Hello, Bonjour, Ola, Namaste followers, I hope you are all good and well. when I say followers there hasn't really been much to follow recently, its been well over a week since I blogged. My last blog finished with me arriving in Melbourne on Friday 7th October, its now Wednesday 19th, so for those of you that follow me religiously, which I am sure you are in your thousands I apologise for my absence.So i finished my last blog finishing my 3 day OZ experience trip down from Sydney, so I will pick it up from there. I was dropped off by the bus just outside the city off the M1 freeway as my friends the Axe's lived in a suburb call Oakleigh East, this was ideal as Matt had agreed to pick me up and saved him driving into the city. So after getting a little lost (Matt still only havibg been living in Melbourne for 6months) he found me wandering the streets just before the rain came down. We arrived back at his place soon after and what a lovely house I would be living in the next week or so. I had my own bedroom and pretty much my own bathroom albeit being downstairs. That night we had dinner, a few drinks, caught up and had a few laughs. That night I slept very well in the comfiest bed I had been in since starting my travels and had a good 10 hours sleep. Matt had mentioned the night before about going to the MCG stadium, (which by the way I would constantly call MGC and on numerous occasions ask Matt, 'what is is again?', how can i forget the order of 3 little letters???). MCG or Melbourne Cricket Ground (you wouldn't believe i just wrote MGC.. WTF!??!) anyway, Melbourne if you didn't know is referred to as the sporting city of Australia, with events like the Grand Prix, Australian Open and Melbourne Cup (horse racing). Its has numerous stadiums and all these seem to be situated in the same area just outside the City. The MCG is the biggest of them all, with a whopping 100,000 seat capacity, making it one of the worlds largest stadiums. The MCG obviously hosts Cricket, given the name but also in the cricket off season, AFL, which is huge is Melbourne. The stadium hosted tours on a daily basis, so we caught the train in the city, this would take around 20-30mins and would be my regular daily journey over the next week into Melbourne. Matt showed me where the station was and how to get a ticket. The price from Oakleigh East is $7, this got me in and out of the city and able to use the city buses and trams unlimited until midnight. We arrived at the stadium, weather slightly over cloudy (as usual for wherever i go at the moment) bought our tickets and within 10mins we were being guided round the stadium by a lovely and knowledgeable elderly man. The tour lasted maybe a couple of hours, the stadium was pretty impressive and though not knowing much about either Cricket or AFL I really enjoyed it. So we left the MCG, headed into the City to grab a bite to eat. We arrived at Flinder's Street, which is pretty much the hub of Melbourne as this hosts Flinders Street Train station, the station from the outside looks pretty cool, with an old Victorian look about it. Opposite the station is 'Federation Square' with some cool funky contemporary looking buildings, a huge cafe/bar and very good Tourist Information centre. As we approached the square we saw a large gathering, of course a street performer was hard at work entertaining the Melbourne people as well as tourists galore. The show started off poorly and we almost walked away, however we were soon laughing as the guy interacted with the crowd, danced and even got 3 members of the public to do the same and making 2 of them take there top's off, unfortunately one wasn't the girl of the 3. After it had finished we headed to the cafe and had a very good Calamari salad and a few beers, by now the sun was shining and looking over federation square with the mixture of old and new buildings, trams cruising past and the different flavours of people walking by, i was already starting to love Melbourne and hadn't even really seen more than a square mile. After a late lunch we headed back to Oakleigh and arrived back at Matt's for about 6ish, that evening we had arranged to go out for a Meal in St Kilda. It wouldn't be a messy affair or particularly late due to Matt and Kristie having inconsiderately signed up to do the Melbourne 10K run the following day which meant a 5am start for them (and as it turns out me, not running of course just spectating). So that evening we headed to lively St Kilda, 6km's south of the city it hosts Melbourne's closest beach, has numerous eateries, bars and cafe's and is popular with locals for a good night out. Kristie had already booked a table at 'Elbow Room' which was a nice restaurant on Fitzroy Street, which is where most the action is. The food was great, the wine just as good and at this point the Axe's I think were regretting signing up for the 10K run, especially Matt who weas ready to say 'fcuk it' and get on it, however they were doing the run with Kristie's brother and i don't think they would have heard the end of it for the rest of their waking lives if they had and guilt kicked in, that of course didn't stop me, finishing the bottle of wine and later having a few more beers while they had soft drinks. Was a nice, welcoming and almost homely feel to my first day in Melbourne.
Its been a huge blog, so apologies for those that kept reading and for those that gave up, I don't blame you. Now in crazy Bangkok, I'll save that blog for another time and actually there isn't much to tell as I haven't ripped it up in true Bangkok style and to be honest, i am not that bothered. Will update you all more in my next Blog. Take care peep's.
