Recap of My 9D8N Australia Sydney, Brisbane & Gold Coast Travelogues

SUMMARY OF MY TRAVELOGUES

Day 1: 11th October 2014
Touched down Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport and explored around Sydney Town.
- Chinatown
- Paddy's Market
- Darling Harbour
- Harbour Bridge
- Sydney Opera House
(Post here)
Stay: Malaysia Hall Sydney  

Day 2: 12th October 2014
Sydney - Bondi Beach, Fish Market and Queen Victoria Building (Post here)

Day 3: 13th October 2014
Blue Mountain (Echo Point, Three Sisters & Scenic World) - Post here 

Day 4: 14th October 2014
From Sydney To Brisbane And Its Attractions In CBD & South Bank (Post here)
- Queen Street Mall
- Brisbane City Hall & King George Square
- Albert Street Uniting Church
- Wheel of Brisbane
- South Bank Grand Arbour
Stay: Riverside Hotel South Bank

Day 5: 15th October 2014
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary of Brisbane

Day 6: 16th October 2014
From Brisbane To Gold Coast And Harbour Town
Stay: Zenith Ocean Front Apartment

Day 7: 17th October 2014
Warner Bros. Movie World of Gold Coast

Day 8: 18th October 2014
Sea World of Gold Coast

Day 9: 19th October 2014
Surfers Paradise And Leaving Gold Coast Airport

Extra Posts:

• G'Day Sydney
• From Sydney, We Head To Brisbane
• Gold Coast, The Sunshine State

MY SHOPPING HAUL FROM AUSTRALIA

#1: All these I bought from Paddy's Market in Sydney. 

#2: Top and dresses for my mom, brothers and myself.

#3: A collection of magnets, keychain, coaster, card holder. 

#4: Baggage tags, keychains, magnets and mousepad got these from Warner Bros. Movie World. 

#5: Can't leave Australia without buying their local snacks. Bought from Coles Supermarket in Gold Coast.

TOTAL DAMAGES OF MY TRIP

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	AU$	RM
Airfare KL - Sydney via AirAsia X Gold Coast – KL via AirAsia X Sydney – Brisbane via JetStar Accommodations Malaysia Hall Sydney – 3 nights Add: Cleaning fee Riverside Hotel South Bank – 2nights Zenith Ocean Front Apartment – 3 nights Transportation Sydney - My Multi 3 Airport Rail Link to Sydney From Sydney to Airport AirRail Train Brisbane to Gold Coast Go Card – Refundable deposit Reload Go Card Entrance Fee Sydney – Scenic World Brisbane – Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Add: Koala cuddling Wheel of Brisbane VIP Pass for Movie World & Sea World Food and drinks In Sydney In Brisbane In Gold Coast Others Visa Souvenirs & shopping haul Wiyo Pocket WiFi	- - 74.50 60.00 15.00 - - 63.00 12.60 16.40 21.70 10.00 32.00 35.00 29.70 16.00 8.50 99.99 71.35 44.80 97.70 - 402.50 -	343 625 229 181 45 269 463 190 38 49 65 30 97 106 92 48 26 307 215 135 295 20 1,214 77
TOTAL (RM)		5,159

Exchange Rate: AU$1 = RM3.02 as at October 2014



Thanks to my best travel buddies for the fun, joy and happiness throughout the trip. 

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Surfers Paradise & Leaving To Gold Coast Airport

Throughout our three days in Gold Coast, we spent most of our times in Surfers Paradise. One of the main reasons is because we were staying nearby too - so it's quite convenient and easy to reach for us. Each time after we came back from theme parks like Warner Bros. Movie World and Sea World, we will definitely go and hang around Surfers Paradise first before heading back to our apartment. 

#1: Peace to Surfers Paradise

The thing you should do in Surfers Paradise is none other than hitting its golden beaches. Although you don't know how to swim or even surfing, you still can go there relax, laid-back and do people-watching. And if you happen to be in Gold Coast on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, there will be more than 100 beachfront market stalls you can visit to. 

#2: Must pose with the iconic Surfers Paradise sign 

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Australia Day 8: Gold Coast - Sea World

<< Previous Post: Australia Day 7 - Warner Bros. Movie World

So yesterday we had a day filled with fun and excitement at Warner Bros. Movie World and as for our third day in Gold Coast, our agenda is to get up close and personal with an amazing array of marine life at Sea World.

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Australia Day 7: Gold Coast - Warner Bros. Movie World

<< Previous Post: Australia Day 6 - From Brisbane To Gold Coast & Harbour Town

Gold Coast has always been a favourite holiday destination for those looking for relaxed and laid-back beachside escape. So, no surprise to see quite number of people hitting the beach and some even went for surfing. However if beach is not your thing, fret not cause Gold Coast offers more than you can ever expected. One of them is the thrilling theme parks. 

