Wandering Fel

Showing posts with label Australia Trip. Show all posts

Melbourne is such a fine city and I am really quite happy with my hotel's location which is just a tram ride away from the city centre of Melbourne. Oh right, how does Melbournian do their travelling by public transport? It seems that the main transportation used in the city is the tram. However, if you come from Sydney, you would need to buy another type of travel card because you will not be able to use your Opal Card in Melbourne. The reusable travel card which is valid in Melbourne is called Myki and you can use the card for taking trains, buses and trams in the city. You can buy and top up your Myki at any convenience stores in the city (we topped up at 7-11 along Elizabeth Street).

Once we have gotten our Myki, it's time to explore the city. I wanted to check out the famous Flinders Street Station but in order to reach that station, it seems that I have to pass through the city centre of Melbourne. While we could take the tram for free since the city centre of Melbourne is a Free Tram Zone (FTZ), Lee and I decided to walk instead because we could do sightseeing in a more chillaxing vibe this way. The first landmark that we passed is the Queen Victoria Market. The market was already closed though because it's Sunday and the market closes earlier on Sunday at 3PM. Sadz. Another time then, my Queen.

13D Australia Summer Trip: Flinders Street Station, Melbourne

While the market was closed, a lot of people were still chilling at the cafes on Elizabeth Street. It seems that some cafes open until 5PM-ish in Melbourne. Elizabeth Street is one of the main streets in the central business district of Melbourne and the street is famous for its retail shopping and cafes. Other then the Queen Victoria Market, the street is also connected with key shopping and tourist destinations such as Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne's GPO, and Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.

Elizabeth Street in the city of Melbourne Australia

As the weather is so hot, I took a shortcut at somewhere along Little Bourke Street and Little Collins Street and was transported immediately to the Royal Arcade, a historic shopping arcade in Melbourne's CBD. This is the oldest surviving arcade in Australian and it is known for its elegant light-fitted interior.

The Royal Arcade in Melbourne CBD Australia

There are so many clocks inside the Royal Arcade but ironically instead of the famous one, we only took picture of this clock. I suppose more researches are needed to be done if you really want to explore one place in detail. If you have the chance to visit the Royal Arcade, you may be interested in checking out their Gaunt's Clock which is guarded by Gog and Magog. Not very sure on the exact reason of why Gog and Magog are selected as "timekeepers" for a special clock in the Royal Arcade because as far as I'm aware, Gog and Magog are not exactly nice fellas in the Bible story. They were gonna invade the Israelites with their armies, I think.

Clock in the Royal Arcade Melbourne Australia

There is a gallery of the Art of Dr. Seuss inside the Royal Arcade. But unfortunately, it was already closed by the time I found out where it is located. You can see the paintings from "The Secret Art Collection", "The Unorthodox Taxidermy Sculpture" and the "Illustration Art". After all, Dr. Seuss is famous for its quirky quotes such as "If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good." I hope he's not referring to some drugs though.

The Art of Dr. Seuss at the Royal Arcade Melbourne

Right outside Little Collins Street, you can finally see the oldest railway station in Australia, Flinders Street Station. The station was used to be Melbourne's favourite meeting place and the locals even had a catchphrase for it "meet me under the clocks". There are a lot of takeaway stands in the concourse level such as sushi, hotdog, donuts and even newspaper kiosk. Meanwhile, the upper floors of the train station is used to house a library, gym and a lecture hall, later used as a ballroom.

Flinders Street Station at Melbourne Australia

The unique yellow facade and the green dome of Flinders Street Station has often made into a lot of postcards of Melbourne because after all, it's one of the symbol of the city of Melbourne. If you ever need an internet connection, you can tap on the station's free wi-fi which is accessible on the station concourse and from every platform.

Dome of Flinders Street Station at Melbourne

There are so many good restaurants in Sydney but it seems that whenever we are meeting our friends here, all of them jointly rave about the wonderful ribs at Hurricane's Grill. One of my friends say her experience there was so good up to the point she came back to Hurricane's to have another go at their ribs. Boosted by the rave review and our hungry stomach after conquering 6km of Sydney Coastal Walk, we made our way to Roscoe Street in Bondi, where Hurricane's Grill and Bar is located. The restaurant was pretty deserted around 5.30PM on a Friday evening with only 2 other tables occupied besides us but I suppose that's because 5.30PM is way way way early for dinner even for Australian standard.

13D Australia Summer Trip: Hurricane's Grill and Bar Bondi, Sydney

Hurricane's Grill and Bar is not a new steakhouse on the block. It has been serving customers since 1995 and it seems to be a popular venue for people to experience the lively and laid back Bondi vibe (with good meal, yumz!). Hurricane's Grill and Bar offers a variety of meat dishes, chicken, burgers and seafood but it's famous for its flame grilled steaks and ribs. Its premium steaks range from T-Bone (AUD 37 for 400g/ AUD 55 for 650g), rib-eye (AUD 55 for 500g/ AUD 38 for 350g), and Sirloin (AUD 30 for 200g). If you are looking for non-beef, Hurricane's Grill offers BBQ chicken (AUD 23 for half/ AUD 31 for whole), lamb cutlets (AUD 42), and seafood platter consists of lobster, calamari, mussels, prawns, octopus, scallops, oysters and fish (AUD 190).

