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.

I BADE FAREWELL TO GOLD COAST

[13th DECEMBER] After spending three days in Gold Coast, it was time to say "goodbye". With a few more hours to kill before catching our flight to Sydney, we went back to Harbour Town, the only shopping hub that we could find. It was actually my third time there but it was the best time to get myself photographed around the place as I was not buying anything.

waiting for the flight at Coolangata Airport

I must say that I had an enjoyable time at Gold Coast as well as Brisbane. It is always exciting to see new places and people, no matter how short the time is. However, this was not yet the end of my journey in Australia as I had another six days to spend in Sydney. So be prepared for more postings of Sydney for the coming few days.

11th DECEMBER - ARRIVING AT GOLDCOAST, AUSTRALIA

After 8 hours of flight on AirAsia from LCCT Sepang, finally I safely arrived at Coolangata Airport, Goldcoast at about 7:00 a.m. The first thing to do was to get my luggage to the apartment but not for checking in. Check in time could only be done at 2:00 p.m. but luckily I was allowed to leave my three big bags at the reception desk. To kill time, as suggested by the receptionist, I walked to a big shopping centre called "Harbour Town" which should be a 20-minute walk but in the end , it was 2 km away from the apartment.

I did not buy anything though, except lunch and an umbrella. It was raining heavily and it did not stop until evening. What more, with a pair of wet shoes, exploring activities could not be done. So I just rested and waited for Mr. Ridwan and his family to arrive the next morning. At least, I would have enough rest before the excursion would begin the very next day.