The Weekend Edition: Whitsundays Coast

Hello!

I'm back from my weekend trip to the Whitsundays Coast and here to tell you how I did my short trip. I traveled solo and it was super short and sweet and probably not the most ideal holiday for most, but I'll give you my most honest opinions, link you to the websites and provide little tips here and there for anyone who might want to go there one day :) 

Also if you're too lazy to read the long post, you can skip to end where I summarize the links for flights, accommodations and activities. YOU'RE WELCOME.

So my trip was just a short one, just two days and two nights. My flight was early on Friday morning. I went via Tigerair. The flight tickets were super affordable and I think the flight tickets are still cheap depending on when your anticipated travel dates are - If you check out Tigerair, the tickets go as low as $33 per way right now!

***

Friday

Arrival

When I reached Whitsundays Coast Airport in Proserpine, my first thought was that it was super small. I already anticipated it, sort of, but I guess little things like this surprise me all the time. There were two gates, and one baggage claim area, and probably around 3-4 check in counters.

The good thing about small airports is that you can't miss anything. Especially good for people travelling solo like myself, because I won't get lost no matter where I end up walking. 

Transport

I didn't have any luggage so I headed straight to the Whitsundays Transit sign. I booked with them in advance before the trip to transport me to Airlie Beach where I was staying throughout my trip. I think you can also buy tickets when you reach there because I saw some people doing that as well. The people were really helpful and they were super efficient. It's a bus, as opposed to a coaster so there's plenty of room. Also it was really clean! The fare wasn't bad either - a $34 return and I think every company charges a similar rate. They drop you off directly in front of your accommodation so that was definitely a big plus point for me! Definitely would recommend them if you're searching for transport to Airlie Beach. 

I would say that the trip from the airport to Airlie Beach was hardly impressive. There weren't many views or anything along the way. Just many trees and small shops along the streets. So don't go there expecting you'll see the sea straight away because you won't for a little while.

The journey to my accommodation took about an hour.

Abell Marina Point

Accommodation

I stayed at Backpackers by The Bay which was on the Main Street. However, though mine was on the main street, it was further away from the shops, about a 10 minute walk. I didn't mind it too much but if you want something more convenient, I would recommend somewhere like Magnums (I heard they are really popular) or Base backpackers. But to be honest you don't really have to worry about which backpacker you choose or when you book because the Main Street is probably 50% backpacker hostels anyway so there's plenty to choose from! 

Despite the distance from the shops, BBTB was generally good. The reception is open from 7.30 am to 7.30 pm so there's a good chance you'll get help when you need it. They'll give you your bedsheets and you'll be asked for a $10 cash deposit for the keys which you'll get back when you return the keys. 

I asked for an all female dorm with 4 beds which cost $34 per night. There are mixed dorms which are cheaper options. I thought of staying in a mixed dorm at first to save money but I guess my haram halal ratio didn't allow for it so I decided to go for an all female form instead hahahahahaha. Also, it's obviously more convenient because then I wouldn't have to sleep with my hijab on, etc.

When I was lying on the bed, a man entered the room and I thought he was just someone's boyfriend so I let it go but already felt a bit uneasy. But suddenly he lied on his bed. Apparently they had given me a mixed dorm! I thought of letting it go at first but I felt more uncomfortable than I thought I would so I asked reception if they could give me a different dorm, and they happily gave me a change, thank god!

The toilets and showers are gender separated so again, pretty convenient for us girls.

I didn't use the kitchen or anything but I passed by and they looked pretty clean. There were also some pots and pans. There were big fridges to keep food as well, so I would say it's a pretty convenient place! Also everything was pretty clean which always wins brownie points from me.

So overall, BBTB wins my approval stamp and a thumbs up for "good place to stay".

Activities - Skydiving (yes, you read that right!)

Okay, so here's the big one - I was meant to go Skydiving. Read again: MEANT to go. Sadly, when I reached the assembly point in the town centre, they were telling everyone that it was too dangerous to go at the time because the winds were too strong! They asked me whether I could do it on another day or whether I was planning to head back up to the Whitsundays at any time, but no option fitted me, so I only asked for a refund.

