Planning a trip to Australia
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And errmm...to save you some trouble.
Go to the AA centre and make out a international driving permit, just one day before you fly. Bring I think S$20 and 2 passport size photo and your sg driving licence.
I usually go to the AA at river valley road.
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And errm.......why is it I am always compelled to list down the things to to bring for travelling.....
1) 4 pieces of thin jeans/shorts/bermudas (1 to wear)
2) 4 pieces of tees/polo tees/singlets (1 to wear)
3) 3 sets of pyjamas/nothing if you prefer sleeping naked.
4) 4 sets of socks (1 to wear)
5) 1 pair of fake crocs (wear on the plane, wear in the shower & to the pool-u dont want to pick up ringworms.)
6) 2 pieces of wide big washed beach towels. To shower, go to the beach, roll up as a pillow or use as a blanket.
7) 1 pair of high heels/shoes,short dress & 1 lipstick for when you folks wants to eat at nice places. And throw in a really pretty small purse for yourself.
8) 1 set of swim suit
9) A bra ball, to wash your bras and dry your bras in their laundrymat. Get your Oz loose change there for those laundry machines.
10) 4 sets of bras & day undies, 2 set of wearing to sleep? (1 to wear, the rest for occasions when you need to be comfy and at least 1 set that can be worn under nice dresses.)
11) 1 pair of running/hiking shoes
12) camera & charger, handphones & charger, mini laptop with wireless lan & charger and possibly a mp3 that is fill with songs and can transmit thru fm radio into the car radio. Buy your travel adaptor there.
13) Buy tolietries over there, unless you are really sticky to your tolietries:
a) Anti dandruff shampoo (get a small one. you dont know how your scalp may go haywire.)
b) shampoos & conditioner
c) Liquid Soaps, handwash & hand sanitiser
d) tooth paste, tooth brush, mouth wash and floss (i recommend travel ones in your carry on luggage cos you might want to freshen up after you land at the airport.)
e) face wash, scrub, toner & moisturisers (again a travel size face wash in carry on luggage for scrubbing the strange dirt under your nail and freshen up.)
f) deodarants (trust me, 1 week travelling, you wont want to be without it.)
g) dish washing detergents ( for living in service apartments) & laundry detergent (buy liquid, cos they wont not melt and leave white specks on the clothes.)
h) Did I mention a comb, a hair clip to hold up the hair a sunblock like neutrogena dry touch?
i) argh!!!! did i mention a pen and some small notebook that fits into a jeans pocket?
j) or a fanny/wasit pouch that can keep your pen, handphone & camera?????? that one can bring up the plane if you dont keep knives/multitools in them.
k) buy bottles of water there, put in car, service apartment or carry in your backpack or fanny pouch.
f) Do not attempt to buy cooking oil, soy sauce and whatever sauce while you are in service apartments. You will never be able to finish them, even if they are small family size bottles.
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and oh.....bring plenty of wet tissues & packet tissues from Singapore. I worship them uses!
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Originally posted by Rhonda:
...I live really near Richmond Lodge and Robert usually notifies me whenever there are Singaporeans staying over, usually nurses sent over by the Singapore hospitals and/or govt clinics for short-term training stints. I usually bring them out and help them out so they won't feel so lonely. Honeymousey has met one of them I befriended and she was so sweet she drove us around sightseeing.
Hey you could start a little p/t business by befriending Singaporeans who go over & work for hospitals there, and show them around the area a little / help them get over their homesickness a bit ;) hehe!
foxwalk, trust Rhonda's food recommendations, coz they are ze best! :D Yum, can't wait to go to Melbourne again to try all these yummy places AND spend more time with you, Rhonda!
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Originally posted by foxwalk:
Hi Rhonda, how do i go about booking my stay at Richmond Lodge? They don't seem to have any online booking, and I sent in an inquiry. The manager replied asking for credit card number...???Foxwalk,
Singapore car licence is recoginsed in Aust. The only think is the hook turn - which is uquie in melbourne city which you may want to read up on 1st, if you driving in the city.
