Solo Trip To Home Sweet Home, Australia!
It was a dramatic and impromptu trip that was decided at the very last minute. Who would knew that my dad would give me his permission at the last moment where I was really hoping to go back to the Aussie as I had been missing it so much since I left Aussie in 2012. No one could guess that the chance I had been waiting upon has finally been granted and I thank Allah for every opportunities that He gave me.
Yup, you got it right when you read the words "last minute" or "impromptu" at the beginning of this blog. Me and my mum did everything at the very last minute, you name it; applying for the visa, booking flight tickets, rushing to buy things to bring for travelling, packing my luggage. I literally bought my flight tickets to Australia on the last day of 2018, two days before I need to depart Malaysia, so it was a reckless and hectic two days preparations of trying to settle everything on the very last minute.
But who would knew that I would be going there ALONE, yes, I repeat, ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! No one did and even my whole family were in shock and it went to double shocking when my friends found out I made it back to the Aussie alone. The long 8 hour journey was tiring with my back aching from soreness because of the seat's stiffness which you could only adjust a few degrees angles to lean back.
Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly through the immigration check and I was so glad that my journey was safe and smooth. Upon 5 minutes exiting Avalon International Airport, I had to embarked SkyBus that was about to leave in 10 minutes departure to Southern Cross Station where I'd agreed with my friends to meet there beforehand. I was glad that I had purchased my bus ticket online and it was cheaper if you buy it online and that I didn't have to panic to search for the ticket booth. I greeted the bus driver beforehand with Aussie greetings, "G'day mate!" and showed my bus ticket that was displayed on my phone, scanned the QR code, put aside my luggage and there you go, me ready to head my way to Southern Cross Station!
This is SkyBus, the one that I took to get to Southern Cross Station.
Oh my days! As soon as I saw all the shops signboards, you name it: KMart, Target, Coles, Aldi, I started to freak out inside my mind to the point I almost lost my inner composure but then I remembered that I was in public, so I regained my inner composure back. But at that time, I was smiling from ear to ear as I was so happy to be back to my second homeland. As the bus went through the hustle bustling city of Melbourne, full of skyscrapers decorating the sky views, I was reminiscing the old days of my family exploring every tourism places that we had visited over the years when we were there.
Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly through the immigration check and I was so glad that my journey was safe and smooth. Upon 5 minutes exiting Avalon International Airport, I had to embarked SkyBus that was about to leave in 10 minutes departure to Southern Cross Station where I'd agreed with my friends to meet there beforehand. I was glad that I had purchased my bus ticket online and it was cheaper if you buy it online and that I didn't have to panic to search for the ticket booth. I greeted the bus driver beforehand with Aussie greetings, "G'day mate!" and showed my bus ticket that was displayed on my phone, scanned the QR code, put aside my luggage and there you go, me ready to head my way to Southern Cross Station!
Oh my days! As soon as I saw all the shops signboards, you name it: KMart, Target, Coles, Aldi, I started to freak out inside my mind to the point I almost lost my inner composure but then I remembered that I was in public, so I regained my inner composure back. But at that time, I was smiling from ear to ear as I was so happy to be back to my second homeland. As the bus went through the hustle bustling city of Melbourne, full of skyscrapers decorating the sky views, I was reminiscing the old days of my family exploring every tourism places that we had visited over the years when we were there.
Before I knew it, the bus had already stopped at the car park of Southern Cross Station. I got off the bus, grabbed my luggage and started walking with excitement towards the train platform. Finally, this is the moment I've been waiting for so long; to be able see the crowd of humans touring around the magnificent view of the heart of Melbourne with full of tall structures and skyscrapers which never failed to gobsmacked myself everytime I visit the city. While I was in awe with the fact that I am finally here in Australia, I found myself a bench to sit so that I can cool down myself before I meet up with my two friends. Luckily enough, the city is equipped with free WiFi and that helped me big time to contact my friends that were on their way to meet me here at the station. I called Ilyana and she told me that they are going to be 15 minutes late due to constructions going around in the city and she and her sister, Insyirah had to board a bus instead of the train. So, I took my little sweet time looking around the station, took photos of everything because I think it's precious and gotta save every little moment so that I can look back of the photos when I go back to Malaysia.
It took awhile for them to arrive as they were also confused about the constructions. Finally, we were able to meet up after waiting for almost 20 minutes alone at the train station. We hugged each other and ate lunch at Hungry Jacks, just right upstairs of the train station. Don't worry, we ordered a vegetarian meal and shared a gigantic burger among the three of us. A little tip when you are travelling in non-Muslim countries; if you are desperate for food and can't find any any Halal restaurants, you could always ask the receptionists at the restaurants if they serve any specific vegetarian or halal meals before you order and of course, you could also ask them to prepare your meals separately from the others. You could also opt to eat the basic things like fries, potato wedges and so on if you are uneasy about it.
After we filled our tummy, we decided to go back to Ilyana's house but little did we know, the trains that were supposed to operate did not operate for a period of time due to the constructions as I've said before. so, we were going around in circles for awhile, went up and downstairs several times while carrying my luggage around with us. The Aussies are very friendly, so I did not hesitated to asked the officers on call for directions and finally we embarked a bus express to Westall Station after 30 minutes of getting lost around the station. An hour journey in the bus made me feel sleepy but I stopped myself from dozing off by having conversations with Ilyana but then I had motion sickness, so I pretended to sleep halfway through our conversation. Hahahaha, sorry Ilyana! Actually, I was awake the whole time as I want to enjoy the sceneries and surroundings that I used to see when I used to live there. I still remembered the roads, the buildings, my school and everything that I used to walk everyday to school and of course, I'd gotten excited again with my phones already in my hand ready to snap pictures.
The bus pulled over at Westall Station and we got our Myki cards out, which is the public transports tickets loaded up with some money, ready to touch on the gates and embarked the train that was headed to Dandenong Station. I really missed using my Myki card where you have to touch on before you get on and touch off before you get off the train. That brings back the old days where I used to ride the bus everyday to get to my highschool. I had some rest while I was on the train until we got off at Dandenong Station. We waited for Auntie Mazni; Ilyana and Insyirah's mum to come pick us up at the station, we had a small talk, catching up with everyone's conditions and Auntie Mani arrived not too long after that. So, we all went back and had a good rest for the day. The house that I used to always go whenever we have parties, barbecues, or Hari Raya looked exactly the same as I remembered. We, the Malays would frequently have occasions at each others' houses to spend the time together and that's how I got closed to Ilyana's family.
Since this is going to be a long post, and I know you guys don't like to read long post as they get bored and sleepy, I decided to upload this first and continue the continuation of my trip in my next post! Be alert when the time comes!
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