anyway, the flight took slightly over an hour.. and time was fast forward by half an hour.. that's the time difference between Victoria and South Australia.. so we were in Melbourne at about 1310 local time.. there was no bridge leading to the terminal from the plane.. simply because there wasnt much of a terminal to talk about.. Mum was shocked by the Tullamarine Terminal (T4).. i dont blame her because she has been too pampered by Changi Airport! i guess i wasnt shocked like Mum, but it was interesting to know that such a terminal actually exists!
this is the area where we walked in from the tarmac where the plane landed.. see the make-shift toilet/container on the left? Mum was in it when i took this photo! wahaha..
this is the area where passengers pick up their check-in luggages from the conveyor belt.. see the bright sunlight coming through? that's because the area is fenced-up~ yup, FENCE and not walls, okie?
and this is the way out of the terminal! again, just fenced-up.. i was standing at the same spot when i took the above 3 photos.. that was how 'big' T4's Arrival Hall is.. hehez..we walked out of T4 and headed to T3.. found a bench and sat down to eat what we have packed in the morning.. i asked a couple of guys who worked at the airport and they confirmed that the only public transport from the airport to the city is either the shuttle bus or the cab.. and the main shuttle bus operating from the airport is Skybus Super Shuttle.. i must say i wasnt very impressed with their service due to a couple of incidents..
we bought return tickets (A$26 each) and boarded the bus to the city.. never mind that i didnt have a seat for 20mins as the bus was pretty packed.. but the driver of the minibus that we were about to board next was TOTALLY RUDE! when we reached Southern Cross Station Bus Interchange, we have to continue our journey on a minibus so that we can be dropped off at the doorstep of our hotel..
the lady behind the counter asked us to sit down to wait after she has registered me and Mum for City Centre Budget Hotel.. when the first driver called out the names of passengers/hotels, i didnt catch what he said and went to ask him for clarification..
he replied, "You have to wait for your name to be called!" i was taken aback because all i wanted to know was what he has just said.. seeing the shock on my face, he asked, "So where are you going to?" i said the name of the hotel and at this point in time, the other driver of another minibus called out the hotel that i have booked online.. and this RUDE driver goes, "Look! He's calling out for you now!" and shot me a look! I WAS TOTALLY UNIMPRESSED with your employees, SKYBUS SUPER SHUTTLE!!!
anyway, i got up the minibus grumpily.. there were 2 other stops before ours, which was the last stop.. the driver dropped us on a back alley and said, "it's on your right hand side", before driving away.. he did, as a matter of fact, dropped us off at the doorstep (entrance to the hotel was just a door which we missed).. but the back alley looked intimidating and Mum and i immediately went down the lane to the main street.. we actually asked around and went about in a circle before coming back to the same alley where we were dropped off! not believing that we were staying at such a deserted place, we kept doubting our sense of direction.. when we finally got there, i breathed a huge sigh of relief.. it was getting very late, about 4pm in the afternoon and shops closed between 5pm and 6pm since it's a Saturday!
we climbed the stairs to the reception and checked-in to our room.. it looked pretty good, i must say..
there was no bathroom in the room though.. we have to use the one down the corridor.. the hotel is really pretty clean and has a cozy feel to it.. which i liked.. we have a brief look at the rooftop, where the kitchen was.. we both came to the conclusion that it's better not to use the kitchen.. wahaha! also, i asked the lady at the reception and she confirmed that the entrance at the back alley is the front and only entrance! geez..
we left our hand carry bags at the hotel and went out to discover Melbourne! we asked around and finally got our directions right with regards to which tram to take and in which direction.. when we were on the minibus, we past by this street (which i later found out to be Swanston Street) which seemed really happening.. there were heaps of shops and people.. Mum wanted to head there immediately!
we took the City Circle Tram (it's free!) towards Flinders Street Station and Federation Square..
the City Circle Tram..
Flinders Street Station..
we walked down Swanston Street, checking out the shops as we go along.. while looking for Coles, 'Lord of the Fries' caught my attention! Melbourne has quite some interesting shops to offer.. especially those in the little lanes.. which have their own special characters!
we walked past a Krispy Kreme outlet while wondering around and i told Mum the craze about it.. she didnt seemed to understand until i bought her a 'Original Glazed'.. we shared it sitting on a bench by the road while watching the trams, horse carriages and traffic moving along in their hectic manner.. it didnt take past the 2nd bite before Mum was sold! wahaha! she asked me to get another one to share!!! i bought the 'Karamel Drizzle' this time round.. it was still very good but a tad too sweet..
we moved along after Krispy Kreme and came to Swanston Walk Cafe Bar.. their pizza slices were going at A$1.50 each and we bought one to share.. haha.. before long, 6pm came and most retail shops were closing..
we walked back towards the direction of Flinders Street Station and Mum was interested in this Vietnamese Restaurant called Mekong Vietnam.. we went in for dinner because Mum wanted to try!
we ordered a Beef Special to share.. which consist of beef, brisket, beef ball, tendon, tripe, sausage, bone marrow, rice noodles and soup.. it was pretty good.. most of our meals in Melbourne were shared because Mum wanted to try lots of stuff but the servings were too huge for her.. so i ended up being the rubbish bin, sharing whatever she wants to try~ *wink*
by the time we finished with dinner, night has fallen and we continued with our way back to the tram stop that we got off earlier in the evening.. and i saw another interesting 'shop'..
look! Curtin House!
Flinders Street Station at night..
