Marvelous Melbourne

  Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Melbourne is a city with aspirations and you can tell. It's a large city with loads of character, a laid-back pace and a lifestyle that oozes quality. Magnificent Tudor and Victorian buildings graciously reflect the city's colourful history while impressive skyscrapers and other buildings by world-renowed architects boast the city's prosperous present. Upon arrival, the visitor might notice the car license plates which read: "Victoria: The place to be". I wouldn't disagree.

I arrived on Saturday evening after a beautiful 3 hour flight from Perth. The flight was good, the views of Australia's red desert core and South Australia's coastline were magnificent, and the service and food on board were wonderful (imagine being served duck with Thai red curry at 30,000 feet and it tastes sublime. Add to that thought a gorgeous Chardonnay that reeks of vanilla, oak and butter. And to top it off, a lovely, attentive stewardess that always came by unasked to replenish an empty glass. Imagine that and you'll have an idea of how good my flight was! Really, Qantas is grrrreat!). We flew over Adelaide and had marvellous views of the city. I got my first chance to test my new camera and I must say, I'm very pleased. Check out the photo of the cove. That's a (not full) zoom-in from 11 kilometers!

Anyway, I arrived in Melbourne and made my way to my hotel (Pensione Melbourne) in the heart of downtown Melbourne, opposite the beautiful Southern Cross Station with its amazing wave-like roof. I went for a walk around the Central Business District (CBD) and discovered that there wasn't a lot to do in the CBD on a Saturday night, except around the touristy areas along Swanston street and the strip clubs along Kings street. The CBD is jam-packed during the day but it's quiet during the evenings. I later discovered that most of the better restaurants and the cafe-scene are spread out around the inner suburbs like Carlton, South Yarra, Prahran and St. Kilda. Another thing that struck me: shopping here is fantastic! There are so many shopping areas, each with its own distinct character. The CBD itself is just bursting at the seams with shops. Then you have the various suburbs with more shopping streets, malls and markets.

My old friends from school (in KL, who now live here), Balan and Mae Yin, picked me up from my hotel on Sunday morning and took me on a beautiful drive to St. Kilda, a beachside community just a few kilometers from Melbourne, where we walked around the Sunday crafts market and the pier. The views from the pier of the Melbourne skyline were stunning. We then continued to the Albert Park where I got to see the black swans (loads of them here but none on the Swan River in Perth!!!). We then moved on to the suburbs of South Yarra and Prahran where we stopped for a drink (check out the doggie who sat next to me at the terrace - he was just adorable and enjoyed people-watching as much as everyone else at the terrace!). I loved the buzz in these two suburbs, especially along Chapel Street which was chockful of fashionable boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

I had the most amazing time on Monday. I'd booked myself on a daytour to the Great Ocean Road and it was spectacular. I was initially a bit concerned because when we left Melbourne in the early morning, it was cold, very windy and there were many dark clouds. It rained a bit but soon cleared up for a bit. The sun shone at the right times, I must say. Like when we arrived in Torquay, a quaint seaside village (which is where the famous Aussie surfwear like Billabong come from) with a beautiful beach or when we stopped at Bells Beach, a surfer's haven. Stunning scenery here: gentle, green rolling hills that end at the coast with dramatic cliffs, long stretches of sandy beaches, little coves, quaint villages and finally the vast green ocean. Along the way, we stopped at a little village which was famous for its colourful birds and wild koalas. We spotted a wild koala in a tree, fast asleep. The birds (multi-coloured parrots) were gorgeous and came swarming down when I held out my hand with bird seed. We also made a stop at a rainforest reserve where we went for a quick walk (it started to rain so the guide upped the pace!). The forest was simply enchanting: towering Myrtle beech and mountain ash trees, and at their feet, giant ferns, mosses and little cascading streams. Gorgeous.

