Travel Diary: Melbourne Travel Diary – Point of Interests

Finally landed on the land of Kangaroos and Koalas. My first time visiting Australia and I fell in love with this country! My brother has been living in Melbourne since 4 years ago and I haven’t visit him once. Last year, I got the chance to visit his home in Melbourne and I know why he love it! My super throwback travel diary to the second biggest city in Australia.

This time I’m going to split my travel diary into two section: point of interest and culinary spot. I’m going to write which places I went in Melbourne in day order. It is going to make you easier to plan your itinerary when you are going to visit Melbourne. Watch the full itinerary on my YouTube Channel here.

Goodnight, Jakarta

My flight to Melbourne was scheduled at midnight and I would arrive in Melbourne in the morning next day. I took Garuda Indonesia Airlines flight and I got to try out the newest terminal (T3-Ultimate) at Soekarno Hatta. It was fantastic! Even though, it wasn’t as good as Changi or Incheon Airport, but it was better than the first two terminals. Nowadays, the terminal is open for few other international airlines such as, Korean Air, Vietnam Air, Air Asia International, any many more. Check your tickets within departure. Last year, there aren’t many vendors opened yet, but exciting vendors are going to open in T3-Ultimate. The duty-free shops are also quite complete like you go to the dept-store inside the malls in Jakarta. Waiting for departure in T3-U is not going as hard as before. The only downside is the runway is too far from the terminal. We have to go for around 40 minutes before take-off. So, it is going to be a boring flight (I suggest to sleep!).

Wake up to your sunrise

Woke up with a beautiful sunrise up in the sky and it's time for breakfast.  I didn't get my favorite Garuda inflight menu, omelette but their beef and yellow rice was pretty okay. Well, I don't really have problem with international inflight meals so anything was fine.

Finally arrived in beautiful and bright Melbourne! Tullamarine Airport was not as big as I thought, but they are under renovation to serve people better. The immigration took a lot of time, because there aren’t many counters that opened. Thankfully the drive from airport to my brother’s apartment was not too far. Arriving at my bro’s apartment, we took a shower then we went out for lunch. After lunch, we went to Melbourne Central.

Melbourne Central (MelCen) is a shopping center located at the corner of La Trobe and Swanston Streets. This shopping center is huge! You can find anything from fashion, grocery, until appetizing foods and drinks. Inside, there are an iconic glass cone, called Shot Tower, which can be seen on the first level of Melbourne Central. Melbourne Central is located atop of City Loop Melbourne Central train station and city tram route. That’s why it is always packed with people, but I love the crowd. One of the most exciting shop in the MelCen is the Kit Kat Chocolatory.

Kit Kat Chocolatory is a place like a laboratory where you can customize your Kit Kat. It was so fascinating. Even though it is pricier than the regular Kit Kat but I’m excited to have one. The price to customize the Kit Kat is AUS$15. How to customize is as easy as A, B, C. All you need is following the instructions on the screen. You can choose the writing, picture, and flavor that you like!

From Melbourne Central, I cross the street to visit State Library of Victoria, the most instagenic library I’ve ever seen. I used to like going to library back then. It starting to fade out since we found the power of Google search. In Indonesia, there weren’t many public library and most of the collection are not up to date. Visiting bookstores are way more comfortable than going to library. When I saw the picture of this library, I told myself that I must visit here and when I visited the library, it was huge and classical, but it feels like home at the same time. Definitely, you should visit this library once.

Not only the inside that are wide opening, but the story behind of it are also marvelous. They are the oldest public library in Australia, which established in 1854. Not only that, they are also the one of the first free public library in the world.

 Beside function as library, they also function as an exhibition. There are several collections like, paintings and historical stuffs about Victoria and Australia in general. It was one of the wide-opening activity that I had throughout this trip.

I spend for around 3 hours inside the library, my brother got tired already waiting for me and he was too excited to get his new phone, so he hurried up me. I went back home and took a little rest, then we went out for dinner.

