Surviving a Trip to Australia Alone

I mindlessly joined a friend to book a flight to Sydney for August. It was during one of those AirAsia's sales where you get two tickets for the price of one. Australia was one of their chosen destinations. :)

But in truth... nope....

I never thought I'd be going to Australia this year. Like ever! Haha!

It was a last minute impulse decision and I get to pay for the tickets in monthly installments. The tickets costed me RM831 all-in for a two-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. Fortunately, with the monthly installment plan (ha ha!), I get to pursue more pressing financial issues such as buying a local flight ticket from Sydney to Melbourne. Since I'll be going to Australia, why not cover Melbourne as well? Right? So my plan was 3 nights in Melbourne, 1 night on a bus and 2 nights in Sydney. 8 days in total. :)

Thus these are how I survived the expensive Australia (to fit my budget)

1. Couchsurfing

This was the very first thing I thought of before braving this trip. Couchsurfing! I went to search for hosts straight away once my tickets were bought. Sydney proved to be difficult and resulted of me getting more offers from males instead of females (especially from those who live alone in big apartments. SCARY!). So I ended up booking a hostel dorm instead. :(

Melbourne? Well,  I get to stay at a two-room apartment, hosted by Su Ying Oi and her sister at a suburban area just outside of Melbourne. A struggling student, paying off her tuition fees by working two to three jobs per day in mid-town Melbourne, I couldn't help but to adore and love her dedication! :)

Me with Su Ying at Brighton Beach, Melbourne. She's also a solo traveler cum photographer,

2. Drinking water straight from the taps!

Both Sydney and Melbourne sports clean local bathrooms. So all I needed was an empty water bottle and when-ever I'm thirsty or out of water, I'd just fill in my plastic bottle with tap water. Mostly from the public bathrooms! Haha. If not, I'd have to fork out about AUD 3 for a bottled mineral water. That's just too expensive for me!

Free tap water vs. AUD 3.00 bottled water

3. Opted in taking a GOR day tour instead of renting a car

I've researched ways to visit the Great Ocean Road. Some of my twitter friends actually suggested renting a car. But since I'd be traveling alone, I opted a local tour instead, costing me AUD 120. An additional $21 because I wanted a bus with free Wi-Fi on board. =P

My tour guide for GOR. I forgot her name but she loves saying "Woo-Hoo!". Hehe.

All types of day tours from various operators can be made from Melbourne Visitor Center near Federation Square in Melbourne. I booked mine there after browsing through various operators. You could also get free information, do your travel bookings and also buy souvenirs, though it's a bit costly. And it's actually situated underground. Woo-hoo!

4. Use free transport when-ever available

Do mind the time in which the free bus or tram services ends. It doesn't operate until night time. I used the free shuttle bus in Melbourne to get around. And spent most of my time in the bus sight-seeing and only gone down to Victoria's market. Hehehe. 

This is where I first boarded the free Melbourne Visitor Shuttle. Stops can be read here. 

5. Booked all local transportations beforehand in Malaysia and via online.

I booked via Jetstar for an airplane ticket from Sydney to Melbourne (AUD 60++)

Then I booked via Greyhound to book an overnight bus from Melbourne to Sydney. I wanted to try out different ways of transport in Australia. Hehe. (AUD 75++)

My first experience with Jetstars from Sydney to Melbourne. :)

6. Joined a FREE city walking tour in Sydney

I didn't get to pay anything because it turned out I didn't have small change to tip the delightful tour guide. :(

The meeting point was at 10:30 am near the town city hall and a guy in a green t-shirt will greet us. Once a crowd has gathered, we'd follow the guided walking tour of Sydney from there to the rocks and ends at Circular Quay.

I was given this free map at the hostel I stayed in. 

Once I got my bearings straight, I can now roam Sydney at my own leisure. Oh, I also used the free bus shuttle here that goes by the number 555. 

