As I type, we’re holed up in a teeny tiny hotel room the size of … well, the size of a decent walk in closet. Tonight’s hotel is near the airport as we’re off to Cairns to start the next leg of our adventure first thing in the morning.
The Formule 1, as it’s named, is something akin to Ikea living. It’s a small, cube-shaped room with bunk beds and a tv mounted in the corner. Our bathroom is a toilet that is in a closet with a showerhead – the sink is in the room with the beds. It’s a tight fit, but very cool.
(this divider is literally all that separates us from the sink and the wall. It was luxurious - can't you see?)
Today was one last visit into Melbourne. We did the free tourist shuttle bus, and then hit a pharmacy. My neck is still aching, and Jayne is catching a cold. The cost of medication in this country is incredible. Jayne bought 20 sudafed like things for A$12 and I bought 20 Naproxin tablets for A$9. I would typically get 100 for that price.
After the pharmacy, we sat at a café and had even more overpriced coffee while Ben ate the largest donut I have ever seen – also absurdly overpriced. The game plan for the day was to wander leisurely and snap photos, and I’d say mission accomplished.
It was a very quiet day as a whole, but muchly needed. As we’re all somewhat under the weather – Ben has a cold, as does Jayne, and now with my tummy being off and my neck being a mess – so we needed a day of strolling the city, hopping on and off transit, and of course settling into our next hotel room.
Of all the rooms so far, tonight’s accommodation strikes me as the most fun – it reminds me of the ferry we took to Le Havre a couple years ago, though stationary and of course somewhat bigger. Not much though.
Can’t wait to move on to warmer climates and switch to summer clothes.
So, how does their currency compare to ours? I think that's a crucial element to consider in this whole "everything cost's so much here" thing. Yes, I could look it up, but it's easier just to ask. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe currency is almost at par to ours - so C$1.00 buys about A$1.05 Australian, give or take depending on the day. So when you consider that a bottle of coke, for example (single-serve sized) would be about C$2, and here it's over four or almost 5, that's a two and a half time mark up. Other things that are expensive? Food - it's incredible how you can pay A$10 for a breakfast that would cost you C$6 at home, or how a coffee will easily cost you more than A$4 for what we'd consider a small... very stressful!
ReplyDeleteOy! Is the whole of Australia like that, or is it just that you've only hit expensive areas so far?
ReplyDeleteI think that Australia as a whole is very expensive; we've traveled through Victoria, Queensland, and later this week into New South Wales, and all of our hotel bookings have been expensive (very) as has dining. Dinner for two adults and a child is about A$50, with no alcoholic beverages (and usually, no beverages of any variety - just water) Last night we discovered the joy of renting cottages and tonight/tomorrow we've rented an apartment which is incredible, because now we can make our own food.
ReplyDeleteWith A$75 we've been able to put together dinner last night, breakfast this morning, dinner tonight, and dinner tomorrow. MUCH more economical.
We have a cottage again on Friday and Saturday, I believe, and then we end up in Sydney in 4 star hotels - I suspect that means sucking it up and spending the money during our last week here.
Even petrol is atrociously overpriced - we're paying $1.36 a liter in most circumstances... which is pricey considering we'll clock just over 2500 kms in long distance driving, never mind our in city touring...