I felt so deflated! I was anticipating it for the past week so when adrenaline was already pumping up, only for them to tell me I couldn't do it, you could just imagine how upset I felt. Sure I felt nervous about the big jump the whole week, but I was looking forward to it. New experience and all that. But I guess everything has a hikmah behind it.

Anyway, I booked my skydiving here. I think this is the cheapest option for this height so far. Other websites were Book Me and each Skydiving company. I think there're two in Airlie Beach, mine was through Airlie Beach Skydivers.

Airlie Beach



So since skydiving was a no go, I decided to spend my time on the beach doing things that I know best, take photos, sketching and sleep!

I also walked around the town shops. Really Airlie Beach is probably 3 blocks of shops and about 50% of it is probably backpackers hostels! Another 20% would probably be activity/tour/travel companies and the rest are food and service shops.

For halal food, I was told that there are two kebab shops, but I only saw one. There are also plenty of fish and chips shops and a Dominoes. Woolies was nearby as well, so you definitely won't starve for the duration of your trip.

After the whole day just walking around and minding my own business, I decided to head back when I got dinner and it got dark. As far as I could see, there wasn't much night life going on either but don't take my word for it because it wasn't something I was interested in anyway.

Saturday

Activities - Ocean Rafting
I booked the Ocean Rafting tour via http://oceanrafting.com.au/ and took the Southern Lights tour.

The tour consists of :
1. Guided bushwalk to Hill Inlet lookout
2. Two hours on the famous Whitehaven Beach
3. Snorkeling

For me the tour was worth the money. It takes up the whole day (from 8.45 am - 4.30 pm) and they bring you to each spot. The company also arranges for transport to and from the meet up point before and after the activities end, so it is super convenient!

The boat ride itself was really fun, bumpy and feels like a real life flume ride! Again, the guides were super informative and friendly, so it made the tour all the more fun.

Our Ocean Rafting Tour guide

From Hill Inlet Lookout

From Hill Inlet Lookout

From Hill Inlet Lookout

Hill Inlet

Whitehaven Beach

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the snorkelling because I was to chicken to bring my phone and camera near the water!

Sunday Morning

Best Hot Chocolate I've tasted in awhile!

My flight was at 9.25 am on Sunday, and again I took Whitsundays Transit to the airport. So that was the end of my trip.

*****

So that is basically how I did the trip. There were unfortunate events here and there but overall it was a good trip and very restful. Ever since I started architecture school, my life has been filled with late nights and non-existent holidays, even my summer breaks since I normally find internships or work during those times. I got a good break for the weekend which is probably what I need most right now having to juggle masters and work at the same time.

My honest opinion on the Whitsundays, go if you love nature. Go there if you love small and quiet little beach towns. Go only if you have money to do the activities like going snorkeling or sailing or go on scenic flights. Without any activities, I wouldn't have enjoyed it much because the town itself was quite small. There wasn't much to see on Airlie Beach either, at least not at the time that I went. And go on a scenic flight if you have the money. I think that would have been really worth it! I think I would go again one day specifically just for that. Some day, I'll definitely come back.

And as promised: 

1. Flight: Tigerair - https://tigerair.com.au/

2. Transport to Airlie Beach : Whitsundays Transit - http://www.whitsundaytransit.com.au/

3. Accommodation: Backpackers by the Bay - https://www.backpackersbythebay.com/

    Booked via Hostel Bookers - http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/australia/airlie-beach/

4. Skydiving: Adrenaline - https://www.adrenaline.com.au/airlie-beach/skydiving/whitsundays-beach-skydive-14000ft/
5. Ocean Rafting - http://oceanrafting.com.au/

Also now that I've written about my Whitsundays trip, I feel like writing about my other unwritten trips before this as well lol. Hm should I?

The Weekend Edition: Mount Ngungun

In Winter 2016, my best friend came from Malaysia to visit me here in Brisbane. One of the many things we did whilst she was in Brisbane was hiking up Mount Ngungun (pronounced Gun Gun) which is around an hour from Brisbane. 

