When we landed on the Tullamarine domestic airport Terminal 4 at Melbourne, all I had to do next was pick up my luggage and find… the bus. Specifically, a “SkyBus”. Let me elaborate.
During my long research into my transportation options, I immediately realized that Melbourne is quite different from Sydney in terms of public transportation and accessibility. While Sydney has a direct middle-of-the-city train line that can transport passengers from the airport to various stations (the Central Terminal earlier was a prime hub) that made it awfully convenient to avoid taxis/buses and just ride the train lines back to the airport, Melbourne has a “city express” bus going from the Tullamarine Airport to the CBD’s main hub station in Southern Cross. If that’s what’s available, so it shall be for me.
As it is the most convenient for budget tourists like me, I booked a “Klook Melbourne Pass” for a smidge below SGD84, and it allowed me to budle the booking for three distinct offerings by Klook for a lower price than if I booked them individually. I chose a Melbourne Skydeck ticket, a Melbourne Zoo ticket, and a SkyBus roundtrip ticket. Very convenient pass, so I recommend it for people going to Melbourne solo or with a friend. And yes, I am aware there were other ways to get to the CBD from the airport for cheaper, but from my research, the SkyBus option is the most effortless one, and for me who wanted to chill, SkyBus it was for me.
For me, I went out and tried to find this pick-up area for the SkyBus in T4. When I saw the red Skybus ticket machines after getting past Arrivals, I knew I was in the vicinity, and after asking around, I finally got in line for the bus after showing the QR code from the Klook app. Bus ride itself wasn’t too bad. I just put my luggage at the designated area, and got myself a window seat on the top floor. I thought I might take a nap at the window, but I ended up looking out and trying to see what Melbourne was. And the longer I looked out, I kind of felt that Melbourne… had a more, shall we say, a feel closer to European. There’s no style spillover from Sydney, that’s for sure.
I say that because in the Philippines, there’s a common “feel” or “style” wherever you go there, even in Mindanao where you’d expect some larger departure of things… like, how the roads are laid out and/or split, or how buildings look, or how pedestrian pathways go, or how the “vibe” is. I’ve seen lots of videos on Visayas and Mindanao’s larger metro cities, and I’ve been to Cebu City before, and I felt I won’t be lost in these places. Not in Melbourne and Sydney, I kind of felt I just traveled from London to Stockholm. Don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasant surprise. It felt like I traveled two countries!
Once I got off the bus, I was in the Southern Cross station. First thing I did when I got on the main floor is to look for where to buy a “myki” card. Unlike Sydney that used the “Opal” card but also allowed for dual use with any Mastercard/Visa credit card, Melbourne’s “myki” card only works with that card. I located one near the station entrance, so I bought one for AUD50. The card itself costs AUD6, so the card came preloaded with AUD44.
Once I got that sorted out, I had to hop on a train from Southern Cross to Flagstaff Station, as the hotel I booked here was directly within a short distance away from it. Melbourne’s trains wasn’t confusing as I was familiar with many international train systems before – it worked like most rail lines like in Taiwan and Bangkok. Hop in, keep your ears open and eyes peeled for the destination. Not much, but I must say while Sydney’s train stations look either ultramodern or slightly quaint, the trains leave much to be desired with graffiti or slightly musty-smelling cabins. Melbourne’s stations look like functionally simple, the trains look much more decent. Newer trains, perhaps?
Wasn’t hard to get to the Oaks Melbourne hotel from the Flagstaff Station, I just had to cross the street and walk a few blocks. And after checking in, I got my card to the room. While I got my wish – a high floor and a non-smoking queen-bed room – I only had the view facing Singers Lane. And man, the room was pleasantly warm.
Because I learned quickly from the moment I left Flagstaff Station and got to street level, I felt that Melbourne’s winter was way colder than Sydney’s. And I just had been in Sydney hours before – it was cold even if the sun was high and shining that morning, and now in Melbourne, while it was slightly sunny at 3pm, the cold was biting my face. The chill was no joke – but I liked that I wasn’t in any kind of weather to worry about sweating. But to be honest, it kind of gave me the incentive in the future to stay in Melbourne if I ever book another Aussie trip again, just for that chilly late-June pre-winter feel. Sydney’s cold but Melbourne’s proper cold, if I have to say so myself. Although I feel Sydney has the edge on tourism brownie points.
