Hey, how’s it going Internet? Aliff here. I’m back for some more stories from the land down under. I just finished my study in December 2014. I’m unemployed, bored and had some leftover money from my scholarship that I saved. I really liked my time in Australia during my last visit. So, I booked a ticket to Melbourne (one-way) and back from Sydney (next episode!). This time, I went there in March so it’s about Autumn if I recall correctly. No need for winter jackets. Just a T-shirt and maybe a shirt and a hoodie if you’re a bit chilly. The sun is still up and hot so the temperature was just fine bundled with the breezy Autumn wind. The temperature range between 15 degrees Celcius to 25 degrees Celcius. Just nice if you ask me.

I arrived sometime before dawn. It was freezing at the airport. I waited for the 1st train in the prayer room at the airport. I met a Malaysian student who was waiting for his flight to Brisbane. We talked for a bit and he gave me some useful tips on what food I can buy from the convenience store. I also asked for some recommendation for places to visit. I took the first bus shuttle from the airport to the city centre. From there, I took a train to my Airbnb. It was an apartment in Edith Street, Caulfield North. The host Des was a friendly guy but I seldom got to talk to him due to his work schedule.

First up on the itinerary (I didn’t really have one, it was more of a YOLO kind of solo backpacker style), was the classic Flinders Street Station. It was huge and it connected most of the major trains there.

I ventured around Melbourne’s CBD on foot and had my lunch at Lord of the Fries. (They have a Muslim friendly veggie burger. It was quite scrumptious) I went up the infamous Eureka Skydeck. The building towering over Melbourne at 88 floors only took about 38seconds to reach the top! The view was magnificent! You could have a 360 degrees view of Melbourne.

Later, I went on a free tram ride (Yes, you read that right. Free within the CBD radius) to Melbourne’s Harbour Town. The waterfront view was spectacular. There were loads of private boats, cruises as well as restaurants both by the waterfront and on the water itself! From there, I made my way back to the CBD on foot. I stumbled upon Melbourne Fashion Festival (I didn’t get in as I didn’t have any tickets) and several pop up stores selling or even fixing your jeans outside the main hall. I also passed by the famous Etihad Stadium there where coincidentally, this was during the time of the World Cricket tournament. I saw some players walking around during their free time.

A bit later in the afternoon, I was walking along to find a good spot for dinner. I was recommended to go to an Indonesian restaurant in the CBD. Before reaching Blok M (the name of the restaurant), I came across a huge old looking building. I thought it was something historically related but it turned out to be an H&M building (probably the biggest one I had seen up to that point at least). The waitress at Blok M was pretty cute though (just FYI). After dinner, I strolled around Federation Square (where Flinders Street Station was) and chill around with the locals watching the cricket tournament on the big screen.

I originally planned to go to Queen Victoria’s Market on my second day in Melbourne. However, I was invited by Auntie Fenny (a friend of my mom) to spend the day with her and her 3 daughters. That was a huge surprise. She picked me up at my Airbnb and we went to Dandenong Market. It’s a bit far out of the way and probably better if you’re driving. The area is more of a suburb rather than like the main city itself. Dandenong is about 40 minutes drive from Melbourne’s CBD if I recall correctly. As per other typical markets, you can find a lot of fresh produce and the lot over there. Auntie Fenny bought a whole box (I think it’s like 10kg?) of grapes which we later had some at her house (and in the car). I had a seafood paella there which was amazing (my first paella, lol). She also treated me (and her daughters, aka my surrogate sisters there lol) to coffee at Gloria Jeans. I never really go to Gloria Jeans back home as it’s farther away (I had to go to Penang as that’s the closest one, about 45~50 km away).

We dropped by Auntie Fenny’s house for a bit before continuing our road trip.  Their housing areas are similar to Putrajaya’s terrace/semi-d grounded houses. There were no gates or fences. It would be quite difficult to pull back in Malaysia as theft and housebreaking are still happening on a daily basis. Our first stop on this part of the journey was Puffing Billy Railway. A classical, traditional and well-preserved steam-operated train and railway area. You could opt the dine on the train option if you reserved in advance. As we arrived a bit late for the tour, I only managed to take some photos with the passengers disembarking from the train (where I pretended like I was one of those disembarking passengers, lol). On our way to Brighton Beach, we made a pitstop at Grant’s Picnic Grounds to feed the birds and breathe some fresh air.

We reached Brighton Beach just in time to watch the sunset. Brighton Beach is made popular with the colourful wooden cabin (which are actually changing rooms). I saw several brides and their grooms taking their wedding photos at the beach. Some avid photographers also lugged around their equipment to take the photos of the sunset at Brighton Beach. We just chatted and took photos there as it wasn’t a great idea to swim that late in the evening (the water was almost ice-cold as the temperature was dipping at that time of day). I may not be the best of at taking photos (I really suck, it’s not a humble statement), but here are some from my trusted iPhone 5s.

We head out for dinner at an Italian restaurant for some seafood pasta meal. It was definitely lip-smacking. Unfortunately, my battery died and I didn’t take any photos. (Lesson learnt is that always remember to bring your power bank!) Auntie Fenny sent me back to my Airbnb and thus I had to bid adieu to my sort of surrogate family while I was in Melbourne.

I didn’t do much on my last day in Melbourne except a lot of walking. I dropped at the wrong stop and had to walk quite a bit to my next destination. I went to St Kilda! The beach or rather pier area here was much more lively compared to Brighton. It was more of a commercialised area with lots of shops and boutiques. Definitely a lot of cafes and eateries too. After walking around and lunch, I had to go back and pack for my train to Sydney later in the afternoon. I bid farewell to Melbourne on a happy note and hopefully will be able to visit this awesome city again in the future.

And there you have it, folks. My very much procrastinated post on my Melbourne adventure. Up next, Sydney! Until next time, stay awesome!