Convocation & Vacation in Oz

In conjunction with my MBA convocation on March 29 (Tuesday), I spent my vacation in Oz with my brother. I spent around a week there, around 4 days in Melbourne and 3 days in Adelaide. My KL-Melbourne return flight cost around RM1.5K (inclusive of insurance, 15kg baggage and onboard meals) while the Melbourne-Adelaide return flight cost around RM400 per pax (inclusive of one 15kg baggage shared by both my bro and I). The exchange rate was around 3.07 and rates for HSBC credit card was higher by around 0.1. So, things in general are really expensive after conversion to MYR.

Convocation in Adelaide is very different from the one in Malaysia. The event was well organized and ended according to schedule. We met some HK friends during the ceremony and Matryna, our friend from ESSAM during our own celebration dinner at River Restaurant. Nice place beside the river, the food and service are splendid.

The Cities
My first trip to Australia was in 2002. It was also my first overseas trip on a flight so I was really excited. I revisited Australia after around 9 years. In my opinion, city wise, cities Australia is like a mini version of London. A lot of roads and places in Melbourne and Adelaide have names which are similar to that of London. E.g Bourke Street, Collins Street. Both the cities are square-ish and not that huge so it is relatively easy to move around on your own.

In Melbourne, you can see a lot of Asians, especially China people. It is true that the locals said that you can experience 4 seasons in a day in Melbourne. The weather is very unpredictable. In the morning it can very cold, then summer-like weather after sun rise and extremely cold at night. Transportation in Melbourne is very expensive but convenient.

Due to energy saving, the locals do not keep their lights on. Well, as a result, there not many lights around the city and hardly any lights in the housing area. The locals feel comfortable with it but for me, something is not in place and I do not feel secure.

Shopping
For me, Australia is not a nice place to shop for clothes. If you want to get something cheap in Melbourne, Victoria Market is the place. There is a stall there selling hand made nougat for AUD 48, less than a kg (for the factory made ones, you can it at AUD 28 per kg). Though expensive, it is really delicious! With a strong taste, lots of nuts and non-sticky to your teeth. My favourite will be the chocolate favour.

Food
Australia is a nice place to spend for food and leisure. I love the pastries, chocolates, dairy products, Italian food and wine there. There are so many of varieties of pastries that I unable to try all of them. Their lamb and beef pies are highly recommended. You can get a huge lamb pie for only AUD 4.90! Cakes are around AUD 4-5.

Chocolates are easily available in supermarkets such as Coles for around AUD 2. Dark Chocolate Mint Tim Tams is simply delicious. The Dark Chocolate Rum Raisin is just so-so. Note: The dark chocolate there is not bitter at all. The taste is just nice.
Surprisingly fish and chips are easily available in Australia. I personally like their chips because it is “fat”. Sauces need to be purchased separately at the price of around AUD 1 each.

There a lot of small cafes around and all the coffees served is fresh brew! Of course some shops are nicer and some tasted normal. Highly recommend Brother Baba Buban's coffee. Overall the coffee are all creamy~

You can find a number of Italian restaurants at Lygon Street. The pizza and pasta are simply delicious. They are very generous for the ingredients and its fresh! For the pizza, it cost around AUD 10-20 while the main pasta cost around AUD 25. For the portion and quality, it is quite worth the price.

Hungry Jacks is the Australian version of Burger King. Fast food is considered as cheap there. The Angus beef burger is very delicious. A double beef set meal cost around AUD 10.

Sightseeing

Melbourne
Trams in Melbourne are interesting. But after some time, you will find them normal. In Melbourne there are a number of museums but we do not have the time to have a detailed tour. Admission is quite expensive as well. I heard from Uncle Low that Melbourne Aquarium is almost similar to the one in Singapore so we did not make a tour there.

For Melbourne, we purchased 2 day trips for the price of RM406 via Air Asia Go, namely the Great Ocean Road and Penguin Parade. Meals were at own expense. These 2 places are a few hours from the city. Therefore the journey is tiring and we only manage to have a glimpse of everything. The Great Ocean Road is beautiful. I love the moment as the waves hit against the rocks. Penguin Parade is a bit disappointing. Churchill Island is beautiful but there is nothing much there to see. The Koala Reservoir is a total waste of money and time. There are hardly any Koalas and we looking high and low for them. The Wallaby (mini kangaroos) are cute. The little penguins are cute too but there are not many of them.

Raymond rented a car and drove from Melbourne to Adelaide. According to him, he enjoyed the long drive, picking up lots of apples and chasing the kangaroos away with the apples. Maybe in the future should try driving around Australia if we have a huge group.

Adelaide
Personally I prefer Adelaide over Melbourne. Adelaide is more quiet and with more greeneries. It is known as the “city of churches”. You can find a number of churches and old buildings around the city, which reminded me of Sheffield. Runder Mall is not a mall, but a shopping street. You can say something like the Bintang Walk in KL.

I highly recommend Hahndorf, Glenegl and Cleland Wildlife Park for visit in Adelaide. Hahndorf is an old German village now dominated by retirees. The environment is very relaxing and we enjoyed the food there. The “Bee Sting” recommended by Michelle is very delicious. AUD 10 for the whole piece (which can be further divided into 5 pieces). Glenegl is very beautiful. Seagulls there are huge and fat. They are not afraid of strangers and approaching us for food, very different from the pigeons and crows in Malaysia. I heard from Desmond that during summer the beach will be packed. Around the area, you can find Bracegirdle’s House of Fine Chocolate Café. Their hot dark chocolate drink and Belgium waffle are extremely delicious! Only in Adelaide. For Copenhagen Ice-Cream, the add-ons are FOC! They chocolate syrup, M&M, chocolate chips and so on. Cleland Wildlife Park is recommended as you can have a close up of the animals, including patting the Koalas!

Last but not least, I would like to thank Uncle Low & family & Harvey, Michelle & Desmond for the hospitality during our stay in Australia. Thanks to Sri & wife as well for the delicious dinner. Not forgetting Shili & Robin, Amos & Uncle Wai Yen for the meal :)

P/s: Please see my FB for pics.