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Published: January 22nd 2009
Melbourne
City ScapeI left Canberra at 8:30pm and after another sleepless journey i arrived in Melbourne just after 8am the next morning, it was then that i realised i had deleted the number for the hostel i was staying at and i had no directions or even an address! Luckily there were a few people who were on the coach that were staying at the same place so we caught a taxi together. The hostel i was staying at is called Cooee's and its really nice, its very modern, clean and well equipped and from talking to other backpackers its meant to be one of (if not the) best hostel in Melbourne, its in an area called St Kilda which is about 20 minutes tram ride from the city.
Trams seem to be the main form of transport in Melbourne and they are very frequent but quite expensive (In comparison to buses and short train journeys in Sydney). The first day i didn't even leave the hostel i just lounged around in front of the TV and by 8pm i was so tired i went to sleep. The next day i got straight on with finding a job but i soon found
Melbourne
City Scape again out that this wasn't going to be easy as it seemed everyone else was trying to do the same and there weren't many available, so after Ausefying my CV or Resume as they call it here i handed them out at every bar and shop in the near by area and emailed them to every agency in Melbourne.
I did this for a couple of days and then two Scottish girls Lola and Jen who i met in Bondi came to Melbourne so i met up with them and we explored the main city. Melbourne seems more cultural then the more business like Sydney (That's not saying i disliked Sydney for a second) down all the main streets there are quirky statues and seats, and the city seems to have art, theatre and music shows on every day of the week. We met up with Lola's Cousin Janet who had lived in Melbourne for 7 years and she took us around and showed us some amazing bars that were down tiny little streets, one of which was a converted car park and the bar and toilets were made from cargo containers and the seats made from wooden pallets. Due
Metal Blobs
These are seats that look like blogs of Mecury to money i couldn't really drink much so i stuck to coke for most the night and afterwards Janet took us to an amazing Chinese restaurant that luckily was very cheap and the food was amazing.
The next day the girls met me in St Kilda and we walked down to the esplanade where all the shops and the 'Beach' was, i say beach in inverted comas because it was more like an English beach, there was graffiti lining the walls, seagulls everywhere and a shopping trolley on the sand and there was a sign nearby pointing to an area called Brighton!!!!! It was very surreal and even the weather was bad if it wasn't for the palm trees and the guy kite boarding i could have sworn i was back in England, then to top it off we walked along St Kilda pier to get a cup of tea. After all my effort looking for a job i got an email asking me to go for a interview on Tuesday with a events company that helps set up things like the Grand Prix & the Australian open, i caught two trams and walked for 20 minutes only to
Street Performer
This guy was tied up in a straight jacket then wrapped up in chains with padlocks, after breaking free (Which consisted of him dislocating his shoulder) he finished by swallowing a sword!!! find out it wasn't until the following Tuesday! I also had an interview for a comedy club either working in the kitchen or behind the bar, luckily i turned up on the right day for that one and the interview went really well and they said they would call me about some possible shifts but i never heard back from them but i was given some free tickets to one of the shows and as i wasn't going to use all of them i gave a bunch to the hostel and they gave them to anyone who wanted one so a small group of us went down, i had never been to a comedy club before but I'd love to go again because i really enjoyed myself and i found out that the tickets would usually cost $25 so i saved myself a bit there.
