N9 Trip – Page 6 – The Wknd Travel

2022 Wrap-Up: Reopening, Reunions & Revenge Travel

It’s 2023 – Happy New Year! I hope you had a memorable time welcoming the new year with your families & friends. Before I start planning the year, I’d like to wrap-up the eventful 2022. It was the first year that pandemic-related restrictions had been scrapped, if not relaxed. It was also the first time in a few years that we’ve spent more time physically with our families, friends & colleagues. It was also the first in a long time that we Filipinos were given the hassle-free means of traveling locally & abroad. Join me as I look back on how 2022 went for me & this website.

Flight Reports

The work from home set-up allowed me to pack all my things in the metro & move back to my hometown in Albay. I am currently based here until God knows when. This also meant that I have been flying in & out of Bicol International Airport almost every month. Out of all these flights, 6 of them were featured under the Flight Reports section this year – see list below.

Flight Report: PHILIPPINE AIRLINES PR 2922 – Legazpi to Manila – First PAL Flight in 3 Years
Flight Report: PHILIPPINE AIRLINES PR 2919 – Manila to Legazpi – From a Crowded Terminal 2 Experience to a Delayed Flight Back to Albay
Flight Report: CEBGO DG 6192 – Legazpi to Manila – Delayed First DG Flight Out of BIA [March 2022]
Flight Report: CEBGO DG 6207 – Legazpi to Cebu – My First-Ever Regional Flight Out of Bicol [May 2022]
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 325 – Manila to Legazpi – Last-Minute Cheap Jet Flight Back to Bicolandia [May 2022]
Flight Report: PHILIPPINE AIRLINES PR 2920 – Daraga (DRP formerly Legazpi LGP) to Manila – Last-Minute Mabuhay Miles Redemption Ticket to the Metro [December 2022]

I also took some flights out of Manila, Davao, Singapore & even Kuala Lumpur. Check out the list of these non-Legazpi flights below.

Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 971 – Manila to Davao – Excellent ₱872 Domestic Flight on a New Generation Fuel-Efficient Aircraft [March 2022]
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 982 – Davao to Manila – From a Missing Pre-Booked Seat to a Delayed Late Night Flight Back to the Metro [March 2022]
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 915 – Manila to Singapore – First International Flight After 31 Months [June 2022]
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 114 – Singapore to Kuala Lumpur – Delayed Short Hop on One of the World’s Busiest International Routes [June 2022]
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 107 – Kuala Lumpur to Singapore – First Ever Flight on the Controversial Boeing 737 Max 8 Aircraft [July 2022]
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 916 – Singapore to Manila – Excellent but Turbulent Flight Back to Manila [July 2022]

These posted flight reports don’t cover all the flights I took in 2022. There are still a lot missing – mostly from Emirates, then Air France & Vueling Airlines. I hope to share them on this website soon!

Hostel of the Day

With travel requirements scrapped & borders now open, I took some trips within the Philippines & even abroad. This meant that I stayed in some hostels & led to these hostels being featured on the website. I wrote about the 2 hostels I stayed with in Kuala Lumpur. I also had my first ever collaboration with our friends at Z Hostel Philippines. They invited me to stay with them for a few days & to experience the Z Hostel vibe.

Hostel of the Day: PODS THE BACKPACKERS HOME & CAFÉ – A True Backpacker’s Home Near Kuala Lumpur’s Central Transportation Hub
Hostel of the Day: THE BED KLCC – Modern & Premium Capsule Hostel in Kuala Lumpur City Center
Hostel of the Day: Z HOSTEL PHILIPPINES – Makati’s Prime & Best Value Hostel in the Heart of Poblacion

I stayed in a few more hostels somewhere far, but I have yet to reveal the details in future posts. Watch out for these 4 hostels! For now, check out the hostel features posted in 2022.

Trips

2022 was another memorable travel year. For the first time since late 2019, I came back to what I love doing the most – traveling. I’ve revisited some local & international destinations & also explored new countries, cities & places I haven’t been to in the past. Let’s look back at the trips I had in 2022.

PS. I will refrain from posting group photos with friends for confidentiality purposes.

HOSTED FRIENDS IN BICOL

After almost 10 years, my college friends (N9) flew back to my hometown in Bicol. I hosted them for 3 days & 2 nights here, took them to a private coastal beach & accompanied them around Legazpi. The last time they visited me in Bicol was back in November 2012.

A few weeks after, my former officemates-turned-friends also paid a visit. I hosted them for 4 days & 3 nights, spent most of the time on the beach & took them around Legazpi on their last day.

It was fun showing my friends around the province. I hope more friends will visit me here soon!

DAVAO

I mentioned in my That No Travel 2020 post that we planned to fly to Davao for a reunion at the same time to celebrate a friend’s birthday. This plan happened after 2 years. Loose inter-regional travel restrictions allowed us to travel from Manila to Davao for 3 full days.

