Day 211-217: Melbourne/Prahran
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2004
1
37
57
Trip End
Jan 05, 2006
Melbourne/Prahran,
Australia
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Finally went to a gym this morning, first time since leaving Sydney. The hostel has a deal with a gym called Docklands which unsurprisingly isn't far from that area, only $6 for a session - of course I wasn't expecting much for $6. Jogged there along the river which only took about 10 mins. Got there and it was in some sort of basement with no windows or natural light, the equipment was bought in 1973, with some of the weight machines potentially breaching human rights on torture.....anyways, had a run and a cycle there and then done weights from head to toe - it was good to do it again and will have to try and do the weights once a week wherever possible.
Showered and changed at the gym and made my way back to the hostel on the tram. Spoke to a guy on the travel desk at the hostel to find out about trips to Phillip Island and the penguins, and Melbourne to Adelaide trips. He gave me a few flyers to look at, ideally I want to do the penguin thing tomorrow and I'll decide about Adelaide in the next few days once I've got more of an idea when I'll be wanting to leave. Had a little lunch and whilst in the hostel also booked the Neighbours trip for Wednesday, then nipped to the net cafe for a couple of hours. About 4 I went back to the travel desk to book the penguin thing for tomorrow but it was all booked up, which isn't a surprise I guess, always leaving it to the last minute - will give the tour company a call in the morning though just in case they've had some cancellations as it doesn't leave Melbourne until 1.30pm.
Went for a wander round the shops and got myself a nice little polo shirt from Cotton On, needed to get a couple more tops coz I realised that I only bought 3 t-shirts with me from Sydney, coz I threw a couple out and substituted a couple for sleeveless tops thinking it would be dead warm every - which in Melbourne it hasn't! Got back to the hostel about half 6 and chucked some dinner together. Stayed in for the rest of the night, tho did go for a little wander after dinner....not a very eventful evening.
Tuesday 12/04/05:
Tried an early start this morning and was up before 9 which makes a nice change. Got 2 bloody mozzie bites, one on each leg near the ankles again - bastards!! Itch like hell so took an antihistamine and rubbed some cream in. Slow breakfast and shower and then called the penguin tour and it was still fully booked so bit of a loss what to do. Read through my Rough Guide and decided to go to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is the oldest jail in Melbourne and is mostly famous for incarcerating Ned Kelly after he was captured. Cost $12 to get in and no discount for backpackers...buggers! Wasn't the most incredible place in the world but kinda interesting reading about Ned Kelly. The prison design is based on Pentonville and looks like the typical prison a la Porridge so once you've seen one you've seen em all. Spent about an hour there in the end taking a few piccies.
Then I decided to visit a couple of streets Josh told me about - Lygon St in Carlton and Brunswick St in Fitzroy. Lygon St is mainly known for it's Italian restaurants and patisseries, it's supposedly Little Italy and Carlton is a more upmarket suburb. Brunswick St in contrast is more grungy bohemian with loads of secondhand shops, bars, clothes stores and slightly more downmarket than Carlton. Caught the tram to Lygon St from the city and worked my way up and down stopping off at Cafe Trevi for a cup of tea and a slice of Toblerone Cheesecake, which was slightly disappointing as there was no actual Toblerone in it! I realised after walking to the end of the street that I'd actually been there already, I'd eaten at the Baked Potato Cafe after visiting the Melbourne Museum and it's on Lygon.
Then I walked from Lygon across to Brunswick which is about 10 mins walk. Great place, really long street with sooo many shops and things to look at. Went into a secondhand clothes store called 'Out of the Closet' - how appropriate - and got myself a t-shirt, ironically it was $22 which is more than I could have got a new one for less but I was particularly drawn to it as it had a little logo on it on the left side saying "Bears Training Camp" - which some people will understand ;O) Though it's actually a t-shirt for the Chicago Bears training camp but it struck a chord with me. Caught the tram back into town just after 5 and went to the half price ticket booth to look at tickets for the comedy festival - toyed with the idea of going to see a show but decided to go to the cinema tonight instead as it's tight arse Tuesday.
Got back to the hostel about half 6 and realised it was free pasta night which was marvellous coz I couldn't be arsed to cook. It was served up at 6 but there was still loads left, plus garlic bread and salad - and it was all really really good which was a surprise coz you don't usually expect free stuff to be that great. Got changed and caught the train around 8 to Prahran coz I decided to go see a film at the Village Cinemas at The Jam Factory which is a big shopping complex. Was gonna get a tram but it was a 15 min wait so jumped over to the train station - the one problem with that was I had no idea how to get to the cinema from the station.
