Magnificent week in Melbourne

Midnight arrived as I entered the transit area of the best airport in the world, just 30 minutes away from home. The warmth & cosy feeling is synonymous to the Danish term ‘Hygge’ every time I stepped into Changi Airport, a place I entered a dozen times before.

I was really looking forward to embark on this trip after a year of working full time. On top of that, it’s about time I explored a new continent which is just a 7-hour ride away.
I was torn between 2 lovers. Both of them were gorgeous & alluring. Sydney was my childhood crush while Victoria was a recent eye candy. I would love to experience the best of both worlds if I had all the time. After weeks of contemplation, I called Sydney to apologise & told Victoria the good news. 

Melbourne, a hip city in the state of Victoria, would be keeping us company for a week.

As the plane touched down, my eyes crawled open. I felt lethargic due to the lack of sleep but glad as the ride was coming to an end. It was almost 11am in Melbourne. The airport shuttle was the most feasible way to get to our accommodation. As I entered the queue, there was a young couple making out. “There must be a formidable magnetic attraction which kept their lips inseparable”, I thought to myself. I wasn’t perturbed by what I saw due to the lack of REM sleep during the flight. Moments later, the ticket attendant gave a smirk. I looked at her and we communicated by telepathy. Translated into words, the conversation goes like this:

Ticket Lady: (shakes head) What a pleasant sight.
               Me: (nodding) Tell me about it
Ticket Lady: They should get a room
               Me: (smiling) They really need one.

The pleasant sight came to an abrupt end upon the arrival of the bus. It was a relief as I needed to rest my eyes. We avoided sleep & spent the rest of the day with the company of one of my schoolmates, who moved to Melbourne a year ago. The cool spring weather expedited the endless stroll from the urban sights of buildings including the State Library of Victoria & the Melbourne Cricket Ground to the outdoors for a sunset view in St Kilda’s Pier. The night ended off with a very juicy burger & loaded fries entering our empty stomachs. Satisfaction never felt so juicy.

~A library without privacy~

It was still dark when the alarm rang. We had to pack our essentials for our guided tour to the Great Ocean Road & Twelve Apostles. I would remember this day for a long time. 5th of November, the day Melbourne Cup & Diwali coincide. An hour later, we arrived at the  chocolate factory with a cafe serving a delectable brunch menu.

~A shot in the dark~

Upon the entry of satisfied faces, we headed for the Great Ocean Road. We made a few stops to the sandy beaches & wildlife parks. Plenty of interesting facts & history were shared by our tour guide during the hike, but all I could remember is that koalas sleep for 20 hours daily. An euphoric existence indeed.

~believe it or not, it was her first day on the job~

Scrolling through all the photos in my phone, I grinned to myself as I come up with fascinating captions to be attached with the pictures. It was a wholesome day indeed.

We spent the night packing our bags for the road trip on the next day.

The day got off to a slow start as we await our keys to the ride that will accompany us for the next 3 days. We visited a chic cafe at the heart of the city that only serves a few selection of croissants & coffees. Pricey but worth the mouth-watering experience 😉

~LUNE FOR LUKE~

As we drove out of the city, the atmosphere shifted to a serene view of the winding roads with only a few cars in sight. We visited a chocolate factory and a vineyard, both isolated from neighbouring towns. It was easy to lose track of time in such environments, so we did. It was a quarter past 3 o clock when we realise we haven’t had lunch. Since it will take us another hour to get to the suburbs, we drove a few minutes to the nearest restaurant.

As I flipped through the menu, I was appalled by the array of exquisite sounding offal dishes. The best option was to pick the safest dish to avoid embarrassing ourselves. It was a challenge to avoid looking peculiar to the blue eyed blonde hostess as she anticipates our orders. I ignored the taste of the crunchy pickles while keeping a poker face for the duration of the meal. It was a once in a lifetime experience, worthy of my bucket list.

I was looking forward to meet another friend whom I met while doing exchange in Purdue.  He went the extra mile to accommodate us in his apartment for 2 nights.  It is always a delight to have a familiar face in an unknown place.

