After spending an amazing New Year in Thailand, I boarded a plane on the first day of the year to Australia. Flying on a budget means choosing odd times. So was this. 1. January 2025 at 10 am, a flight towards Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur from Phuket. The advantages are fewer people and obviously good pricing. So was this. I didn’t check the flight duration to Australia and was surprised to find it’s an 8-hour flight. I only paid 200 USD. It was the first time I had flown long-distance with AirAsia X.
Australia was never high on my list of countries to visit. Why did I book a flight there then? Well, it’s part of a bigger plan. My final destination is Buenos Aires in Argentina. The best and almost only flight connections via the Pacific were via Australia and Chile. So that’s why my first leg led me to an undiscovered continent so far – Oceania.
Melbourne, Australia
Since it was just the week after New Year’s, I had a couple of more days off and time to chill and explore. Arriving in Melbourne, I found immigration was indeed not smooth and was annoying, as I had heard from many people in the past. Australian immigration is very strict and double-checks everything. I’m usually done very quickly, but not in Australia. While my paper was all good, I looked suspicious with my backpack, and they let me scan my backpack twice and wouldn’t believe me at first that I’m just staying for a few weeks and then moving on. What usually takes me no more than 10 minutes took half an hour in Australia.
I arrived early on the 2nd January in Melbourne and took an airport bus into the city centre. After a nice coffee, a bagel, and a hot chocolate, I walked to my Airbnb, where I was able to check in early. The location was amazing, right by the river and close to the main train station. Up on floor 11 with some view to the skyline.
In Melbourne, I had 4 days off after going back to work, which I used to explore the city centre a bit. I hung out with a Couchsurfer from Indonesia, whom I had crossed paths with before and didn’t know was in town. Sometimes the world is small, and circumstances happen. So I walked with him quite a bit around the city centre and went for coffee and dinner at different places. Very relaxed days.
After the weekend, my 2-week Christmas/New Year break was over, and I went “back to work”. My Airbnb was close to a wework co-working space, where I started to get a membership for the next few months, since I’ll be in big cities always, where wework has spaces – perfect for me. In the Melbourne space, I spend a week. It was located on the 21st floor and had a pretty nice view.
While in Melbourne, I had to use the public healthcare system and was very surprised by how good it was. Even for foreigners like me. My foot started to swell to the point I couldn’t walk. So I had to figure out how things work in Australia, and I found out they have medical centres called General Practitioners (GPs) for first checkups. I just showed up there, registered, and within a couple of minutes, a doctor checked my foot. To my surprise, it was completely free. He prescribed antibiotics, which I was able to buy at a pharmacy, and over the next couple of days, the inflammation decreased significantly.
Sydney, Australia
Melbourne was just a quick stopover, and so is Sydney. Overall, the only reason I stop is that I have to catch a flight to Chile. Arrival in Melbourne, leaving in Sydney, so I have a week each to explore the two cities. So next up, Sydney. Very different vibes. More chill vibes compared to some homeless and drug addicted vibes I picked up in Melbourne. Also, Sydney is located next to some amazing beaches and riverside areas. There’s more nature within close distance to the centre. Obviously, spending just a week each isn’t enough to really get a feel for a city and explore it properly. I did my best nevertheless.
After arriving, I met a nomadic friend for a walk around my area. Since Sydney housing is crazy and therefore hotels as well, I opted for a hostel for this week. That’s fine for a week, especially since I’m in the co-working space during the workday.
I met some more new Couchsurfers in the city centre to go for food or coffee. The community is quite active there. In addition, there’s a Couchsurfer in Sydney I’ve stayed with in Oman years ago. An amazing example of how this platform brings travellers together all over the world. With him, I went a little outside, had some great talks while walking along the river, and made it back to the centre via the river taxis (ferries).
Every Sunday evening, there’s a big fireworks display in the port area. Something one really has to see. In other places, that’s a New Year’s firework, but here it happens every week. No wonder the New Year fireworks are so famous, it’s for sure from another planet – although I’ve never made it.
After work, I did some activities. One day, I walked a trail along the coastline with some nice beaches. Another day, I went over to the beach town “Manly” with a very different vibe, and, for sure, also to the port area to see the opera house.