The Other Cheap-Arse Way to Melbourne Airport - by Tram!

In my popular post To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way, I describe how to travel to/from the city centre and the airport by regular public transport, aboard a train and the route 901 bus.

It's the most frequent option. However, there is a second, more obscure, way of travelling between MEL and the city: using Melbourne's favourite mode of transport, the tram.

Here's how to do it...

To Melbourne Airport

From Elizabeth Street in Melbourne's central business district, catch a route 59 tram all the way to its northern terminus at Stop 59 in the suburb of Airport West (timetable here).

You may have noticed two interesting things already. Firstly, it's a curious coincidence that route 59 happens to have 59 stops (pure chance, as it happens).

Also, that Airport West is an odd name for a suburb that's south of the airport. That's true, but it was actually named after Melbourne's original air terminal, Essendon Airport to the east, which is still in operation and which you'll pass on the tram.

When you step out of the route 59 terminus, ignore the bus stop that's immediately adjacent - that's for buses heading to the nearby shopping centre. Instead, you have to do a slightly fiddly crossing of the road intersection to reach the bus stop to the north of the terminus on the other side of the road (near the Red Rooster outlet).

Are you there? Good. Now you simply have to wait for a bus. From here, you can catch any of three bus routes to the airport:

• Bus 478 to Melbourne Airport (timetable here)
• Bus 479 to Sunbury Station via Melbourne Airport (timetable here)
• Bus 482 to Melbourne Airport (timetable here)

These buses are not that frequent. Between them, the 478 and 479 buses run every half-hour from 5.45am to 7.15pm on weekdays (and hourly between 7.45am and 6.45pm at weekends), taking 15 minutes to reach the airport.

The 482 runs only eight times a day on weekdays and follows a curiously circuitous route through the industrial hinterland leading to the airport, thus taking 25 minutes. As the 482 bus is so less frequent and takes a bit longer, I'd only recommend it if it happens to show up and the next 478 or 479 bus is more than ten minutes away.

The bus terminates at the public transport interchange on Grants Road, next to Terminal 4 at Melbourne Airport. It's a convenient stop for flights aboard Jetstar and Tigerair, the budget airlines serving that terminal.

For international flights and Virgin Australia domestic flights respectively, Terminals 2 and 3 are about a 10 minute walk away. For Qantas domestic flights, Terminal 1 is a 15 minute hike.

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki card to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have three choices.

1. The easiest option is to buy a card directly from a bus driver, who can also add credit to the card. The card costs $6 to purchase, and on top of that a two-hour fare from the airport to the city centre (and onwards to anywhere in Melbourne within the time limit) is $4.40.

All buses should be equipped for this transaction, but if you strike a bus where the driver has run out of cards or the equipment isn't working, there are two other options.

2. You can buy a Myki card from one of the three Myki ticket machines located at the airport. These are located in the arrivals areas of Terminals 2, 3 and 4.

Again, the card itself costs $6 and you top it up with credit; you'll need at least $4.40 credit to reach the city centre and stay in the black.

3. You can also buy a Myki Explorer Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport (Skybus is the premium departs-every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city centre for $19.75).

The $15 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $9 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not aboard Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre on the regular bus and tram, then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

The visitor pack also includes discount vouchers to major Melbourne attractions and a decorative Myki card wallet, so that may add to the incentive to pick one up.

The standard bus stop is within the public transport interchange on Grants Road, near Terminal 4 (so allow 15 minutes walk from Terminal 1, and 10 minutes walk from Terminals 2 and 3). Look for the orange-and-white PTV sign inside the interchange.

Here you board any of these bus routes, all of which head to Airport West Shopping Centre:

• Bus 478 (timetable here)
• Bus 479 (timetable here)
• Bus 482 (timetable here)

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) against a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

Between them, the 478 and 479 buses run every half-hour from about 6.30am to 8pm on weekdays (and hourly between 8am and 7pm at weekends). It takes 15 minutes to reach the terminus of the 59 tram, which is next to the Dromana Ave/Matthews Ave bus stop.

Note that this is the second-last bus stop on the route; if you doze off you'll end up at the Airport West Shopping Centre, one stop further on (don't worry if this happens, it's a short walk back).

Touch off your Myki card as you leave the bus, then step onto the platform at the tram terminus right next to the bus stop - you'll recognise it by its distinctive green signage.

Trams run later and more frequently than the buses, so sit back and wait for a number 59 tram to Flinders Street Station in the city centre (timetable here).

Touch on your card again when you board the tram, and relax - you'll be in Melbourne's central business district in about 50 minutes, with plenty of interesting suburbia to view on the way (if you're a Dame Edna Everage fan, give her a wave as you pass through Moonee Ponds).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction is a mere $4.40. This sum is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

This fare covers both of Melbourne's fare zones, so includes all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another tram, a bus or a train when you reach the city centre, to travel onward within the same fare.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you'll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest method is to step into any of the numerous 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the person behind the counter to do it (it can also be topped up at train stations and at Myki machines at larger tram stops).

To work out how much credit you need during your visit, budget $8.80 per weekday (the capped daily fare) and $6.40 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can alternatively add a pass to the card covering all travel over seven days for $44.

So very Melbourne

The best thing about the bus+tram option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – the city has the world's largest tram network, and the tram is one of its most beloved icons. There's no more civilised way of travelling in the city, if you ask me.

Note that the bus+tram option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride by tram to/from Melbourne Airport.

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2019 Update)

It's been three years since I last updated this blog's most popular post, revealing how to get between the city centre and Melbourne Airport very cheaply on regular public transport. There have been a few changes since then, so read on...

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune from this curse.

However... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply.

So draw your chairs closer, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash.

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a much cheaper way into the city centre than the 30 to 45 minute $19.75 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 to 70 minutes, depending on connections).

