Yay, I’m (very) slowly working through my backlog of entries!

Here’s the expenses breakdown of my Gold Coast 4-day weekend trip last March. I flew via Jetstar, and lucky for me, their Gold Coast segment flies from Tullamarine and not from Avalon airport (which is about one and a half hour from Melbourne).

I stayed the the overpopulated-by-tourists Surfer’s Paradise. Why? Because there are times when I *do* want to be mainstream.

When I was researching for this trip, I was really frustrated that there’s hardly anything online or in travelbooks about the Gold Coast. Usually it’d just be a mention of the beach, the theme parks and the hinterlands. One day in Gold Coast and I see why that is.
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Popularity: 35% [?]

Ah, Sydney. How I loved thee.

I’ve fallen inlove with Sydney, mainly because of the harbour and the ferries. I don’t know why, but I just love riding commuter ferries. It’s one of the reasons why I loved the Chao Phraya in Bangkok.

I only spent 3 days in Sydney, though I wish I could have stayed longer. Sydney has so much to offer to travelers, and admittedly, a weekend in Sydney isn’t too expensive. I was surprised when I saw the total myself.

Here’s my 3-day Sydney expense breakdown to give you an idea when you plan your own trip to this lovely city.
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Coming from a third world country, where things are dirt cheap, checking price tags in Australia can be quite shocking (not the good kind of shock you get when you look at Indonesian prices). At first the prices look cheap, but once you convert it to peso… ay caramba!

That is why they say that when you travel, you shouldn’t convert prices anymore, else you won’t buy anything. However, I do believe that it’s still important to convert — mainly to check if the same product sold in your own country is sold cheaper as compared to where you currently are.

The cost of traveling in Australia is definitely not cheap. Excluding airfare, you can expect to be shelling out around between AU$50-80 (US$40-70) a day, and that’s already being cheap (4-6 person hostel dorm room, 3 cheap meals a day, full day’s transport, maybe a little extra for beer or admission tickets). Also, if you want to visit the top tourist attractions, you would have to spend a couple more bucks for admission (AU$10 upwards). Some attractions are also situated outside the city, and not as easily accessible by public transport, leaving you with no choice but to drive there using your rented car (or bombs, as they call it) or join a *shudder* tour group.
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It’s been three days since we got back from [tag]Bohol[/tag] and I’m still recovering from my vacation. How ironic. The things that happened when I got home was just too stressful and I still couldn’t shake it off. Hopefully, I’ll be back in good working condition by Monday.

Something good came in the mail the day after I got back which cheered me up a bit, and I was able to use my computer again without having to take it (and paying lots of money) to the repair shop.

On a lighter note, I was able to stay under my [tag]budget[/tag] for this trip yay. Unfortunately, with the loss of my MP3 player and some cash, that still brings me over my budget. But what the heck, I’m just glad I was able to come home in with all pieces in tact.

A detailed breakdown of my Bohol budget right after the jump.
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