We’ve all been to Davao after our college graduation so we just went around the city & ate. We visited a few restaurants, took a day trip to Samal Island & again eat, eat & eat. We just enjoyed our time together after 2 years of not seeing each other physically.

CEBU CITY & BANTAYAN ISLAND

Last May, my high school friends & I flew to Cebu for a quick weekend getaway. We took the direct regional service from Legazpi to Cebu & immediately went around the Queen City of the South. The following day, we took a 3.5-hour drive up north & rode the ferry to the famous Bantayan Island. We stayed there for 2 full days. We all flew back home from the new Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2.

CEBU-YAS WEEKEND: 4 Days Around Cebu City & Bantayan Island [May 2022]

KUALA LUMPUR

After being on the ground for 31 months, I flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Singapore. I used my KrisFlyer miles & got a good return ticket with Singapore Airlines. I stayed in the city for a week, temporarily worked from the hostel & went to meet people from Couchsurfing hangouts.

Friends from the Philippines followed to Kuala Lumpur after a few days. They joined me for 3 full days around the city. I took them around KLCC, Bukit Bintang, Batu Caves, Chinatown, Masjid Jamek & Genting Highlands. Check out the full Kuala Lumpur blog list below.

3-Day Kuala Lumpur Weekend: Do-It-Yourself Below 20K Trip Around Malaysia’s Modern Capital City [July 2022]

EUROPE 2022

In late 2022, my friends & I flew to the other side of the world & spent 2.5 weeks around Paris, Rome, Florence, Milan & Barcelona. I used my Emirates ticket credit that I booked back in January 2022. We spent the first 5 days in Paris, then we flew to Rome & explored the city for another 5 days. The remaining 12 days were spent equally between Florence & Milan in Italy & Barcelona in Spain.

I haven’t posted anything about this Europe 2022 trip on the website, but I will start in the next few weeks. I have over 20 planned blog posts for this trip alone. Watch out for the Emirates flight reports, new hostel of the day features, city itineraries & day trip photoblogs – everything about this trip to Europe – in the next few weeks & months.

Wrap-Up

2022 was definitely a year for the books. The world has reopened & people have started to move around places. People went out & spent quality time with families & friends. The same people also restarted travelling. Revenge travel is real.

Personally, I am thankful for all the times I got to reunite & spend time with my family, friends & colleagues. I am delighted that I got to see most of them in person after numerous times of seeing them virtually. Hopefully, the worst is over for the pandemic. There is no other way for all of us but to learn from & to move on from the lessons of this historical event.

What’s In It for 2023

You might wonder what my plans are for this year. Unfortunately, I am unable to share everything until all plans are finalized or until everything has happened already. It is still risky to plan far ahead given the possible global economic crisis. I do hope that everything pans out well.

One thing is for sure – I will share every detail of my recently-concluded trip to Europe. Please expect more itineraries, budget travel posts, flight reports & hostel of the day features.

Thank you for being with me in 2022. I hope all of you stay & even invite more friends to join us on this journey called 2023.

Wishing you, your family & friends a fruitful & meaningful new year. Take care!

Regards,
Paolo 🙂

2019 Rewind: Crossing Borders & Making Dreams Come True

Another year of travels is coming to an end. Those of you following me since 2016 know that I always post a year-end blog detailing what happened to me & where I went in that specific year. 2016 was all about travelling solo, exploring places by myself; 2017 was exploring relatively known & unknown places & 2018 was all about reuniting & travelling with friends. 2019 is a mix of all 3 years of recaps. I went & explored places by myself, I flew & took trains to both & unknown places & I had a few trips with my friends. I can say 2019 is my best year yet for travelling – I’ve crossed many borders & made my long-time dreams come true.

Allow me to share with you details of my 2019 in terms of trips taken. I will also give insights of the interesting content developments here in my website.

trips recap ✈️

SORSOGON 🇵🇭

I started off the year with a day trip to the beaches of Matnog, Sorsogon. I didn’t post about this day trip in this website but I believe it’s worth sharing here. My cousins from Australia welcomed the new year in our hometown. Days after the new year, we took them to the islands of Subic, Matnog in Sorsogon. We first went fish feeding in a sanctuary then continued to Subic Beach. It was a fun day spent with cousins in the beach.

JAPAN 🇯🇵

Back in February, I flew to my favorite Japan for 9 days. My supposed-to-be trip to Nagano, Kanazawa & Toyama turned into a family trip around Tokyo & Kansai Region (Osaka, Nara & Kyoto). I flew with them to Tokyo then took a side trip to Nagano then met my sisters in Osaka afterwards. It was a delight seeing the snow monkeys in Nagano & spending some alone time in a very cold & snowy place in Japan. I then flew to Fukuoka to spend a day around the city before catching my flight back to Manila. I may not have been to Kanazawa & Toyama in this trip but I’ll make sure to go next time.

I didn’t post much about this but I went to Japan again a few months ago. My friend & I decided to surprise another friend in her flight to Fukuoka & to ruin her first ever solo trip. We spent 48 hours around Fukuoka, Japan, went to pretty interesting places, savored every Japanese meal & drowned ourselves with the Lipton milk tea drink.