This is how it works...

To Melbourne Airport

From any station in Melbourne's central business district, catch a train along the Craigieburn line and alight at Broadmeadows Station (timetable here).

Step straight out through the station to the bus bay which is just to the right as you clear the main entrance. Here you catch the 901 bus to Melbourne Airport, which leaves approximately every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from Broadmeadows from about 7am to 9.30pm.

It's important to note that 901 buses going the other direction to Frankston use the same stop, so make sure the bus destination sign says 'Melbourne Airport'.

The bus terminates at the public transport interchange on Grants Road, next to Terminal 4 at Melbourne Airport. It's a very convenient stop for flights aboard Jetstar and Tigerair, the budget airlines serving Terminal 4.

For international flights and Virgin Australia domestic flights respectively, Terminals 2 and 3 are about a 10 minute walk away. For Qantas domestic flights, Terminal 1 is a 15 minute hike. Although there's shelter at most points of the walk, you might need an umbrella if caught in the rain as you go.

Why it isn't possible to have more than one bus stop in operation at the airport is one of the great mysteries of the universe, but that's a puzzle for another day.

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki card to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have three choices.

1. The easiest option is to buy a card directly from the 901 bus driver, who can also add credit to the card. The card costs $6 to purchase, and on top of that a two-hour fare from the airport to the city centre (and onwards to anywhere in Melbourne within the time limit) is $4.40.

All buses should be equipped for this transaction, but if you strike a bus where the driver has run out of cards or the equipment isn't working, there are two other options.

2. You can instead buy a Myki Explorer Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport. Skybus is the premium departs-every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city centre for $19.75, so this approach may seem unintuitive.

However, you can get the pack from Skybus. The $15 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $9 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre on a regular bus, then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

The visitor pack also includes discount vouchers to major Melbourne attractions and a decorative Myki card wallet, so that may add to the incentive to pick one up.

3. The third option is to buy a Myki card from one of the three Myki ticket machines located at the airport. These are located in the arrivals areas of Terminals 2, 3 and 4.

Again, the card itself costs $6 and you top it up with credit; you'll need at least $4.40 credit to reach the city centre and stay in the black.

The regular bus stop is within the public transport interchange on Grants Road, near Terminal 4 (so allow 15 minutes walk from Terminal 1, and 10 minutes walk from Terminals 2 and 3). Look for the orange-and-white PTV sign inside the interchange.

Here you board the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves approximately every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from the airport from about 6.30am to 9pm.

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) against a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows Station, touch off the card, get out and walk into the station, touching on the card again. Take the underpass to Platform 1. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction is a mere $4.40. This sum is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

This fare covers both of Melbourne's fare zones, so includes all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another train, a bus or a tram when you reach the city centre, to travel onward within the same fare.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you'll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest method is to step into any of the numerous 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the person behind the counter to do it (it can also be topped up at train stations and at Myki machines at larger tram stops).

To work out how much credit you need during your visit, budget $8.80 per weekday (the capped daily fare) and $6.40 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can alternatively add a pass to the card covering all travel over seven days for $44.

Going a-Broady

Another good thing about the 901+train option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – you can eavesdrop on some entertaining conversations on the train to/from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train to/from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed station. Do exercise reasonable vigilance however, especially if travelling after dark.

Another catch is that the train+bus option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

Hadrian's Wall by Bus

On this trip I was hosted by Visit Britain.

Last year Narrelle Harris and I visited Hadrian's Wall, constructed in AD 122 by the Roman Empire in order to mark and guard its northernmost border.

You can hike the entire length of the wall, but that's a long way to walk - the trail runs 135 kilometres from eastern Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. And the best section is in the middle, where the hilly country with its lower population has left much of the structure intact.

The solution for us was to catch the seasonal AD122 bus. The bus runs between the railway stations of Haltwhistle (in the west) and Hexham (in the east), with easy connections to Carlisle and Newcastle.

As it stops at key sites along the wall, including museums and former forts, it makes the historic structure accessible to everyone, though there's still some walking to do from the bus stops to the wall itself.

Not everyone's up for a long walk, especially in such hilly country, so it's a good option for travellers who are less mobile.

In the end we did walk a section of the wall, taking a leisurely two hours to stroll up and down the sloping trail west from the fort site now known as Housesteads.

Once we'd had enough of that, we used a farm access road to get back to the main road, where we were happy to flag down the next bus. A day ticket allows multiple rides, and the bus will pick up anywhere that's safe along its route.

The walk was great, but we were happy to get back on the bus and use it to reach the ruins of the former Roman military town south of the wall, Vindolanda [pictured above].

We used it the next day as well, to see some of the wall-related sites closer to Haltwhistle. It was a great way to explore Hadrian's Wall, and allow some walking without exhausting ourselves.

For more details about the AD122 bus, click here.

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2016 Update)

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2019 update to this blog post by clicking here] 

Here we go again! Every year the bigwigs at Melbourne Airport and Public Transport Victoria tinker with some aspect of the public transport options there, so I have to keep you up with developments.

So... it's time for another update to this blog's most popular post, revealing how to get between the city centre and Melbourne Airport very cheaply on regular public transport. 

Since the 2015 update some key factors have changed, including the fare to the airport (up) and the location of the airport bus stop (moved). So read on...

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune to this problem.

However... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply.

So draw your chairs closer, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash.

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a much cheaper way into the city centre than the 20 minute $19 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 to 70 minutes, depending on connections).

This is how it works...

To Melbourne Airport

From any station in Melbourne's central business district, catch a train along the Craigieburn line and alight at Broadmeadows Station (timetable here).