My recommendation is you really put throughts into it before you go book anything. Booking a full week in the city may not be the best. You should be planning stay along the way.
http://www.visitmelbourne.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.E41B5AD8-991F-4993-822B6095A162D167/
Great Southern Touring RouteFrom cosmopolitan Melbourne, the Great Southern Touring Route travels south-west to Geelong, past the vineyards of the Bellarine Peninsula to the scenic Great Ocean Road. The coastline is famous for the imposing beauty of the Twelve Apostles, whale watching near Warrnambool and history of ships being wrecked in its treacherous waters. Turn inland to the walking trails, waterfalls, and wildflowers of the Grampians National Park. The final leg of the journey heads east to Ballarat, home to Sovereign Hill, where you can experience what life was like on the goldfields in the 1800s
You should be staying along the way at Warrnambool or hall Gaps !!! You sure to visit great ocean road, grampian & Ballarat - look at the map they are all way out there, are you sure you want to keep driving out and back to city to everytime and out the great distance again the next morning ? 1st is time a lot of time wasted, 2nd unneeded repeating of long distance of driving out and back. 3rd dangerous - you doing a lot of long distance driving rush out and back everyday !!! 4th you spend so much on petrol doing those extra rushing out and back !!!
Same applies to Philip island - by the time peguins come back, it is night time, You want to drive that distance back in a foreign country !!! Remember - oversea - country roads - have not light, some place you have to watch out for kangroos and cattles.
Don't miss Yarra valley - lots of nice wine yards
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Erm... I must caution you that although the Singapore driving licence is recognised in Victoria, I think there is a stipulation that you have to register online with VicRoads or something within 48 hours of your arrival or something. foxwalk, you have to explore that website I gave you earlier on to make sure you don't run foul of the law and to learn the driving tips there for foreigners. I know when my bro came last month, he mentioned something about that registration.
Which Room # is Robert assigning you? I've made friends with a Singapore nurse who's there right now and will still be there when you arrive and she has the corner unit on the upper level. We spent one leisurely Saturday night sitting out at the balcony enjoying the cool night air, chatting, putting our feet up and waiting for any possums to do their balancing act on the electricity wires just outside the balcony.
Looks like you'll miss the Moomba Festival and Parade. Ah well... we'll show you photos!
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We'll be getting the "Floor Plan 2". :) Yup I went to the Moomba website and the festival will end before we arrive! So that's too bad. Is the area affected by fires? I read that the fires are really bad and there is a state wide ban today and tomorrow?? Apprehensive to book any day tours as we don't know how the weather may change.. Is the Great Ocean Road affected by the fires? I hope to at least go there.. it's so beautiful!! We've decided to rely on public transport for the city and book day tours for the nature trips out of town. Is that ok? What's the weather there really like? Everywhere I see online there seems to be a big variation in temperatures... I want to wear dresses leh (no need to iron) and thinking if I should bring my bikini. :)
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Bring the bikini!!!!!!!
I forgot to mention. Bring more bikinis! They function as bras!
I got plenty when I kinda was backpacking/travelling by bus/sleeping in open air without tents in USA!
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Originally posted by foxwalk:
We’ll be getting the “Floor Plan 2”.
Yup I went to the Moomba website and the festival will end before we arrive! So that’s too bad.
Is the area affected by fires? I read that the fires are really bad and there is a state wide ban today and tomorrow??
Apprehensive to book any day tours as we don’t know how the weather may change..
Is the Great Ocean Road affected by the fires? I hope to at least go there.. it’s so beautiful!!
We’ve decided to rely on public transport for the city and book day tours for the nature trips out of town. Is that ok?
What’s the weather there really like? Everywhere I see online there seems to be a big variation in temperatures… I want to wear dresses leh (no need to iron) and thinking if I should bring my bikini.
Following is the website for the weather forcast in Melbourne:
Moomba is held in the Melbourne city, which is not affected by bush fires. Great Ocean Road should be pretty all right. I think that's a good idea to book day tours for the nature trips out of town so you don't have to worry about driving etc. There are few spots you can book your daytour in the city on Swanston St.
http://www.melbournetours.com.au/
The current areas affected by bush fires are:
Kinglake, Victoria (all town wiped out)
Marysville, Victoria (all town wiped out)
Healesville, Victoria (high risk)
Warburton, Victoria (high risk)
Wilsons Prom, Victoria (high risk)
So if you want to know where these towns are, you can plot it out on Google Map.
