Flew Tiger Airways to Melbourne via Darwin on an overnight flight. Landed in Melbourne airport at around 7. Tiger really was cutting costs by using Terminal 4, where the bag collection area was just a fenced up sheltered area.
Shamir woke up late, so I made my way to Southern Cross station on the Sky Bus instead of meeting him at the airport. All the better I suppose, since the Sky Bus costs a lot to travel on. Melbourne was pleasantly cool with some fog on that day. So I met Shamir at Southern Cross and from there we went to his place to dump my stuff. Walked around the area while waiting.
We decided that the day would be spent walking around. So we first went to RMIT campus, which was just a bunch of buildings close together, cos it was smack in the city. After strolling through the campus, we went to Queen Victoria Market, which sold all kinds of stuff. Saw some normal stuff and some unusual stuff including Kangaroo skins and Carpet Pythons. There were 2 sections, one that was like a permanent Pasar Malam and the other a proper building, mainly selling food stuff.
We walked to Flinders Street Station from QVM and walked through Melbourne's shopping district. There was not really anything exciting going on. From Flinders, we took a tram to St. Hilda's. We got some cakes and went to the beach to have them. Shamir did not eat his poppy cake. We just slacked at the beach, looking into the day, watching the sea gulls fight amongst themselves. It was quite entertaining watching an aggressive gull fighting against the rest.
We then walked down Chapel Street, another shopping district. Saw a man on blades being dragged by 2 small dogs along that road. On the other end, we met Karen, Shamir's friend in Melbourne. Her friend Alice was visiting her. Together, we headed to Chadstone, which was the largest shopping mall in the Southern Hemisphere. I was just interested in looking at the supermarket. Went back home after that.
Day 2 0606 - GOR
Today we went to the Great Ocean Road (GOR). Karen had lent us her car (without us asking no less), and I drove. Shamir was V comm. He only screwed up once, but we only went an additional 700m, which is nothing when driving. Went down to M1, which was the main highway leading to Geelong from Melbourne. I realised that the car had a slow pick-up speed and I was keen to try using the 2nd gear option that John had explained the night before, although I wanted to use it on the open road, when noone was around. When we reached GOR, I did try it out and it worked perfectly, like going on a low gear and stepping on the accelerator, so there was alot of power.
GOR was a windy scenic road, really quite a pleasant drive. We stopped here and thee along the way to take pictures and take in the view. The weather was not great till abit after lunch, which we had at Apollo Bay. The weather changed when we went through the forest and the glare of the sun was quite scary. When it first blocked our view, I was about 10m and just before a sharp right turn. The only thing that guided me was the sign board in front. Luckily there was also no oncoming traffic. After that incident there was a few more glaring moments but I had the over shades on so it was not too bad. We reached the 12 Apostles at around 2 and the view was spectacular. It was worth while driving the distance to see it. There was also a blow hole nearby and we saw an island that had mutton birds on it, aptly named Mutton Bird Island.
We made our way back via Port Campbell and hit the A1. Around 50km from Geelong, we were stopped at a police road block. Had my licensed checked and was given the green light by the officer. Guess there is no better way to confirm that a Singapore's driving license is valid in Australia. Also switched on the lights properly, before which I was driving on the parking lights. Cheap Toyotas had a different lights system. GOR was excellent; I enjoyed the sights, the drive and the experience. 9 hours on the road and over 500km covered.
Day 3 0706 - Yarra Valley
Karen wanted to go to the Yarra Valley and kindly invited Shamir, his family and I to go along. We went to Green Point, a vineyard, where we had a tour of the wine processing. Learnt some interesting stuff like red wine got its colouring from fermenting of its skin, as the fruit part of all grapes is white. Also some wine is riddled, which means fermented for a second time and after doing so, the yeast has to be removed. Tasted a few types of wine as well, with a white one that had a really interesting taste.
We had lunch after the tour at Healesville, a nearby village. After that, we went to Miss Marples, which was in the mountain nearby. Miss Marples is a quaint English Cafe that was supposed to be common a long time ago. Unfortunately, it was too crowded, so we decided to skip having anything there. We instead went to a tea speciality shop just beside Miss Marples. It stored a huge variety of teas, mixed with different ingredients to give them interesting tastes.
We went to a Jazz Club in the city at night and it was a blast to say the least. I was fascinated by the guy playing the bass (with a Cello like instrument) who did a solo. Really impressive. And he was the boss, who was going to get married the next day and was going to close the club the next day for the first time in 15 years. Impressive record he had.
Day 4 - 0806 - Philip Island
Had lunch today with Shamir's mum's sister's collegue, a Frenchman and his Chinese wife. After that we went to Philip Island, which John drove us to. First we went to see Noobies, which was a place the penguins were living on. Saw a few chicks in their burrows. After that we went to the Penguin Parade. It was cute to see the penguins come out of the sea. I found it interesting, how they built up the place to showcase something natural. As we came quite late, we started by standing from quite far behind initially. As people left after a short while, we moved forward, till the 2nd row. So I guess that was good, we waited for less then 5 minutes, saw the penguins from far and eventually from nearby. The penguins waited for a cluster to form before crossing the beach. Guess they want the protection before doing the dangerous crossing.