Step straight out through the station to the bus bay which is just to the right as you clear the building. Here you catch the 901 bus to Melbourne Airport, which leaves approximately every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from Broadmeadows from about 7am to 9.30pm.

It's important to note that 901 buses going the other direction to Frankston use the same stop, so make sure the bus destination sign says 'Melbourne Airport'.

The bus terminates at a new public transport interchange on Grants Road, next to Terminal 4 at Melbourne Airport. It's obviously a very handy stop for flights aboard Jetstar and Tigerair, the budget airlines serving Terminal 4.

For international flights and Virgin Australia domestic flights respectively, Terminals 2 and 3 are about 10 minutes walk away. For Qantas domestic flights, Terminal 1 is a 15 minute hike. Although there's shelter at most points of the walk, you might need an umbrella if caught in the rain on the wrong side of the road as you go.

Why it isn't possible to have more than one bus stop in operation at the airport is one of the great mysteries of the universe, but that's a puzzle for another day.

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki smartcard to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have three choices.

1. The easiest option is to buy a card directly from the 901 bus driver, who can also add credit to the card. The card costs $6 to purchase, and on top of that a two-hour fare from the airport to the city centre (and onwards to anywhere in Melbourne within the time limit) is $3.90.

All buses should be equipped for this transaction, but if you strike a bus where it isn't set up or the equipment isn't working, there are two other options.

2. You can instead buy a Myki Visitor Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport. Skybus is the premium departs-every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city centre for $19, so this approach may seem unintuitive.

However, you can get the pack from Skybus. The $14 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $8 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre on a regular bus, then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

The visitor pack also includes discount vouchers to major Melbourne attractions and a decorative Myki card wallet, so that may add to the incentive to pick one up.

3. The third option is to buy a Myki card from one of the three Myki ticket machines located at the airport. These are located in the arrivals area of Terminals 2, 3 and 4.

Again, the card itself costs $6 and you top it up with credit; you'll need at least $4 credit to reach the city centre and stay in the black.

The regular bus stop is within the new public transport interchange on Grants Road, near Terminal 4 (so allow 15 minutes walk from Terminal 1, and 10 minutes walk from Terminals 2 and 3). Look for the orange-and-white PTV sign inside the interchange.

Here you board the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves approximately every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from the airport from about 6.30am to 9pm.

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) against a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows Station, touch off the card, get out and walk into the station, touching on the card again. Take the underpass to Platform 1. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction is a mere $3.90. This sum is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

This fare covers both of Melbourne's fare zones, so includes all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another train, a bus or a tram when you reach the city centre, to travel onward within the same fare.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you'll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest method is to step into any of the million or so 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the person behind the counter to do it (it can also be topped up at train stations and at Myki machines at larger tram stops).

To work out how much credit you need during your visit, budget $7.80 per weekday (the capped daily fare) and $6 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can alternatively add a pass to the card covering all travel over seven days for $39.00.

Going a-Broady

Another good thing about the 901+train option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – you can eavesdrop on some entertaining conversations on the train to/from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train to/from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed station. Do exercise reasonable vigilance however, especially if travelling after dark.

Another catch is that the train+bus option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2015 Update)

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2016 update to this blog post by clicking here]

It's time for another update to this blog's most popular post, revealing how to get from the city centre to Melbourne Airport very cheaply on regular public transport. 

Since the 2014 update some key factors have changed, including the fare to the airport (spoiler: it's cheaper!). So read on...

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune to this problem.

However... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply.

So draw your chairs closer, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash.

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a much cheaper way into the city centre than the 20 minute $18 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 to 70 minutes, depending on connections).

This is how it works...

To Melbourne Airport

From any station in Melbourne's central business district, catch a train along the Craigieburn line and alight at Broadmeadows Station (timetable here).

Step straight out through the station to the bus bay which is just to the right as you clear the building. Here you catch the 901 bus to Melbourne Airport, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from Broadmeadows from about 7am to 9.30pm.

It's important to note that 901 buses going the other direction to Frankston use the same stop, so make sure the bus destination sign says 'Melbourne Airport'.

The bus terminates at a regular suburban bus stop at the airport, dropping off passengers on Departure Drive just past Terminal 1, used by Qantas and Jetstar.

This bus stop is obviously handy for Qantas and Jetstar flights. It's also an easy walk from here to international flights (Terminal 2) and Virgin Australia flights (Terminal 3); and a more substantial 600 metre walk past these terminals to Terminal 4, used by budget airline Tigerair.

Why it isn't possible to have more than one bus stop in operation at the airport, god knows, but that's a puzzle for another day.

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki smartcard to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have three choices.

1. The easiest option is to buy a card directly from the 901 bus driver, who can also add credit to the card. The card costs $6 to purchase, and on top of that a two-hour fare from the airport to the city centre (and onwards to anywhere in Melbourne within the time limit) is $3.76.

All buses should be equipped for this transaction, but if you strike a bus where it isn't set up or the equipment isn't working, there are two other options.

2. You can instead buy a Myki Visitor Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport. Skybus is the premium departs-every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city centre for $18, so this approach seems a little unintuitive.

However, you can get the pack from Skybus. The $14 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $8 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre on a regular bus, then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

The visitor pack also includes discount vouchers to major Melbourne attractions and a decorative Myki card wallet, so that may add to the incentive to pick one up.

3. The third option is to buy a Myki card from one of the three Myki ticket machines located at the airport. These are located in the arrivals area of Terminals 2, 3 and 4 (the Terminal 2 machine at international arrivals is pictured above).

Again, the card itself costs $6 and you top it up with credit; you'll need at least $4 credit to reach the city centre and stay in the black.

The regular bus stop is opposite Terminal 1. It's not right next to the terminal's kerb, but in one of the traffic islands further out - look for the orange-and-white sign. Here you board the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

Note: on Saturdays and Sundays the 901 bus departure intervals are every 30 minutes; and on Sundays the 901 operates from the airport from about 6.30am to 9pm.

