Back to Melbourne

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While driving back home to Box Hill from our Great Ocean Road adventures, Eva and I got into a gambling discussion that brought Eva's notebook out. Back at Aunt Julie's place our discussions continued. We independently discovered the Martingale betting strategy (or Ma-White strategy) for roulette. To our tired brains, it seemed like a sure way to get rich - if only a dollar at a time.

Alas, by the next morning our betting strategy didn't seem so certain. I did a little online research and eventually found the wikipedia entry for Martingale. I had a hard time explaining things to Eva. I thought it was obvious there could be no 'sure-fire' way of making money just sitting there as a Wikipedia entry. We spent the rest of the day depressed, like we had just lost millions of dollars.

Tuesday, March 31st was our last day in the Melbourne area. No point moping about millions of dollars when there were still so many things to do! We started our day off with a breakfast down by the waterfront in St. Kilda with Sarah Hands. Of all the people we met on our travels, Sarah was one of our favorites, and we had the pleasure of running into her on several occasions. This was our first planned get-together, and it was good to see her in her native Melbourne and enjoy her spirited stories.

After breakfast, we headed into downtown Melbourne for one last look. We felt sorry that we were leaving tomorrow because there was so much we hadn't seen. We spent time wandering the streets and shops, and made our back to the banks of the Yarrow river. By accident or design (not my design, I assure you), we made our way back to the Crown Casino. Visions of riches dancing in her head, I had yet to convince Eva of the perils of the Martingale betting strategy. We left, somewhat reluctantly, after Eva lost $10. We had a long conversation about odds, and about whether the table owed her money after taking her twice, and whether her odds of losing a third time were 1/8 or 1/2.

More debate ensued... and more debate ...

Now it was evening, our last in the city. We decided to gamble again on a comedy show from the Comedy Festival. The comedians themselves were roaming around downtown, handing our fliers and hawking their shows. I talked up a couple of them, trying to give them a chance to 'be funny', but they weren't. We settled on "Fear of a Brown Planet," a show featuring two stand-up comedians doing political satire. Ironically, the venue was a meeting room in Town Hall. They were of east indian ethnicity (although I think their families settled in Australia way back when) and they joked about the challenges of non-white (mostly brown) folks in Australia. They were actually quite funny, although their subject matter was quite serious. Australia does have a problem with racism - I've heard this from several sources, and some Indian students have been attacked recently right in Melbourne for no reason.

Still, I don't want to leave Melbourne with a depressing thought. We had a blast there! Many thanks to Aunt Julie, Aunt Ying, and Great-Uncle for their wonderful hospitality! Thanks also to the other Melbourners we met or interacted with while we were there. I suppose there are some bad Aussies somewhere, but I haven't met a single Aussie, either overseas or in Australia itself, that I wouldn't kiss.

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Photos

On bridge across the Yarra
The Eureka Sydeck is the cool-looking tall building behind George.