Starting a fresh day in Melbourne by visiting a brunch café in Fitzroy area by walking from the CBD. I went there with my friend and we need to walk so we can eat all the big portion. On our way, we passed by the Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens, and Royal Exhibition Building. When I’m going to visit Melbourne again, definitely I’m going to enter those buildings.

One of my dream activity is sitting down in a garden or park and doing nothing. And I found the perfect gardens in Melbourne. I can’t wait to do it someday. Carlton Gardens is 26 ha big, which include the Royal Exhibition Building. Both of it were built for the first international exhibition in Melbourne in 1880. It was designed by Joseph Reed and built by David Mitchell in 1879. I wish the weather in Jakarta as nice as Melbourne! I would like to spend time outdoor if Jakarta have a nicer weather and safe.

After the brunch, I went to stroll the area and stopped by few shops around there. There are so many cute shops that I would like to enter. You can find anything in the neighborhood from, vintage shops, cozy cafes, till bars. I spent like 5 hours in that area, but I still need more time to visit the places I passed by. Really recommend this area to visit while you are in Melbourne.

Went back to the CBD area, then we have window shopping at Emporium. Then I went back home and have dinner with my brother.

On my original itinerary, I went to Sydney on my 3^rd day. Since, I separated Melbourne and Sydney travel diary, I’ll talk my 3^rd day in Melbourne instead of my trip.

I have a brunch near my brother’s apartment. Then, we went out to visit his school agency consultant. We took a stroll around the area, do some window shopping. I want to buy everything that displayed on the window.

We passed by General Post Office then we entered Royal Arcade. I’m fascinated with both of the buildings because they still preserve the old-style architecture, but they repurpose the building as a home for retailers.

Back then, the building located right at the intersections of Elizabeth and Bourke Street was originally functioned as a post office. Not only for posts, but also goods. The building was huge and it has a clock tower, so it is easily spotted.

The Royal Arcade was the first arcade in Melbourne built in 1869. This shopping center made my jaw dropped. I like the building so much! It feels grand yet homey. Nowadays, I liked classical and historical stuffs. Maybe I’m old already L Any modern store in the Royal Arcade have a grand feelings. Not only inside the arcade, the alley beside is beautiful. I haven’t got time to try out the cafes along the alley, but I’m excited to try it out next time. If I’m not mistaken, Sam Hammington (Willam’s Dad from The Return of Superman) visited his friend’s café at this alley.

Then we went to St. Kilda Beach. It was a short and easy trip by using the free tram ride from CBD. The beach was quiet at that time, because almost no one going to beach on Autumn. Since I love beaches, I didn’t mind to visit beach in any season. Even though, I don’t play in the water, but seeing sand and waves are my healing therapy. Unexpectedly, I saw incomplete star-fish. It lost one of its’ arm. On that day, the weather was so breezy and I couldn’t stay at the beach for too long. Near the beach, there is a place where you could sometimes see penguins. I didn’t got a chance to see them, but if you are planning to see penguins in the city (without going to zoo or visiting Philip Island) go check http://stkildamelbourne.com.au/2015/08/12/st-kilda-penguins/ to plan your visit beforehand.

Off the shore, I went to Southbank area to have a wonderful dinner at Langham Hotel. Southbank at night has a romantic ambience and I really like the ambience of river bank at night. Even though I couldn’t see clearly what is the neighborhood look like, but it pretty alive at night. Went back home after a lovely dinner.

Full day SHOPPING today! It was girls bonding time. Went out for breakfast at a Chinese restaurant. Then we headed to South Wharf to do our shopping at the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) there. They have several outlets, but this outlet is the most accessible by public transport a.k.a tram. Spend few sum of money at Adidas, Peter Alexander, Cotton On, and Typo & Kiki.k. You can check out my Aussie hauls right here.

After hours of cardio inside the DFO, we went back home and then we met up again for dinner with my brother. Before I went back home, I was introduced to the best French fries I have ever had in my life! It wasn’t shown on my video, but let me tell you on the next culinary post.