Blog List:
Japan Highlights 2019: TOKYO – 36 Hours In The Land Of The Rising Sun’s Most Famous Metropolis
Japan Highlights 2019: NAGANO – 48 Hours In The Inland Prefecture Of The Snow Monkeys
Japan Highlights 2019: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN – A Theme Park That Brings You Back To Being A ‘Kid’ Just For A Day
Japan Highlights 2019: KYOTO – Japan’s Ancient Capital In One Day
Japan Highlights 2019: NARA – A Morning Visit To The Deer Park
Japan Highlights 2019: MATSUMOTO & FUKUOKA Stopovers

BACOLOD 🇵🇭

Office friends & I went on a spontaneous Bacolod weekend trip last February. We flew to the city & went to the famous Ruins then had chicken inasal for dinner in Manukan Country. We then went to the town of Don Salvador Benedicto to check out Negros’ Little Baguio. After a few hours around the mountains, we went back to the city & decided to just eat out until we flew back to Manila.

Blog: Spontaneous BACOLOD Weekend: 48 Hours In The City of Smiles

MELBOURNE 🇦🇺

I flew to Melbourne, Australia with Leng & Shane (from Sydney 2018 trip) during the Holy Week break last April. I spent 8 days around the city & the nearby suburbs. We also went to the Brighton Bathing Boxes, Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island & Yarra Valley Wine Country. My friend Lord, who I was with on It’s The Ship 2018, joined us on our first few days in Melbourne.

We didn’t make out Melbourne itinerary that busy compared to our Sydney one. We just enjoyed our time there, strolling around the beautiful city, trying out different cuisines & hoarding every single interesting item in the supermarkets.

Blog List:
N9 In Straya Series: Walking Around MELBOURNE Part 1 – Parks, Gardens & Heritage Sites
N9 In Straya Series: Walking Around MELBOURNE Part 2 – Hipster Laneways, Communal Spaces & Modern Areas
N9 In Straya Series: BRIGHTON BATHING BOXES – Iconic & Photogenic Bathing Boxes Found In A Coastal Melbourne Suburb
N9 in Straya Series: GREAT OCEAN ROAD – A Day Trip To The World’s Largest War Memorial
N9 In Straya Series: PHILLIP ISLAND – A Perfect Day Out With Nature & Australian Wildlife
N9 In Straya Series: PUFFING BILLY RAILWAY & YARRA VALLEY WINE TOUR – Victoria’s Heritage Steam Railway & Wine Region In A Day

TAIWAN 🇹🇼

It’s been years since our last family trip to Singapore. My parents decided to bring the family to Taiwan for the Fathers’ Day weekend. We went to the city of Taichung on our first day as per my sister’s request. She wanted to see the flower farms in Taichung plus take nice photos with the family. We then went around the city on Fathers’ Day – went to church, strolled around Daan Park, ate at Din Tai Fung, hiked the Elephant Hill & walked around Raohe Night Market.

On our third day, we took the Klook guided tour to Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen Old Street & Shifen then finished the day around Ximending. We spent our fourth day in Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, Liberty Square & in the airport for our flight back to Manila. I met with my good friend Richard, whom I knew in Komodo, Indonesia in 2018, for a few nights in Taipei. He was also in the city waiting for his flight back to Europe. It was fun catching up with this man over food & drinks!

Blog List:
TAIWAN All Over Again – Family Long Weekend In Taipei
TAICHUNG Photo Blog: Picturesque Places Outside Taipei
YEHLIU-JIUFEN-SHIFEN Klook Tour – Perfect & Hassle-Free Taiwan Northeast Coast Day Tour

YOGYAKARTA 🇮🇩

One spontaneous trip I took this year was that to Yogyakarta. I saw a piso-fare ticket to Jakarta last June for an August trip & decided to buy that ticket. I contacted Yudi, a friend I met on Its the Ship 2018 who is now based somewhere in Indonesia. We then agreed to meet in Yogyakarta & volunteered to take me around.

Lord of LordAroundTheWorld, who joined me in Melbourne last April, decided to join me a week before the trip. We then met with Yudi & his friend Dallin in Yogyakarta & we went around the city. We went to different temples (Borobudur, Prambanan, Taman Sari) & also took the lava trail tour in Mount Merapi. We ate in different local restaurants & tried several local dishes. We spent most of our time in Yogyakarta in the road, in restaurants & in our hotel. It was a relaxing trip; not the usual busy one. It’s nice to step back for a while & just enjoy chilling.

Blog: The Wonderful Indonesia Series: YOGYAKARTA – A Relaxing Weekend In Indonesia’s Special Monarchy Region

BORACAY 🇵🇭

My buddy Rick & I flew to Boracay last September to surprise our high school friends having their holiday in the island. They didn’t know that we were coming so we decided to show up on the afternoon of their 2^nd day, right after arriving in the island. We ate in nice restaurants, walked along the shore, swam on the beach & spent some quality time with the group.

