Hello! Sorry for the hiatus! I really need to make a mental note to blog regularly despite the hectic schedule of everyday life! Thankfully, I still have a week of peace before school term officially starts! So yay to that! :)

How I got lost and learnt that FREE TRAM is different from PUBLIC TRANSPORT BUS:

As mentioned in my previous post, I took the wrong mode of transport in Melbourne. During the first night, I set off in the evening as I was very excited to visit the H&M because it was the biggest outlet in the world! FYI, shops in Melbourne close as early as 5pm because the sun sets early! It turned out that I took the PUBLIC TRANSPORT instead of the FREE TRAM which operates in the free tram zone (green area in the map above).

At first, I did not notice anything amiss because the bus driver did not tell me to tap my myki card (aka our ez link card), plus he just nodded when I asked if the bus brought me to H&M. As the journey went on, I felt a little uneasy when the sky outside the window started to turn as dark as 10pm (Think: from brightly lit orchard to forested Joo koon/Lim Chu Kang area) and there was a sign that says "YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE CITY". Yet, I still sat on the bus like an idiot LOL. After a few more stops, I finally took out my low battery phone for its google map and LO AND BEHOLD.

I realized I was at the orange arrow!!

Immediately, I got off the bus and started to walk back to town on foot, which I suspected was at least 30 minutes away. It was really quiet and dark so I was pretty scared while I was walking along the pavement on the highway to find my way back. It was REALLY DARK (think: our PIE or AYE at night). Usually in situations like this I am pretty calm, such as when my friend misplaced our passport in Hong Kong or when I felt the earthquake in Japan because I know panicking won't solve the situation. Yet, on that night, I walked for a good 40 minutes INTO A WALL and for the first time I thought I was going to be lost forever and die alone (FML). At that point, I contacted my airbnb host and I was grateful for his swift response. Although he did not provide any directions (because I think even he did not know where was I), it was really comforting because at least someone knew of my location. Thankfully, I retraced my steps and walked for a few more minutes before I saw people, in which that point in time I wanted to prance around and worship them omg.

So there you have it. There are different types of transportation in Melbourne, do not be a goondu like me and take the wrong one! The next day, I managed to take the right tram (Tram 86 and 35).

The FREE TRAM is differen from the public transport because it takes you around the FREE TRAM ZONE. These are the ones I took most of the time

Tram 35: Takes you on a tour around the whole outskirts of the city, great to sit if you want to pass time or just chill

Tram 86: The one I took to the legit H&M and not to some weird suburb area. I used this tram mostly for shopping. However, this tram also takes you OUT of the Free Tram Zone, so you have to tap your myki card once the signage shows you that you are out of the Free Tram Zone.

If you want to know how to get around, you can use this PTV app (click for link) to plan your routes and know which bus to take or how to go around. This app turned out to be a savior for me!!

Okay! Thats all for now! I'll be blogging about my rain drenched Great Ocean Road adventures where I met new friends in the next post, so stay tuned if you want to read it! :)

With love, Kat

#melbourne