Top Things To Take Note Of Before Visiting Melbourne, Australia

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Visiting Melbourne

Visiting Melbourne for the first time? Well, that’s a great idea, especially if you’re doing it during the holidays. The place is recognized as the most acceptable and liveable city on the earth, making it one of the best places to go to on their traveler’s bucket list. 

And although it’s right that the only way you can get to know a city is by seeing it for yourself, having some enough preparation goes a long way. 

Here are the top things every first-time visitor of Melbourne must know. 

Melbournians like to shorten words 

Aussies are huge fans of nicknames and abbreviations, so their stores normally use signs and are also written in slang. Unlike the usual ‘Mcdonalds’ sign we can see all over places in the world, in Melbourne, they have a ‘Maccas’ sign instead. And not only that, but they also tend to miss some word out of sentences. The name of their country also has too many syllables, so they would normally call it ‘Straya’. So try researching these things before you take a flight to Melbourne so you won’t be confused when you get there. 

Adding ‘o’ to the end of every word 

Now after a word has been shortened, it may get a ‘y’ or an ‘ie’ on the end. For instance, ciggie, barbie, footy, are the usual words. Apart from that, they can also get an ‘o’ pushed on the end. In Melbourne, they don’t have bottle shops, only ‘bottle-os’. Even their ambulance is called an ‘ambo’. And if your name is John, they might call you Johno. Yep, it’s a bit funny. 

Pack a lot of sunblocks 

This is no joke! The sun in Australia will be your frenemy. They commonly say that just by looking at the sun, you’ll get sunburnt (which is true!). You only need to be in the sun for five minutes and you will see your face turn into a tomato. People say that the sun in Australia is stronger than anywhere else in the world because of the hole the ozone layer has. The UV damage it does to our skin is harsher, meaning, there’s a bigger risk of skin cancer. So make sure that bring your sunscreen lotion and wear it. 

Always stay on the left or walk on the right 

Melbourne is pretty respectful when it comes to how they use their escalators. People who are not in a hurry and chill must stay stand on the left and for those who are running a hectic schedule are welcome to do it on the right side of the escalator. Plus, it would be better to know what you are getting in prior to deciding to step on the escalator at Parliament Station. It will be a long distance to the top if you wish to walk and move. 

Your packing must fit all seasons 

The four seasons in Australia is well-known and if you don’t prepare for it, you’ll be hating this kind of weather the country has. The weather in Melbourne is always irregular. When it’s winter, it would be cold and raining, but you can also get some wonderful 24-and-sunny days. 

During the summer, you can experience a 40-degree heatwave, yet it can get fairly cold in a high of 14 with a possibility of raining. So it’s best to bring a raincoat, layers, and boots for you to remain comfortable when the weather gets unpredictable. 

Dinners During Christmas Are Feasted Outside 

Aussies eat Christmas dinners outside, and usually, they hunt for turkey at their local supermarket and roasted on the ‘barbie’. A lot of Australians will use their time at the beach to celebrate Christmas day, have a picnic at the park or botanical garden, glamping in the bush, or just chill in their back yards. 

Bars and cocktail bars are open at night, but not everywhere 

Melbourne is considered to be a 24-hour city, but it’s not like New York. A lot of bars close at 1 am and others close at 3. So try to search in advance for those bars that close late. If you think you’re ready to wear your dancing shoes on and you like to party like there’s no tomorrow. 

Phrases may mean entirely different to Melburnians 

The phrase ‘down the road’ means that it’s walkable for most countries, but in Melbourne, this means that it could be two or three suburbs away, 16 stop on the bus, or an hour drive in the car, anything but walkable. Another example is, taking a trip to the beach, or hiking, the phrase ‘it’s close’ means one or two hours drive away. Meanwhile, this phrase means a four-hour drive to a mountain or a waterfall. So take note of this. 

They are already bored with kangaroos 

People who don’t live in Australia are excited to see some kangaroos when they visit the place. And most of them wish that they also have such amazing and exotic wildlife. Frankly, Australians are bored with them (obviously they are everywhere!). 

Although you don’t see them walking the streets, once you get to the bushes, you won’t be able to count them. If you’re a foreigner, it may seem to fun to do ‘roo spotting’, but after a while, it’ll be a game of ‘spot the tree’ and no one wants to play it already.

Want more information about traveling to Australia, read about some of the tourist attractions it has for your next adventure.

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