7. Opted a day tour to Blue Mountains

I studied the details of each itineraries of various operators and decided one that allowed me to get close and personal with a real life koala and feed the kangaroos. Everything else seemed to not matter. Hahaha. But since it included the Blue Mountains and a free pick-up from my hostel, I just couldn't resist it anymore.

So with a tour bus to the Blue Mountains, I go! Costs incurred = AUD 109 (AUD 99 if booked online)

The 20 seater bus that I rode on. Luckily it was a small group that day. Only 12 people including me. :)

And thus I end my survival tips in Australia. All ground tours and hostel costs were paid in cash while I was there. I brought only AUD 500 which is deemed a lot by my fellow friend who went to Sydney with me but had a completely different itinerary. Haha. We met only on the last day where I got treated with Kangaroo Burger! Yummmm!!

Till my next post. Happy traveling guys! Will be boarding a plane to Korea in less then two weeks! :)

Getting Crazy at Jember Fashion Carnival 2013

From Jombang and then head back to Surabaya via bus to team up with a few couchsurfers to share car rental, an Avanza, to Jember, just to see a fashion carnival. The total trip took almost 10 hours on the road.

Was it worth it?

Apart from getting to spend a night on a beautiful beach (Papuma as blogged here), I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Picture taken hours later after that spectacular sunrise at Papuma Beach.

We headed to Jember a wee bit after 10 am. Got lost trying to locate the house that belongs to a friend of my Surabaya CS's host. Sadly I forgot his name. But he has a big house and many bathrooms. We took our own sweet time recharging all our electronic devices and taking bathes ( we haven't bath since yesterday morning! hahaha!)

Recharged, bathed, watched some TV, have eaten.... We only came to the carnival's venue just after zuhur. And lo and behold! The crowds that gathered were overwhelming!

I can't see how a parade is going to pass here without being harassed. hehe. 

We actually walked from my friend's house to the roadside above which is situated near the end of the 3.6km route for the catwalk as seen in the picture below - Jl. Gajah Mada. Most of my friends were near the starting point of the catwalk so we met some where in the middle. :)

Not shown in the picture were the many food stalls and walking salesmen selling stuff to the big crowds by the roadsides. They even managed to set up small tables and seats for potential customers. Hehe. So creative!

The routes were closed to specifically allow the models garbed in their costumes to do the 3.6km catwalk! [source]

So all we did was to wait for the models to come.........

... and I was in for a BIG surprise!

I didn't imagine that the costumes would be this BIG! 

Imagine these models walking 3.6KM with a heavy thing on their backs! I was filled with high respect for their sheer dedication in making this carnival successful. And the models were all SMILES despite the weight, pushing crowd and heat from the afternoon sun! ^__^

Thankfully, some models had some help which involves wheels and some pushers. Hehe

I believe he was showing an artistic expression. *thinking*

Some including myself, thought the backs of the models has much more to offer. Haha.

There were several themes of this fashion carnival, each accompanied by a truck with loud audio-speakers and a mixer. So through-out the parade, we'll be hearing loud music. Different according to each theme.

The sound master at his mixer on top of the many trucks that spun past me.

The only theme that I could remember correctly (since it's featured on the official webpage. Haha) is the Bamboo theme! And also because the colors reminded me of my mother whose favorite color is green.:)

Still all smiles even when he's nearing the end of the catwalk.

That is one large bamboo themed costume. Hehe

With that I end my post on the vibrancy of Jember Fashion Carnival 2013.

And guess what?

I'm certainly coming back NEXT YEAR! InsyaAllah. :)

Papuma Beach, a Heaven on Earth

Last month, I spent a week in Indonesia before flying off to Australia the following week. I truly wished I'd be still traveling for months after that but alas, it was only wishful thinking before I'm slapped with REALITY. :(

Although I enjoyed the cold weather of Batu in Malang, the friendly chanter of locals in Jombang and the famous Fashion Festival of Jember but staying the night at Papuma Beach hits my heart the most. The sun that met me in the morning was to die for and climbing up a hill to view the other-side simply took my breath away. :)

The ultimate fun thing about traveling solo is that I'm not tied with anyone and I can change my itinerary anytime to my heart's desire. Many unplanned stuff happened during my Jawa trip and it only made it more awesomer!