A few days later i found an advert about Clinical studies, basically a medical guinea pig! I called them up and found out that they were testing an anti-inflammatory drug and all i had to do was spend 4 days/nights in there clinical unit and take some tablets twice a day and at the
end of it I'd get $1300!!!!! After mentioning this to some people in the hostel i found a few of them had done studies like this before and it isn't any where near as bad as it sounds & i also found out that there a places that pay $15,000 to chop your baby toe off then re-attach it!!! Which was a little extreme for me but I'm sure there a lot of backpackers willing to do it. My only problem was that there was just one trial they were doing that i would be here for so everything relied on me getting on that one, i was booked in for a screening and told that before the screening i wasn't to have any grapefruit (Helps absorb medicines into your system quicker), Caffeine, Alcohol, Chocolate (Alters the results on one of there tests) and Poppy seeds (Because they come up positive on the illicit drugs test). So i made sure i avoided all of these things and the Tuesday before the trial began i went for the screening, unfortunately after talking to the doctor i found out that the study i was going for was full but they were really
Statues
These statues are next to a zebra crossing as if they're waiting to cross keen for me to do the following one but it didn't start until the 25th and i fly out to New Zealand on the 23rd! I was really gutted and that was my last chance at getting a job as I've tried everything else to get work (Even asking in Mcdonalds!) & i leave for New Zealand in a few days, so this leaves me really bad financially and it means i might be home sooner than i thought but hopefully I can find some work in New Zealand.
Whilst i was in Melbourne the Tennis open was on so all the hostels raised there prices so i moved to a hostel called Coffee Palace which was about 15 minutes down the road as they did weekly rates which saved me $40, unfortunately it was cheaper for a reason, it was what I've come to know as a party hostel meaning everyone who stays there wants to party 24/7, which is great firstly if you feel like partying and secondly if you have the money to do so, but in my case i just wanted to chill out before going to New Zealand. Also because everyone (Including the staff)
wanted to drink and party all day and night the place was a bit of a mess but most mornings were quiet because most people were asleep or nursing a hangover and i only had to stay for a week so it wasn't that bad. Because i had already seen most of what Melbourne had to offer in the first week or two that i arrived i didn't do much in my last week i mainly watched the tennis on a large TV that was put in the Common room and occasional headed in the city to use the free Internet in the library.
I thought id take this opportunity to mention some of the things i have noticed about Australia in the 3 & 1/2 months that I've been here. Firstly Burger king is called 'Hungry Jacks' and Oz is the only place in the world that calls it this, apparently when Burger King came over to Australia there was already a shop called by that name so instead of buying the rights to the name they changed it. Secondly because of Australian's reputation as being heavy drinkers (which from what I've seen is well deserved) you would
think that alcohol is cheap but its actually ridiculously expensive with some drinks costing twice as much as they do in the UK which i think is due to the high tax the government put on it to try (Unsuccessfully) stop binge drinking, it is because of this that the Backpackers drink of choice is what has been so nicely named "Goon" which is boxed wine only its very bad quality and even states on the side that it may and i quote "Contain Egg, Milk and Fish Products of which traces may remain". Its awful and taste's like battery acid but its cheap and gets you very drunk so everyone drinks it & its so notorious that there are even 'Slap the goon' T-Shirts. Lastly and the biggest thing I've noticed is Aussie's don't drink Fosters!!! In fact no where sells it, i think I've seen it in an off licence once, so much for it being "Australia's Number 1 Lager".
I've loved every moment I've spent in Australia even the bad times because they've just added to the experience. I'd love to come back some time in the future and maybe even settle here in the long term
Yarra River
The Yarra river which flows straight through the heart of Melbourne because its such a great country and the people who live here are so friendly (With the exception of the chef at the Elandra :-p). From what i hear about New Zealand i think I'm going to enjoy it just as much, maybe even more but it would take a lot to top Australia.
Next Stop Christchurch..........
After posting this blog i went to the St Kilda Pier because i heard there were Little penguins (Which is their proper name) that come to the rocks next to the pier at night to protect themselves from predators and to make nests, after waiting for a while i heard a weird noise and shone my torch in the direction it was coming from and saw two adorable penguins.
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Simon
non-member comment
Goodbye Australia
Hey Alex Good to see the blog, there haven't been that many recently but I know there have been good reasons for that. Melbourne sounds like my kind of city, cultural and presumably cosmopolitan. You've clearly made the best of what you've had there despite the lack of funds, hopefully you can find work in NZ. I like the last paragraph with your reflections of your time in and thoughts on Australia though the 'goon' is something I'd avoid like the plague! Have fun for the rest of your time there and take care too, we'll be looking out for the first NZ blog. Love, Simon