Hurricane's Grill Bondi Beach Sydney Australia

We were so hungry after walking through Bondi to Bronte coastal walk and we were ready for some meat to uhh, gain back the burned calories. For a starter, we ordered the dish that cannot and should not go wrong, fried calamari (AUD 18). The fried calamari is seved with tartare sauce. The calamary is literally awesome - lightly breaded, fresh and crispy.

Fried calamari from Hurricane's Grill Bondi Beach Sydney

If you cannot decide on which steak or ribs to order, you may want to go for the combo platter. Back then, a combo platter of one steak and one ribs are available for the price of AUD 60 or AUD 65 (I could no longer find this combo in the website but you can probably find in the offline menu at the restaurant). Since the waitress has informed us that it may take a bit long for the steak and ribs to be grilled, we ordered ciders to keep us occupied in the mean time. The Monteith's Crushed Pear Cider (AUD 10) and Magners' Apple Cider (AUD 10) refreshed both of us after the 6km sweaty walk beside the ocean. Cheers, mate!

Pear and apple ciders from Hurricane's Grill and Bar Bondi Beach

Finally, the steak and ribs combo is here. Size-wise, the steak seems pretty minuscule compared to that thick slab of ribs. The ribs really taste so good. It's the best ribs that I have eaten so far in my life, being so tender and sweetly huge. The steak is not so bad too but the main highlight of our dinner in Hurricane's Grill gotta be the ribs. We could not choose other side dish because only fries will be served as the accompaniment for the steak and ribs combo. The combo is good enough for two people so if you are not a super heavy eater, let's adopt the concept "sharing is caring" here.

Steak and ribs combo from Hurricane's Grill and Bar Bondi Beach

Hurricane's Grill Bondi Beach's full address:

130 Roscoe St, Bondi Beach

Sydney, Australia

Opening hours:

Daily 12:00pm - 10:30pm

Two of my guy friends are currently enjoying their yolo/solo trip to Australia and it kinda makes me reminiscing about my last travel to this remote country. Well, technically Australia is not that remote if your starting point in Singapore but if your starting point is let's say, USA, then Australia can be considered very far. I went to Australia during summer and managed to visit three cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns within 13 days. I took a flight with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney and to my dismay, the in-flight entertainment did not work that night and I had to endure the 7 hours flight trying to sleep (I am a bad sleeper on the plane, really). The airline compensated us by giving us free travel adaptor (which turns out to be very useful during our trip later on) when we arrived in Sydney.

Every trip starts with the international airport of that particular country. I know that there is this excitement that you feel to get out there and go for your adventure once you have done with the immigration and baggage collection stuff, but there are two matters to do in the airport that may help you a great deal in your adventure ahead.

1. Data plan

First thing first, we definitelly need data (gone is the day we use the good ol' map) to communicate with our Airbnb host, find our way by using Google Map, etc. So your first stop in Sydney International Airport is gotta be Optus booth.

13D Australia Summer Trip: Airport - Hyde Park, Sydney

Optus is one of the mobile data providers in Sydney and the best thing about Optus is that they offer 500MB of data a day at the price of AUD 2/ day. This is good enough for browsing and using Google Map and I did not really use my data to stream movie or video. In addition, I used wifi provided at Airbnb accommodation so 500MB of data per day is pretty sufficient in my opinion.

Optus data plan for tourist in Australia

2. Opal Card

The second thing that you may want to get in the airport is Opal Card, which allows you take any kind of public transportation in Sydney such as train and bus including Sydney's Airport Train (which is cheaper than taking cab). Opal cards are free smartcard tickets you keep and reuse (just like Singapore version of EZlink or Hong Kong version of Octopus Card). You just need to add value to the cards and then tap on and off to pay your fares on trains, buses, ferries and light rail. You can get Opal cards from ticket windows at the Domestic Airport and International Airport stations. For top up, you can do it at one of 2,000 Opal retailers, plus top up machines located throughout the Opal network (e.g. convenience stores).

Alright, once we are done with the above, we took our cab (did not feel like dragging our luggage to the train and all the way to our airbnb accommodation) to Surry Hills, where we have booked our accommodation for the first 2 nights with Airbnb. This was actually our first time booking Airbnb and hence, the slight nervousness. When we alighted from the cab, it seems that we have arrived at something which looks like a deserted office building.

Airbnb accommodation in Surry Hills Sydney Australia

Even though we had our doubt, the studio room which is offered in the Airbnb's listing seems to be pretty similar to the picture. The bed even show the same bedsheet and that furry red pillow. Turns out Scott (the Airbnb's owner) use the same bedsheet for all his beds in his properties. Since the bedsheet is pretty much distinguishable, you can find Scott's properties listing in Airbnb pretty easy I suppose. He was quite nice and even gave us a few suggestion on where is the nearest convenience store and ideas on what to do in Sydney. One thing about staying in Airbnb's accommodation is that you have to keep the place clean for your own comfort because there is not housekeeping service available for this kind of accommodation (although I heard from my friend that some of the listings in South Korea provide housekeeping service on alternate days).