Now as you know, I can write and write and write, as I have already wrote an essay on my first full day in Melbourne and the fact I was there for 7 days I am just going to be brief about most of my time in Melbourne, this isn't to say it was boring, far from it and i will write about the Great Ocean road, Poker night and my day with my Aussie friend Kate (the girl i met on my India travels). In fact it was probably as the title of this blog states, i just felt so at home in Melbourne, it was almost like it was my life, with Matt and Kristie being at work during the day, I was getting up, chilling for an hour or so, then walking 15mins to the train station and catching the train into the city, on route listening to music and reading my book, which by the way I finally finished, if you can remember i started 'Join Me' by Danny Wallace about a month ago, despite taking so long to read it was very funny and a good read. Anyway, as I was saying it just felt like I lived there for some reason, so different from Sydney and I like Sydney, there is just a nice feeling about Melbourne. I really am considering a move to Australia at some point and Melbourne for sure would be where I would look for work, or at least an on-line Aussie lass who I could use to get into the OZ!!!! So I will be brief, with most my days and what I got up to, as not to bore you and possibly myself in the process.
Sunday 9th October.
Stumbled out of bed at 5am, was the day of the 10k, the Axe's and Kristies brother, Mick who i had met the day before and was really cool had to be down by the MCG for 7am, both Matt and Kristie really looked like they wanted to be out of bed at this ungodly hour on a Sunday morning, however picked up Mick and headed into city. Race started at 7.30am, we arrived at 6am thinking there would be more traffic, was not the case and had a bit of waiting around to do. I walked to the start line with them, the rain had now started, i again made my apologies for bringing it with me, and off they went. I wondered to the finish line, grabbing a hot dog and a cuppa en-route, I wonder why i have put on a few pounds, perhaps eating hot dogs at 7.30 in the morning. within 55mins they had finished, I believe Mick 1st of the 3 with 52min and the Matt with 53min and Kristie just 5sec's behind, that was a great effort from all, seeing as I found out they hardly trained. We headed to breakfast on the way back to Oakleigh, feeling guilty about my earlier nutritious meal I just had fruit and yoghurt, that made up for it right??? We then headed back, all feeling a little jaded the Axe's took a catnap and I just chilled and watched TV. Late afternoon myself and Matt met Mick at the local pub as Australia were playing in the rugby world cup, a few of Mick's friends joined who were cool and we had a few beers, Kristie picked us up a few hours later and both me and Matt were feeling the alcohol and slightly drunk. We had a roast courtesy of Kristie and chilled out for the night.
Monday 10th October
Woke up at 9ish, feeling a little tired from the previous long day. I leisurely had breakfast headed to the train station and got the 11ish train into the city. Weather was overcast but not cold, I found out that there was a free tourist bus service which circled the city, stopping at various Melbourne hotspots around the city. I found the closest stop and picked up a leaflet which showed what was at each stop. By now the rain had come and wasn't really a day for wandering the streets. Victoria Market was on one of the stops about half way round the city loop, it was under cover so thought this would be a good place to go. The bus was packed and as we neared the stop I needed the onboard commentary announced the market was next, followed by the 'The market is open every day apart from Monday and Wednesday' just my luck, the only thing i fancied doing and it was closed. I stayed on the loop and feeling a little deflated got off at Flinders street had a beer at Fed Square and then caught the train back. Rest of the evening I just chilled with the Axe's and watched TV.
Tuesday 11th
Awoke feeling energetic. Lack of exercise and the fact i had been a little too well since arriving in OZ and gaining a few pounds i decided to go for a run. This was hard work but manage to do 4K. I was now feeling really at home and decided that a venture into the city and doing something was the last thing from my mind, so just chilled watched some TV caught up with some peeps on the ole tinternet and waited for Matt and Kristie to get home. We had planned to go to the cinema that evening. Matt got home around 5 yielding some of the biggest prawns i had ever seen. He cooked dinner which was awesome and after dinner we headed straight out to to the cinema. We had planned to watch Crazy, Stupid, Love much to Matt's dismay but it was 2 against 1 however Matt soon got his own way as the last remaining seats were front row, it was a no thanks to a crooked neck for 2hrs. Instead , now to Matt's joy we watched Real Steel, it was pretty good if not cheesy in places.