The rain started getting heavier and when we finally arrived at the Twelve Apostles (a series of limestone outcrops that had separated from the mainland due to erosion), it was storming. The sky was black, the ocean pounded the coast with huge thunderous waves (I've never seen waves this big before. I'm sure some of them were at least five meters high) and the wind howled fiercely like a hurricane. The wind tossed me around like I was made of paper (with my skinny frame, that's not too hard to imagine I guess!) and hail didn't drop from above; carried by the high winds, it flew straight at you, yes, horizontally! I braved it all (along with two others) and fought my way to the edge of the cliff while the busloads of tourists huddled together in the safety of the visitor centre. The hail hit so hard till my face felt bruised while the hood of my raincoat kept slapping my cheeks very hard. When we got to the edge of the cliffs, the wind was so strong and the hail was hitting so hard, we could only afford 2-3 second peeks of the Twelve Apostles before covering our faces again!! I figured, this is so much better than seeing this dramatic coastline on a clear blue day. The fierce weather just made the whole experience so much more intense. Miraculously, the wind died down for a moment and the sun broke through the dark clouds and there I was, alone on the viewing platform (the other two had disappeared), with this magnificent sight in front of me: the towering cliffs, the pounding waves below and the dark sky punctured by a single ray of light. Absolutely breathtaking! OMG factor: 10+++ (yes, right up there along with swimming with the sharks in Lang Tengah). After the Twelve Apostles, we made our way to other spots along the coast. There was Razorback, London Bridge (that collapsed in 1990) and Loch Ard Gorge. Truly spectacular spots.

It's my birthday today (Tuesday) and I've decided to take a breather. Honestly, I'm exhausted. Excitement about what's ahead and the accompanying adrenaline have kept me going for the past month. I was wondering when exhaustion would catch up with me - I guess now. Thank you all for the phone calls and birthday messages. I just got back from a walkabout along the Yarra River. I really love the architecture here; it's a good blend of steel-and-glass skyscrapers and beautiful old Victorian buildings with gorgeous iron lace balconies, and wonderful Art Deco specimens. The Arts precinct is especially impressive with its ultra-modern, experimental architecture. I went up the 300m-high Eureka Tower and was treated to stunning views of the city and its surrounds. There was a separate section at one corner of the observation floor called the Edge. What happens is, you get into a glass cube, the glass is then tinted a dark grey so you don't see anything. The cube is then projected outside the building proper and with no prior warning, the tinted glass changes to clear glass in a split second. The effect must be terrifying: suspended 300m up in the air, outside the building (but within the glass walls of the cube) and nothing to separate you from a free fall but a thick glass floor! I admit, I was too chicken to give it a try :-) I then walked back to the river and treated myself to a birthday lunch at a trendy riverside restaurant - I had a steak which was ok. I ran back to the hotel after lunch as it started to rain. It's still raining outside so I'll be staying in this afternoon.

My friends, Mae Yin and Balan are taking me out to dinner tonight. And surprise, surprise, Mae Yin and Balan have arranged to celebrate my birthday with Janice, who also lives here. We know Janice from our teens in KL and Janice and I share the exact same birthdate. Janice and I, Balan reminded me, actually threw a joint 16th birthday together in KL. So, twenty years later, we're having another joint party... this time in Melbourne. Isn't that just amazing?!

Anyway, I'll let you know how the dinner party went in my next blog. I've booked myself on a daytour of the Yarra Valley tomorrow. We'll be hopping on board one of Australia's oldest steam trains for a ride through the Dandenong mountains, visiting a nature reserve (Healesville Sanctuary), and dropping by a few wineries. The reds here are awesome: I had a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot blend (from a winery close to Melbourne) the other evening and its was just magnificent: a dark ruby colour, rich plum, blueberry and vanilla flavours, and oaky - just the way I like my reds! On Thursday morning, I leave Melbourne for Canberra where I'll be staying with my old friend Renate, for two nights.

Catch up with you later.

Cheers,
Keith