Melbourne

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I landed in Melbourne feeling slightly worse for wear and shattered to say the least. It didn't help that i had yet to organise accomodation and sort myself out. While being in NZ i had stayed in contact with Paul and Mikey who i met in Sydney and they had reccomended i stay at the Nomads backpackers for a bit. Fortunately they were not booked out when i called them from the airport, and so set about making my way into the centre of Melbourne. On arrival at the hostel (at about 11am) i was informed that i wouldn't have a bed til about 1pm - i needed sleep badly. I decided to go into the bar area and lie down on the confortable sofa and fall asleep (even though the music was blaring out and people were in and out). I didn't manage to get a bed til about 5pm in the end, making more annoyed. The hostel dish up a free meal and i thought ideal - saves me cooking or buying anything. I was served up a tiny amount, so small in fact that it wouldn't fill a saucer. That night i called Paul and arranged to goto Balaclava, where the boys had an apartment set up (Mikey had emailed me while i was in NZ asking whether i wanted to move in). After getting slightly confused with the trams i eventaully made it. My first thoughts of the apartment were not exactly positive - round the back of a shop with a garden full of rubbish and junk. On entering little changed - cutlery all over the place and more junk about. It was good to see Mikey, Paul and Maggsie again, although it seemed like only yesterday that i had seen them last. The boys were sharing the flat with Reece (Welsh lad i met once in Sydney - Paul's friend from home), AP (loud and funny Canadian - Reece's travelling buddy) and Maggsie (if not already mentioned) is a bloke who Paul met in Asia and who i met in Sydney.
We all watched a film for a bit and i was asked whether i wanted to move in straight away. I declined for the moment as i needed to get my bearings in the city itself. By the end of the film i was feeling worse for wear to say the least, so headed back on the much faster train (the tram took about 30 minutes ti get to Balaclava). I could have done with a good nights kip, but thanks to an idiot who had his alarm set but couldn't wakeup at 4am in the morning, i went without it. Mikey had informed me to check into the Hotel Bakpak which guarantees you work for the next day. I did this and then went for a wander around the city before registering with the employment section of the 'hotel'. The 'hotel' was a dive (old fashioned hospital ward rooms) but i was lucky to have a 12 bed dorm all to myself. I made the most of this with a good nights sleep without any mobile phones waking me up in the morning.
The next day i decided to move into the apartment in Balaclava with the boys, carrying all my stuff and trekking across the CBD in the heat (my back pain from the backpack was horrific - btw Mizzi, your backpack wont come back in the same condition as it was when it left - after a couple of days about 3 zips broke).

Balaclava is an interesting place and about 10mins out of the CBD by train. It is home to the Jewish community of Melbourne and as such contains related retail outlets. It is about 20mins walk away from the cool and trendy St Kilda - helps to be so close after a good night out. St Kilda is home to a beach, bars, restaurants and shops. It often has events going on, and i have ventured down on a few occasions to soak up the atmosphere of a few bands playing. St Kilda is also home to the Neighbours night at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow (pub/club). So its not a bad area to stay to say the least. The apartment itself is situated above a 'Jewellery shop' which also happens to be an Internet Cafe - we have free internet access which is good. Although my first impressions of the apartment weren't entirely positive, i soon settled in and now feel like i am at home (so to speak). I enjoy going back and not having to worry about backpackers (strangers) occupying my space and me waking them up. Its nice to have somewhere to base myself longterm while i save up money to continue my travelling. The flat has a bathroom (with a bath i am NOT going to use), relatively big kitchen, a large living room with a big TV and DVD player and 2 bedrooms. If you hadn't already noticed the maths don't work out - 2 bedrooms and 6 people. Paul and Mikey are in one room and Reece and AP are in the other. Maggsie drew the short straw when everyone moved in (before i arrived) and had to settle with a matress on the living room floor and i had to do likewise when i moved in. Although its not ideal, i save so much money (hostels would cost me $150>pw, i pay $66pw) and dont have to stay in a hostel in a room with 10 other people who i dont know!

