Melbourne to Sydney

Thursday 8 November

The Queensbury Hill YHA The Queen Victoria Market Melbourne Airport

Not far from the hostel was the Queen Victoria Market. I walked along the many stalls, maybe I could find some interesting souvenirs. My niece and nephew wanted souvenirs from me. That wasn't a problem, but I couldn't find anything special here. Time to move on as I walked down the road I found other stores to visit like souvenir shops and music stores. Stopped at an eating place and bought chicken on stick. Took a bite and kept on walking.

My goal today is finding Qantas flight centre and changing my flight. Walked all the way up and down Little Collins Street to find Qantas. It seems to have disappeared! I checked the map of the city again and found out that there was another street named Collins Street without Little in front. Nice! And it was parallel to Little Collins Street. I finally found Qantas and went in. I had to draw a number before I was helped. Sat down for a while. I really hope they can change my flight to Sydney. The sooner the better, because Melbourne suffocates me and I really need to get away!

Finally it was my turn and I told the lady behind the counter that I wanted to change my flight to Sydney. No worries! That's what I like about Australia, seems they won't make a problem of many things and always trying to help. I also asked if it was possible to take a flight today, if there were seats available. Yes, indeed that was possible!!! I could take a flight at 1:30 PM or the next hour.

At 2:30 PM that's seems more reasonable, because I needed to get back to hostel to pack and arrange other things too. Go for 2:30 PM I told the lady. Said thanks for the service and took off. The CityFlyer from Qantas is flying 6 to 8 times between the major cities in Australia! Once back at the hostel I asked the service desk to call for a taxi and to arrange an accommodation for one night at Glebe Point YHA in Sydney. Hurried upstairs to my room and packed my stuff.

In a record time I had packed my stuff, folded the blankets and went downstairs. The service desk told me that I won't get my $ 21.00 AUD back for today. I really didn't care, they can keep the money, because I going back to Sydney!!! Said goodbye and went to my taxi. Dropped my backpack in the back and sat next to the taxi driver. We started a conversation while making our way to the Skybus station.

He was from Greece and I asked how it was to live in Australia. We also talked about the weather in Melbourne. The weather is really unpredictable over here, if you don't like the weather now, just wait for another 15 minutes and it can change. I told him that my previous day during my Great Ocean Road day trip I had four seasons in one day. He laughed. Yes, it's true, four seasons in one day is common over here.

We arrived on time at the Skybus station. The taxi ride cost about $ 6.00 AUD, I gave him ten dollars and told him to keep the change. He smiled and said thanks, have a nice day and I said goodbye to him. Another person happy, me too, because I will fly back to Sydney soon. Bought a ticket and dropped my backpack in the Skybus. A few minutes later we were went off to the airport. Check-in at the airport.

2:50 PM. We took off. The flight time is about 50 minutes to Sydney. 4:00 PM. We landed in Sydney. I felt much better now. Took a shuttle bus to Central Station and from there a city bus to Glebe Point. Check-in at Glebe Point YHA and unpacked. Too early to stay here and went downstairs to talk with girl behind the counter about Glebe Point and how to get around here. Changed some money, so much coins to carry. Really a heavy load. Took the bus to the city centre.

I went straight to the foodcourt at Pitt Street. Found my favourite eating place ChopChop, a Chinese take away. Ordered a meal for only $ 7.30 AUD. I ate here before and I know it's good food for a reasonable price. I ate everything, nothing got wasted. Afterwards I went upstairs to walk along the many stores Sydney has to offer. Bought a bottle of bath & cream, because I ran out. There was something about the price, because the big bottle was just a few cents more expensive than the small bottle. Really weird, I asked the lady from the shop about this. Was the price a mistake? They're selling themself short. Ooh, very well I bought the big bottle.

At HMV, the biggest music store in Down Under, I ordered a CD-single "Roll On Summer" by Paul Kelly. The song was played a couple of times during the East coast tour. I liked the song. It will take about one week or longer to arrive. Time to get back to the hostel. At the hostel I took a shower and did my laundry. Back in the room I talked with Dennis about Sydney. He told me that there wasn't anything to do in Sydney. I couldn't believe that. There is so much to do in Sydney, probably more than anywhere in whole Australia! We talked about other things and exchange information about different places. Later in the evening I listened to music from my MiniDisc player. I went to sleep with a smile, finally back in Sydney. :-)))