Managed to find everything after asking a couple of people and heading off in the wrong direction initially. Went and saw Be Cool which was really really good, enjoyed it especially The Rock taking the piss out of himself, in fact it was good to see a few stars sending themselves up. Got the last tram back to the city and was in bed just after midnight.
Wednesday 13/04/05:
Was gonna get up early and go for a jog before breakfast so set the alarm for 8am. Unsurprisingly I turned the alarm off immediately and went back to sleep for half an hour. Couldn't be arsed with the jog when I got up so went and had some free brekkie, well a couple of slices of Bovril on toast anyway, followed by some Weetabix - or just Weet Bix as they call it here...far too much for breakfast really, it's a good job I don't go down for the freebie too often. Showered and got myself ready for Neighbours trip day.
We set off at 10am...there was about 12 of us, it was just a small little minibus. This was the unofficial tour organised by the hostel and is only $12, the Official tour costs about $30 and they do exactly the same. Now of course I haven't watched Neighbours since the Scott and Charlene days so I doubt I'd know a current cast member if they came up and slapped me and said 'Hi I'm from Neighbours'...but of course it's just one of the things you got to do when you're in Melbourne. First stop was a drive by of the studios where it's filmed, no one is allowed in so you just have to look from afar, the actors car park is visible from the road and one of them arrived and got out of the car while we were there - the actor who plays David Bishop apparently, no idea....but he did give us a wave. Then we moved on to the school which is used as Erinsborough High...couldn't really remember it to be honest so was entirely underwhelmed.
Next stop was the biggie!! Pin Oak Court.....or Ramsey St as it is more commonly known. Felt a bit strange wandering around the street taking pics of people's houses - however they get paid $40,000 a year for their homes to be used in the show, plus the studio lays on security from 7pm-7am every night as people used to come down and steal souvenirs at night and attempt other stuff. There was a guy washing his car and in the drive of Mrs Mangels house was a Rolls Royce and an MX3 so they're clearly not a poor neighbourhood. The tour guide - Shane - described each house explaining who used to live there. I took a few piccies then we all had our pic taken with a Ramsey St street sign. It's actually a tiny little cul-de-sac, much smaller than it seemed on screen.
After stalking the residents we moved on to the Dandenong range, which is a kind of mountain range nearby and national park. We stopped in a picnic area with BBQs and while Shane cooked lunch we walked round a short hiking route. Lunch was pork rissoles, steak, salad and fruit which was worth the $12 itself. Then we went to another picnic area to feed the parrots, well attempt to anyway. Looks like plenty of people had been trying the same thing so they must have been stuffed by the time we got there and showed no interest whatsoever - supposedly they eat out of your hand when hungry. You could see them all in the trees tho, lots of red and blue ones and the odd green one, very weird to see these things which are only in cages in the UK in the wild. Last stop of the day was a sweet shop which sold sweets and choc from all over the world....but I resisted and didn't buy anything, already had an ice cream after lunch so didn't need anymore crap.
The drive home seemed to take ages, it was so warm in the bus even with the windows open, I sooo wanted to go to sleep, almost nodded off a couple of times. Was so glad to get back the hostel and went and had a nap. Woke up at 5 and decided to go do that jog to give me some energy and burn off as much of the food I've eaten today as possible. Really enjoyed the jog actually, the sun was setting and it was warm, running back toward the city was lovely, the clouds had a yellowy orange glow behind the skyscrapers and it was all reflected in the river as I jogged by....who'd have thought exercise could be so much fun! Had a shower back at the hostel and then went to the net cafe for the evening to do the diary which I've left for a few days and to check some of the piccies I've taken over the last few days. Stayed there for the evening.
Thursday 14/04/05:
Crappy weather today, woke up just after 9, didn't want to go down for breakfast coz it was free big breakfast day with sausages and beans on top of the usual - I'd have only eaten too much so best to stay in bed. Went down and had some cereal and decided to go for a swim as I haven't done that for a couple of weeks. Pissing down outside to caught the tram to the City Baths at the top of Swanston St. Supposed to be hanging out with Josh this afternoon and he should give me a call sometime in the morning to sort out the where and when. Managed 60 lengths of the pool which is 1800 metres, swimming for about 50 mins. Relaxed in the spa afterwards which was lovely.