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) against a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows Station, touch off the card, get out and walk into the station, touching on the card again. Take the underpass to Platform 1. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction has recently dropped from $6.06 down to a bargain basement $3.76, as Zone 1+2 fares have now been capped at the Zone 1 amount. This sum is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

This fare covers both of Melbourne's fare zones, so includes all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another train, a bus or a tram when you reach the city centre, to travel onward within the same fare.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you'll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest method is to step into any of the million or so 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the person behind the counter to do it (it can also be topped up at train stations and at Myki machines at larger tram stops).

To work out how much credit you need, budget $7.52 per weekday (the capped daily fare) and $6 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can alternatively add a pass to the card covering all travel over seven days for $37.60.

Going a-Broady

Another good thing about the 901+train option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – you can eavesdrop on some entertaining conversations on the train to/from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train to/from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed station. Do exercise reasonable vigilance however, especially if travelling after dark.

Another catch is that the train+bus option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

Eulogy to a Backpack

The backpack is dead, long live the backpack!
My new pack above, the old one below.

It's a sad day.

Not only has my old passport been cancelled while I await the arrival of a new one, but my old High Sierra backpack has also given way to a brand-new upstart.

I'm glad of the new pack of course, and it was necessary to supplant the old one because it was starting to malfunction.

One of the straps was fraying at the shoulder, and in Oman last month I had problems with the zips.

It was, frankly, time for a replacement.

But it is a sad day. That backpack has been with me since 2005.

It's flown across the Pacific, to New Zealand, Tahiti, Easter Island and Chile.

It's cruised between Patagonian glaciers inaccessible by land.

It's become intimately knowledgeable with towns and cities across Poland, especially the luggage racks of its trains.

It's taken a night bus to Lithuania; crossed the Slovenia-Hungary border by rail; entered Slovakia on my back, as I walked across the border from Poland; dropped into Stockholm and spent time in Moravia and eastern Germany.

It's travelled the entire length of Canada by train, from Vancouver in the west to Halifax in the east.

It's seen Montana, North Dakota, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Honolulu in the USA; and it's ridden in a bus past the enigmatic Area 51 in rural Nevada.

It's reclined in posh resort rooms in Jordan, Fiji and Oman. It's seen Shanghai, and floated down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Wuhan.

It's been to Delhi, visited Kuala Lumpur and Borneo, spent time in Seoul, and travelled twice to Thailand.

It's fetched up in Norwich, Belfast and Dublin.

It's been to London more times than I can easily remember.

It's been all over Australia, including twice by rail from Sydney to Perth, and once from Darwin to Adelaide.

And now its travels are done.

I'm not going to throw the pack away. It's been an intimate travelling companion for so many years, I can't bring myself to do it.

Like my dog-eared, cancelled passport with the clipped-off cover and the colourful entry stamps, it'll take its place in my personal Travel Hall of Fame.

Though in reality it'll be up in a cupboard behind the new backpack, slowly being forgotten.

But it'll be indelibly ingrained with the residue of its days of the road. Just like me.

Disclosure: I was supplied with my new Access backpack for review purposes by High Sierra. A review will follow when I've had a chance to break it in.

Why Are Trains So Sexy?

Aboard an InterCity train from Łódź to Warsaw, Poland.

A few years ago, a politician here in Victoria was bemoaning the public's desire for increased rail transport, compared to its disdain for buses.

"We have to find a way to make buses sexy," he said.

The dining carriage of the Indian Pacific, Australia.

Not long after that, the government built major new rail and bus terminals on Spencer Street in the city centre.

The railway station, named Southern Cross, was a light-filled glass and steel modern-day cathedral with a billowing curved ceiling. It won various design awards.

The bus terminal, right next door, was a dark, gloomy concrete box beneath a shopping mall. As far as I know, it hasn't won any awards. When arriving there on the airport bus, you can't wait to get out on the street.

The contrasting buildings speak to an underlying truth - that bus travel is relegated to second-best in most people's minds. Train travel is generally preferred to bus and to air travel too, where it's a practical alternative. But why is it so?

Dining aboard Le Massif in Quebec, Canada.

For a start, I think there are practical reasons to prefer trains over buses.

Generally speaking, trains have more leg room, allow more easy movement along the vehicle while travelling, travel more steadily, and nearly always have toilet facilities (albeit of varying standards of cleanliness).

But I think there are some solid psychological reasons as well. Compared to air travel, rail offers more interesting human-scale views, which can be seen by everyone on board.

And compared to buses, train travel feels part of, but separate to, the world seen through the windows.

Because trains run on their own dedicated track, they're not caught up in the mundane frustrating road delays that afflict car drivers and bus passengers alike.

View of the the Rocky Mountains, Canada, with the front of
The Canadian visible from the back of the train.

More significantly, a train feels subtly removed from the world outside, immersed in it but soon to flick on to new scenery; a travelling, self-contained town on wheels.

It's perfectly attuned to a traveller's state of mind when starting on a journey: detached from everyday worries, forging a path into the future. And paying attention as you go.

Rainforest views on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania.

What are your favourite rail travel memories? Does a particular route stand out? Have your say in the comments below.

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2014 Update)

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2015 update to this blog post by clicking here]

It's time for another update to this blog's most popular post, how to get from the city centre to Melbourne Airport cheaply on regular public transport. 

Since the 2013 update some key factors have changed, including the airport bus stop location and elements of the ticketing system. So read on...

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune to this problem.

However... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply, though various vested interests would rather you didn't learn what I'm about to tell you.

So draw your chairs closer, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash.

