Welcome back everyone! The Day 8 half-day trip was only a preview, today we officially begin the tour of Melbourne. Nobody visits Melbourne without dropping by one of the it's most famous place for shopping, The Queen Victoria Market, lucky for us the hostel we were staying was just 5-minute walk. It started its operation since 1878, the Market's seven hectare site is the largest open air Market in the southern hemisphere. It has variety of items for sale like fruits, vegetables, meats and also souvenir items like T-shirts, hats, jackets, magnets, keychain and many more. The market also sells exotic animal meat, but this is a story for another day. (Day 10 to be uploaded soon)

Do note of its schedule and plan accordingly:

9.00am to 2.00pm Tuesday and Thursday,
6.00am to 6.00pm Friday,
6.00am to 3.00pm Saturday,
9.00am to 4.00pm Sunday.

Not to be outdone by its bitter rival Sydney, Melbourne also offer tourist a free shuttle bus ride around attractions inside the city. (Update: Bad news guys, starting Oct 1,2013 it will now cost $5 for one day ride all you can. Visit the website for more info: http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/visitors/transport/shuttle/Pages/VisitorShuttle.aspx) The shuttle operates daily (except Christmas Day), departing every 30 minutes from 9.30am to 4.30pm and the full trip takes 90 minutes. What makes it better than the one is Sydney is that the buses here includes on-board commentary with interesting trivia of places you pass by.

The Shrine of Remembrance was built between July 1928 and November 1934 in remembrance of those 114,000 men and women of Victoria who served and those who died in the Great War of 1914-1918. 89,100 of them served overseas and 19,000 did not return. It is open from 10am to 5pm daily, except on Good Friday and Christmas Day. After arriving, we took several photos of the Shrine. We see several statues on the sides. We then went inside the Sanctuary, and on the center we saw the Stone of Remembrance which has the inscription "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN". This is actually part of a Bible verse from John 15:13 which says "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". We also went up the Sanctuary to see the top view of the Shrine. Some parts are still under construction for redevelopment plans by Melbourne government.

Now, we then proceeded to our next stop, the Royal Botanic Gardens. Are you seeing the trend here? Melbourne also has its own Royal Botanic Gardens, just like Sydney. Both are really competitive because they want to be the best Australian city. Established in 1846, the gardens extend over 36 hectares and display an amazingly diverse collection of over 50,000 plants from around the world, including rare and threatened species. Considered one of the finest examples of Victorian-era landscaped gardens in the world, the Royal Botanic Gardens hosts year-round events, picnics, weddings and tours. The garden is open 7.30am – 8pm everyday. Due to time constraint, we were only able to see 1/4 of the Gardens, and we decide to proceed with the next stop, the National Gallery of Victoria.

Founded in 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria is the oldest public art museum in Australia. Its collections range over European, Asian, and Australian art of all periods. The NGV Collection contains over 68,000 works of art and approximately 87% of its records are available for viewing. During our visit we were able to see Asian and European artworks. 2 artworks really caught our attention. Just near the entrance was a beautiful artwork of a deer made in diamonds - PixCell-Red Deer by Kohei Nawa. On the center of the hall is the artwork, clinamen by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. It composes of porcelain bowls floating in a pool of sky blue water. The bowls float in circular motion and produces nice sound when it hits each other. Better to see for yourself when you can visit.

Up next for today's tour is a visit to the oldest station in Australia, Flinders Street Station. Constructed on 1910, it is the busiest suburban railway station in the southern hemisphere and its 700 metre main platform is the longest in the country. The term "meet me under the clocks" would refer to the clocks above the main entrance which is a famous meeting place for locals.

Just across Flinders Street Station we can see one of Melbourne's most famous tourist attraction, the Federation Square. It is a unique cultural precinct which brings together a creative mix of attractions, museums and galleries, and the finest of dining with its many restaurants, cafes and bars. We also entered the nearby Melbourne Visitor Centre (MVC) and got ourselves free brochures and maps of tourist sites around Melbourne. On the Square is a big TV screen that shows video of people walking around. We can't help but take pictures of us starring in the TV since this is our only chance of fame!

Just across the street from Federation Square, is St. Paul's Cathedral. The Cathedral is built in the neo-Gothic transitional style, that is, partly Early English and partly Decorated.  It was designed by the distinguished English architect William Butterfield, who was noted for his ecclesiastical work.  The foundation stone was laid in 1880. More recently, and completed in 2009, extensive restoration works were carried out.

If you are a fan of street arts, we recommend you guys to visit Hosier Lane. It's just walking distance from Flinders Street Station. The whole place is covered with colorful works of art by different people. We were really amazed at the details of the paintings that covers the walls, windows and even garbage bins.

We then took the free tram ride Elizabeth St-Flinders St to South Wharf to get to our next destination, the Southbank. We started our walking tour at the Melbourne Exhibition Center. Just nearby was DFO, it's a mall that sells clothes, shoes, bags from different brands. Since it was winter season, summer fashion styles were on sale. Walking along the Yarra river, we took pictures of several brightly colored buildings and watched the sunset. We also passed by several steel statues along the bridge.

That is it for day 8, join us tomorrow for adventure in Winter Wonderland!

