Australia, Singapore & Malaysia in Shoestring budget 15 days

Duration: 26th Oct – 8th Nov, 2018

It feels nice if you can travel an expensive country in a super tight budget. I spent around 1 - 1.1 L for the entire tour, which includes Visa cost, Flight Cost, Insurance everything.

I visited Singapore & Malaysia during transit. I choose the flights in such a way that I get a full day layover at the respective places. The transit visa was free for both the countries, as I had Australian visa.

In Australia I visited Sydney (4 days), Gold Coast (3 days), and Melbourne (5 days).

In Melbourne I did couch surfing all the way which meant I did not spend a penny for accommodation. (Obviously I gifted my hosts with something or took them out for dinner)

I met one of the most helpful persons in my life during the trip, who picked me up from the airport at 4 am in the morning. One night I missed the last train and he rescued me at around 1 in the night. He hosted me for 2 days.

Places visited in Sydney

• Taronga Zoo
• Bondi Beach 
• Took the Bondi to Coogee walk
• Palm Beach
• Opera House- Harbour Bridge (Circular Quay)
• Darling Harbour
• China Town
• Blue Mountains.

Harbor Bridge

Opera House

Bondi Beach

Gold Coast

Sea world theme park (which I felt was waste of 90 dollars, it was all hype), Whale Watching, Beach Hoping. I was staying at Surfer’s Paradise which is the heart of Gold Coast.

Surfers Paradise (Heart of Gold Coast)

 Melbourne

Personally I found Melbourne the most beautiful among the three. The view of the countryside was awesome. Visited the Great Ocean Road, Botanical Garden, Took the free walk tour, State library of Victoria, and watched a match in MCG, Brighton Beach. Spent a whole day in Yarra Valley. The view was spectacular. Hiked to the top of Keppel Falls look out in Yarra valley being completely drenched in rain.

I recommend Yarra Valley and GOR tour to all visiting Melbourne.

I did the Yarra Valley tour in just 15 dollars (Tour operators charge around 80-100 dollars). I created an event in Couchsurfing and joined by one from USA, one Brazil, two German and one from Bangladesh. We hired a car of ourselves. This way the cost of the entire tour came down tremendously. 

Still I felt like I could have cut down my expenses in some parts.

Some Tips:

Get OPAL card in Sydney and don’t forget to tap off the card when you get down from the bus or train. I did not understand the system quite well and forgot to tap off on many times and lost a huge chunk of money over there. So, do your research properly before coming.
On Sundays public transportation is very cheap. Once you travel for around 2.5 AUD the other trips become free. That means for around 125 Rs, you can travel unlimited. For other weekdays the amount is around 14 AUD.

In Melbourne you need the Myki card.

Gold coast there is Gold Coast explore card for 10AUD, which you can use for one day unlimited across all public transportation systems.

SIM card – I took Lebara for 15AUD with 2 GB. (2 GB is enough for 10-12 days for navigation and other important stuffs). You will anyways get free wifi in hostels and in some places.

I use Skype to call India when I am abroad. Just recharge it with around 200 rs and you are good to go. Call rate is around 1.5 Rs per minute.

For currency credit card was accepted everywhere, but I felt like getting cash in India is the cheapest option. You will get the best rates.

Some major Spending:

• Visa : 140 AUD (7350 Rs) (which was online)
• Guwahati to Chennai – 5.2K
• Chennai to Sydney flight (through Singapore) – 7.9K (It was super cheap)
• Melbourne to Hyderabad (through Malaysia) – 15.9K
• Hyd to Guwahati – 4.5K
• Sydney to Gold Cost – 3.1k
• Gold Coast to Melbourne – 4.8K
• Travel Insurance - 800 Rs

I traveled with only Cabin baggage this time (7kg) as the ticket prices were only for cabin luggage and you have to pay extra for checked in baggage.

I spent around 50K before leaving India. And rest 50-60 K in Australia.

Finally I want to conclude with a beautiful line - " Travelling solo does not mean you are alone, you meet some wonderful people along the way ".