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a much cheaper way into the city centre than the 20 minute $18 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 to 70 minutes, depending on connections).

This is how it works...

To Melbourne Airport

From any station in Melbourne's central business district, catch a train along the Craigieburn line and get out at Broadmeadows Station (timetable here).

Step straight out through the station building to the bus bay which is just to the right as you clear the building. Here you catch the 901 bus to Melbourne Airport, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

The bus terminates at a regular suburban bus stop at the airport. Though it was previously located in an inconvenient spot about 500 metres south of the international terminal, it's now been moved to a better location on Departure Drive just past Terminal 1, used by Qantas and Jetstar.

This has reversed the previous situation, whereby the bus was handy for Tigerair services from Terminal 4. The bus stop is now a 600 metre walk north of Terminal 4, though less of a walk for international flights (Terminal 2) and Virgin Australia flights (Terminal 3). It's obviously very handy for Qantas and Jetstar flights.

Why it isn't possible to have more than one bus stop in operation at the airport, god knows, but that's a discussion for another day.

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki smartcard to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have two choices.

The easiest option is to buy a card directly from the 901 bus driver, who can also add credit to the card. The card costs $6 to purchase, and on top of that a two-hour fare from the airport to the city centre (and onwards to anywhere in Melbourne within the time limit) is $6.06.

All buses should now be equipped for this transaction, but if you strike a bus where it isn't set up or the equipment isn't working, there's a second option.

You can instead buy a Myki Visitor Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport. Skybus is the premium every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city for $18, so this approach seems a little unintuitive.

However, you can get the pack from Skybus. The $14 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $8 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre on a regular bus, then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

The visitor pack also includes discount vouchers to major Melbourne attractions and a decorative Myki card wallet, so that may add to the incentive to pick one up.

The regular bus stop is opposite Terminal 1. It's not right next to the terminal's kerb, but in one of the traffic islands further out - look for the orange-and-white sign. Here you board the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) against a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows Station, touch off the card, get out and walk into the station, touching on the card again. Take the underpass to Platform 1. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction is $6.06, which is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

Note that this $6.06 is a two-hour fare covering both of Melbourne's fare zones, so it has the advantage of being able to be used on all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another train, a bus or a tram when you reach the city centre.

On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the Myki fare is capped at $6 for unlimited all-day travel across Melbourne, making the airport trip a few cents cheaper.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you’ll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest way is to step into any of the million or so 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the person behind the counter to do it.

If you're only sightseeing in the inner city, budget $7.16 per weekday (the capped daily fare for Zone 1) and $6 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can alternatively add a pass to the card covering all Zone 1 travel over seven days for $35.80.

Going a-Broady

Another good thing about the 901+train option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – you can eavesdrop on some entertaining conversations on the train to/from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train to/from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed station. Do exercise reasonable vigilance however, especially if travelling after dark.

Another catch is that the train+bus option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

Victoriously Among Those Present (Eventually) in Victoria, Canada

We're now in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.

It was well worth making the journey to the city at the bottom of Vancouver Island, as it's a picturesque place with good food and a nice balance between small town friendliness and big city attractions.

However, getting here wasn't without its challenges. On Thursday we left the Great Bear Lodge in BC's northern wilderness, travelling by seaplane low over mountains, trees and waterways to the town of Port Hardy.

There we were to board a small plane to Vancouver's South Terminal, with a quick change to an even smaller plane to Victoria.

Flight manoeuvres

When organising this trip I suspected the seaplane might be a spanner in the works, but in fact the flight from Port Hardy was the one with issues. Running some 45 minutes late and having to deal with turbulence, it seemed it would be delayed just enough for us to miss the final flight of the day to Victoria.

Luckily Pacific Coastal delayed the Victoria flight, and when we touched down at Vancouver the airline's staff were ready to whisk us onto the waiting plane.

However, we hadn't yet been through security (not a requirement at Port Hardy) so there was a certain sense of chaos added to the urgency.

Stepping off the first plane, we had to wait a minute for the crew to retrieve our backpacks from the 'valet' hold, where they'd been placed just before boarding due to the lack of cabin luggage space.

Security and insecurity

Then we scooted into the terminal, and zipped down to the gate at the other end to go through security.

This was tricky. Not only did the usual array of metal items need to be divested at speed, but my lace-up boots had to come off as well as they contain enough metal to bother the detector.

Also, as I lifted my arms up at one point the security guy noticed my belt, and asked for that to come off too (I never usually remove it, and it never usually sets the detector off). So off it came too, all while the Victoria plane was waiting outside.

Once all the gear was scanned, I hastily and poorly tied my bootlaces, and shoved the belt inside my backpack rather than take the time to put it on. Then we dashed through the door, headed out to the plane and dropped our packs again on this new craft's valet cart.

To infinity and beyond

We clambered aboard, into what appeared to be more a model airplane with an engine than a real live plane. It was tiny - just 21 seats, one to each side of the minuscule aisle beneath the very low curved roof (I had to scurry bent over to board). What with the shiny white cylindrical interior, I felt as if I was in the first manned rocket to Mars.

Then, 25 minutes later, we landed at Victoria Airport. Upon which we grabbed our bags from the valet cart, found the airport bus and hopped aboard. Shortly, seated within its pitch-dark interior, Vancouver Island nightlife flashing past the windows, we were barrelling toward the city. And laughing, as you might imagine, slightly hysterically.

When we stepped out of the bus in front of the majestic 1908 Fairmont Empress Hotel in the historic heart of Victoria, laces askew and beltless, I recognised at once that were unwittingly part of a PG Wodehouse scene. I imagine the master humorist would've written it like this:

Backpacks in the Offing
(with apologies to PG Wodehouse)

The doorman at the Fairmont Empress Hotel was feeling pleased with himself this evening. Not only had he won a little wager over the visiting Governor General's preference in tie colour with the boy who cleaned the boots, an upstart lad who needed to be taught to respect his elders and betters, but the weather was distinctly like that which mother makes.