Random thing #1

I was totally prepared to sleep here. on the "tables" of cafes found there. Haha! 

Sleeping at the beach. Initially we (I was with a group of couchsurfers from Surabaya, renting a car together to Jember) planned to sleep in town. That didn't happen. After asking around to find a proper place to sleep, we found out that ALL the chalets and rooms were unavailable. And since we simply didn't want to rent a tent, we eventually ended up sleeping anywhere possible. Including on the sandy beach of Papuma with the moon and the stars high above us!

Random thing #2

I saw a butt naked fisherman when a group of boats came during late at night to bring in their catches. Boy was I shocked! *tutup mata* I thought what I saw was a trick to the eye (not that I'm horny btw)  but my travel-mate who was sitting beside me attested to what I saw when he saw it too! *pengsan* Sorry peeps! No picture! I'm no PERV!

Random thing #3

Waking up to see this wonderful view!!! What with the lack of sleep the night before and uncomfortable sleeping conditions, I doubted that I'd be able to wake up early! hahaha!

For the love of life! This is the most beautiful sunrise ever!! Like EVER!! *over*

And while acting like an imbecile who never seen a sun before, snapping selfies, I suddenly became aware that I was being watched. Embarrassing so that when I looked up it was Andreyongs!! The famous couchsurfer of Jember! (Handsome stud too!) =P

Andre (the guy in red) was so nice to come and meet my new friends. He even helped them with an issue regarding Ijen. Thanks Andre!

Oh god.. that was embarrassing being caught snapping pictures of self. Gahh!!

The whole gang watching the sun in the horizon. I'm the one in chocolate by the way. :)

Random thing #4

We did some climbing. I didn't know what to expect because I didn't do any google search on this beach and the spectacular view totally surprised me. I was totally smitten with the whole place! Love! Love! Love!

I mean LOOK. AT. THAT!!! PS: Don't look at me. *shy*

And if I turned my head to the right, I'll be greeted with another awesome view!

Paradise on earth!!! 

I mean, just look at the color of the ocean!! It's so BLUE!!! I was almost tempted to just jump over the cliff and meet the blue waves below. Haha!

See!! You see what I see!! So BLUE!!!

Yeahh.. I guess after much  ohhhhing and aahhingg.. the hunger pang in my stomach finally started to sink in. What better to end my trip to heaven on earth than by eating Indonesian's most favorite dish ~ IndoMie! And also because I'm a cheapskate. So. 

Fried IndoMie!!! Muahaha

After having our breakfast fill, we finally headed to Jember to attend the prestigious International Fashion Carnival. That will be on my next post. *hopefully* =P

Till then, happy traveling!

Mentioned on The Times of India, Bangalore

Haha! Never saw this coming! I was contacted via email by a reporter stating she was from The Times of India, Bangalore and wanted to ask me a few questions regarding an online service I used during my visit to India last May.

Later I was forwarded an email from Ish of Padhaaro itself saying that my picture is being featured in the newspaper. I believe they took it from my blog as I didn't had the time to send them any high-res pictures yet. Sorry bout that. :)

So here's the article. printed on Tuesday, August 27, 2013. This may be the only published article that has me on it! Haha! (A shot of temporary fame!)

Sorry that my friend Alid was mentioned as a Malaysian instead of Indonesian. Hee.. they left that fact out.

And hell yeahh... I've got so many pending blogposts to be done!! Pray I update more in the future! Sorry for the lack of updates but you can follow my Instagram to see my current activities. I update it LIVE during my travels. :)

Until my next blogpost, happy traveling tweeps!