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!