Author: Nigel D'Souza

Nigel D'Souza https://thedomestictraveller.wordpress.com Analyst, Photographer, Blogger and Love living life. How can I help you today?

2013 Updates

We often dream of the things we want to achieve, reveling in the endorphins released in imagining the “what could be”. But where most people struggle is the actual execution. I know I am not going to get better or reach my goal of being an author (and/or editor) just by dreaming. I recently contacted one of my idols and he is now holding me accountable. For the next 30 days (ending on the 9/4), I have been challenged to post here once a week. And something substantial (more than 500 words) and he might even be reading this!

If you are Max, I am jumping in and seeing where this dream leads. I will be publishing a post every Thursday during this period on my blog.

Onwards and upwards in 2013!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

This year has been one of firsts. Whether it’s reading nearly 70 books, starting the long awaited novel or this blog, all of it a learning experience! I now know what needs to be done to update a blog & I commit to doing so in 2013. The city of Melbourne has decorated the city with 24 sites in celebration of Christmas. Check out the awesome Christmas map on http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au for a detailed view on how to get to each & every one of them in one day! I’m covering the Great Ocean Road over the next few days so look forward to some good stories & excellent photos! To all my readers thank you for your support & encouragement along the way. I wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas & a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2013! Stay safe & catch you all in 2013!

Yarra River

Going beyond…

I haven’t been posting as regularly as I would like on all things Melbourne. So to really push it, I plan on taking part in writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days competition. It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. Write a novel. But I never had a good topic to cover.

Then it struck me…what about using Melbourne as an outline for the book. So I have got the rest of October to try and get as much material as possible to last 50,000 words. Should it be 30 days in Melbourne or better yet, Melbourne in 30 hours? Or the best of Melbourne in 30 days/hours.

So my goal is to try and start as early as possible, make as much use of an hour that I have during the week and the whole of the weekends to get as much material for the book as possible. I’m excited but also nervous about this kind of experiment. I don’t think I have done one so public before. But I guess, you’ll never learn if you never step out of your comfort zone. So here goes nothing!!

1,667 words a day. Wow. I don’t think I have written that much in a day. If what they say is true, that a picture paints a 1000 words, then all I would need are two pictures to inspire me, right?

Oh wow. I wonder how eloquent I can be? Maybe I should go into the detail of the smells, the vivid contrasting colours and perhaps even the sounds. More is not necessarily better. But somehow I need to be descriptive yet succinct. Eesh. I don’t know about this. I’m excited and nervous. And I haven’t even launched this site properly.

To the end product!! I’ll see you on the other side…

Gallery

Australia Day 2012

Australia Day 2012

Australia Day falls on the 26th of January. Around the same time the famous Australian Open occurs! This year I took the chance to brave the sun and headed into the city for a great day out.

Given my love of Jazz, I was excited to catch James Morrisson’s show, one of Australia’s best living Jazz export performing a symphony of his hits.

After that show, the crowd was treated to a great variety of shows and included the Roulettes.

Moving through the crowd, hunger got the better of me and I stopped over for some nachos! It was fortunate that I managed to score the last nachos 🙂

I finally ended up at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to hear the songs & dance of the Scottish & Irish! It was a great treat to see Melbourne’s own Damian Leith come out to perform.

The Metrics:

Transport: $11 for the day (this was back at the start of the year. Now it would have been $3.30)

Food: $7.50

Entry: Free

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Total – $18.50

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Well within our spending limit! My only regret is that I couldn’t get there sooner!

Metrics

Hiya! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. If you’re like me, you’re probably looking for a great & inexpensive way to travel and visit all things. Given the current climate, becoming frugal has a higher emphasis than it ever was. However that doesn’t mean we should put an end to all travel. Whilst I am still a fledgling adventurer, there is never a “bad time” to start. And it’s always great to start at home. Hence, I decided to look around my own backyard: Melbourne. This site is intended to check out some of the best things that Melbourne has to offer.

They say that the best things in life are free. So I hope I can inspire you to enjoy Melbourne as much as I do. You’ll find plenty of interesting things about the city!

Metrics

What makes a place great? Well here are a few suggestions that I use to answer that very question. Plus to keep the cost down I’ve set a limit to spending money. Please note that all currency is in AUD. So here they are:

1. Spending money: $50

Some might say that it’s a lot. But $50 (AUD) doesn’t stretch too far. But if you’re smart with it, you can. Remember this is for the WHOLE trip and not just “spending money”. Fear not, I’ll show you how to streeeeeeetch it that little further. And whilst this is based for a single person, I believe you just multiply it per person in your journey. If you’re travelling with a child…I’m considering if you can split it in half…but I’ll report back once I do more research on that.

2. Travel on a Sunday via Public Transport.

Yeah, if you’re not a “train” person – well parking in the city is around $8-$12/hour. Then consider the cost of petrol of driving to the city. (I know it depends where you’re coming from – the closer you are, the cheaper it is. But I tried to make it fair for everyone.) As such, travel to the city is always cheapest on Sunday. Here you can find the cost of ticket. The best thing about Melbourne’s transport system is that you can use one ticket across the trains, trams and buses – I know… AWESOME!

UPDATE: Well apparently, it’s the one fare for the weekend ($3.30). Finally MyKi has come through!

3. Sample the local cuisine.

You’ve taken the time to go to some place that’s piqued your curiosity. If you really want to get into the spirit of the place, why not spoil your taste buds with some of the local delicacies? I’m not saying that fast food isn’t convenient. But you can always get it, at any time and it’s the same from place to place. So why go for the dull, boring, the usual? Take a chance!

4. The place

a. Access to public transport.

If we are going to travel via public transport, well the location must have easy public accessibility.

b. Atmosphere.

This can make or break a place. It’s all based on the people around it.