My first few days staying in Balaclava involved me getting used to the CBD and exploring the surrounding area - while keeping my eye open for jobs and signing on at agencies. Because i arrived in Melbourne with NO money, drink was out of the question - another thing which didnt bother me, so i watched a fair few DVDs with the lads. The first weekend was quite quiet especially as Reece, AP and Maggsie had all gone to do 'The Great Ocean Road'. I was lucky enough to hear of a job that had come up - only a weeks work, but it would be enough to tie me over (and afford a weeks rent).

Over the weekend a bloke had been stabbed at Box Hill train station, I was pleased to know that my employment commenced at that lovely part of the world. Getting up Monday morning after 3 months of blissful unemployment would seem to most as gutting, but due to my predicament it couldn't come sooner. I was told that it was general labouring at a timber yard, her exact words being "lifting and moving bits of wood with four other people, most likely backpackers". I was the first to arrive at Hudson Timber Yard and was introduced to the manager Brett, a truly likeable guy - a real mans man. The three other blokes who were in to do the same job as me were all good guys, but a couple of them would drive me insane before the week was out. Ritchie, an Irish guy who was immediately likeable - he is backpacking with his girlfriend and staying in St Kilda. Karl, a Welsh bloke with a strange block like appearance was nice enough but a bit immature at times and seemed to want to debate and disagree with everything i said - thought he was a bit of a know-it-all. He is also travelling with his girlfriend. Last but not least Dave. Dave is a 40yr old ex-pat who seems unable to settle down in a job and seems quite happy to do the backpacker temping even though he lives in Melbourne.

Our yard manager, Mark was cold at first and expected us to know everything (where the 240 x 90 6.0s were from the start). He liked the sound of his own voice thats for sure. On our first day we were paired up into jobs - I was with Dave and Ritchie was with Karl. I definetly got the short straw - Dave is a jobsworthy workaholic - we were unloading timber from a rack, he was unloading and i was stacking (it really is as enthralling as it sounds btw), the only problem was it takes longer to stack than unload so everytime i looked up there was another plank heading my way. It was intense work and for the money we were being paid - absolutely ridiculous amount of work. We had been given a week to empty one of the racks and it had nearly been done in 2 days. In the end i resorted to making comments such as "if we continue at this pace we will be out of a job by Wednesday". By the second week I had decided it was best to be working with someone else. I ended up working with Karl who didn't seem to make my life any easier. He was by far the laziest out of all of us and the one most hated by Mark - so we were both always shouted at (he got uptight about it, i just shrugged it off and ignored it). By this time myself, Karl and Ritchie were starting to get annoyed with Dave and his precise workaholic nature. I have never met anyone who signs in as exactly as Dave - 08:23. I asked him about this and he said "I only put down what is on my watch". On another occasion we were all debating whether to put down that we worked an extra 30 mins (we were close to this anyway), i said i would but that everyone else had to as well - Ritchie and Karl were all for this but unfortunately Dave said "I will only put down the hours i have worked". On another occasion we hadn't finished putting away a pack of timber when our finish time of 4pm arrived. I said to Dave "come on its 5 past 4", he replied "we will get this away and then go", I replied "Dave we dont get paid after 4pm, i'm not doing work that i dont have to do", in the end he stayed til 4:15, i waited in the staff room. I was a relieved man when the last day of working with Dave arrived, although he still managed to frustrate and infuriate me. Most people on there last day take liberties - Oh no not Dave. With half hour to go til knock off time in the baking heat he recieved a phone call from his wife. I was surprised when he continued to lift heavy planks of wood down with his spare hand - i couldn't believe what i was seeing, and nor could Karl who was laughing at my bafflement and infuriation.