Rick & I stayed for 2 more days in the island & just spent most of the time relaxing, eating, walking & drinking. I didn’t expect this September trip to have its 2^nd part after the Bohol weekend in 2018 but I hope there will be a 3^rd installment in 2020, 4^th installment in 2021 until this becomes a regular trip with them. By the way, I didn’t join my family in Hong Kong to join these people plus I also don’t have my passport during this time.

E-U-R-O-P-E!!! 🇳🇱 🇧🇪 🇨🇿 🇩🇰

Finally, A TRIP TO EUROPE! This is the highlight of my 2019. It was a dream come true. I haven’t posted anything about this trip in the website but I’m happy to share that this long-time plan of going to Europe happened last October to November 2019.

One of my Europe trip highlights – a trip to Český Krumlov. This town is picturesque & peaceful. 🇨🇿

It all started with an affordable ticket I got from the Singapore Airlines & BPI promotion last January 2019. I got tickets flying from Manila to Amsterdam, Netherlands & leaving from Copenhagen, Denmark, both via Singapore. I saved up the whole year, planned my itinerary, booked my hostels & booked the inter-country flights ahead of time. I applied for a tourist visa on my own – no help from any agency & got it after a week.

Nyhavn – my favorite place in Copenhagen… It’s where the Danish Christmas market is found! 🇩🇰

And the trip happened. Due to busy work schedule, I didn’t have time to do more research & make my final itinerary. I arrived in Amsterdam with no plans, not even a single idea how to go to my hostel. I got scared at first but I ended up having the best days of my life around Europe. I went to 4 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic & Denmark), explored cities & small towns, reunited with friends I met from previous trips, met cool new friends along the way, took walking tours in every city / town, drank more beers than waters in a day, walked thousands of steps & tens of kilometers a day & ate all local food I can in every place. I did all of these alone! Yes, I FLEW TO EUROPE ALONE & I SURVIVED. It was probably the bravest thing I did this year.

Obligatory photo with the canals of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.. Can’t wait to go back here! 🇳🇱

I have so much to share about this trip but I am reserving that for the individual posts. I hope you’ll watch out for those write-ups.

Blogs: TO FOLLOW.

blog highlights ✨

Aside from the usual blog contents I post, there were 2 significant developments in this blog. First is the continued posts for the Tuesday Tips & Hostel of the Day features. I had 3 Tuesday Tip posts & 7 hostel of the day features published in my website solely for 2019. I still have a long list of Tuesday tips to share & hostels (especially the ones from Europe) to publish so watch out for those. My main goal of posting these Tuesday tips & hostel features is to show the world that there are nice things out there that don’t need hefty amounts of money. You can have the same fun & memorable experiences by paying small amounts.

Blog List:
Hostel of the Day: DOT HOSTEL NAGANO – Wooden House Turned High-Rated Affordable Hostel
Hostel Of The Day: KHAOSAN WORLD ASAKUSA RYOKAN & HOSTEL – Clean & Affordable Traditional Japanese Accommodation In The Heart Of Tokyo
Hostel Of The Day: NEW WORLD INN OSAKA – Simple, Affordable & Modern Property Near Tennoji
Hostel Of The Day: FUKUOKA HANA HOSTEL – Fukuoka’s In-Demand & Best Valued Tourist Accommodation
Hostel Of The Day: FLINDERS BACKPACKERS MELBOURNE – Budget-Friendly & Extremely Popular Hostel In The Heart Of The City
Hostel Of The Day: UINN TRAVEL HOSTEL – Modern, Space-Themed & Excellent Taipei Hostel
Hostel Of The Day: MAD MONKEY HOSTEL BORACAY – Paradise Island’s Hidden Party Hostel Gem
Tuesday Tip: 4 TRUSTED HOSTEL GROUPS To Check When Looking For AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION in JAPAN
Tuesday Tip: 6 WAYS To SAVE MONEY In MELBOURNE
Tuesday Tip: Do-It-Yourself SCHENGEN TOURIST VISA Application With VFS NETHERLANDS

This year, I introduced a section in my website called Flight Reports. You guys know I love flying & my interest in aviation is something else. I thought of sharing my flight experiences with different airlines – how the service is from check in to boarding to in-flight services & cabin crew service. Since I started the section in June, I already published 8 flight reports about 5 local & international airlines. I didn’t expect this section to get hits but I’m happy that I get regular website visits for these specific posts. I still have about 5 or 6 flight reports to share with you, most of them from my European trip. I hope you’re excited for these flight reports as I am!

