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Published: January 4th 2007
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We arrived in Melbourne after a weary flight from Singapore with Austrian Airways. Before we alighted from the plane, we were treated to a de-lousing spray. It was off-putting and not a particularly welcoming experience. Being honest, we declared at customs that we brought nuts (ding-dong) from the Philippines who kindly ushered us through with no hassle, maybe getting a whiff off our rucksacks and not wishing to open them up. Memories came flooding back for me, having spent 5 months in Melbourne a few years ago. It was funny to hear Australian accents again.
We checked into our hostel in St Kilda (The Ritz for Backpackers above The Elephant and Castle). It was a good location but very noisy. Our room boomed and shook from the live music below as we struggled to get some sleep. The following day wasn't much better, being that it was New Years Eve as we listened to drunken backpackers seeing in the New Year. Amy and I were very sensible even managing to take advantage of the free laundry room to wash our dirty clothes. It certainly was a very sober New Years Eve except for the cheap bottle of plonk from the
Blue Starfish
We saw loads of these while snorkeling in the Philippines but as we had no underwater camera you will have to make do with the ones at Sydney Aquarium local supermarket. Maybe we're a little bit older than the other backpackers staying at the hostel as we both felt a little out of place but it was funny seeing everybody hanging out, it brought back previous memories of my time spent in Melbourne as a backpacker.
Australia is more expensive than we thought, in comparison to South East Asia it's very hard on the pocket so we've had to curtail our activities and limit our expenses on food and drink. Hence the title from Flashbacker, in South East Asia we always had enough cash to have some luxury and a splurge when the urge felt. No longer the case now. Australia is certainly a culture shock from South East Asia. St. Kilda was full of trendy folk as we laughed at everyone dressed up to the nines and slapped with makeup posing on street corners. Our previous 6 months experiences in Asia were so completely different to the western influences and trends that we're accustomed to. Nevertheless we enjoyed Melbourne spending the majority of time pounding the streets and walking around the city. The southbank was very pretty at night filled with onlookers waiting for the fireworks. The
following afternoon we strolled to the beautiful botanical gardens a nice and quiet getaway.
Our bus trip to Sydney was quite long, the boredom taken out by a cheesy film and munching on my new favourite food of raisins and peaches. We started to worry a little as we were greeted by a cold Sydney shower. Our hostel was centrally located and seemed peaceful which was a relief. Amy managed to convince me to go for a walk and onwards we went for a stroll taking in all the sights (The Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour bridge ...etc..) and posing for photos at Macquaries point. Our first afternoon was spent in the Acquarium which was spectacular. Even funnier was hearing the Irish accents of people in the queue. Amy is getting fed up hearing Irish accents everywhere, not much we can do to fix that problem though. Having got a great nights sleep for the first time in a few days we reluctantly moved hostel again. Our new location Captain Cooks, was located a little further outside town. We were shocked to see in the morning so many people standing outside boozing and thought the worst. The explanation is
Crash and Burn
We saw these guy lose his board and hit the rocks The Ashes, the cricket test between England and Australia is being played in the SCG which is located around the corner from Captain Cooks. There's a great atmosphere down in the bar with the "Barmy Army" drowning their sorrows.
The following day we purchased a one day travel ticket. Our first stop was Watsons Bay. The ferry bombed across to our amazement as we were expecting a leisurly trip across the sea. Amy suggested that we walk to the next stop Rose Bay. It took us ages, I blame Amy. The walk and scenery was fantastic and we experienced a bit of the bush trail walk. After arriving back in cirular quay we hopped on the ferry to Manly. Our trip across was quite rocky and a little bit scary, very strange for such a big vessel. Our Phillipines adventure is still haunting us. It unfortunately began to rain in Manly so we decided to go home shortly after arriving, I think tiredness being a major factor. We're averaging 15 Kms walking a day since hitting Oz!
Today we decided to go back in time to when I was a wee slip of a lad. We visited Coogee
Melbourne Sculpture
Melbourne has really cool arty stuff everywhere you turn. where I stayed years ago. Amy laughed at my hopeless sense of direction as I found it difficult to locate my old house. Peering up the street I saw Rinos pizza/pasta store with Mr Rino inside, our next-door neighbour. I laughed aloud as he walked out in tight red speedo trunks, the leopard skin ones seem to have been replaced. Amy skillfully managed to take a sly photo. Our old house hasn't changed a bit. The afternoon was spent walking from Coogee to Bondi taking in the crazy surfers and beautiful scenery. It's nice to be back.
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