Wednesday 12th
I had been waiting for some good weather to book a trip down the Great Ocean Road. So far it had looked grim all week but I couldn't leave OZ being so close to the Great Ocean Road without doing at least a day trip. I checked the weather and it looked good for Thursday and Friday. So I headed into the city to the Tourist Info centre and booked a day trip for the following day. $130 got me a full day from 7am to 9pm, including lunch, dinner, various stops along the GOR which also included the famous 12 Apostles. The sun was actually out today too, so I decided to get a tram over to St Kilda and walk along the beach and pier. I hadn't known where to get off but so St Kilda street, I couldn't have been far from the sea front, I was wrong after asking a rather eccentric 50 something lady who seemed to take a liking to me and told me I was a handsome strapping young man i found out i still had a 30min walk. So off I trotted with the crazy woman still advising where to go after 5mins of explanation and me understanding within the first 30sec's where I was heading. 30mins later i was walking down the pier with some great views of the city skyscrapers in the distance, the sun was now blazing, i grabbed a Salmon and avocado toastie and smoothie on the pier cafe and basked in the sun for a while. After taking a few photo's headed back to St Kilda's main street and picked up the tram back to Flinders Street and jumped on the train back to Oakleigh. I had an early night.
Thursday 13th
Awoke at 5.30am as i needed to be in the city for 7am to be picked up for my GOR trip. I arrived a little early at the pick up point some grabbed a Tea and crossiant. The Great Ocean Road for those of you that don't know is a 151mile stretch of road running along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. It's deemed as the most scenic stretch of road in all of Australia and is a huge tourist attraction. We wouldnt be driving the whole stretch but would be going at least 100K up it. I was picked up shortly after 7. At first I must admit I thought the group was going to be a disaster. Everyone ws in pairs, 2 couples and strangely enough, well i though so anyway mother and daughter combination's, 3 of them. However i was wrong to assume, they were all cool and very chatty. We had an hour or so drive to our first stop, Torquay which hosts the internationally acclaimed surfing beach, 'Bells Beach' It was a just a beach photo stop and we had tea and cake. However this is where I learnt that Torquay was home to Rip Curl and Quicksilver. 3 friends back in the 90's had decided in a garage to start making surf boards for the many surfers that visited the area, soon after Rip Curl was established, a few years later one of the 3 went solo and he established Quicksilver, man i am full of facts in this blog eh?!??!. After Torquay we visited 'Split Point Lighthouse'. As lighthouses go and not that i am an expert of course, this was the best lighthouse I had seen. Again great photo oppurtunties as I am sure you have gathered we are along the coast. We then moved onto the seaside resort of Apollo bay, where we would be having lunch, this was an hour or so drive and i'll say again following the coastline with some amazing views, however I had done it again brought the weather with me, it was dull and cloudy. After lunch we set off towards the world famous 12 Apostles. the 12 Apostles are huge rocks just off the coastline varying in shape and size and stand almost in a line after breaking away from the sea cliffs. It was a shortish drive to our first vantage spot. We climbed down 'Gibbon Steps' onto the beach, by now the sun had come out to play and the sun was blazing, as we got down to the beach and swung a right, the first 2 Apostles stood prominent in the sea, with the rough tide crashing against them with the sun creating an hazy effect it looked amazing. Of course this was every photographers sweet shop, not that I claimed to be one but I snapped away like the paparazzi. We climbed back up the steps to the bus and the next few hours we stopped at various vantage points for more photo's. After at least 5 stops and seeing the rest of the Apostles we headed to a place called Port Campbell for dinner, this was a short stop as time was getting on we had a 3hour journey back to Melbourne. On the way back we all chatted, and the tour leader who was in her 50's and originally from Scotland played some pretty cool 70's and 80's tunes, this passed the time away as all guess the song title and singer. i was quite impressed with my knowledge. I arrived back in the city about 9 and jumped on the train back to Oakleigh, it had been a great day if not long and came away with some great pictures.