For the updated news within Victoria/Melbourne, you can have a read of The Age website.
Hope the info helps and that you have a great time in Melbourne.
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Regarding bikinis, unless we have hot days like above 30's, you can forget about bikinis as the water is very cold. Anyway, since it doesn't take up much room in your luggage, no harm bringing it.
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Thinking of driving in Australia?
If you’re a visitor and hold a valid driver’s licence (in English) from your own country, fine, you’re allowed to drive throughout all of Australia. (But an international driver's licence, if you have one, does not by itself give you the right to drive in Australia.)
If your driver's licence is not in English, a translation may be necessary and you may also need to have an international driver's licence.
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Originally posted by SydneyLibrarian:
Hey you could start a little p/t business by befriending Singaporeans who go over & work for hospitals there, and show them around the area a little / help them get over their homesickness a bit ;) hehe!
foxwalk, trust Rhonda's food recommendations, coz they are ze best! :D Yum, can't wait to go to Melbourne again to try all these yummy places AND spend more time with you, Rhonda!
Erm... don't think it's a good idea making business out of friendship.
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Originally posted by foxwalk:
We’ll be getting the “Floor Plan 2”.
Yup I went to the Moomba website and the festival will end before we arrive! So that’s too bad.
Is the area affected by fires? I read that the fires are really bad and there is a state wide ban today and tomorrow??
Apprehensive to book any day tours as we don’t know how the weather may change..
Is the Great Ocean Road affected by the fires? I hope to at least go there.. it’s so beautiful!!
We’ve decided to rely on public transport for the city and book day tours for the nature trips out of town. Is that ok?
What’s the weather there really like? Everywhere I see online there seems to be a big variation in temperatures… I want to wear dresses leh (no need to iron) and thinking if I should bring my bikini.
Public transport in the city area is totally ok! In fact, it's harder and more expensive to drive in the city because in certain areas, it will be a challenge getting a parking spot. I'd say leave the car behind when in the city. From Richmond Lodge, it's just a 6-10 minute stroll to the tram stop that brings you to the city. If you have a map, tram 109 travels down Victoria St - Victoria Parade - Collins St - Port Melbourne. It's really convenient!
Do bring comfortable walking shoes because you'll find yourself doing a lot more walking here.
My Singaporean friend will still be in Richmond Lodge when you arrive. I'm sure we can have dinner together and then head to one of the parks nearby where we can watch people and laugh at the happy dogs running about freely in the huge football field.
My friend and I love to head there after dinner to just relax and unwind and you can't help laughing at the dogs' antics! 
I'm not sure which nature trips you are referring to but they will be pretty costly. For instance, a coach tour out to the Great Ocean Road costs more than AUD 150.00 per person! It's really better to get your GPS loaded with the Melbourne Street Directory and then use it to drive around.
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Originally posted by Rhonda:
Public transport in the city area is totally ok! In fact, it's harder and more expensive to drive in the city because in certain areas, it will be a challenge getting a parking spot. I'd say leave the car behind when in the city. From Richmond Lodge, it's just a 6-10 minute stroll to the tram stop that brings you to the city. If you have a map, tram 109 travels down Victoria St - Victoria Parade - Collins St - Port Melbourne. It's really convenient!
Do bring comfortable walking shoes because you'll find yourself doing a lot more walking here.
My Singaporean friend will still be in Richmond Lodge when you arrive. I'm sure we can have dinner together and then head to one of the parks nearby where we can watch people and laugh at the happy dogs running about freely in the huge football field.
My friend and I love to head there after
dinner to just relax and unwind and you can't help laughing at the
dogs' antics! I'm not sure which nature trips you are referring to but they will be pretty costly. For instance, a coach tour out to the Great Ocean Road costs more than AUD 150.00 per person! It's really better to get your GPS loaded with the Melbourne Street Directory and then use it to drive around.
Yeah we can do dinner together!! Why do I have this feeling I will put on weight in Australia? The day tour to Great Ocean Rd is so ex?! Is driving really a cheaper alternative? I read about indonesian tourists driving right into the forest fires, and I dun wanna end up like that! I guess we'll be there to soak up the city sights and smells, the museums, the parks, and "live like a local" there, and the rest of the time, take a couple of day tours to complete our trip :)