greetings from melbourne!

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i must say that it was a great flight. the almost 15-hour flight went by so fast. we had dinner (chicken & cheesecake) and breakfast (sausage and vegie tart). i read the in-flight magazine and watched the movie about a guy who walked across Australia alone (South to North).

it was raining when we touched down @ close to half past nine (that's how aussies say it). getting through customs was a breeze - all i heard from the customs agent was: "here ya'go, enjoy!" while handing me my passport back.

it didn't take long for me to find the SkyBus that'll take me to downtown Melbourne. from there, i took the tram to St. Kilda (about 20 mins tram ride towards the beach @ the south end). it's a happening place where my hostel is. it must have been close to noon by the time i got there.

i paid AU$22.50/night for a bed in an 8-bed dorm room. there's a washroom inside the room which is kind of good and bad depending on where your bed is situated. i got the one farthest to it. my roommates:
- a couple of brazilian dudes (one of them borrowed my camera and started taking photos of everyone in the room)
- an aussie girl (and her friend who used our shower)
- a danish girl (who had her panties and bras on display)
- a german guy
- a french guy
- an israeli girl

i got settled, took a shower and headed out looking for food. i went to the beach and discovered that the Australian Beach Volleyball Tournament was going on.

had a late lunch. one of the waiters was a guy from Jasper, Alberta.

spent the rest of the day discovering the area. made some reservations for tours and hang around the hostel. i got invited by the brazilian dudes to party with them. there's this party with all the volleyball players (they are competitors and the aussie chicks as well). i didn't go. went to bed before midnight. it's going to be an early start of the day tomorrow - a 10:25 pick up for the 1-Day Great Ocean Road tour.

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