I had so much fun travelling around Melbourne for the past 9 days and I have learnt so much. It is sad to say that today is the last day and I would be returning back to Singapore. My flight is at 1215hrs, which leaves me no time to explore Melbourne any further. I packed my bags and left my lovely Aboriginal-culture filled airbnb house at 0830hrs and headed off to the airport. Took a tram down to Southern Cross Station and from there I took the SkyBus to the airport. It is about an hour's journey to the airport and there were so many people there, it was crowded. The checking-in took a long time and I almost didn't had time for my brunch!
Since there is going to be nothing much to write about for Day 10, I would do a summary of the trip instead...
This trip started off bad as my plane was delayed for 5hrs. It totally screwed up my plans for Day 1 and Day 2. Luckily, my accommodation has WIFI, and I managed to contact my family as I was initially planning to get my prepaid SIM card after I check-in to my accommodation since I would be reaching Melbourne at 1100hrs. However, due to the delay, shops are already close by the time I got settled down.
I was really glad that the trip went almost as planned and really smoothly wihout any major hiccups that I wasn't able to deal with, especially since I was travelling alone. I went to so many places and had seen so many things that I can't really remember where I went and what I've did. It was fun to prepare my own meals, staying at a rented place, and travel around on feet and public transport, living like a local college student.
This was the first time that I did budget travelling and I am glad that I did so as it proved to me that I could save up so much on unneccessary expenses. I took budget airline, I stayed in a rented place, I took public transport, not a single time on cab, I prepared (not all the time) my own meals and spend all these extra money on shopping and so much shopping that my baggages were overweight and were 'about to burst'. Though there were some downsides to the trip (such as the waiting tme for buses as they come in 1hr intervals) and there were lots of walking, it was still an enjoyable and fruitful trip afterall! Melbourne is a really nice place to live in and I will definitely plan to return for more!
Anyway, on a side, note, as a form of apology and to keep up with the Guest Promise policy, Scoot has awarded every passenger on the delayed flight a SG$50 Scoot travel voucher that is valid for 6 months from point of issue.
Here's a summary of the places that I went during this awesome 10-day Melbourne trip:
Attractions and Landmarks
Royal Botanic Gardens | Federation Square | St Paul's Cathedral | Flinders Street Station | Princes Bridge | Graffiti Lane | Webb Bridge | Seafarers Bridge | Melbourne Museum | Carlton Gardens | Royal Exhibition Building | Chinatown | Brighton Bathing Boxes | State Library of Victoria | Luna Park | St Kilda Beach | St Kilda Pier Breakwater - Sunset and Penguins | Chappies - Cherry Picking | Werribee Park | Werribee Mansion | Victoria State Rose Garden
Shopping Areas
South Melbourne Market | H&M Melbourne | St Kilda Twilight Market | Queen Victoria Market | Chadstone Shopping Centre | Kmart
Cafehopping and other Dining
The Kettle Black | Chez Dre | Dead Man Espresso | Little Ramen Bar | Breakfast Thieves | Proud Mary | Shandong Mama | Market Lane Coffee | N2 Extreme Gelato | Top Paddock | Toby's Estate | Cupcake Central | Scroll Ice Cream | Flipboard Cafe | The Food Truck Park | Hash Specialty Coffee & Roasters | Lindt Chocolate Cafe
Others
LEGO Christmas Tree | Christmas Square | Gingerbread Village | Kit Kat Studio
Expenses for Day 10
Balance brought forward: $1,968.33
SkyBus: $18
[Lunch] Hungry Jacks: $6.70
Final total: $1,993.03
I also got Christmas gifts (included in my expenses) for everyone, which includes my colleagues during my internship. Since there were so many of them (20pax), I have to get them something affordable yet presentable, so I gave them each a small Christmas goodie pack.
#1: Christmas Goodie Pack, which includes 2 gingerbreadman cookies, 1 candy cane, 2 Lindor sea salt milk chocolate truffles, 1 mini Kit Kat, 1 mini Cadbury, 1 magnet souvenir and 1 mini Christmas card with a short handwritten Christmas message.
Total spending? $47.45 ($2.37 each)
Gingerbread Cookies: 45pcs for $5 - ($5 / 45) x 40 = $4.45
Candy Canes: 30pcs for $2 - ($2 / 30) x 20 = $1.33
Lindor Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Truffles: 500g (40pcs) for $14.95
Mini Kit Kat: 19pcs for $7 (+1 free given by Kit Kat Studio)
Mini Cadbury: 24pcs for $6 - ($6 / 24) x 20 = $5
Magnet Souvenir:
18pcs for $10 (basic), 9pcs for $10 (metal) - 18pcs basic $10 + 2 metal ($10 / 9) x 2 = $2.22
Mini Christmas Cards: 40pcs for $5 - ($5 / 40) x 20 = $2.50
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