Pink sunset, one, balmy breeze, one, and cloudless starry sky, one, he thought, having found it hard to shake the ordered thinking habits of his stint in the army. On top of which, he'd had a delightful chat with the Crown Prince of Japan about which racehorses to back.

The doorman, though of humble origin, found no difficulty in conversing with those he regarded as "The Quality". Having been a doorman for decades at the Empress, he had developed an easy manner with which he could charm the richest and most famous.

Also, his uniform contained enough in the way of coloured braid, extravagant epaulettes and cap peaks to make even a sultan or maharajah feel underdressed and not a little sheepish in his presence.

As the airport bus pulled to the kerb, the doorman drew himself up to his full height and prepared to welcome new guests. More members of the aristocracy, he conjectured, or perhaps a president or high-born native chief. No matter, he was prepared for all comers.

Then a man and a woman stepped out, and the doorman froze. There was something not quite right about this couple.

His keen eye for correct dress perceived that both of them had bootlaces badly tied, and the male half of the sketch was holding the top of his jeans as if they needed support. Moreover, their luggage consisted merely of two backpacks. It was hard to suppress a shudder at the sight of them.

He was about to direct them to a suitable boarding house in a less particular part of town, when the man spoke. "Is this the Empress?" he asked. "We have a reservation."

The doorman was struck dumb. The newcomers seemed to shake like aspens as he reeled back, dazed.

Then, reason returning to its throne, he suddenly perceived the truth. This duo must be an example of the eccentric celebrities he'd read so much about in the hoard of colourful popular magazines he kept secreted in his little booth within the hotel. Appearing "of the people", but tycoons in secret, seeking whom they might reward with riches.

He could play along with this game, and with any luck secure a sizeable tip for his carefully indicated discretion. "Welcome to the Empress," he said, bowing low.

This doorman, stout fellow though he was, would soon have his illusions soundly shattered. But not yet. He flung wide the hotel doors, and the bedraggled couple entered.

Or at least, that's how it felt at the time.*

*[Doorman added for dramatic effect]

Disclosure time... On this trip I travelled courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission and Tourism Victoria.

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2013 Update)

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2014 update to this blog post by clicking here]

A year ago, I uploaded this popular post explaining how to get to/from Melbourne Airport cheaply on regular public transport. 

In the ensuing 12 months, key elements have changed, including fare rises and the removal of the Metcard ticketing system. 

So here's an update on how to get to or from the airport and save a few dollars along the way...

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune to this problem.

However... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply, though various vested interests would much rather you didn't learn what I'm about to tell you.

So draw your chairs closer to the fire, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash.

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a much cheaper way into the city centre than the 20 minute $17 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 to 70 minutes, depending on connections).

This is how it works...

To Melbourne Airport

From any station in Melbourne's central business district, catch a train along the Craigieburn line and get out at Broadmeadows Station (timetable here).

Step straight out through the station building to the bus bay which is just to the right as you clear the building. Here you catch the 901 bus to Melbourne Airport, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

The bus terminates at a regular suburban bus stop at the airport, located in an inconvenient spot about 500 metres south of the international terminal, on the charmingly named Service Road.

(Note that this stop is very near Terminal 4, so it's actually reasonably convenient if flying via Tiger Airways. Less so for Virgin flights and international, and a longish walk for Qantas and Jetstar services.)

From Melbourne Airport

You need a Myki smartcard to travel on Melbourne's public transport, and to get hold of one of these at the airport you have two choices.

Firstly, you can buy the Myki Visitor Pack from the Skybus ticket booths at the airport. Skybus is the premium every-ten-minutes airport bus which heads to the city for $17, so this seems a little like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank for our purposes.

However, you can get the pack from Skybus. The $14 purchase price includes the standard $6 purchase price for the card, plus $8 of travel credit on standard public transport (ie not Skybus itself). That's more than enough to get to the city centre then travel onwards to anywhere in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Alternatively, you can buy the subtly different Myki Starter Pack from a driver on the 901 bus.

Either way, on leaving the airport terminals turn right and walk about 500 metres, all the way past the separate Terminal 4 where Tiger Airways flies from.

Here you catch the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here).

The bus driver can sell you a Myki Starter Pack for $10, which includes the $6 card purchase price and $4 credit. This is actually less than the fare to the city centre on weekdays, but Myki cards allow you to travel legally even when the card's balance dips into the negative, as long as you top it up before your next trip.

"Touch on" the card (as the jargon goes) on a Myki reader on board, and take a seat.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows Station, touch off the card, get out and walk through the underpass to Platform 1, touching the card on again as you go. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

Fares

The Myki fare between the airport and city centre in either direction is $5.92, which is automatically subtracted from the card balance when you touch off along the route.

Note that this $5.92 is a two-hour fare covering both of Melbourne's fare zones, so it has the advantage of being able to be used on all public transport for the duration of the two hours. Hence you could transfer to another train, bus or tram when you reach the city centre.

Even better, on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the Myki fare is capped at only $3.50 for unlimited all-day travel across Melbourne, making the airport trip a steal.

Give me credit

The catch is that you must buy a Myki card for that non-refundable $6 purchase price; though of course you’ll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

To top up the card's credit, the easiest way is to step into any of the million or so 7-Eleven outlets in the city centre and ask the guy behind the counter to do it.

If you're only sightseeing in the inner city, budget $7 per weekday (the capped daily fare for Zone 1) and $3.50 per weekend day or public holiday. If you like, the 7-Eleven staffer can even add a pass to the card covering all Zone 1 travel over seven days for $35.

