Third day
This one I plan to be a very chill and loose day. Just two-three stops and pig out. Rock out with my Coke out. After all, it’s my birthday.
Weeks ago, I was mighty struggling with which date to assign the Blue Mountains tour to, but I decided to do it on the second day and let my third day be just chill. The deciding point for me was my thought of putting Blue Mountains on the third day and tiring myself on my birthday. So I decided to do Blue Mountains the day after landing and leave my birthday for arts and food.
Main plans for this day is an hour-long Sydney Opera House tour at 930am, lunch (or a pigout royale) at Sydney Fish Market, then Paddy’s Market for extra souvenir hunting until 6pm. If things finish early, I can have leisure time somewhere else, like Darling Harbour. Just three main stops for the day, nothing too crazy or laborious. It’s my birthday, I’d rather treat myself to a relaxed and chill day.
Also, I pegged Paddy’s Market for this Sunday time, as they’re closed on Mondays.
However, I also pegged some small items. If I have the free time or the fortune of spending extra time, I’d rather cross these off this day.
- Rocks Markets – this one is definitely a “only if time allows” option. I can completely ignore this if time doesn’t look too good.
- University of Sydney gift shop – this one is only if I was unable to do it on the first day.
Otherwise, chill day.
Fourth day
This day I designated to be my beach day. My day should start around 6am, and head for the Circular Quay by 7am to ride a ferry headed to Manly Beach.
See, weeks ago I was really undecided on which beach to go to – Manly or Bondi – but a few things swayed me to Manly. First, it’s the “locals’ beach” – that meant less foreigners and less risk of shit going down. Locals won’t be too fussy. Second, if it’s a locals’ place, chances are the food prices are better than Bondi’s. Third, there’s a rental booth by the beachside where I can rent beach towels and a cheap locker by 9am, so at least I can rent those (and to keep my bag dry) and enjoy the beach for an hour. There are facilities around Manly Beach where I can also change clothes, so I am covered on that part. I can have an early lunch at Manly as well. I can drop by their visitor centre later to get some souvenirs.
And lastly, I can take a bus from Manly to my next destination – Taronga Zoo.
This is part of the reason why I also planned to do the Blue Mountains by myself. I researched on the best zoos in Sydney, and many vloggers and locals recommended Taronga Zoo. Best thing is, it has a cable car and a short ferry back to Circular Quay. Ferries are always a plus. I pegged the zoo for 2pm – so I can spend a generous sweet morning time at Manly. Dip at the beach, admire the views, eat lunch and take a bus. I target a full hour at Taronga Zoo – see the animals, walk around, buy souvenirs.
After that, I am to head back by ferry from Taronga Zoo to Circular Quay, and I estimate it to be around 3.30-4pm. I might just dedicate the rest of the day for eating and shopping. I did compile a list of things I want to get for myself and for others, and I have some ample afternoon time to do so. Probably I’ll start at an Aldi’s. I’ve seen enough Coles from binge-watching Masterchef Australia, and Woolworth’s… maybe.
Target is Tim Tams. That’s my main souvenir for the office back in Singapore, and I’ll look into buying the unique flavors and maybe the individually-packed ones too.
I plan to be back at the hotel by 8pm, prep my luggage by 9pm and sleep by 10pm.
SYDNEY-MELBOURNE
Fifth day
This is my domestic flight day going from Sydney to Melbourne. The flight’s at 12pm, so the morning has some time structure to it.
I have to wake up at 5am, then have breakfast – I plan to have something bought the day before and just reheat, or just have crushed three granola bars and eat it like cereal (done it a lot – it’s tasty in milk). By 7am, I should be at the hotel counter checking out early.
By 8am, I should be on the Central Station catching a train to the Sydney Airport’s Terminal 2 for the Melbourne flight. Just 20-30 minutes, so at least I’m there to check in by 9am. Once my stuff gets cleared at the airport, I have at most 10-11am at the terminal to gawk and walk around. The actual flight duration isn’t as long as most SG-to-KL flights so no big deal. Probably just a nap at the plane.
I should be at the Melbourne Tullamarine by around 2pm, and allowing for an hour for most stuff at the airport, I should be boarding the airport Express bus headed towards Southern Cross train station, and take a railway station to Flagstaff, where Oaks Melbourne is. My estimate is I should be there by 4pm.
Like Sydney, I squeezed in one extra stop for the day – for Melbourne, it’ll be the Skydeck, by 6pm. Should be a fine sunset. Buy souvenirs as well. Come to think of it, I’ve been to many towers, except in Malaysia and Thailand. I kind of like the panoramic views.
The rest of the night should be fine. I plan to sleep by 9-10pm.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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