Michi Photostory

Time passes very quickly and after several days, it was time to say goodbye to Sydney, Australia. Our last day was our flight to Manila, Philippines so we woke early to prepare for our afternoon flight. 

Since it was our last day, I cooked our leftover ham and hotdog and we need to eat and drink all the complimentary breakfast like the bread, fruits, milk and juice, para walang sayang. 

We check out at Hyde Park Inn around 8:30AM and we arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport three hours before our flight. Unfortunately, all check in counters were still closed, as in we didn’t know where to fall in line, nagkahalo-halo na yung pila ng mga airlines to Manila. Our flight was 12NN and past 10AM na kami nakapagcheck-in and because of that, sobrang nagmamadali kami. 

Immigration is via Smartgates so you just need to scan your passport + facial recognition and that’s it. My son and I were able to pass through Smartgates but my husband needs to go to Manual Passport Control Counter because for some reason, hindi nareread passport niya doon sa Smartgates. After that, we went straight to our boarding gate just to make sure kung malapit ba or malayo and if we still have time to eat. 

My husband went to “The House”, this is the complimentary lounge of Philippine Airlines at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. He just ate here and we will meet na lang ulit sa boarding gate. 

My son and I just ordered the boxed meal at KFC, the meal includes Original Tenders, Popcorn Chicken, Fries, Mashed Potato and Drink + additional drink. Food is around 22AUD. PHP800+ na yang isang meal. 

After eating, we went to Think Sydney and Pharmacy to buy some souvenirs before going to the boarding gate. Nagmamadali pa kami pero delayed naman pala flight namin. Tapos, boarding took a long time pa because we need to ride bus. 

After 8 hours, we were back to Manila. End of vacation and back to reality. 

Read: 7 Days Trip in Sydney Australia 

As per my research, here is the train schedule from Central Station to Katoomba Station. 

6:23 AM 

6:53AM 

7:23AM 

8:18AM 

The travel time is almost two hours and the expected arrival time at Katoomba Station is 8:21AM. We wanted to ride the first train so we needed to be at the Central Station before 6:23AM so we left as early as 5:30AM. 

We just walked to Museum Train Station from Hyde Park Inn, rode the train, and got off at Central Station. Then we just looked for the train platform for the Katoomba Station. When we arrived at Platform 6, the train was already there. I was a little bit surprised when I saw the train because it looked old compared to the trains that we tried in Sydney. 

After two hours, we arrived at Katoomba Station and went straight to the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus office to claim our tickets. You won’t miss this because it is just outside the train station. I purchased Lyrebird Pass at Klook which includes the Hop On Hop Off Bus and Scenic World Tickets. I just presented my voucher and received my guidebook where my name was written and the number of persons. The guidebook is our bus ticket. 

Blue Mountains Scenic World Ticket or Bus Tour 

When we left Sydney the temperature was 15C degrees while Katoomba was 6C degrees so we wore layered clothes but when we arrived at Katoomba, we still felt cold. Good thing there is CafeXpresso, where we purchased our hot drinks. The price of the drinks ranges from 3.50AUD to 6AUD. 

The first bus trip is at 9AM and the interval is every hour. There are 37 bus stops so just press the button if you want to get off the bus. We alighted at Bus Stop 11 where the Scenic World is. Our ticket includes unlimited rides to Scenic Skyway, Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, and Scenic Walkway but unfortunately, during our trip, Scenic Skyway was closed for scheduled maintenance so we were not able to experience it. Aside from that, Honeymoon Bridge, Bus Stop 8, Walk 9, Walk 13, Walk 14, and Walk 18 were also closed. 

We arrived at 9:20AM but the Scenic World opening hours are between 10AM to 4AM so we waited for more than 40 minutes. I am afraid of heights but I had to face my fear at sayang ang bayad. 

Scenic Walkway - longest elevated boardwalk in Australia. 

Aside from these 4 attractions, you can also visit Katoomba Coal Mine and Dinosaur Valley. 

We spent most of our time at the Scenic World and only walked to some tourist spots. But when we got tired we rode the bus again to continue our bus tour. 

We hopped off at Leura Railway Station to eat our late lunch but changed our mind because we wanted to go back to the hotel already. Travel time is 2 hours so we wanted to be back in Sydney before the peak hours. We used the Opal Machine to top up our cards, the minimum top-up is 40AUD for adults and 20AUD for kids. 

Good thing that we brought bread, pastries, chocolates, and drinks during our Blue Mountain trip so we did not feel hungry. We arrived at Museum Station before 5PM and went straight to David’s Kitchen so we could eat heavy meals. Rice is life.