Blog List:
Flight Report: EVA AIR BR 277 – Taipei to Manila – Taiwan’s 5-Star Airline For An Affordable Fare
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 328 – Legazpi to Manila – ₱600 ($11.50) Flight Back To Manila
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 759 – Manila to Jakarta – ₱1,236 ($24) International Flight To Indonesia
Flight Report: INDONESIA AIR ASIA QZ 7550 – Jakarta to Yogyakarta – Low-Cost Domestic Flight To Indonesia’s Royal City
Flight Report: INDONESIA AIR ASIA QZ 7551 – Yogyakarta to Jakarta – Redemption Flight Back To Indonesia’s Capital
Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 905 – Manila to Caticlan (Boracay) – Short & Relatively Empty Flight To Paradise Island
Flight Report: CEBGO DG 6244 – Caticlan (Boracay) to Manila – Quick Turboprop Flight Back To The Metro
Flight Report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES SQ 915 – Manila to Singapore – 5-Star Economy Class Experience In A New Generation Boeing Dreamliner

By the way, this just came in. This website has finally hit 90,000 site views! This is another milestone hit before the end of the 2019. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the endless support – from sharing my articles & posts, to commenting & liking the posts that appear on your timelines to your comments & questions. I appreciate all of these.

Thank you for giving me the reason to continue sharing more content in this website. I can tell you this is not the end, it is just the start of more tips, flight reports, itineraries & blog posts. I have a long list of topics to share & upcoming trips & flights to take. You’ll definitely see more in this website next year.

Here’s to an adventure-filled 2020. Happy New Year, dear readers!

PS. Some photos were taken using my HTC U11. Shout out to my friends Junelle, Mark & Richard for allowing me to use your photos in this post.

N9 In Straya Series: PUFFING BILLY RAILWAY & YARRA VALLEY WINE TOUR – Victoria’s Heritage Steam Railway & Wine Region In A Day

Hey, I hope you’re having a great day so far. I was checking my list of topics to post & noticed that I’ve left out the Puffing Billy & Wine Tour we had in Melbourne last April. All other activities or happenings have already been posted on this website – Melbourne Walkathon Part 1: Parks, Gardens & Heritage Sites, Melbourne Walkathon Part 2: Hipster Laneways, Communal Spaces & Modern Areas, Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes, Great Ocean Road Tour & Phillip Island Day Trip. I’ve also shared with you some details about Melbourne’s most famous CBD hostel – Flinders Backpackers, located near Flinders Street Station.

Just like New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, Victoria also has its own wine region called Yarra Valley.

Back to the last Melbourne post, allow me to share with you the details of this relaxing day tour we had in the Dandenong Ranges. We booked the day tour through an online tour provider & then we were endorsed to another company who actively runs this trip around the area. The trip was divided into 2 parts- the Puffing Billy Railway Experience in the morning & the Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tour in the afternoon. Let me give you a quick background of our destinations before we fully go into the details of the day tour.

Eyeing to apply for an Australian tourist visa in the future? Let me help you. Here are 6 easy steps on how you can get your tourist visa!

Puffing billy railway

Puffing Billy Railway is Australia’s heritage steam railway that has been in operation since 1900. This railway used to be the main transporter for the local farming & timber community. This was used to bring goods to & from the Dandenong Ranges & served a vital role in the lives of the Victorians.

The railway used to operate from Upper Fentree Gully to Gembrook. Now, the railway starts operating mostly from Belgrave Station up to the Lakeside. It has also become a popular attraction in Melbourne where thousands of tourists ride the steam train each year.

Yarra Valley Wine Region

Yarra Valley is Victoria’s own wine region that is known for producing world-class Chardonnay, sparkling wine & Pinot Noir. The region’s cool climate makes it a perfect place to have vineyards & wineries all year round. At present, there are over a hundred wineries operating in this region & we were lucky to visit 3 of them on this tour.

Tour Booking

My friends & I found Last Minute Day Tours Australia to be the cheapest tour provider for the Puffing Billy Railway & Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tour for our planned date. The tour cost AUD 129 per person. The fee included hotel pick-up & drop-off, a luxury tourist coach transport, national park fees, a professional tour guide, railway tickets, morning tea & wine tastings at selected Yarra Valley wineries.

We also decided to upgrade our tour & availed of the AUD 46 lunch set in one of the fine dining restaurants. Each of us paid AUD 175 for the whole day tour – that’s around ₱6,500 per person at that time. Last Minute Day Tours Australia then endorsed us to AAT Kings, the tour provider for this day trip. AAT Kings is one of Australia’s prime tour operators & is known for its upscale tour programs. The company offers this tour for a more expensive rate; glad we got it discounted through Last Minute Day Tours.

The day trip to the Dandenong Ranges may be a little expensive but it was all worth it.

Tour Itinerary

Let me share with you the specific happenings on this luxury day tour. It all started with a scheduled pickup from one of the hotels near Flinders Backpackers Melbourne. We were then brought to the AAT Kings luxury coach somewhere in the CBD. Upon boarding, we were given the menu for lunch. Our orders were taken & was forwarded to the restaurant for early preparation. We left the city a few minutes past 8 in the morning.

