One thing they do not tell you is that once you’ve been through security (which you’ll probably be late for thanks to Indonesian traffic), you have to go through another round of security, meaning that you’ll be running like madwomen through Denpesaar airport, to hop on a flight to take you to Malaysia, to hop on another flight to get you to Melbourne…
My anxiety was not in a good place. I’m actually terrified of flying (I drank a lot of alcohol on my various solo flights and this was to be no exception!), and we were flying AirAsia, which to me, didn’t feel like a very safe airline. After stacks of reassurance from the world and his dog, I was feeling a little better.
We arrived, breathless, at the gate and ready to board our flight. We were already a bit stressed because of timings, but eventually we boarded our flight.
AirAsia are appalling in terms of customer service. L could see I was feeling really distressed about the flight, so she told the flight attendant I had a fear of flying, and asked if she could move to sit next to me; she was told no, she couldn’t but that they’d come and get her when she was allowed to move up to sit next to me. I was actually pretty tear-y at this point, a combination of jet lag and hormones, but not once did they check on me, ask if I was OK, and in the end, they totally forgot to mention to Legs that she could move.
All in all, the flight was dreadful, as was our second stint to Melbourne. I’ve never been happier to get off a flight. You might have seen AirAsia staff came under fire in the news recently when one of their flights dropped 20,000ft and the staff all started screaming and crying whilst the passengers remained calm… I wouldn’t recommend them, and I definitely will not fly with them again! Mini rant over, lets talk about Melbourne, shall we?
We decided that a wine tour was going to be crucial – you know, culture and all that 😉 so we booked one of the many of the available trips to take us round the wineries. Wine tours are great fun (I did one in Italy and loved it) and they run loads from the centre of Melbourne where the bus will pick you up and take you around to all the vineyards where you can try ALL of the wine!
Brunch is a huge deal in Melbourne and I thoroughly recommend Seratonin eatery. Sit on the swings, order a happy latte, and delve into these pancakes… (drooling just thinking about them!)
Check out famous AC / DC lane, for the breathtaking art work…
Walk off the hangover the next day with a walk down St Kilda beach to see the famous beach huts, and then hop in an uber to find the penguins – yes, penguins! In Australia!
After watching the sun do its thing, hop in a cab back to the city so you can hurtle up floor after floor…
Then, buy a ticket to go to the top of the Eureka tower, and get a -STUNNING- view out over Melbourne. You can walk all the way around and see EVERYTHING.
Then, sneak down a side street… walk up to a nondescript door… push on it… and find yourself in Eau de Vie, an awesome prohibition style cocktail bar. Bookcases aren’t what they seem, the menu is a beautiful work of art, and the theatre that comes with the drinks is a bit like The Alchemist on speed. Tonnes of fun! Espresso Martinis made with liquid nitrogen, and scented smoke to make your cocktail smell like a forest. Put this place at the top of your Melbourne to-visit list.
Even if the flight is 14 hours home, Melbourne will fill you with so many happy memories of amazing things to see and do, you’ll have a huge grin on your face the entire way home!
And besides, there really is no place like home…
Kate x
Oh my gosh this is one of my favourite posts of yours EVER.
Such beautiful pictures as always.
I’m sorry you had such a rubbish time with AirAsia, I flew with them once and they didn’t let my friend with arthritis have an aisle seat, it was ridiculous.
The wine tour sounds awesome and that Seratonin eatery looks so good, those pancakes look delicious! I love all the street art photos, such amazing shots. I’ve never been to Melbourne, I did Cairns to Sydney when I went to Australia but it’s definitely somewhere I would love to go. The cocktail bar sounds incredible and you look absolutely beautiful 💜💜💜
Hels xx
http://www.thehelsproject.com
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Awww thank you! Your comment literally made my day! I know, I should have really not expected too much as I appreciate they’re cheap flights as they’re essentially long-haul Ryan Air… but… it was bad, and what they did to your friend sounds AWFUL! The wine tour was fab – lots of fun and as you know, I love me a good glass of wine ;-). I wish me you and Abbey could have gone to the Serotonin Eatery together, it was awesome!
You should definitely plan a trip when Dougie is a wee bit older, the flights were soooo long, even I felt like having a fidget and a cry by the end ;-). I’d love to hear more about your Cairns to Sydney trip!
