Michi Photostory

Before our trip, I asked our hotel for directions and they gave us 3 options. 

1. Ride a train from the airport to Museum Station and walk to the hotel. The fare is around 17.50AUD per person. 

2. Ride Airport Shuttle Bus called Airport Connect (pre-booked). The fare is 16AUD per person.

3. Taxi ride, cost ranges from 50AUD - 65AUD for 25 - 35 minutes. 

Among the 3 options, we chose the train for convenience so after Customs, we walked to the International Airport Train Station. You can easily find your way because there are signs. We bought an Opal Card at the counter, 40AUD for adults and 30AUD for my 15-year-old son. Opal card is a smartcard ticket that you use to pay for public transport in Sydney such as trains, buses, ferries, and light rail.

Airport Train Fare is so expensive because you need to pay for Gate Pass + Train Fare. As of this writing the Adult Gate Pass is 17AUD and Child Gate Pass is 15AUD. Adult Metro and Train Fares range from 4AUD to 9.84AUD (peak fare) and 2.80AUD to 6.88AUD (off-peak fare). 

Travel time from Sydney International Airport to Museum Station is less than 20 minutes and Hyde Park Inn is just across the train station so commuting was easy. My husband paid the full amount for our stay and since the check-in time was 1PM we just left our luggage and explored the area. You can read my Hyde Park Inn review here. 

We walked until we reached the Pitt Street Mall but we still went back to David’s Kitchen because rice is life. David’s Kitchen offers Malaysian & Asian Cuisine and they serve different dishes so maraming choices. You can dine at the restaurant or you can order for take-out. The price is also budget-friendly compared to other restaurants so we kept coming back for our take-out food. 

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and waited for the check-in time. We were able to check in before 1PM. It was a long day for us so we took a rest first before going out. 

We were supposed to go to China Town and Paddy’s Market but I changed my itinerary when I learned that there are few tourist spots that we can visit near Hyde Park Inn. We can visit the Hyde Park, Hyde Park Barracks, Anzac Memorial, Australian Museum, and St Mary’s Cathedral. No entrance fee for these tourist spots. 

The Anzac Memorial is open daily from 9AM to 5PM but we were not able to visit this museum because during our trip, I needed to book a schedule so no walk-in. The Hyde Park Barracks is open daily from 10AM to 6PM but we also needed to pre-book the ticket. So we just took a picture outside and visited the Australian Museum, Hyde Park, and St. Mary’s Cathedral. 

Anzac Memorial is a war memorial and a place of commemoration, remembrance, education and reflection. 

Hyde Park is Australia’s oldest park with 16 hectares of open space located in the heart of Central Sydney. 

Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney which stands at 309 meters. 

Australian Museum is open every day, except Christmas Day from 10am - 5pm. It is the oldest museum in Australia and a heritage-listed museum. 

According to their website, ‘’St Mary’s Cathedral stands on the site of the first Catholic Chapel in Australia. Constructed in local sandstone, the Gothic Revival style of its architecture is reminiscent of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe.” 

After our walking tour, my son and I went back to the hotel while my husband went to Pitt Street Mall to buy dinner and groceries. 

After the tour, we ate snacks and started our walking tour at the Sydney Opera House and Botanic Garden. Dito pa lang ubos na energy namin. 

Day 4 was another Hop On Hop Off Tour and we took the blue route which is the Bondi Tour. The first bus started at Central Station but we did not go there and just waited at the Australian Museum bus stop.

Australian Museum is a few minutes walk from our hotel so while waiting for 9:45AM, we visited Hyde Park, Hyde Barracks, and St. Mary’s Cathedral. 

The Bondi Tour duration is 1 hour and 30 minutes, there are 14 stops but we are only interested in Bondi Beach. We explored the beach, ate lunch, and waited for the bus so we could go back to Sydney.

We went back to our hotel for a quick rest then we went back to the Australian Museum Bus Stop so we could continue our Hop On Hop Off tour. We explored Darling Harbour Tourist Spots. 

We woke up early because we needed to be at the Central Station before 6:23AM. We wanted to ride the first train going to Katoomba Station. Travel time is 2 hours. 

I purchased the Lyrebird Pass which includes the Hop On Hop Off Bus and Scenic World Tickets. We had unlimited rides on the Scenic Skyway, Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, and Scenic Walkway.

I purchased the Taronga Zoo + Hopper Cruise ticket so we had a Taronga Zoo ticket, Round Trip Ferry Transfers, and 1 Day Access to Manly-Watsons Bay Ferry. We traveled to Circular Quay and walked to Wharf 6, this is where we are going to claim our ticket and ride our ferry. 

After exploring the zoo, we took advantage of the Hopper Cruise Tickets so we were able to visit Manly and Watson’s Bay. 

Since this would be our last time to tour, we spent more time in the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge before we went back to our hotel. 

Our Sydney to Manila flight was so early so after our breakfast, we checked out and traveled to the airport via train. Late nag-open ang check-in counter so natagalan kami sa pagcheck-in at sa Immigration. Nagmamadali kami sa pagkain ng lunch and pagbili ng last minute pasalubong. Nakakastress yung pauwi namin, parang kulang sa oras. 

Even though our last day was kind of stressful, I can still say that our Sydney Australia trip was a stress-free trip, why? We did not get lost. We were able to go from point A to point B without asking for directions. We did not miss rice because there was an Asian restaurant near our hotel. Our room has a kitchen so we were able to save money on food. The voucher tickets that I purchased saved me time in doing our itinerary. 

Sydney seems cashless society because some stores and restaurants do not accept cash. Good thing that our credit card did not fail us. Prior to our trip my husband went to the bank to buy Australian Dollars pa for our pocket money na hindi rin naman pala namin magagamit.Well, ginastos ko yung iba to buy pasalubong. 

And because of our stress-free trip, we planned to go back to Australia and visit another state. If money is not an issue, for sure nakabalik na kami kasi may valid visa pa kami kaso no budget pa. Hehehe!

Over a year ago, we visited Ørland Cultural Center, our first agenda is to go to the police station, yes police station because my mom needs to get some documents for my brother’s Schengen Visa Application. For the past decades, my mom always goes to the police station just to get UDI and Invitation Letter with a stamp. But last year, we were surprised when the police told her that she no longer needs to go there, she can just download the form online and stamps are no longer needed. This is good news because we can just type the details, print and sign. 

Since we were already at the Ørland Cultural Center, we decided to explore the area and check what is new. We’ve been here, a few times already so we knew that they have a library, cinema, and tourist information. We watched Avengers: Endgame here way back in 2019. 

Last year, we discovered that there is Wetland Exhibition, Gallery Hans, and The Hannah Ryggen Center. Fortunately, there is an English translation so we were able to learn something new. 

There are six Wetland Visitor Centers in Norway and this is one of the six centers so we are lucky to visit one. By visiting the centers, guests can gain an understanding and become more aware of the value of the wetlands and how to protect them. The exhibit focuses on these four areas; Grandefjæra, Hovsfjæra, Innstrandfjæra and Kråkvågsvaet 

Hannah Ryggen is a Swedish artist who settled on a small farm in Norway after marrying her painter husband Hans Ryggen. We're able to see some of their masterpiece in the center.