Melbourne 2 Part 2

After 4 weeks of splitting my time between Frankston and the city, I decided to give commuting a go. This would save me 5 days of hostel fees, and instead i'd only have to pay the train fare, which is only $50. It's great because it's so cheap, and includes trams and buses in and around the city. But there's a reason it's so cheap.... the service is crap!

I would leave the house at 6.50 each morning to catch the bus to the train station. I would just make the 7.32 train, which would then take over an hour to get to the city. The distance from Frankston to Melbourne is the same as Shenfield to London, which we can do in 25 minutes. But this train journey was so slow, or delayed, or would break down half way there. By the time i got to the city, with the 10 minute walk to the office, I was lucky to be at my desk by 9 each morning. And then i had to do it all over again on the way home, never arriving before 7pm. Luckily I worked with a nice bunch of women who didn't mind if ever I was late in the morning, and so I carried this on for the next 6 weeks of working there. I was exhausted every day, but had about $150 more in my savings each week.
By Friday's I was always too shattered to go out, and then Saturday's I was at the footy with the boys, as usual.

Occassionally I'd stay in the city mid-week if i had plans to go out with the other backpackers i'd met. We went to Dracula's Cabaret, which is apparently a 'must-see' for all tourists. It was an interesting night to say the least. Every waiter/ waitress is in character the whole night. We had a 3 course dinner, ending with a dessert which was a coffin made of chocolate. Cocktails had skulls floating in them, and we got a ghost train to our table. The cabaret was great too. It's not something I'm usually interested in nor will i do again, but it was a good night. (Except you weren't allowed cameras in there)!

Back at the hostel, every night was themed. Monday - poker night; Tuesday - quiz night; Wednesday - live band; Thursday - some sort of fancy dress in exchange for an hour of free drinks. This was always a good night, so when i went to the city in the week, I'd try to make it a Thursday.

About an hour from Frankston and further from Melbourne, is Phillip Island, another tourist hot spot, because of the Penguin Parade. At sunset everyday, hundreds of penguins come out of the sea, and run/ waddle across the beach to burrows in the ground.

So one Sunday, Beau, Kirsty and I headed down there early morning. First of all we went to a nature park, where I saw koalas for the first time since being in Australia, and i completely fell in love with them. They are the cutest creatures and so funny to watch, even sleeping they made me laugh.

Also there were wallabies, which we had eating food out of our hands. I saw my first wombat, and loads more native Ozzy animals like kangaroos and dingoes, which i'd already seen when we were camping.

We left there after an hour or so, me acting like an excited kid, and drove to where the penguins were. Not having thought about this when we left home, we were about 7 hours too early for the penguin parade!

We got out of the car and walked along the boardwalk anyway, which is built into the side of a hill overlooking the sea. At one point we had to stop because our paths were blocked by a family of Japanese down on all fours taking photos. I bent down to see what they were looking at, and there, all on it's lonesome, was a poor little lost penguin! I was so pleased, even if i only got to see the one, and in the only photo I took I managed to chop the top of it's head off! Still.... at least I saw a penguin.

The following Friday was my last day of work. I'd been there 10 weeks, really enjoyed the work, and saved enough money to keep me going for a while, or until i decided to finish off my 'agricultural' work.

Having spent 3 and a half months in Melbourne, it was time to move on, and so i booked a flight to Adelaide for 2 weeks time.

I was absolutely not allowed to leave before Jeff, my Mum and Dad's friend, came to Melbourne to watch Fulham FC play. Having not seen my parents for 9 months by now, Jeff was the closest to them I was going to get!

So, for the weekend he was going to be here, I booked myself 4 nights back at the hostel.

On the train into the city that Friday morning I was so excited. I went to the hostel, chucked my backpack in, and went straight out to meet him and his friend at a Starbucks nearby.

We had a quick catch up over lunch at a cafe near to their hotel, then went our separate ways so they could sort themselves out and get checked in.

Later that night I met back up with Jeff and Graham and took them to Chinatown for dinner. After that, acting the tour guide, I took them to a bar. (Two bars actually, the first one we went to Graham got knocked back for being too casual)!

After a few drinks, it was time to head back to the hostel for the night, ready for a long 'sightseeing day' the next day.

Back in my dorm, I got chatting to one of my room mates, Louise, a girl from Oxford who had only been in Melbourne 3 days. We ended up talking for ages as it turned out we'd travelled to nearly all the same places in Asia. Louise, like me, had left home with a friend but was now travelling alone, so we decided that over the weekend (when i wasn't seeing Jeff) that Louise and I would do some touristy things together.