Head up to Fitzroy area (again!!) to have the best croissant in the wholleeeeee world! Then, I head to Queen Victoria Market and have a proper brunch. The market was so beautiful T_T Hoping to have this kind of market in Indonesia soon! The market was so clean, fresh, and neat. Most importantly, the market is epic! It was first opened 1878 and still running till now. Not only the oldest market in Melbourne, it is also the largest. I think I might have fun doing groceries in the market. Definitely a must visit, and don’t forget to try the delicacies inside!

When back home and have some rest. I did a little packing, because I’ll be back home in 3 days. I went out for dinner, then stopped by at K-Mart. OMG I LOVE K-MART!!! It was heaven on earth, it was much better than Target in Australia. My brother needed a blanket and we got it cheap on K-Mart. I bought few things there and the most exciting things I found in K-Mart is my travel journal! It was pink, lined, and cheap, something I search for.

Starting a day with something new and quite pricey. I tried tapaz for the first time. Then, I went to barge in Priceline. It was a heaven for drugstore beauty. Check out what I bought from Priceline here. Then we went to MelCen again and Emporium, I took my Boost Juice intake there. My brother needed a jacket, so he bought one. Then we headed to dinner with my uncle’s friend, who helped my brother a lot in Melbourne.

The dinner went well and it was a lovely dinner, then we went back home and have some rest. I feel sad that I’m going to leave the city soon.

It was road trip time to Brighton Beach and Yarra Valley. We used GoGet for our road trip. GoGet is a very special travel tip for all of you! It is a renting car platform, where you can order from your phone, then you can get your car the nearest you by having the member card tap to open the car. It was fascinating and mind-blowing. SO AWESOME!

Starting the day with a nice brunch at a very unique place. Then, we headed to Brighton Bath Boxes. It is the most mainstream place in Melbourne, but I’m still eager to visit! I’m weak for colorful things. There 82 bathing box that you can choose to take photo with. 

After the Brighton Bathing Boxes, we went to Yarra Valley, another must visit place in Melbourne. I wanted to try the hot balloon in Yarra Valley, but it was quite pricey and my brother didn’t really want to do it. That’s why I visited a winery in Yarra Valley. The winery we visited is Chandon, they are the original sparkling winery in Australia. If you know the brand Moet and Chandon, they are produced from here! I couldn’t drink wine and my brother need to drive, so he only did a wine tasting. Usually, in wine tasting, you didn’t drink all the wine, but you sip and then you throw it out to a bucket provided. I took some photos in a beautiful wide field with fluffy clouds in a blue sky. I really love the skies in Australia!

Went back to the city. Before we have our dinner with my friends, we stopped by at Blackstar Pastry pop-up store in Melbourne. My friends were busy with exams, so they can’t hang out with me earlier today. We have our dinner, then we ate ice cream.

It was my last full day in Melbourne. I have a very nice time, thanks to the hospitality and friendliness Melbourne have. I’m definitely going back to you again, Melbourne!

My flight was at noon, so I headed to Lune again to take away the most delicious croissant back home. After getting my babies, my brother dropped me off at the airport. I went back home alone and it was my first time flying alone at a semi long-haul flight. It was a pleasant flight, but I arrived too early at the airport. The airport was under construction, so there aren’t many vendors opened. And also, I’m having a hard time with credit card in Australia and I don’t have much cash left. I couldn’t buy food because I’m afraid my credit card couldn’t be used and I couldn’t pay for my meals. Thankfully I have internet quotas to use, before I went back home, so I’m not bored waiting for my boarding. The airplane was not so packed, so it was a pleasant one.

To sum up, I really love Australia! I couldn’t wait to comeback! I guess you guys wonder why I write a lot of throwback posts. Well, it’s all because of my lack of time management and I have so many postponed posts from years ago. But, I’m glad to be able to remembered it all cos it makes feel I’m on my trip again. Thanks for reading all my super late travel diaries, guys!

P.S: I’ll be having my graduation and I’m moving to South Korea, my dream city! Go check over my Instagram or Twitter to keep update with my daily life.