Sneak Peak of the Australian Open: Melbourne 16/01/07 Part III

After exploring the city, it's time to take a sneak peak at Melbourne Park for what I came for, the Australian Open. Melbourne Park is the venue of the annual competition held during summer. This year, the Australian Open was held from 15th till 28th of January. For the official website of the Australian Open, checkout: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html.

For some of you reading this who have no idea what competition I'm referring to, the Australian Open is a tennis competition and it's one of the four most prestigious competitions (Grand Slam titles) in the world of tennis. The other 3 are the Wimbledon Open, French Open and US Open.

Without any intention of entering Melbourne Park as it was almost evening time, and people were already on their way out of there, I decided to take a stroll down Batman Avenue to check out the surroundings of Melbourne Park. Batman Avenue (what a cool name!) is the road leading to Melbourne Park from the CBD area.

Signs leading to the Australian Open

Peering over the fence from an overhead bridge. There were many others doing the same thing, there was even a tv station crew placing his camera on the bridge. So if you are thinking along the line of "cheapskate", don't even think about it

Entrance to Melbourne Park. The board on the right shows the matches that would be played on the main courts for the day

After that, I proceeded to Federation Square to watch some live tennis on the big screen with other folks. This concludes my first day in Melbourne.


Catching tennis on the big screen under the stars

Wonderful Architectures: Melbourne 16/01/07 Part II

Walking around the city, one can see amazing architectures, of old and new. It's a really beautiful city!

The old St Paul's Anglican Cathedral

The Old Forum Cinema with gargoyles on its facade, probably intended to spook horror film-goers

Another old building that makes you go "wow!"

If you like to view architecture, then this is the right place. Everywhere you go, there is something interesting to see. And hence I shall dedicate this post to architectural lovers like me. I am no professional architect though, just like to admire nice buildings that people have come up with. Aren't they amazing?

Princess Theatre along Spring Street

Trees that are taller than buildings, aren't they amazing?

Fascinating wall art that is 5 storeys high!

Alright then, that's about enough for architecture. For more pictures of amazing buildings, checkout: http://www.greatbuildings.com/

Arriving Destination: Melbourne 16/01/07 Part I

Ahh... Finally I have arrived at Melbourne. Upon alighting the plane, I was greeted with a gust of warm air. Correction, hot air. It was the peak of summer season, and boy was it freakingly hot. For weather forecast of Australia, checkout: http://www.bom.gov.au/

Getting from Tullamarine Airport to Melbourne City isn't difficult at all. Hop on to the Skybus city shuttle which costs $15 one way, and $24 for return. Checkout:http://www.skybus.com.au/. But the bus gets pretty crowded very soon, so be sure to get on quick to set down your luggage and grab a good window seat.

Entrance to Greenhouse Backpackers

My first stop was to check in to my accommodation, the Greenhouse Backpackers accommodation. It's a pretty cool backpackers tucked into little Flinders Lane, and it's safe, because it's neighbour is the police station. It has also won several awards for tourism etc. For those who are interested to know what awards it has won, checkout: http://www.friendlygroup.com.au/greenhouse_home.asp

After settling in, it was then time to explore the neighbourhood. If you need information about the city and maps of the city, checkout:http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=23&pg=966

The backpackers accommodation was just a stone's throw away from the victorian Flinders Street Station, as well as the visitor's centre located on Federation Square.

Historical Flinders Street Station

An Australian Open information booth set up on Federation Square

A Garnier Girl gladfully allowing me to take a photo of her. I got a free Garnier visor as well

Watching tennis on the big screen at Federation Square

Land Ahoy: Sydney 15/01/07

Sydney was a transition stop on my trip to Melbourne, Australia. For some of you who aren't familiar with either of these names, Australia is the largest island in the world, and located in the southern hemisphere. Checkout: http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/WF1.WORLD.JPG

And to zoom in, Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria, which is a state in the south-eastern part of Australia. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales. Checkout: http://www.sweetmarias.com/map.australia.jpg

For some brief information about Australia, checkout: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/austrla.htm

Continuing on, I was really lucky to get an upgrade to business class for my flight which was fully booked. Lots of drinks (water, juice, alcohol beverages) were offered and I got to dine restaurant style, which means I eat from a plate instead of the usual economy class meal trays. There were after lunch desserts as well, which includes fruits, cheeses and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream. The seat was pretty spacious too. Service staff were really attentive too, making it a real joy to fly. This must be a good beginning to my adventure!

An upgrade to Raffles class

The accommodation which I was putting up for the night wasn't that business class-like though. I was staying at the trusty Wake Up backpackers in central Sydney which I had stayed before, so there was not much of a surprise. It was clean and fine alright, but I didn't mind the lack of space in the 10 person dorm as I was only there for a night. Checkout: http://www.wakeup.com.au/

Wake Up backpackers accommodation

Inside the room

There was no problem with waking up the next day. I headed to Chinatown for some breakfast. While there, you should try 2 restaurants, one selling Taiwanese food and the other for yum cha. I've tried both, and they are good. But remember to make reservations for yum cha. Checkout:http://www.eastocean.com.au/

East Ocean which sells good yum cha, and Mother Chu's which sells yummy Taiwanese food.

After having breakfast, I returned to the backpackers to collect my luggage for checkout. It must have been an awkward time to return. As I entered the room, there was this girl (maybe Korean or Chinese, I'm not sure) who was in the midst of changing, and was thus caught with her pants down. Well not totally, still had her panties on though. No photos for this story though. Then I left for the airport to make my way to Melbourne.