Australia 08 day 1 - 3
The day trips from home
(18/2) Day 1 - Arrival
mel city map
woken up at 6am by lights breaking my peace. my eyes remained closed for several minutes following. my facial muscles were too tired to move. i felt my way to the toilet and splashed some cold water.. then my eyes were opened. We did some last minute packing, making sure nothing needed was left behind. delaying longer than sceduled, and called for cab at 7. its been a long time since i woke up and stayed up before sunrise.
On the taxi, tired as i was, i couldnt get back to sleep. so i just gazed out of the window, at the surroundings illuminated by twilight. nearing the airport, the rising sun caught my eye. it was big and dark orange, seemingly just few metres above ground. a rare sight.
we had BK breakfast at the airport after checking in (already late so we had lousy seats) and used the free internet there. we got on the plane and flew off at 9.30. my seat was at the back, with nobody behind me. this allowed me to lean the chair back many degrees, and fell asleep; which wasnt so good an idea because i didnt know the entertainment availabe as that good. Lunch was served on the plane.. plain tasting pasta in cheese.
theres this Quantas entertainment on demand, where i can select from a variety of movies or tv serials to watch. so when i woke up i watched one of the latest movies there: stardust. a movie with nice graphics, characters and special effects, but really lousy & unrealistic storyline and action even at fantasy standards.
just after the movie finished, it was time to land at perth, for transit to melbourne. landed 3pm sg time. at the airport i took pictures of the plane docks and the scenery behind it. the tall buildings were all clustered at a distance, the rest all nature and a vast blue cloudless sky. then theres long customs to clear, a shuttle ride to another part of the airport and then boring wait at the departue hall. then the flight was delayed an extra hour, leaving only at 6.30.
as the plane flew over perth, i saw at first the land just covered in shrubs and trees, and later an expanse of barren wasteland, probably the outback. caught the sunset through the airplane window, creating a beautiful fading line of light across the horizon. this possible thanks to the plane having extra seats, so i changed to a window seat. the transfer plane was an old model with smaller seats, no entertainment except a plug in radio and no pillow/blanket. dinner was better than lunch, though also pasta. this time its spaghetti. and what i like about quantas meals is that the dessert is a chocolate bar and ice cream, instead of some yucky salad.
arrived in melbourne at 1.30 local time (GMT +11) no customs this time so it was much faster. we were greeted by my uncle at the airport, and my cousin isaac drove us to their home. the place was really dark at night and the civilisation is sparsely spaced. the temperature was like aircon outside, but inside the house it was warm n stuffy. we didnt take long to settle in the house and i slept on the long sofa. joel and isaac also slept in the living room.
(19/2) Day 2 - into town
victoria market
some arts building behind
melbourne city
Woke up at 10+, still feeling very sleepy. its only 7+ sg time. i went out into the kitchen and i saw the big garden outside... looked very nice with rows of plants lining the walls. the thermometer in the garden read 30 C. we hung around for for quite some time, eat glutinous rice breakfast, then left for the city area. isaac and his parents followed us, we reached city at about 1. it was quite a long drive. so inconvenient to do shopping.
melbourne city area was very diffren from orchard road. no highrise shopping centres. just rows of shops along the road, only ground floor. first stop is victoria market, sth like a wet market but the raw meats are in an aircon section. outside are the fruits and dried stuff, clothes and souvenirs. prices at the outer stalls are horribly expensive, like a lime the size of a ping pong ball going for $1 each, or 100g of green beans for $2. in the aircon section there was also all kinds of cheese in many colors and kangaroo meat (tastes like fish but a bit sweet, and texture of tenderised beef. )
we had lunch at the Bratwurtz stall, selling some kind of german giant hotdog for $5.50, plus 80 cents per condiment. mine was spicy pork flavour with added cheddar cheese and sauerkraut; disgusting sour watery radish strips. they all threw away their sauerkraut, but i just ate mine for thrill. after some of us finished eating, we went off to look around the place. the bratwurtz is so big that i nibbled it slowly, and until we had to get into the car and go off, i still havent finished it. (at least half an hour later.) when going our rounds around the inedibles section, the market was alr starting to close and stores everywhere packing up. isaac managed to buy a shirt with a comic print on "how stick people became extinct". apparently it was a dirty joke and it got him into trouble with his mom. went to a jeans shop having a promotion, but they are still so expensive. the cheapest is $20 and highest $99. surely the latter isnt 5 times better.