I thought that the track was pretty breezy since there was already a defined track to go to the peak, so the journey was pretty much all set!

There were four of us, and one of them being my photographer buddy so it made the trip all the more interesting because he and myself saw a lot of photo opportunities during the trip!

The next few photos were taken near a photogenic rocky spot which was located along the way to the top. I was pretty sure the hike up to the peak was only meant to be 1 hour, but with us stopping by here for photos, it probably set us back by about half an hour or so.

The Mt Ngungun squad

The Peak

I personally felt that the view from the peak was amazing and totally rewarding! For just an hour and a half hike up, the view that we got was just - Subhanallah. It was so beautiful.

We also brought some kerepek to eat at the peak! Tee hee. Excuse their derp faces. They were probably hungry after the long hike. We ended the day at Caloundra beach for sunset, and that was around another half hour away from our hiking spot.

Sunset at Caloundra, King's Beach

* All photos were taken by myself and my friend, Hans. I can't remember which is which.

The Weekend Edition: Jakarta-Bandung

This is a post on we did our 3 days and 2 nights in Jakarta-Bandung

Warning: This is a long post. Read only if you're bored, or you need travelling tips to Jakarta (which is at the end of this post)

DAY 1

Soekarno-Hatta Airport

When I first touched down in Jakarta, the first thoughts of their airport was 

"It looks a bit like Malaysia's R&R (rest & relax)"

It wasn't terrible feeling, merely a thought. I've seen worse airports in my 20 years of living.

We were welcomed by our local driver there. He looked nothing like how I pictured in my mind. It shocked me somehow, I have no idea why. He was to bring us around Bandung and Jakarta for the whole of our stay.  

On the Way to Bandung

We made our way to Bandung straight away. The first shock I got on the road was the vast amount of cars on that filled the highway ! On certain stretches, we barely moved an inch. 

On some of those stretches where we took half and hour to move a kilometre, there were quite a few people selling things on the road.

Cihampelas Walk (aka Ciwalk)

This is an interesting place for those who love to search for cheap t-shirts, jeans etc. You might also be able to find a tailor that can finish your order within a day!

I'm not one to really recommend places to go here because I didn't stay here for long since there was a big downpour at the time.

Rumah Mode

Another shopping haven for those who love branded items at a much lower price! There are so many good bargains here but if you're the type that hates crowded places, this isn't exactly the best place for you. When in Rumah Mode, you have to expect extremely long queues at the fitting room and also the cashier. Nevertheless, it's the place to go in Bandung now so you wouldn't want to miss it even if you don't buy anything!

DAY 2

Bandung City

We pushed off at 7.30 am to avoid the jam. We managed to sight see Bandung city (without being stuck in traffic for most of the time). Our driver also managed to negotiate with the security of the parliament house to let us in for about 10 minutes to take photos.

Kawah Putih, Ciwedey

Supposedly 2 hours away from Bandung city, but with the endless traffic, we reached there in 3 hours. It was raining heavily at the time we reached there so we couldn't enjoy the supposedly beautiful sights of the old volcano crater. It was extremely disappointing especially since it took us a long time to get there. Moral of the story: Come here when the weather is beautiful because it's really worthwhile if the place wasn't foggy. 

 What it's supposed to look like

Source: Image googled

What we saw that day .

Taman Mini Malaysia Indah, Jakarta

This place is really a worthwhile place to go and you'd probably spend at least half the day here. There are cultural shows and lots of museums here to fill your time. There's also a mosque and church if in need to pray.

Some of the cultural buildings. The houses here are actual life size buildings

 (not the miniature type we expected). 

Padang Food - Restoran Sederhana

Padang food is famous in Jakarta and now I know why! The way they served the food was different from other restaurants and the food was delicious. Definitely a go-to when in Jakarta.

DAY 3

Jakarta City

Jakarta city is way ahead of Bandung in it's looks. It was more modern in comparison and was way bigger.