Left just before 12 so headed back to the hostel and cooked up some lunch. Josh still hadn't called by the time I'd eaten lunch so called him to see what was going on, said he had to finish some stuff for work and would give me a call later....kinda got the impression that he didn't really want to meet up - which is hardly a surprise gay men being what they are....fickle. The most annoying thing is that I kept the day free coz he'd said he was free today, and I was looking forward to having some company...ggggrrrr! So hung around the hostel for a bit wondering what the hell to do....in the end went for wander around Melbourne Central which is a big shopping centre above the train station of the same name. They've got a Borders...and I love Borders coz they have mags and they even supply comfy chairs so you can just sit there a read to your hearts content without actually buying anything - which is a backpackers dream!
Caught up with the UK copy of Heat mag which I check every now and again to see what's going on over there...and read a couple of other mags. Late afternoon by now so wandered back toward the hostel stopping off in a cafe for a pot of tea and a blueberry muffin for just $4 - bargain! Sat and read the papers there too - wow I'm so well read - haven't touched a book in months of course! After that went to the net cafe to waste a couple more hours of my life updating the diary, was tempted to buy a ticket to go see Bette Midler whilst I'm in Melbourne, the cheap seats ($99) were still available for Sat 23rd April and I'll still be here then so though bugger it....and bought a ticket, I'll probably only be able to make her out with the assistance of the Hubble Telescope but it'll be worth it to say I've been and seen her - supposed to be a great show. It's a kind of consolation prize as I'm not gonna be able to see Kylie coz I'm not gonna be in a city she's playing at the same time as she's there.
Sent Josh a text while in the net cafe to say that if he didn't want to meet up today he could have at least said so rather than make me waste a day. He apologised saying he'd been snowed under all of a sudden with work and would call me tomorrow....well we'll see if that happens! Back to the hostel about 7 and had a small dinner...tuna out of the can, mmmm fancy! Didn't fancy a night in so ended up catching the train to The Laird and had a few drinks there. Got chatting to the bar guys...one of whom was obscenely cute! Did want to give him my number but even after 3 bottles of Strongbow and a Vodka and Diet I still didn't have the balls to....oh well, think I'll go there tomorrow night anyway so we'll see what happens. Caught the last train home and was in bed just after midnight....gotta check out tomorrow.
Friday 15/04/05:
Stayed in bed until half 9 and finished packing up and checked out. Stored the stuff in the hostel tho coz I can't check into the next one until after lunch. Had some brekkie and killed a bit of time at the hostel before killing more time at the net cafe. Josh called to apologise for yesterday, said he'll try and catch up when things calm down a bit before I leave. I think I've got the plans sorted for leaving Melbourne....Prahran until Tuesday, then move to St Kilda for a couple of nights, then back to the Greenhouse for the weekend to see Bette Midler Sat night, then leave Melb the day after or on the Tuesday after as that's when the tours to Adelaide leave.
Went to the Ticketek office after the cafe to pick up the Bette ticket then headed back to the hostel and made my way over to the Chapel St Backpackers on the train. The place itself is pretty small, looks like it used to be an old bank as there's an ANZ night deposit box on the outside wall. Got a 4 bed dorm only sharing with one other which is cool coz it means I get a bottom bunk. The guy wasn't there when I arrived so no idea who I'm with, the room is tiny really, it would be a bit of a squeeze if there were actually 4 blokes in the room, I was pleased to see though that it's an ensuite - and only $26 a night. Unpacked my stuff and settled in, then went for a wander down Chapel St itself. I'm about a 10 minute walk from Commercial Rd which is where all the bars are so that'll be an easy stumble home.
Spent a couple of hours wandering around, having a coffee, getting my bearings, getting groceries in...then headed back to the hostel to sort out dinner, my roomie still wasn't around. Threw together satay chicken with noodles...very nice. Also treated myself to some vodka as it's a quieter hostel and hopefully won't be stolen. Got chatting to a few of the other people in the hostel...doesn't seem like there's hardly anyone there but who I did meet were generally nice people.