The next morning I took Louise to one of Melbourne's many famous laneways where we could sit and watch the hustle and bustle of Melbourne life over coffee and a cake.

Next was the Arts Centre, where they had a ballet exhibit. We were so disappointed not only by the exhibit but by the rest of the gallery that we left after about 30 minutes and went to the National Gallery instead, which was just as disappointing. This was a real shame considering how much I usually enjoy visiting art galleries and museums in every city I go to.

So after wasting a couple of hours, but thankfully no money, I headed out to meet Jeff and Graham back down the laneways for lunch.

After lunch, we went to the Eureka Tower's Skydeck, where i'd been before with my mate Simon. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to go on this particular day, as it was so windy it felt like the building was shaking, never a good sign when you're 88 floors up!

Still, the boys were happy as they got photos of the football stadium, where they were watching Fulham play later that day.

At the hostel I met up with Louise and we decided to use one of our many backpacker discounts to entertain ourselves on a Saturday night.

We went to the "Chill On Ice Lounge", which was $30 for 30 minutes inside (which is long enough), and included a cocktail and shot.

When we arrived they kitted us out with big parka jackets, Ugg boots and two pairs of gloves, but i still couldn't feel the tips of my fingers! Everything from the furniture to the glasses, even the walls, were made of ice. Stepping out into the winter air afterwards actually felt warm!

For dinner we went to a tacky looking Vietnamese restaurant that I'd walked past so many times before and was always full of Asians, a good sign that the food is probably as authentic as it gets in a Western country. We went in and had a bowl of noodle soup amongst the Vietnamese, taking us both back to memories of travelling around Asia.

On the Sunday morning, Louise and I went to the Arts Centre Crafts Market by the Yarra river. A lovely market, full of all sorts of creations the locals had made; frustrating for us both, because as a backpacker you're limited to what you can buy and carry around with you.

We sat and had pancakes by the river, and then I left to meet Jeff and Graham at their hotel.

While in the city, the boys wanted to go and see an Aussie Rules game, we were in the home of AFL afterall. (Over half of the football teams who play in the AFL are from Melbourne and it's suburbs).

We walked down to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, (MCG), and bought our tickets for the Melbourne Demons vs Port Adelaide game.

Then the boys dragged me almost kicking and screaming into the MCG Sports Museum. This was by far the worst museum of them all! Great if you're into sport, as it has the history of almost every kind in there, but not really of any interest to me. But, it passed some time until the game started.

We decided we were Melbourne supporters, for obvious reasons, although apparently neither of the teams playing are any good! But it gave us someone to cheer for, which Jeff did especially, funny as it was the first game he's watched... he got right into it. The atmosphere in the stadium was great despite the small crowd. What i found amazing was that everyone sits together, regardless of what team they support, and there's no trouble at all.

At the end of the game Melbourne had won by 11 points. It was really good fun, and I definitely want to go to more games while i'm in Oz. Watching it on TV still bores me to tears, but seeing it in the stadium is brilliant.

After the game we followed the crowds back to the city, then ended up in the trendy Transport bar for a couple of (very expensive) beers. This was followed by dinner in a nice restaurant on the river where Jeff tried, and enjoyed, his first kangaroo steak.

The next day I went by myself to St Kilda, a seaside town about a 10 minute tram ride from my hostel. Considering how long I'd been in and around Melbourne, I'd neglected this part, surprising as it's so popular with backpackers.

First I surprised a friend from home who I knew worked in a cafe nearby, and I still hadn't seen yet. After a quick coffee and catch up I took a stroll down the beach and along the pier. Then as it clouded over and got darker and darker, I stopped in a restaurant for lunch to avoid the massive downpour that lasted about an hour and flooded the streets.

Next was Brunswick street, famous for it's 'alternative' clothes shops. I have to admit it didn't live up to what I was expecting, so I wonder if I missed something. Maybe I caught the tram to the dodgy end!

I met Jeff and Graham later that day for one last beer at a pub where they had become regulars over the last few days. I said my goodbyes, then went to the Crown Complex to meet Louise at the cinema. We saw The Hangover, such a funny film, and the first time i'd been to the cinema in 9 months.

In the morning I got up early, checked out of the hostel, then Louise and I went to the immigration museum, and learnt all about the 10pound Pom! How I wish they still did that now...

After a quick lunch it was the end of my extremely hectic weekend, and i was back on the train to Frankston.

Absolutely exhausted, I had two days to recover and get myself organised, before flying to Adelaide and starting on the next chapter of my travels!