Guesthouse Name: Elizabeth Hostel Address: 490-494 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia I stayed at the Elizabeth Hostel in Melbourne. I booked a private room with a shared bathroom for the rate of $63.75 AUD ($43 USD). Staying in a private room in a hostel is a good budget option when travelling in Australia, and this […]
Hostel Review: Flinders Backpackers, Melbourne – Australia
Guesthouse Name: Flinders Backpackers Address: 35 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia I stayed at the Flinders Backpackers in Melbourne, Australia. I booked a private room with a shared bathroom for the rate of $75 AUD ($50 USD). There’s alway a bit of sticker shock when I return to Australia direct from Southeast Asia, and this […]
Byron Bay Train – The world’s first solar-power train
Byron Bay is one of the most visited regional towns in Australia, receiving over 1.5 million visitors annually. It became famous for its surfer and hippy culture in the 60’s, but they long ago got priced out when cashed-up Sydney-siders and Hollywood stars moved in. It still retains an alternative vibe though, with eco-friendly shops […]
Flight Review: Virgin Australia – Gold Coast to Melbourne
Flight: Virgin Australia VA 736 From: Gold Coast (OOL) To: Melbourne (MEL) I flew with Virgin Australia from the Gold Coast to Melbourne. I compared flight options with Skyscanner.com and went with Virgin for the combination of price and time of day. I’m not a frequent flyer of domestic Australian flights, and this was only […]
Hostel Review: Aussie Way Hostel, Brisbane – Australia
Hotel Name: Aussie Way Hostel Address: 34 Cricket St, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. I stayed at the Aussie Way Hostel in Brisbane, Australia. I booked it online and picked it for its price and location in Brisbane. I was looking for a private room in a hostel, and this turned out to be ideal. […]
Hotel Review: Novotel Brisbane Airport
Hotel Name: Novotel Brisbane Airport Address: 6-8 The Circuit, Brisbane Airport, QLD, Australia. I stayed at the Novotel Brisbane Airport. I was hosted by a tourism agency and I was in Brisbane en route. Normally I would stay for a day or two if I’m visiting an interesting city, but I didn’t have time on […]
Castlemaine – the gold-rush era city in the goldfields region of Victoria
Visitors to Melbourne marvel at the remains of “Marvellous Melbourne” – the Victorian-era architecture that is a legacy of the great Victorian gold rush. The gold was is in the regions surrounding Melbourne, and Ballarat and Bendigo became the two biggest regional cities as a result of the gold rush. Before Ballarat and Bendigo became […]
Notes on Melbourne: Things I noticed on my annual visit – 2018 Edition
Every year I return to my home city of Melbourne to see my family and attend to general business and personal duties. I still by default call Melbourne home, even if I haven’t lived here since 2010. I returned last year after an unintended two year absence, and like last year the city continues to […]
Flight Review: Jetstar – Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City
Flight: Jetstar JQ 63 From: Melbourne (MEL) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) I flew with Jetstar from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City. As I am based in Saigon and Melbourne is my Australian home city I was happy to see this service when it began in May, 2017. Previously the only direct service […]
Hostel Review: Melbourne City Backpackers
Guesthouse Name: Melbourne City Backpackers Address: 197-199 King Street, Melbourne, 3000, Australia I stayed at the Melbourne City Backpackers in Melbourne. This was a last-minute booking for me as I ended up staying in Melbourne another day. I’ve stayed in countless amounts of hostels around the world, but it felt strange to be hostelling in […]
