20th May 2008
I got up at 10..really late!!
Today was a rare day when I had a break during a business visit.
So I took my own sweet time to get ready .
The first thing I did was to get in touch with harsh , my friend in Melbourne university.
So after getting down the details of the meeting point , I was on my way to the Melbourne central station.The trickiest part in local travel in a foreign city is using the public transport and understanding the maps,train timings, etc etc
After buying the tickets from a Seven –Eleven and some instructions from the indian store incharge I headed for the train.The instructions were also unique .I had to remember the street names like this
Kings Street(where I was staying) then William ,Queen and Elizabeth
So it was king- William, queen –elizabeth.Pretty interesting!
Walking down Melbourne downtown was just like being in Manhattan, with parallel streets,
Lots of pedestrians mostly in business suites, I hear Australia is more of a service place with most of the people in jobs.Walking down the streets I bumped in a lot of Indians once again.
Quite a lot of students as well.You can make that out from their backpacks and casual clothes.
Since I had skipped breakfast we headed straight for Hungry Jacks, its like australias McDonalds.
I immediately liked the indian girl taking our orders, tried real hard to read her name on the name batch but couldn’t quite get hold of it.
From here we headed straight to Eureka Towers, supposedly australia’s tallest building and with an observation deck at the 90th floor.A truly charming place.
You can see most of Melbourne from this height.But being a weekday harsh had to leave soon and by 4 pm I was alone once again.
The walk back to the hotel was kind of depressing.I had plenty of time at my disposal but didn’t feel like going anywhere.Plus by this time most of downtown was carrying a deserted look.
On my way back I saw a café by the name The Sherlock Holmes with his most famous line”elementary my dear Watson” written, pretty amusing.
There was another place to see, the immigrants museum on my way back.
But I decided not to go in at the last moment.There was no way I was going to a museum.
So unwantedly I trudged back to the hotel and finally retired to my room.
So with nothing left to do I had no option but to watch TV!
After 2 hrs of non stop TV and with just 3 channels to choose from I was completely going crazy.
So I decided to take a walk , I was also pretty hungry by now.
By 8 pm all the streets wore a bare look , with just a few cars plying about it seemed as if it were very late in the night!
Then I started my stroll outside ,crossing kings street and back.
I came across the usual fast food stuff,subway,pizza joints,Japanese,thai and an Indian restaurant
As well.But indian food was the last thing I would try here!
Finally I came to a really dark part of the street.It also scary walking at night in these places
Who knows when some one may pop out a gun at you!
But still the excitement of being all alone in an alien part of the world can be quite thrilling.
So I came across a sign saying “adult club” but there was not a single light in sight.So I strolled
A little further and came across a heavy gate guarded by two huge looking fellows
I guess I had to turn back now!
And there were several more in the block.
So after strolling around for a good thirty more minutes in the streets I decided it was time to get back.On way I got dinner packed from a subway, though quite unwillingly but I didn’t feel like eating at a fancy place all alone!
So I did enjoy my day in Melbourne finally the icing on the cake was the IPL match witch began at 12 midn ight and offcourse I had to get back to business from tomorrow.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
19th may 2008,melbourne
Well its my first trip downunder and it’s a fantastic feeling.
I landed in Sydney on the morning of the 19th may 08, very tired from the long flight via Singapore only to board another one for Melbourne, which was just a one and a half hour affair.
Melbourne was just like any place in the US or Europe , but with an Australian flavour and fantastic weather.The one thing you like about Australia from the word go is their accent!! And when everyone calls you “ mate”!!
BY the second meeting I was really drooping but somehow carrying myself!
Nothing new for me ofcourse.
My colleagues who had other business in Sydney left me in the evening, leaving me once again all alone in an alien city with no friends!
But little did I realize that the best part of the day was yet to come.
I headed straight for the taxi and on my way to the hotel.
One unique thing about Australia is that 99% cab drivers are Indians!
All Punjabis , mostly doing some part time or unheard course like cooking,baking,agriculture etc!!
Its funny how hard we try to get out of our country, accepting any kind of work and job to earn and
Save the almighty dollar.