The weekend after my first week of work was generally quiet although i did go out with the lads to the Elephant and Wheelbarrow in St Kilda. Due to my financial situation i did not drink. The E&W is the biggest backpackers bar in Melbourne/St Kilda and on any night you are likely to meet people from all over the world. It was a club night and i quite enjoyed it but soon tired out and decided to head back. I got the last tram back and then had the task of getting into our back door. The problem is that there is a system to opening our door (push it all the way in, lift up the key, pull back just slightly and turn to the right as your doing this) and i haven't quite mustered it - it took me a good 15mins to get in!
On Sunday i managed to get my first fix of football for a fair while. We all went down to a pub in Melbourne called Dick Whittington's which gets all the Premiership football. We were down here to see Mikeys team Hearts followed by the mighty Spurs against Blackburn. The Hearts game kicked off at midnight followed by the Spurs game which kicked off at 3am. Everyone left me as they didn't fancy staying around til 5am (poor show i thought), but i met the Australia Tottenham Supporters club - Melbourne Branch, who go to this particular pub every week to watch Spurs. I spoke to a few of them and was underwhelmed by there football knowledge. Due to the epic nature of the game i was going absolutely mental - they must have thought about changing their allegiance. I strolled down Swanston St (main Melbourne St) at 5:15am a happy man (Spurs scraped home 3-2), and headed to the train station to catch the first train in the morning. I arrived back about 6am and was still buzzing so found it difficult to getting of to sleep.

I had no work on the Monday as it was Labour day (Bank Holiday) and i didn't know whether they needed me or not. I think i spent most of my time writing up that previous epic New Zealand blogspot. Tuesday i hadn't expected to get a call as early as i did. At 8:30 i was woken by my mobile phone and on the other end Molly from the agency. Could i go in for the rest of this week and possibly next week, and would it be possible for me to start ASAP. In some ways it was music to my ears but i could also have done with a lie-in. Only myself and Ritchie were to work as Dave had got another job and Karl couldn't be bothered. I hadn't been paired with Ritchie the Dubliner in any of the work in the previous 2 weeks which was strange, but we immediately built up a great rapport. Most of the time both of us would have a laugh and try to do as much work as we had to, the rest of the time we would do what we call hiding (out of sight out of mind). Mark the yard manager had started to warm to us and we had a good laugh with him as well as the other boys. While working I felt to tired to do anything once i got back and cooked myself my speciality - pasta! It seems strange but i actually enjoy just sitting in a chair talking to the boys, watching a film or reading a book - Melbourne feels like my home away from home.

Friday night had been built up from the beginning of the week - Centurion Club. The boys had decided we should do the 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes challenge. I decided i could do with a night of relaxation and to chill out (I hadn't had more than one beer since i left NZ) - i didn't go entirely to plan! *WARNING - DO NOT READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T FANCY BEING REPLUSED!*
Everyone thought a shot of beer a minute would be easy (including myself) and it seemed that way when we started. At about 30 shots i was feeling a bit queasy due to the gas and so was everyone else. I thought i would throw in the towel, but still persevered. Chriso (German mate of Maggsie's) was the first to go at about 40 (i was glad not to be the first) but everyone else managed the half century. By now i was feeling quite good and the gaseous sensations had dissapeared, but unfortunately everyone else seemed to be the same. George was next to go followed by a 3 way wipe out. At 61 shots, a fountain erupted from Reece's mouth (it looked like the puke moment in Team America). Unfortunately this moment set off Mikey and Maggsie - Mikey went as he was drinking his 62nd and Maggsie followed in the same fashion at 63 (Mikey made it as far as the corridor and Maggsie made the toilet). It was now a 3 way battle - Myself, AP and Paul. AP was all but disqualified anyway for failing to keep his shot topped up and being to late when the minute ticked over. AP decided to just give up leaving the final two. I felt fine as 70 ticked over and was sure to complete the challenge, but at 74 it all went wrong. I downed the shot, but unfortunately my stomach had had enough. I tried to hold it in but another Reece moment occured and i was disqualified. Paul made it to 100 before spending a fair bit of time in the toilet afterwards.
After cleaning ourselves up and getting ready we all headed out into town. Maggsie had recommeded a student bar in town but on arrival we found it to be dead. We then headed on up Swanston St and found a nightclub. It was a good atmosphere and the bar staff were friendly and reduced our drinks prices, but it was a predominatly ethnic clientelle. Basically we were the only white people in there (Asians and Afro dominated). I was sitting near the bar when the Scottish barman came over and said "your mate with the pink shirt is involved in a dance off". I was intrigued so headed to the dance floor and came across Paul engaged in the dance off with one of the regulars. It was so random it was hilarious - a circle of people surrounded the Paul and the other bloke, on one side was our lot and the other side was his supporters. Once Paul had finished Mikey entered the circle and came up against a small bloke who was less than impressed. It turned out that Mikey was being confronted by a wall of angry looking blokes while he danced away quite leisurely - he was absolutely smashed! Maggsie then stepped into the ring and started taking the pi$$ with his David Brent dance against another bloke - it didn't go down well! Luckily everything seemed to die down, and everyone dissipated in the end to just normal dancing - needless to say i wasn't drunk enough to get involved! In the end i really enjoyed the night, but the weeks work had taken its toll and i was feeling shattered so i left at 4am (everyone else left at 6am).