It was almost 10AM of 1^st of August 2013 when we touched down Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. First thing first, clear immigration checkpoint and claim luggage. Second, grab some maps and brochures. Third, call for shuttle pickup (free call -> 1800 882 922).

The shuttle service normally costs 13 AUD to Elephant Backpacker Hostel, but it was free since we stayed there for more than 3 days. We arrived at the hostel early for check-in; luckily we can leave our luggage behind and go for lunch. Initially we were looking for convenience store or supermarket, but we found none. At William Street, about 400 meters southwest of the hostel, Harry’s Coffee & Gelato caught our attention. We dined in and ate Angus Beef Burger meal and Tuna sandwich.

After having our full, we went back to the hostel and checked-in. The hostel lacks maintenance (toilets could be dirty, mattress is not that good, kitchen and dining area is messy and crowded), no WIFI, no heater in room. The room that was given to us has no automatic lock; therefore we weren’t really at peace with our belongings, though there were lockers in room. Things could get lost; anyone could be the suspect as anyone could enter the room. The only reason to stay here is the cheap price and great location!!!

After securing our beds and things, we start our Sydney exploration. We have decided to take the free Sydney CBD shuttle bus (Bus 555). On the way to the bus stop, we passed by two beautiful landmarks - St. Mary's Cathedral and Hyde Park. We shall discuss more of them in Day 2. But for now, here is the picture

The bus stop is near St. James Station. We rode bus and reached Circular Quay around 2pm. Circular Quay in Sydney is a busy transport hub, offering regular ferries to various locations across Sydney Harbour. Actually Circular Quay is hardly circular, despite its name, and is more like an angled horseshoe that opens out to the harbour where the ferries ply.

For the first-time visitor to Sydney, Circular Quay is a convenient starting point for a discovery tour of the city. Meander down the main promenade, you’ll come across all range of individuals – from tourists to street performers and Aboriginal buskers while playing the didgeridoo.

From here, you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge from a distance, the harbour and Sydney Opera House nearby. The view is just stunning!!! And look who is happily jumping! Here is top 5 fun facts from the brochure: a.) The bridge may rise or fall up to 7 inches as the steel expands or contracts in the weather, b.) The total cost of construction was 2x the original quote, c.) Despite opening in 1932, the bridge wasn’t fully paid off until 1988, d.) Approx 80000 litres of paint are required for each coat of the bridge and e.) It was painted grey because no other colour of paint was available in such large quantities.

Now let’s make our first stop at Sydney Opera House. What is Sydney without visiting this iconic sail-shaped building at Bennelong Point, right on Sydney Harbour?  It is one of the world’s most creative and busiest performing arts centres and greatest triumphs of modern architecture. It also is home to performances including ballet, opera, theatre, dance, music, comedy, kid shows, talks and more. Here is another top 5 house secrets:  a.) There are 5 theatres in the house, 6 if you include the Utzon Room and 7 with the Forecourt, b.)There are 1,056,006 tiles on the roof of the house, c.) It is supposed to cost $7M to build, but ended up costing $102M, d.)  Funds for construction were raised by starting the Sydney Opera House Lottery, and e.) The net over the Opera Theatre orchestra pit is there because a chicken once fell from stage on top of a cellist.

After admiring its beauty for about an hour, we are now ready to move to our next destination - Royal Botanic Gardens. The beautiful garden is at the heart of the city, it is located right near the Opera House steps and forecourt. It is overlooking the glistening harbour. Download the map of the garden.  Step through the Queen Elizabeth II Gate awaits the 30 hectares of flora and fauna. The Garden is easily one of the most beautiful spots in Sydney.

Located within the Royal Botanic Gardens are: Government House and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair which we failed to visit. L It is unfortunately that we didn’t visit Mrs Macquarie’s Chair as it is renowned for being the best vantage points in Sydney that offers stunning view of both Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Next time we shall not miss this!

Exiting at Woolloomooloo gate, at the right you’ll spot Art Gallery of New South Wales. It was established in 1880 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia. Admission is free to the general exhibition space, which displays Australian (from settlement to contemporary), European and Asian art.

Continuing along Art Gallery Road toward St Mary’s Road, we will pass by The Domain and eventually St. Mary’s Cathedral.  But it is still too early to call it a day!!! Let’s make Sydney Tower Eye our last stop, is that cool for you? From where you stand right now, the Sydney Tower is just too visible. You just need to go to the direction on where it is. Sydney Tower is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia (next to Gold Coast). It is also the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere (after Auckland's Sky Tower, though Sydney Tower Eye's main observation deck is almost 50 meters higher than that of Auckland's Sky Tower). The tower stands 309 meters above the Sydney central business district (CBD), located on Market Street, between Pitt and Castlereagh Streets. It is accessible from the Pitt Street Mall, and sits upon the newly refurbished Westfield Sydney.

The tower is open to the public, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs. We booked a combo pass ticket through their website which allowed us visit 5 attractions for just $63. And this is also why this must be visited first so that we can claim the admission tickets. Here are some pictures from the observation deck, we reached there around 5:30 PM and to our surprise the sun has already set.

Before going home we drop by Coles Supermarket at 388 George St. around 450 meters from Sydney Tower. We bought bread, vegemite, peanut butter, plastic utensils, and noodles for dinner and breakfast. This is all for day1. Hope you guys enjoyed the half day city tour :)