Being the theme park capital of Australia, Gold Coast is a home to the biggest collection thrill rides and amusement parks that cater for all age groups. But due to time constraints, we can only pick two of theme parks for visit; Warner Bros. Movie World and Sea World. 

So on our second day in Gold Coast, we head on to Warner Bros. Movie World first, whereas for Sea World we save for the second day.

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Australia Day 6: From Brisbane To Gold Coast & Harbour Town

I don't know what got into me. I blogged about my 2014 trip to Australia previously but then, I stop halfway. And when I browse through my last post regarding this travelogue, it was on 3rd July 2017 - gosh, that's like more than 2 years ago. It's funny how I able to complete my 2017 Australia travelogue but not this one. 

Honestly speaking, I was pretty dilemma whether should I continue with my super long backdated travelogues especially those between 2014 to 2016, or just proceed to blog with trip I went recently like Bangkok and Taiwan? But to think of it, this is the platform or space for me to share my own experiences and adventures. It serves like a diary for me, and that's the reason why I named my blog "Journal". In addition, I can browse through all my travel photos at anytime and anywhere I want. So after the long consideration, I decided to clear all my backlog travelogues as soon as possible before my memories for all these trips slowly fade away from my brain which unable to store plenty of things. 

Continue from here.

Heading To Gold Coast From Brisbane

After Sydney and Brisbane, we moved on to the last leg of this trip, Gold Coast. From Brisbane, we took train which took approximately 70 minutes from South Brisbane Station (cause we stayed nearby) to Nerang Station of Gold Coast. The trains run half hourly from 6am to midnight, 7 days per week. Upon arriving at the station, we then continued by taking bus #740 heading to Surfers Paradise, the most commercialised tourist suburb with the highest concentration of accommodations and attractions. 

#1: Train from South Brisbane Station to Nerang Station of Gold Coast. Then continue by taking bus no.740 to Surfers Paradise. 

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Summary of My 9D8N Australia Melbourne & Sydney (2017) Travel Expenses & Travelogues

At last, I managed to complete another of my backlog travelogue - Australia (2017): Melbourne & Sydney.  I know it took me more than a year to blog about this but then, it's better late than nothing, right. 

MY TRAVEL EXPENSES

For this round, I began with sharing my travel expenses breakdown first. For your information, this is my favourite part to share. Once an accountant, always an accountant. I can conclude that almost everything within our budget; like I budget our stay for RM150 and below per night, food allocation RM100 per day but however, there's one thing for sure which it's hard for me to control is spending for shopping. I tend to buy more supplements and vitamins compare to my previous trips to Australia.

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	AU$	RM
Airfares KUL – Melbourne via AirAsia Sydney – KUL via AirAsia Add: Luggage Melbourne – Sydney via Jetstar Accommodation Arrow on Swanston (Melbourne) – 3 nights Carisbrook Cottage  – 1 night Lido Suites Hotel (Sydney) – 4 nights Melbourne Car Rental Apex Car Rental Fuel & parking Searoad Ferries Transportation Within City Taxi & Uber around Melbourne Myki Melbourne Taxi around Sydney Opal Card Sydney Admission Fees Puffing Billy Scenic World Featherdale Wildlife Park Koala Encounter Food & Beverages Melbourne Sydney Others Australia ETA Visa Optus Sim Card 3S - Souvenirs, supplements & snacks	- - - - - - - - - - 24.25 - 16.00 - 40.00 54.00 39.00 31.00 20.00 170.00 100.00 - 20.00 354.00	301 523 192 347 410 132 528 78 68 80 130 52 102 130 176 128 102 65 555 327 25 65 1,155
TOTAL (RM)		5,671

Exchange Rate:
AUD1 = RM3.26 as at September 2017

MY TRAVEL HAUL
As for the things I bought throughout my trip:


#1: Chocolates, biscuits, coffee, tea and more food


#2: Perfumes, supplements and vitamins

#3: Caps and tissue holder from Paddy's Market of Sydney and as for hoodie, it bought from Queen Victoria Market of Melbourne. 

#4: Sweater and body lotion from Big Q department store

SUMMARY OF MY TRAVELOGUE 

Day 1: 20th May 2017
Touched down Melbourne Tullmarine Airport and wandered around Melbourne city

Day 2: 21st May 2017
Puffing Billy

Day 3: 22nd May 2017
Road trip to Great Ocean Road

Day 4: 23rd May 2017
Continue to Mornington Peninsula

Day 5: 24th May 2017
Leaving Melbourne to Sydney 

Day 6: 25th May 2017
Blue Mountains - The Three Sisters & Scenic World

Day 7: 26th May 2017

• Sydney City Tour
• Vivid Sydney Festival

Day 8: 27th May 2017
Featherdale Wildlife Park

Day 9: 28th May 2017
Leaving Australia

Extra Post:

• Desserts & Cafes in Melbourne 

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2017 Australia: Vivid Sydney Festival

What's the main reason behind causing me to visit Sydney for the third time? 