Once Scott was done explaining to us on how to operate some of his gadgets in his room like aircon, TV and water heater, we went out to explore the city. We note that apparently you are allowed to stick your advert on a lighting pole. This is not so gonna happen in Singapore, I think.

Our first destination for the day is the oldest public park in Australia, Hyde Park. The rectangular park was named after the original Hyde Park in London. The park is quite big with Park Street stretching in the middle dividing it to the northern and southern section. It seems to be a popular walking/ jogging spot for tourists and locals alike. The park is also house for a lot of historical monuments such as this artillery statue. War-related history seems to be a popular theme for a park in every country.

We visited the park around 3PM to 4PM on a Friday afternoon and the weather was crazy hot that day. Probably that explained on why there were not many people in sight. We heard that Sydney has never reached 33 degrees celcius before in late February (when we visited the country) so I guess global warming is really a huge threat to the world. Yikes. You should get your sunblock and your sunnies ready because the sun in Australia has a pretty high UV index and that's definitely not a good news for your skin. There are many activities held in the park such as Sydney Festival, Australia Day, ANZAC Day and the Food and Wine Fair. Too bad we did not really have enough time to explore the events that day.

Hyde Park on a summer day in Sydney Australia

The northern section of Hyde Park features the iconic Archibald Fountain and various theme gardens including Sandringham and Nagoya Gardens while at Hyde Park's southern end, we saw the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) War Memorial. The memorial is erected to commemorate those soldiers who participated in the World War I. The Lake of Reflections is situated right behind the memorial but it was under renovation when we visited the park. Oh well.

Hyde Park is situated at Elizabeth Street which is quite near to Surry Hills area and it basically opens 24 hours but please note that the park will be kinda silent at night because as we all know, life in Sydney does not really goes beyond 9PM with the exception for certain areas like Chinatown and well, maybe Red Light District (which I think you should avoid for your own safety, really).

During our stay at the second airbnb accommodation in Sydney, we managed to explore the neighbourhood of Kirribilli. Kirribilli is one of the suburbs in Sydney and judging from how the neighbourhood looks like, it seems to be one of the premier suburbs of Sydney (direct view of Sydney Opera House for goodness sake). Since Australia is well known for its breakfast habit, we explored the neighbourhood to find a cozy place to start the day and that's when we stumbled into Axil Coffee Co.

13D12N Australia Trip: Axil Coffee Co, Kirribilli Sydney

Axil Coffee Co has been described in TimeOut as a cafe with views that rival the prime minister's. We were kinda having doubt on this but as soon as we entered the cafe, all doubts are gone. Curious? I'll post the picture of the view at the end of the post. Hehe.

At this point of my journey, I don't feel like drinking coffee anymore and hence, replacing my usual latte order with a jar of fresh watermelon juice.

Watermelon juice at Axil Coffee Co, Kirribilli Sydney

My friend stuck to her usual caffeine fix, the latte and she said that Australian coffee never disappoints her. Glad to hear that I suppose, but I'm pretty much happy with my supposedly-healthier watermelon juice. =P

Latte and watermelon juice at Axil Coffee Co Kirribilli Sydney

If you ask me to describe the food served at Axil Coffee Co with one word, it's pretty. My Friend's rhubarb, apple and greek yoghurt sourdough looks oh-so-pretty on the palate even though this dish is kinda too healthy for her taste. She did not even tough her rhubarb at all. LOL.

Apple, Rhubarb and Yoghurt Sourdough at Axil Coffee Co Kirribilli Sydney

Even though my order may not be as pretty as the combination of apple and rhubarb in the above picture, taste-wise I prefer this big banana bread. The nuts and cream serve on top of the banana bread brings the dish to another level. The size may be too big for me but I suppose this size suits Australian just nice? Haha. If you are not a big eater, I suggest you share the food at Axil Coffee Co.

Banana Bread at Axil Coffee Co Kirribilli Sydney

Oh right, before you left the cafe, don't forget to take a peek outside the window to see that million-dollar-prime-minister's-view. Does it meet your expectation?

Kirribilli Ocean View at Sydney Australia

If it does not, you may want to start aiming to be the next PM. LOL.

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Wandering Fel

13D Australia Summer Trip: Flinders Street Station, Melbourne

13D Australia Summer Trip: Hurricane's Grill and Bar Bondi Beach, Sydney

13D Australia Summer Trip: Airport - Hyde Park, Sydney

13D12N Australia Trip: The Art of the Brick DC Comics, Powerhouse Museum (Part 2)

13D12N Australia Trip: The Art of the Brick DC Comics, Powerhouse Museum (Part 1)

13D12N Australia Trip: Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour (part 2)

13D12N Australia Trip: Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour (part 1)

13D12N Australia Trip: Axil Coffee Co, Kirribilli Sydney