I didn't feel to bad on Saturday morning and headed out after having a fry with Maggsie and Paul. I had arranged to meet Ritchie in St Kilda so that we could look through the jobs paper and then go into the city to search for jobs. I went to his house and found a few things in the paper which i am yet to hear about but generally it was a wasted task. A music festival was in St Kilda for the weekend, so with the sun shining and free to view it was a good atmosphere. We then headed into town and that search was also unsuccessful! After returning back i had a rest before we headed out again! The destination was the Elephant and Wheelbarrow because the football was showing. It was Chelsea v Spurs and i was my usual nervous self - not very good company either. At around the 92nd minute (Chelsea scored) i didn't stay around for a minute longer!

The following week was much of the same. Working at the yard with Ritchie - stacking, packing, banding and moving timber! The Craic (as Ritch would say) is good and we continued to have a laugh and to do as little as possible! We also started to discuss our plans for travelling onwards and Perth via the train may be on the cards next. On Wednesday the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony was staged. The city was absolutely buzzing with great vibrancy. We headed down on a packed train to the Yarra river where we would see the celebrations. After going to the bar for a bit we headed out riverside to get a good view. Metal fish were constructed and floated on the Yarra. Each fish represented one of the 71 nations competing. The main opening ceremony was in the gigantic MCG (90,000) but the Yarra hosted a side ceremony. We found a good vantage point within some shrubbery (we had to climb up a slope) but with 5 minutes to go before the Yarra came to life we were told to move by the police. This was a bugger as we could no longer get a good spot as thousands more people had crowded in! Eventually we joined the crowd and tried to peer through best we could, but it wasn't ideal. The opening ceremony in the MCG seemed rubbish (what does a game of cricket have to do with the Commonwealth games?!?) with its flying trams and tacky randomness - i'm glad i didn't shell out $400! The Yarra was a good spot to be in especially when the fireworks at the top of the skyscrapers and coming out of the fish illuminated all the way up the river. As the ceremony drew to a close the competing nations were introduced - everyone got sick and tired of it ("and now the Norfolk Islands" *yawn*) so we decided to head back before the main rush of people.

The next day we had the rugby 7s to go and watch at the Telstra Dome. I had work so arranged to meet everyone there. It was a bit of a rush getting back from work and then heading out into town again. The lads had all got the tram into town earlier whereas i opted for the train, not really knowing where i was going. 'Luckily' there were a group of local kids who were going that said they would show me the quickest way. They only took me on the wrong train, so we had to get off and then get on another train after i had advised them - all that rushing about for nothing!! They were very apologetic but it didn't make much difference in the end as the train station was heaving and it took a fair while to get to the stadium let alone get in. Luckily I arrived in the 2nd half of the 1st game and found that some of the lads had only just made it in and a couple of the others hadn't even arrived (the trams were even worse than the trains). The stadium slowly but surely filled up and it turned out to be a good atmosphere. Some of the teams were atrocious, like Sri Lanka who could barely hold or catch the ball. Some of the games were pretty bad but there were some good ones. Most of the crowd were waiting for the big one - Australia v England. For $15 (6 pounds) it was great value and the final game was well worth waiting for. Australia started off much better but in the end England were the eventual winners after a couple of sendings off (The crowd of Aussies didn't appreciate 2 English blokes going mad). The final of the 7s was the following day but the tickets for this were to expensive so we didn't go. Instead we sat in front of the TV to watch it. The problem with the games coverage over here is that it is so biased and infuriatingly so. During the medal ceremonies they will only show the Australian medalist and the Australian anthem. It is incredible when an Australian gets a Bronze and they show he/she recieving the award but then cut away before the Silver and Gold are awarded - and it is very rare to see another nations national anthem. The most sickening thing happened when the Rugby 7s final was advertised before Australia got kicked out. But when the final was due to start, they showed some random Australian in an unimportant Gymnastics event instead - we were all fuming and so were a few people. This type of coverage has continued all the way through the games, and even the Australian blokes at work have said they are sick of it to - even listening to the national anthem repeatedly.