Simple - it's all because of Vivid Sydney Festival. It's Australia's largest event held annually which involving lights, music, colours and ideas. As the sun sets beyond the horizon, the whole city of Sydney gets drenched in colourful light installations and projections for more than three weeks between end of May to early of June. 

That's explain why I purposely booked my ticket to visit Australia end of May last year solely to witness myself of this creative and most-awaited lighting festivals. Finally another thing checked off from my bucket list. 

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2017 Australia: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney

If you are planning to visit Sydney and intending to get up close and personal with Australian wildlife, there are few choices to cater your need and preference such as Taronga Zoo, Wild Life Sydney and Featherdale Wildlife Park. After read through all the comments and feedbacks, I decided to go ahead with my choice - visit Featherdale Wildlike Park. 

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2017 Australia: From Melbourne to Sydney & Places of Interest in Sydney

Day 1: Landed Melbourne and wandered around Melbourne CBD

Day 2: Riding on the Puffing Billy train 

Day 3: Road-tripping to Great Ocean Road

Day 4: Continue road trip to Mornington Peninsula and return to Melbourne CBD

As for the day 5, right after we had our breakfast in Naughty Boy Cafe, we went back to our apartment in order to pack and get ready to the airport. It's time to hit Sydney, again! Yes, again for the third time. They said the third time is the charm and I'm absolutely agreed on this. Why? I will share more on the next few blog post. 

FROM MELBOURNE TO SYDNEY 
Once again, we hired taxi straight to the airport from our apartment since each of us was carrying huge luggage with us. In case you are not pressed by time, you can consider to travel from Melbourne to Sydney via road by self-drive which takes about 8 to 9 hours, or even by train where the travelling time is around 12 hours. Due to limited of time, my friends and I can only opted to travel via plane. There are four airlines provide services from Melbourne to Sydney directly; Jetstar, Tigerair, Virgin Australia and Qantas. So far, I found Jetstar offers the cheaper deal and we got AU$97 for one way trip from Melbourne to Sydney, including 20kg of baggage allowance.

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2017 Australia - Desserts & Cafes in Melbourne

You know what? A trip with a group of ladies is incomplete without having desserts and cafes hopping. When my girlfriends and I were in Melbourne for four days, we managed to visit at least two lifestyle cafes and even ended our day with desserts right after having satisfying dinner. There's always a room for desserts, like they said! 

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2017 Australia - Road Trip to Great Ocean Road & Mornington Peninsula

On the first day touched down in Melbourne Tullmarine Airport, we wandered around the city and visited places like Queen Victoria Market, State Library of Victoria, Flinders Street Railway Station and ended our night by admiring the graffiti art in Hosier Lane.

As for the second day, we took ride on Puffing Billy - the oldest stream train in Australia and one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world. It was my second time on this train ride and because I blogged about this before, there's no point for me to do it again. You can check out my old post on Puffing Billy, Australia's Favourite Stream Train (here).

Third day, we went breakfast at a cafe which I will blog soon and went back to Arrow on Swanston for check-out. We left our huge luggages and just carried our light and small backpacks. Why? Cause we're heading for road trip - that's the main highlight of my Australia trip. I always wanna do self-drive road trip around Australia cause it's one of my bucket list. Previously when I went Melbourne alone, I signed up local tour operator for Great Ocean Road and Mornington Peninsula trip but I don't feel the excitement and fun during the trip. 

Cut the story short and now let me share which car hire service we booked from. I ended up with Apex Car Rentals Australia mainly for one reason - cheap. In Melbourne, they have two branches; airport and city center along Spencer Street. We went the latter one to pick up our car by taking Uber from our apartment. Only those persons named as authorised drivers are allowed to drive - hence, it's best to remind your friends or family members to bring along passport and valid driving license if you need more than one driver. The minimum age for drivers is 21 years old. Unlike Japan, you don't have to apply International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive around Australia. 

Right after checking the car, start the engine and prepare ourselves for another road adventures!

#1: We rented Hyundai Elantra - compact and comfortable for the four of us. Bear in mind, we don't have huge luggages with us as we placed in the apartment we stayed earlier. 

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2017 Australia - Revisit Melbourne For The Second Time

Last year, I got the chance to visit three of my favourite countries and one of them is Australia. At first, I plan to include Tasmania as part of my itinerary but at the end, I have to scrap this out due to time constraint. How I wish I could have a longer holiday? That's why, I stick with Melbourne and Sydney cause three of my friends who join along for this trip have never been to any of these two cities before. 

#1: Hello Melbourne for the second time

We touched down Melbourne Tullamarine Airport early in the morning. I'm not sure why but somehow I felt like Melbourne doesn't welcome me. Not just once but this is the second time I couldn't get through the immigration clearance smoothly. I was being asked sort of questions by the immigration officer but luckily I always well-prepared with itinerary as I planned everything for this whole trip.  

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