Kate x
Oh my gosh, you had me at pancakes. Absolutely amazing. Also, cocktail bar! Shame about the airline but glad you had all those great times to think about on the long journey home.
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The pancakes were SO good, they definitely put a big smile on my face! So many lovely memories, it was such an amazing trip and so nice to see where my best friend now lives!
Kate x
Omg the airline sounds terrifying, I’m so sorry you had to go trough that but wasn’t Melbourne so worth it in the end? Ugh I really want to go back and take James. I went a while ago and I loved it, the flights killed me and I cried on all flights but man it was worth it! Would love to go on a wine tour too!
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk / http://www.foodandbakertravels.co.uk
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It was! You should definitely go with James, I would literally be obsessed with watching your vlogs. Also the foodie scene out there is amazing so it would definitely be somewhere you guys would love!
Kate x
Your photographs in this post are so stunning, wow! I’m sorry to hear that you had such an awful experience on the flight, I am scared of flying and have a lot of anxiety surrounding it so I can sympathise. I’m glad to hear the rest of your trip was good though!
The eureka tower view is breathtaking, now I want to go to Melbourne!
Love,
Hayley x
Lifethroughtsg.com
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Aww thank you Hayley! The flight anxiety did get better over time as I had to do so many in so little time, but I also just felt AirAsia could have handled it better! Eureka is stunning – I wish I had had gone nearer to sunset to watch the city all glow but I think it looks just as spectacular all lit up!
Kate x
Your flight experience sounds terrible, its sad to hear that you had to go through that. However, your Melbourne adventure looks wonderful! The cocktail bar sounds incredible and definitely somewhere I would want to go. There is a prohibition style bar in my hometown and I love going there!
Steph x
http://www.wanderlustpulse.com
Author
It was not a good flight! Melbourne was incredible, Eau de Vie is so fantastic – hopefully they open one in the UK soon! So much fun!
Kate x
Wow Kate, you’re beautiful in all of these photos and also your experience on the adventure sounds amazing. Sorry to hear you had a bad time on the flight… nothing worse than bad travel, it dampens your mood and day so much! Everything looks so good and I’m kinda’ low-key planning a trip in my head haha! xox
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Oh Debra you’re so sweet! Thank you for your lovely comment! I would encourage absolutely anyone and everyone to go travelling when they can!
Kate x
You look so happy in your pictures, I’m glad you had such h a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing your travel experience.
I love your photos! Melbourne is one of my favourite Aussie cities!
It looks like you had a great time. It’s a shame AirAsia was terrible – I don’t think I’ll ever fly with them 😀
Kate, you look absolutely gorgeous in all of these photos! To see you with a huge, genuine grin on your face makes me so so happy! I am really appalled at the Air Asia customer service – or lack thereof! That’s absolutely terrible to isolate someone who is a nervous flyer, I hope you don’t have to travel with them again anytime soon!! St Kilda Beach looks like a must-visit to me – PENGUINS!! And of course wine tasting is obligatory, it’d be rude not to sample everything, right?! Those pancakes look to die for too, I definitely shouldn’t have read this whilst peckish! Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful travels with us, I’m vicariously living out my wanderlust through you right now!
Abbey 🍹 http://www.abbeylouisarose.co.uk
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Ooooooh Abbey! You are just the absolute CUTEST, this comment is sooo lovely. I was pretty shocked with AirAsia too, I know they’re a budget airline but to me this would have been a simple opportunity for Customer Service where they could have made a bit of a difference! St Kilda beach was soooo lovely – my friend sent me a pic of her running down there this morning and it looked even more beautiful! I often dreammmm (and drool whilst doing so!) thinking about those pancakes too!
I’ve absolutely loved sharing my travels and its been so lovely getting to ‘take’ everyone with me!
Kate x
Melbourne looks stunning through the photos you took! I’ve always loved Australia because of my rugby league roots but it looks like a beautiful place to go! I love the cute cafe you went to!
Sian x
http://www.theenglisheverygirl.com
Such stunning pictures, it looked like you had a lovely time in Melbourne!
Those pancakes also look so yummy, I would definitely pick those up if I went to that restaurant!
Tabitha x
http://www.whattabithaloves.co.uk/
Such wonderful photos again, as with all your travel diary posts! I’ve heard bad things about airasia too!x