G'day!
After
just getting back to the Gold Coast, Craig and I decided to take off again but
this time for Melbourne. Flights were still cheap domestically for southern and
eastern Australia so it was either fly back to Sydney for $125 return or
Melbourne for $200. Having only been to Melbourne once before with friends in
July 2011 (when it was freezing cold), I opted to go back and to say hello to
some other friends of mine whom lived there. We flew with Tiger Airways once
again, not because I wanted too as it’s as discount airline as it gets, but
because it was extremely cheap. And for such a short flight, I did not care for
snacks, media entertainment devices, etc.
We
were running a bit behind (that’s what I do best) and so jetted off to Brisbane
airport in the monsoon rain we were having. The after effects of Cyclone Oswald
were hitting the Gold Coast and the rain was coming in hard. We managed to get
there and check-in after being scolded by the Tiger Airways staff for being
over our weight limit on carry-on, but she politely let us through. And so
started our trip to Melbourne and the video blog ‘Sucobe and Crumpet: Melbourne
2013’.
We
arrived in Melbourne on Sunday early afternoon and spent the next three hours
attempting to get to the hotel. It had been awhile since I had last been and it
was a holiday weekend (Australia Day), so many services were not open/running.
We managed to get to the hotel around 6ish and all checked in. Luckily for us,
it was right in the CBD area and next to the gardens, Melbourne Central
Shopping Centre and down the street from Federation Square. Unfortunately for
us, it was pretty much a glorified hostel. We then went out for some Mexican
food at Amigos on Chapel Street and then to say hello to our friend that works
at Electric Ladyland and for a few drinks.
Not getting to bed until 4am and up at noon, we decided to
head out and tour the city before we ended up spending all day in bed. Monday,
although was a holiday (due to Australia day on Saturday), still had many shops
open and it seemed to be business as usual for the city. We headed to the SBS
building to check out the TV, cinema and film exhibition and then grabbed some
dinner at Universal with a friend followed by bowling at Strike. A good clean
sober activity I must say so. Oh wait, there was plenty of alcohol. Moving on…
The duration of Tuesday was spent at St. Kilda park which took roughly 30 mins by tram to get to.
We took some pictures, walked around Luna Park and then headed back to the
hotel to relax a bit before meeting up with a friend at Crown Casino for buffet
and gambling. I went in, threw $20 on red at the roulette table and double my
money. That was the extent of my gambling. After gorging for 3 hours to get our
$25 worth of food and getting kicked out of the buffet at 9, we headed back to
the hotel to let the food (and winnings) digest.
Our full final day in Melbourne, we spent Wednesday visiting
Carlton Gardens and the riverwalk followed by going BACK to the casino for
Craig to attempt to double his winnings as well. In which not only did he, but
he quadrupled. From $5 to $25, what a baller. We neded up eating at the hotel
in the bar/restaurant which apparantely were doing jelly wrestling. So the
music was extremely loud and the ratio EXTREMELY lacking at 6:1 males to
females. So we ate, got out of there and went back to Eletric Ladyland to have
farewell drinks and say goodbye to our dear friend.
Thursday was an early awakening since we had to check out at
10am and get straight to the airport for a 12:40pm flight. Once again, no
actual plane ticket, just a shoddy receipt; typical discount airlines. Overall,
the trip was good, expensive and a great 2nd break away from the
Gold Coast. Sadly, this will probably be my last trip for quite some time as I
work and save up. Who knows where I will go next, China? New Zealand? Back to
the US? Or perhaps somewhere in Europe?...
Until next time.
-H