Another big weekend was planned but after i returned home on friday night it turned into a bit of an anti-climax. I was feeling absolutely exausted, Paul just didn't fancy it, Mikey was working early the next day and Reece was out with Katie. I had a power-nap and felt completely refreshed by about 11pm. So myself, Maggsie, AP and George headed into St Kilda and to the Elephant and Wheelbarrow for St. Paddy's Day. It was a good night and the dance floor was packed - Maggsie lost most of his pint over him! Maggsie and I walked back in the early hours of the morning and then had the effort of trying to get in our flat. I was confident of getting the key to work but it was a futile effort. After 30 minutes we decided to wake someone up to let us in. I tried Paul, but to no avail and just as Maggsie was phoning Reece i got the door to open - what a relief after 30 minutes!!

Saturday should have been an early start as Maggsie and myself had decided to go and watch the Triathlon in St Kilda. After turning off a couple of alarms we eventually got up and headed down there. On arrival we had found we missed the womens Triathlon and that we would have to wait another 2hrs for the mens event. While we were waiting a New Zealand Triathlete was heading to the starting area, and thought he could cycle up part of the course. The Police stopped him and asked him where he was going, he responded "i'm a competitor and need to get to the start", the jobsworthy Police officer responded "you will go around the long way like everyone else" - the athlete wasn't best pleased. To our amusement we later found out that the athlete was in fact the Olympic Gold Medalist, Hamish Carter. The Triathlon starts with the swimming followed by the cycling finishing up with the run. We got ourselves in a good position to watch the swimming (near where the athletes come out) and waited. The triathlon is absolutely gruelling and the distance between the elite athletes and the 'Thanks for coming' athletes was incredible. After the swimming we got ourselves onto a little island between the finish straight and the road to watch the running and cycling. Throughout the event an English guy, Tim Don was ahead, so myself and Maggsie were in full voice cheering him on. It came down to the running and Don was in the lead for alot of it before the Australians took over. In the end the English guy finished 4th behind the 3 Australians. We decided not to stay around for the medal ceremony as the bloke who won it seemed extremely arrogant and his support were irritating us. It was a good afternoon's fun though and alot better than i thought it would be.

Later that evening we were all out again to celebrate Pauls birthday. He had decided that the casino was the place to go so we all headed down there. The Crown casino is an amazingly big building. Housing not just the obvious but also nightclubs, a range of bars, restaurants, arcades etc etc. We first headed to a bar which in fact was an arcade as well. We found out the air hockey was free so spent much of the evning playing on that. I have bruises from where i got a bit over the top and literally put my back into it. After a couple at the bar we headed onto a club where we all had quite a good time. I don't seem to have lived down my unique style of dancing though!!

