitt or Elizabeth St. since they have the free 555 tourist shuttle bus servicing this route. We stayed at the Great Southern Hotel along George St. near the Central Station.

A trip to Australia won't be complete without visiting the Sydney Opera House. It's one of the sites in my "places to visit before I die" list. I plan to visit all the New 7 Wonders of the World and the other 14 finalist. I have been to 5 places in the list already. I'm excited to crash out another one this July after our trip to India.

Sydney Opera House

I highly recommend visitors in Sydney to take the Essential Tour of the Sydney Opera House. It's an hour-long tour inside the venue and the concert halls, complete with information of its history for only 28 AUD (if booked online). There are cafes and restaurants nearby where you could eat and hang out, and which are also good vantage points to take photos of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge nearby.

Sydney Opera House Main Concert Hall

Most of the other tourist sites in Sydney are situated near the Opera House. We walked along the Circular Quay, which is the main ferry transport point in Sydney, and The Rocks, which is a historic site in central Sydney. We also went to climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge up to one of its pylons. We spent some of our free time going around Sydney's Chinatown and Darling Harbour to dine and shop for souvenirs.

As what I wrote on my previous blog before, I was supposed to propose to my girl in Sydney. I was thinking of a dramatic proposal onboard a cruise ship sailing by Sydney Harbour with the Opera House at the background. We were already engaged before this trip, but we still took the harbour cruise but just to tour around the harbour area. We also had our pre-wedding photo shoot in Sydney. Thanks to Perrine Sacré, a young French photographer based in Sydney, who offered to take the photos of us at the Chinese Garden of Friendship and at the Royal Botanic Gardens with the Sydney Opera House and Bridge in the background.

Gold Coast

I highly recommend tourists who plan on visiting Australia to include the Gold Coast in their itinerary. Yes, I was impressed with the place because of it's long and clean beach fronts and relaxing atmosphere. Before the trip, I wasn't too excited on going to the Gold Coast since I come from a country with a lot of beaches. But I was glad we took this trip since it was what I consider the "real" vacation. Imagine yourself lounging around in your hotel room balcony sipping some cold drinks with a great view of the ocean. We stayed in Grand Chancellor Hotel in Surfers Paradise, where most of the shops and big hotels are situated.


Surfer's Paradise, Gold Coast

To complete our Australia experience, we decided to visit the Currimbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see a kangaroo and koala. It was fun to hand-feed the kangaroos and to cuddle a real koala. Gold Coast had a lot of theme parks also.

This is our last foreign trip together before we get married with my girl this July. Up next is our honeymoon to New Delhi and Agra in India. It would be a different trip with us being a couple already. But I'm sure our love for traveling and blogging about it still won't change.