Things we saw in Jakarta City:

- Kota Tua

 - National Monument
  You can enter the compound free of charge. We didn't though, because it took us too long to park so we decided to just drive around it.

 - Istiqlal Mosque 
  Supposedly the largest mosque in South East Asia. Didn't take too many photos here because we rushing to move to our next check point.

Shopping

- Mangga Dua & Majestik
 Like Rumah Mode, these places were extremely crowded with so many people smoking even inside the building. If you don't know what to find and you're claustrophobic, again, these are not for you!

But if you're searching for souvenirs and imitations, these complexes are worth the visit.

- Pasar Baru
  We had a better experience at Pasar Baru simply because it was in an open area. It probably also had to do with the fact that we went there at about 4pm (it closes at about 6-7 depending on the shop) when a lot of people has already left. It is a 1 km stretch of road with shops on either side. Here you can get good quality cloth (depending on which shop you enter) at a much lower price as compared to Malaysia.

There were some places which Jakarta and Bandung are known for that we didn't have time to visit such as Tanah Abang (another cloth shopping haven), Gunung Tangkuban Perahu (similar to Ciwidey) and other things. All in all, it was an eye opening trip (will be writing a seperate post about it later ).

Travelling Tips:

 1. Get a local driver there.
     Not only is it energy saving, is it time saving (and you definitely need to save time especially since Jakarta and Bandung are notorious for their traffic!) since they know the streets, temperament and places better than we do. It may be a bit more difficult to get around using public transport outside of Jakarta. Plus, with a local driver, they'll do the all the talking and negotiations when we need to enter the parks i.e Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and get the tickets at a lower price as compared to foreigners! So you get to save money too.

2. Be prepared to tip random people
   Here, you must almost always tip people when they help you out in any way, any where. Not even exaggerating. Have small change handy if you don't want them to chase you down because you didn't tip!

3. Be prepared to be shocked
    Especially if you live in a glittery world.

4. Use a wide angled lens (for DSLR users).
    It's quite obvious I suppose. This is actually for me because I traveled with a 35mm lens, so I didn't get as much in the frame as I would have wanted to. Gotta save money for that!

5. Go to Jakarta during weekends
    We did, and the roads were almost traffic free because the locals travel outside of Jakarta i.e Bandung during the weekends !

6. And travel to bandung on weekdays! 

This is all I can think of for now. I'll try add more if I remember later.
Thanks for reading!

*Fun facts:

There are over 15, 000, 000 people in Jakarta in the day (10, 000, 000 at night). That is half of Malaysia's overall population in Jakarta alone!

There, the term "jam" is known as "macet" .

The Weekend Edition: Melbourne (1/3)

Hello hello! I'm back from my short getaway to Melbourne. In a way, it was quite impromptu since we bought tickets just a week before the trip. Last minute or not, the trip was great as was the company.

Our flight was so early in the morning - 6.40am! Which meant we had to be at the airport an hour before that, which meant we had to wake up even earlier before that!

Warm welcomes were given by Melbourne's cool winds. It was such a nice change from Brisbane's scorching sun which has been shining a lot off late.

Went to my cousin's place, dropped off our bags and started walking the city. And man, I tell you it is possible to love a city even more than I ever did before.

I've been to Melbourne a couple of times before but I never really felt the place (I don't know if that makes sense, I don't think it does). I don't know what it was this time;  the climate change from Brisbane, the company, the fact that we were all first year archi students that were so easily amused with everything, I really can't place a finger on what it was, but I fell in love with Melbourne even more than I ever did the last two times I was there.

 

@ Melbourne Central

@ State Library of Victoria

 @ State Library of Victoria

 @ State Library of Victoria

 Federation Square

 Flinders Street Station

 City Circle (FREE) tram!

 Royal Exhibition Building

Students actually have exams in this building!

 If you want some sketches done, travel with architecture students. Teehee!

 

 I think these are Lamb's Ears! So soft and cute and furry!

 Aggie being random

 St Patrick's Cathedral

 Wednesday Night Market

 I don't know why that guy is posing like that hahaha

 Ended the night with some gelato. Yummy!