On Monday I started what was to be my last week at the timber yard and what proved to be my most enjoyable week. Again I was with Ritchie and again we had a great laugh and had quickly come to some conclusions about the people that were working in the timber yard. The funniest of which is Morris, who has to be one of the most stupid people I have ever met. His mannerisms and some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is illogical but quite hilarious, but I also feel sorry for the bloke. He was proud of the fact that he has never had a passport and seemingly not been far from Melbourne. The funniest thing is that he drives 200km into work for an irregular wage of $16ph - to give you an idea of how much that is, I am a labourer getting $16, only difference is I am not travelling 400km a day! Mark as I have already said is the yard manager and he is ok apart from the fact nothing is ever right and he always sticks his oar into things when its not wanted. Rick is the bloke we get along with the most. He is about 25yrs old but quite clearly has a bad drug problem. Some of his facial expressions have absolutely cracked myself and Ritchie up. Ian started this week - an older bloke who is very knowledgable about many things and also a genuinely nice bloke.
Throughout this week we made sure we started later and later and our breaks seem to get longer and longer. I took it upon myself to absolutely lay into Morris in a very subtle way that Ritch found very amusing. Come thursday we asked Brett (manager) if there would be any work the following week, he said that there was work for one person on monday and tuesday only. I told Ritch he could do the 2 days as I was going to start my job search. Thurday was a very bad day as the manager was picking on stupid little things and in turn Mark was being a bit of an R.sole. So friday was my last day, and i came in to find that 2 of the new blokes (one of them was Ian) had walked out because of the needless telling off. I had a whole day of painting planks of wood and getting absolutely covered before taking a few liberties. I made sure i finished early because i had to get to the MCG to watch a night of athletics.
After another quick shower and grabbing a bite to eat after i finally got back we headed to the MCG. The MCG is a breathtakingly good stadium and a jewel in the crown of what is a sporting capital. We also managed to get some awesome seats which overlooked the start finish straight in the upper tier. It was a gorgeous evening and we all sat back with a nice cold beer(s). We had a range of events to see - Mens Hammer throw, Womens 100m hurdles, Womens long jump, mens 4x100m relays, mens pole vault, mens 3000m steeplechase, womens 800m, mens 1500m, womens 5000m, mens 4x400m relay.
We later found out that we were sat next to the mother and sister of the 400m gold medalist John Steffensen. The biggest shock was yet to come when the Mens hammer throwers were introduced. Maggsie and myself were cheering on the English throwers as the names were being read out and then 'Simon Brown' was introduced. The screen had a close up of him punching out his arms and I immediately recognised him. I worked with him while i was at BAA, he is in fact one of the security trainers. I remember him telling me at work once that he competed in international events. I remember myself just nodding away like you do when you think someone is stretching the truth, "Yes Simon, Oh how great that must be *nod nod*". As it happens Simon came 6th out of 13 so it wasn't a bad effort.

One of the first events we saw a world record was broken. The Canadian, Chantal Petitclerc won the wheelchair race well inside the world record. It wasn't such a good night for the British athletes. The English girl in the longjump suffered from an injury and worse was to come when the 4x100m favourites England dropped the baton while in the lead on the last leg. The only medals we did see for Britain was a bronze in the pole vault and a silver in the womens 5000m. Maggsie and myself craved 'God Save the Queen' instead of the Kenyan and Australian anthems we had to put up with throughout the evening. The biggest cheer of the night came in the mens steeplechase. Nobody was cheering the Australian 1-2-3 but instead the pygmy looking bloke from Papua New Guinea who came last, which was hardly surprising as he looked to small to jump the hurdles. This was definetly my best night out in Melbourne so far and possibly the best night out since I came away travelling - at a cost of 20 pounds i couldn't say better than that.

The Commonwealth Games have been a great watch over the last 2 weeks and the atmosphere in Melbourne has been immense. Next up the Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne - I cant wait!

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Photos

Flinders St Station
Main Train Station

The Casino
Home to Mikey and AP

Fish on the Yarra
Fish represent every nation at the games. MCG in the background

Crowds @ The Yarra
Opening ceremony of the Commonwealth games

The Lads
Mikey, Maggsie, Paul, Chriso, Reece

Telstra Dome
England v Australia

Fun @ Telstra Dome
Paul, Mikey, Maggsie, Reece, Katie

MCG
Absolutely immense stadium

Our Flat
Above the International/Texas Milk Bar

The Infamous Centurion Club
Reece, AP, Paul, George, Mikey (tongue), Me, Maggsie, Chriso
- Before it got nasty!!