Federation Square at the background with one of Melbourne's trams..
we got a bit lost after getting off the tram that we took back from Flinders Street because i got off a stop earlier.. we were supposed to get off at the Parliament House, which is nearer to our hotel.. instead, we dropped off at City Museum (i thought it was the Parliament House) and i was trying to trace my way back to the hotel in the opposite direction.. Mum pointed out the right way to go after i couldnt find the hotel!!!
what a day! all we did after we got back to the hotel was to shower, lie on bed and watch TV! we also looked through all the brochures that we have collected at the airport for Day Tours.. Mum finally decided on one that she really liked.. i called up the company but all seats were booked and the earliest was Tuesday! but that was the day that we have to fly back to SA! hence, Day Tours were put on hold..
we bought return tickets (A$26 each) and boarded the bus to the city.. never mind that i didnt have a seat for 20mins as the bus was pretty packed.. but the driver of the minibus that we were about to board next was TOTALLY RUDE! when we reached Southern Cross Station Bus Interchange, we have to continue our journey on a minibus so that we can be dropped off at the doorstep of our hotel..
the lady behind the counter asked us to sit down to wait after she has registered me and Mum for City Centre Budget Hotel.. when the first driver called out the names of passengers/hotels, i didnt catch what he said and went to ask him for clarification..
he replied, "You have to wait for your name to be called!" i was taken aback because all i wanted to know was what he has just said.. seeing the shock on my face, he asked, "So where are you going to?" i said the name of the hotel and at this point in time, the other driver of another minibus called out the hotel that i have booked online.. and this RUDE driver goes, "Look! He's calling out for you now!" and shot me a look! I WAS TOTALLY UNIMPRESSED with your employees, SKYBUS SUPER SHUTTLE!!!
anyway, i got up the minibus grumpily.. there were 2 other stops before ours, which was the last stop.. the driver dropped us on a back alley and said, "it's on your right hand side", before driving away.. he did, as a matter of fact, dropped us off at the doorstep (entrance to the hotel was just a door which we missed).. but the back alley looked intimidating and Mum and i immediately went down the lane to the main street.. we actually asked around and went about in a circle before coming back to the same alley where we were dropped off! not believing that we were staying at such a deserted place, we kept doubting our sense of direction.. when we finally got there, i breathed a huge sigh of relief.. it was getting very late, about 4pm in the afternoon and shops closed between 5pm and 6pm since it's a Saturday!
we climbed the stairs to the reception and checked-in to our room.. it looked pretty good, i must say..
there was no bathroom in the room though.. we have to use the one down the corridor.. the hotel is really pretty clean and has a cozy feel to it.. which i liked.. we have a brief look at the rooftop, where the kitchen was.. we both came to the conclusion that it's better not to use the kitchen.. wahaha! also, i asked the lady at the reception and she confirmed that the entrance at the back alley is the front and only entrance! geez..we left our hand carry bags at the hotel and went out to discover Melbourne! we asked around and finally got our directions right with regards to which tram to take and in which direction.. when we were on the minibus, we past by this street (which i later found out to be Swanston Street) which seemed really happening.. there were heaps of shops and people.. Mum wanted to head there immediately!
we took the City Circle Tram (it's free!) towards Flinders Street Station and Federation Square..
the City Circle Tram..
Flinders Street Station..
we walked down Swanston Street, checking out the shops as we go along.. while looking for Coles, 'Lord of the Fries' caught my attention! Melbourne has quite some interesting shops to offer.. especially those in the little lanes.. which have their own special characters!
we walked past a Krispy Kreme outlet while wondering around and i told Mum the craze about it.. she didnt seemed to understand until i bought her a 'Original Glazed'.. we shared it sitting on a bench by the road while watching the trams, horse carriages and traffic moving along in their hectic manner.. it didnt take past the 2nd bite before Mum was sold! wahaha! she asked me to get another one to share!!! i bought the 'Karamel Drizzle' this time round.. it was still very good but a tad too sweet..
we moved along after Krispy Kreme and came to Swanston Walk Cafe Bar.. their pizza slices were going at A$1.50 each and we bought one to share.. haha.. before long, 6pm came and most retail shops were closing..we walked back towards the direction of Flinders Street Station and Mum was interested in this Vietnamese Restaurant called Mekong Vietnam.. we went in for dinner because Mum wanted to try!
we ordered a Beef Special to share.. which consist of beef, brisket, beef ball, tendon, tripe, sausage, bone marrow, rice noodles and soup.. it was pretty good.. most of our meals in Melbourne were shared because Mum wanted to try lots of stuff but the servings were too huge for her.. so i ended up being the rubbish bin, sharing whatever she wants to try~ *wink*by the time we finished with dinner, night has fallen and we continued with our way back to the tram stop that we got off earlier in the evening.. and i saw another interesting 'shop'..
look! Curtin House!when i took this photo, i didnt know that this is one of Melbourne's coolest building.. now i do.. because i googled it! wahaha! there's a cinema on its rooftop!!! how cool is that~ i will go back for this!
St Paul's Cathedral at night..
St Paul's Cathedral at night..my camera didnt do a very good job in capturing it a night..
Flinders Street Station at night..
Federation Square at the background with one of Melbourne's trams..we got a bit lost after getting off the tram that we took back from Flinders Street because i got off a stop earlier.. we were supposed to get off at the Parliament House, which is nearer to our hotel.. instead, we dropped off at City Museum (i thought it was the Parliament House) and i was trying to trace my way back to the hotel in the opposite direction.. Mum pointed out the right way to go after i couldnt find the hotel!!!
what a day! all we did after we got back to the hotel was to shower, lie on bed and watch TV! we also looked through all the brochures that we have collected at the airport for Day Tours.. Mum finally decided on one that she really liked.. i called up the company but all seats were booked and the earliest was Tuesday! but that was the day that we have to fly back to SA! hence, Day Tours were put on hold..
No comments:
Post a Comment