MORNING TEA

Our first stop was Grants on Sherbrooke for morning tea. It is a family-run business in the middle of the forest & is a famous stop for those going to the Puffing Billy Railway. We were given hot bread with butter & jam plus coffee or tea for a snack. All these items were unlimited; guests can eat & drink as much as they want. Each AAT Kings guest was also given a free tray of bird seeds to feed the wild birds. I went for both the morning tea & bird feeding session. There were a lot of cockatoos present during our visit. It was fun feeding these cockatoos.

PUFFING BILLY RIDE

After morning tea, we headed to Belgrave Station of the Puffing Billy Railway. AAT Kings had already resereved a number of wooden coaches for our tour group. Our guide brought us to these coaches & then we boarded the steam railway to Menzies Creek Station. The train line was operated by one of the many original steam engines that were used way back in the 1900s. In this modern day & age, one doesn’t get to ride a steam railway a lot of times. This 20-ish minute train ride was a cool experience.

LUNCH AT ISABELLA’S RESTAURANT

After getting off at Menzies Creek Station, we all went back to the bus & headed for lunch at Isabella’s Restaurant. This restaurant is located within Rochford Wines‘ winery & offers a fantastic view of the vineyards.

Our lunch set started with flat bread & butter for appetizer. Our previously-selected main course followed. I went for the 16-hour oyster blade of beef & slow roasted pumpkin tangine with feta & toasted almond. The main course came with a glass of Rochford wine. After the main meal, were were given a slice of cake & macaron with a cup of tea of coffee.

We had a great lunch. I never had a perfectly-cooked beef dish in a while. Honestly, we had more than the amount we paid for this lunch set. The place was also beautiful & classy.

WINE TASTING TOUR

We had our wine tasting tour after lunch. We went to 3 different wineries & tried their best-selling wines. The wineries included in this tour were Rochford Wines, Dominique Portet Winery & Yerring Farm. Each winery had its own unique element, but what I enjoyed most is the laid back & authentic experience with Yerring Farm. Check out the photos of our wine tasting tour below.

Rochford Wines

Dominique Portet Winery

Yerring Farm

In case you missed it, I visited another Australian wine region last year. I went to Yarra Valley in New South Wales for another wine tasting tour. Check out this post to know more about the day tour.

After having a few glasses of wine in Yerring Farms, we all headed back to the coach & started the trip back to Melbourne. We arrived back in Melbourne at around 5:30 in the afternoon. My friends & I enjoyed this relaxing & fun Puffing Billy Railway & Yarra Valley Wine Tasting day trip. This day tour is worth trying when in Melbourne!

Have you tried the Puffing Billy Railway? How about the Wine Tasting Tour in Yarra Valley? How was your experience? I am looking at flying back to Melbourne in the coming months. Is there another place which I should visit? Feel free to post your experiences or suggestions in the comment section below. Alternatively, you can send all these messages via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com. I’ll respond as soon as I can. Don’t forget to follow me & please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you very much for joining me in this Australia series. I’ve had great times in both Sydney (& Brisbane) & Melbourne trips over the last year. I cannot wait to go back to these cities & explore more! ✌️

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.

N9 In Straya Series: PHILLIP ISLAND – A Perfect Day Out With Nature & Australian Wildlife

Last Sunday, I shared with you the details of our day trip to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. It is considered the world’s largest war memorial dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War I; at the same time it is one of the most famous day tours outside Melbourne.

I mentioned in my Great Ocean Road post that we took a number of day tours outside Melbourne during our 8-day visit. Today, I’ll share with you the whereabouts of the 2nd day trip – a day around Phillip Island.

Before I go into details, feel free to check out the other Melbourne posts I had – the stroll around the city’s parks, gardens & heritage sites, the walkathon around the hipster lane ways & communal spaces & the visit to the famous Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes. I also shared with you some information about Flinders Backpackers – the hostel where we stayed in Melbourne. I have a few more posts coming up after this so watch out!

Phillip Island

Phillip Island is a small Australian island located about 140+ kilometers southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. The island’s name came from Arthur Phillip, the 1st governor of New South Wales & was given by explorer George Bass. The island is connected by a concrete bridge from San Remo (from the main island) & Newhaven (the 1st suburb in the island). Phillip Island is a favorite summer destination of the locals because of its beautiful beaches & untouched nature. The island is also famous for tourists who want to have a glimpse of Australian wildlife & more importantly, to see wild kangaroos & penguins.

Day Tour Booking

Just like our Great Ocean Road tour, my friends & I booked our Phillip Island Tour with Sightseeing Australia. I totally forgot the name of the tour agency we were endorsed to but I’m sure that the agency is a member of the Get Lost Travel Group.

We got the day tour for AUD 115 per person. It includes a ride to & from Phillip Island from designated pick-up & drop-off points, morning snack, entrance to Maru Koala & Animal Park, wildlife viewing, a regular ticket for the Penguin Parade & a friendly & informative bus driver / tour guide. Lunch meals were not included. The tour guide handed our discount passes for the lunch at Maru Kitchen.

Planning to get an Australian tourist visa soon? I’ve summarized the visa application process into 6 steps. Check out the post here.

