spreadyourwingsandflyy

Just thought of sharing some random things that I’ve learnt from my month (yep, 1 whole month!! :D) in Melbourne/Victoria (I say VIC here becoz I didn’t just stay in Melbourne City, so some random facts/tips might apply elsewhere too 😛). Call it tips / suggestions / things to note ? But yep, hope this helps anyone out there who’s wondering about these 😛

Surcharge

• There’s something called a public holiday surcharge o__o especiallyyy applicable for restaurants
• For some places, paying by credit card may incur an additional surcharge (like maybe 1%? 2%? I’m not sure for supermarkets but the Asian Mart I went to at Melbourne Central had this “surcharge may be applicable” or something like that, at the cashier’s. Just didn’t know how much and if it was a normal surcharge or a PH one 🤷‍♀️)

Bags (Shopping bags / Plastic bags / Paper bags)

• Best to bring your own reusable bags! Some places do provide shopping bags, but this oaky common practice. Especially at the grocer’s or supermarket – best to BYO instead of always buying a reusable bag ~ (and no, plastic bags aren’t provided so… you’ll just have to hug everything home if you don’t wanna spend on a reusable bag hehe) Additional fun fact: because KFC doesn’t provide a bag for the food, so I had a fun time (really! I found it cute 😆) hugging my KFC box meal home hehe (it was just downstairs anyway)
• Cooler bags! If you are looking for affordable ones (for picnics, or bringing your cheeses back), an affordable option I’ve seen is sold at Woolsworth, and it’s placed with the reusable shopping bags – so it’s near the cashiers

Payment methods

• The use of cards for payments are more common than cash
• Compared to Singapore, some card terminals require you to tap your card at the side instead of the top/screen (should’ve seen me being losted on this HAHAHAHA 😬)
• Also compared to Singapore, where we would say that we’re paying by “Visa” or “Paywave” or “Mastercard” or “NETS” (because yes it makes a difference), in Australia, you simply say “Card” 😌

Airport Limousine

• In terms of airport limousines, other than SkyBus (that have services to places like Melbourne City, Avalon, Hobart, Brisbane, etc), other smaller cities/towns in the suburbs might have their own airport limousine fleet. So for example, Ballarat/Ballan/Bacchus Marsh/Melton have the Ballarat Airport Shuttle Bus serving these areas 😀
• Each may have different operating styles – SkyBus runs on a regular schedule like a public bus, but Ballarat Airport Shuttle Bus goes based on the demand (i.e. if there’s no takers for a specific time slot, I’m not even sure if the bus will run at that time :O)
• Also a fun fact about the Ballarat Airport Shuttle Bus: their fleet comprises of small mini-buses and coaches (the large bus) to accommodate to the regular and high demands respectively. For the small mini-buses, there will be an attached trailer where the luggages will be stored 😀

Trams x Luggage

• SOME trams in Melbourne are low-floor trams, which are wheelchair friendly and thus, luggage friendly (in the sense that you can roll them on and off the trams)!
• Likely after taking the airport limousine, you’ll need to change to a tram to further travel to your lodging – especially in Melbourne Central
• There are different types of tram models – some are low-floor, some are high-floor. High-floor trams would mean that there are some steps. I hopped onto a high-floor tram and struggled with my big luggage because there was also a handrail running down the middle of the entrance/exit 🙃
• 2023 update on a neat thing a friend had told me: the trams running along Southern Cross Station usually have tram models with low-floors. So this is especially applicable for those running along Collins Street and Spencer Street!

Snail Mail

• A postcard will take about 3-4 weeks from Great Ocean Road to Singapore 🤓 speaking from experience: I posted it from Port Campbell (there’s a grocer’s that also does Australian Post stuff) on 30 April (a Saturday afternoon) andddd it reached my parents and boyfriend respectively in Singapore like, 4 weeks and 3 weeks later ~ oh and it was in perfect condition o.o no dents or anything 🤩

Okay that’s about all for now, I’ll add on more when I recall them hehehe. Hope these helped anyone out there! ✌️

* info accurate as at May 2022