next we took a walk around the city, the part with higher buildings but less than 10 storeys and upper levels not open to public. there was hardly a lot of people roaming the streets, unlike the crowds of orchard rd. the weather was getting very hot by then, and the heat can be felt even in the shade. definitely hotter than average in singapore. luckily i was in shorts. after going to the information counter for info on the place (and cooling down with aircon) we went to some arts building where theres a gallery of aboriginal paintings and craft work on display. then we went to a sciencey building with winners of animation and games contest's works available to test out.
then we took a tram down to some river with lots of buildings at the sides. there were mostly restaurants and hotels. we had run out of water and were dying in the sun. but we didnt sweat much cos the air is dry. some sparrows were rubbing themselves in the sand to cool down. finally at 6.30 my uncle arrived and fetched us back to the house. we had a nice home cooked dinner made by my grandma who lives there now. its the only time we can have a break from western or restaurant food.
after dinner, wine was brought out and then i gained my liking for wines. it was a strong and sweet wine that i couldnt have enough of. while slowly sipping away we watched singaporean movie just follow law on dvd. my uncle fell asleep on the floor during the show (although the show was quite funny) and snored really loudly, stopping only when jerusha woke him up when he got too loud. we slept at 1, again in the living room. i took the couch this time. it could incline like the first class airplane seats. but still, it wasnt flat and i got stiff neck sleeping on that thing. uncomfortable.
(20/2) Day 3 - Dandenong
woek up this time earlier about 7+, hearing chatter around me. the adults were all up at the table eating breakfast. it was raining and so obviously much cooler. the thermometer read 17 degrees. fell back to sleep awhile more then lazed around. my uncle went first to fetch a friend and her daughter Nicole, who would join us for that day. when we were all ready to go, we set off for the dandenong mountains. my parents still cant pronounce it right despite many corections. fist stop was kinda along the road, with some shops along it. visited an antique shop with alot of expensive figurines and display items and artifacts. theres also statues and a unused well outside. we didnt buy anything i guess.
also went to a coffeeshop. this time its literally coffee shop. sells a wide range of coffeebeans, coming in different flavours and also coffee sweets. we were able to open the containers and take a sniff at each flavour, but alot of them smell alike. it was raining now and the weather getting very cold, especially at this high altitude. the town was covered in mist. temperatures a far cry from the previous day, and the most extreme weather change in the trip. even a thick jacket wasnt enough.
had lunch at pie in the sky, restuarant selling mainly pies. unlike the pies usually found in sg, these pies are huge and can feed 2 ppl for lunch. mine was full of meat filings in sauce, making it very rich and filling. i had to donate my chips due to fullness. extra sauce costs extra, like at most other places in aus. as Nicole was allergic to cooking oil and dairy products (how pitiful), she only had salad without dressing.
we had intended to spend the whole day at dandenong, but due to the rain we decided its not so good to go today. for one it was too cold and visibility is reduced, so shots arent so nice. so we went to yarra valley, a place full of vineyards, farms and wineries. we visited 2 wineries, had wine samples, and bought a few bottles of fortified shiraz, a nice sweet wine. there was also an apple farm outside one of them, where the trees are small but harvest plentiful.
then we went uphill again, probably somewhere near dandenong, and there was a restaurant where we hid from the cold winds and drank hot chocs. from there was a wide view of the farms and some town below. too bad it was quite misty. there was a random landmark called the giant's chair, just a big wooden chair. the 3 boys then decided to climb up to the top, but proved to be harder than it seems, and too high to jump down.
nearby the restaurant was a quiet and desolate garden which had a few statues in it. there we also saw the first UA (uniquely australian) animal: the Kookaburra. this one made no sound, just sitting on the branch quietly, watching us. but it isnt really afraid of humans. when i threw stones at it, it just curiously watched the stones fly past.
after that it was time to return home, had a homecooked dinner at 8 and followed by 5 (very small) glasses of the wine we just bought. watched some old action movie on dvd , bathed at 12.40 and slept at 1+ on the mattress this time.
posted by 50U1 | 6:27 PM
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