Going a-Broady

Another good thing about the 901+train option, is that it gets you straight into the "being in Melbourne" vibe – you can eavesdrop on some pretty entertaining conversations on the train to/from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train to/from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed station. Do exercise reasonable vigilance however, especially if travelling after dark.

Another catch is that the train+bus option isn't really suitable for people with large amounts of luggage; but if travelling with reasonably small and portable gear, go for it.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2014 update to this blog post by clicking here]

To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2014 update to this blog post by clicking here]

The cost of getting to and from airports throughout the Western world can be outrageously expensive, and Melbourne is not immune to this problem.

However.... there is a way of getting to and from Melbourne Airport cheaply, though the airport authorities and other vested interests would much rather you didn't learn what I'm about to tell you.

So draw your chairs closer to the fire, lean in and discover how to save a tidy bit of cash...

For the cheap-arses among us, there is a relatively new and much cheaper way into the city centre than the 20 minute $17 Skybus journey, though of course it takes longer (about 60 minutes).

This is how it works. On leaving the airport terminals, turn right and walk about 500 metres, all the way past the separate Terminal 4 where Tiger Airways flies from.

You’ll eventually reach a regular suburban bus stop – this is where the airport has hidden it in the hope that travellers will never find it.

Here you catch the 901 bus to Frankston, which leaves every 15 minutes from about 5am to midnight (timetable here). Buy a 2-hour Zone 1+2 ticket from the driver, or if you have the new Myki smartcard just touch on via the validator inside the door.

When the bus reaches Broadmeadows train station, get out and walk through the underpass to Platform 1. From here a train will take you straight to the city centre (timetable here).

The fare for the Metcard ticket from the bus driver is $6.50, and has the advantage of being able to be used on all public transport for the duration of the two hours – so it covers both the bus and train, and you could also transfer to a tram when you reach the city centre (for example).

Metcard tickets will be removed at the end of 2012 in favour of the already-running Myki smartcard system; presumably by then you’ll be able to buy Myki cards at the airport, though they’re not available there yet (I'll amend this info as it changes).

The Myki fare is even cheaper – just $5.54 for 2 hours. Even better, on Saturday & Sunday the Myki fare is only $3.30 for all-day travel.

The catch is that you must buy the Myki card for $6 and top it up with credit to be able to use it; though of course you’ll be able to keep using it during your stay in Melbourne, and retain it for use on any future visits.

The other good thing is that the 901+train option gets you straight into the “being in Melbourne” experience – you can eavesdrop on some pretty entertaining conversations on the train from Broady, which has a reputation for being one of Melbourne's tougher suburbs.

Don't let that put you off catching the train from Broadmeadows though, as it's a staffed, well-lit station.

So happy flying - and enjoy the cheap ride to/from Melbourne Airport.

[NOTE: For the latest information, see my 2014 update to this blog post by clicking here]

Signs and Portents: Poland 4

Did Sherlock Holmes ever visit Poland? How many wheels do you really need to sell chocolate? And would you rather stand beneath a tiger or a pear? It's been a few months since I posted my most recent example of curious signs encountered on my Lonely Planet assignment in Poland in winter 2006... so here's another serve.

1. I'm used to encountering Sherlock Holmes all around the world... usually in the names of pubs. This sign, in the southeastern city of Lublin, has Holmes' iconic profile aptly endorsing a school which trains private investigators. I wonder if they've read his classic monograph on types of cigarette ash?

Due to an unfortunate translation, the detective school planted a lemon tree in honour of Holmes' favourite expression. 

2. This political poster was also encountered in Lublin, which is located not far from the border with Belarus. My visit coincided with a presidential election in Belarus, in which the authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko was returned amid the usual voting irregularities. The poster reads something like "Time to be together with Belarus", and Belarus' name is pointedly rendered in the same style as the logo of Poland's Solidarity trade union which fought against communist rule in the 1980s.

President Lukashenko was so popular that even the dead rose from their graves to vote for him - some more than once!

3. It's not really the sign that caught my eye here, but the whole vehicle. This gentleman outside the Lublin bus station is selling both public transport tickets (bilety) for city buses, and chocolate (czekolady).

Józef believed it was only a matter of time before the franchising rights to his chocolate-and-ticket tricar concept took off.

4. As I mentioned in an earlier installment, Polish businesses often include the preposition pod, meaning beneath, to refer to features of their buildings. Here's a picture of the Kraków pharmacy known as Apteka Pod Złotym Tygrysem - The Pharmacy Beneath the Golden Tiger.

Felinophobic customers could at lease console themselves that it wasn't a golden tigger.

5. ... and finally, here's Kraków's Restauracja Pod Gruszką - The Restaurant Beneath the Pear!

 Diners often experienced a strange compulsion to order the fruit salad.
.

Aleppo: Antiquity and the Pistachio

In 1994 we were teaching English in Egypt, and spent our annual holiday travelling overland through Syria and Jordan. Here’s a slice of our experiences in Aleppo...

“Mohamed Ahmed! Mohamed Ahmed!” The passengers in the shed-like arrival area of Aleppo International Airport mill about in robes, jeans and dresses. They take up the cry as a man pushes through the crowd.

A uniformed guard pushes his passport through a glass partition, and it passes from hand to hand until it's finally secured. He sighs with relief and drags his bag through to the outside world.

Everyone else settles back to wait, including Narrelle and myself, the lone Western travellers who’ve just arrived on an EgyptAir flight from Cairo.

Aleppo (Halab to the locals) is claimed to be the oldest settlement in the world, and has been part of every empire in the Middle East. Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks and French have all ruled here at one time or other, adding their own layers to its history.

