Kangaroo Country: Beyond 'Tu Ao' | My Many Ways to Meet the World
With this post, I bid farewell to yesterday, meet today, and look forward to tomorrow.
Skydiving from 15,000 feet – my birthday gift to myself in 2019.
At midnight on my birthday, I crossed the equator and arrived at the opposite side of my world, Australia, carrying my most sincere wishes for myself.
In a nutshell: Five working days to fully enjoy nine whole days.
Having a short-sleeved Santa Claus in the Southern Hemisphere isn't unfamiliar to us; it's like two parallel worlds colliding into each other's magnetic fields.
On this trip to Australia, we only visited two cities: Sydney and Melbourne.
Sydney – a city many mistake for the capital (the real one is Canberra) – a city where I have good friends.
Melbourne – a city consistently voted one of the most livable for years, and a city with a stadium that Emma (my travel companion this time) longed to visit.
Every time I travel, the most surprising experiences come from just walking in. And this time, our biggest goal was only skydiving.
Everything else was just about experiencing and going with the flow.
I won't recommend the Melbourne hotel; besides being cheap and in a great location, I wasn't satisfied with much else.
Being surrounded by bars, drugstores, and supermarkets with convenient public transport is my top criterion for choosing a hotel.
My spending is flexible—some splurge, some save.
'Tu Ao' (Unrefined Australia) is not unrefined; there are plenty of places to spend money, as long as you want to.
You can buy luggage from Taobao a day in advance based on actual needs. If you get a nice check-in lady, she might even let you check an extra piece for free!
One side note: UGG is everywhere in Australia, but the logo is different from the domestic one. Their woolen snow boots are collectively called UGG. During promotions, you can get a pair of UGG (same style as domestic) for about 100 AUD.
Two side notes: A few LEGO sets are quite affordable in Australia; LEGO enthusiasts can keep an eye out.
Three side notes: Buying GUCCI in Australia is quite cost-effective. Arrive at the airport 4 hours early for your flight back home; tax refund takes time. Download and fill out the TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme) app in advance—convenient and fast for everyone.
Four side notes: The tax refund rate is not 10%; it's your purchase value divided by 11, because you prepaid 10% when making the purchase.
In Australia, you never have to worry about neglecting your Chinese stomach. The world's cuisines are at your fingertips.
Emma has a typical Chinese stomach, so we mostly opted for light Asian dishes, mixed with a few restaurants recommended by friends and small 'walk-in' eateries.
I won't include the hotpot and Hong Kong-style tea—why bother when Haidilao and Cha Chaan Teng are just as tempting?
Pancakes on the rocks – any restaurant with 'pancake' in its name must have a killer signature dish.
I originally planned to watch the weekend fireworks at Darling Harbour after my birthday dinner, but they were all canceled due to the Australian bushfires at the time.
I silently added Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks to my TO DO LIST.
Hurricane's Grill – recommended by several friends, so it became my farewell dinner for this Southern Hemisphere trip.
Australian meat is really top-notch.
Note: they charge an extra service fee on weekends. If your schedule allows, come on weekdays.
We randomly picked an Italian restaurant near St. Kilda Beach. When we heard the waiter's thick Italian accent, we inexplicably felt confident about the place. As it turned out, life is full of surprises. Give it a LIKE!
Hunted Gathered+ – claimed to be the best canelé and brownie in all of Melbourne? All of Australia? A very quality chocolate workshop – slightly sweet, not cloying, rich and slightly bitter – my absolute favorite.
I decisively took three tins of cocoa powder and some chocolate flakes. Thanks to my own courage for carrying them all the way. At the beginning of 2020, they sweetened my life.
Note: closed on weekends.
A fantastic Spanish paella place near Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne: El Rincon. A small shop, big warmth.
The handmade cakes were topped with the owner's heart. Again, the thick Spanish-accented English was a guarantee of flavor.
Note: If you want to visit the Victoria Market, keep an eye on the time. We arrived late and they had already closed.
There are many great skydiving spots in Australia, with the top one being Wollongong near Sydney.
My chosen landing spot was near St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne, and I went with the well-known company SkyDive.
Bought via Taobao – various packages: jump only, handheld GoPro, third-party filming (only before parachute opening; no filming after opening).
I bought the jump-only package on Taobao, then added photos and videos on site, plus the mandatory 35 AUD tax per person. I also purchased insurance on site (40 AUD?). After all, I still need to be cautious while being adventurous.
Sign – weigh – pay – gear up – board plane – jump – open parachute – land.
Personal afterthought: The videos and photos are not really meaningful. I always believe that eyes are the best record, the witness to the world's beauty.
The wind up there was strong, and the combination of goggles and wind made my apple cheeks feel like they'd been injected with twenty syringes of hyaluronic acid. I strained with all my might just to barely squint my eyes open.
But! Even after such an ordeal, I still saw scenes I had never imagined through the slits of my eyes.
For the first time, I realized that the line where sea meets sky has a beautiful curve;
For the first time, I saw every shade of blue in the ocean blending purely into each other;
For the first time, I felt that nature's gift is selfless giving.
The wind kept blowing, but the heat in my heart did not fade. I love this world.
You ask if I was scared? In the moment of being pushed out from 15,000 feet, it wasn't that scary after all.
Relax your body, arch your back, follow your instructor, and enjoy the view.
No feeling of weightlessness! No feeling of weightlessness! No feeling of weightlessness!
Next, let's open the photo album and enjoy some strange pictures of me, the first-time skydiver.
This is the first featured photo I received via email – I found it hilarious!
I forgive you if you laugh like a goose here. Forced smile.jpg
I was really trying hard to open my eyes!!
Sorry, it's too ugly, I can't bear to look further.
The beautiful photos of pretty girls online? Nonexistent for me!!
Trust me, it's worth a try, so you can better meet yourself and meet the world.
Birthday gift accomplished! My TO DO LIST and I have taken another step forward.
Taronga Zoo in Sydney was a huge unexpected delight – my second highlight. Highly recommended!
It packs both scenery and animals, and from the zoo's vantage point, you can see both the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
I bought a round-trip ferry + entrance ticket directly at Circular Quay, which also included the zoo's cable car.
You can also buy in advance from various booking sites; the price won't differ much.
The ferry is convenient and comfortable, and you get a close-up view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. A perfect one-stop choice.
The variety of animals is very rich. Although they are captive, they are given enough space to move around, and the outdoor areas are spacious with adequate living density.
The zoo provides very detailed explanations for each animal, often with educational elements, telling you how to distinguish two animals of the same family and how to tell them apart.
You can find all four of Australia's national treasures at Taronga Zoo: koalas, kangaroos, emus, and platypuses. Just follow the map!
Note: The state where Sydney is located does not allow holding koalas.
Accompanying a fan to chase her dream.
Accompanying me to chase stars.
Filming location of Running Man!! Any girls who watch the same Korean variety show here?
I hid in a small bar by St. Kilda Beach wearing autumn clothes in 38°C heat.
A glass of ginger ale full of ice washed away the heat wave. The weather forecast was all lies. Hmph.
This path is full of treasures – every shop seems to say, 'I am delicious.'
St. Kilda Mangrove Boardwalk
Our first lunch: the Sydney Tower rotating buffet – classic tourist shot, haha.
Online question: How to quickly blend into local life? Urgent!
Online answer: If you want water, refer to the picture below.
Going to a place where others are tired of living, you can see many things they are tired of seeing.
Hi, Vivi, happy birthday!
Travel diary contents: 1. Itinerary 2. Expenses 3. Food 4. Skydiving 5. Taronga Zoo 6. What I saw in Australia 7. Something interesting in Australia
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