Day 5 - 0906 - Flying to Sydney
Did not do much today, just flew from Melbourne to Sydney. Sort of a rest day. Went to a place in the Northern suburbs and stayed with a woman, Rhonda, whom I found on couchsurfing.com. A nice 58 woman who let foreign strangers stay with her. She was kind enough to offer a bed and even provide a towel. I just took the day off to map out my plans in Sydney.
Day 6 - 1006 - Blue Mountains
Went to the blue mountains (BM) today, was a 3.5hr train journey to get to Katoomba, the main station to get around BM. Used my seesydneycard to pay for the Explorer Bus which was a bus that drove around and on which you could get on or off at different stops to take a look around those places. When I arrived there, I thought it would be a bad day at the Blue Mountains as it rained on the train ride in. Katoomba was just misty and fortunately for me, the mist cleared by mid day. Took the steepest train ride down and took the cable car back up. BM was a beautiful place, with every lookout point and turn presenting beautiful views. A nice place to visit for a day or 2 it is.
Day 7 - 1106 - Sydney Central
Went to Sydney Central area today with the aim of maximizing the seesydneycard. My first stop, the world famous Sydney Opera House for a tour of the place. While I am not a fan of opera and the likes, I am a fan of world famous places and the Opera House is right on. As I would see later on, the building is beautiful from all angles and at all times. The tour was great, got to know more about its history saw the theatres inside and even saw a school band practising for their performance later that night. Great tour, well worth the time.
After that I went to the Rocks, which is just across the ferry terminal for the Rocks Walking Tour. Another excellent tour in which I found out more about the oldest district in Australia and what life was like in the early days.
Went on the Jet Boat cruise from Circular Key after the tour, was a good open deck tour of the harbour area. After reaching Shark Island, the boat went into full gear. It was nothing compared to the RHIBs I was used to, but I did get a splash of water on me, haha, also nothing compared to my days at CNB. An Indian lady stared at me as if it were shocking that I got wet.
I went to the Sydney Museum after that. Was a small museum, on the historical development of the Sydney. Not highly recommended unless you can get in for free, like me.
I quickly rushed over to the Pylon Lookout, which was really great. There were great views of the Opera House, the bay areas and the Harbour Bridge from the side. Worth-while seeing, maybe more so than the Harbour Bridge Climb.
I took the ferry from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour to visit the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was fairly interesting, with seals and nurse sharks to view from underwater and above.
Went to the Sydney Tower after that and had a view of Sydney at night. Nice views from the tower.
Day 8 - Sydney and beyond
Went to town early today, to catch the bus tour departing from Star City (the casino) which started at 0830. The tour covered several suburbs of Sydney which had beautiful views of the bay from their front doors. Went to Arabanoo Lookout, a point facing the Pacific Ocean. After that the tour went to Manly Beach, which was a nice beach with a shopping strip (The Corso) separating the 2 Manly beaches. Went to the art museum there which had an exhibition on food, so there were some interesting paintings related to food. Went to Ocean World after that which was like the Sydney Aquarium but had some reptiles in there and did not have seals. The unique thing it had was a clear bottom under its tunnel, so one can see the sea bed creatures resting on the sea bed.
Took a ferry back to Circular Quay after the aquarium visit and headed straight to Wildlife World, which housed native Australian animals. Fairly interesting place where I saw some Wallabies fighting among themselves.
I walked to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) which is a shopping centre built within one of the city's oldest markets. I went on the guided tour, in which I happened to be the only touring member. So it was an interesting tour in which the tour guide was plainly talking to me. I found the tour to be quite informative, with insights that Chinese were in Australia early on as miners, there was a bomb blast just outside the building in 1979 and the building is owned by Singapore.
After the tour, I had just enough time to visit the Powerhouse Museum, which was a museum showcasing exhibits relevant to Australians. Apparently its free after 4, but it closes at 5, so only can have a short visit when there.
Went back to Chinatown after visiting the museum and bought a packet of dried red chillies which I used to cook dinner for Rhonda and her family, Vegetarian Ravioli and Chilly Chicken.
Day 9 - Meeting Sydneyers
David drove me to the city today, since he worked there and so from Town Hall station, I made my way to Central Station, where I met Arjun, a friend I had made from Utopia. It was my first time meeting him. We took a bus to UNSW where I toured his campus before bidding him farewell as he had an exam later. We were supposed to meet again later in the evening but he had a guest at his place he had to entertain, so we did not meet again. After visiting UNSW, I walked to Randwick Circus and went on to Coogee Beach from where I began the Coogee-Bondi cliff walk. The walk was great, with good views of the cliffs and beaches along the way. The weather threatened to rain, but it did not rain. In fact it was warm enough for me to comfortable wear a t-shirt for the entire duration of the walk. Bondi was a disappointment, since it was deserted mostly, but I guess that’s how it is on a winter's Friday. I had tuna steak at Bondi, which was something I had always wanted to try. Also tried Kirk's passion fruit drink, that is a good drink to try, not too sweet or gassy, but had a good taste.
