Here Finding Me: September 2012

Spending a few days in Melbourne? Here are some few tips I hope will be useful for you:

1. Melbourne SkyBus - Arriving via Tullamarine and staying at the city center? The SkyBus will bring you to the SkyBus Terminal just beside the Southern Cross Station (city center) in just 20 minutes. Buses leave the terminal every 10 minutes. It’s the most convenient way to get to the city. Adult one-way costs A$17 and adult two-way costs A$28.

2. Free City Circle Tram - Take advantage of the free tram that travels literally around Melbourne's city center. Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Gaol, Queen Victoria Market, Etihad Stadium, Docklands, Immigration Museum, and Melbourne Aquarium are just a few places where the tram passes.

3. Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle - Another free way of going around Melbourne is the free tourist shuttle. The shuttle can get you to places where the City Circle Tram won’t be able to reach. Shrine of Remembrance, Botanic Garden, Melbourne Cricket Ground (or more popularly known as MCG), Rod Laver Arena. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use the bus because it was always full. Perhaps next time?

4. Melbourne Visitor Center - Perfect place for first time visitors. Helpful guides all willing to give what’s going on in the city. Of course, there are lots of brochures, too, for those brochure collecting people.

5. Eureka Skydeck 88 - The tallest building in Melbourne. For a good view of Melbourne, take time to visit Eureka Skydeck 88. Best time is at sunset 6:30pm-7:00pm. Highly recommended is The Edge which "projects 3 meters out from the building...suspended almost 300 meters above the ground." Try it! You may want to download the free Eureka Skydeck 99 App from iTunes which gives detailed description of the beautiful views at the deck. Visit to the Skydeck: Adult A$18.50, Sun & Stars admission at $22.00 and The Edge A$12.00.

6. Queen Victoria Market - If you're looking for cheap souvenir stuff, you should go to Vic Market, as the locals call it. It’s the happy place for souvenir shoppers. Magnets, keychains, shirts, jackets, pens, they have it. Vic Market also has areas for fruits and veggies, organics, food court, and meat hall. It's like our tiangge in Manila. In Sydney, you should visit Paddy’s Market (Sydney version of Vic Market).

7. Lodging – On a budget or just want to stay in the city center? I highly recommend the Melbourne Central YHA. It’s just walking distance to Southern Cross Station so no need to worry about how to go back to the airport. You might think that because it’s a hostel, the place is going to be dirty and unorganized. I was surprised myself because the place is very clean and very homey. Clean bathrooms. Clean kitchen. Best of all, the free city circle tram stop is just in front of the hostel. In addition, the Melbourne Aquarium and the Immigration Museum are just a few blocks away. At night, you can take night photographs of the beautiful Yarra River which is just across the street.

8. Tiger Airways - Searching for the most affordable way to get to Melbourne from Sydney, I was only choosing between Qantas and Jetstar but they were both way out of my budget until I realized the Tiger Airways also do flights to Melbourne and it was the cheapest, too. I did some research about Tiger Airways and most of them were not good (old bumpy seats, no entertainment, frequent delays, cancelled flights). Since it was only going to be a 1 hour 35 minute flight (and cheapest!) I went ahead and booked. It was an uneventful flight. No frills. Just 1 hour 35 minutes. It was good that the plane wasn’t full so I was able to hog the seat beside me.

9. Walking and Sightseeing! – Another great way of enjoying and savoring Melbourne is by walking. With a handy camera and a pair of good shoes, you can actually walk around and see what Melbourne has to offer. From quaint book shops to pastry and coffee shops that you’ll otherwise will not notice if you’re on board a bus.

10. Take pictures, lots of pictures! Melbourne is one city with great architecture! I appreciated its Victorian era architecture since it is not everywhere and everyday that I see this in Manila. It’s so old looking yet so elegant. It’s like walking in the late 19^th century.