The Melbourne Story: Part 2

This should be posted weeks ago but a lot of stuff happened in between that period and last week, that there wasn't time for anything else. Anyway, putting a Part 1 in my Melbourne entry was clearly a mistake cos it implied that I was going to write a sequel. After 3 weeks, I didn't feel like writing Part 2 anymore but my conscience won't let me rest until I get it done. So, here it is. An entry written out of guilt.

Okay. About the trip. Was it fun? Absolutely. Melbourne is so much bigger than Christchurch and ten times more exciting. It has bigger malls, more city trams, more Malaysian restaurants and a more diverse population. Having said that, I don't think it's the most conducive place to do your studies. Especially if you're the type who loves shopping. There are too many distractions!

Anyway, our trip was brief. We only spent 5 days in Melbourne so there wasn't really much time for us to explore the whole city. The first day was spent lounging at the hotel and having dinner with friends. It was quite tiring cos we had an early flight and we moved in and out of three different rooms at the apartment. Remember the poop story?

The second day was so much better. I attended the conference in the morning but snuck out in the afternoon. I felt a little guilty doing that but it was the only way I could spend time with hubby and the kids. We went to Melbourne Aquarium straight after lunch and the kids had a great time.

The third day was presentation day. I pasted my poster on the melamine board and rehearsed my lines 10 minutes before showtime. I wasn't really that nervous cos it was done during morning tea and the whole atmosphere was kind of informal. All I needed to do was stand there and clarify my facts if people stopped and asked about them. Only 4 people bothered to do so by the way. I thought it was cool cos I got to talk about my work and get feedback.

I also learned that it is always important to read instructions from conference organizers. The instructions for the poster size was: A0 size/ portrait position. This guy whose poster was next time to mine got it all wrong.

To cover his flaw, he made another copy of the same  poster and stuck it diagonally on the board. I think this made it worse. Two wrongs don't make a right. Right?

Anyway, at 1.00 p.m. I slipped out of the conference venue to see hubby and the  kids. My good friend zee brought us to Victoria's market to get some souvenirs. We then had lunch at a nearby food court.

Later that day, we went to the Melbourne Docklands. Located on Victoria Harbour, the $12 billion waterfront development is said to be Australia’s largest construction project. It's only half way done but still,  there are heaps of stuff to do like water activities, dining and yachting. Since we were only there for two hours, our activity was limited to photo-taking.

On the fourth day, I didn't attend any of the conference programmes. We went sightseeing and headed to Melbourne museum after lunch. Before we started our journey, I had to go to a shoe shop at Melbourne central cos my feet were sore. I had been walking around in my ankle boots the whole time and towards the fourth day, I started to feel the strain on my legs. I thought I could endure the pain until we get to CC but I couldn't, so I bought a pair of flats.

After visiting the museum, the plan was to go on the City Circle tram  and stop at each checkpoint  to take photos. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It rained the whole afternoon and by the time  it stopped, it was already 6.30 pm. We had to cancel our city-tour and just stay put at the hotel. This sucked big time.

On the last day,  I went shopping with Zee. Just us, without the kids and hubby. We headed to DFO - Direct Factory Outlet, which is just opposite her apartment. What's great about DFO is all of the stores sell their products at factory prices. That is about 50 to 70% off normal retail price. I was so excited when we got to a Guess boutique cos I really wanted to get a pair of jeans.

Getting a perfect pair wasn't as easy as I thought. The jeans were all scattered in clearance bins and some laid on the floor. They weren't placed according to size or style so you really need to dig in to find your treasure.I loved the challenge so I started digging into a big pile like some frenzied woman. I tried on 4 pairs but none of them caught my fancy so I went digging again. As I was about to pull out a pair of skinny, Zee got an SOS call from her hubby. Something about a guy sending a new fridge to the house bla bla bla. The point was, we needed to get home. And just like that, my dream of getting a perfect pair of jeans  was shattered. Sad. They only cost $49.90.


We got back to Zee's apartment and had lunch with the kids. We could've gone back to DFO but I was too exhausted to walk. Plus, my feet were still sore. We just lazed around at Zee's apartment the whole afternoon. At 6.20 p.m. we flew back to Christchurch and four hours later we were finally home.

I guess that sums up our entire trip. It was short but it was great while it lasted.