~pretending to look surprised by the similar T-Shirts~

The cosy sofa made it effortless to catch up on some deep sleep I was longing for. We had a heavy breakfast before the long drive south to Phillip Island. Before entering the island, our seafood cravings had to be managed. The portion of chips(fries) was overwhelming. This was actually a common practice in Australia. The portion of chips is usually double the amount we were used to.
We then watched the waves by the wharf while waiting for the whales to wake. That tongue twister wasn’t intentional 😉

~Looks Dull but it makes you Full~

It was a short drive to our accommodation. As we entered the premises, I was captivated by the small hut that was built in the backyard by the host. It was equipped with a mini kitchen, a few bean bags and a small bookshelf. There were roosters & a friendly great dane on the backyard garden.

The highlight of the day was the penguin parade which would take place just before dusk. We had some time to kill before the parade, so we strolled by the beach and stumbled upon a gorgeous double rainbow.

~gorgeous ay?~

Unfortunately, the cold winds were incessant & to make things worst, it started to pour as the penguins made an appearance. I left the podium in a disgruntled manner and to my surprise, I saw the penguins waddle on the other side of the foot path. It was a brief moment of awe. A rush of disappointment came afterwards when a swarm of daft tourists ignored the rules despite being told not to take pictures.
A thought dawned on me. “To be in awe, one mustn’t break the law”

We headed for a sanctuary the next day to visit the animals that were native to Australia. The weather was much better & I felt overjoyed to see a koala wide awake. Not surprisingly, it was munching on a leaf. The koala must be hungry after 20 hours of hibernation without food. I came across a few kangaroos and there were plenty of wallabies to feed.

~Double Trouble?~

We decided to get some donuts & also a Mobile SIM card before heading back to my friend’s apartment that night. Upon entering the car, we realised that we took the SIM card without making a payment for it. At that moment, I was too lazy to go back to the shop so I said
“If the cops stop us, we can give them our box of donuts.”
That was when we became outlaws.

Dinner was served in a small Vietnamese Restaurant, the only place you can order with just numbers. We used the number 443 that day. (Pho for three)Please tell me its funny;)
Accompanied by a cup of hot tea, we felt uplifted after the meal.

Fortunately, we still had our donuts for breakfast. As we left the apartment with our bags, I felt grateful for the excellent hospitality by my Purdue buddy. Our next mission was to drive back into the city and return the car in time to avoid extra charges.

After a short train ride, we arrived at a small town and placed our bags at an Airbnb home. We head off to separate destinations to curate a personal experience of wandering solo before the trip ends.

While my mind wandered off to the abyss, I received a text message from the state police regarding an incident which happened in the city. Apparently, a man decided to go on a violent rampage by setting his car on fire after deliberately crashing it. As I stepped out of the train station, some of the roads were diverted. Little did I know, I was just a few blocks away from the location of the incident. What are the odds?

The rest of the day was spent shopping for clothes & lots of chocolates(for my loved ones back home of course). We reunited just after sunset and headed to a Japanese restaurant to have our dinner.

The week in Melbourne was coming to an end. We packed our bags for the last time and thanked our host for providing a tidy and cosy room to live in. We had plenty of time before our flight late that evening.

We reserved a locker at the bus station to store our bags for 5 hours. There was a mall upstairs. The priority was to purchase the highly affordable supplements which costs twice as much back home. As I proceeded to the counter, I reached for my pocket for the bunch of coins. My hands were empty as I pull it out. I then recalled that I placed it on the locker shelf. That was half an hour ago. Someone would have taken it by now, I thought to myself. I quickly paid for the items and rushed downstairs & to my surprise, the coins were untouched! To avoid losing the coins again, I went back to the mall and ordered a cup of Mocha to-go.

We had late lunch at an Italian restaurant. It was probably the best pizza I’ve tasted outside of Italy.

~Fresh seafood on a Pizza~

We arrived at the airport early. However, to our dismay, the flight was delayed for an hour.

I was held up at the baggage inspection area but my bag was mistakenly identified by the scanner.While waiting for my luggage, My attention was directed to a woman and her daughter at the end of the carousel. They had 10 boxes of supplements in their luggage. The airport staff(a lady in her 30s) told them repeatedly that they could only bring 3 boxes as a hand carry item. She patiently explained to them the options.
Option 1: Check in this luggage at the main counter
Option 2: Go outside and hand it over to a family or friend.
Option 3: Dispose the item right now.

I could tell that the lady was annoyed by the clueless woman who’s delaying everyone behind her.

A deja vu moment struck me as we both locked eyes, and she gave me an annoyed smile while attempting  communication via telepathy.

Lady: *Nods* How many times must I repeat myself?
   Me: *Nods back*Hang in there 🙂 

I guess life comes Full Circle.