2006 April & September – Melbourne, Australia

VERY PICTURE INTENSIVE POST

Yes, I was in Melbourne a few days back. I was there 5 months back as well.

2006 September – Melbourne Trip

20th Sept – Flight to Melbourne
21st Sept – Rest and adjust to weather conditions
22nd – 24th Sept – Manifest <Link>
25th – 30th Sept – Tour around the city

No Itinerary was planned at all. Why?

1. No time to plan for it
2. Given I was in melb 5 months ago, I figured not much has changed

Deciding that staying at home watching House MD wasn’t really a good idea, I took a walk and a couple of photos. My photography flow wasn’t there, it was probably the weather that’s affecting me as well.

I realized that Melbourne is a city with lots of colors, with a nice blend of old and new. The people are friendly as well. Going into a store, besides the usual ‘How-can-I-help-you’ , they go froth and ask ‘How are you?’ , ‘Where are you from?’ and stuff like that. I definetely feel much more welcomed compared to back at home, where you get the ‘just-grab-your-stuff-pay-and-leave’ impression. Is it taking pride in their work? Even in Shanghai (post to be up), you get hearty welcomes from the counter people over at KFC. I guess it is probably the ‘we are asians = we are conservative’ thing but why can’t we throw that aside and at the very least, smile at a customer? I believe we are afriad to make mistakes.

Weather

Melbourne’s weather is totally erratic. On some days, it gets terribly windy, and on others, there is no wind at all. The worst would be days where it is windy and raining. This makes it very cold. My usual outfit would be T-shirt, Sweater and a Jacket, jeans and sneakers. I would recommand tucking along a bag and an extra shirt/sweater when you go out. Especially helpful when it gets even colder. Oh, and remember to throw in some cream for dry skin.

Public Transportation

Public Transportation in Melbourne is rather expensive in my opinion.

Metcards are divided into “Zones”, with Zone 1 covering the central city and inner suburbs (and consequently almost the entire tram network), Zone 2 covering the middle suburbs and some outer suburbs, and Zone 3 the remaining outer suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula. Almost all tickets are time-based; that is, they can be used for the given period of time from the first time you use it. The following are the most useful tickets (and some idicative costs) for travellers:

• two-hour (adult Zone 1 $3.20) (New fares effective 01/01/06)
• daily (adult Zone 1 $6.10)
• weekly (adult Zone 1 $26.70)
• Sunday Saver (travel across all zones, all day Sunday; $2.50 but the ticket is not available at automatic ticket machines)
• City Saver (a single trip within the CBD only; adult $2.20)

Concession Metcards are available for all children aged under fifteen years, but concessions for older students are only available to Victorian residents who are eligible and have paid for a student concession card. A concession Metcard costs roughly half the price of an adult Metcard.

Source: Wikitravel <Link>

There are also different zones as well. Metcards are kinda like the old MRT cards or Ez-link cards back at home. You can use them for both trams and trains. You have to validate your metcard when you get on the tram. I bought a 10 times metcard ticket (26.70 AUD) and only used it once. The rest of the time, I was taking free rides :) Ticket inspections do inspect the trams. There was a tram inspection once, but I was glad the inspectors just checked if you had a ticket.

Pictures

This is very very picture intensive. It includes pictures from both April 2006 and September 2006 trip down to Melbourne.

April 2006

Tram Stop

Wall Graffiti

Horse carriages anyone?

Statue of Captain Matthew Flinders. Bird on the top’s pooping on it :)

Federation Square

Federation Square (also known as Fed Square), where alot of people gather.

Federation Square (or Fed Square) is a public square in the city of Melbourne, Australia. It is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets and opposite Flinders Street Station and St Paul’s Cathedral. It helps to connect the historical central district of the city, the mile-by-half-a-mile Hoddle Grid, with the Southbank district, which has been redeveloped as a key part of central Melbourne since the late 20th century.

Source: WIkipedia <Link>

Observation Tower

Lots of tall buildings in Melbourne.

Cool train station.

Victoria Harbour

The IMAX theatre in Melbourne. It’s just beisde Carlton Gardens.

Street Graffiti

September 2006

The state library I think.

Chinatown. It’s a long street. Lots of asians.

Hobby Japan shop in Chinatown.

Flinders Street Station. On the opposite of Fed Square.

This is found in toliet cubicles. It is used to store used syringes for those taking drugs.

Milk bar just a street away from where I was staying.

Carlton Gardens. Very lovely place.