Its sad! But the fact is that most of these people who go and do such odd jobs , would certainly
Not be having a lifestyle any better than they have here.
So in a way , you cant blame it on anyone.
Its just a misfortune of our country and the people , who miss it at every point of their life in an alien country.
So I reached my hotel , The KIngsgate hotel on kings street , in downtown Melbourne.
This was just like new york , with parallel streets and junctions,tram trolleys plying on the road, and people running from one place to another.
On my way , my cab driver who was an indian was telling me all about good places to eat .
Esp indian food,life in Melbourne,his wife who was doing a course in pastry making!!
Wonder what they teach you in such a course,must be pretty interesting!
So I reached the hotel, it looked decent from outside.
As expected there was no bell boy,typical of hotels in Europe.
So I reach the reception only to be told that my hotel paymeant had not been done !!
That meant I was out of All Australian dollars, except A$ 25.
The earliest money exchange could now be done only at 9 am the following morning!
Well I was glad I atleast had some dough to survive the night!
But the biggest shock was yet to come.
It was my room in the hotel.
Believe it or not , it comprised of a 2 by 2 bed one on top of the other, a wash basin .
That’s it.It was the biggest shock !
And even the damn bathroom was common.it took me a few minutes to fathom the fact
That I will be staying at such a place for 2 nights!!
But I was lucky as I got an upgrade and moved to a room with a tv set and a bathroom!
Now the next thing was to grab some dinner in the money that I was left with.
So I bought some lousy veg pizza and a bottle of water.
So finally came to end a memorable day in Australia.
The best part was that I had a rare off day in the middle of a tour , so it meant I was free to
Go and see Melbourne tomorrow!
I landed in Sydney on the morning of the 19th may 08, very tired from the long flight via Singapore only to board another one for Melbourne, which was just a one and a half hour affair.
Melbourne was just like any place in the US or Europe , but with an Australian flavour and fantastic weather.The one thing you like about Australia from the word go is their accent!! And when everyone calls you “ mate”!!
BY the second meeting I was really drooping but somehow carrying myself!
Nothing new for me ofcourse.
My colleagues who had other business in Sydney left me in the evening, leaving me once again all alone in an alien city with no friends!
But little did I realize that the best part of the day was yet to come.
I headed straight for the taxi and on my way to the hotel.
One unique thing about Australia is that 99% cab drivers are Indians!
All Punjabis , mostly doing some part time or unheard course like cooking,baking,agriculture etc!!
Its funny how hard we try to get out of our country, accepting any kind of work and job to earn and
Save the almighty dollar.
Its sad! But the fact is that most of these people who go and do such odd jobs , would certainly
Not be having a lifestyle any better than they have here.
So in a way , you cant blame it on anyone.
Its just a misfortune of our country and the people , who miss it at every point of their life in an alien country.
So I reached my hotel , The KIngsgate hotel on kings street , in downtown Melbourne.
This was just like new york , with parallel streets and junctions,tram trolleys plying on the road, and people running from one place to another.
On my way , my cab driver who was an indian was telling me all about good places to eat .
Esp indian food,life in Melbourne,his wife who was doing a course in pastry making!!
Wonder what they teach you in such a course,must be pretty interesting!
So I reached the hotel, it looked decent from outside.
As expected there was no bell boy,typical of hotels in Europe.
So I reach the reception only to be told that my hotel paymeant had not been done !!
That meant I was out of All Australian dollars, except A$ 25.
The earliest money exchange could now be done only at 9 am the following morning!
Well I was glad I atleast had some dough to survive the night!
But the biggest shock was yet to come.
It was my room in the hotel.
Believe it or not , it comprised of a 2 by 2 bed one on top of the other, a wash basin .
That’s it.It was the biggest shock !
And even the damn bathroom was common.it took me a few minutes to fathom the fact
That I will be staying at such a place for 2 nights!!
But I was lucky as I got an upgrade and moved to a room with a tv set and a bathroom!
Now the next thing was to grab some dinner in the money that I was left with.
So I bought some lousy veg pizza and a bottle of water.
So finally came to end a memorable day in Australia.
The best part was that I had a rare off day in the middle of a tour , so it meant I was free to
Go and see Melbourne tomorrow!
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