MELBOURNE REVISITED, AFTER MORE THAN 4 YEARS

8th December ~ I was on an 18-hour transit in Melbourne so I had to go out to entertain myself. The main event: meeting an ex-student who is now doing her internship there, Miss Yazmin Johari Halim Shah. As promised, we met at Southern Cross Station and then Yazmin took me to this one eating place hidden in a small walkway among buildings of the city named Manchester Press. I checked on the internet and this place is actually quite well-known among the locals but as it is not located on the main road, then visitors will only get to know it by accident or reading the review in Trip Advisor.

The place was swarmed by hungry people. We had to wait outside for a short while to get seats and the waitress simply wrote the names of people waiting on the red brick wall with a piece of chalk. This concept of this restaurant could be just urban restaurant for busy people. We had brunch: coffee/tea and bagels.

 

I had no plan and there was no exact place to go so we just walked around the city. The next stop after brunch was The State Library of Victoria. This time, I went inside and went to its history gallery but of course we were there not to read and one reason to be there: there was free wi-fi for everybody.

We then took a ride on the famous Melbourne tram which was free for all and headed to Harbour Town. When I was there many years ago, this place was just starting its business but it was doing well from what I could see. Most probably people were doing their shopping for Christmas. Yazmin had to go home by 3 o'clock so I was left on my own again after that.

the beautiful station in the background

I decided to go to this one place near Flinders Street Station. Lucky me, that place was buzzing with activities. There were street performances opposite the station and at the Federation Square, there was a cultural and arts festival organized by people of Turkey. Other than visiting the stalls set up, I just sat there to enjoy the singing and traditional dancing shows on stage.

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

 

I really love the ceramics that were put on sale on that day. Too bad, there was no more space in my backpack if not I would have bought a few pieces. There was also a painting demonstration. The painting was first done on water (mixed with something to thicken it) and then only a piece of paper was put on top of the water and the piece of art was printed on the surface of the paper.

 

 

It was just a short trip but I really enjoyed myself the whole time. I had never thought of visiting the city again after my last trip in 2009 but thing might just happen without planning.

BLOGGING FROM TULLAMARINE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AGAIN

I am on a short transit trip in Melbourne and now waiting for the flight to take me home. (I was also here on transit 2 weeks ago.) I guess the holiday is officially over for me. *sigh* The waiting was just too long, the flight is scheduled to leave at 3:30 a.m. but I am not the only one who is there at the airport doing nothing. I will be here for about 16 hours and at this time, most of the shops in the airport are already closed. Please God give me strength. But I went out to see Melbourne again after 5 years this afternoon and met with an ex-student. More stories later..

People could be seen sleeping on the airport chairs waiting for their next flight and the funny thing is: I have become one of them - a backpacker at heart.

10th JUNE - LAST DAY MELBOUNE

It was already the last day for me in Melbourne before I flew home. I had never felt time flew as fast as this in my entire life. With the few hours left, without wasting any second, we went to Harbour Town (again). It was still cold like the day before - never had I appreciated the sunshine more. Early this morning, the hailstones were pitter-pattering on the glass window.

 

St. Kilda Beach

The last place we went to was St. Kilda Beach. It was still cold, it rained a bit and the sky was cloudy. I bet the beach would look more beautiful if it was brighter and would even be much better during summer.

With cool dudes at Sharmin's place

about to leave...

I would like to thank Sharmin for the all his effort and trouble to make my stay in Melbourne a memorable one.

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport before boarding the plane 
GOOD BYE MELBOURNE
GOOD BYE AUSTRALIA

I guess that's all the notation of my perhaps once in a life time journey to the land down under. Landed safely, healthily at LCCT Sepang at 6:30 am 11th June 2009 and free from H1N1. Hope that you have enjoyed yourself reading as much as I have enjoyed myself there. I wonder what I will be writing about in this blog after this...

9th JUNE - 4th DAY MELBOURNE (PART 2)

From Sovereign Hill, we walked to the Wildlife Park. At this time the temperature had dropped to 5 C which was freezing cold for me. With the rain and the cold wind, we also experienced hail stone luckily it stopped just after a few seconds, if not I would not be able to see those animals originated from Australia.

koala in the house

Pics with koala can only be taken from a distance. If you wish for a close-up shoot, then you have to pay for it.

wombats in the house

A wombat is just like a mouse, except it is much bigger and hairier. And the main attraction here is meet the kangaroos session. After buying a packet of food, you could feed as many kangaroos as you wanted. When we were there, there were no other visitors so the animals came running to us, which made it a bit scary. They were quite tame but too many kangaroos around would not be too good.

nice kangaroo, nice...

can you see a baby kangaroo in the pouch?

presenting.... the kangaroo movie

9th JUNE - 4th DAY MELBOURNE (PART 1)

The posting for the day's visit has to be divided into two sections as there are too many pictures that I want to put in the blog. I wish I could put all but I don't think that is a good idea. Anyway, Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is like a gold mining museum. Nevertheless, it is much more interesting than the ordinary museum because there are more than just exhibits and texts. There were real people acting as miners and people living in the community in that era. So you are actually living among these people who are carrying out their daily activities. The bakers do sell real bread, pastries and pies that you can buy. The narration of the mining history is told in a more interactive and interesting way and history has never been more alive. I have selected a few pictures for you to feast your eyes on and I have taken pictures with everyone, men, women and even animals, but do find more about this place here http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/

visiting an old folk's tent, listening (really hard) about his life in a tent but it was really warm to sit beside the fireplace.

the guy in charge of the underground gold mine visit

read the signs on the buildings yourself

the lady in the bowling alley

in the bakery

at last, i have found the one and true love

and was arrested after that

another lady in a shop

8th JUNE - 3rd DAY MELBOURNE

Melbourne Trams

That is the famous Melbourne trams that come in many different designs and colours; they even have the antique one which carries tourists around the city for free. The city has a very effective networking of transportation among the trams, buses and trains. And all the information is available on the Internet so you can move really easy and they arrive at the stations on time. The ticket prices are reasonable. A whole day ticket that costs AUD6.40 enables you to travel everywhere throughout the day, and on Sunday you can get it at half price.

Azwan Shaiza, husband, kids and I

The visit to Bundoora was not in the original itinerary but I was very excited to see an old friend who is doing her PhD at La Trobe University. So I met her husband and four kids and had lunch there. She was kind enough to pack some food for us to bring back home. Thanks Azwan and family for the warmth and hospitality.

In front of La Trobe University (compound)

Royal Exhibition Building

On the way home, we stopped at a few places like the Royal Exhibition Building which has been declared as a world heritage.

Look, no leaves!

And here we were in Carlton Gardens. At last there was a kind soul who helped to take our photoshoot together, or else Sharmin had to be the photographer all the time.

The Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine of Remembrance is built to remember Aussie's past heroes who died during the 1st World War. There were many other statues and replicas in the park which narrated different stories.

After pizza (which was dinner), we went to the Crown, a casino. Too bad, cameras were not allowed inside. But you could experience Las Vegas here, I think.

Melbourne at night

There was not a single night spent at home. So much to see, to explore and to experience in such a short time.