Syria's Cold War friendship with the Soviet Union has also left its mark and added to the city’s mystique. Traders from the former Soviet Union pack out Aleppo's seedier hotels, hoping to barter goods to take back to Baku, Erevan, Tbilisi or farther afield. Some shop signs are in Russian, contrasting exotically with the vendors selling French pastries early in the morning to the smell of Turkish coffee.

European architecture nestles beside classic Arabian styles and discordant Soviet-style concrete structures. Devout Muslim women here wear not the headscarf, but a thin black cloth which encompasses the head and looks eerily like a bag. Add all this to the regular bustle of an Arab city and you have a place with an intriguing atmosphere.

One of Aleppo's gems is the Baron Hotel. It once hosted Agatha Christie, as all grand hotels in the Middle East seem to have done. The front bar still has all the old fittings, and in the lounge is a framed copy of TE Lawrence's bill.

On the more traditional side of town is a magnificent covered souq (market) leading upwards to the Citadel. Cloth is Aleppo's specialty, but a stroll through the meat section reveals more uses for animal parts than we had ever thought possible.

There are also pistachios, fustuq in Arabic. Aleppo is famous for them, and almost every pastry we try includes the green nuts as a vital element among the honey, nuts and wheat.

Aleppo's other attraction is its closeness to a number of ancient ruins in the beautiful countryside near the Turkish border. One of the most impressive is the former Basilica of St Simeon, now known as Qala'at Samaan. We get there by paying a bonus to the minibus driver whose route ends at a village a few kilometres from the site.

St Simeon was an early Christian monk who decided to renounce the world and live atop a series of lone pillars. His final pillar, where he spent the last decades of his life, became a place of pilgrimage and an enormous, graceful basilica was constructed around it. Today the pillar is just a boulder on a pedestal, but much of the ruined basilica's walls remain, along with stunning views of the surrounding countryside.

Then we realise we haven’t planned how to return to Aleppo. While we’re pondering by the basilica’s gate, a truck full of Syrian army engineers pulls up and offers us a lift. We’re dropped off at the village, just in time to catch the minibus. Sweet as a fustuq.

Further south from Aleppo, a minibus ride from the city of Homs, lies the Crac des Chevaliers. This magnificent Crusader Castle would be a renowned tourist drawcard in Western Europe, but like other Syrian tourist sites it’s not overcrowded and costs a pittance to enter. The sprawling structure, 800 years old, is in excellent condition and sits atop a hill with an impressive view of Lebanon's distant mountains.

The castle has survived earthquakes and invasions over the centuries, so what we see is close to how it must have looked in its heyday. Clambering up to the ramparts, unfenced and open to all, we feel how much more immediate tourism is in this part of the world; it's often possible to get right up close to the things you've come to see. If somewhat precarious.

Back in Aleppo later in the day, after more fustuq-laden pastries, I’m sucking on an apple-flavoured nargile near the souq. The only occasions I’ve ever smoked have involved these water pipes in the Middle East, and entirely for their visual effect. My head spins, I nod to my fellow patrons, and feel myself sinking slowly into the rhythms of this very old place.

Note: As this article is based on personal experience from some years ago, the author takes no responsibility for readers' reliance on the information within. Always check on the current security situation before travelling to Syria.

Close Encounter of the Sculptural Kind

As any Australian travel editor knows, there's something enormously alluring about international travel.

Curiously, these editors receive far more unsolicited material about overseas journeys than domestic ones, even though domestic travel is much cheaper to research.

It seems that a trip to Europe is inherently sexier than a weekend interstate on a budget airline.

But addicted as I am to international adventures, there's no logical reason why a local trip should be any less enjoyable.

You can even travel very locally and have a good time. A case in point - last Sunday Narrelle and I visited the Yering Station winery in the Yarra Valley, just 40 kilometres east of the centre of Melbourne. We were interested in the seeing the works entered in the annual Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition & Awards.

What was novel (for most Melburnians) was our method of getting there - a train to the Lilydale terminus, then a bus from there. It was surprisingly easy to catch public transport into the Yarra Valley, but most people would assume it would only be practical by car.

The sculptures - a pretty flexible term, as most were not the traditional carved stone pieces - are scattered around the grounds and premises of the winery, making an attractive hide-and-seek game as you spot them among the greenery.

The one we had a particular interest in was Grosse Fische - Kleine Fische (Big Fish - Little Fish), a piece which had been foreshadowed some months ago in a post within John Richards' Outland Institute blog.

In it, artist Gaby Jung asked readers to send her empty fish-shaped soy sauce containers. The resulting work used masses of these plastic vessels to form a giant fish, suspended above a pool in which more soy fish float.

It was an impressive piece, as were many others in the exhibition. The winery itself is no slouch, either, being composed of a mix of historic and modern buildings set within beautiful grounds denoted by circular patterns of plants and paths.

After viewing the artork, we tasted home-made jams in the nearby shop, then climbed the stairs to the deck of the bar. We sat outside in the sunshine, sipping rosé and eating excellent sandwiches made with quality ingredients, thinking that perhaps life wasn't so hard after all.

Then we walked the two kilometres or so to the nearest town, Yarra Glen (which I always think sounds like the name of a bushranger). It was an easy stroll along a flat road past fields, though cars whip by at a fast pace.

One woman stopped and asked if we'd like a lift - bless her - but we declined and kept strolling. I'm always amazed by how difficult people who don't walk, think walking is - as if it's a major hardship to walk a couple of kilometres through attractive countryside on a pleasant day.

And the important thing, it occcurs to me, is being immersed in the environment when you're travelling. A car is handy to get from A to B quickly; but I always feel annoyed when tearing through a new landscape I'd rather be in contact with, while confined behind glass and steel.

So that was our Sunday. A visit to a winery, some great art, and a walk into a new town. It might be close to home, but I call that a travel experience worth having.