Itinerary

Let me share with you our itinerary for this day around Phillip Island. The tour bus picked us up in front of St Paul’s Cathedral, corner of Swanston St & Flinders St at 9:55 am & dropped us off at around 9:00 pm. The drive to & from the Phillip Island took about 1.5 hours per way.

MORNING TEA @ TOORADIN

Our 1st stop was for morning tea in an open space / park in Tooradin. The guide prepared cookies, coffee & tea for all guests. It was also the time when we officially met the people we are with for the day. It was probably the most diverse tour group I had so far – we basically had people from all over the world.

MARU KOALA & ANIMAL PARK

We headed to Maru Koala & Animal Park after morning tea. Our tour guide paid for our entrance fee (already included in the overall tour fee) & arranged a small talk about the koalas. My friends had a photo with the koala for an additional fee. I didn’t bother to have one because I already had a photo with a koala during my 2018 Brisbane visit. My friends & I went around the mini zoo & played with the kangaroos & other Australian native animals.

LUNCH @ MARU KITCHEN

We had our lunch in Maru Kitchen, Maru Koala & Animal Park’s in-house restaurant. We opted for 2 meat platters & oh boy, the servings were large. We used the discount voucher given to us by our tour guide. My friends & I were not able to finish everything so we decided to bring them for the rest of the day trip.

CAPE WOOLAMAI

After lunch, we headed to Cape Woolamai & walked barefoot along the beautiful coast of Bass Strait. Cape Woolamai’s golden beach is one of Melbourne’s most famous surfing spots. The weather during our visit was perfect – it was sunny with a bit of clouds & it was perfect for the photos.

PHILLIP ISLAND RACING CIRCUIT

The driver also took us outside Phillip Island Racing Circuit. The circuit is primarily used for racing events in the island. We were lucky to see & hear race cars running around the track during our short visit.

SWAN LAKE

We also went to Swan Lake, the only freshwater lake in Phillip Island. The lake has a 1.3 km walking trail that will take about 30 minutes walk. This place is perfect for bird watching. The lake was a little dry during our visit, resulting in just a few species present.

NOBBIES OCEAN DISCOVERY CENTRE

The Nobbies Centre is an ecotourism centre in Point Grand famous for its wooden boardwalks. These boardwalks provide an amazing view of rock formations in the Phillip Island’s coast. This place is also famous for fur seals, which didn’t show up during our visit. The centre has an on site cafe & a paid attraction called Antartic Journey.

PENGUIN PARADE

The last stop & the highlight of this day trip was the visit to the Summerland Beach for the Penguin Parade. A regular ticket to the parade was given to us by our tour guide & we immediately went to the viewing area & waited for the penguins. Guests who want a closer look at the parade have the option to pay for the Penguin Plus package where they will have a special viewing deck for the parade.

After sunset, the little penguins started to go back to their natural habitats from a day of fishing. They came back in groups & they were so cute. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed during the parade. Yes, I enjoyed the penguin parade but not much the waiting time.

After the penguin parade, we headed back to our tour bus & took the trip back to the city. Overall, the tour was alright. Personally, I liked our visit to the Maru Koala & Animal Park, the unexpected barefoot stroll along Cape Woolamai Beach & the penguin parade. It was a perfect day out with nature & wildlife!

One last look at Cape Woolamai’s golden beach.. What a view from the view deck. STUNNING! 🙂

Have you been to Phillip Island in the past? How was your trip? Which was your favorite spot? Keen on going to Phillip Island in the future? I’m interested to see how is it during winter. Do you have any questions about the day tour? Feel free to comment them below. If you want to remain anonymous to everyone, feel free to send your questions via email to contact@thewkndtravel.com & I’ll answer as soon as possible. Don’t forget to follow me & please please please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you very much for spending time here today. See you in the next post! 🙂

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.

N9 in Straya Series: GREAT OCEAN ROAD – A Day Trip To The World’s Largest War Memorial

Over the last few weeks, I started sharing with you some details about our Melbourne, Australia Trip last April 2019. I’ve posted about the parks, gardens & heritage sites we visited, the hipster laneways, communal spaces & modern areas we walked through & the famous bathing boxes we went to. I also gave you some insights about Flinders Backpackers Melbourne, the extremely popular & affordable accommodation we booked for 7 nights while in the city. Today, I will share with you 1 of the 3 day trips we took during our trip – that is the Great Ocean Road Tour.

The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a 243-kilometer road along the southeastern cost of the Victorian State. This long road stretch was built from 1919-1932 by the returning soldiers for those killed during the World War I. This road is listed in the Australian National Heritage & is also the world’s largest war memorial. Today, the Great Ocean Road is one of Melbourne’s most famous day trips outside the city.

Day Tour Booking

We booked our 1 day Great Ocean Road & Twelve Apostles Tour with Sightseeing Australia. It’s the same agency where we booked our Hunter Valley Wine Tour in Sydney last year. The agency then endorsed us to another tour company called Wildlife Tours Australia.