Friday 14th
I woke earlier than I wanted to after the long previous day but the sun was shining again and thought i'd make the most of it and headed down into the city. I thought I'd have a second stab at getting to the Victoria market. I hopped on the free tourist shuttle bus and headed to the market. It was pretty big, full of souvenirs, clothes, shoes and pretty much everything else. I wondered round not really looking for anything particular though I did want a new shirt for the following evening as I was going to paint the town red with Kate as she arrived back from India today and we were going to spend the day together Saturday and then head out as one of her friends was leaving for Nepal for a while. The clothes as you can imagine were typical market quality and yeh I maybe a backpacker but I do like a nice shirt, probably confirming my 'flashpacker' status. I did however pick up a novelty t-shirt with some Aussie slur on it. So after having a delicious sushi lunch i headed to find the DFO (designer fashion outlet) which was on the river. After a long walk, having to call Kristie for directions i found the place. Full of, as the name suggests designer outlets, along with some not so designer outlets. I managed to pick up shirt for $70 not really I am sure a backpackers budget and the fact that i probably wouldnt use again until i arrived home made it even more 'flashpackery' (yes i know thats not even a word, not that flashpacker is a recognised name in the dictionary either). So again with the sun out i wondered along the river and stuffed myself with ice-cream and headed back to Oakleigh. Mick had suggested a poker game during the week for tonight and was picking us up at 5.30 from the Axe's. Matt had picked up a slab of corona and some dubious lime, which we later figured out was lemon and Mick picked us up to take us to his house where we having the poker session. It was still great weather and Mick's house mate Steve lit up the BBQ, this was what living in OZ is all about. We soon joined by another Matt, Dave and shamefully 2 other guys who's name have suddenly escaped me. In total there were 8 of us, we put in $10, ate chicken, sausages and chips and of course sunk a few cold ones. After a an hour so we were down to 2, myself not being one of them, it was Matt and Matt, as we wanted another game they decided to split the winnings $40 each. We started a new game and by now Dave. Mick's mate was well on his way, and the fact that he wasn't to offay with poker anyway made things interesting. On the second it was me and him left, I had 2 pair J's and K's, Dave was hammered and just kept matching my high bets, he got a straight, i was gutted!! made worse by him saying i didn't even know what i was doing!! I hate playing drunks and novices, there the worst to read. We finished up the game and headed down to the pub for a couple, they had Karaoke, Matt (not Axe) decided he wanted a ago, he was confident and not that drunk, me and Axe thought he must pretty good, I am pretty sure i heard glasses break and dog's run into hiding, fair play though. We grabbed a taxi back to Axe's feeling not too bad, which wasn't a bad thing has the following was going to be a messy one.
Saturday 15th
I must admit, even though I hadn't been hammered I wasn't feeling 'tip top'. Kate had phoned my early doors, which I was surprised considering she only got back late from India the previous day. She arranged to pick me up at 11am, she had a whole day planned taking me along the coast to one of her favourite places, 'Portsea'. She picked me just after 11 with her friend Jess, Kate hadn't got access to a car so Jess had kindly offered it to her/us for the day, which was really cool, she was off to the races for the day anyway. We dropped Jess off along route and headed for Portsea. as expected the weather was not on our side again. However the drive down was nice and it was great to see Kate, we caught up each other's travels and we had decided that we were now officially cousins. We got to Portsea just after 1pm and went to Kate's favourite restaurant/hotel funnily enough called 'The Portsea Pub'. It was huge place and regularly hosted weddings, i could see why, the rear had a big garden area and over looked the sea, at this point Kate told me this is where she wanted to get married, I thought this was a proposition and politely declined informing her that we were cousins now. The food was great and good portions, of course I had fish. To top it off Kate paid for it all, saying that the day was on her, I was touched. We then went for a short walk and along the pier and then headed back, stopping at a lovely little place called Sorrento , famous for Vanilla Slices, they were massive and delicious. We headed back to the city with our trousers buttons almost popping off. We arrived back at Oakleigh at around 6.30ish, Kate waited while I got my glad rags on, as we would then head back to hers where she would change before heading to her friends Jess who's husband was going to drive us into 'Richmond' just on the out skirts of the city were we would meet Jess and Pip, who's leaving might out it was. We got to the first bar at around 9ish, met up with Pip and Jess who after spending the day at the races was pretty hammered already. The place was busy and took 10mins to get the first round in, which included a shot of black sambuca, this was the start of a messy night. As the evening went on it seemed like we had shots with every normal drink, Taquilla, Sambuca, and vodka, the camera's soon came out and drunken stupid photo's were soon being snapped, especially of me, Kate has kindly added them to facebook if you wish to browse them. We moved onto another bar and things didn't slow down, I still havent checked my account but I know i used my card, we found a dance area and boogied into the night, utterly and completely smashed. We, i think jumped in a taxi art around 2am, dropping Jess off and then me. The next morning I found out from Kate that the taxi was $96, i was like WTF? I then remembered that i hadn't given her a penny towards it, feeling guilty as hell, apologised, in true Kate style she replied 'No worries'. Top girl.
Sunday 16th
Surprisingly I didn't feel too bad, which was good as I had a 14.30 flight to Bangkok. I smooched around the Axe's, grabbed some breakfast and packed my bag. Matt kindly offered to take me to the Airport. We left around 11:15 with a 45 min drive.
I'd had a great time in Melbourne, i was actually very sad to leave, it really did feel like home, The Axe's had provided some great hospitality and Kate had ended my stay perfectly, I will miss all 3 of them, however I have vowed to return and I am sure I will.
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