Day 1: St. Kilda, Australia (Friday May 12th, 2023)

I slept most of the flight (thankfully!) So when we landed Friday morning, I felt pretty refreshed. Customs was a breeze but transportation was another story. I hadn't even left the airport yet and I had already spent $60+ on transportation! I bought a Myki (public transport) card because Google maps told me to catch a certain airport bus to my hostel. But once I got outside, it was clear that this was a private airport bus and not connected to the same public transport card. 

So anyways...

When we were driving, we were on the wrong side of the road! I hadn't even thought about that and it completely took me by surprise. 

I got to my hostel and got checked in easily. I felt pretty grungy from being in the same clothes since... Tuesday? And knew I wanted to shower, but figured it would be a good time to get my workout done before hand - so I did that first thing! It felt great to move too after sitting for so long on the flight and at the airport. After my workout and shower, I went out to find lunch. I knew Australia was famous for their fish and chips so I went to a local eatery for some. Honestly, they weren't the best I've ever had. But I won't judge the whole country based on one fish and chips review. The portion was massive though so I kept the leftovers to have for dinner, which meant I had to go back to the hostel to drop them off before exploring the town more. 

The hostel that I booked was in St. Kilda outside of Melbourne instead of downtown. I am not a city person and had heard that this was a cute little neighborhood! (Plus, it was also cheaper.) 

After dropping my leftovers off, I went for a walk to explore the area. I started in a (HUGE) park that was nearby and went for a much longer walk than I should have. There was a pond in the middle (more like small lake) that I thought I'd walk around - that was a mistake. It was so big it had 2 rowing clubs in it. Needless to say, I walked a lot more this first day than I wanted to and should have. 

After going around the pond, I headed towards the beach to see the tasmanian sea! 

I walked the beachfront and pier to enjoy sunset. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy so I didn't see much. But I could tell the sunset views from here would be incredible. I also looked for fairy penguins, which are known to have a colony under the pier. I didn't see any, but I also do not know what time of year to expect to see them. Plus, the entire pier was under construction which may have impacted them. 

On my way back to the hostel, I stopped at a grocery store to get some breakfast supplies. 

Back at the hostel, I made dinner and headed to bed early. But about 7:30 I felt ready to go to sleep. 

Overall, it wasn't a big culture shock of a day. Everyone speaks English, all of the signs are in English, and it's a western culture. Except for the fact that they drive in the left side of the road. That got me.

I keep almost walking into people though because I'm walking in the right. So at least I know I'm good at doing that, but man is it hard to remember until you're face to face with someone and wonder why they're not moving (because THEY'RE not on the wrong side, I am.) 

It is interesting though because the climate is hard to stereotype. It's like tropical desert. There are palm trees and tropical flowers, but also maple trees and cedar trees, but also cactus. 

It's also strange to be in the opposite season on the other side of the equator. Like I've been on the other side of the equator before, but never this far south. So there weren't really seasons because I was in Ecuador and Peru which are so close to the equator it didn't really make a difference. But now, everyone here is tan since they're just coming out of summer and it's chilly. Like it feels like fall and sunset is at 5:22pm. Flowers are bloomed like it's summer, yet leaves are starting to turn for fall. I'm mentally prepared for summer, but Australia is preparing for winter - it was a subtle but noticeable difference.