The day tour cost us AUD 105 per person. It includes all pick-up & drop off at selected places, morning snack, park entrance fees, wildlife viewing & a friendly & informative bus driver / tour guide. Lunch meals were not included.

Itinerary

Allow me to share with you our day trip itinerary. The tour bus picked us up (you can choose your pick-up station upon booking) at St Paul’s Cathedral, corner of Swanston St & Flinders St at 7:15 in the morning & dropped us off at around 8:00 in the evening. The tour usually lasts 12 hours; may even take longer depending on traffic.

MORNING TEA

We drove for a few hours away from the Melbourne CBD & stopped in a park / public open space for 30 minutes & had morning tea. Our driver / guide brought us some cookies, coffee & tea for snacks.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD MEMORIAL ARCH

We continued the journey & stopped at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch. This arch marked the original start of the 243-kilometer war memorial. We stopped here photos.

EASTERN VIEW BEACH

A few meters from the memorial arch is a pristine beach in Eastern View, Victoria. We took some time to walk around the nice beach & got some amazing photos.

WYE RIVER COASTAL RESERVE

We went on for about 30 minutes until we reached the Wye River Coastal Reserve. It is a reserve where we saw wild koalas. The reserve had a caravan park in it & the Great Ocean Road beach was just at the other side of the road. We also stopped by a lookout which gave stunning views of the Victorian coast.

APOLLO BAY LUNCH

Next stop, lunch! We headed to the coastal town of Apollo Bay to have lunch for 45 minutes. We went into this local restaurant & ordered food. I got the Aussie staple food – fish & chips! The meal prices were higher than the usual, maybe because it is a popular stopover area.

OTWAY RANGES RAIN FOREST

After lunch, we went away from the coast & headed to the Otway Ranges Rain Forest, still on the Great Ocean Road. We took a guided walk through the rain forest, among the ancient Eucalyptus trees & cool forest scenery.

TWELVE APOSTLES

From the rain forest, we drove for an hour to reach Port Campbell National Park, also known as the Twelve Apostles. It is Melbourne’s & one of Australia’s most famous landmarks. The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore. These landmarks were formed by erosion & natural occurrences. If I remember it right, only 7 or 8 of the original 12 can be seen from the view deck. This part of the tour was the highlight of this day trip. Too bad the skies were not clear during our visit. Nonetheless, the views from the boardwalks were stunning.

LOCH ARD GEORGE

Loch Ard George is located a few minutes away from the Twelve Apostles. This place is famous of its beautiful limestone cliffs as well as the famous shipwreck site of Loch Ard.

GIBSON STEPS

The final stop of this Great Ocean Road day tour was a brief stop at the Gibson Steps. We were given a few minutes to go down & have a final walk at the Great Ocean Road beach.

From there, we started our trip back to Melbourne. It took us about 3 hours before we reached our final stop, St Paul’s Cathedral. Overall, it was a long but a great day tour. The views were stunning & one-of-a-kind. It’s a unique place to visit in Melbourne & in Australia, something one should not miss when visiting the city / state. I recommend taking a tour through this agency because doing it your own could be too tiring. I won’t mind doing it again in case I fly back to Melbourne.

(L-R) Me, Leng, Shane & Lord at Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell, VIC. Photo courtesy of Shane.

Have you been to the Great Ocean Road? Which was your favorite spot? Was the weather nice & clear during your visit to the Twelve Apostles? I hope the weather will be perfect in my next visit as I’m surely going to be back. Share your experiences in the comment section below. Do you have any questions about the Great Ocean Road or Melbourne in general? Feel free to post them below or e-mail them to contact@thewkndtravel.com & I’ll answer as soon as possible. Don’t forget to follow me & please please please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Before I forget, I want to let you know that it’s been a year since I first went to Australia with my friends. We explored Sydney for a few days & I flew to Brisbane for 3 days to spend some time with my relatives. Check out the Sydney & Brisbane blog list below to know more about my Australia previous trip.

Tuesday Tip: 6 Steps On How To Apply For An Australian Tourist Visa
N9 In Straya Series: Exploring SYDNEY By Foot Part 1 – Heritage Sites Within The City
N9 In Straya Series: Exploring SYDNEY By Foot Part 2 – City Icons, Alleys & Harbours
N9 In Straya Series – BONDI BEACH & COOGEE BEACH – A Short Trip To Two of Sydney’s Suburban Beaches + BOUNCE SYDNEY HOSTEL Tribute
N9 In Straya Series: HUNTER VALLEY Day Tour – Australian Wine Tasting At Its Finest
N9 In Straya Series: SCENIC WORLD BLUE MOUNTAINS – Nature & Adventure In One Place
N9 In Straya Series: BRISBANE Weekend – Quality Family Time In QLD
Hostel Of The Day: THE POD SYDNEY – Minimalist & Contemporary Hostel In The Middle Of A Busy City

Thanks for joining me today.. Until the next Melbourne post! ✌️

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.