Although I'm in Prahran I decided to go to The Laird tonight as it's the busiest night and kinda wondered if cute bar boy was gonna be in. Got ready about half 9 and then wandered to the bus stop which would take me all the way up to Collingwood, the walk to the stop was about 10 mins down another of Melbourne's poorly lit suburban streets, and when I arrived I'd missed the bus by 5 mins and had a 20 min wait for the next....and it was a bit chilly too to be standing around in a t-shirt. Anyway, bus turned up and I couldn't believe how far the bus journey was....looked like hardly any distance on the map but was bloody miles...good job I didn't try and walk it.
Laird was busy when I arrived, and cute bar boy was there....even got a pen and paper and wrote my name and number on it...but never gave it to him...lol. Well half way there - maybe next time actually give him my number! Got chatting to a guy who I saw last week called Baz, so hung out with him and his mates for the rest of the evening leaving about 1am. When I got back to the hostel the roomie was in bed so still no idea who I'm with - bit strange sleeping in a room with someone you've never met.
Saturday 16/04/05:
Woke up about 9am, the hostel is right near the train tracks but actually with the window closed you can't really hear much and they start running at 6am so obviously didn't wake me up. Heard roomie stirring and finally met him, French guy and can't remember his name now. Anyway, a student studying in Melbourne who's been in the hostel for a few weeks, but is moving out tomorrow to go stay in a student house or something so if it stays quiet and I'm really lucky I'll have the room to myself. Stayed in bed till about 10 then showered and wandered down for brekkie...finally left the hostel just before lunch and took a very relaxed stroll down Chapel St again.
Loads of cool funky shops, secondhand clothes, furniture, bric a brac, etc, and of course the usual mix of chains. Spent the afternoon browsing around, taking a few pics, had a very long cup of tea in a cafe and read the paper. Loads and loads of cafes on the strip too and way to many cake shops, patisseries and bakeries which is very very bad....was tempted and bought a couple of very nice looking chunky cookies, one of which I had with my cup of tea...very civilised. Nipped into Prahran Market too and got a small amount of fruit...kinda thought I should try and balance things out a little.
Back to the hostel around half 4....just chilled and read some more in the TV lounge, pretty quiet and not many people around. Threw dinner together just before 7, the evening seemed to be dragging on for hours, didn't want to go out until after 10 as the bars will be dead before then. Watched TV with a few others for a little while then read a mag in my room. Roomie came in at 9.15 and went in to the bathroom, still wasn't out by 9.50!! So had to knock on the door to get in a have a shower....strange man! Tarted myself up and headed out just after 10. Started off in DIVA which again was dead, guess it doesn't get going until real late, then went to Xchange where I stayed for the rest of the night with not much happening really. Wandered back around 2, walked past DIVA and it was much busier but couldn't be bothered to go in, felt more like sleeping.
Sunday 17/04/05:
Woke up around half 9 again and laid in to 10, French bloke was checking out today so he was moving around already. Had some brekkie whilst watching the Simpsons, had to wrench myself away otherwise could have sat and watched them all day. Much better day today than the last couple, blue skies with a few fluffy clouds and a bit warmer...mid 20s. By the time I'd got myself sorted it was 12, jumped on a tram down to St Kilda as it has a Sunday market on. The market runs along a road which runs adjacent to the beach, it's a kind of arts and crafts market with people selling their own stuff I guess. A few photo stalls there too so had a look at those to get some inspiration. Took a few piccies around St Kilda along the beachfront, pier and in town....got some inspiration and will have to go back with the proper camera and do a shoot.
Spent a couple of hours there before getting a tram into the city around 3pm. Jumped off near the Arts Centre as it also has an arts and craft market on a Sunday, bit bigger than St K too, great weather to just potter around looking at the stalls tho. Once I got bored I went to the net cafe as I was in the city - there's no decent or cheap cafe where I'm staying at the mo so updated the diary, messages and sorted out some photos for the Melbourne photo album. Got the tram back to Flinders Station, then the train to Windsor and was back in the packers about 8....another new guy in the room, doesn't look like a backpacker tho as it was a suitcase and bag on the floor but not around when I got in.
Went downstairs and cooked up some dinner, and just hung around the TV lounge for the rest of the night. No one else around, had the place to myself for the night, other than chatting on and off with they guy manning the reception desk till midnight - Steve. Nickelodeon had a Ren and Stimpy evening so watched that, a few people came in toward the end of the night but went off to bed. New roomie came in not long after I'd gotten into bed, German bloke called Sylvan just there for the night, just found a place to live in Melbourne and gonna be living and working here for a little while....went to sleep after the chat.