So while I was in the hotel room, I was enjoying the warmth of the room and started perusing the TV. Unlike the hotel I left in Sydney, the TV is hooked to the wall, and it’s decently big. Although, I found that there was no Netflix – the TV’s more of Fox if I remember correctly. So I ended up learning how to connect my Netflix app through the TV, and soon I was able to. I then took a quick shower, because I felt a bit dusty, as well as there’s enough time for one more attraction to visit for this day – the Melbourne Skydeck. It was around 4pm after all that and unpacking my big luggage, so I presumed 3-4 hours of activity plus a brief dinner jaunt won’t be that tiring.
As I knew then that the Melbourne air was much colder than Sydney’s, I added an extra short layer to my top and I wore my spare bottom layer under my jeans, and wore my thickest casual socks. I wasn’t used to such a low temp, and apparently some Aussies are used to it. When I got down the hotel and started walking to Flagstaff’s tram station, I spotted several locals either wearing a thick shirt or sporting a hoodie. Man, they used to this.
At the tram station, I had to plot which tram to take to Melbourne Skydeck. So I settled for one that took me to near Queens Bridge, then I had to cross the bridge and walk towards the Eureka Building, the place that hosts the Melbourne Skydeck at its top. After a decent bit of walking, I found the place.
After presenting my QR code from the app and getting directed to the elevator, I found myself in the main area of the Skydeck. As I bought only the General Admission ticket, I didn’t have access to the more pricey Instagram-my areas, but from what I researched, the general main areas should be more than enough. Some pictures below:
I spent a good long time there, as I was a bit early than I figured from my estimates. Hey, better be early than late. It was nearing nighttime in Melbourne, so I was able to take lots of shots of some visible buildings before night took over and the night lights started to come into prominent view. I must say, I enjoyed this a LOT more than Sydney’s Tower Eye. Well, at least here I had no headache and no sign of impending fever. Very nice place to hang around. I did buy a drink at the bar (a cider), I needed a feel-rich sip.
Afterwards, I went down to their souvenir store. My dawdling at the top only left me 30 minutes before the store closed down for the day, so I had to be quick and judicious. I ended up buying one cap and three keychains, all of which were marked with the Skydeck logo. There were some I liked there but I felt I could buy them cheaper elsewhere, so I homed in on the exclusives.
For dinner, while walking back towards the bridge I started on, I saw a Five Guys store along the way, and I internally cursed myself for seeing the thing I was craving for on a cold lonely night. It was warm inside, thank heavens. I also had to mention that there was a light drizzle, and I forgot to bring an umbrella. So my Five Guys decision was greatly assisted by both my stomach and my desire to sit out the drizzle.
I bought a cheeseburger (double patty), regular fries, regular drink. For my toppings, I went “all the way”, basically the base toppings, with a splash of hot sauce. And fortunately for me, there was an open condiments bar with mustard packets, and the drinks were refillable. I’m a mustard man, so I got two small tubs of ketchup and mayo, and eight packets of mustard. Had a great time at the warm restaurant. The burger was great, the fries were great, and it wasn’t noisy in there at all.
Fortunately, the drizzle went away after I spent an hour in the Five Guys joint, so I walked back to the tram station that Maps said had a line going back to Flagstaff. Everything went smoothly, and I was back in my hotel and my room by 8pm.
Was the Skydeck worth it? Yes, but mileage may vary. For me, I would’ve liked it better if it was a sunny afternoon, but what I got was a gray cast afternoon. Hey, weather was what it was. I’d take it over a thunderstorm. And the place had lots of cool chic vibes, I assumed it was one one of the lesser-crowd hangouts there due to the tourist nature of the place. Ambience was definitely for the young adult looking for a night to drink away, if I can put it that way. Maybe it would look even better in the morning time, maybe. Next time if ever, I suppose. But if you don’t have that much time to spare after a flight day to Melbourne, a brief time in the Skydeck is not bad at all.
After a quick pre-bed shower, I had to set my alarm clock thrice and turned off all the lights – next day was earmarked for a brief jaunt at Mt. Buller, and the bus trip’s early, so I quickly set myself for sleeping. I needed all the sleep I could get.
And yeah, burger dinner was still on my stomach that night, but the next itinerary demanded my alertness. Before I went up the hotel, I did buy my breakfast at the convenience store beside the hotel – just a can of iced coffee, one banana bread slice and one ham-and-egg sandwich, and two of those big 1.5L bottled water. Should be quick items for the next day.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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