:: It’s Melbourne baby! ::

Melbourne offers a different vibe as compared to Sydney. This city will mesmerize you with its magical charm and never-ending beauty. Well, a little like London I would say but it is in Australia.

LET’S FLY

Full service airlines may be your choice to fly direct to Melbourne. Regional carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, and Malaysia Airlines do offer daily flights to the capital of Victoria. If you are traveling from Sydney, then you can either choose to fly with Qantas, Tiger Airways, Jetstar or newly rebranded Virgin Australia. The connections are countless starting from the wee hours to almost midnight, kind of like a shuttle service between the two capitals, that is almost one flight in every 40 minutes. Alternatively, if you are on budget then AirAsiaX offers a one-stop service (through KL) from Jakarta to Melbourne (that is if you don’t mind arriving at 11.30pm!)

LET’S GO TO THE CITY

Melbourne has two airports, one is called Tullamarine and the other is Avalon. Make sure that your flight is landed at Tullamarine as it has a better transportation option as compared to the other one. My pick to the city was SKYBUS, the fastest and the most convenient transfer to town. One way adult ticket costs you at AUD17, however for return ticket costs you AUD28. This shuttle bus runs everyday including Sunday and public holiday. Here is the deal, it takes you to the bus port where you would be delivered to your respective hotel by a minibus (and that is inclusive in your ticket).

LET’S STAY

Melbourne’s CBD would be in a square of  Collin’s Street, Bourke Street and somewhere there. It is very easy to navigate. For your convenience you can book yourself in any hotels within this proximity and you are right in the heart of CBD. I was staying at Grand Hyatt Melbourne (recently refurbished and renovated!) at 123 Collins Street and everything is within walking distance. Westin Melbourne is another choice that is located nearer to the iconic Flinder’s Station. Other than those, the city itself offers a numerous accommodation choices depending on your budget and your preferred location.

LET’S EAT

My first destination in Melbourne is to have lunch at NOBU in Crown Tower. Its signature dish by Nobu Matsushita ‘black cod in miso’ would make you beg for more. Have your lunch here when they offer lunch set and you would have a little bit of everything in that lunch box. Trust me it should satisfy your hunger (Bento box with black cod costs AUD45). Along the way from Collins Street to Crown Tower there are lots of cafes, restaurants, for sure something for everyone.

LET’S SHOP

International brands and local brands are everywhere, get lost yourself in the city (and practically you won’t be lost anyway!).

LET’S IMAGINE

and start to book your ticket now!

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:: So so Sydney ::

The charm and beauty of this city will make you beg for more or even linger for a little longer. Sydney it is! Located in the Eastern coast of this kangaroo continent, Sydney has becoming much more like melting pot simply because you would find everybody from everywhere here.

LET’S FLY

Numerous connections are offered between JAKARTA and SYDNEY. One can opt to direct service by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, despite its weird timing (arriving in Sydney by mid-morning) maybe would give you a good chance to just in time for check-in. If you want to splurge a bit more then why not fly with Singapore Airlines or Qantas. Please note that Qantas uses its budget carrier for JAKARTA-SINGAPORE service before continuing its journey to Sydney (oh yes, with Qantas of course!). Other than that, the good news is SCOOT will play its luck to the continent with merely SGD168 from SINGAPORE to SYDNEY one way; or even you can choose AirAsia if you do not mind transiting in KLIA before flying to Sydney.

LET’S GO TO THE CITY

Upon arrival in Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, you can take the AirportLink which will take you all the way to town in about 20 mins. 1 adult ticket would cost AUD15 one way. Hop off in Town Hall or Central and you are right in the middle of the city. Find your way is easy with the city’s public transport.

LET’S STAY

If you plan to stay a bit longer in the capital, try to search for serviced apartments such as Meriton, Medina or even Fraser Residence. Normally the unit would be equipped with all basic necessities, including washing machine, dish washer, cooking utensils plus laundry drier. Advance booking translates to cheaper rate for the whole stay (starts from AUD145 nett for studio apartment in Meriton). Other than that, various hotels with various gradings are also available throughout the CBD and beyond, but again transport makes things easy to go and hop.

LET’S EAT

Sydney offers all kind of cuisines, ranging from Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Modern Australia and so on. Sushi has made its trend here, seems being well accepted by the locals. Believe it or not, frozen yoghurt has also sets its footprint in the capital with long queue over hours. The tips is to order one or two dishes first, see if they are enough for everybody, yes, I am talking about HUGE portion here. Don’t forget to try the local pie chain and the cupcakes too.

LET’S WINE

Book yourself for a winery tour, lunch and wine tasting are inclusive. Learn how to do a proper wine testing from the experts, see how the good wine is produced and last but not least drink responsibly! Some wines are only being sold in Australia and not meant for exported to other countries.

LET’S IMAGINE

and start to book your ticket now!!

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:: Adhikarya Dewangga ::

The coverage by Good Housekeeping magazine April edition

 

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:: Adhikarya Dewangga ::

The coverage by HERWORLD magazine April edition

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