Went back to town area after Bondi and since I had plenty of time, I went walking around and walked to Circular Quay, where I went for a joy ride on the ferry to Parramatta. It was quite dark so I guess I did not see the inner harbour well, but what I found interesting was trees growing in the waters, like a mangrove swamp, but without the smell. Never knew such kind of plants existed.
I met Chua and his Swedish friend at Central Station and we walked over to Chinatown to have a Korean BBQ dinner. That was a good meal, cooked the Seoul Garden way, cooking your own meal. When Chua put salad over the meat, the waitress asked if that’s how we BBQ in our country. Chua explained that he had learnt this from another Korean place. So I guess it was a difference between North and South.
After that we went to Sydney Square, which was a revolving lounge. It had great views of the harbour bridge, opera house and the surrounding buildings. We were there for 2 hours and that’s how long it took to make a full circle.
Almost missed my stop on the way back, as I was sleeping on the train, so when it pulled at the Warrawee station, I opened my eyes to find that I was on my stop and quickly ran out of the train. Made it like 1 second before the doors closed.
Day 10 - Back to Melbourne
Woke up at 4.30am to say goodbye to Rhonda who was leaving earlier that day for work. Thanked her for the accommodation and hosting me. I woke up much later in the morning, to take the train to the airport for flying off.
Arrived in Melbourne abit late, due to a series of delays including long boarding time, waiting time before taking off due to heavy traffic and the pilot stopped short of the aerobridge in Melbourne. Just went to Chadstone later that night to watch Narnia, which I thought was quite a good movie to catch.
Day 11 - Melbourne Again
Went to the Sunday Market at St. Kilda's. Quite an interesting market. All goods sold has to be handmade. Ended up buying some presents for Shamir's family, a Thorny Devil for Shamir, Bilby for Sherhan and 2 mugs for his mother and step dad. I also was given a mug for myself.
We went to the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a tribute to all the soldiers from Victoria who have died for their country. It is an impressive building with sculptures and displays with great meaning.
We went to the Eureka Tower after that, and got a bird's eye view of Melbourne. We went to the Edge, which was a horizontal lift that carries people outside of the building itself. Had a nice look down through the glass. 8 seconds for us to hit the bottom if we jumped out. Also went to an open area of the building. Enjoyed some strong cold winds out there. After that went back and tried charcoal chicken before flying off to Darwin.
Day 12 - Darwin
Slept in Darwin airport for the night, rather uncomfortable sleep on the carpet. I decided to do a walkabout in Darwin and did so with my bag, which was not too heavy, only 9kg. So I walked out of the airport. I found that stretch interesting as it looked like the typical Australian outback, maybe abit more vegetation. Red soil, interesting trees and a bright sun shine. I walked towards the town centre, going from the eastern beaches. There was one part where I noticed the tracks of people ran out and I found out why. There was a rocky outcrop between the beaches. So I crossed that carefully, slipping once only.
I reached the town centre around 4 hours after setting off. There was not really much going on there, so I decided to go to Casuarina. It was a suburb which I found to be bigger than I expected. Took me 40min to walk from the centre to the beach which was huge and mostly empty. Spent sometime just stoning there.
Went back to the city centre after that and walked around there for abit. All the shops closed by 5pm in the main road, except unsurprisingly, a Chinese restaurant.
Before heading on the public bus that stops relatively near to the airport, I saw the ruins of a building near the bus terminal. It was a former government building destroyed by Cyclone Tracey in 1975. Just to look at the ruins was quite impressive display of the power of the cyclone.
Darwin is also a good place to see the true picture of Australia’s aboriginal people. Saw a group of men walking to the beach with a carton of beer and a bag of ice in the morning and in the evening. Guess they have yet to find their place in the new Australia.
On my walk in to the airport, I had a pleasant surprise waiting in front of me. It was a Western Brown Snake. It was laying still just in front of where I was walking and fortunately for me, I stopped 2m before it. Gave it a wide berth before carrying on my journey. I was on the look out for them as I knew I was in their territory and they were nocturnal.
My kiasuism in lining up for tickets early paid off as I got an emergency exit seat, which was good expect that the seat could not lean back, but had more leg room.
All in all, the trip to Australia was excellent, definitely one with fun and exciting moments to remember. It did capture the essence of the travelling I like doing, which is encountering genuine problems and having to use my wits to get over them to reap the rewards of travelling.
--Chua to send me photos from the restaurant and Sydney Square--
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~~~~Check out shamir's blog for melb pictures~~~~
